Chapter 362: Vice President of the Pill Tower
The Skyfire Venerate looked into the distance, and even the lingering aura left him deeply shocked. "Such terrifying lightning!"
"Thank you, senior, for saving me. Could you leave your name so I can repay you in the future?" The Skyfire Venerate hesitated for a moment, then bowed towards the direction of the spatial rift.
However, no matter how his voice echoed, the only response was the gradually healing spatial rift. Not receiving a response, the Skyfire Venerate did not think much of it. After all, the senior had saved his life.
Looking at where the Hall of Souls' Heavenly Venerate once stood, the Skyfire Venerate couldn't help but marvel, "He chased me so relentlessly, yet couldn't withstand a single strike from that senior. What realm is that senior in?"
The Skyfire Venerate thought for a moment, then took out a map to roughly determine his direction and headed towards Saint Pill City. Since Xiao Yan fulfilled his promise to refine a body for him, the Skyfire Venerate had become Xiao Yan's protector. This put him at odds with the Hall of Souls, one of the most powerful forces in Zhongzhou.
Recently, Xiao Yan planned to participate in the Pill Meeting hosted by the Pill Tower but was ambushed by two strong members of the Hall of Souls on the way. In a critical situation, the Skyfire Venerate decided to lure away the stronger Five-Star Dou Zun, leaving Xiao Yan to deal with the weaker one. They agreed to meet in Saint Pill City after escaping the Hall of Souls.
"I wonder how Xiao Yan is doing. With his teacher around, he should be fine," the Skyfire Venerate muttered to himself as he flew towards Saint Pill City.
In the endless void, Xiao Ze picked up the spoils brought back by the lightning. With his heavenly-level soul power, he easily erased the soul imprint on the high-level storage ring.
"The Hall of Souls' Heavenly Venerate had quite a collection," Xiao Ze praised before handing the high-level storage ring to the others. While the collection was rich, there was nothing that caught his eye, so he gave it to Qinglin and Little Doctor Immortal.
They happily accepted the ring, passing it around and each taking some items from it. Finally, Qinglin stored the ring away for future use. High-level storage rings were very precious, but at their level, everyone had one, with several kept as spares.
"Young Master Xiao Ze, that Dou Zun seems to be thanking us," Qinglin said with a smile.
"No need to pay attention to it. The Zhongzhou Continent is vast, and whether we meet again is unknown. Talk of future repayment is pointless," Xiao Ze shook his head. It was better to hurry back to the Pill Tower.
A few days later, Xiao Ze and his group arrived outside Saint Pill City, emerging from the void. Seeing the bustling city for the first time, Little Doctor Immortal couldn't help but gape in amazement.
"What a prosperous city! Even the Heavenly Alliance City can't compare!"
"Of course. The size of Saint Pill City rivals the Black-Corner Region. As the holy land for alchemists across the continent, its foundation is far beyond that of the Heavenly Alliance," Xiao Ze said with a smile. "Let's go."
They didn't land directly in the outer regions of Saint Pill City to avoid attracting the attention of the Pill Tower's experts. Although Xiao Ze wasn't afraid, he preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble. This time, they had traveled through the endless void using the Thunder Dou Technique instead of taking a spatial wormhole.
"Saint Pill City is much busier than before!" Qinglin observed, seeing people in various alchemist uniforms.
"It's only close to the start of the Pill Meeting. In a few days, it will be truly crowded," Xiao Ze explained. "Countless alchemists gather here, hoping to soar to new heights on the stage of the Pill Meeting!"
Looking at the many confident alchemists around him, Xiao Ze knew they were brimming with confidence now, but once they witnessed the Pill Meeting's intensity, their spirits might temper.
With elder tokens, Xiao Ze and his group easily entered the inner region of Saint Pill City.
"Qinglin, Medusa, take Little Doctor Immortal to the Elder Tower first. I'll go see the three presidents," Xiao Ze instructed, watching the three women leave before heading to the black tower.
At the entrance of the black tower, several familiar figures were among the guards. Some who didn't recognize Xiao Ze were about to shout but were stopped by others who smiled and said to Xiao Ze, "Elder Xiao Ze, you're back. Please come in. The three presidents said you can enter without announcement when you return."
"Thank you," Xiao Ze said, bowing slightly before stepping inside, leaving the stunned guards behind.
"Is he the legendary genius of the Pill Tower, Elder Xiao Ze?"
"Yes, lucky I stopped you. Otherwise, the consequences would have been dire."
"Thanks, brother!"
Ignoring the conversation at the door, Xiao Ze made his way to the hall where the three presidents were.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in, Xiao Ze," came Xuankongzi's voice from inside as soon as Xiao Ze knocked.
"Greetings, presidents! Xiao Ze has been away from the Pill Tower for a long time. Please forgive me," Xiao Ze said, bowing as he entered and saw the three presidents.
"Haha, no need to worry about such trivial matters. The Pill Tower is much more lenient than other forces," Xuankongzi said with a smile, waving his hand.
At this moment, Tian Leizi suddenly widened his eyes at Xiao Ze. "Xiao Ze, what is your current level of strength?"
Hearing Tian Leizi's question, Xuanyi and Xuankongzi were also taken aback, turning their gazes to Xiao Ze, eyes widening in surprise because they couldn't discern Xiao Ze's cultivation level.
"I have reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zun."
Gulp!
The three presidents swallowed simultaneously. Being peak Dou Zuns themselves, they knew how difficult it was to reach such a level. Yet Xiao Ze had gone from Five-Star Dou Zun to the peak in less than two years!
"And your alchemy skills?" Tian Leizi asked, his throat dry.
"I can now refine eight-rank pills with Nine-Colored Dan Thunder."
Boom!
The three presidents looked as if they had been struck by lightning, stunned. They knew Xiao Ze's talent was unparalleled, but to see him catch up to them in both alchemy and cultivation so quickly was astonishing.
After a moment, Xuankongzi shook his head with a bitter smile. "We thought there might be some resistance to you hosting the Pill Meeting, but it seems you are well qualified."
Tian Leizi added, "Since none of us have resigned from our positions as presidents, we didn't want to break the rules. So, we came up with a compromise."
"We will appoint you as the vice president of the Pill Tower. This way, you can host the Pill Meeting under the title of a Pill Tower president," Xuanyi said with a smile.
"Thank you, presidents, for your trust. I will do my best to make this Pill Meeting a success!" Xiao Ze said earnestly.
The three presidents nodded in satisfaction, confident in Xiao Ze's abilities.
(End of chapter)
Chapter 363: Sacred Heart Glazed Pill
After leaving the black tower, Xiao Ze covered himself with soul power to conceal his presence as he walked towards the Elder Tower.
"Now that I've been named Vice President of the Pill Tower and am responsible for hosting this year's Pill Meeting, I can't afford any mistakes..."
"I remember that the biggest crisis in this year's Pill Meeting is the Elder Mu Gu from the Hall of Souls."
"He not only successfully infiltrated the pill world, killing many participating alchemists, but he also nearly won the championship, almost bringing shame to the Pill Tower."
In the original story, only a few alchemists were able to refine eight-rank pills in this meeting: Dan Chen, Cao Ying, Xiao Yan, Old Monster Qinghua, and Elder Mu Gu. As long as Elder Mu Gu is dealt with, it doesn't matter who wins the championship; there would be no loss to the Pill Tower.
The Pill Tower and the Hall of Souls had always been at odds, and their conflicts had intensified in recent years. Though the last clash ended inconclusively, it made the major forces in Zhongzhou more aware of the friction between these two top powers. If the champion, the highest honor of the Pill Tower, were to be a Hall of Souls Elder, it would be a disgrace to the Pill Tower. If such an event occurred, Xiao Ze, as the host, would also lose face.
Xiao Ze thought for a moment and realized there was a solution. In the original story, the three presidents didn't notice Elder Mu Gu's infiltration due to the Hall of Souls' exceptional stealth capabilities. But with Xiao Ze's foresight, it would be relatively easy to identify and eliminate Elder Mu Gu before he could cause trouble. Especially during the stage of the Pill Meeting where participants enter the pill realm to find specific herbs, Xiao Ze could quietly deal with Elder Mu Gu.
"If I can eliminate another eight-rank alchemist from the Hall of Souls, it would be quite satisfying."
Apart from this, there were no other significant crises to worry about.
Returning to the Elder Tower, Xiao Ze was about to refine a Thunder Tribulation Pill to enhance his cultivation when he suddenly saw a notification on the system panel.
[Xiao Yan, under Yao Lao's guidance, has been diligently practicing day and night, greatly improving his alchemy skills. Congratulations to the host for receiving a hundredfold alchemy feedback!]
Seeing this message, Xiao Ze raised an eyebrow and smiled in surprise. It seemed that with the Pill Meeting approaching, Xiao Yan was also working hard on his alchemy. Unlike in the original story where Yao Lao was captured, this time Yao Lao was still with Xiao Yan, significantly boosting his alchemy improvement.
"Another hundredfold alchemy feedback! This ability bond is indeed the most worthwhile!"
For the moment, Xiao Ze put aside the idea of refining the Thunder Tribulation Pill and decided to accept the hundredfold alchemy feedback, hoping to gain new pill recipes. His current collection of pill recipes was vast, accumulated from his time as an elder in the Pill Tower and further expanded after founding the Heavenly Alliance. The immense power of the Heavenly Alliance had greatly enhanced Xiao Ze's ability to collect pill recipes.
No wonder it's said that alchemists should align themselves with a powerful force. Alchemists provide pills, while the force supports the alchemists, benefiting both. Since founding the Heavenly Alliance, Xiao Ze's collection of pill recipes had grown significantly. He suspected that even the most established alchemy masters couldn't compare to his accumulation of recipes.
His collection spanned from one-rank to eight-rank pill recipes, but nine-rank recipes were extremely rare, as valuable as Heaven-rank Dou Techniques. Even as the dominant force in the Northwest Continent, the Heavenly Alliance struggled to gather nine-rank recipes.
"Claim hundredfold alchemy feedback!"
Xiao Ze closed his eyes, murmuring to himself. A torrent of information flooded into his mind. With his heavenly-level soul power, he quickly digested the information. Opening his eyes, a fleeting look of joy crossed his face.
"There really is a new pill recipe! The Sacred Heart Glazed Pill!"
Xiao Ze examined the recipe for the Sacred Heart Glazed Pill and was increasingly amazed. Even with his current alchemy skills, he was awestruck by the profound complexity of the recipe. The pill's effect was simple: it enhanced a person's potential. Condensing the sacred heart and forging a glazed body, it bestowed extraordinary talent—thus named the Sacred Heart Glazed Pill.
What astonished Xiao Ze the most was that the Sacred Heart Glazed Pill created an alchemical framework that allowed the pill to be refined as long as the main ingredients didn't exceed the framework's limits. The resulting Sacred Heart Glazed Pill had three grades based on the quality of the main ingredients: Nine-Rank Treasure Pill, Nine-Rank Profound Pill, and Nine-Rank Golden Pill.
That's right; the Sacred Heart Glazed Pill was essentially a Nine-Rank Golden Pill recipe! Throughout the original story, there had never been a true Nine-Rank Golden Pill. The Dou Qi Continent hadn't seen one for thousands of years! The difficulty of refining a Nine-Rank Golden Pill was one thing; the rarity of its recipe was another. Now, Xiao Ze had a Nine-Rank Golden Pill recipe.
"No wonder I found this recipe so profound. If I master this alchemical framework, I could replicate any recipe below nine-rank, even without a recipe, just by observing it once."
Excited, Xiao Ze spoke to himself, but he knew that achievement was still far off. He reviewed the Nine-Rank Golden Pill recipe again, realizing it was beyond his current comprehension. So, he shifted his focus to the Nine-Rank Treasure Pill recipe.
"As luck would have it, I previously obtained the Source Blood Heart and Glazed Pearl, both key ingredients for the Nine-Rank Treasure Pill!"
"However, those two main ingredients aren't enough. A nine-rank pill requires thousands of auxiliary ingredients, most of which I have, but some are extremely rare and will need to be sought out."
After organizing the Nine-Rank Treasure Pill recipe, Xiao Ze was satisfied, knowing he could refine it once his strength was sufficient. If he were willing to owe a favor, he could even invite a Dou Sheng to protect him from the Black Demon Lightning, enabling him to refine the Nine-Rank Treasure Pill now. But he decided it wasn't worth the risk unless he had absolute trust in the Dou Sheng. The temptation of a nine-rank pill was too great.
Xiao Ze noted down the rare ingredients he lacked for the Nine-Rank Treasure Pill and set the Sacred Heart Glazed Pill aside. He then prepared to refine the Thunder Tribulation Pill, an eight-rank pill with Nine-Colored Dan Lightning. The Thunder Tribulation Pill and Sacred Heart Glazed Pill had similarities. The grade of the Thunder Tribulation Pill depended on the intensity of the Dan Lightning in the main ingredient. Xiao Ze had saved some Nine-Colored Dan Lightning from a previous pill refinement for this purpose.
With various medicinal ingredients ready, refining the Thunder Tribulation Pill should be no problem. Xiao Ze initially took out the Yun Ling Cauldron but decided to put it away. The energy of the Thunder Tribulation Pill was too violent and might damage the cauldron.
At the top of the Elder Tower, golden flames soared into the sky, condensing into a massive golden cauldron. The pill refinement began!
(End of chapter)
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