Chapter 2954: Refining Divine Pills
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at Weiming Manor again, the drunkard had already woken up.
He took the purple-glowing gourd from Zhang Ruochen's hand, glanced at it, and said, "This Tianshu Gourd is Feng Caiyi's handiwork. That woman—you'd better not provoke her."
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but roll his eyes, wanting to say, *Your thinking is truly beyond ordinary people's understanding.* She is the Death God Venerable, now to be addressed as Feng Tian. With his current cultivation, even meeting her once is as difficult as reaching the heavens; even if he wanted to provoke her, he couldn't!
The drunkard sat down on the ground by the lake with a plop and said, "Tell me your thoughts. How do you plan to deal with this old fellow?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Naturally, I can't let him return to the Heavenly Court. But directly refining him to death would be too wasteful. Your spiritual power is formidable, and your methods are profound. Do you have any secret technique to refine him into a realm-protecting divine general?"
The drunkard nodded and said coldly, "Coming to my Xinghuantian to show off his might—he deserves to die. However, a spiritual power deity has a very strong spiritual will. If we don't extinguish his spiritual will, even if we refine him into a realm-protecting divine general, there will be endless troubles. But once we extinguish his spiritual will, his combat power will inevitably plummet, leaving him at the level of an ordinary great god—useless."
"An ordinary great god's level—useless." Zhang Ruochen repeated the phrase.
If those great gods heard this, would they be ashamed to death?
Even the weakest great god can already become the ruler of a powerful realm, controlling the fate of an entire world's living beings. Yet here, it seemed utterly insignificant.
How could Zhang Ruochen, a cultivator still far inferior to a great god, bear this?
The drunkard thought for a moment and said, "How about this? Refine him into pills that enhance spiritual power."
As soon as he said this, the gourd trembled noticeably.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Refining a deity into pills?"
The drunkard looked at him with a disdainful gaze, as if looking at an idiot, and said, "In the Hell Realm, using deities as ingredients to refine divine pills is the most normal thing."
"You have to understand, a Taiyi Great God is already no less than a divine medicine."
"This old fellow's spiritual power is considered extremely strong across the entire universe! Using him to refine pills is even better than using divine medicine. If he fell into the hands of deities from the Ghost Clan, Nether Clan, or Death Clan, there would be no need for pill refining at all. They would probably devour him directly, slowly refining him in their stomachs, and their cultivation would undergo a great transformation."
"Refining divine pills can both extinguish his spiritual will and soul impurities while maximizing the extraction of his spiritual power. For deities like you, whose spiritual power isn't strong enough yet, this is the most suitable method."
Zhang Ruochen listened with excitement, his mind racing with many thoughts. He said, "In that case, please begin refining the pills now, Senior."
The drunkard waved his hand repeatedly and said, "No, no, I can't do it."
How could a strong man like you say you can't do it?
Zhang Ruochen said, "With your spiritual power, Senior, you can easily grasp all the myriad paths and laws of the world. Even refining divine pills—how could that be difficult?"
Refining divine pills indeed has extremely high threshold requirements for alchemists.
But with the drunkard's level of spiritual power, what threshold remains in the world?
In a single day, he could study a sacred path to a level that even deities cannot reach.
In an instant, he could master a technique.
The drunkard rarely showed humility and said, "Refining divine pills is indeed not difficult. But this old fellow is a great medicinal ingredient! To refine him into enough divine pills in a very short time, and with extremely high quality—that is very difficult."
"I have cultivated in too many miscellaneous fields, and my attainments in the alchemy path are only average. If you truly want to refine a furnace of extraordinary divine pills, you'd better find someone else!"
Zhang Ruochen understood. The time required to refine divine pills is indeed extraordinary, often taking thousands or tens of thousands of years.
He himself couldn't wait that long.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior mentioned finding someone else—who would that be?"
A voice came from outside the manor: "Junior Yan Yu pays respects to Senior Jiutian."
The drunkard laughed and said, "See, here he comes."
Zhang Ruochen knew that the "someone else" the drunkard referred to was naturally not Yan Yu, but the alchemy grand elder of the Yama Clan.
"You sealed the heavens?" Zhang Ruochen asked in a low voice.
The drunkard grinned and said, "Jiutian is my name. Seal the heavens? Hmph, I disdain to seal the heavens! Go tell him that my cultivation has reached the pinnacle, and my spiritual power is already perfectly complete. How could he, a junior, see me just because he wants to?"
With that, the drunkard's body faded and disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the manor, saw Yan Yu waiting outside, and smiled, "Second Uncle! The senior said he is severely injured and needs to go into seclusion to recover. He won't see anyone."
Yan Yu was moved and said, "Is Shang Tian's cultivation so formidable that he could severely wound a powerhouse with ninety-level spiritual power to the point of needing seclusion to recover?"
Zhang Ruochen's mind shook violently. Ninety-level spiritual power?
A clash with Shang Zu?
He knew the drunkard's spiritual power was strong, but he never imagined it could be so exaggerated.
In Zhang Ruochen's view, Xuan Yi was already unparalleled, like a magnificent peak difficult to cross.
As for Shang Tian, he was an ancient existence that even Xuan Yi had to go pay respects to, almost like a supreme legend between heaven and earth.
Zhang Ruochen looked back at the spot where the drunkard had sat in the manor, feeling very unsettled. Could this slovenly old man addicted to alcohol truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the Twenty Heavens?
A single hair plucked from such a figure would be priceless, with endless benefits.
"Ruochen!"
Yan Yu called out to him.
Zhang Ruochen snapped back to reality and said, "Second Uncle, what business did you have with Senior Jiutian?"
Yan Yu knew that Zhang Ruochen was the realm lord of Xinghuantian appointed by Jiutian and also knew that behind Zhang Ruochen stood the great backing of Heavenly Mother. Yet, despite such status, he remained unassuming and still addressed him as uncle and nephew, which made Yan Yu feel even more favorable toward him.
The two walked side by side along the green-wood corridor.
Yan Yu said, "The Grand Elder sent me a message to convey the Yama Clan's stance to Senior Jiutian. If the God-Defying Clan faces danger again, they can relocate to Yama Heaven-Outside-Heaven, and the Yama Clan will grant them protection."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and thanked him.
He knew that if Heavenly Mother hadn't been forceful, standing at the front and bearing the pressure, the Yama Clan probably wouldn't have wanted to wade into this muddy water at all, since it didn't concern them.
This declaration now was just adding flowers to brocade—how could it compare to the preciousness of sending charcoal in the snow?
But the Yama Clan's goodwill was still appreciated.
"This upheaval in Xinghuantian has given me deep insights. The future situation will only become more severe. When I return this time, I will go into seclusion to cultivate and won't emerge until I reach Upper-Rank God."
Yan Yu added, "Ruochen, before I leave, there's one more thing. Second Uncle wants to know your attitude."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Second Uncle is referring to Ying'er?"
"In your heart, there's only Ying'er—what about Xian'er?"
Yan Yu sighed emotionally and said, "This karmic connection between you and Xian'er indeed cannot be blamed on you. In fact, the Yama Clan owes you some debt. But do you know? That girl seems to have developed true feelings for you. Back when you were hit with the Severing Dao Curse, she went to the Grand Elder and begged for a long time, using every means possible. Later, when Qingtian crippled your martial cultivation, although she didn't say it outwardly, I could see she was very worried."
"Second Uncle can see that although your martial cultivation was crippled, your spiritual power talent is extraordinary. Coincidentally, Xian'er's talent in spiritual power is also outstanding. You two are truly well-suited!"
"If you have time, come to Yama Heaven-Outside-Heaven to see her. She should be very happy."
Seeing that Yan Yu was about to leave, Zhang Ruochen said, "Second Uncle!"
"What is it?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's like this. Perhaps in the near future, I can repair the Sundial, and then it can support multiple deities cultivating together. I would like to invite Miss Yan to come to Xinghuantian to cultivate."
"Repair the Sundial!"
Yan Yu exclaimed, his emotions fluctuating greatly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's not repaired yet—it's only a possibility of success. If it succeeds, I will definitely give you a spot too, Second Uncle."
Yan Yu was in a great mood and smiled broadly, saying, "If the Sundial can truly be repaired, it will certainly cause quite a stir. Back then, Xumi Saint Monk used the Sundial to allow the Kunlun Realm to grow powerful enough to be invincible among all realms in a very short time. If I can get a spot, Second Uncle will truly be endlessly grateful!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Ruochen actually has another favor to ask."
"Before Second Uncle, why be so hesitant? Speak your mind freely." Yan Yu smiled.
Zhang Ruochen took out the gourd and said, "I want to refine the Third Elder of the Array-Destroying Palace into a furnace of divine pills that enhance spiritual power. The only alchemist in the world who can make good use of this great medicinal ingredient in a short time is the Grand Elder."
Yan Yu understood.
The cultivation spots on the Sundial would be fought over by countless forces. Why should the Yama Clan be given a share?
There were conditions attached.
This was normal, and he could understand.
Affection was affection, but if it was only one-sided emotional giving without any return, that affection would eventually be exhausted.
"Alright! Come with me to Yama Heaven-Outside-Heaven. Great-Grandfather should have no problem with that."
Yan Yu was an outstanding figure of the Yama Clan's generation, very likely to become the successor of the Yama Clan. With such status, his words naturally carried extraordinary weight.
Zhang Ruochen handed the Tianshu Gourd to Yan Yu and said, "I still have to go repair the Sundial. I can only entrust the matter of refining the divine pills to you, Second Uncle."
Yan Yu looked down at the Tianshu Gourd and smiled meaningfully, saying, "This is the Third Elder of the Array-Destroying Palace, a great powerhouse of the spiritual path! Are you so at ease leaving him in my hands?"
Zhang Ruochen pretended not to understand his implication and said, "Senior Jiutian has already used his spiritual power to seal the gourd again. No matter how strong he is, he can't escape."
"Good! Since Ruochen trusts me so much, Second Uncle will certainly not let you down."
Yan Yu was straightforward. He took the Tianshu Gourd and carefully put it away.
A shallow acquaintance stopped at the surface.
But a deep friendship began with mutual trust.
Zhang Ruochen watched Yan Yu leave, then headed toward the Yuchen Temple, planning to go underground once more to confirm some matters.
(Chapter End)