The option of selecting a random weed was immediately dismissed by Xiao Ming. Unless he had gone crazy, he would never choose such an option.
As for the Seven-Colored Eighth-Tier Pill, "Blood Moon Bodhi Pill," it seemed valuable but still fell short compared to the Soul Essence.
Suppressing his emotions, Xiao Ming silently spoke in his mind, 'Simulator, select the cluster of Soul Essence!'
As his words faded, a sphere of light about one and a half meters in size suddenly appeared in front of him. The transparent sphere emitted a gentle and pure radiance that spread out, illuminating the surrounding walls. The room instantly became brighter.
'So, this is the Soul Essence...'
Xiao Ming gazed intently at the sphere of light. From within it, he sensed an incredibly formidable soul fluctuation, exceptionally pure without the slightest impurity.
The soul was the foundation of all living beings. Everything in the world possessed a soul, and within the depths of the soul resided a trace of Soul Essence. It was the fundamental essence that gave birth to the soul, considered the purest and most mysterious energy in the world.
'So many Soul Essences... I wonder how many souls have condensed into this.' Xiao Ming inwardly sighed. He could sense that the sphere of light contained numerous Soul Essences, although none of them possessed consciousness.
However, there were residual emotions left behind before their complete demise, such as grievances and unwillingness. It was quite difficult to fully refine these emotions, and absorbing them recklessly would inevitably have an impact on one's state of mind.
Fortunately, Xiao Ming possessed the White Glazed Heart Flame, formed by the fusion of five different kinds of Heavenly Flames. Otherwise, even if he obtained this cluster of Soul Essence, he wouldn't dare to absorb it casually.
'If I can acquire a few more clusters of Soul Essence, I might be able to directly reach the peak of the Heaven Realm,' Xiao Ming thought with a smile. It seemed that the Hall of Souls was truly formidable.
For now, Xiao Ming didn't have the intention of immediately using the Soul Essence. He decided to wait until he returned to the Pill Tower before making a decision. With a wave of his sleeve, he stored the sphere of soul light in his storage ring.
The following day, accompanied by Xiao Yi Xian, Venerable Tian Huo, and Medusa, Xiao Ming left the inn.
Coincidentally, they encountered the Red Dragon Claw Eagle mentioned in the simulation. And just like that, they had acquired another means of transportation for their journey.
...
Under the azure sky, a massive fiery-red giant eagle soared through the air. Resting upon the eagle's back was a dark red medicinal cauldron, with Xiao Ming seated in front of it.
"Isn't it too risky to refine an eighth-tier pill while on the back of an eagle? Why not wait until we return to Holy Pill City?" Xiao Yi Xian furrowed her brows, expressing her concern.
"The difficulty of refining the Heaven Fusion Pill this time is not high. It won't be a problem. Just ensure that you protect me and don't let anyone disturb me," Xiao Ming responded softly.
He had chosen to refine the pill during their journey because he remembered being interrupted once during the simulation, which prevented him from successfully refining the pill. Since there wasn't much else to do on their way back to Pill Tower, it was best to refine a pill in advance.
After giving instructions to Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Ming withdrew his gaze. With a flick of his finger, a white-colored flame whizzed into the medicinal cauldron. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, nearly a hundred types of medicinal herbs that had been circling around him rushed into the cauldron. They were instantly melted and refined by the flames, with the entire process flowing smoothly and seamlessly without any hiccups.
As each medicinal herb entered the flames, a vast and majestic soul power emanated from Xiao Ming, slowly spreading out.
The body of the Red Dragon Claw Eagle beneath his feet trembled slightly, only to be scolded by Medusa.
"Behave yourself! If the pill refinement fails, I'll pluck all your feathers!"
She knew that the Heaven Fusion Pill was intended for the child in her belly, and if the pill failed, she would carry out her threat without hesitation.
Sensing Medusa's killing intent, the Red Dragon Claw Eagle immediately ceased its trembling.
On the side, Venerable Tian Huo couldn't help but sigh.
"Tsk tsk, the pressure from his soul has probably already reached the Great Perfection of the Spirit Realm. It's only been a few years!"
Venerable Tian Huo was amazed at Xiao Ming's rapid progress. Even Xiao Yi Xian, who cultivated at an astonishing speed, couldn't match Xiao Ming in terms of soul cultivation.
Remaining highly focused, Xiao Ming was unaffected by the commotion around him.
With the intense heat emanating from the dark red medicinal cauldron, the temperature in the sky grew dry...
Refining an eighth-tier pill was an intricate process. For ordinary alchemists, controlling hundreds of types of medicinal herbs floating in the air would cause them to become flustered. However, in the face of Xiao Ming's vast soul power, it posed no problem at all.
One after another, the high-grade medicinal herbs obtained from the Dou Saint Remains were continuously thrown into the cauldron. With a casual swirl of flames, the pure medicinal power within each herb was perfectly extracted and suspended in the cauldron. It formed a dense mass, permeating with astonishing purity and energy.
Refining pills, especially eighth-tier pills, required a considerable amount of time. Even with the assistance of a Heavenly Flame, Xiao Ming still needed a significant amount of time.
Nearly ten days passed silently in this manner.
At this moment, the fiery-red giant eagle had already landed in an open area on a mountain peak. Xiao Yi Xian and the others watched from a short distance away, following Xiao Ming's instructions from half a day ago.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a deep rumble of thunder sounded in the cloudless sky. The keen senses of the magical beasts in the area detected the turbulent energy in the world, causing them to grow slightly restless.
The sky underwent an abrupt transformation, as thick, oppressive dark clouds covered the once clear expanse. Within the clouds, silver snakes of lightning danced and weaved.
Witnessing the sudden change from clear skies to densely packed thunderclouds, Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, and Venerable Tian Huo's expressions turned serious.
Was it time for the pill formation?
Amidst their doubts, Xiao Ming, who had been sitting with his eyes closed on the back of the eagle for several days, slowly opened his eyes. In that instant, the thunderclouds in the sky seemed to be drawn by some mysterious force. The clouds churned and gradually transformed into resplendent, multicolored thunderclouds, captivating the onlookers' gazes.
"Roar!"
"Roar!"
Various roars from the mountain range could be heard, as if influenced by the Pill Lightning, signaling the agitation of the magical beasts.
Boom!
In the midst of the mountain's tumult, a violent thunderstorm erupted. The layers of clouds were torn apart, and a massive rainbow-colored lightning, several hundred meters in size, explosively descended towards Xiao Ming below.
Sensing the terrifying energy contained within the rainbow-colored lightning, even Venerable Tian Huo frowned.
Xiao Ming slowly raised his head and stared at the rainbow-colored lightning, which tore through the sky like a giant dragon. With a flick of his finger, a dark golden figure shot out and collided fiercely with the lightning.
Chi!
Upon impact, the seemingly ferocious lightning vanished instantly.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The thunderclouds in the sky seemed enraged as the Sky Demon Puppet devoured one of the rainbow-colored bolts of lightning. They unleashed countless columns of multicolored lightning in an attempt to breach the Sky Demon Puppet's defenses. However, not a single bolt was able to penetrate its defenses.
This lightning frenzy lasted nearly ten minutes before gradually subsiding and eventually dissipating.