Chapter 127: Life Boiling Cradle pill

As the Eight Thousand Dan Mercury ingot was sinking to the bottom of the cauldron, the flames had to be controlled to not burn it completely. The alchemists had to keep the mixture at its fusion point without heating it any more than that. It was a very difficult process and Xiao Xuefeng helped them by controlling the flow of the molten mercury inside the mixture already inside the cauldron. Hua Fenfei was also synchronizing everyone and she took over when there was any problem.

The melting process took at least three hours, but it was finally done.

The pieces of Eternal Purifying Ginseng had slowly absorbed a bit of impurities as well, but they were at their limit. It was time to take them out while calming the raging mixture inside the cauldron. It was necessary to soothe the medicinal essence without reducing the heat. For that very purpose, Xiao Xuefeng used hundreds of petals. They were petals from Dew Pearling Angelica flowers. As the name suggested, this flower was close with the Water element. However, the temperature in the cauldron was too high for the petals not to burn up.

As such, Xiao Xuefeng had to coat them in many layers of her own Qi. There were so many layers that the petals looked like tiny stars falling down from the sky. By retracting the layers gradually, Xiao Xuefeng allowed for the medicinal essence to slowly infuse into the mixture.

Finally, the last step of the refinement process was coming. The alchemists had been working for almost twelve hours straight right now. The process had already failed three times and they had enough ingredients for only four attempts. If they failed this final step, it would be over. Unfortunately, they had never reached this step before. Of course, they had mentally prepared and trained for this during the entire week, but training wasn't the real deal.

As the mixture was liquid, it was necessary to condense all of it in a single point and quench it with an extremely cold substance. It needed to be timed perfectly. The alchemists got ready to kill the flames at any moment. Xiao Xuefeng's Qi was slowly condensing all of the mixture at the very center of the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. This process was exhausting all her strength, but it wasn't over yet.

A small cube of ice floated above the cauldron. It was Universe Spanning Frost, ice that came from the skies. This ice was able to stay solid way beyond the temperature at which iron and steel melted. However, the moment it approached the cauldron, it started to melt very slowly.

Xiao Xuefeng opened the lid and sent the Universe Spanning Frost to meet with the drop of the condensed mixture. At the same moment, Hua Fenfei killed the flames entirely and all the alchemists helped Xiao Xuefeng with their Qi to sustain her efforts. She was pushing from every direction to keep the drop and the melting Universe Spanning Frost at the same spot. The lid was left open to allow the cauldron to cool down.

At this moment, a suction force spread from the open lid. It sucked in all the Qi in the environment. This force spread to the alchemists themselves. Being Spirit Warriors, they easily resisted this suction. However, it also started to affect the students. As they were only Mortal Warriors or even mere Mortals, they were powerless. Every one of them started to feel their Lower Dantian being sucked dry.

Chief Elder Suxian began to act. He activated the first line of defense he had prepared, the Pure Sanctuary Solace array formation. A translucent wall appeared all around the Thirteen Celestial Pyre, blocking its influence in all ten directions. The alchemists were within this wall but this wasn't a problem for them. The students could still see through this array formation. Inside of it, there was almost not a single ounce of Qi left in the air as everything had been sucked in by the cauldron.

The pill was now formed but the medicinal essence within was still stabilizing. It had absorbed enough Qi to form a beginning of intuition. A Spirit pill was not conscious but it reacted to the world surrounding it, just like a plant did. This was this intuition, this instinct that was being formed right now.

A shock wave erupted from the pill and a chime reverberated from the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. This sounded like a giant bell. The sound was extremely pleasant for the students because they were protected by the Pure Sanctuary Solace array formation. Inside of it, the alchemists, despite being Spirit Warriors, felt their bodies vibrate and they had to use Qi to protect their organs. The refinement process had been exhausting and in their weakened state, this sound alone could kill them if they weren't careful.

Another chime resonated, even stronger. Xiao Xuefeng was ready to act. So were Chief Elder Suxian and Director Ge Ling. The Life Boiling Cradle pill was said to chime three times if it was successfully refined. It had been more than fifteen thousand years since someone was able to hear all three of them. Everyone was extremely emotional, except for these three people, because they knew what was coming next. Even though there was little chance of success, they had prepared adequately.

The third chime echoed. For the first time in fifteen thousand years, human alchemists had refined a Spirit pill. This was a historical moment and Xiao Xuefeng and Hua Fenfei would now become legends. No matter the quality of the pill, people would start referring to them as 1-star Spirit alchemists, Spirit Master Xiao and Spirit Master Hua.

But at the very same moment, a tiny golden pill flew from the open cauldron. It was so fast that many students failed to see it until it hit the wall of the Pure Sanctuary Solace array formation. Once a Spirit pill was formed, it would naturally try to flee. It was an instinctive response. The pill was looking for a place to settle down and absorb the Qi of its environment. Some claimed that a Spirit pill could gain sentience if it absorbed enough Qi for thousands of years. However, Saint Guo An, the founder of alchemy, had negated this. According to him, only a God pill could ever hope to reach sentience. There was still a qualitative rift between these two kinds of pills.

The wall started to crumble and Chief Elder Suxian had the array formation masters under his command activate the final line of defense. A dark energy erupted from the ground and from all the pillars around the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. This dark energy turned into chains that intertwined with each other. They formed a giant net around the cauldron, full of thorns. This was the Myriad Wings Nailing Bell array formation.

The Pure Sanctuary Solace array formation crumbled and the pill hit this black net with all its speed. It deformed but stayed intact. There was a terrible noise as the pill was rotating against the chains. It was as if two metals were scraping against each other, producing a shrill noise that was very painful to hear.

The Myriad Wings Nailing Bell array formation seemed to endure, but it showed signs of weakness. Even Chief Elder Suxian was alarmed. It was its most durable imprisoning array formation and it couldn't hold this small pill.

Xiao Xuefeng was exhausted but she tried to help. All the other alchemists shared their remaining strength with Hua Fenfei who sent all of it to her sister. A giant white crane appeared outside of the Myriad Wings Nailing Bell array formation. It closed its wings over the black net. An intense pressure slowed down the pill. However, the alchemists were too exhausted and the pill was still fighting.

That was when Director Ge Ling intervened. She was monitoring the process from the skies. Sensing the danger, she was ready to even activate the array formations of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. But for now, she used her most powerful technique, 'Absolute Bell of Confinement'. A golden bell fell from the sky and encased both the pill, the black net and the white crane. The moment it touched the ground, it chimed with a pure sound that kept on resonating in the air.

Apart from Director Ge Ling, no one could sense what was going on in the 'Absolute Bell of Confinement'. This technique could almost cut off small parts of space. It wasn't at that level yet, but it was very close to it. She endured for several minutes and finally felt that something had changed within.

"Retract your techniques." The moment Director Ge Ling spoke, Chief Elder Suxian and Xiao Xuefeng obeyed. The old woman came down from the sky and the giant bell slowly subsided. The Thirteen Celestial Pyre appeared again. Just in front of it, there was a small golden dot, the Life Boiling Cradle pill.

Director Ge Ling sent her spiritual senses to be sure. Then, she controlled the pill to give it to Xiao Xuefeng. The woman examined it carefully.

"87%!" Director Ge Ling answered the question that was on everyone's mind. The pill had failed to reach the Perfect grade, but it was close. For such a 1-star Spirit pill, it almost seemed impossible. All the tension in the air disappeared and the students cheered. Their liveliness even energized the alchemists who stood up and cheered with them.

In Xiao Xuefeng's eyes, excitement was clearly visible. She had not believed that she could succeed. And yet here she was. Even she failed to restrain her emotions and cheered with the crowd. The Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute would hold a great celebration every year at this date. And it began this very same year. For a few days, festivities were organized and the pill, under tight watch, was shown to all the students. Several of them drew sketches of it. It was golden and marked by red and silver streaks floating on its surface. The pill gave off the impression of being alive.

Letters were sent to the Emperor himself. The news that mankind had finally been able to forge a legendary 1-star Spirit pill was spread throughout all the Hongchen Kingdom. There were strifes at the border and this news was seen as a sign that mankind would ultimately prevail once more. Maybe, the Forsaken Dao Era would finally subside and mankind would be on top of the demons. Of course, those were crazy hopes, but hope was needed for those fighting the demons at the border.

-

Xiao Xuefeng was conversing with Director Ge Ling.

"Director, I'm sorry, but I will leave as soon as I'm well rested. I worry about both Chen Guo and my disciple. I think that the demonic cultivators will lay low, but we're never sure with their kind. They can lose their mind at any time."

"I understand. However, I need to have a word with you. I read all your reports and I feel like someone is pulling the strings behind the scene. A Spirit Warrior demonic cultivator is already rare, but what if there were several of them?"

"Director? It's impossible! They couldn't have hidden from all the experts of the kingdom."

"Well, wouldn't you have thought that a Spirit Warrior demonic cultivator was impossible in itself just a few months back?" Xiao Xuefeng realized that this was true. No one ever thought that a demonic cultivator would be able to achieve Spirit Warrior. First of all, they often went crazy rather quickly. But most of all, their demonic arts could be felt by spiritual senses if they became too powerful. After all, they were full of Evil Qi.

"They've become smarter. Instead of using demonic cultivators, they are trying to corrupt orthodox ones. If their subordinates do not use demonic arts, or just enough to get an edge, they'll be difficult, or even, impossible to detect. There could be spies everywhere for all we know. But I'm more worried about their objective."

"What do you suspect?"

"This Luduo Bu... the arts Chen Guo described look a lot like the arts of the demons. And the demons have become more and more active at the border as of lately."

Xiao Xuefeng was startled. "Do you think the demonic cultivators are working with the demons? Even if they follow the Evil Way, they're still humans. Dealing with the demons would be insane."

"Maybe. Maybe not. All the techniques you talked about, even this dual cultivation method, I've never heard of them. They may have received those from demons or... they found relics from the time the demons were still ruling this land. Maybe, they found other things and they hope to negotiate with the demons. Those are mere speculations, but if I'm correct..."

"They're after the Ancient Ruins of the Wubei Sect!"

"Most likely, yes. And I also wonder about that Luo Jiang..."

Luo Jiang was the boy who had tried to infiltrate the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute back in Yinmen City.

"What do you mean, Director?"

"They showed us that they were able to not even be detected by you. Yet, they sent such a foolish disciple to infiltrate us?! I wonder whether this was a way to send you to the Wubei Sect. You're the one with the most sensible spiritual senses. Maybe they wanted you somewhere else. I'm not quite sure, but this Luo Jiang incident seems more and more suspicious. It feels as though the demonic cultivators wanted us to know of their presence. But it could also simply be a mistake by one of them..."

"Director, I'll report all your words to Sect Leader Xuan."

"Be careful, little Xiao. I hope I'm reading a bit too much into things. But I fear that we are only seeing the surface. I suspect a larger conspiracy is going on..."

"I understand, Director. I'll remember your words."

Director Ge Ling drew closer to Xiao Xuefeng. Even though the woman was more than 150 year old, she looked like a child in Ge Ling's eyes. She had seen her grow up and become one of the most important experts of the Hongchen Kingdom.

"It pains me to send you for such a dangerous mission. But the fate of our human race may be at stake. If my worries are true, this is the worst crisis we ever faced since the Blood and Dirt Era when Emperor Nuwa lead the Great War against the demons. Take care of yourself. Come back safe!"

"Yes, Director."