Chapter 178 - Black Demon Thunder!

Up in the sky, Little Doctor leaned into Jiang Yun's embrace and looked down at the countless towering mountains below. The myriad of life forms within the winding mountains brought her a sense of great comfort.

At the peak of the giant mountains, mist swirled around, spreading an unusual aura of life that made one feel tranquil and as if they were in a fairyland.

Little Doctor, in Jiang Yun's embrace, retracted her gaze and looked up at him, saying, "We've been searching for three days but still haven't found any trace of Senior Shennong. Could it be that we came at the wrong time and he went out?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's eyes fixed on a distant area where the energy fluctuations were very subtle. Only those with extremely acute soul perception would notice the anomaly.

However, Jiang Yun could sense a very terrifying, extremely oppressive energy vortex with a familiar aura from those subtle fluctuations.

With a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, Jiang Yun looked down at Little Doctor and said, "We are in for a treat."

With that, Jiang Yun headed toward a distant valley.

As they passed through the mist, the two found themselves in a lush valley shrouded in fog, with various precious medicinal herbs growing wildly.

At this moment, Little Doctor also saw the distant figure of the elderly Shennong. He had his eyes closed, and a pitch-black medicinal cauldron floated quietly in front of him.

"So Senior Shennong is refining pills. No wonder he didn't sense our arrival earlier. Or rather, he didn't have time to be distracted!"

However...

Little Doctor quickly turned to Jiang Yun with some confusion because she couldn't sense any pill fluctuations from the cauldron, making Shennong's actions somewhat strange.

Seeing the question in Little Doctor's eyes, Jiang Yun softly explained, "Senior Shennong is at a critical stage. Let's quietly wait for a while, Little Doctor."

Hearing Jiang Yun's answer, Little Doctor nodded slightly, quietly observing Shennong's every move.

As time passed, half a day flew by in the blink of an eye!

Suddenly, Shennong opened his tightly closed eyes and slowly stood up. His hands swiftly formed a series of complicated hand seals, while the soul of his peak Heavenly Realm poured into the cauldron, constantly monitoring changes within.

"Buzz!"

Simultaneously, a faint humming sound emanated from the once-quiet cauldron.

"It seems it's about to form pills!" Seeing this scene, Jiang Yun smiled lightly and said in a low voice.

Jiang Yun's eyes were intently fixed on Shennong's every move, with a thoughtful gleam reflecting deep within them. He could now confirm that Shennong had yet to find the flame ranked fifth on the Heavenly Flame list.

This was his opportunity and also Little Doctor's opportunity!

"Release!"

Along with Jiang Yun's words, Shennong simultaneously let out a low shout, slowly lifting his hand and then suddenly clenching it over the cauldron.

A deep dragon roar suddenly emanated from within the cauldron. Unseen by the two, the fire dragon inside the cauldron exploded violently.

Scorching waves of fire shot out, flipping the cauldron lid instantly and causing the temperature of the surrounding world to soar. Jiang Yun reacted quickly, pulling Little Doctor back in a hurry.

In the sky, the fiery waves rapidly swelled, transforming into a vast sea of fire in a matter of moments.

"Condense the pill!"

As Shennong watched the fiery sea in the sky, his expression remained unchanged. He let out a shout, and his hand seals swiftly morphed into numerous afterimages.

With Shennong's ever-changing hand seals, the fiery sea in the sky began to shrink continuously. Simultaneously, an amazing energy fluctuation suddenly emanated from the sky.

"Is that the fluctuation of a pill?" Little Doctor watched the shrinking sea of fire in surprise — she hadn't sensed it at all a moment ago.

"This is the method of condensing the pill into a physical object, hiding the pill within. It's a technique mastered by some ninth-tier alchemists!" Jiang Yun explained to the puzzled Little Doctor as he watched the swarming flames.

"Boom!"

As the fiery sea shrank rapidly, an ear-shattering explosion echoed in the sky. With Jiang Yun and Little Doctor's gaze fixed on it, the world seemed to darken at once. Dark clouds rapidly gathered from all directions in the sky.

This time, the gathered clouds were not the usual colorful clouds of an eighth-tier pill but an extremely profound dark hue.

Dark clouds filled the sky without the slightest sound of thunder. Gazing at that boundless black cloud, it felt like even one's soul shuddered slightly.

"This is the Black Demon Thunder. Senior Shennong has successfully refined the ninth-tier treasure pill!" Little Doctor said in a slightly excited tone as she looked at the Black Demon Thunder in the sky.

As an almost eighth-tier alchemist herself, seeing the legendary emergence of a ninth-tier pill naturally made her heart race.

Jiang Yun, on the other hand, kept his gaze on the ever-wriggling black cloud. From within, he sensed an immensely dense destructive force, much stronger than the nine-colored pill lightning.

This force was so formidable that only a Dou Saint could withstand it!

In the distant sky, the wriggling black clouds made the entire world fall into complete silence without a trace of thunder. Yet, it was this deathly silence that felt terrifying.

As the black cloud churned, about ten minutes later, a circular hole gradually opened at the center, leading to a pitch-black abyss, as if it were the deepest black hole.

When the circular hole appeared, Jiang Yun's Dou Qi swept out without reservation, tightly protecting both himself and Little Doctor.

"Rumble—"

A peculiar sound emerged from the hole in the sky, and an arm-thick black lightning abruptly shot out and silently struck the gathering energy cluster at the center of the fiery sea.

Jiang Yun wary of the potent destructive power embedded in that black lightning.

"What a terrifying Black Demon Thunder!" Equally shocked, Little Doctor, shielded by Jiang Yun, gasped at the sight.

Facing such destructive power that could make even a Dou Saint treat it seriously, Shennong remained calm, gazing at the descending black lightning as he spoke in a soft murmur.

"My hard-earned treasure pill, I won't let you be destroyed like this!"

With those words, Shennong instantly appeared above the pill, his hand slowly clenched.

As he clenched his hand, the energy across the entire world seemed to respond, converging towards his palm like a tidal wave.

A Dou Saint could manipulate the energy of a whole realm. At this level, even without Dou Qi in their body, they could still unleash earth-shattering power. This was the terrifying aspect of a Dou Saint!

Not to mention, Shennong was a peak six-star Dou Saint, a top-tier expert.

"Break!"

Exclaiming, Shennong struck downward, and a radiant palm imprint, shimmering brightly, ferociously collided with the Black Demon Thunder under the watchful eyes of Jiang Yun and Little Doctor.

Upon collision, a terrifying storm of destruction swept across, turning the space within a thousand-foot radius pitch black as if shattered like glass.

Despite the chaotic circumstances, Shennong remained composed, quietly chanting:

"Calm."

In the next instant, the shattered space and raging storm seemed to come under the control of a tremendous power, freezing and gradually dispersing.

The immense Black Demon Thunder, a harbinger of doom accompanying the ninth-tier treasure pill, lacked in volume. After releasing one bolt of Black Demon Thunder, the dense black clouds in the sky seemed to exhaust their energy and slowly dissipated.

As the black clouds faded, warm sunlight poured down once more, illuminating the valley.

Suddenly, the energy cluster within the fiery sea burst into radiant light, and a surge of formidable energy erupted from it.

"Bang!"

With a violent blast, the gathering fiery sea transformed into a rain of flames, showering the ground below.

"Could it have failed?" Seeing this, Little Doctor looked at Jiang Yun with some surprise. The pill thunder was overcome, so how could it fail?

Jiang Yun watched the falling rain of fire quietly and said softly, "No, it's just a playful act of a newly born."

"Whoosh—"

Among the rain of fire, a streak of light suddenly shot out, swiftly darting towards the horizon, covered by the scattering flames.

"Trying to run?"

But just as the light streak shot out, Shennong's eyes gleamed with a smile, and in a flash, he appeared in front of it, directly grabbing at the streak with his hand.

Sensing Shennong's overwhelming power, the light streak shuddered and transformed into a trembling, naked figure.

The delicate figure had long black hair and a weak, alluring body. Her beautiful large eyes shimmered with terror as she gazed at Shennong, her pitiful appearance arousing a protective instinct in others.

However, it had no effect on Shennong. His hand ruthlessly stamped on her.

The trembling body shuddered and gradually turned ethereal, eventually morphing into a dragon-eye-sized, perfectly round pill emanating various exotic fragrances.

"Excellent, this is top-tier among ninth-tier treasure pills, not far from a mystical pill!"

Observing the pill in his hand, Shennong smiled and commented. He then took out a jade bottle from the top of his walking stick, set several layers of soul seals on it, and finally placed the ninth-tier treasure pill inside, reattaching the bottle to the stick.

After completing these tasks, Shennong turned towards Jiang Yun and Little Doctor, saying, "Young ones, what brings you to visit this old man?"

"Senior Shennong, we meet again," Jiang Yun said as he and Little Doctor approached him, clasping their hands in greeting.

"Oh—" Shennong looked at Jiang Yun, his eyes filled with surprise as he exclaimed, "In just three months, you're almost breaking through to the fourth turn?"

"By absorbing the residual flames left by the Three Thousand Burning Flame, I broke through to the third turn. It's not that impressive," Jiang Yun smiled slightly and waved it off.

Shennong chuckled and nodded at Jiang Yun, saying, "Well, sometimes the words you say make even an old man like me want to hit you. You must know that breaking through two turns in three months is something countless people would go mad over, and..."

As he spoke, Shennong looked Jiang Yun up and down and chuckled, "Besides, that residual flame alone isn't enough to support such a significant boost. Your talent is indeed enviable!"

Hearing Shennong's praise, Jiang Yun merely smiled without speaking.

"So, tell me, what brings you to this old man?" Shennong chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at Jiang Yun's demeanor, and led the way to a thatched hut below.

Catching up with Shennong, Jiang Yun said softly, "Back at the Pill Tower, you mentioned that if we had any questions, we could seek your guidance. Have you forgotten, Senior Shennong?"

Stopping in his tracks, Shennong appraised Jiang Yun, chuckling, "It's rare to find something that puzzles you, Jiang Yun."

"While there is precedence in learning, the principle of using others' strengths to improve oneself holds true. Stagnation is not praiseworthy!" Jiang Yun smiled, gazing at Shennong.

"Interesting!" Shennong laughed, saying, "If you want to learn from me, it's hard work. Let's start by working the fields!"

With that, Shennong took out two hoes, handed them to Jiang Yun and Little Doctor, and led the way to the distant medicinal fields.

Jiang Yun and Little Doctor exchanged glances, picked up the hoes, and followed Shennong's footsteps.

Shennong truly lived up to his reputation as a grand elder of the alchemy world, a living fossil of the craft.

In his medicinal fields, Jiang Yun saw many medicinal herbs that only existed in ancient texts, long extinct in the outside world, some of which were not even preserved by the Pill Tower.

During this time, Shennong occasionally explained alchemical techniques to Jiang Yun and Little Doctor.

Jiang Yun's alchemical skills were learned at the Jia Nan Academy and later enriched by Yaochen's legacy from Han Feng, and finally refined at the Pill Tower, forming his unique style.

Yaochen's alchemy skills were derived from the Yao Clan, so Jiang Yun had, in essence, studied the absolute pinnacle of alchemical legacies from both the Pill Tower and the Yao Clan.

Despite his extensive knowledge, Jiang Yun still gained considerable insight from Shennong's explanations.

Shennong, impressed by Jiang Yun's talent, was pleased to see such a promising junior in the alchemical world. Moreover, Jiang Yun's occasional unconventional ideas provided him with significant inspiration.

For a while, both parties got along extraordinarily well, immersed in a sea of learning and discovery.