Chapter 95: Clouds and Mists Rising
Elder Han had never been so joyful in his life. The wrinkles on his old face smoothed out as he waved his arms and danced with excitement, laughing heartily.
At this moment, Ye Fan had long since become as calm as an ancient well, focusing entirely on opening his bitter sea and cultivating with a tranquil mind.
The sound of waves was unceasing, tsunamis shook the heavens, and thunder and lightning flashed. The tremendous noise echoed within the stone chamber. Elder Han's heart was filled with longing, eagerly hoping that the seven days would pass quickly.
The bronze medicine cauldron was enveloped by silver flames, continuously absorbing spiritual energy. A holy radiance spread in all directions, making the entire stone chamber hazy and indistinct.
This continued for over two hours before the sound of waves slowly subsided. The deafening thunder gradually faded as well. The bronze cauldron grew calm, with only the silver flames blazing fiercely.
Elder Han was not worried. The cauldron lid could only be opened after seven days and nights of refining. The strange phenomena could not persist the entire time. He was already convinced that this was a furnace of supreme-grade spirit pills, for it matched the descriptions in ancient texts perfectly.
A full day and night passed. The cauldron remained very still, with only the fire essence leaping and dancing, and a milky white light flickering continuously.
Inside the bronze cauldron, Ye Fan had fallen into a state of ethereal emptiness. Only now did he gradually awaken. His golden bitter sea had been expanded once more, growing considerably larger—about the size of an unpeeled lychee. It glittered brilliantly, as if a dazzling star from the cosmos had been plucked down and fixed within his body.
The divine patterns had suddenly increased by twenty-seven, like divine iron chains or streaks of lightning, suspended above the bitter sea. But the most peculiar change was that ripples had appeared in the bitter sea. At its center, bubbles continuously emerged, bursting to form hazy, colorful mists that shrouded the golden sea.
Ye Fan opened his eyes, clearly sensing the changes in his bitter sea. A vigorous life force had appeared within him. Twin beams of brilliant divine light shot from his eyes. But he was not satisfied with this. He reached out and grabbed the green jade snow lotus fruit.
This green fruit, the size of an egg, shimmered with a dazzling emerald luster that captivated the heart. It seemed carved from green jade divine marrow, exuding a soft, translucent glow.
The green jade snow lotus fruit was extremely rare. Its parent plant grew on snow-capped mountains tens of thousands of meters high, requiring a thousand years without sunlight to form. Powerful demonic creatures guarded it. Elder Han had spent a full eight years before he managed to pick one by luck.
As the fruit entered his hand, Ye Fan felt a bone-chilling cold. Even the boiling medicinal paste could not dissolve the green jade snow lotus fruit. He bit into it like an apple, savoring it carefully. Of course, this time he was very cautious, making not the slightest sound. Everything proceeded silently, for a day and night had already passed, and by all logic, he should have been cooked through.
The jade-like fruit tasted sweet and refreshing but was as cold as ice, causing Ye Fan's body to tremble involuntarily. A vigorous life essence rapidly spread through his limbs and meridians.
In the end, streaks of green light enveloped Ye Fan. His skin turned a jade-like green, shimmering with a strange luster. The temperature inside the cauldron dropped continuously, and the medicinal paste stopped boiling.
Half an hour later, the sound of tsunamis once again emerged from the bronze cauldron, even more formidable than before. Accompanied by thunder and lightning, the great cauldron trembled slightly.
The entire stone chamber rumbled, making Elder Han feel as if he were facing a vast, boundless angry sea. His emotions surged with the waves. He muttered to himself, "The strange phenomena have risen again. The precious pill is sure to form!"
Elder Han seemed to have suddenly aged by over a decade. He laughed heartily, his heart filled with anticipation, wishing the seven days would pass instantly.
Ten thousand terrifying waves crashed, deafening the ears. Lightning streaked across the sky, thunder shook the heavens, causing the stone chamber to tremble incessantly!
"On the day the pill is formed, that will be the time of my breakthrough!" Elder Han was full of vigor and confidence, filled with a sense of accomplishment. He believed that with such a furnace of supreme-grade precious pills in hand, breaking through bottlenecks and advancing several more levels would be no problem.
Inside the bronze cauldron, the noise shook the heavens, and strange phenomena appeared one after another. But only the sounds could be heard from outside. Elder Han could not calm down. He kept circling the cauldron, excited beyond measure.
This time, the tsunamis and thunder lasted a full three hours before gradually subsiding. The stone chamber slowly returned to calm.
"Once the cauldron is sealed, it cannot be opened again. I can only wait for seven days…" The only thing Elder Han regretted was that he had been too cautious and had not put all the other rare spiritual herbs inside. Otherwise, perhaps even more phenomena would have appeared. The heavenly descending auspicious colors mentioned in ancient texts might have become a reality.
Despite this, Elder Han was still full of confidence. He believed he had firmly grasped a great opportunity, and nothing could change that.
Another day and night passed. Ye Fan slowly opened his eyes. Divine radiance shimmered in his gaze. His body was full of vitality. The wounds on his limbs and chest had completely disappeared, leaving not even a scar.
Ye Fan's golden bitter sea had changed again, expanding by a full circle. At its very center, the ripples grew more intense. Bubbles surged like a spring, bursting to form hazy, colorful mists that completely shrouded the area, making the bitter sea extremely mysterious.
At this moment, Ye Fan felt the same sense of accomplishment as Elder Han. The two of them were in exactly the same state of mind.
He could not be satisfied with this. He reached out and grabbed the phoenix divine grass. It was hot to the touch, causing waves of divine power to ripple through him. Legend had it that only pure lands stained by phoenix divine blood could produce this divine grass. Elder Han had spent over a decade, traversing endless ancient lands and ruins, to find this single plant. It was truly priceless!
The nine-leaf phoenix divine grass was as brilliant as red agate, emitting an exotic fragrance that seeped into the heart and made one involuntarily intoxicated.
Ye Fan placed it in his mouth. After just a few chews, the divine grass transformed into a brilliant red glow that surged into his body, immediately covering him in a mysterious red halo, as if blazing flames were burning.
If it were an ordinary person's body, it would have turned to ashes by now. But Ye Fan's physique was extremely special. His bitter sea was like a bottomless pit that could never be filled. All the brilliant red glow flowed like a thousand rivers returning to the sea, ultimately being completely absorbed.
At this moment, his flesh, organs, and bones became crystal clear, free of dust and filth, like a beautiful work of art, shining brilliantly. His skin also sparkled with a crystalline luster, and the power of life flowed gently.
When the tsunamis and thunder occurred, Elder Han was startled to his feet again. He paced around the bronze cauldron, saying, "Han is indeed favored by heaven…"
When Ye Fan awakened once more, he found that his golden bitter sea had grown a circle larger, but it had not expanded too much. This was because cultivation became more difficult the further one progressed. The three spiritual herbs had similar medicinal effects, so the first expansion had been the greatest.
After refining the three rare spiritual herbs, Ye Fan's bitter sea underwent astonishing changes. At its very center, colorful mists rose, entwined with countless divine patterns. It was as if a volcano was awakening beneath the bitter sea. Bubbles surged like a spring, and rays of light continuously burst from the sea's surface.
Ye Fan understood this clearly and felt no confusion.
Cultivators at the bitter sea realm had to go through several stages. Initially, only a small amount of life essence swirled above the bitter sea. Over time, as the essence increased, it would condense into divine patterns, like divine iron chains suspended above the sea.
As the bitter sea was continuously expanded and cultivation deepened, bubbles would emerge, bursting to form clouds and mists. Eventually, the bubbles beneath the sea would surge like a spring, like a volcano awakening, with clouds and mists rising and spreading, dazzling and brilliant.
When the day came that the "volcano" beneath the bitter sea fully awakened, the brilliant clouds and mists would gradually turn into liquid. At that point, one could attempt to break through to the life spring realm. If successful, a divine spring would gush forth from the "volcano mouth."
Cultivators at the bitter sea realm had to go through these three stages before they could break into the life spring realm. Today, Ye Fan had experienced the second stage. At the center of his golden bitter sea, it was nearly boiling. Qi surged like a spring. There, clouds and mists rose, like a volcano awakening, continuously erupting, extremely brilliant.
"If I refine all the dozen or so rare spiritual herbs Elder Han has collected, find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and carefully study the Dao Scripture, I might be able to break into the life spring realm within a year or two…" Ye Fan muttered to himself, a hint of anticipation stirring within him.
However, he first had to escape his current peril and save his own life. Otherwise, everything was just empty fantasy.
After refining all three spiritual herbs, Ye Fan did not act rashly. He quietly waited for an opportunity. Three days had already passed, and he still had to wait four more days before the cauldron could be opened.
The liquid inside the bronze cauldron could be used to extract hundred-grass liquid. There was half a cauldron full. Although it could not compare to spiritual herbs like the nine-leaf phoenix divine grass, it still contained a large amount of life essence. Since there was still time, Ye Fan naturally would not let it go to waste. He sat quietly in meditation, absorbing every strand of essence into his body.
Two days later, Elder Han felt something was strange. No more strange phenomena occurred, and the medicinal fragrance drifting from the bronze cauldron grew fainter and fainter, until finally there was almost no scent at all.
"What's going on…" He was a bit suspicious. Finally, as if remembering something, he muttered to himself, "Could it be that the precious pill has just formed and its essence has been drawn inward?"
"That's right, it must be! Legend has it that when a supreme-grade precious pill is about to form, all its essence is drawn inward, not a trace of fragrance escapes, and not a bit of medicinal effect is wasted." Elder Han was very excited. "Now, I can be certain. I have refined the legendary precious pill!"
Over these two days, Ye Fan had absorbed all the essence contained in the medicinal paste. In his bitter sea, qi surged like a spring, clouds and mists rose, like a volcano awakening, about to erupt. It was truly a scene of radiant light, dense spiritual energy, and hazy, colorful mists.
Calculating the time, there were still two days before the cauldron could be opened. Ye Fan was very calm, quietly waiting for his chance. He began to refine the spiritual energy contained in the "fire essence," with specks of silver light continuously rushing into his body.
Time passed quickly. Two days flew by in an instant. Elder Han laughed heartily, like a night owl crying. He prepared to open the cauldron lid and retrieve the "precious pill."
"Little brat, you can only blame yourself for consuming the legendary sacred fruit and divine spring. In your next life, reincarnate into a good family. In this life, you were destined to come and fulfill my purpose."