Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi watched the pill-tribulation storm clouds spiral overhead, his eyes bright with delight. Meng Wanshu squeezed his hand in excitement, though a trace of nervousness lingered between her brows.

Boom! Boom!

Thunder rumbled throughout the Gu clan’s domain. Every alchemist present gazed up at the sky in awe. If the batch succeeded, those with damaged divine souls would finally have a remedy.

Once word spread, countless powerful cultivators would flock to the Gu clan. They would exhaust their fortunes for a single Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill, and anyone trapped at a bottleneck would pay any price to obtain one.

Among the crowd, a tier-eight alchemist on good terms with Gu Changsheng watched with an eager gleam in his eyes. “I wonder how many pills this will yield. With the power of several heavenly fires blended together, their quality will be beyond imagination…”

Boom!

Xiang Huaizhi’s robes snapped in the wind, and his long hair whipped wildly through the air. His brows knitted together as he shouted, “Fuse the pills!”

Boom!

The Crimson Sun Flame swallowed every other flame within the cauldron. Scarlet fire burst from the vents beneath the massive pill-refining cauldron, and the surrounding temperature soared. Many cultivators’ protective vital force melted away under the intense heat.

Boom!The clouds churned as brilliant arcs of purple lightning crackled across the sky. Thick bolts crashed down on the turquoise cauldron one after another, almost forming one continuous line.

The lightning of a pill tribulation carried exceptionally pure energy. The higher the grade of a rare pill, the more it needed that lightning to purge its impurities.

As the lightning bolts continued to fall, everyone but Xiang Huaizhi watched the cauldron anxiously. Meanwhile, Cao Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, immersed in a mysterious state of enlightenment. The joint refinement of five elite tier-eight alchemists contained profound truths of the pill Dao, drawing him into deep contemplation and granting him new insights into alchemy.

Xiang Huaizhi noticed and gave a faint look of approval. His decision to deliberately slow his movements earlier in the refinement had not been in vain.

Buzz!

A powerful energy ripple spread slowly from the cauldron. The massive turquoise cauldron turned entirely crimson and trembled violently, as though something inside were about to break free.

Boom!

The final, bucket-thick bolt of pill-tribulation lightning struck. Something began pounding frantically against the cauldron’s inner walls, and the resulting clatter sent every spectating alchemist into a frenzy.

The highest-ranking elder’s face flushed with excitement. His ears twitched as he tilted his head to listen. Then his eyes widened. “Nine! Nine pills! It’s a perfect batch!”

The entire crowd erupted in excitement, and the clamor of countless overlapping discussions filled Li Guanqi’s ears. Xiang Huaizhi, Gu Changsheng, and the others let out long breaths as their tension finally eased. Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi exchanged a glance and smiled.

Guo Feng turned to Xiao Chen, whose face was as pale as paper, and patted him on the shoulder with a laugh. “Kid, you’ve had it rough. I can’t believe you held on until the end.”

Xiao Chen waved dismissively while frantically absorbing the surrounding spirit qi to recover. “For… Eldest Brother’s pills, I had to… hold on even if I couldn’t! Wait, is that… Damn! He entered enlightenment?”

Boom!

The cauldron lid flew off, and nine perfectly round, pale-purple pills rose from within. Each was the size of a chicken egg, and their rich medicinal fragrance spread a hundred zhang in every direction.

Just one whiff of the fragrance made everyone feel utterly refreshed, and even their divine souls seemed to sigh in comfort. A sharp-eyed alchemist stared at the nine pills darting about in midair, his eyes widening as he whispered, “Pill… pill patterns! Perfect supreme-grade pills!”

Mysterious, naturally formed patterns covered the surface of every pill.

As the crowd discussed, the nine pills suddenly transformed into nine purple Lightning Qilins. They raised their heads and roared at everyone beside the cauldron.

Roar!

Xiang Huaizhi snorted coldly and waved a hand. An immense surge of flame-element power took the shape of a giant palm, capturing all nine pills and sealing them within a tiny space.

Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. Xiang Huaizhi raised a hand, teleporting Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu before him, then offered Li Guanqi the nine pills. “That wasn’t easy. Here, take them.”

Li Guanqi could sense Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi staring at the pills, practically drooling. Smiling, he reached into the Crimson Sun Flame’s seal and grabbed two of the round pills.

He cupped his fists and bowed deeply. “This junior, Li Guanqi, thanks all the seniors for your tremendous help. I originally intended to take only one pill from this batch, but… I couldn’t resist taking another for myself. Please divide the remaining seven among yourselves, Seniors.”

Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi’s eyes lit up. Casting all modesty aside, they rushed over to Xiang Huaizhi and each thrust out a hand. “Heh heh. Huaizhi, Young Friend Li did say…”

Xiang Huaizhi pursed his lips and handed them the pills. Then he turned to Li Guanqi and said, “You truly have no idea how precious this batch of pills is!”

Li Guanqi smiled calmly. “No, I know exactly how precious they are. That’s precisely why I believe the seniors deserve a share.”

Jiang Qizhi stroked his beard and beamed at the pill in his hand. “Ha ha ha! See? Young Friend Li understands the bigger picture.”

Gu Changsheng did not stand on ceremony either. He carefully cradled a pill in his palm and muttered, “That truly wasn’t easy. Worthy of an ancient pill formula!”

Li Guanqi noticed Han Yuan standing awkwardly off to the side. Without hesitation, he picked up a pill, approached the elder, and presented it with both hands. “Please accept this pill, Senior.”

The watching alchemists nodded in silent approval. Most of them had not expected Li Guanqi to offer Han Yuan a pill of his own accord. After all, Han Yuan’s mistake had caused the complications during the refinement.

Han Yuan sighed and waved a hand. “I won’t take it. If Xiang Huaizhi hadn’t stepped in, I would have ruined the entire batch.”

Li Guanqi forcefully pressed the pill into Han Yuan’s hand. “You can’t look at it that way. The result was good, and you’ve worked hard these past few days. You deserve this pill. If you don’t accept it, wouldn’t my father-in-law be too embarrassed to take his?”

Han Yuan glanced at Meng Jiangchu, whose mouth twitched, then burst into hearty laughter. “Very well, I’ll accept it! If you ever have the time, Young Friend Li, come spend a few days with our Han family.”

Li Guanqi smiled. “Absolutely, absolutely.”

Meng Jiangchu paid none of that any mind and took a pill for himself. No one would turn down something like this. Besides, it was a filial gift from his son-in-law. Why shouldn’t he accept it?

Xiang Huaizhi looked at the final pill in his hand. After a moment’s thought, he turned to Li Guanqi. “Keep this one too. With the Guanyun Pavilion, you could put it up for auction, but I’d advise you to hold on to it instead. A pill like this could earn you an enormous favor from a powerful cultivator!”