Chapter 60: Earth Essence Pill!
"It seems a breakthrough has occurred."
Just then, Qing Ming looked toward Jiang Yun as if sensing something. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile, his eyes filled with gratification.
Rumble —
At this moment, within the underground magma space, an energy roar suddenly erupted out of nowhere. The energy of heaven and earth in this area began to violently undulate.
With the roar, the surrounding energy of heaven and earth seemed to be drawn by some force and began frantically rushing toward the two cross-legged figures.
As this happened, the tremors in this space grew increasingly violent. Strand after strand of dense energy continuously seeped out from heaven and earth, flowing unceasingly toward Jiang Yun and the other.
At the same time, the auras of the two also surged wildly. From a distance, almost the entire underground magma space was wrapped in somewhat mottled violent energy, forming two enormous energy vortices — an extremely spectacular sight.
With the refinement of the Sea Heart Flame, the clone and the main body resonated. A vast amount of pure energy poured into Jiang Yun's body, and his cultivation began to rise at an even faster pace.
The energy of a heavenly flame was immense. Although the Sea Heart Flame had already been refined once by Han Feng, it was still a decent 'tonic' for Jiang Yun, who was at Dou Wang.
Six-Star Dou Wang, Seven-Star Dou Wang, Eight-Star Dou Wang... all the way to Nine-Star Dou Wang, Jiang Yun's surging cultivation gradually stabilized.
Suddenly, flames burst from the eyes of the two similar figures at the same moment. At this moment, the strength of Jiang Yun and his flame spirit clone had reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Wang.
To make a breakthrough to Dou Huang in one go, he was still a little short. The power needed to break through from Dou Wang to Dou Huang was still too vast. The second-hand Sea Heart Flame was still not enough to push Jiang Yun's strength another step.
Feeling the power within his body, Jiang Yun rose to his full height. He looked at Yun Yi beside him and asked, "How do you feel?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. The Sea Heart Flame has completely turned into nourishment for the Saint Demon Flame." The two shared a connection in thought. Yun Yi immediately understood what Jiang Yun was asking. He shook his head and spoke of his own experience.
The Saint Demon Flame's absorption of a heavenly flame was completely different from the Burning Art. The Burning Art was more like a container, merging many heavenly flames together while preserving their individual characteristics.
The Saint Demon Flame, on the other hand, was extremely domineering. It used ten thousand flames to nurture one flame, utterly devouring the other to achieve itself and forge the strongest flame.
"That is good." Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike last time with the Fallen Heart Flame — where he had only devoured the energy it had accumulated over countless years — this time, he had completely refined the Sea Heart Flame.
The difficulty level was somewhat different. Jiang Yun had been worried about something going wrong. Fortunately, the Saint Demon Flame had delivered.
"We have been in seclusion for quite some time. We should go out. Otherwise, Zi Yan will start to worry."
Raising his head to look at the spatial barrier above, as if imagining Zi Yan's anxious expression, a touch of gentleness passed through Jiang Yun's eyes.
Yun Yi nodded and said expressionlessly, "When you are ready to begin the plan, I will come out again."
Yun Yi only possessed some of Jiang Yun's memories. He did not possess the emotions that Jiang Yun had. Jiang Yun did not want to become, in a sense, a 'cuckold'.
When he had severed his will, Jiang Yun had deliberately leaned it toward his inner darker side. Thus, he was an absolutely rational 'Jiang Yun'.
With that, Yun Yi's figure flashed, instantly transforming back into a jet-black flame and entering Jiang Yun's dantian.
Qing Ming had witnessed the entire exchange between Jiang Yun and Yun Yi. He declined to comment on Jiang Yun's approach. Time would tell.
"Call me if you need anything." Leaving those words, Qing Ming's figure slowly faded into nothingness, finally completely dissipating.
Silence once again returned to the surroundings. Jiang Yun looked at the black token in his hand. After pondering for a long time, determination slowly appeared in his eyes.
"The Soul Hall..."
Bang!
A sound of rushing wind came, startling the two elders guarding beside the fire well.
The two were startled. Looking over and seeing that it was Jiang Yun, they both breathed a sigh of relief. However, upon sensing Jiang Yun's even deeper aura, they could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
If memory served, Jiang Yun had just broken through to Six-Star Dou Wang. How could his strength have surged again after only four months?
Young people these days were so unreasonable. How were they, as seniors, supposed to live?
"So it is Elder Li and Elder Wen. You two have worked hard." Just out of the cave entrance, Jiang Yun recognized the two elders guarding the entrance and called out their names.
"You have broken through?"
"Just luck."
Meeting their gazes, Jiang Yun nodded. The two could not help but suck in another breath of cold air.
Having dealt the two elders a blow, Jiang Yun took his leave. Before long, he returned to his own dormitory.
Back in the courtyard, Jiang Yun followed the aura toward Zi Yan's room. Within the room, purple light was dense. A graceful figure sat cross-legged on the bed. On her fair skin, patches of sharp, heavy purple-gold scales had appeared.
The densely packed scales layered over, like metal armor, left no doubt about the power and defense they contained.
The scales covered half of her enchanting, heroic face, adding an extra three parts of nobility and dominance.
As if sensing something, Zi Yan slowly opened her purple eyes. Seeing who it was, joy surged in her eyes. She could barely contain herself and wanted to crash into Jiang Yun's arms.
But then she thought of how this guy had abandoned her to go into seclusion for so long. A surge of resentment suddenly welled up in her heart, finally turning into a delicate shout.
"Jiang Yun, take a punch from me!"
The smile on Jiang Yun's face froze. In his perception, the spatial power within the room was frantically surging. His eyes blurred, and a graceful figure was already before him.
"Taixu Void-Breaking Claw!"
Purple light surged and flickered. Zi Yan's two fair arms instantly transformed into a pair of purple-gold dragon claws. Cold light gleamed on the dragon claws. The long claws looked sharper than any divine weapon or sharp instrument.
The surrounding spatial barrier cracked bit by bit, small fissures appearing, expanding before his eyes.
Jiang Yun had no doubt that, combined with Zi Yan's physical strength, this claw would leave no survivors among those below Five-Star Dou Huang.
"Mischievous."
Suddenly, Jiang Yun's gaze sharpened. A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his eyes. His hand quickly shot out, spatial power surging on it, accurately grasping Zi Yan's wrist.
Bang —
A loud crash sounded. Jiang Yun felt a tremendous force strike from his palm. He could not avoid retreating half a step.
Just then, a mischievous smile flashed in Zi Yan's eyes.
Hum —
From the purple-gold dragon claws, several invisible spatial blades suddenly appeared, slashing toward various parts of Jiang Yun's body.
In Jiang Yun's perception, these blades did not have much power — just enough to cut some clothes. Clearly, Zi Yan just wanted to embarrass him.
But Jiang Yun was not about to let her have her way.
Seeing the smile in Zi Yan's eyes, Jiang Yun chuckled lightly. "I was waiting for you."
As his voice fell, the space around Jiang Yun twisted. The blades Zi Yan had emitted strangely changed direction and scattered into the surroundings.
Shrr —
Small cracks appeared on the surrounding walls. Zi Yan's triumphant expression froze. She shook off Jiang Yun's hand and said petulantly, "No fun, no fun. Xiao Yun, you could have at least let me win."
"After making me wait so long, you really are a heartbreaker."
Hearing this, Jiang Yun felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Fine, it is all my fault for keeping our Zi Yan waiting so long." As he spoke, Jiang Yun raised his hand and rubbed the top of Zi Yan's head.
The soft strands slipped through his fingertips. The feel was wonderful. Jiang Yun found it hard to stop.
Feeling the large hand on her head, Zi Yan's cheeks reddened slightly. Having now initially awakened her bloodline and broken through to Dou Huang, she already looked about sixteen or seventeen in human years.
As for Jiang Yun, although only fifteen, he was quite tall — already over 1.7 meters — about the same height as Zi Yan. Thus, when Zi Yan raised her eyes, she could see the tenderness in Jiang Yun's gaze.
This made Zi Yan's heart sweet, yet also a little flustered.
"Now that you have come out of seclusion, can we finally set out?" Pushing down the strange feeling in her heart, Zi Yan suddenly became excited.
Jiang Yun shook his head. As Zi Yan's expression fell, he slowly spoke, "It is indeed time to leave. But before we go, I want to give the Grand Elder a gift."
Hearing Jiang Yun's words, the disappointment on Zi Yan's face faded. Her eyes lit up. She nodded and said seriously, "Old man Su has worked hard these past few years. He deserves it. But what are you giving him?"
Looking at Zi Yan's curious face, Jiang Yun smiled without answering, playing coy. He pulled Zi Yan toward the Grand Elder's residence.
"Tch —, so mysterious." Not getting an answer, Zi Yan angrily bared her teeth behind Jiang Yun's back. But she soon regained her happy expression, stepped forward, linked her arm through Jiang Yun's, and walked briskly.
"We are leaving, huh —"
Su Qian looked at the young man and woman before him with some melancholy. The children who had once been little runts had now grown into strong experts of the continent. Time passed so quickly.
"Eaglets must eventually spread their wings and fly, Grand Elder. You should be happy for Zi Yan and me. If we stayed in the Inner Academy forever, you would probably find us annoying."
The sorrow of parting was somewhat dissipated by Jiang Yun's teasing words.
Su Qian pointed at Jiang Yun and scolded him with a laugh, "Get out of here, you rascal. Go cause trouble somewhere else. Ever since you two came to my Inner Academy, even the rats in the storehouse have disappeared. It is a disaster."
"Old man Su, I do not eat that much!" Su Qian's words immediately drew dissatisfaction from Zi Yan, who was standing by. Was she really such a big eater?
"Heh heh." Su Qian just looked quietly at Zi Yan. His gaze made her feel somewhat guilty.
Feeling her hand being pinched, Jiang Yun knew it was his turn to step in. He just had not expected this girl to actually show modesty.
"Before I leave, I have another gift for the Grand Elder."
"Oh? What is it?"
Jiang Yun's words aroused Su Qian's curiosity. Looking back at Jiang Yun's several offerings, each time, it had been something extremely precious. Even Su Qian could not help but feel some anticipation.
Meeting Su Qian's gaze, Jiang Yun took out a scroll and handed it to Su Qian. Somewhat puzzled, Su Qian opened it. Seeing the contents, he stood up excitedly, his voice trembling.
"You... you can refine it?"
"This time in seclusion, I made a slight breakthrough in soul power. I am fairly confident I can refine it."
Seeing the confident look on Jiang Yun's face, Su Qian ultimately could not utter the words of refusal.
"What ingredients do you need? The academy will gather them for you."
"No need. Our Medicine Emperor's estate is quite bountiful. I happen to have two sets of ingredients. The Grand Elder need only wait."
Here, Jiang Yun had to mention just how rich the Han Feng gift package was. Decades of accumulation had made Han Feng's wealth comparable to that of some established seventh-grade alchemists.
"May I invite students to observe?"
"Of course."
Jiang Yun readily agreed to Su Qian's suggestion. This counted as a small way for him to repay the academy.
This time, Jiang Yun was going to refine an Earth Essence Pill for Su Qian — a seventh-grade high-level pill that could raise a Dou Zong by one star without side effects.
Having broken through to the Spirit Realm soul, in theory, Jiang Yun could already refine eighth-grade pills. However, he still lacked experience and also the ingredients.
But he had confidence in refining seventh-grade pills.
In just one night, the news that Jiang Yun was going to refine a seventh-grade pill spread through the entire Inner Academy like it had grown wings.
And under this shocking news, the Inner Academy erupted. A seventh-grade pill!
In the Inner Academy, where fourth-grade pills were already considered the peak, it was easy to imagine just how shocking the news of a seventh-grade pill was.
Even students from the Central Plains were stunned speechless. Even in their families, a seventh-grade alchemist was an honored guest.
More often, they were the ones trying to curry favor. Now, to be told that a student of their cohort could refine seventh-grade pills — how could that not be shocking?
They had all been geniuses in their own cities, otherwise they would not have been recruited to the Jia Nan Academy. But compared to a seventh-grade alchemist, the gap was like striking a stone with an egg — too vast, like the difference between clouds and mud.
Moreover, the name Jiang Yun was both familiar and unfamiliar to them.
Later, thanks to the omniscient bystanders, they finally learned about this senior named Jiang Yun.
He was the first freshman to break through the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. As a Da Dou Shi, he had defeated an Eight-Star Dou Ling. There was also how, within a year, he had advanced to fifth-grade alchemist, and so on.
Too many of Jiang Yun's exploits were unearthed. But the more the Inner Academy students heard, the more confused they became. It felt like they were boasting.
Could there really be such a monstrous person in the world?
Could one excel at both cultivation and alchemy? Did he have that much energy?
Jiang Yun's exploits grew more and more exaggerated, ultimately making this alchemy session even more captivating. Finally, this much-anticipated alchemy session began the next day.