Chapter 6: Phoenix Ring

Leng Ling looked around where she stood. The air was heavy with spiritual aura. There was a large garden full of trees, herbs and flowers that took up the majority of the space. In the middle of the space was a small stream full of shimmering water. A bamboo building could be seen in the corner of the garden.

She knelt by the stream and scooped up some of the water. After checking it and smelling the fragrant scent that came off it, Leng Ling took a sip. Before long, she had finished the scoop in her hands and was reaching for a second and a third. Soon she felt a building warmth in her dantian she quickly sat down in a meditation pose, closed her eyes and circulated the warmth throughout her meridians and back to her dantian.

The warmth became painful the more she circulated it. Her bones and muscles felt like they were shattering and being remade. Soon black gunk dripped from her pores. I the meantime her cultivation level suddenly surged from Supreme Middle to the top of Supreme Peak, jumping two full stages. The warmth surged once more during her circulation and then broke through the thin barrier from Supreme Peak to Natal Primary. Once the warmth had settled, she opened her eyes and looked down at herself.

She gagged and covered her nose at the smell of the black gunk that was now covering her body. However the only source of water she could see was the stream of Celestial Water that she had drunk from. Feeling reluctant, Leng Ling sat down in the stream and began to quickly wash herself. The black gunk soon flowed away in the stream and disappeared. Unknown to Leng Ling her skin had turned translucent and clear, becoming even more jade like than the past.

Standing back up, Leng Ling decided to explore the bamboo building. Opening the door she was surprised to find the inside was much bigger than it appeared outside. On one side of the room was obviously a bedroom with a couple of partitions blocking it from the rest of the room. In the front was a small kitchen and eating area. However what caught her attention the most was the back area where a large purple pill furnace sat.

She walked over to the furnace to inspect it. It didn't look like an ordinary one. Biting the tip of her finger she dripped blood onto it and with a small flash she had a mental connection to it. With a thought she could shrink or enlarge the furnace and required. Checking her dantian she could see the imprints from both the black sword, the ring and the pill furnace. To the side of the furnace was shelving full of scrolls. Different pill recipes could be seen in them.

Taking a basic pill recipe for Foundation Advancement, Leng Ling carefully read through the instructions and the ingredients before heading back out to the garden. She inspected the garden and found all the ingredients needed for the pill. There was an abundance of everything. Taking a set of those ingredients she headed back inside to the furnace and began to prepare the ingredients as according to the recipe.

Lighting the furnace with her fire element she mentally adjusted it to the temperature she needed for the recipe. Slowly she added each ingredient as instructed by the recipe and before long a medicinal smell could be smelt coming from the furnace. She opened the furnace once a small bang sounded out from inside. Inside the furnace lay 5 bumpy pills. Her first try was a reasonable success even if the pills were mishaped.

Putting the pills into an empty porcelain bottle she found on a shelf, Leng Ling considered how long she had been inside the ring. She felt like it had been at least half a day but on using her devine sense to come out of the ring, she realized she wasn't gone for more than an hour.