Chapter 2732: Hold On Tight

In Dān Chéng, the crowd surged like a sea. Though it was night, no stars were visible, as the void's dark clouds still blanketed the vast sky, occasionally flashing with lightning and thunder. People lit illumination spirit pearls, watching faithfully. Yè Chén had been refining the pill for a full day, with frequent pill phenomena appearing, yet the pill had not yet emerged.

"Refining a nine-pattern pill is quite time-consuming!" Gǔ Sān Tǒng sighed.

"The materials alone number in the thousands, and the process is so intricate that it absolutely can't be done in just one or two days." Tài Èr Zhēn Rén stroked his beard, knowledgeable about alchemy, or at least having studied it before.

"Quietly contemplate this; it's a supreme opportunity."

The elder alchemists repeatedly advised the younger ones. Yè Chén's choice to refine the pill in Dān Chéng carried this deeper meaning, hoping that the juniors could gain some insights into the profound mysteries from this alchemy session.

Without needing the elders to say it, the young alchemists watched intently, even the elders gazing silently. One pattern represented the beginner's path, nine patterns the great dao. The wonders of alchemy involved both understanding the pill and the way.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones fracturing was still crisp, coming from Yè Chén's body.

One could see dark lightning on his skin's surface, the heavenly tribulation's thunder still tormenting him. His sacred body was torn apart repeatedly, only to regenerate tirelessly in an endless cycle of destruction and revival, perishing in ruin and resurrecting in extinction.

"Refining a pill while enduring heavenly tribulation—truly defying heaven." Dān Zōng murmured softly. Alchemy most tabooed any distraction.

Yè Chén's approach was tantamount to increasing the difficulty of alchemy. A single misstep could cause the furnace to explode and destroy his body. If an alchemist's mind wasn't calm, any calamity could occur.

"Fighting by activating bloodline limits, crossing the Bridge of Helplessness by activating bloodline limits, and now refining a pill while activating bloodline limits—who knows if he'd activate bloodline limits even in bed."

Xiǎo Líng Wǎ muttered to himself, squatting on Yuè Huáng's shoulder and sighing endlessly. As he spoke, his little hands were restless, always tempted to touch Yuè Huáng's cheek, which he thought would feel nice.

Yuè Huáng said nothing, simply picking him up with one hand and tossing him away casually.

Many old folks watched as Xiǎo Líng Wáng flew off. Though the little guy wasn't very tall, his posture was quite imposing. He deserved to be thrown for trying to flirt with the Empress of Great Chǔ.

"Scolding heaven can activate bloodline limits?"

Over here, Lóng Yè had his hands tucked in his sleeves, still pondering this matter, occasionally glancing around. Those who scolded heaven were countless, and those struck by heavenly tribulation were everywhere, yet only Yè Chén had activated bloodline limits. This made him wonder if the sacred body had some special privilege in that domain.

"That guy has arrived too." Lóng Yī tugged at Lóng Yè's sleeve.

The "guy" he referred to was the male eternal body, who had come from afar, dressed in plain robes, with an indifferent expression, neither joyful nor worried, standing silently in a corner of the crowd.

His arrival made Lóng Wǔ turn his head, his dim eyes flickering with a sharp glint.

"To defeat him would be as hard as reaching the sky." Xiūluó Tiān Zūn said leisurely. He had fought the male eternal body once; regardless of the outcome, the opponent's combat power was extraordinarily fearsome. In comparison, Lóng Wǔ's strength seemed mediocre—they weren't on the same level.

"One day, I will defeat him." Lóng Wǔ said calmly, then withdrew his gaze.

"What a stubborn child." Hónghuāng Qílín Jiǔ Chén said with his hands tucked away, sighing. If he wanted to win back his wife, it would actually be easy—just find Yè Chén, or Dōng Shén Yáo Chí, or Zhūtiān Jiàn Shén, or Shèng Zūn, or Dì Jī; any one of them could defeat the eternal body. But Lóng Wǔ was obstinate, insisting on doing it himself. At this rate, he might never succeed, even until death. The one who outlasted Tài Xū Lóng Dì was no ordinary fierce person.

"There's something I don't know if I should say." Xiūluó Tiān Zūn said leisurely.

"Spit it out!" Jiǔ Chén glanced at Tiān Zūn.

"Want to become sworn brothers?" Tiān Zūn said meaningfully.

Jiǔ Chén's eyes slanted, sizing up this fellow from head to toe, scrutinizing him thoroughly. He quite appreciated this cheap guy from the heavenly realm—just say you want my blood outright!

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

As the two bantered, the buzzing continued. The quasi-emperors of Tiān Xuán Mén had once again sacrificed their emperor artifacts to protect the surroundings. Since it was an inauspicious day, disasters could strike at any moment, so they had to safeguard Yè Chén fully. They couldn't let the evil spirits die in vain—any disruptor would face thunderous retaliation.

"What a good person—gone just like that." Fú Yā sighed.

The crowd of mischievous old folks felt the same. That eerie and wicked woman had often beaten them in the past, but their relationship was still decent. Seeing her perish and turn into a spirit, they couldn't help but grieve. The world no longer had the demon god Chímèi, and it felt emptily desolate at first glance.

On Yún Tài Mountain, Yè Chén waved his hand again, tossing three types of immortal materials into the pill furnace. As they merged, the pill's form solidified a bit more, and the nine pill patterns on it became even brighter. Chaotic fire surged, repeatedly submerging the soul-returning pill's form and refining away its impurities.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, dawn arrived.

Today, the red glow in the east made the rolling dark clouds in the sky finally dissipate, and Yè Chén's bloodline limits faded away. The heavenly tribulation's thunder on his body also vanished with it.

He no longer scolded heaven, focusing entirely on alchemy. Though his alchemy skills were high, this was his first time refining a nine-pattern pill, so he couldn't afford any mistakes. Refining a nine-pattern pill was extremely draining; even with his abundant vital energy, his face showed a hint of pallor, and his eyes were bloodshot with fatigue.

Rén Wáng flicked a pill toward Yè Chén, sending it into his body from afar. Many elder quasi-emperors also sacrificed their pills to help him recover his energy. Even a half-step great accomplishment sacred body showed signs of exhaustion, illustrating how difficult it was to refine a nine-pattern pill. Any ordinary alchemist would have collapsed long ago.

"Hold on tightly." Dì Lǎo flicked his sleeve, sending over an eight-pattern pill.

Yè Chén didn't speak, controlling the flames with one hand while slightly turning his eyes, gazing into the ethereal void. His bright golden eyes were nearly narrowed into slits, and his brows furrowed.

In the previous instant, that sensation of being watched had reappeared, and it was extremely intense. He didn't know who was spying on him, but he felt as if there was a pair of cold, desolate eyes hidden in the darkness, not in this realm, but incredibly distant—as far as the end of time, where all he could see was chaos. His vision was limited, unable to pierce through and find the source.

"What are you looking at?"

The elder quasi-emperors who knew him well also looked up. If Yè Chén was staring like that, there must be something unusual, but they saw nothing—only ethereal void, nothing at all.

For this reason, many urged their emperor artifacts to scan inch by inch, yet found no clues.

Only after a long while did Yè Chén withdraw his gaze, raising his hand to toss in a stalk of immortal grass.

Buzz!

The pill furnace hummed, and radiant colors sprayed out, surrounding the furnace and manifesting pill phenomena. A more abundant pill fragrance surged forth, vast like an ocean, nourishing Yè Chén's body and the surrounding life forms. Everyone breathed deeply, especially the old folks, who felt refreshed with each breath. If their lifespans were like parched land, then these strands of pill fragrance were like springs of clear water, irrigating the barren soil.

Buzz!

The fully formed soul-returning pill trembled gently, its pill halo spreading out layer by layer. Wherever the halo passed, people's spirits were invigorated, as it carried traces of the pill's essence and aura, like sweet dew sprinkling the world, imbued with some divine power.

Night quietly fell once more.

Looking closely, one could see patches of starlight and moonlight scattering into the pill furnace—not drawn by Yè Chén, but absorbed by the pill itself. The pill had a spirit, drawing in the essence of the sun and moon while integrating the essences of the immortal materials, replenishing itself and settling the most primordial forces of heaven and earth.

"It's been three days and three nights—too time-consuming." Dōng Zhōu Wǔ Wáng said softly.

"Do you think refining a nine-pattern pill is that easy?" Rì Yuè Shén Zi said leisurely.

"If this pill were sold, how much would it fetch!" Xiǒng Èr wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, his little eyes gleaming, his mind full of money, as greedy as ever.

His words made everyone around turn their heads, giving him slanted looks. You little fatty, you're quite the odd one! That's a nine-turn soul-returning pill, and you're thinking of selling it? Who could afford it? Have you lost your mind or been kicked by a donkey?

Xiǒng Èr coughed dryly. Compared to pills, he preferred money and source stones. His old man had taught him from a young age that money makes the world go round, so he'd always been business-minded, obsessed with wealth. Most of the time, he thought about how to make money, to the point where his combat power was disappointingly weak.

In the distance, Yè Chén stood solemnly.

From today, he slowed his alchemy pace to the extreme, tossing in just one stalk of immortal grass every few hours. Even as a pill saint, he dared not be careless—the pill's refinement was in its later stages and couldn't be rushed.

He understood the principle of haste making waste and had no time to scold heaven, nor did he glance at his surroundings. His bloodshot eyes were fixed only on the pill.

The vast Yún Tài Mountain was enveloped in pill energy, with the air filled with dense pill fragrance, like a starry sea drifting about. Amid the clouds and mist, Yè Chén's figure appeared slightly blurred. Weaker juniors could no longer see him clearly, their eyes showing only a faint outline of his back. Only the elder cultivators could still make him out. The nine-turn soul-returning pill was extraordinarily exceptional; even its energy carried mysterious powers that blocked prying eyes. If the pill energy was this divine, one could imagine how terrifying the actual soul-returning pill would be.

Buzz!

The pill furnace suddenly hummed, and radiant colors sprayed out again, with mist swirling and vast pill energy gathering into an ocean of gas, rolling with waves and infusing the universe with spirituality.

In that instant, too many old folks couldn't help but sacrifice their magical tools to collect the wandering pill energy. If refined, it could condense into essence; if absorbed into the body, it would surely replenish lifespan.

But no one dared to do it—that was the energy of the soul-returning pill, the pill breathing on its own. Rashly taking the pill energy would disturb its spirit, and disturbing the pill spirit was the same as disturbing the alchemy process—that would be asking for trouble.

"So oppressive."

Xiǒng Xiǎo Èr said blankly, feeling the oncoming pill energy make it hard to breathe.

It wasn't just him; many juniors felt the same. The dense pill fragrance was overwhelmingly heavy, pressing down so they could barely breathe, and for a few moments, even felt suffocated.

Indeed, a nine-pattern pill was like an emperor among cultivators, naturally carrying an aura of pressure.

"Just this presence far surpasses an eight-pattern pill." The alchemists sighed.

"Even more than an emperor-level divine pill."

Those who had seen Dān Shén refine pills all uttered this phrase. Emperor-level divine pills had their energy overflow before, but compared to the nine-turn soul-returning pill, it fell short by a bit.