Inside the quiet chamber, Li An stared unblinkingly at the pill furnace.
Gu Songxi was equally solemn. Throughout the entire refinement process, he had poured in everything—mind, spirit, and body. It had been rare even in his alchemical career to be so utterly invested. Perhaps due to exhaustion, or perhaps tension, his aged, bark-like hands trembled slightly...
The lid of the furnace was gently lifted.
In that instant, a brilliant and blinding white light burst forth!
Immediately, the spiritual energy within the chamber inexplicably surged toward the radiant light inside the furnace.
Even the spiritual energy from the spirit stones that Li An had placed to sustain the array began to be faintly drawn into that white glow.
A rich medicinal fragrance permeated the chamber. The scent of the pill condensed into strange, swirling clouds.
“This is… a supreme-grade pill?!”
Gu Songxi’s expression shifted with shock, his voice trembling with overwhelming joy and disbelief.
“It’s actually supreme-grade…”
Even Li An couldn’t help but be stunned. He had never seen such a pill with his own eyes in his past life—only heard of them.
Supreme-grade pills were unimaginably rare. Each one would autonomously absorb spiritual energy upon forming.
There were even legends that once a pill reached Third Rank or higher and achieved supreme-grade quality, it would be born with a vague sense of consciousness. It could instinctively seek benefit and avoid harm. Once the furnace was opened, the pill would fly away to avoid being consumed by humans. If given sufficient time and fortune, it could even cultivate like a human and eventually become a “Pill Spirit Immortal”!
Fortunately, a Foundation Establishment Pill was only a Second-Rank pill. Even at supreme-grade, it didn’t possess such mystical capabilities. Otherwise, Li An might’ve only been able to watch helplessly as it flew away.
Still, a Second-Rank supreme-grade pill would absorb large amounts of spiritual energy to achieve its perfect form.
Though only shocked for a brief moment, Li An quickly sprang into action. He swiftly tossed out three thousand spirit stones, surrounding the pill furnace. Vast amounts of spiritual energy poured in, feeding the pill’s transformation.
This was absolutely necessary!
Once the spiritual energy in the room was depleted, it would begin drawing from nearby areas. The spiritual fluctuations caused by the supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill would immediately be sensed by others.
That would spell serious trouble.
“Hahaha… Supreme-grade! It’s supreme-grade!”
Gu Songxi stared at the furnace, his eyes nearly deranged with joy.
A supreme-grade pill—this was the lifelong pursuit of all alchemists!
Though a genius in the path of alchemy, even he had never before produced a pill of this caliber.
In truth, it was something of a miracle that he had managed to refine one this time.
Gravely injured and with only a few years left to live, he had ceased alchemy for years, focusing instead on recuperation. Over the past four years, he had been painstakingly preparing for this single batch of Foundation Establishment Pills. The level of effort he had poured into this was beyond anything he had done before.
And that was the only reason this miracle had occurred.
Li An stepped forward, swept his sleeve, and dispersed the white glow surrounding the pill furnace.
Inside were three pills.
One resembled polished mutton-fat jade, crystal clear, its surface etched with mysterious evolving patterns.
This was the supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill!
The other two—one was pale yellow, warm in texture, a standard Foundation Establishment Pill. The last had visible cracks along its surface—an inferior-quality pill.
Three pills from one furnace.
Li An stared intently at the supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill, his divine sense and body fully tensed, his mind spinning rapidly.
According to his prior plan, after obtaining the pill, he would immediately leave the city, find a secluded location like Tempered Moon Valley, and slowly attempt his breakthrough.
But now, the appearance of a supreme-grade pill had disrupted that plan.
The room was already protected by eight layers of arrays, and he had used three thousand spirit stones to quickly construct a makeshift Spirit-Gathering Formation to conceal the pill’s presence.
If he left now, the spiritual fluctuations from the pill would soon be noticed.
And the supreme-grade pill was far too precious. A regular Foundation Establishment Pill only offered a 40% success rate. A supreme-grade one? Seventy percent!
Moreover, the foundation laid by it would far surpass that of ordinary cultivators, deeply enhancing one’s potential within the Foundation Establishment stage.
This was, in a very real sense, a fate-altering treasure.
Once exposed, Li An would never be able to protect it!
Even Foundation Establishment cultivators risked their lives carrying such a thing.
“I’ll have to take the risk—”
Li An had already made his decision.
Without waiting for the pill to fully absorb spiritual energy, he grabbed it and shoved the other two into his storage pouch. Then he swallowed the supreme-grade pill whole.
“You—!”
Gu Songxi had still been basking in the ecstasy of refining a supreme-grade pill, but when he saw Li An suddenly swallow it, his expression changed in alarm.
“Return my supreme-grade pill!”
In his panic, he even forgot that this furnace of pills had been prepared for Li An.
But Li An lashed out, seizing Gu Songxi’s throat in a sudden move. His five fingers shimmered with a cold blue hue.
Caught off guard and unprepared for Li An’s sudden attack—not to mention being a pill master and not a fighter—Gu Songxi had no defense. The poison laced with the aura of Li An’s Life Seed surged into his arteries and throughout his body. He stiffened and collapsed like a board.
Li An hadn’t killed him, but he had to incapacitate him.
“Fellow Daoist Wei, what’s going on? Just now there seemed to be a strange spiritual fluctuation?”
Gu Hong’s voice came from outside.
“Fellow Daoist Gu, please protect me! I’m about to break through to Foundation Establishment—”
Li An called out at once. He could already feel the surging medicinal power of the pill exploding within his body, impossible to suppress any longer.
“All right!”
Gu Hong’s voice outside carried both surprise and joy.
Li An sat down cross-legged and began wildly circulating the Life-Nurturing Immortal Forging Art, guiding the power of the supreme-grade Foundation Establishment Pill through his body...
…
By dawn the next day, Li An had yet to complete his breakthrough.
Gu Hong silently closed the shop doors and hung up a sign: “Temporarily Closed for Business.” She then stood silently outside the chamber, not moving an inch.
In the blink of an eye—
The third night.
Boom!
Within the Second Tier District of White Tiger City, spiritual energy suddenly began surging toward a single point. The energy of the Dao fluctuated across dozens of miles, and cultivators far and wide felt it.
“Someone’s breaking through to Foundation Establishment?!”
“Who is it?”
“For years now, no Foundation Establishment Pills have appeared in White Tiger City. Many Qi Refining cultivators have been stuck... who managed to break through?”
Conversations buzzed across the city. Countless Qi Refining cultivators had eyes full of envy.
For them, Foundation Establishment was a chasm. Anyone who crossed it was extraordinarily fortunate.
Especially in recent years, as White Tiger Mountain had been gathering soul-nourishing herbs en masse—Purple Soul Grass and the like—Foundation Establishment Pills had become even rarer.
So this sudden breakthrough drew enormous attention.
Many people rushed toward the source of the spiritual disturbance.
“The Pill Shop?!”
“That’s run by Gu Songxi and Gu Hong—both of them are already at Foundation Establishment…”
“Did someone hire them to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill and is breaking through right there?”
Voices buzzed with speculation.
At the same time, a striking woman arrived with deliberate grace, a sword in hand and a thoughtful look in her eyes.
She was the overseer of this district. Xu Qiuhui, the White Tiger Master’s seventeenth disciple.
Someone breaking through to Foundation Establishment in her territory? Naturally, she had to come inspect.
……
(End of Chapter)