Chapter 224: The Only Choice

A False Golden Core is not a true Spirit Pill, and the method of refining it is completely different from daily pill refining; while it is called pill refining, it is actually more akin to artifact refining.

This reminded Xu Chen of the strange method used in Yuqing Hall to infuse Soul Power into a pill using an Array.

And this method shares the same underlying principle as the refining process of a False Golden Core.

In other words, Yuqing Hall's method of infusing a pill with an Array was not a sudden whim, but actually had a long-standing origin and tradition; it only appeared to be an incredible breakthrough and innovation in the eyes of other sects.

Xu Chen held the Pill Furnace with both hands, simultaneously circulating his cultivation technique to refine Gathering Qi Pills, continuously inputting Yuan Qi into the furnace to control the Array and Spirit Fire, slowly roasting the Soul Bead, while releasing his powerful Divine Sense onto the Soul Bead, attempting to begin carving Array runes onto its surface.

However, after only a few runes were struck onto it, the Soul Bead began to vibrate continuously, and clumps of cold Black Mist sprayed out, subsequently spiraling out of control; a moment later, a powerful aura of Soul Power exploded outward.

"Not good!"

Xu Chen's face twitched, and in an instant, a stream of white mist surged into the Pill Furnace; at the same time, the furnace lid popped open, and the Spirit Fire, wrapped in Black Mist and white mist, rushed out of the furnace, instantly transforming into a hazy, five-colored glow that burned wildly in the stone chamber, the crackling sounds resembling a frying pan, bombarding the entire stone chamber until it was riddled with holes.

It took a full several dozen breaths of time for the Black Mist released by this Soul Bead to be completely neutralized by the white mist, and for the large amount of out-of-control Soul Power to be fully released; the entire stone chamber was left in a mess, as if it had been struck by lightning.

Xu Chen sat on the ground, covered in dust and looking disheveled, his face twitching in a very unsightly manner.

This failure proved that the Soul Bead was indeed not a Demon Beast core, and it was impossible to succeed by following the method of refining a False Golden Core.

In the Mortal World, only Demon Beasts above the Third-Tier possess Demon Beast cores, and their main component is the Qi of Origin Spirit, whereas the main component of a Soul Bead is Soul Power; the two have nothing in common.

Therefore, he no longer needed to test higher-tier Soul Beads, and the larger the Soul Bead, the greater the power generated by an explosion; given his current strength, he absolutely could not control a Soul Bead from a Third-Tier Nether Beast, and if it went out of control, it would not only destroy his only Pill Furnace, but it was estimated that the Feng tribe's lair would also be completely destroyed.

Thus, there were only two choices left, one of which was the Soul Bead of the giant octopus that had been modified by the white mist.

However, this bowl-sized bead with white cloud patterns was essentially still a Soul Bead, and the large amount of components contained within it were still Soul Power, so in Xu Chen's view, there was a ninety percent chance it would not succeed either.

Therefore, for him, there was actually only one choice left, which was the giant pearl obtained from the clam shell.

Xu Chen used his Yuan Qi to sweep all the Soul Beads into his Storage Bracelet, then held the foot-long, peerless giant pearl in both hands.

The pearl emitted a glowing white light, illuminating the stone chamber with extreme clarity.

However, upon closer inspection, one would find that a faint golden luster still flowed across the surface of the pearl.

If this were a Soul Bead, then the level of this clam shell would have reached at least the Fourth-Rank.

But judging from the light emitted by the pearl and the aura it released, it was not a Soul Bead, but rather something full of vitality, carrying a desolate and ancient life force.

He did not know how many years that old clam had lived in the Underworld; let alone this pearl, even the clam shell, which resembled a refined iron coffin, would have required thousands or tens of thousands of years of growth and accumulation.

Xu Chen turned the giant pearl over and over, observing it carefully just as he would when refining an artifact, and after slowly adjusting his breathing to calm his state of mind, he cast the large pearl into the Pill Furnace.

Soon, the raging Spirit Fire began to burn again; inside the Pill Furnace, the large pearl rolled and rotated slightly amidst the crisscrossing light and shadows of the Array, releasing a bright light under the roasting of the Spirit Fire.

Although this was the only choice, Xu Chen actually did not have a single shred of certainty.

Because he did not feel any Spirit Qi from this large pearl.

And when refining pills in a Pill Furnace, one can only use the Five Elements Array and Spirit Fire to refine the Spirit Medicine being processed, removing its impurities and leaving behind the pure essence of Five Elements Spirit Qi.

Therefore, even with the method for refining a False Golden Core, Xu Chen could only conduct the experiment using a component that relied almost entirely on luck.

If he succeeded, he would still have a glimmer of a chance to recover his cultivation ability and would not be trapped here forever.

But if he failed, he would have no other method to recover his dantian and could only wait for death here.

Even if he could use Divine Pattern Battle Techniques, because he lacked the Feng tribe bloodline, his strength would stop progressing, at most exerting strength equivalent to the early stage of the Danyuan Realm.

The only thing that gave him some peace of mind was that even if this attempt failed, the existence of the Blue Light Treasure Bottle allowed him to continuously refine the Mysterious Water Nether Lotus to maintain the white mist's strengthening and repair of his body; even without a dantian, his Meridians would remain in a complete and normal state for a long time, and perhaps there might be other opportunities in the future, but such chances were extremely slim, almost non-existent.

Outside the stone chamber, Feng Feiyi had already put on her clothes and was sitting cross-legged at the entrance.

Just now, at the violent vibration and roar from inside the stone chamber, she had turned around nervously to look at the tightly closed stone door, but she still refrained from asking.

Xu Chen often stayed in the stone chamber for a long time, and frequently made various vibrations and sounds of different sizes; although this vibration was very intense, causing almost the entire cave to shake slightly, as it quickly quieted down, everything seemed to have returned to how it was in the past.

At this moment, while she was concerned about Xu Chen's emotional changes, which made him seem like a different person, she was also constantly sensing her own changes.

She did not know why, but she suddenly felt an incomparable sense of awe and intimacy toward Xu Chen, as if it were an awe for an ancestor from the netherworld; she only wanted to prostrate herself before him to accept his guidance, and she felt unable to refuse even a single word or action of his.

Furthermore, what surprised her was that she had already seen a strange blue Shizi Yuwen Yinjie between her eyebrows through the power of her Soul.

She knew that this was the tribe mark that Xu Chen had helped her activate.

It was just that the shape and color of this tribe mark were different from the tribe marks in the legends of all the tribes in Minghuang, and it was even more incompatible with the Feng tribe, having not the slightest similarity.

In other words, she was no longer a true member of the Feng tribe, but rather a different kind of tribal bloodline.

But which tribe did this tribe mark actually belong to?

Perhaps she would only know once Xu Chen came out.

Additionally, she was also constantly trying to perceive the aura of the Divine Pattern, but unfortunately, from beginning to end, she had gained nothing; the Divine Pattern seemed as if it did not exist at all.

However, regardless of what the tribe mark was, once it appeared, it meant that the ancient bloodline had awakened; perhaps as long as she was pious and brave enough, she would eventually perceive the Divine Pattern Battle Technique that belonged to her.

Unknowingly, time flowed like the black mist in this sunless world, and no one knew how much time had passed.

Feng tribe members came and went to inquire outside the stone chamber, and the five tribes that had arrived were also waiting in burning anxiety.

Outside the stone chamber, Feng Feiyi also kept getting up to leave to eat, drink, and relieve herself, then returned to keep watch.

The heavy stone door, however, was like a seal, showing not the slightest movement.

Inside the stone chamber, Xu Chen sat in front of the Pill Furnace with its raging fire, his eyes tightly closed and his hands held in a void-grasping position, as if he were a stone statue that had not moved for a long time.

On the ground lay five empty Jade Bottles that had contained Spirit Pills.

Having lost his dantian to store Yuan Qi, in order to refine this False Golden Core, he had to rely on continuously consuming Spirit Pills to maintain the pill-refining process.

Five Jade Bottles meant at least fifty Gathering Qi Pills.

If it were an ordinary powerhouse of the Zhenyuan Realm, it would be impossible for them to have prepared so many Qi-replenishing Spirit Pills on their person.

But as one of the only two pill refiners of the Taiyuan Sect, Xu Chen not only knew how to refine them himself, but he had also robbed some back when he was at Yuqing Hall, all of which were kept in his Storage Bracelet; added to the many Spirit Medicines he had, these five bottles were only one-third of his total reserves.

Even so, Xu Chen felt his heart bleeding with pain, but there was nothing he could do; he could only grit his teeth and continue to persevere.

Compared to the consumption of Spirit Pills, the False Golden Core currently being refined in the Pill Furnace was his greatest hope.

Fortunately, in his view, from the beginning until now, the refining process had actually been smooth sailing.

He had continuously struck hundreds of runes and Arrays into the pearl, completing two layers of restrictive Arrays.

At this moment, the large pearl looked a circle smaller, and its light and aura had also changed somewhat; on its surface, one could clearly see dense, crisscrossing lines and colorful rune light and shadows flickering, and coupled with the layer of pale golden light flowing on the surface of the pearl itself, the entire pearl looked like an incomparably exquisite Magic Treasure, floating in the Pill Furnace and shining brilliantly.

In reality, by now, Xu Chen was already roughly certain that this pearl should be the inner core of that large clam shell.

However, the clam shell was a genuine Nether Beast, not a Demon Beast of the Mortal World, so even if a False Golden Core were successfully refined, whether it could be used remained an unknown.

Although Xu Chen appeared steady on the surface, and even felt increasingly delighted during the refining process of the False Golden Core, he was actually still apprehensive and uneasy inside.

After all, if he did not succeed this time, his hope would become even more remote.

Moreover, he had consumed too many Gathering Qi Pills this time; by the time the refining was complete, at least half of his reserves would be spent, and if there were no effect, all that consumption would have been in vain.

(End of this chapter)