https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-691-Dragon-like-Control-the-Realm-of-Heaven-and-Earth/12942669/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-693-Spirit-Sculpting-Holy-Spring-Quintessence-Body/12942673/
Chapter 692: Source Power's Return, Shaking the Pill World
Chapter 692: Source Power's Return, Shaking the Pill World
Pills are divided into nine stages, with the first three being ordinary spiritual pills.
From the fourth stage onwards, due to the exceptional and unique nature of the pill, they are referred to as Golden Core pills.
Even if the grade reaches the ninth stage, they can still be collectively called Nine-Cycle Golden Core pills!
Among these various stages, only the fifth-stage pills are somewhat different, symbolizing "holiness."
Whether it's a divine pill or a sacred medicine, it contains the essence of heaven and earth.
Therefore, in the Central Continent of the Mountain and Sea Realm, there is an existence known as the Pill Saint, solely because he is capable of refining fifth-stage sacred medicines.
When Luo Chen first entered the path of pill refinement, he had countless fantasies and even boasted that one day he would rival the Pill Saint.
But that was just an empty boast.
However, he never expected that one day, he would truly attempt such a grand endeavor.
The reason why grand endeavors are called grand is that they are not something ordinary people can accomplish.
One month later.
On the peak of Jue Dian, within the Primordial Cauldron, a booming sound reverberated.
The powerful medicinal power broke through the pill's restraints, forming a circular ripple that swept through the surroundings.
Boom!
Luo Chen's sleeves fluttered, dispersing a large amount of impact, but a small amount of residual force still hit him, sending him flying hundreds of zhang away.
On the ground, the Energy Armor surged, as the Xuanchen Armor spontaneously generated it to block the residual impact.
Luo Chen slowly flew back, his face gloomy.
Failure came faster than he had imagined.
Moreover, the degree of failure was somewhat difficult to accept.
Even at the first stage of decomposing and merging the medicinal ingredients, a flaw appeared.
The main ingredient, the Yaochen Jujube, although not yet spiritual, contained an extremely pure power. It was this power that hindered his refinement.
Approaching the Primordial Cauldron, he waved his sleeves to disperse the nauseating pill odor. Luo Chen personally entered the cauldron.
After a while, he took out a large pile of charred medicinal residue.
Spreading it on the jade plaque prepared in advance, Luo Chen carefully studied it.
Half a month later, Luo Chen's expression slightly relaxed.
"The technique and steps are correct, but there's a flaw in the details."
"As expected, since the system has granted me entry, it recognizes that I possess the ability to successfully refine this pill. I must carefully study these details."
Luo Chen fell into deep thought.
...
Half a month later, the pill refinement process began anew.
This time, Luo Chen slowed down the process of decomposing and melting the medicinal ingredients.
Not only that, but he also opened his Spirit Eyes, ensuring he didn't miss even the slightest detail.
It must be said that the Spirit Eyes Technique, which he had cultivated to Great Perfection at a young age, played a significant role in Luo Chen's cultivation throughout his life. Whether it was array formation pill refinement or combat, it repeatedly demonstrated its remarkable effectiveness.
As he embarked on refining the fifth-stage divine pill, it further empowered Luo Chen.
Just for this first step, Luo Chen spent a full three months to barely succeed.
As a result, the price he paid was swollen eyes with bloodshot veins.
Once the Derivative Pill is refined, the pill refinement process cannot be interrupted.
Even with his eyes feeling uncomfortable, Luo Chen still persisted with the subsequent steps.
This pill refinement technique was not a conventional single method but a combination of three techniques: water, fire, and qi laws, with the final step being the qi technique.
Fire technique pill refinement was Luo Chen's forte.
As for water technique pill refinement, he had refined the Imperial Flow Paste and Black Emperor Paste countless times over the years.
Therefore, everything seemed to fall into place naturally.
Another three months later, Luo Chen was filled with anticipation.
"The fusion of medicinal power is just one step away. Next, I'll use the Qi Technique to refine the pill with the Qi Law."
Just then, a moment of mental relaxation, and a low rumble emanated from the pill cauldron.
"This..."
Luo Chen was taken aback, already sensing that something was amiss.
Indeed, as he perceived, the pill within the cauldron was not yet formed and unable to absorb qi and gather spirits.
"It's just one step away from success!"
Luo Chen clenched his teeth, filled with regret.
But no matter how much regret he felt, he could only swallow it and move on.
He cleaned the pill cauldron, collected the medicinal residue, studied the failed pill, reflected on himself, and followed the familiar process he had gone through countless times over a hundred years.
Starting over from the beginning was something he was more familiar with than anyone else.
...
Still, it was that same peak.
It had been fifteen years since Luo Chen entered the Demon Annihilation Land, fourteen years since he entered the Pill World, two years since he entered the fifth gate, and more than a year since he started refining the Derivative Pill.
In this year, he had opened the pill cauldron to refine the pill seven times.
All seven attempts ended in failure, each for different reasons.
Sometimes, it was due to improper handling of the main ingredient, or the fusion of medicinal power went awry. There were also times when, due to long-term tension, his mental state faltered, leading to a single misstep with dire consequences. Additionally, there were instances where his insufficient cultivation caused the Golden Core and Yuan Dan to disconnect abruptly, halting the process.
The most severe failure occurred when the formed Derivative Pill directly exploded, and the terrifying and surging medicinal power shook his Primordial Cauldron, causing it to tremble uncontrollably.
If not for the exceptional quality of the Primordial Cauldron, any other treasure-grade pill cauldron would have been shattered to pieces.
Although the fifth gate had backup pill refinement tools left by the Heavenforge Demonic Lord, Luo Chen still preferred his own life-bound treasure.
And the most severe failure happened not long ago.
Luo Chen rested for half a month, not only recovering his cultivation but also tempering and nurturing the Primordial Cauldron.
He sat cross-legged on the mountain peak, still reflecting.
Not only was he reflecting on the causes of past failures, but he was also reviewing his pill refinement progress over the past year.
For Luo Chen, cross-stage pill refinement, even in failure, brought abundant gains.
Firstly, the Prosper-Doom True Flame's spirituality became more vibrant!
With a thought, a flame emerged from the top of his head, eventually forming a green fire tree.
As the fire tree swayed, it spewed out fire, its branches and leaves forming a canopy.
The firelight spread, resembling a green canopy, with strands hanging down to cover Luo Chen's head.
Feeling the fire tree's vibrant vitality, Luo Chen couldn't help but feel delighted.
After the Blazing Hell devoured a large amount of Sourceless Fire, the Prosper-Doom True Flame's spirituality surged, but Luo Chen found it somewhat challenging to control this withered flame, resulting in its power being less concentrated.
At this moment, after more than a decade of pill refinement in the Pill World and the refinement of the Derivative Pill, Luo Chen gradually regained his ability to control the Prosper-Doom True Flame with precision.
He made a hand seal, and the fire tree's branches gently brushed down.
In the void, ripples spread in layers.
Witnessing this, Luo Chen was extremely satisfied.
"This is the true power of my Prosper-Doom True Flame!"
"If I were to face the Shark Emperor now, even without the advantage of the Blazing Hell's terrain, I could still have a four-six chance of victory solely relying on the Prosper-Doom True Flame."
Action: None
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"Even if I became a different Nascent Soul True Man, the Prosper-Doom True Flame could still be a powerful killing move!"
The hand seals dispersed, and a green fire tree entered Luo Chen's body.
This was just the first harvest.
The second harvest was within Luo Chen's Qi Sea.
A crimson and a pure white Golden Core rotated in a Yin-Yang balance, responding to each other endlessly.
The Celestial Phoenix Nirvana Scripture was activated, and the two streams of spiritual power flowed in and out, or they were absorbed by the pill individually.
This seamless connection of spiritual power was the second harvest Luo Chen gained from his failure in spiritual power connection.
In the past, he had never paid attention to this shortcoming.
The second Golden Core's spiritual power was used up, and if he used his original Golden Core, there was no need to consider the connection.
It was after that failure that he slightly adjusted the spiritual power between the two Golden Cores, thus achieving this seamless connection.
At this point, although the original Golden Core and the second Golden Core had the distinction of being the main and the secondary, they were essentially no different."
If Luo Chen could advance to the Nascent Soul stage, he would have a great chance of condensing a second Nascent Soul according to the Yuan Dan Technique taught by Han Zhan!"
At that time, Luo Chen, upon entering the Nascent Soul stage, might possess formidable combat power.
At the very least, he would not be weaker than Han Zhan's Nascent Soul puppet!
The third harvest was the Primordial Cauldron, his original treasure!
After seven attempts at refining the Law-Derived Pill, seven failures, and with each failure, the Primordial Cauldron suffered some minor damage.
After Luo Chen nourished and repaired it, he unknowingly discovered that the Primordial Cauldron showed signs of further progress.
Moreover, he found that the cauldron's ability to suppress and capture had increased several times over!
After careful analysis, Luo Chen vaguely realized that the materials of the Law-Derived Pill had been absorbed by the cauldron, leading to this change.
At this point, Luo Chen wasn't sure if it was the cauldron refining the pill or the pill refining the cauldron.
After a moment of reflection, Luo Chen snapped back to reality.
He sighed softly.
"What's the point of more harvests?"
"If the Law-Derived Pill isn't completed in one day, it's all in vain!"
"Will it succeed the next time?"
For a moment, he wasn't even sure if the system rule of a guaranteed success after ten attempts would still apply.
This was because the fifth-stage divine pill completely exceeded his understanding of the Pill Path.
With this anxious and humble mindset, Luo Chen began the eighth attempt at refining the Ultimate Peak Pill.
And this time, it was as if the heavens were aiding him!
...
When the pill took shape, Luo Chen felt relieved yet remained vigilant.
Although the pill was formed, it was still far from complete.
There was still the step of infusing the pill with Qi.
Following the established plan, he activated the Qi Manipulation Technique.
In an instant, streams of Qi, like raging dragons, surged from all directions!
Under Luo Chen's changing hand seals, these spiritual energy dragons poured into the Primordial Cauldron, and then they were absorbed by the pill in different orders.
At this moment, Luo Chen's heart was filled with anticipation.
"According to the pill formula, this final step only requires three months. After three months, the pill will be complete!"
He held his breath and focused, as the two Golden Cores in his body continuously released spiritual power, assisting him in drawing upon the vast spiritual energy of the world.
Gradually, Luo Chen noticed something.
In the void, spiritual energy gathered like swallows returning to their nests.
On the ground, spiritual energy erupted and surged.
Countless spiritual veins, where strange flowers and grasses grew, trembled and released their power.
It was as if the entire Pill World was aiding the birth of the Law-Derived Pill.
Under this vast power, Luo Chen's two Golden Cores, which were drawing upon the boundless spiritual energy of the world, seemed like a child lifting a hammer, struggling to exert their strength.
He gritted his teeth and endured, one day, two days... one month, two months...
After three months, he looked at the Primordial Cauldron with a pale face. The pill, still rotating endlessly, shone like a star inside the cauldron.
A feeling of thirst arose within him.
"It's still not enough!"
Luo Chen sighed and released the Qi Manipulation Technique.
At this moment, the spiritual energy frenzy retreated.
He stomped, and with a booming sound, he moved a hundred meters away.
Anxiously, he looked at the Primordial Cauldron.
He remained calm, his heart as still as death.
There was no explosion.
Nor was there success.
Luo Chen, with his spiritual power almost depleted, slowly returned to the side of the Primordial Cauldron. He extended his hand and retrieved the Law-Derived Pill.
It was a golden yellow pill, like the legendary Nine-Cycle Golden Pill from the immortal world.
But Luo Chen knew that this was a flawed, useless pill.
It hadn't absorbed enough spiritual energy from the world, and it couldn't achieve the effect of a Nascent Soul True Man or a Divine Transformation True Man, merging with the world.
With a long sigh, Luo Chen carefully put away this 'useless' pill.
He patted the Primordial Cauldron and sat down on the Ultimate Peak.
Beneath him, spiritual energy, weakened by the formation, slowly rose.
Luo Chen absorbed the spiritual energy to restore his spiritual power while searching for the reason for his failure.
"Three months!"
"I've already persisted for three months, but why did it still fail?"
Luo Chen was filled with confusion.
...
It wasn't until Luo Chen's spiritual power was fully restored to its peak that he found the answer.
"Those three months were based on the standard of at least a Nascent Soul True Man, not a Golden Core cultivator!"
Under the night sky, gazing at the dreamlike stars in the vast night sky, Luo Chen murmured.
The same technique, in the hands of cultivators of different realms, had completely different power.
Take the simplest Fireball Technique, for example! Although it's a first-stage technique, if a Golden Core cultivator like Luo Chen used it, could it be the same as a Qi Condensation cultivator?
The answer was obvious.
If Luo Chen used the Fireball Technique, not only would a Qi Condensation cultivator be instantly killed, but even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be no match for him.
Similarly, the amount of spiritual energy that the Qi Manipulation Technique could control and draw upon was also influenced by the cultivator's realm.
Even if Luo Chen practiced this technique to the Grandmaster level of proficiency, his own abilities couldn't match those of a Nascent Soul True Man.
"Does this mean I'm stuck here?"
Luo Chen murmured, filled with frustration.
...
In the following days, Luo Chen didn't attempt to refine the pill again.
If he couldn't solve the final step of infusing the pill with Qi, no matter how many times he tried, it would be in vain. Why bother wasting his efforts?
He only practiced the Qi Manipulation Technique day after day.
Attempting to cultivate this technique to the highest level, perhaps there would be some changes.
However, on the panel, the increase in Qi Manipulation proficiency was like a needle in the sand, with almost no growth.
Luo Chen knew this was a limitation of his realm.
Grandmaster level was the limit of his current realm.
"Is even this path blocked?"
As another day ended, Luo Chen lay on the green rock, his expression dazed.
"Since the system has allowed me entry, it means I have a chance to succeed. But where is this opportunity?"
"Qi Manipulation... three months..."
Gradually, Luo Chen seemed to realize something.
...
On this day, Luo Chen pinched a familiar hand seal and flew through the heavens and earth, with strands of spiritual energy swirling around him.
Suddenly, with a thought, he cut off the supply of spiritual power from his Qi Sea.
The spiritual energy was about to disperse.
At that moment, Luo Chen shouted, and another force erupted from his body.
It was a blood-red power! Its name was Yuan Li! It was a power that appeared after Luo Chen left Penghu and advanced his body refinement to the Ancient Fourth Stage.
It lay dormant within his body, waiting for the right moment to act.
The last time he used it was when his left hand was severed, and he used it to reconnect the severed limb.
Besides that, he had also used it to enhance his physical techniques when transforming into the True Sky Roc.
Subconsciously, he had not treated this power as a force similar to spiritual power.
But after searching fruitlessly, he remembered this power.
"Wang Yuan's body refinement is vigorous, and his refined energy reaches the third stage, generating a mighty force known as Gang Jin. This Gang Jin is said to be on par with the spiritual power of Golden Core cultivators."
"By this calculation, the Yuan Li I gained from body refinement should also be considered a special energy!"
"One could even say that due to its high rank, it should be in the same category as the spiritual power of Nascent Soul cultivators."
"If I use this Yuan Li to manipulate Qi Manipulation, can I match the Nascent Soul cultivators who control the heavenly and earthly essence Qi with their formidable spiritual power?"
Since the birth of this idea, Luo Chen had been testing its feasibility.
It took him a full month to comprehend it!
This time, a thin strand of Yuan Li was used to activate Qi Manipulation.
In an instant—Boom! Boom! Boom!
Luo Chen's side was engulfed in raging spiritual energy, like a coiling dragon, with towering pillars of energy soaring into the sky and connecting with the earth!
"So that's how it is!"
Luo Chen released his hand seal, and his eyes regained their clarity.
...
On the peak with fourth-stage spiritual energy concentration, the familiar figure once again began his usual pill refinement process.
Setting up the pill cauldron, igniting the fire, and pouring in the medicinal ingredients like a torrential rain.
Numerous pill techniques were at his fingertips.
Spiritual power flowed, and water and fire worked in harmony.
All these actions had been simulated countless times in Luo Chen's mind over the years.
Eight failures, each more profound than the last.
But it also meant that he was getting closer to success with each attempt.
This was the ninth time.
It would undoubtedly be the last!
Months later, the pill embryo took shape.
Luo Chen's hand seals fluttered like butterflies, and he reactivated Qi Manipulation.
With his spiritual power, strands of spiritual energy surged from all directions.
Three months later, when he felt his spiritual power was insufficient, Luo Chen's spirit seal suddenly changed!
The blood-red Yuan Li appeared from his body, continuing to maintain Qi Manipulation.
However, he did not go all out but maintained the same intensity as before, drawing upon the heavenly and earthly essence Qi.
As a result, although it lacked the spectacular scene of the energy pillar piercing the sky when practicing Qi Manipulation with Yuan Li, it was still advantageous because it was continuous and long-lasting.
With his eyes fixed, he stared intently at the Hunyuan Pill, determined not to miss any changes within the cauldron.
Time passed slowly, unyielding to the will of others.
Three months, five months, a year... Unknowingly, two and a half years had passed.
At this point, Luo Chen could hardly believe why it hadn't ended yet.
He had used ten times the time to draw upon the heavenly and earthly essence Qi and integrate it into the Law Transformation Divine Pill, but it still hadn't formed.
At this moment, his spiritual power in the Qi Sea was depleted, and the two Golden Cores were curled up weakly.
Within his body, the blood-red Yuan Li that once surged was almost depleted.
Even his eyes were dry, and hidden tears of blood fell.
His soul was exhausted, and he felt like he would faint with a single thought.
"Is it still impossible?"
His fingertips stubbornly maintained the hand seal, and his fingers were like withered wood, a result of the massive drain on his Qi and blood.
Luo Chen even felt that the vitality within him, once as vast as the ocean, was now like a trickling stream, about to dry up.
Yuan Li originated from the mighty power of his physical body.
Once the vitality was severed, there would be no more Yuan Li.
"I refuse to give up!"
"This is the closest I've been to success; how can I fail?"
Luo Chen's expression hardened, and he took a pill from his storage ring and swallowed it.
It contained pills to replenish spiritual power and enhance physical strength.
Even the Stone Skin, Thunder Bone, and Mercury Blood Pills, which he had refined in the Pill World not long ago, were included.
With this batch of pills, Luo Chen persevered for another two months.
But after two months, it still wasn't successful!
"I still have spirit-nourishing elixirs."
"Again!"
With a thought, a large white lump of flesh appeared before him, plump and translucent like jelly, yet crystal clear.
It was the Tai Sui's true form!
He opened his mouth and took a big bite of the Tai Sui.
Feeling it wasn't enough, he took four more bites.
His sharp teeth, as hard as a magical treasure, chewed the Tai Sui, which was said to be as clear as ice, granting eternal life and youth. He refined it, eventually transforming it into Yuan Li.
Qi Manipulation was activated again!
This time, Luo Chen didn't hold back and directly channeled all his power.
He wanted to do his utmost and achieve success in one go!
In an instant, the Pill World trembled.
That familiar scene appeared once more.
The sky roared with wind and thunder, the earth shook, and the spiritual veins cracked.
Vigorous spiritual energy surged like ocean waves.
After one day, two days, and then another three months, Luo Chen's body suddenly stiffened.
Three years, and it ended here.
His body, unwilling to give up, fell.
As he lost consciousness, he saw a dazzling golden pill with a hint of blood-red flying out of the Hunyuan Cauldron.
By his ear, a faint voice seemed to echo again.
Plop!
The water splashed, and he fell into a cold spring.
(End of Chapter)
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