Chapter 1227: Hands-On Refinement

"Whoosh!"

But as soon as the former's words fell, inside the fire cauldron beneath the Dragon Soul Cauldron, that dark gray pill instantly turned into a silhouette and shot off at extreme speed toward the distance.

Hehe, I've been refining this for so long—how could I let you just run away for nothing? Besides, in here, can you even get out?

Seeing that it instantly transformed into a figure ninety percent similar to his and fled, Lin Feng's mouth corner immediately curled up in a smile.

Then he waved his hand, and the residual energy in heaven and earth quickly condensed toward the direction the silhouette was fleeing, finally forming a giant hand that easily grasped the pill's human form.

"＆；￥#@￥#%&；%"

After the pill-shaped human was seized, it immediately wore an anxious face and said something to Lin Feng, seemingly wanting him to let it go.

But seeing this, Lin Feng had no intention of letting it go; instead, he clicked his tongue intriguingly and said, "Judging by this intellect, it's better than those precious pills I've refined before—no wonder it's just a step away from entering the Profound Pill Realm."

As he spoke, he clenched his hand tightly.

At the same time, the force of the energy hand grasping the pill suddenly surged.

Before long, the pill-shaped human gradually shrank, eventually turning back into a round, dark gray pill.

When Lin Feng saw the pill return to its original form, he flicked his hand, and the dark gray pill swiftly traced through space and landed in his palm.

As soon as the pill entered his hand, Lin Feng felt the astonishingly dense pure energy contained within this tiny pill, as well as the terrifying chill inside that even a Four-star Dou Saint would fear.

"Crack!"

In less than a breath after taking it, Lin Feng's hand holding the pill suddenly formed a layer of dark gray ice.

And there's no need to say who caused all this—it's naturally the pill in his hand.

"Such terrifying chill, plus the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill—protecting me while I absorb the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire is more than enough."

Upon first refining such a pill, Lin Feng couldn't help but grin with delight.

And while speaking, Lin Feng's Dou Qi surged violently, shaking the ice on his hand into nothing.

Next, he quickly took out a jade bottle, placed the pill inside, and then set a seal.

After doing that, Lin Feng finally turned his attention to the Dragon Soul Cauldron before him.

After all, the Thunder Tribulation Pill hasn't been finished refining yet—he can't afford to be distracted for too long.

"Boom—rumble!"

After this refining continued for over half a month, the originally quiet demonic fire space once again became overcast with dark clouds, and black demonic thunder carrying destructive power silently condensed within the thick clouds, then drifted about faintly visible.

Seeing this, Lin Feng suddenly turned his head and gestured to Yun Yun.

Upon receiving the signal, she lightly nodded, then waved her jade hand, and Gu Xun'er beside her instantly felt a seal appear around her.

This seal not only prevented her from seeing the outside situation, but also cut off all sound.

"Damn bastard, what are that dog couple up to again?!"

Suddenly sealed by Yun Yun in a small space, Gu Xun'er couldn't help but mutter a curse at Lin Feng and the other.

However, although she vaguely sensed the other side might reveal some secrets, with her Dou Qi sealed and the spatial restriction still around, Gu Xun'er could do nothing about these things.

Outside the seal, Lin Feng saw Yun Yun block Gu Xun'er, then lightly rubbed his storage ring.

In a faint glow, two sturdy dark gray figures immediately appeared beside Lin Feng.

These sturdy gray figures were, without surprise, two human puppets, and their strength had reached the level of Advanced Half-Saint.

Since a few months ago, when several major clans and others left the demonic fire space, Lin Feng, while refining pills under Xiao Ling's protection, had Yun Yun carefully search the milky white lava below, retrieving one by one the Dou Saint corpses killed by the Fire Slave and Pure Lotus Demonic Fire.

After finding them, Lin Feng and Yun Yun discovered that there were indeed many Dou Saint corpses below—careful counting revealed a full ten.

Of course, among them were the fallen Stone Clan and Thunder Clan Four-star Dou Saint Elders.

Besides these Dou Saints, the younger generations of the Thunder Clan and Stone Clan were also salvaged by Yun Yun.

However, since these two's strength was only at the Half-Saint level, their corpses had been largely burned away by the lava below.

After realizing he couldn't absorb much Dou Emperor bloodline from them, Lin Feng reluctantly handed them all over to Xiao Ling to be refined into puppets.

As for the other Dou Saint corpses, he could only keep them all himself.

After all, he currently lacks enough souls to refine human puppets, and since the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire hasn't been absorbed yet, he can't make Fire Slaves.

Helpless, he could only keep them himself.

But thinking of this, Lin Feng couldn't help but sigh: "If it weren't for the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire burning many Dou Saint souls into nothing, I wouldn't be so lacking in souls to refine human puppets."

"'Especially Hun Feng—if he had been killed by the Fire Slave, that would have been great; at least his soul wouldn't have been burned to nothing. A Late Heavenly Realm soul, what a pity.'"

And while speaking, Lin Feng immediately looked up at the impending black demonic thunder and softly said, "Go."

"Bang! Bang!"

As soon as the former's words fell, the two sturdy figures beside him instantly turned into two streams of dark gray light, accompanied by the roaring sound of air explosions, and in an instant they reached the black thunder‑filled clouds above.

"Boom—rumble!"

At the moment those two puppets flew beneath the clouds, bolts of black lightning several zhang thick, like ferocious thunder serpents, carrying immense destructive power, boomed down onto the two puppets' dark‑gray metallic bodies.

"Sizzle!"

The violent collision instantly shattered the ferocious black thunder serpent into countless tiny lightning snakes that began to erode the interiors of the puppets' bodies.

As for the two puppets, under the terrifying impact of the black demonic thunder, their bodies lost control and were flung downward a hundred zhang, barely managing to stabilize.

However, after stabilizing, their feet simultaneously stomped hard, launching their bodies back up to the original height.

Moreover, the puppets' surfaces grew increasingly shiny as the lightning snakes continued to erode them.

At the same time, the puppets' strength surged rapidly, surpassing Advanced Half-Saint and steadily increasing.

"Boom—rumble!"

Seeing the tiny figure below dare to block its attack path, the vast clouds thousands of zhang above erupted with thunderous roars like an angry bellow.

The next moment, several more bolts of black demonic thunder, each several zhang thick and carrying terrifying destructive power, came crashing down onto the puppets below!

But this time the thunder serpent's result was no different—after striking the puppets, it sent them flying down several hundred zhang again, then dissolved into countless lightning snakes that eroded the puppets' bodies.

As for the puppets, just like before, after being knocked down they flew back up to meet the next thunder strike.

After repeating this cycle several times, the aura emanating from the two puppets suddenly changed dramatically, and then threads of pressure far stronger than before—many times over—burst outward.

Has he advanced to Dou Saint?

Lin Feng gazed at the two puppets in the sky whose aura had changed dramatically, then immediately murmured softly.

Immediately after, his gaze continued upward, settling on the dark clouds that had not yet dissipated.

Come back.

Seeing the black demonic lightning in the dark clouds about to fall again, Lin Feng suddenly recalled the puppets.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two puppets in the sky, having received the order, delayed not at all, and suddenly plummeted, landing beside Lin Feng.

At the moment the puppets returned, he waved his hand and stored the two puppets in his spatial ring.

At the same time, he himself immediately flickered, and in an instant appeared at the high altitude where the puppets had been.

Having steadied his stance, Lin Feng immediately extended both hands, forming a series of seals before him.

Sizzle!

At the moment he finished forming the seals, within the thick dark clouds above, several bolts of black demonic lightning laden with intense destructive power descended once again.

Seeing this, Lin Feng immediately extended his palm toward the sky, and in an instant a powerful suction force burst forth from his palm.

At the same time, the several black lightning serpents descending from the horizon, under this suction, suddenly shifted direction and shot toward him at extreme speed.

At the moment those black demonic lightning bolts, capable of heavily injuring an early four-star Dou Saint, touched his palm, Lin Feng's seal formation suddenly changed.

At the same time, those several black demonic lightning bolts were forcibly controlled by him, forming several rings of black lightning, each several zhang in size, around him.

Immediately after, Lin Feng changed the seal with both hands again, and a tremendous force from all directions began to compress those rings of lightning wildly.

In a short while, those several-zhang-sized lightning rings shrank to less than one zhang in size.

Although the volume had shrunk considerably, the blackness of the demonic lightning became much deeper.

Looking at them, one could see that, for the same volume, the power of this lightning was likely at least three times greater than before.

However, after compressing those lightning rings, Lin Feng was not satisfied; he glanced at the now much deeper-black rings around him, gritted his teeth, and continued to exert force, squeezing the several black lightning rings surrounding him toward the central ring.

Sizzle!

As Lin Feng continued to exert force, the surrounding lightning rings eventually collided, and as the rings touched each other, they emitted a piercing thunderclap that made one's heart tremble. Yet Lin Feng seemed not to hear these thunderous sounds, continuing to press together the rings that had already made contact.

Sizzle!

As he continued to exert force, the thunder produced by the contacting lightning rings around him became even more piercing.

However, under the tremendous compressive force, the several lightning rings eventually, amidst the rumbling thunder, began to slowly merge.

After this merging continued for a short time, the original several lightning rings, under the sustained compressive force, finally completely fused into a single black lightning ring about two zhang in size.

Although it is also black, compared to before, this ring's blackness is even richer.

At the same time, the destructive power slowly emanating from this lightning ring was already enough to make even a late four-star Dou Saint shudder in shock.

Of course, even so, this lightning ring posed no threat to Lin Feng whatsoever.

Seeing the lightning ring fully fused, Lin Feng suddenly shouted, then thrust his palm directly into the ring before him.

Sizzle!

As his palm just touched the deep black lightning ring, strands of dark lightning snakes split out from it and began to invade his body.

However, at the instant those lightning snakes entered his skin, a bronze-colored flame more violent than the black demonic lightning surged up from within him, forcibly driving those black lightning snakes out.

Come out!

At the same time, as soon as his palm entered the lightning ring, Lin Feng let out a sudden shout, then pulled from before him some invisible, intangible thing from the ring and flung it aside.

Those intangible things, after being forcibly pulled out of the lightning ring by him, lingered in the air for a moment, then seemed to merge into heaven and earth, and completely vanished.

As for the origin of these things, it is naturally the legendary heavenly and earthly power.

Because of the existence of these things, the lightning drawn by alchemists is far more violent than the lightning condensed by ordinary lightning-attribute cultivators themselves.

If not removed, then when he hurls the alchemical lightning onto the pill, there is a high chance the pill will be directly destroyed by the black demonic lightning bolstered by heavenly and earthly power, rendering all his prior efforts futile.

After removing the heavenly and earthly power from the lightning rings around him, Lin Feng flicked his finger, a surge of fighting qi shot out, then he guided this ring of now far more obedient black demonic lightning to rush toward the Dragon Soul Cauldron; in an instant, the lightning ring turned into a lightning serpent that entered the cauldron and struck the black pill within.

Sizzle

As the lightning serpent struck the tribulation pill, in an instant the dark serpent burst apart, turning into a great amount of much more obedient black lightning that continually corroded the pill from outside to inside.

And under the continual refinement of this pill lightning, the pill within the Dragon Soul Cauldron became ever more round and pure.

Boom—rumble!

However, just after he finished these, the dark clouds above, now much thinner, immediately dropped several more black lightning serpents several zhang in size, carrying intense destructive power, and they slashed violently toward Lin Feng.

Facing this, Lin Feng merely smiled faintly and continued to repeat his previous actions.

After he repeated this cycle several more times, the black clouds above the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire space finally dissipated, powerless.

As for the tribulation pill inside the Dragon Soul Cauldron, it too, under the constant refinement of the black demonic lightning from which Lin Feng had removed the heavenly and earthly power, became extremely pure and round.

Even above the pill, a distinct pattern could clearly be seen.

This pattern is naturally the pill pattern; only when a pill of a certain grade reaches the peak of its quality does such a pattern appear.

"Hehe, the quality of this tribulation pill is not bad; it seems all this time spent refining it was not in vain."

Seeing this tribulation pill, whose quality was no worse than the previous pill's, a hint of joy appeared on Lin Feng's face.

Whoosh!

However, just as he was feeling pleased, the pill suddenly transformed into a human shape and then shot wildly toward the distant horizon.

However, regarding the pill's escape, Lin Feng remained quite calm, did not immediately give chase, and simply called out to the distance: "Yun'er, eat it now to boost your strength; I have made all preparations, and it's time to deal with this Pure Lotus Demonic Fire."

"Okay."

Upon hearing this, Yun Yun's peerlessly beautiful face showed a faint smile, and her delicate form instantly turned into a blue streak of light, racing toward the direction the tribulation pill had fled.

Because her wind attribute naturally excels at speed, in the blink of an eye her graceful figure had already reached beside the fleeing pill; Yun Yun then reached out and scooped it up, easily taking the tribulation pill that still did not know how to wield its own power.

While the former was dealing with the Thunder Tribulation Pill, Lin Feng also flicked his body and landed in front of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire.

Finally we can eat the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, master; let's hurry up and act.

Seeing Lin Feng land in front of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, Xiao Ling's delicate little face instantly showed a hint of ecstasy, then she swiftly flew down from beside Lin Feng's shoulder, urging anxiously.

All right, I know, little girl, you're so hungry; I think after this Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, what else could you eat that's better?

Hearing that, Lin Feng affectionately pinched the girl's tender, smooth little cheek.

As soon as his words fell, he suddenly stretched out his palm and shot out a streak of red light.

That streak of red light swept up into the sky, then suddenly shot out a large amount of red silk threads, constantly intertwining and shuttling in the heavens.

In the blink of an eye, those red silk threads, as they interwove, expanded to several hundred zhang in size, forming a great red formation in the sky.

However, right after that formation took shape, Lin Feng quickly formed a hand seal; immediately afterward, the great formation in the sky began to spin rapidly.

Amidst that rotation, an unusually thick cold qi surged violently downward from the formation, and then, under Lin Feng's control, shot straight into the area where the demonic fire's source lay.

Crack—

Under the influence of the cold qi released by the formation, the scorching lava below was instantly frozen solid by the ice layer with a crackling sound; only that cluster of extremely terrifyingly hot Pure Lotus Demonic Fire could continue to rise and burn under this cold current.

However, although it was not frozen like the lava, the petals, which were milky white with streaks of pink, were quietly coated with a thin layer of frost.

And as the petals were covered with frost, the originally blazing source fire seed of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire instantly dimmed somewhat.

As for the origin of this formation, it is a strange formation that Lin Feng previously obtained from Yao Chen's collection, called the Yan Han Great Formation.

This formation does not have high offensive power when used against enemies, but it can release a strange cold qi.

This cold qi is not ordinary mist caused by low temperature, but rather something that arises when the temperature reaches an extremely high level, due to the principle of extremes reversing.

Speaking of which, it can also be considered a relatively strange yin-han (cold-heat).

However, the conditions for releasing this yin-han are rather stringent; it must be employed in a place of extremely high temperature, making it practically useless in combat.

But because of the cold qi it emits, it can exert some suppression on strange flames, and when absorbing exotic fires that do not run around on their own, it proves to be a great help.

Seeing the Yan Han Great Formation take effect, Lin Feng lightly rubbed his storage ring, and then a jade bottle appeared in his hand amid a faint glow.

Having taken the jade bottle, he quickly pulled out the stopper, then gently tilted the bottle, and a cluster of pale red liquid poured out, finally falling into the center of the lotus petal that is the source of the demonic fire.

This pale red liquid is likewise a concoction Lin Feng found in Yao Chen's collection, prepared from a recipe, called Drunken Demon Saliva; it is a medicinal liquid with extremely strong anesthetic effects.

Of course, this stuff definitely cannot completely anesthetize the demonic fire, causing it to lose its ability to move.

Lin Feng merely wishes to use the effect of this liquid to put the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire into a languid state.

That way, the offensive power of the demonic fire's source will be slightly reduced, giving him a higher success rate and less pain when refining it.

And as the Drunken Demon Saliva fell into the blossom of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, in an instant the petals surrounding the demonic fire's source began to slowly unfurl.

Looking up, Lin Feng noticed that at this moment the source fire seed of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire had gained a hint of laziness.

Most importantly, as this demonic lotus became languid, its surrounding lotus petals also gradually unfolded, revealing a cluster of pink flames wrapped within the blossom.

And this cluster of pink flames, seen from above, resembled an infant coiled and entwined within the blossom.

At the same time, waves of terrifying heat that make one's soul tremble slowly emanated from this cluster of pink flames.

Upon seeing this cluster of pink flames, Lin Feng's eyes uncontrollably surged with a hint of fervor.

Because this cluster of pink flames is the true source of the demonic fire!

As for the outer part previously mentioned, it is the exterior of the source fire and also serves as a protective layer shielding this true source.

Hehe, these two things have at least reduced the power of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire's source by about ten percent; speaking of which, I also have to thank Xiao Yan and Yao Chen, master and disciple. If it weren't for one of them helping gather these obscure items and the other delivering them to me, I would still have to search for similar things again.

Seeing the demonic fire's source gradually grow languid under the effect of the Drunken Demon Saliva, even its most important core was thus nakedly revealed; Lin Feng, having come back from his frenzy, couldn't help but reveal a hint of joy at the corner of his mouth.

Master, hurry, it's really too tempting; let's eat it quickly!

And as soon as Xiao Ling saw that pink flame, she could no longer hold back, quickly running to the side of that lotus, turning anxiously in circles while not forgetting to turn her head and urge Lin Feng.

However, Lin Feng forcibly suppressed his excitement at the little guy's urging, saying: 'Although the core volume of this demonic fire's source is only this tiny cluster, even if a Six-star Dou Sheng powerhouse were present, swallowing it unprepared would still burn them to ashes, so little fellow, just wait a bit longer.'

While speaking, Lin Feng, amid Xiao Ling's impatient expression, chuckled and took out a jade bottle, then pulled out the stopper and poured out a dark red pill the size of a pigeon's egg.

As soon as this pill appeared, the surrounding space instantly filled with a dense, bone-piercing cold mist.

As for the origin of this pill, it is naturally the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill that Lin Feng had long prepared.

Having the pill in hand, Lin Feng quickly flicked his finger, shooting the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill outward, which finally landed upon the languid blossom of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire.

Upon contact with the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill instantly melted, turning into streams of terrifying cold mist that even some Dou Sheng powerhouses dread, enveloping this gorgeous fire lotus.

Squeak—squeak!

Accompanied by the enveloping cold mist, layers of pale yellow ice continually condensed on the surface of the core flame of the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire's source.

However, even though the Pure Lotus Demonic Fire had been weakened by the previous methods, these ice formations, as soon as they appeared, were still evaporated by the demonic fire's source's terrifying heat.

But although the demonic fire's source is strong, the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill, which has reached the level of a nine-grade treasure pill, is likewise not something simple.

Meanwhile, as the ice melted, the gradually dissipating pill body was able to release even more endless-seeming cold mist, constantly swirling around the demonic fire's source, weakening its terrifying heat.

Therefore, as the two reached a stalemate, the cold ice on the surface of the demonic fire's source came and went.

At the same time, streams of thick pale yellow mist continually rose, faint and wavering, from the surface of the demonic fire's source amidst the hissing sound of the ice melting.

And as Lin Feng saw the two sides reach a stalemate, he immediately made a grasping motion with his hand, and a jade bottle appeared in his palm.

Then he quickly pulled the stopper from the jade bottle, took a deep breath, tilted the bottle to his mouth, and swallowed in one gulp the dark gray pill he had previously refined, which was about to reach the Xuan Dan level. (End of chapter)