Chapter 329: Secondary Medicine Refining

Duan Rong and Yin Cong, each carrying a bag, walked out of the simple, three-story pavilion with gray walls and black tiles.

The Green Pupil that Duan Rong had secretly exchanged for was right there in the bag he was carrying.

The entire process had gone quite smoothly. Yin Cong had been absent-minded the whole time and hadn't paid any attention to Duan Rong at all; perhaps he had learned from his previous lesson and simply kept the exchange points Pan Yong had told him firmly in mind.

Just now, at the curved counter, the points had matched up, so Yin Cong felt that there shouldn't be any mistakes this time.

But for Duan Rong, his task was not yet complete.

He had used Shang Xiangyu's Star Disk to exchange for the Green Pupil, and to ensure the points still matched, he had to exchange for eighty fewer points' worth of other medicines.

If he wanted to complete the exchange for the Green Pupil without leaving a trace, he had to make up for those missing eighty points of medicine.

However, regarding this point, Duan Rong had already made a plan.

In the list Pan Yong had provided, there were several herbs that could also be exchanged for at the place where Registered Disciples made their exchanges.

Duan Rong was now preparing to go to that place where Registered Disciples made exchanges to swap for the missing herbs and replenish the bag.

Duan Rong and Yin Cong walked past a gate with a watchtower standing by it; a dark figure stood atop the tower, holding a powerful bow with a quiver of Arrows slung across their back.

Duan Rong paused slightly and said, "Senior Brother Yin Cong, I'm going to the Registered Disciple side to exchange for something; wait for me a moment."

"Mm," Yin Cong nodded and said.

Just as Duan Rong turned around, Yin Cong suddenly said, "Wait, I'll go with you."

Duan Rong's expression flickered. "Oh, alright!"

The two of them walked together toward a row of low buildings in the corner.

When they arrived, Yin Cong said, "Disciple, I'm planning to exchange for some Wound Medicine; what are you going to exchange for?"

Duan Rong said, "I'm planning to exchange for some cultivation Pills. Senior Brother, are you injured?"

Yin Cong smiled and said, "Not at all. It's not very peaceful lately, so getting some Wound Medicine to keep on hand is just a precaution."

Duan Rong glanced at Yin Cong and understood what he was thinking.

"Then Senior Brother, I'll wait for you here after I finish my exchange."

After saying this, Duan Rong turned and walked toward the room for exchanging Pills.

Yin Cong also walked toward the room for exchanging Wound Medicine.

When Duan Rong reached the entrance for the Pills, his footsteps faltered; out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Yin Cong had already entered the Wound Medicine room, so Duan Rong immediately exerted his movement technique and darted inside, entering the room in the middle for exchanging medicinal herbs.

Duan Rong quickly exchanged for the few herbs, stuffed them into the bag in his hand, and immediately darted back out.

Although Duan Rong's movements were fast enough, it was four types of herbs after all, so he still spent some time.

The moment he stepped out, he really wanted to use his Divine Sense to scan the outside to see if Yin Cong had already come out, but he didn't dare; this was the Medicine Pavilion, after all, and rashly using Divine Sense Envelopment carried too much risk.

Duan Rong had actually already thought of an excuse: if he went out and Yin Cong was already there, he would say that after finishing his Pill exchange, he had been a bit curious and went into this side to take a look, assuming Yin Cong wouldn't think too much of it.

But when Duan Rong stepped out of the door, he saw that the Corridor was empty.

Duan Rong breathed a secret sigh of relief, but he stood there holding the bag for a long time, yet Yin Cong still didn't appear.

Duan Rong was puzzled in his heart. Does it take this long to exchange for some Wound Medicine?

Just as Duan Rong was feeling anxious, a figure walked out of the Wound Medicine room.

The person shook their head while walking and said, "Just this one bottle, and it costs ten Contribution Points; it's such a rip-off!"

Yin Cong walked over, saw Duan Rong, and asked, "Are you finished with your exchange too?"

"Mm, finished."

"Then let's go."

Yin Cong tucked the Wound Medicine into his sleeve, and the two left the Medicine Pavilion, heading toward the Cableway at the edge of the cliff.

The two walked to the Cableway that led down to the Lower Courtyard mountain, each tying the bag in their hand to their waist.

Yin Cong turned his head to instruct Duan Rong, saying, "Make sure the bag with the herbs is tied tight."

Duan Rong said, "Don't worry."

Yin Cong nodded and slid along the Cableway into the mist-filled valley, his figure disappearing.

The moment Yin Cong's figure disappeared into the thick fog, Duan Rong immediately untied the bag from his waist.

He crouched on the ground at once, spread the bag open, and rummaged through it for a good while before pinching a small Green Porcelain Bottle from beneath the herbs.

Duan Rong looked at the Porcelain Bottle in his hand with joy; inside was the Green Pupil, the auxiliary medicine for cultivating the fourth level of the Womb Treasury Sutra.

Duan Rong placed the Porcelain Bottle into the inner pocket of his robe, then picked up the bag from the ground, retied it to his waist, and only then slid along the Cableway into the fog.

When Duan Rong jumped off the Cableway and landed on the mountain of the Lower Courtyard, Yin Cong was already waiting there.

Although both of them were soaked, they still had to slide along the Cableway to return to the mountain where Shang Xiangyu was, so wringing their clothes out now was useless.

The two walked forward together along the edge of the cliff, leaving a long trail of wet footprints on the precipice.

When they returned to that mountain, the sky had already begun to turn dark, and the vast mist rolled in the distant twilight, filling the air with a strange and oppressive atmosphere.

The two walked to the entrance of Pan Yong's cave and gave the two bags of medicine and the Star Disk to Pan Yong.

Pan Yong glanced at the points on the disk, nodded, and smiled, "You two Disciples have worked hard! Don't go out these next few days; I expect we'll have to process herbs again soon."

The two answered Pan Yong and then turned to leave.

Duan Rong and Yin Cong chatted a few more times on the way before parting ways.

Duan Rong walked along the cliff, but he didn't return to his own cave; instead, he turned his steps and went into the dense forest.

He walked deep into the dense forest to a hidden blue stone.

Duan Rong sat cross-legged on the blue stone, pretending to cultivate.

After a while, he confirmed that there was no one around, then suddenly jumped off the blue stone, dug a hole beneath it, and buried the small Green Porcelain Bottle inside.

After Duan Rong finished all this, he walked back to his own cave.

Although he had obtained this auxiliary medicine, he still couldn't start cultivating immediately.

Duan Rong had already thought about this matter; cultivating the Womb Treasury Sutra at Shang Xiangyu's place was too dangerous, because cultivating the Womb Treasury Sutra required constructing a Mandala, which was very easy to be discovered.

However, Duan Rong had already decided on a place for himself to practice the Womb Treasury Sutra.

That was to practice at Xiao Yu's place; at Xiao Yu's Stone Workshop, there were carved statues of the Four Great Wisdom Kings.

Of course, the four divine statues inside the cave where Xiao Yu lived might be a bit too large for Duan Rong.

When practicing the Womb Treasury Sutra, the divine statues within a Mandala will project into the Spirit Sea.

The divine shadows projected into the Spirit Sea by stone statues have a far greater pressure than those projected by paintings.

This is because the medium is different, the cultivation method corresponds to it, and the divine power that descends will also change accordingly.

Duan Rong felt that with his current Divine Soul strength, he might not be able to withstand the pressure of the divine shadow that would descend from those half-person-tall stone statues.

However, at Xiao Yu's place, there were many smaller divine statues; he only needed to have Xiao Yu bring over four of them.

Furthermore, the Stone Workshop where Xiao Yu was located was under the jurisdiction of Taipu Hall.

Like the Lower Courtyard, many of the people inside Taipu Hall were not even Martial Artists.

Therefore, practicing the Womb Treasury Sutra at Xiao Yu's place should be much safer than at Shang Xiangyu's side.

However, these next few days were clearly not the time. Next, he had to process medicinal herbs, and then there would be the second round of pill refining. He would only look for an opportunity to go to Xiao Yu's place to practice the Womb Treasury Sutra after he was finished with this busy period.

Recalling the incident where the Pill Furnace exploded during the first round of pill refining, Duan Rong felt lingering fear regarding this second round.

"I hope there won't be any more accidents..."

Duan Rong sighed, then sat cross-legged on the stone bed in the darkness.

Duan Rong assumed the five-centers-facing-heaven posture and circulated his True Qi; after a few breaths, he flipped his hand and tossed a Zhengyang Pill into his mouth.

After Duan Rong swallowed the Pill, the surging medicinal power slowly dissipated and poured into his meridians.

Duan Rong focused his mind to look inward, controlling the agitation and fusion of the medicinal power and True Qi...

Over the next few days, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, Duan Rong, and Yin Cong began processing medicinal herbs at the large platform.

The medicinal herbs processed this time were basically the same as the last time, so although Tang Zhu was missing, the progress of processing the herbs was not affected much.

On the evening of the fourth day, seeing that twilight was about to descend, the few of them prepared to finish their work.

Pan Yong took stock of the remaining medicinal herbs; they would be finished processing them tomorrow, and he estimated that by tomorrow night, they could begin refining pills.

On the morning of the fifth day, when Duan Rong crossed the stone railing and walked to a corner of the large platform, Pan Yong, Chen Hu, and Yin Cong were already sitting there.

Just as Duan Rong sat down on a folding stool, Yin Cong clicked his tongue at him. Duan Rong looked at him, and he pointed his chin toward the platform opposite them.

Duan Rong narrowed his eyes and looked over; that corner of the platform was usually where the fool was active.

But at this moment, only an Iron Chain was seen lying there alone, and the iron ring that was originally fastened around the fool's waist at the end of the chain had actually been opened and thrown on the ground.

Duan Rong's eyes jumped, and he said, "Where is the fool?"

Yin Cong gave a strange laugh and said, "Who knows? I came this morning, and it was already like this."

Pan Yong's face darkened, and he said, "Do the work in your own hands well. Stop meddling in idle matters."

Duan Rong glanced at Pan Yong's expression, his eyes shifting slightly.

He had a feeling that Pan Yong seemed to know where the fool had gone.

By the afternoon, the medicinal herbs that needed to be processed had already been finished.

Pan Yong took a count, and with a somewhat weary smile, said, "It's finally all finished. Everyone can go back and rest for two hours; tonight we will enter the cave with Master Shang to refine pills."

The group then dispersed.

Duan Rong returned to the cave, did nothing at all, and sat there, beginning to close his eyes and rest his mind.

There was no telling what might happen during the night's pill refining, so Duan Rong prepared to adjust himself to be in peak condition, so that if there were any accidents, he could handle them.

After Duan Rong had rested well, he went into the dense forest, caught a wild chicken, and roasted it at the entrance of the cave.

After he was full, he sat by the fire at the cave entrance and wiped his Minghong Saber.

Seeing that the time was about right, Duan Rong sheathed his saber, stood up, and walked into the dense forest toward the place where the pills were refined.

Just as Duan Rong walked into the dense forest, he saw Chen Hu's figure from afar; he deliberately slowed his pace to increase the distance between him and Chen Hu.

When Duan Rong walked into the huge cave where the pills were refined, he saw that several roaring torches had already been lit on the crimson stone walls.

They illuminated the huge crimson cave as bright as day.

He saw Shang Xiangyu sitting cross-legged on a platform, wearing his wrinkled, slovenly Daoist robe; his completely white hair was draped behind him, his expression calm, and his eyes tightly closed.

Not far from the cave entrance, Pan Yong and Chen Hu were already standing there; when Duan Rong walked into the cave, both of them glanced at him.

Duan Rong walked into the cave and stood not far from Pan Yong and Chen Hu.

He saw that the same Double-Layer Great Pill Furnace from last time was still placed on the stone pit in the center of the cave, only a small pit was dented in a certain place on the second layer of the furnace.

The ground near the Pill Furnace was already covered with a dense array of various medicinal materials and some bottles and jars; this was clearly something Pan Yong had placed there in advance.

Just at this moment, Duan Rong's eyelids suddenly twitched.

He suddenly saw that in the corner behind where Shang Xiangyu was sitting cross-legged, there were two Great Cauldrons placed; inside one of the Great Cauldrons, a person seemed to be lying, with only their hands, feet, and half of their head exposed.

Although Duan Rong could not see the face of the person inside, he had already guessed who it was.

It was the fool!

But Duan Rong was puzzled; why would the fool be lying in that Great Cauldron? And he was motionless, as if he were asleep.

Some time ago, Duan Rong had already heard Yin Cong say that the fool was actually Shang Xiangyu's son.

But Duan Rong always felt that it didn't seem like it; the age gap between the two did not seem that large.

Just as Duan Rong's eyes were flickering in thought, Yin Cong also walked into the cave and stood beside Duan Rong.

After the four of them arrived, they all stood on one side, silently and quietly, without a single person speaking.

Because Shang Xiangyu was sitting cross-legged not far away.

After about half an incense stick of time, Shang Xiangyu finally opened his eyes, tilted his head back, and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

His gaze swept over the four people standing on one side of the cave, and he stood up, saying, "Prepare to refine the pills."

The four of them then each returned to their positions.

Duan Rong and Yin Cong were still standing on two wooden ladders, guarding the two additive ports on the second level of the Pill Furnace.

With Tang Zhu dead, they were temporarily short one person; Pan Yong was responsible for the two additive ports on the first level, while Chen Hu was responsible for the other additive port.

Seeing that everyone had returned to their respective positions, Shang Xiangyu walked slowly to a corner of the cave, where a large black stone lay on the ground, resembling a massive black coffin.

Shang Xiangyu stood beside the large black stone, his hands held horizontally, slowly lifting them from his dantian; at the same time, the Heaven and Earth Qi within his body began to surge through his meridians.

Shang Xiangyu gripped one side of the large black stone with both hands and exerted force suddenly, lifting it; the veins on Shang Xiangyu's forehead bulged as he pushed the large black stone until it stood on its side, showing the weight of this stone.

As the large black stone stood on its side, bubbling magma gushed out from beneath it, flowing along the channels into the large pit under the Pill Furnace.

As the scorching magma, like molten iron, gushed out, the air in the cave instantly began to churn with searing heat.

After a few breaths, the temperature climbed to a terrifying level.

Shang Xiangyu stood beside the Pill Furnace, monitoring the heat; after waiting for the furnace cauldron to glow red for a few breaths, he suddenly said in a deep voice, "Number one additive port, Polygonatum."

Pan Yong had already been holding a white Porcelain Bottle, guarding the number one additive port; as soon as Shang Xiangyu called out, he poured the liquid from the Porcelain Bottle in his hand into the Pill Furnace all at once.

As the medicinal juice entered the furnace, billows of white mist began to permeate the Pill Furnace...

Shang Xiangyu stood beside the circle of transparent Water Jade, his eyes fixed on the subtle changes within the Pill Furnace; his expression was both calm and manic, like a trader staring at the market board after a crazy leverage play, or like a grotesque scientist focused on some experiment to destroy humanity.

Under Shang Xiangyu's commands, the group continuously added various medicines into the Pill Furnace.

Duan Rong felt that the medicine he was adding was almost the same as the last time they refined medicine, only the amount of each herb seemed to be much greater.

As time passed, there were not many bottles, jars, and various herbs left on the ground beside the Pill Furnace.

Shang Xiangyu stared into the furnace through the circle of transparent Water Jade, the fluorescent glow on his face constantly changing colors; suddenly, Shang Xiangyu straightened his waist, knowing that the most critical moment had arrived.

He was going to use the Blood Pill Method to refine the Blood Spring Pill!

Shang Xiangyu's lips moved, and he turned his head to look at the Great Cauldron in the corner.

The moment Shang Xiangyu turned his head, Duan Rong clearly saw Shang Xiangyu's body tremble slightly.

At this moment, Shang Xiangyu had already walked slowly toward the Great Cauldron in the corner...

(End of this chapter)