Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 148 - Refining Pills

When Liu Wuxie opened the tunnel, blazing flames burst from the ground, enveloping the entire cauldron.

As expected of a fourth-grade alchemy chamber...such a powerful flame! Liu Wuxie was indeed impressed. It was no wonder third-grade alchemy chambers couldn’t refine fourth-grade pills; it was all related to the flame’s intensity.

The higher the grade of the pill, the more demanding it would be on the flame required. Since Liu Wuxie hadn’t awakened fire attributes, he could only rely on the earthly flame to refine pills.

When he began, he didn’t start with fourth-grade pills but Origin Yang Pills. He was more familiar with it and used it as a warm-up before going to the Bone Refining Pill. He refined roughly five cauldrons of Origin Yang Pills in just two hours as time passed. The ground was filled with bottles containing thousands of Origin Yang Pills.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Academy was busy with the banquet. Regardless of their grades, all students were given holidays and could do whatever they wanted. The banquet each year was grand. Not only were all students required to participate, but some teachers would also be present to exchange their harvest from the past year.

Amidst all this, Liu Wuxie was engrossed in his alchemy. He looked at the Origin Yang Pills with satisfaction. The mysterious sapling in his dantian had altered each of the herbs, significantly enhancing their grade. This was the reason why the pills he refined had such potent effects.

He stopped after refining thirty-odd cauldrons, exhausting half of the herbs. The cauldrons were now thoroughly heated, and with a simple wave of his hand, he intensified the fire, significantly raising the temperature within the cauldron.

Removing his outer clothes, Liu Wuxie was only left with a close-fitting garment, and he began to form seals. The Bone Refining Pills were meant to temper the bones, making them more resilient. Swordsmen were fond of using them to refine sword bones, essentially tempering their bones into weapons.

As Liu Wuxie used a short blade, he had a harsher requirement for his bones. The stronger the bones, the smoother his blade techniques would become.

The Marrow Refining Pills were meant to refine a person’s marrow, which was crucial for the Marrow Cleansing Realm. This was also a transformation process to temper and cleanse the marrow.

Last but not least were the Soul Refining Pills, meant to temper the soul energy in the soul sea, and they were at a higher grade than Soul Converging Pills. No one in the Great Yan Dynasty knew about this pill, as Liu Wuxie had innovatively derived it from his wide knowledge of other pills.

The three types of pills couldn’t directly help Liu Wuxie reach the Spirit Cleansing Realm, as his main purpose was to accumulate his foundation. As he practiced the Desolate Devouring Art and possessed the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron, he needed ten-odd times more resources compared to others. These pills were meant to temper his foundation, allowing him to make a breakthrough if his accumulation was sufficient.

Liu Wuxie could refine many pills to advance his cultivation rapidly, but he didn’t do that because there were many drawbacks to using pills to make a breakthrough. Xue Baisheng was a perfect example of this, as he possessed the cultivation but lacked the strength to back it up.

Liu Wuxie would’ve refined the Spirit Breakthrough Pill if he wanted to reach the Spirit Cleansing Realm, but that would lead to an unstable foundation, likely slowing down his future cultivation. Pills were only meant to assist in cultivation, and one had to rely on themselves to advance their cultivation.

The pills Liu Wuxie refined were mainly to temper his physique, cleanse his marrow, and strengthen his soul. By progressing in these three paths, reaching the Spirit Cleansing Realm was just a matter of time.

The first step was to refine the Bone Refining Pills. The ingredients included tiger bones, earth dragon bones, and rare demonic beasts’ bones. He needed to extract the essence from these bones and refine them into pills and herbs.

The potency of the Bone Refining Pill provided by the academy was too low to have any significant effect when consumed by Liu Wuxie. Even though it might be a simplified version of the Bone Refining Pill, Liu Wuxie was cautious in his approach, knowing that the process of refining fourth-grade pills was delicate and didn’t allow for any errors.

If the news of someone in the Xiantian Realm attempting to refine a fourth-grade pill were to spread out, no one would believe it.

The fire roared, engulfing the entire cauldron. A sizzling sound echoed as Liu Wuxie threw the tiger bone into the cauldron. The tiger bone swiftly melted into golden liquid flowing inside the cauldron.

One after another, Liu Wuxie threw more bones into the cauldron to fuse with the tiger bone. He also added several fourth-grade pills into the cauldron. As they dissolved into liquid, they released a violent aura and began to reject each other.

Liu Wuxie formed seals with his hands. He didn’t rely on cultivation to refine pills but on his refining technique. As there wasn’t anyone here, Liu Wuxie wasn’t afraid that his refining techniques would leak. Through various seals, countless spiritual runes began to form as they hovered around the cauldron, merging into it.

There was a large basin of liquid in the cauldron, bubbling and emitting various strange roars. The bones contained the memories of the demonic beasts when they were alive, and their ferocity was ignited after being refined, wanting to break free.

“Hmph, you all have been dead for so long and still want to break free?” With a sudden downward press of Liu Wuxie’s hand, a Yin-Yang pattern appeared, enveloping the cauldron as the roars disappeared.

The earth flame grew stronger as Liu Wuxie continued to refine. The liquid in the cauldron began to converge, forming into a pill.

After two hours, a loud clashing sound echoed from the cauldron, reminiscent of marbles colliding. Each pill, though seemingly the size of a soybean, was surprisingly heavy. As time progressed, the clashing within the cauldron amplified, resembling thunderous roars. The cauldron began to sway, indicating the high grade of the Bone Refining Pills.

“Stop!” With a swift wave of Liu Wuxie’s palm, the Yin-Yang diagram enveloping the cauldron disappeared as a lump of misty energy formed into a ferocious tiger, pouncing at him. The Bone Refining Pills were highly spiritual, assuming various forms through small markings.

With a gentle puff, the tiger pounced at him and vanished into the air, forming a strong fragrance that covered the entire alchemy chamber. When Liu Wuxie looked at the cauldron, there were twelve Bone Refining Pills, each inscribed with runes.

“Done!” Liu Wuxie declared, storing the pills in a porcelain bottle. He took a two-hour break before resuming his pill refining and used Origin Yang Pills to recuperate from his fatigue. Once recovered, he proceeded to refine Marrow Refining Pills.

Meanwhile, half a day had passed outside. Liu Wuxie planned to spend two days refining pills and three days in seclusion. The process of creating Marrow Refining Pills was distinct from that of Bone Refining Pills. It demanded stringent control over the flame—a robust flame for refining and a gentle one for simmering.

He took out several porcelain bottles from his interspatial pouch and poured some red liquid into the cauldron along with ten herbs. Pill refining required patience; Liu Wuxie gently fanned the flames, holding a feather fan in his right hand.

While refining the Marrow Refining Pill, Liu Wuxie circulated the Desolate Devouring Art as dense spiritual energy poured through the flame tunnel. The flame tunnel was connected to the Flame Sun Cave, and the energy from underground filled the entire alchemy chamber.

A thin layer of spiritual rain quickly formed above the alchemy chamber. While it wasn’t as potent as the Flame Sun Cave, it was superior to the outside world. Liu Wuxie was determined not to waste any time while refining pills.

He took out a Bone Refining Pill and swallowed it. The pill felt heavy, like lead, as it descended into his stomach, producing rumbling sounds. As it dissolved, it released a powerful energy that surged throughout his body.

His bones felt as if they were encased in flames and being tempered. The excruciating pain caused Liu Wuxie to scream, but he gritted his teeth to suppress it. His limbs stiffened as the energy from the Bone Refining Pill, akin to sharp blades, lightly scraped his bones.

Liu Wuxie trembled with each scrape, enduring agonizing pain. But the scraping wasn’t localized; it occurred throughout his entire skeleton. This process expelled a layer of impurities from his skeleton, while the remaining energy seeped into his bones.

However, what happened next baffled Liu Wuxie even more because inexplicable runes appeared on his skeleton. He had never seen these runes before. It was weird but likely related to the Bone Refining Pill.

“The effects of the Bone Refining Pill have far surpassed my expectations!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed, finding solace in this realization. The layer of runes on his skeleton indicated that his bones were significantly stronger than others.

Once the effects subsided and he regained control of his body, Liu Wuxie continued to fan the cauldron. The Marrow Refining Pills still required more time. When he consumed another Bone Refining Pill, the effect wasn’t as potent as the first time. This was due to the body’s natural tendency to build resistance against repeated consumption of similar pills.

Meanwhile, in the region designated for Profound Grade students, the sound of shattering porcelain echoed from an exquisite courtyard. Ji Yang, his hair disheveled, looked menacing as he roared, “Damn it!”

Upon returning with the bodies of his lackeys, he sought justice from the headmaster. However, the headmaster stated that since they were the ones who initiated the conflict, knowing full well that Liu Wuxie was a four-star alchemist, they had violated the academy’s rules. Therefore, even if they were killed, they had brought it upon themselves.

Ji Yang hadn’t anticipated that the headmaster would know Liu Wuxie’s status as a four-star alchemist. He had initially hoped to use the headmaster’s influence to deal with Liu Wuxie, but his plan had failed. As for the two bodies, they were in the courtyard. As a four-star alchemist, Ji Yang naturally had a courtyard to himself.

“Liu Wuxie, just wait! I’ll kill you myself!” Ji Yang said, gritting his teeth. His eyes were blazing with flames of fury, but his rationale told him that he had to calm down and find a way to refine fourth-grade pills first.

“The Treasure Pill Pavilion! I can head to the Treasure Pill Pavilion! They have fourth-grade alchemy chambers!” Ji Yang traveled at night, leaving the Imperial Academy and heading to the Treasure Pill Pavilion. If he couldn’t repair his damaged foundation by making a breakthrough forcibly, his path as a cultivator would end.

Meanwhile, Liu Wuxie was oblivious to all this, engrossed in his alchemy. He didn’t rest for an entire day and night. The Marrow Refining Pill exuded a strong fragrance when it took form.

“It’s quicker than I anticipated!” Liu Wuxie exclaimed, standing up and forming seals with both hands. The Marrow Refining Pill was different from the Bone Refining Pill. There was no phenomenon as the flame subsided. No fragrance emanated from the cauldron either, giving the impression that it was empty.

Closing the tunnel, Liu Wuxie unleashed icy true essence to envelop the cauldron, cooling it down. When he peered into the cauldron, he saw ten Marrow Refining Pills emitting an enticing dark-purple sheen.

Storing the pills in a porcelain bottle, Liu Wuxie proceeded to refine the Soul Refining Pills. Time was of the essence, so he rested for only an hour before resuming his cultivation. He took out all the remaining herbs and opened the flame tunnel, from which intense flames erupted, reaching over a meter high.