Chapter 226: Refining the Soul-Returning Pill

Qin Ming gazed happily at the transformations of the two spiritual plants, deeply satisfied.

Yet both plants had risen to high-grade Jipin, and their growth cycles were notably prolonged.

They would require at least a dozen years before harvest.

But for Qin Ming, this wasn't much of an issue.

The Silver-Winged Frost Bees flew out from their hive, their eyes filled with curiosity as they regarded the newly transformed tea forest and the purple-blue bamboo grove.

It seemed they sensed the denser plant spiritual energy emanating from within, and immediately ordered all the spiritual bees in the hive to streak like lights into the bamboo grove, scanning for any unwise pests.

After using two 【Bloodline Reversion】 terms, Qin Ming pondered again: "Since I've chosen to enhance the magic artifact, why not add a little more fire?"

He then shifted his intent once more, and the 【Spirit Plant Infusion】 term in his spiritual sea vanished, sinking into one of the Void Bamboos before him.

"This term can only be used on a single spiritual plant."

The 【Spirit Plant Infusion】 term, once used, grants a degree of sentience to an otherwise ordinary spiritual plant.

The next instant.

"Gigglegigglegiggle!"

Within Qin Ming's affinity for plant life, a childlike, joyful laugh echoed from inside the Void Bamboo.

"What the—!"

"Could it have developed spiritual awareness?"

Qin Ming exclaimed in surprise.

He nervously attempted to sense it again, but the laughter vanished without a trace.

Then, deep within the core of the bamboo, he discovered a rice-grain-sized embryo, shimmering with a faint green luminescence.

It seemed to be nurturing some peculiar existence.

Breathing in external spiritual energy, it grew steadily in rhythm with the rhythms of heaven and earth.

Qin Ming's expression brightened with excitement: "This infused Void Bamboo has a very high chance of growing directly into a third-grade spiritual bamboo!"

He reached out and stroked the spiritual bamboo, feeling a sense of warmth and familiarity radiating back from it.

"This—"

Qin Ming couldn't determine what kind of sentience the term had bestowed upon the Void Bamboo; even he was uncertain.

Only time would reveal the answer once it matured.

……

Half a day later.

Wu Jiang delivered the letter and returned to Moonwatch Island aboard the Alliance's magic vessel.

"Qin Daoist, I've personally delivered the letter to Grandmistress Gu."

"I also informed her to expedite the matter."

"Grandmistress Gu said she'll reply no later than half a month."

After informing Qin Ming the task was done, he returned to the island, distracted and absent-minded.

Qin Ming didn't need to guess—Wu Jiang had clearly been shaken by the horrific scenes outside.

When piles of cultivator corpses were carried out, it was inevitable to feel the sorrow of kinship.

……

Half a month later.

Qin Ming sent Wu Jiang again to retrieve Su Yuqing's reply.

Upon receiving the jade slip, Qin Ming hurried back to his cave dwelling to examine its contents.

But when he read Su Yuqing's response, he found only a few brief lines: "Brother Qin, this elixir isn't as difficult to refine as imagined. The difficulty doesn't lie in the formula, but in the alchemist himself.

Yan Changkong failed repeatedly because his spiritual soul was too weak to precisely control the blending and adjustment of medicinal properties—he failed to meet the requirements for refining this elixir.

With your spiritual soul strength, refining the Soul-Returning Pill is effortlessly within your grasp.

Brother Qin, don't overthink it. Just boldly attempt one refinement; let all the problems surface naturally.

After that, you'll know exactly how to succeed."

……

After reading, Qin Ming muttered: "That's it?!"

He'd been anxiously waiting over half a month, only to get this answer—the success rate of the Soul-Returning Pill hinges on the alchemist's spiritual soul strength.

"Since Su Yuqing says it won't fail, she won't deceive me. Let's begin." Qin Ming no longer hesitated; he took out the Xuan Jade Crucible from his storage pouch and placed it before him.

He then poured out all the spiritual materials Wei Wuya had given him.

Instantly,

over a hundred rare top-grade spiritual materials from the Wei Kingdom's cultivation world floated silently around him, controlled by his powerful spiritual sense.

After days of studying the formula, he knew every detail of these materials by heart.

Qin Ming's spiritual sense shifted, dividing the materials into twelve portions according to the Soul-Returning Pill's proportions.

He spat out a stream of ice-blue Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame, which took the shape of a firebird and sank into the crucible's base, evenly heating it.

Next,

he began extracting medicinal embryos and preparing medicinal liquors with practiced ease—these steps were as routine as daily meals for this second-grade upper-tier Alchemy Master.

Yet Qin Ming faintly felt he'd overlooked something.

Even so, though he sensed anomalies, he didn't halt his actions, proceeding all the way to the final stage of condensing the pill.

Puff!

A thick black-green smoke erupted from the Xuan Jade Crucible—clearly, the refinement had failed.

Qin Ming waved his hand, opened the crucible lid, and poured out the blackened dregs, pondering the refining process as he observed carefully.

After half a candle's time,

Qin Ming's eyes suddenly brightened—the previously confusing steps now became crystal clear.

He cleared the dregs and began his second refinement.

The earlier steps proceeded as before, but when he reached the medicinal liquor preparation stage, Qin Ming made a change.

A fragment of his spiritual sense moved, suspending a yellow medicinal liquor, rich with earth spiritual energy, directly before him.

Then, using his powerful spiritual sense, he guided the other medicinal liquors representing water, wood, fire, and metal, integrating them into the earth liquor in the order of the Five Elements' mutual generation.

This process tested the cultivator's spiritual soul strength immensely—any slight mistake could instantly turn mutual generation into mutual destruction, triggering elemental conflicts and causing final pill failure.

More importantly, before entering the crucible, he had to maintain the stability of this medicinal mixture with his spiritual sense.

Qin Ming discarded all distractions, focused entirely on the refinement.

Gradually,

a medicinal liquor emitting five-colored halos formed before him, its colors shifting continuously in the rhythm of the Five Elements.

Huh—key step complete. He carefully guided the five-colored liquor into the Xuan Jade Crucible using his spiritual sense.

Boom! As the liquor entered the crucible, the Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame beneath surged in temperature.

Qin Ming's gaze sharpened; he immediately formed hand seals and activated the Pill-Melting Technique for the final condensation.

More than half an hour passed.

Jiu! A clear, resonant chime signaling successful pill formation rang from the crucible.

Yet this time, no exotic fragrance of a high-grade pill emerged.

Nor did any miraculous phenomenon accompany its formation.

"That's odd? Did I fail again?"

Qin Ming immediately reached out, drawing a pill from the crucible with his spiritual sense—it shot toward his palm like a streak of light.

He opened his hand and stared—frozen.

The pill was completely transparent, colorless, and odorless. But he recalled the formula's description of the Soul-Returning Pill, and a smile tugged at his lips.

"Soul-Returning Pill… succeeded."

Succeeding on the second attempt—had Lei Yuanzong's Elder Yan known, he'd likely have been enraged to death.

Qin Ming stored the Soul-Returning Pill and immediately began refining again.

"Since Ancestor Ao is about to fight the demons, I can't use ordinary-grade Soul-Returning Pills."

"According to the formula, premium-grade Soul-Returning Pills can burn a cultivator's lifespan to fuel a temporary surge beyond peak-level cultivation."

"Given Ancestor Ao's cultivation base, he might briefly reach Golden Core mid-stage."

"That would greatly increase his chances against the third-grade Blood Curse Demon Vine."

"Heh—he'll get a nice surprise."

(End of Chapter)