Chapter 791: Spirit Refining in the Great Thousand World

"He… what is he doing?"

"I heard this Fire God Mountain Cauldron has reached Supreme Grade Divine Artifact level—it was obtained by this Yan Zunzhe from Xue Tong a few months ago, and because he made enemies with the Heavenly Saint Sect, he probably hasn't used it yet." Someone who had witnessed some of it explained.

"It doesn't seem like he's never used the Fire God Mountain Cauldron—I feel like he doesn't even know how to operate an Alchemy Furnace."

Xiao Yan's every move naturally drew attention, but when everyone saw him acting like a naive fool, studying how to activate the Spirit Array on the Alchemy Furnace, they exchanged bewildered glances.

"Could it be he's never used an Alchemy Furnace before? Then how did he refine Pills in the past?"

"Do you think he might be from the Lower Plane, so he never had access to a Great Thousand World Alchemy Furnace?" someone ventured.

"Lower Plane? Hahaha, impossible! Where would the Lower Plane get an Earth Supreme? Those are just country bumpkins from the Lower Plane. If this Yan Zunzhe really came from the Lower Plane, he probably wouldn't even know what Pill Alchemy is."

"That's true—the Lower Plane is still the Lower Plane; they might not even know what an Elixir is."

After fiddling for a long while, Xiao Yan finally understood the structure of the Alchemy Furnace. It was amusing—Pill Refining in the Great Thousand World had independently arrived at the same idea he once proposed on the Dou Qi Continent: using Arrays to assist Pill Alchemy, lowering the difficulty and allowing more Alchemists to leverage external forces for easier advancement.

The Great Thousand World's forging techniques were far superior to those of the Dou Qi Continent. If judged purely by quality, this Supreme Grade Divine Artifact Alchemy Furnace rivaled the top three furnaces on the Heaven Cauldron List—and the Fire God Mountain Cauldron even had a Spirit Array, offering far greater assistance to Pill Alchemy than any furnace on the Dou Qi Continent's Heaven Cauldron List.

"My master was right—learning has no limits. I still have much to learn," Xiao Yan nodded seriously. He had already reached the peak of Pill Alchemy on the Dou Qi Continent; he could confidently say that even the ancient Yao Di's Pill Alchemy could not surpass his own.

The reason was simple: Pill Alchemy had evolved over tens of thousands of years and far surpassed ancient methods—many techniques had been discarded or improved. That's why, despite the Yao Clan possessing Dou Di Bloodline, vast resources, and deep inheritance, they were still surpassed by the Dan Tower.

Precisely because Pill Alchemy on the continent had begun to outpace the past, and when the Soul Sovereign invaded the Yao Realm, Xiao Yan, while breaking through to Imperial Soul in the Yao Realm, had fully absorbed the Yao Clan's Pill Refining Inheritance—effectively consolidating the entire Dou Qi Continent's Pill Alchemy legacy—and then forged his own path, creating the Formula for the All-Beings Breakthrough Emperor Pill and refining an Emperor Pill.

Xiao Yan glanced at Xiao Yixian, who was checking the medicinal materials for him, and smiled: "Xiao Yixian, throw all the medicinal materials in."

Xiao Yixian had no qualms about acting as Xiao Yan's Pill Acolyte; she dumped all the verified medicinal materials into the Alchemy Furnace at once.

The Recovery Spirit Sovereign Pill, if ranked by Dou Qi Continent standards, would be equivalent to a Nine Grade Profound Pill—no challenge at all for Xiao Yan.

"Are you insane?!!"

Seeing Xiao Yan place the Fire God Mountain Cauldron, activate its Spirit Array, and then have the plain-dressed woman beside him hurl every single medicinal material into the Alchemy Furnace, many were stunned. No one refined Pills this way—every cultivator knew that extracting medicinal properties was an art.

When to add which herb, when to introduce the solvent, the nature of the materials—even their age—were all critical. One misstep could ruin an entire batch.

Yet Xiao Yan, aside from the Sovereign Spirit Liquid as the energy source, had simply tossed everything in—this was utterly outrageous.

The Alchemy Furnace contained its own space; though the medicinal materials were numerous, once inside, they vanished like drops into the ocean.

But the next second, something even more shocking happened: Xiao Yan placed his hand on the Alchemy Furnace and activated the Spirit Array within using Spiritual Energy, releasing a Spiritual Energy Flame—not using a Heavenly Flame!!

The flame was strong, given this was a Supreme Grade Divine Artifact Alchemy Furnace, but compared to Cao Zi's special fire seed, it was weak, dim, and seemed ready to extinguish at any moment.

"What is he doing?! Is he even refining Pills?!!"

"This guy's just boiling soup."

Everyone was dumbfounded—this wasn't Pill Alchemy at all. Throwing everything in was like stir-frying? And even stir-frying requires stronger fire than this.

At this moment, every medicinal material began burning from within—but the flame was so pitifully weak that the extraction speed was excruciatingly slow.

Although Xiao Yan was refining all materials simultaneously, the flame came only from the Alchemy Furnace's Spirit Array and was weaker—gradually, Cao Zi completed the extraction first.

Time passed, day turned to night, and without realizing it, the two had refined for a full day and night. Outside the peak of Fire God Mountain, silence reigned—even the entire Fire Realm was utterly still.

Countless eyes watched Cao Zi and Xiao Yan refine their Pills, especially Cao Zi—he was an Alchemist from the ancient Wancao Prairie. Though his cultivation was inferior to Xiao Yan's, Pill Alchemy wasn't about raw power.

For countless powerful cultivators, a single Pill could solve many problems. Rumor had it that a Grandmaster Alchemist could refine an entire continent into a Pill, helping a Perfect Earth Supreme break through to Sky Supreme!

Not every Lower Plane had a Planetary Core. Some continents had never birthed one; others had already used theirs and needed eons to form a new one.

Some Alchemists even created artificial Planetary Cores—Pills.

Of course, neither Xiao Yan nor Cao Zi was anywhere near that level.

Finally, the critical moment arrived: Cao Zi opened the Alchemy Furnace, and instantly, a vast surge of energy shot skyward. On the Dou Qi Continent, one inserted a Magic Core to refine Pills—but in the Great Thousand World, Alchemists used self-formulated Energy Solutions instead.

Usually, Sovereign Spirit Liquid served as the energy source—but Cao Zi pulled out a red bottle.

When Cao Zi withdrew the Red Jade Bottle from his Storage Space, a violent surge of Life Force startled many present.

"It's the ancient Wancao Prairie's Blood Spirit Liquid!" someone recognized it and shouted.

"What's Blood Spirit Liquid? Isn't Sovereign Spirit Liquid used for Pill Alchemy?" a novice Alchemist asked.

"You don't understand. The first step in Pill Alchemy is extracting medicinal properties, then fusing them. After that, you must add an energy source—Sovereign Spirit Liquid. Do you think the Spiritual Energy inside Pills appears out of nowhere?"

"Usually, Sovereign Spirit Liquid is used because it's the purest source of Spiritual Energy. But the ancient Wancao Prairie had a unique Blood Spirit Liquid—made by mixing Spiritual Beast blood with Sovereign Spirit Liquid. It contains immense Spiritual Energy and terrifying Life Force, making it ideal for Healing Pills—it's their exclusive solvent!"

Cao Zi glanced at Xiao Yan, who was still extracting medicinal materials, and sneered: "Hmph, I don't know where you learned your Pill Alchemy, but Wancao Prairie's Blood Spirit Liquid is far more precious and advanced than Sovereign Spirit Liquid—it will elevate the quality of the Healing Pill. You've already lost."

Xiao Yan glanced at the Blood Spirit Liquid in Cao Zi's hand, then looked away and said: "Then I'll see just how impressive Wancao Prairie's secret formula really is. Just don't cheat after you lose."

Seeing Xiao Yan remain so nonchalant, Cao Zi's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing—*Fine. Originally, if you'd handed over your Heavenly Flame and that High-Rank Sacred Object, I might've spared your life. Since you're so eager to die, I'll make you wish you were dead. *

Cao Zi sneered inwardly and poured the Blood Spirit Liquid into the furnace. As it flowed in, its bloodlike amber glow tugged at every spectator's heartstrings—nothing in the world seemed more alluring.

"Roar!!!"

As the Blood Spirit Liquid entered, a chorus of ten thousand beasts roared like a storm—ferocious, brutal, as if monstrous beasts sought to overturn the heavens.

This was Wancao Prairie's exclusive Blood Spirit Liquid—its formula unknown. The Spiritual Beasts whose blood it contained had been terrifyingly fierce, invincible—even after death, their power endured within the liquid.

As the Blood Spirit Liquid was refined, it transformed into a powerful Spiritual Beast, trying to burst open the Alchemy Furnace and escape.

This was the moment to test an Alchemist's strength. Cao Zi's Spiritual Energy surged skyward—he unleashed a Great Divine Ability, instantly activating his Nine-Pin Sovereign cultivation to force the Alchemy Furnace to unleash its divine might.

For Alchemists, the Alchemy Furnace was their Divine Weapon. In the Great Thousand World, Alchemists wielded Alchemy Furnaces and special fire seeds—their combat power was no weaker than others'.

In fact, ancient Alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent were already formidable—they knew Fire Control Techniques and fought using fire. But later, the Yao Clan and Yan Clan monopolized Fire Control Dou Techniques.

As a result, many Alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent lost knowledge of Fire Control Techniques. Xiao Yan had only ever met Heavenly Flame Zunzhe, who knew them.

In this instant, the Alchemy Furnace—once owned by a Pill Alchemy Master—erupted with overwhelming divine power, suppressing the Blood Spirit Liquid's roar.

Cao Zi stomped the earth, his Sovereign Form manifesting—a divine tree swaying, within which SpiritFlame rose and fell. In that moment, Cao Zi channeled Heaven and Earth's power through his immense strength.

"The Eighty-Second Ranked Fire Tree Hundred Medicines Body—it's a Sovereign Form created by a powerful ancient Wancao Prairie Alchemist, enhancing Fire Control Power and elevating Pill quality!"

"I didn't expect Cao Zi obtained the Fire Tree Hundred Medicines Body—Wancao Prairie clearly holds him in high regard."

"Now the final step—absorbing Heaven and Earth's power to form the Pill!"

At this moment, it seemed as if all the Heaven and Earth Power of Fire God Mountain was at Cao Zi's command. His massive Sovereign Form opened its mouth and inhaled—the Spiritual Energy of Fire God Mountain surged like flames, merging with the Sovereign Form's refinement and flowing into the Alchemy Furnace.

In mere moments, Cao Zi subdued the Blood Spirit Liquid, infused Heavenly Energy, and the Pill inside the furnace emitted a faint glow.

"Remarkable! Though I can't see clearly, this ancient Wancao Grassland technique truly has its merits." Seeing Cao Zi's method, the Wood Spirit Tribe Elder couldn't help but exclaim.

He had cultivated Pill Alchemy, but lacking talent, he never joined the ancient Wancao Grassland and could not learn its more refined Pill Refining Methods.

Countless Alchemists present were astonished by Cao Zi's technique; even more were utterly entranced. Though many failed to steal his methods, they gained vast experience in Spirit Refining.

When Cao Zi began drawing in Heaven and Earth Power to complete the Pill, everything changed—suddenly, the entire peak and a hundred li around were shrouded in Pill Qi.

Within this Pill Qi, a medicinal fragrance radiated; anyone who smelled it instantly felt refreshed. No matter who smelled this fragrance, their fatigue vanished as if swept away.

An extraordinary sensation spread through the body, as if it had returned to its peak state.

"It's about to form!"

At this moment, those watching were even more tense than Cao Zi; for most, regardless of how the bet ended, they all hoped both men would successfully refine the Pills.

Betting on Pills was extremely rare in the Great Thousand World.

Hum—a sound rose as countless clouds and mists gathered above the Fire Realm. When these clouds piled like an ocean, a black vortex appeared above Cao Zi's head, and from within it came a sound, growing louder and louder.

"Here it comes—the Black God Thunder Cloud! If you survive the Black God Thunder, the Pill will surely succeed!" Seeing the sound in the sky's vortex grow louder and gradually turn black, an Elder Alchemist cried out.

Black God Thunder is akin to Heaven's trial—not only does Spirit Refining attract it, but some Spiritual Beasts also draw it when breaking through to Divine Beast Bloodline at the Supreme realm.

Of course, as on the Dou Qi Continent, the strength of Black God Thunder depends on the quality of the Pill being refined—the higher the quality and rank, the stronger and more numerous the thunder.

Black sound waves, like gentle ripples, spread outward from the Black Basin.

Boom—! As everyone watched in tense astonishment, thunder roared suddenly from the horizon. They looked up and froze: within the Black Cloud, faint shapes of thunder, like black dragons, stirred quietly.

A force of destruction emanated from the Black God Thunder Cloud.

Naturally, this time they were refining only a Two-Rank to Third-Rank Supreme Pill, so the thunder summoned was naturally weak; the contest was about Pill quality, not rank.

With Cao Zi's strength, he easily withstood the Black God Thunder—three strikes total, proving the Pill reached Third-Rank.

"Success!"

"Damn, this is my first time seeing someone refine a Pill."

"I recall the Recovery Spirit Sovereign Pill is only a Two-Rank Spiritual Pill—but drawing three Black God Thunders means its quality surpasses the Recovery Spirit Sovereign Pill!"

(End of Chapter)