章 80: The Demon Lord’s First Move
Chapter 80: The Demon Lord's First Move
It took a long time for Xiao Fu Sheng to calm down, but after he did, he kept staring at the Pill Cloud of the pill Su Mu had refined, almost like he was in a trance.
But for everyone else, it was understandable, and they gave Xiao Fu Sheng some time alone with the Heaven Grade Low-Rank Pill.
The dream he had chased for his entire life came true in such an abrupt manner, and Xiao Fu Sheng slowly turned towards the young man who had made it possible.
"Grandmaster Su…"
"What is it?"
Su Mu had long since been familiar with being called Grandmaster or Senior by Alchemists every time he demonstrated his skills, so Xiao Fu Sheng's attitude didn't surprise him, and neither did he try to deny the old man's respect.
Most of the Alchemists were such people; they'd respect those with higher insights into the Alchemic Way regardless of age or status.
"From the way you behaved, the Pill Cloud's appearance was no coincidence, right?"
"I refined it with the intention for the pill to form Pill Clouds…"
Su Mu confirmed Xiao Fu Sheng's doubts, which caused the latter to look up to him with admiration.
"Master, what is the difference between Pill Veins and Pill Clouds?" Dong Qing Yan asked after helping her master stand up from the ground.
"Pill Veins are the highest achievements an Alchemist can attain in Alchemy, but they fall short in front of Pill Clouds. If a Mysterious Grade Top Rank Alchemist were to refine Common Grade Pills to form Pill Veins, they might appear sometimes, but I always considered it impossible for someone to refine Pill Clouds with conscious efforts—at least until now." Xiao Fu Sheng glanced at Su Mu before he continued. "Much like Pill Veins, a pill with Pill Clouds has absorbed the energy of Heaven and Earth, but it is more than four times as potent as ordinary pills and will indefinitely maintain its efficiency… However, that's not all."
"There's more?"
"A pill with Pill Clouds will continuously absorb any surrounding World Energy, constantly increasing its efficiency over time..."
"Doesn't that mean a Common Grade Pill with Pill Clouds would eventually reach the same efficiency as a Mysterious—or even a Spirit Grade Pill?"
"It's theoretically possible, but in real life, a Common Grade Pill with Pill Clouds is as worthless as an ordinary pill, except for the initial increase in efficiency it gets." Su Mu answered Xia Ning Chang's question, and everyone turned their attention towards him. "Depending on the quality of Pill Clouds, the amount of World Energy a pill can constantly absorb varies, and even with the highest grade of Pill Clouds, the amount of time it takes to reach many grades higher is too much for most people."
Pill Cloud's actual benefits on lower-grade pills would only show if someone stored them for tens of thousands of years, which was something that wasn't possible for the people of this small world.
Su Mu pointed at the pill in Xiao Fu Sheng's hands and continued, "If a Common Grade Pill were to have the same Pill Clouds as the one I refined, it'd take around five thousand years to reach the level of a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Pill."
Five thousand years was more than the lifespan of an average Origin King Realm Cultivator; it was a timespan that most people from this world couldn't even fathom.
Not to mention, the amount of time required would only increase with higher grades of pills.
"Grandmaster Su… How do you know all of this?"
"Treasurer Meng, did you not tell Old Man Xiao about my identity?"
Su Mu looked at Meng Wuya, and the latter shook his head.
"What identity is he talking about, Brother Meng?"
Su Mu smiled at Xiao Fu Sheng's question and answered, "I am the inheritor of a Saint Grade High-Rank Alchemist."
It was an identity he randomly created, but it would prove to be very helpful after he arrived at the Tong Xuan Realm.
Alchemists were valuable assets, and from what Meng Wuya had told him, there were barely any Saint-Grade Alchemists within the Tong Xuan Realm.
"Saint Grade High-Rank Alchemist…?"
As one would expect from someone born in this small world, Xiao Fu Sheng had no idea what Saint Grade was, so Meng Wuya decided to answer his doubts.
"It's what comes after Spirit Grade, the highest level an alchemist can achieve."
"Amazing… To think there lies a thing beyond what I've tried to achieve my whole life…"
'Xiao Fu Sheng's reaction to the existence of higher realms makes Su Yan's reaction look somewhat dull in comparison…'
While random thoughts crossed through Su Mu's head, Meng Wuya asked. "What is the highest grade of pills you can refine currently?"
"For pills with Pill Clouds, anything beyond Heaven Grade Low Rank is simply impossible, and even this one had a one in ten chance of successful refinement, but if we're talking about ordinary pills, I should barely be able to refine Spirit Grade Low-Rank Pills. Anything beyond that is also impossible for now…"
Not only was his cultivation not high enough, but this world's Heavenly Way wasn't strong enough to support an Alchemist beyond Spirit Grade Low-Rank.
"Spirit Grade Low-Rank…?"
Not only Xiao Fu Sheng but Meng Wuya was also surprised by Su Mu's words.
'It hasn't even been three years since he inherited the Saint Grade Alchemist's inheritance; how frightening can someone's growth rate be—both as a cultivator and alchemist?'
As if that wasn't enough for Meng Wuya's heart, Su Mu added another small detail to the conversation.
"Don't look so surprised; even Sister Xia can refine a Spirit Grade Pill if she tries hard enough…"
"Wait…" Meng Wuya slowly turned towards Xia Ning Chang. "Chang'er, what's your success rate in refining Mysterious Grade Top Rank Pills?"
"About eighty percent…"
"And Mid-Rank?"
"One hundred."
"Unbelievable…" Meng Wuya's eyes widened at his disciple's words, and he blinked stupidly. He knew that ever since Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang met, her progress in alchemy had been progressing rapidly, but this kind of progress was hard to imagine, even for someone with the Sacred Spirit Medicine Body.
"There is no need to be too hard on yourself, Treasurer Meng; only a good teacher can bring out their student's full potential."
'Damn brat!' Meng Wuya glared at Su Mu, but the latter only smiled and shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Grandmaster Xia…"
"Please don't call me that, Senior Xiao." Xia Ning Chang was embarrassed by Xiao Fu Sheng's unintentional mutter, and she quickly shook her head.
"Grandmaster Xia—it has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Brother Su…!"
---
After everyone left the stone room, Xiao Fu Sheng immediately began preparing to open the Myriad Drug Pond according to Su Mu's instructions. Since they planned on using it for a prolonged period, the opening process took over a week.
Opening the Myriad Drug Pond was quite expensive because every time someone opened it, they would need a lot of pills to be used as an offering to the Pill Saint's Statue so that it would reveal its profound mysteries and allow those who gazed upon it to gain enlightenment.
The number of pills required each time was no less than a hundred, and the higher their quality and quantity, the longer the Pill Saint's Statue would remain active.
Because of this material cost, even Medicine King's Valley would not necessarily be able to open it more than a few times a year, and every time they opened it, it was either for an Elder who needed enlightenment or for an Elite Disciple as a reward for their achievements.
In addition to those who belonged to Medicine King's Valley, the only way outside Alchemists to see the Pill Saint's portrait was for them to participate in the Alchemist Summit.
The Medicine King's Valley held the Alchemist Summit once every five years, and each time they did, numerous Alchemists from all over the world would rush to attend.
During this summit, the pills these foreign Alchemists refined, regardless of the quantity or quality, would all be put into the Myriad Drug Pond to open this forbidden area. Then, the top 50 Alchemists from the summit would be allowed to patronise the Pill Saint's Statue.
For thousands of years, it was not known just how many pills the Myriad Drug Pond had consumed.
Hence, it received the name Myriad Drug Pond.
The Myriad Drug Pond and the Pill Saint's Statue shared a mysterious link, and although the Medicine King's Valley had tried numerous times to explore it, they had never managed to discover anything.
Over time, the Myriad Drug Pond had become the holy ground of this world's Alchemists. The Pill Saint's portrait became the treasure that all Alchemists dreamed of. Many alchemists worked their whole lives to gain a moment sitting before the Pill Saint's Statue.
"Let us be on our way, then."
After the preparations ended, Xiao Fu Sheng personally guided Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang to the Pill Saint's Peak.
"As expected of Senior Xiao, it is hard to believe that the Valley Lord would allow someone to stay at the Pill Saint's Peak for so long…"
"Ahaha…" Xiao Fu Sheng gave out an empty laugh at Xia Ning Chang's words. "The Valley Lord was more than willing after Grandmaster Su allowed him to observe the pill he had refined, which also led him to enlightenment."
As the three moved towards their destination, Su Mu looked around to check this place's security.
'The defence here is extremely tight. In addition to four Immortal Ascension Realm cultivators stationed within a three-hundred-meter radius of the Myriad Drug Pond, there are also more than a dozen guards at the True Element Boundary patrolling the perimeter.'
Sneaking inside wasn't impossible for Su Mu, but it required too much effort to be worth it.
After they arrived at the Myriad Drug Pond, Su Mu summoned the Demon Mystic Tome, revealing the Spirit Array on its fifth page.
"It looks like the other part of this Spirit Array is beneath the Myriad Drug Pond…"
"If that's the case, what should we do?"
"We're going inside, of course."
Without waiting for a reply, Su Mu jumped into the Myriad Drug Pong, followed by Xia Ning Chang.
"Grandmaster Su—!"
Xiao Fu Sheng wanted to know what happened, but alas, no one was there to answer his questions.
---
The Myriad Drug Pond was not deep, probably only a couple dozen meters or so.
Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang dove deeper rapidly. The fifth page of the Demon Mystic Tome in Su Mu's hand fluttered, and a bright light burst forth from the page before completely enveloping their bodies.
From the Myriad Drug Pond's bottom, the hidden Spirit Array's lines also began to glow and allowed them to pass directly through it and reach an area even further below.
"Haah…" A moment later, Xia Ning Chang slowly began to recover her vision, and she noticed that they were no longer in water. Although isolated, the place was not barren, and the air had a fragrant aroma.
The light wrapping Xia Ning Chang and Su Mu flowed into the latter's body, and with it, information started appearing inside his mind, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
"To think such a place stayed hidden underneath the Myriad Drug Pond for so long…"
"With the Spirit Array in place, it's near impossible for someone below the Transcendent Realm to discover this place."
"No wonder the Medicine King's Valley couldn't unravel the mysteries of the Myriad Drug Pond despite trying for thousands of years…"
While talking, Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang swept their eyes around every corner of the isolated room.
Not far from them, there was a deep, well-like structure. The top of the well was probably only about the size that could fit one person inside it. Walking up to it, they noticed that the well seemed to store some milky-white liquid.
The well had a Spirit Array around it, which formed a visible cylinder of energy overtop the well that was constantly transferring power from above to below.
With her Divine Sense, Xia Ning Chang noted that the source of this energy was the bottom of the Myriad Drug Pond, while its destination was the well in front of them.
"The Great Demon God didn't disappoint me; the efforts in visiting this place paid well…"
A small smile appeared on Su Mu's face, and seeing that, Xia Ning Chang asked. "Brother Su, this is…?"
"It's one of the best medicinal elixirs in Tong Xuan Realm—the Myriad Drug Liquid."
Every year, the Medicine King's Valley would offer hundreds of thousands of pills to the Myriad Drug Pond. However, unlike what most people believed, the energy contained within those pills did not simply vanish, but instead, was collected by the Spirit Array hidden at its bottom and then drawn into the isolated room below it.
Once inside the well, the second Spirit Array would transform the energy into Myriad Drug Liquid.
It wasn't something that one could achieve overnight but required years and a constant supply of pills to complete.
From what Su Mu knew, Medicine King's Valley's heritage stretched back five or six thousand years. Every year, hundreds, thousands, or even more pills were thrown into the Myriad Drug Pond as offerings, so after so many years of accumulation, the total number of pills the Myriad Drug Pond had consumed had reached at least a few million.
Even if the grade of the pills were low, their sheer quantity would result in a massive amount of energy to gather under the Myriad Drug Pond. Not to mention, often, to study the mysteries of the Pill Saint's Portrait for longer, Medicine King's Valley would not hesitate to offer many Earth Grade and even Heaven Grade pills.
On top of that, every year, when it was time for them to worship their ancestors, even Mysterious Grade pills would become offerings.
Thanks to the Spirit Arrays, every pill offered by the Medicine King's Valley had now turned into the Myriad Drug Liquid.
It was easy to understand how rare and precious this Myriad Drug Liquid was within the Tong Xuan Realm.
An elixir formed from the energy of millions of pills that slowly refined over thousands of years; it was easy to understand how rare and precious the Myriad Drug Liquid was within the Tong Xuan Realm.
"The Great Demon God was certainly a generous individual—going as far as to create such a meticulous system using the Medicine King's Valley that his inheritor might never find…"
As for the Myriad Drug Liquid's effects, there were many. Not only did it immediately boost one's cultivation upon consumption, but if a cultivator regularly refined it over a long period, they could essentially be reborn, cleansing and quenching their body. Even if their aptitude was originally mediocre, as long as they continuously took this elixir, they would inevitably one day become a genius.
It could also play a role in Alchemy. When refining any pill, if an Alchemist added a single drop of Myriad Drug Liquid, it would improve the quality of the pill by half a grade
"Does it also work on Saint Grade Pills…?"
"It won't. Myriad Drug Liquid is only a Spirit Grade Elixir." Su Mu shook his head at Xia Ning Chang's question. "Not to mention, using it as an ingredient in alchemy is more of a waste."
In addition to alchemy, there were other benefits associated with the Myriad Drug Liquid, from healing, increasing longevity, strengthening physique, etc.
Although it formed from a variety of pills, its effects far exceeded the effects of those pills. Through constant refinement, it has undergone quantitative and qualitative change.
Moreover, the Spirit Array engraved around the well was constantly absorbing World Energy from the surroundings, continuously channelling it into the well throughout thousands of years. The changes it had caused to the Myriad Drug Liquid contained within it were exceptionally beneficial to cultivators.
Medicine King's Valley had been sitting on this treasure but had only used it as a medium to activate the Pill Saint's Portrait, not even taking advantage of one-tenth of its full potential.
However, it was precisely because of the existence of the Pill Saint's Portrait that Medicine King's Valley and the world's Alchemists continued to offer pills to the Myriad Drug Pond for thousands of years, which ultimately allowed the Myriad Drug Liquid to form.
Without the Pill Saint's portrait, there would never have been any liquid in this well.
It was a well-formed design by the Great Demon God.
"How about trying the Myriad Drug Liquid?"
"Really?"
"The Great Demon God created it for the one who inherits the Demon Mystic Tome, so it's mine to do whatever I want."
"Okay…" After removing her veil, Xia Ning Chang carefully dipped a finger into the well and brought a drop of the clear liquid to her mouth. A sweet taste immediately spread across her tongue, and the liquid instantly transformed into a warm energy, which proceeded to soak into her body, slightly enhancing her flesh and bones. "It's delicious."
"Indeed; it's one of the most delicious things I have tasted in this life…"
"There are other things as delicious as this in our world?" Xia Ning Chang asked, somewhat surprised. Even the Mysterious Grade Top Rank Pills that she refined didn't taste nearly as good as the Myriad Drug Liquid.
"There are…" Su Mu gave Xia Ning Chang a meaningful smile. "Like Su Yan, Hu Jiao'er, Hu Mei'er, and I'm sure Sister Xia—"
"Brother Su!" Xia Ning Chang didn't let him finish, interrupting his words with a red face. "Please don't mention these things out of nowhere…"
Su Mu chuckled at her reaction, and after she had calmed down, he continued. "At the near bottom of this well, there's also some Myriad Drug Milk, which is twice as effective as the Myriad Drug Liquid. After that, there's the Myriad Drug Cream, which is twice as effective as the Myriad Drug Milk…"
The lowest level Myriad Drug Liquid was Spirit Grade, while the Myriad Drug Milk was Saint Grade. As for the small amount of Myriad Drug Cream inside the well, it was a Saint King Grade Elixir, something that shouldn't exist within the Tong Xuan Realm.
'With this much elixir, gradually consuming it over time won't be a problem. For now, let's focus on using the Myriad Drug Liquid first…'
Su Mu truly appreciated the Great Demon God's efforts in creating everything for him.
"How deep does this well go?"
"Deep enough for it to contain around a thousand kilograms of Myriad Drug Liquid, three hundred kilograms of Myriad Drug Milk, and a few dozen kilograms of Myriad Drug Cream."
'Suddenly, the heavenly treasure looks less heavenly with so much quantity...' Xia Ning Chang kept her thoughts to herself, and instead, she asked. "Do you plan on storing everything inside the Demon Mystic Tome, Brother Su?"
"That was my intention at first, but refining around half of the Myriad Drug Liquid into pills would be better since it'll be easier to handle outside of the storage space…"
'Refining five hundred kilograms of Myriad Drug Liquid into pills will take a long time…' A bad feeling rose inside Xia Ning Chang's heart, and she hesitantly asked. "Brother Su, you didn't bring any Pill Furnace, right...?"
"It's time for Sister Xia to become a Spirit Grade Alchemist."
And so, Xia Ning Chang's training to become a Spirit Grade Alchemist began.
---
"Now, let's go back."
Su Mu held out his hand to Xia Ning Chang, and she grabbed it before pulling herself up.
"How long has it been since we arrived at this place?"
"Since Treasurer Meng hasn't arrived storming in, it shouldn't have been that long…"
"Senior Xiao probably had a hard time stopping Master from coming here." Xia Ning Chang smiled.
Since their Divine Senses couldn't leave the room, they had no idea what was happening inside the Medicine King's Valley.
"Well, we can go and see for ourselves…"
Su Mu glanced at the Spirit Array on the roof, and moments later, a bright flash of light enveloped the whole room, pushing the two of them out of the Myriad Drug Pond.
Su Mu expected Xiao Fu Sheng to be present at their arrival, but unexpectedly, the scene in front of him was something else entirely.
Dozens of corpses surrounded the Myriad Drug Pond, and blood flowed like an endless river.
The originally hundred-meter-tall Pill Saint's Statue had now been shattered, broken into pieces strewn across the mountaintop.
The air had a thick smell of blood, enough for Xia Ning Chang to unconsciously cover her nostrils, and the sounds of battles echoed all around.
Su Mu held Xia Ning Chang's hand and said, "Don't panic. With his strength, nothing would happen to Treasurer Meng."
"Yes…"
The surrounding area had numerous traces of battle, and as he looked further afield, Su Mu found that smoke was rising from all of Medicine King's Valley's twelve peaks, and the city in the valley below was in complete chaos.
There were many Immortal Ascension Realm cultivators flying through the sky, locked in desperate struggles with all kinds of Martial Skills and strange artifacts flying back and forth.
Su Mu released his Divine Sense, covering the maximum distance to grasp the situation.
Demonic Qi coursed around Medicine King's Valley, and those who fought with Medicine King's Valley's disciples also released a dense Demonic Qi, indicating that the attackers were devil's path cultivators.
In addition to these devil's path cultivators and Medicine King's Valley disciples, there were also many cultivators from the world's various forces engaged in battle. All of them assisted Medicine King's Valley's forces, but there were not many experts present, so coupled with their lack of coordination, they were losing ground in many places, some of them even becoming corpses.
'Only Ash Grey Cloud Evil Land has so many Immortal Ascension Realm Demonic Cultivators for someone to command…'
It was only a guess, but Su Mu was confident in his conclusion, realising that the newly appointed Demon Lord's first order was to attack the Medicine King's Valley.
"Brother Su, let's go."
"Alright."
With that, Su Mu and Xia Ning Chang started flying towards the Hidden Cloud Peak.
---
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