Chapter 418: Pill Refining

On the main peak of Wangyue Island, within the Small Xiao Lingjing.

Qin Ming completed his daily cultivation technique practice and opened his ink-black eyes from his meditative state.

His innate spiritual plant, the Yin-Yang Profound Vine, provided ample Qi of Years and essence of vegetation whenever he cultivated.

From his body, strands of rich vegetation essence constantly overflowed and scattered in all directions.

Beside Qin Ming.

His three spiritual pets all lay obediently and quietly nearby, absorbing the vegetation essence with great enjoyment, which was highly beneficial for advancing their cultivation.

At this very moment.

Inside the wooden box thrown not far from the Small Xiao Lingjing, the Old Demon Qingyang's heart was already in turmoil.

His eyes bulged out, and with a face full of disbelief, he cried out in shock: "How is this possible?! The tenth layer of the 'Green Emperor Art' is complete!"

"And the Green Emperor Wood Emperor Sacred Body has reached minor success..."

"What background does this kid have? How did he cultivate to this point? Could it be that one of those old monsters from the sect has reincarnated to cultivate again?"

"No, no, even I am in such a sorry state; those other old fellows couldn't have done it either."

"It is simply inconceivable!"

For a moment, Old Demon Qingyang's gaze flickered incessantly as he pondered every possibility, yet he dared not make a sound rashly.

He was confined within the wooden box, and for now, he could still view the scenery within the Small Xiao Lingjing.

If Qin Ming found him noisy and threw him into a storage bag, it would be pitch dark forever... "Sigh! Young people are still too impetuous! They do not understand respecting the old and caring for the young."

"Threatening to scatter one's soul and destroy one's spirit at the slightest provocation..."

"If not for my cleverness, I fear I would have already reunited with that kid Lin Zi."

After finishing his cultivation, Qin Ming came before the medicinal garden.

Irrigated by the Earth Heart Spirit Spring, the many high-grade spiritual plants he had gathered from Great Jin were all growing lushly, brimming with vitality.

He took out a piece of spiritual wood, bent down, and gently plucked a lotus-shaped spiritual plant; this flower was wreathed in spiritual essence throughout, with seven-colored rosy light emanating from its petals, appearing truly miraculous.

It was precisely one of the main materials for refining the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill: the "Seven Orifices Tribulation Crossing Flower."

Ever since Qin Ming obtained this spiritual plant, he had continuously used the 【Regenerative Spirit Seed】 trait and the 【Space-Time Leaf】 trait to accelerate the growth of a full three plants for the purpose of refining pills, which should surely be enough.

Subsequently.

Within his spiritual herb garden, Qin Ming proceeded to pick and collect the other medicinal ingredients required for pill refining one by one.

This was the terror of a high-grade Spiritual Plant Grandmaster! No matter what pill needed to be refined, one could grow it oneself, achieving a self-sufficient supply.

There was absolutely no need to worry about a shortage of spiritual materials.

Just then.

Old Demon Qingyang, who had been thrown not far away, relied on his extensive knowledge to recognize at a glance the pill Qin Ming was preparing to refine.

'Seven Orifices Tribulation Crossing Flower, Illusory Extinguishing Cold Heart Grass, Nine Desires Severing Separation Ganoderma.'

'Th-this is...'

'Could it be... that this kid intends to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?'

Thinking of this, Old Demon Qingyang couldn't help but inhale a sharp breath of cold air! Because Nascent Soul cultivators, even in ancient times, were masters of great divine abilities; unless one possessed great fortune, it was impossible to achieve so easily.

Throughout history, those whose cultivation realm reached this stage were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Countless peerless geniuses had been blocked by this heavenly chasm.

'Sigh! I am truly unlucky to the extreme! Why didn't I meet him sooner?'

'Lin Zi truly misled me!!'

'If not for my cleverness in keeping a trick up my sleeve, I would have almost turned into bubbles along with him...'

Immediately, Old Demon Qingyang hesitated for a moment, cleared his throat lightly, put on an air of profound mystery, and tentatively spoke in a soft voice:

"Ahem! Ahem!"

"Young Friend Qin, please allow this old man to ask a presumptuous question."

"Are these spiritual herbs and medicines you are picking intended for refining the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

"To be honest, this old man still has a slight bit of experience in refining this pill."

"If Young Friend Qin does not mind..."

Just then, Qin Ming furrowed his brows and interrupted his words.

"You claim to be from the ancient Qingyuan Sect; how can you prove it?"

"Merely being able to recognize the 'Green Emperor Art' I cultivate is not enough."

"Your Excellency is filled with demonic Qi; surely you have nothing to do with a righteous famous sect, do you?"

Hearing this, Old Demon Qingyang's expression stalled for a moment, then he laughed dryly with considerable confidence: "Young Friend Qin's 'Green Emperor Art' must have been transmitted to you by the remnant soul of that Mo Qingshan, correct?"

"Mo Qingshan was the last generation's Transmission Elder of our sect; ahem, to be honest with you, he was precisely the disciple I cultivated."

"As for the demonic technique I cultivate, it naturally also originates from the Qingyuan Sect; as long as one can achieve longevity, the technique itself holds no distinction between good or bad, righteous or demonic."

A wave of surprise arose in Qin Ming's heart; seeing the other party speak so convincingly, it seemed his words were not false, yet he still did not immediately believe Old Demon Qingyang.

These old monsters from ancient times were all incredibly cunning, so one naturally had to keep an extra eye open.

He was different from Lin Zi; when it came to bargaining with a tiger, even if it meant abandoning some opportunities, he was unwilling to take the risk of getting involved.

After all, he held traits in his hand, and the Great Dao of Longevity was within reach.

Thus, he asked again: "Then are you clear on what exactly is going on with that ancient secret realm of the Qingyuan Sect in the southern region of Great Jin?"

"Ah? A secret realm? What secret realm?" Old Demon Qingyang was stunned, somewhat confused.

Seeing this, Qin Ming's face immediately darkened! He directly made a void grab with his five fingers, lifted the wooden box from the ground, and suddenly exerted force, intending to destroy it along with the spiritual entity inside.

Old Demon Qingyang was so frightened that his scalp went numb, suddenly feeling a tremendous pressure assault him, nearly causing his soul to fly beyond the heavens.

"Alas! Oh, oh! Qin Xiaoyou, stop!"

"This old man remembers now; could you be referring to that Qingyuan Sect mountain gate suppressed by the Seven Wonders Treasure Tree?"

Hearing that the other party even recognized such a thing as the 'Seven Wonders Treasure Tree,' Qin Ming immediately let go and set down the wooden box.

"Continue speaking."

Having escaped death by a hair's breadth, the Qingyang Old Demon gasped heavily several times before explaining, "That place is indeed the Qingyuan Sect mountain gate, but how could it be any sect's secret realm?"

"Although the treasures left inside are indeed numerous, even including opportunities for Soul Transformation..."

"... this place is clearly where our sect's Patriarch self-sealed himself; that Seven Wonders Treasure Tree was precisely the object used to suppress the seal."

"For hundreds of thousands of years, the fact that no mishaps occurred relied entirely on this object."

"Judging by Qin Xiaoyou's tone, could it be that you have actually seen this spiritual plant?"

"The Patriarch of the Ancient Qingyuan Sect?"

"What exactly is going on?" Qin Ming asked in confusion.

"Did that junior Mo Qingshan not tell you when transmitting his teachings?"

"As early as the ancient era, the Qingyuan Sect underwent a great upheaval, splitting into two different schools; one lineage primarily cultivated demonic arts and was relatively radical, while the other primarily cultivated the 'Green Emperor Art' and was more gentle."

"The lineage I inherited stems precisely from that demonic path; later, our Patriarch walked the demonic path while cultivating until he reached a point of being unable to control himself, slaughtering more than half of the sect's disciples; if he had been allowed to continue developing like that, the situation would have been unimaginable."

"However, the Patriarch had already reached the Soul Transformation stage long ago, so no one could stop him; thus, while his mind was briefly clear and a sliver of reason remained, my lord the Patriarch dismissed all the sect's disciples, utilized the Seven Wonders Treasure Tree to unleash a great divine ability, and sealed himself within the mountain gate, never to emerge for eternity."

After hearing the Qingyang Old Demon's account, Qin Ming's expression inevitably changed.

If everything the other party said was true, did that not mean that the Great Li Demonic Path and the Divine Dao Mountain had overreached and botched the job?

It was true that the Ancient Qingyuan Sect contained numerous treasures and opportunities, but the danger within was obviously even greater; even if wealth moved people's hearts, having no life to enjoy it equated to zero.

"How about it, Qin Xiaoyou? Now you should believe me, right? Although I cultivate the demonic path, I am the most trustworthy of all."

"This old man can also guide you on how to refine the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill, thereby greatly increasing the pill formation rate, or even the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill, hehe! You only need to let this old man stay upon that Star Sea Divine Vine for a few days."

The Qingyang Old Demon spoke with earnest sincerity and gentle guidance, finally revealing his true purpose! Qin Ming looked utterly disdainful, directly tossed the wooden box containing the other's spiritual soul into his storage bag without a second word, and snorted, "Hmph! Old Ghost, you want to swindle me? You'd better go inside there and settle down for a while before saying anything else."

"Young man! You have no martial ethics!" the Qingyang Old Demon shouted in fury and frustration.

It seemed that after he had talked until his mouth was nearly dry, full of sincerity, he still hadn't moved the other party in the slightest.

It was truly too deceptive!

Inside the Small Xiao Lingjing.

After hearing the Qingyang Old Demon's words, Qin Ming believed only thirty percent of them; since the other could mix with Lin Zi, he naturally would not trust him easily, so it was best to remain wary.

'However, if everything is truly as the Qingyang Old Demon claimed...'

'Even if the several Nascent Soul powers successfully opened the Qingyuan Sect's mountain gate secret realm, once those Nascent Soul old monsters enter, it will be enough to give them a good drink (a hard time).'

Immediately after, he paid no further attention to the Qingyang Old Demon.

He entered the pill refining room directly, took out the third-grade superior Wind Thunder Cauldron, and prepared to begin attempting to refine the first batch of pills.

Qin Ming possessed the complete pill refining strategy given to him by Su Yuqing, with every step and every crucial point to note marked with absolute clarity.

During his time in Great Jin, he had already thoroughly mastered the refinement methods for both the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill and the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill.

Coupled with decades of painstaking research and realization regarding the two fourth-grade pill dao inheritances, the 'Source Dao Pill Classic' and the 'Blood Refinement Pill Classic'...

... it was no exaggeration to say that Qin Ming now held extremely high confidence in refining these two fourth-grade pills used to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

He had absolutely no need for the Qingyang Old Demon's guidance.

This caused the Old Demon's careful calculations to come to naught.

Qin Ming prioritizing the refinement of the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill was also the result of careful consideration.

Firstly, using this pill to practice would increase the success rate for subsequently refining the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill, after all, the difficulty of refining the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill was several times greater.

Secondly, it could serve to warm up the cauldron and improve one's touch.

When a skill is cultivated to a certain profound level, it relies heavily on one's touch, emphasizing the feeling of completing everything in one breath during actual performance.

It is not something that can be achieved merely by accumulating vast amounts of knowledge.

In short, there is no other secret; it is simply mastery through repetition.

This is why, even the most heaven-defying genius pill refiner requires massive resources to be fed to them to emerge.

The next moment.

Qin Ming released his divine sense, comparable to that of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, controlling all spiritual materials in mid-air.

Subsequently, following the pill formula, he began extracting the medicinal embryos from the spiritual materials one by one.

Half a day later.

Clumps of medicinal embryos emitting five-colored lights floated before Qin Ming.

The exotic fragrances of various high-grade spiritual materials filled the air and spread everywhere.

The hand seals in his hands constantly transformed as he began combining the medicinal embryos and compounding the medicinal liquid.

This step was extremely critical; even the slightest deviation in quantity would cause the subsequent pill refinement to fail completely.

Fortunately, Qin Ming's soul power was extremely powerful, allowing him to control the quantities with perfect precision even on his first attempt.

Immediately after.

Qin Ming began urging the Devouring Spirit Poison Flame to heat the pill cauldron evenly without interruption, regulating the fire intensity.

When the timing was about right, he threw the compounded medicinal liquid into the pill cauldron and began casting spells to fuse the liquid and condense the pill.

This cycle repeated over and over.

Qin Ming sat fixed like an old monk, remaining in the pill refining room for over half a month.

After experiencing this several times, he gradually summarized his experience, and finally, on the seventh attempt, a crisp pill chime rang out from within the pill cauldron.

'Jiu!' Qin Ming's face instantly lit up with joy.

"I didn't expect the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill to be refined successfully so smoothly; thanks to Brother Su sharing his experience."

An intensely rich pill fragrance rushed to his nose!

The next moment.

From within the Feng Lei Ding, two streams of Yin and Yang Qi erupted, bursting directly through the pill refining room and forming a strange heavenly phenomenon across the entire Small Xiao Lingjing.

Spiritual essence of black and white hues coiled in the sky above, swirling densely without dispersing, radiating an aura of the Dao.

Even the Shi Tian Shu dozing by the lake was startled awake; it rubbed its eyes in disbelief and murmured:

"What pill has Master refined again to trigger such a phenomenon!"

Inside the pill refining room.

Qin Ming, face beaming with joy, waved his hand toward the pill furnace.

Two fourth-grade spiritual pills of Yin and Yang colors immediately fell into his palm.

The pills radiated astonishing spiritual essence from head to toe, as twelve distinct Dao marks suddenly surfaced! "The Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill—finally refined."

At this very moment, it meant he had not only taken a step closer to the Nascent Soul stage but also fully entered the realm of a fourth-grade Su Danwang.

Immediately after.

Qin Ming, striking while the iron was hot, took out a full set of spiritual materials for refining the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill.

With the feel of successfully refining the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill still fresh, his confidence surged instantly.

To ripen these spiritual materials, he had nearly exhausted his years of accumulated 【Space-Time Leaf】 trait.

After all, the five main ingredients required for refining the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill often needed to be medicinal herbs aged several thousand years or more.

Qin Ming sealed the two refined Ice Heart Jade Soul Pills inside a jade bottle and stored it within his storage bag.

Then, without a moment's rest, he set about refining the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill.

Inside the storage bag.

The Qingyang Yan Laomo, inside the wooden box, was suppressing his anger and stifling his desires to calm the fury from earlier.

"Clang!"

An exquisite jade bottle was tossed in; Qingyang Yan Laomo first looked at it with confusion, then sensed the pill aura within the vessel.

His eyes instantly widened, and unable to believe it, he cried out in shock:

"Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill?!"

"Impossible! How could this kid have refined it so quickly?"

(End of Chapter)