Chapter 92: Five Stars!
Watching the descending pill lightning, Jiang Yun laughed heartily. He stomped the ground fiercely, and the powerful force directly propelled him skyrocketing into the sky.
Then, under the worried gazes of Zi Yan and the other two, he crashed headfirst into that formidable bolt of lightning.
"Boom—"
The powerful lightning splashed across his body. Jiang Yun felt waves of stinging pain, and a numbing sensation swept through his entire body.
"Seems my physical body is still somewhat lacking. I can't yet withstand lightning tribulation purely with my flesh!"
In an instant, Jiang Yun made his judgment. His current physical strength was still insufficient to directly endure eighth-tier pill lightning. After gauging his body's toughness, Jiang Yun stopped being so bullheaded. Black light surged across his body.
The lightning power permeating his entire body immediately seemed to encounter something terrifying and began dissipating at an astonishing speed.
After completely devouring the first bolt of pill lightning, feeling the Dou Qi rising within him, Jiang Yun gazed with burning eyes at the thunderclouds in the sky. When others refined pills, they only harvested the pill's energy, but he practically wrung every last drop of value from a single pill.
Neither the pill lightning nor the pill itself would escape him!
"Hahaha, Devour Heaven and Earth!!!"
Jiang Yun let out a great laugh. Instantly, terrifying black flames surged forth violently, shrouding half the sky in the blink of an eye. That sky-covering, sun-blocking momentum had forcefully seized half the domain right from under the pill lightning's control.
At this moment, the sky looked exceptionally bizarre, with half shimmering tri-colored lightning and half roiling black seas of flame.
"Rumble—"
And seemingly enraged by Jiang Yun's actions, the cloud layer immediately churned. Suddenly, a peculiar pulling force surged out from within. Then, under the gazes of the onlookers, the thunderclouds began to slowly shrink. But Jiang Yun could clearly sense that the energy they now contained was steadily climbing.
"Boom! Boom!"
Dazzling bolts of lightning, like giant dragons roaring across the sky, danced wildly in the heavens, then swept down in overwhelming numbers, carrying resplendent flashes of lightning, determined to punish Jiang Yun, this fellow who dared defy heaven's might.
"Well come!"
"Condense—"
Seeing this, Jiang Yun's eyes blazed. He suddenly shouted, and as his hands rapidly formed seals, the sky-filling black sea of flame began to churn swiftly. Finally, under the watch of the others, it actually transformed into an ancient colossal beast, pitch-black as ink.
The beast's form was extremely bizarre. Its entire body was jet black; one couldn't tell where its eyes or nose were at all. But its giant mouth was exceptionally striking. And the moment it appeared, a terrifying devouring power emanated from the colossal beast's body.
"Go—"
As it took form, Jiang Yun pointed. In the next instant, the colossal beast opened its giant maw. Black ripples spread wildly from its black-hole-like giant mouth and swallowed the pill lightning in a single gulp.
Up in the sky.
Thunder rumbled ceaselessly. The churning tri-color lightning clouds, like a lightning-manufacturing machine, endlessly spewed out increasingly powerful and dazzling bolts of lightning, all falling into that great black maw.
From afar, the sight was quite spectacular!
"Xiao Yun, this guy, he actually has such methods!" Zi Yan, watching from the side, was also caught off guard by Jiang Yun's operation, surprised again and again. Even she didn't know just how many tricks Jiang Yun had yet to reveal.
It seemed like every time, he could refresh her understanding!
Naturally, she knew Jiang Yun possessed a black flame with devouring power, but she never knew that a flame could be used to this extent.
The rampage of the tri-color pill lightning lasted for nearly ten full minutes before gradually subsiding. Within these ten-odd minutes, nearly a hundred bolts of lightning of the utmost terrifying power shot out from the thunderclouds, yet none could break through the 'defense line' Jiang Yun had set up!
Boom, boom!
Finally, feeling it could do nothing to the other party, the thunderclouds in the sky were forced to give up on this tough bone. The energy fluctuations within the cloud layer began to slowly fade.
"After striking for so long, you think you can just leave?"
But at this moment, Jiang Yun had a different opinion. With a cold laugh, he raised his hand wide.
"Roar—"
The black flame fierce beast opened its great mouth wide and charged toward the thunderclouds in the sky. Its giant maw was like a black hole, unfathomably deep. Under the shocked gazes of Zi Yan and the other two, it swallowed the thunderclouds—which hadn't even had time to disperse—in a single gulp.
After devouring the thunderclouds, the black flame giant beast transformed into a cluster of flame and returned to Jiang Yun's body. Feeling the brimming Dou Qi within him, Jiang Yun knew it was time to break through.
But before that, Jiang Yun turned his gaze to the dark-red pill suspended in midair, permeated with a dense medicinal fragrance.
With a beckoning gesture, Dou Qi circulated in his palm, and a powerful pulling force erupted. Drawn by this force, the pill flew into Jiang Yun's hand.
In terms of outward appearance, seventh-tier and eighth-tier pills weren't too different, but from an alchemist's perspective, the two were worlds apart.
A seventh-tier pill, though dense in energy, was a 'dead' pill. An eighth-tier pill, however, already possessed its own spirituality. Only this kind of pill could be called a 'living' pill, or a 'spirit pill.'
Faint spiritual mist coiled around the pill's surface. Faintly, it actually coalesced into the image of a blood tiger.
The pill in his hand felt like gripping a continuously beating heart. Blood-red light swirled across it, permeated with dense blood and qi power.
"It's actually a tri-color eighth-tier pill!" Suddenly, a shocked voice entered Jiang Yun's ears. The voice was very familiar to him—it was precisely Yao Tianhuo, whom he had rescued and who had consumed the Soul-Nourishing Saliva.
"Young friend, to have already reached the eighth tier at such a young age... this old man has truly never heard of such talent in all his life!"
At this moment, the Flame Sovereign's voice carried a faint trace of respect. Previously, he could still view Jiang Yun as a junior with extraordinary talent. But now he could not; Jiang Yun had become an eighth-tier alchemist.
This was an existence even more noble than a Dou Zun! Putting aside his current state, even at his peak, currying favor with an eighth-tier alchemist wouldn't have been easy.
Now, he had even more confidence in Jiang Yun's talk of resurrection. What he was now thinking was how to latch onto Jiang Yun's coattails after being revived. Such a young eighth-tier alchemist—his future was absolutely limitless.
Having survived a great calamity, since heaven had given him this opportunity, he had to seize it firmly.
"Old Mister Yao, since you've awakened, it seems you've recovered quite well!" Toward the sudden voice, Jiang Yun seemed to have anticipated it, showing no surprise at all.
"Much thanks to your pills, young friend. A great kindness needs no many words. In the days to come, Yao Tianhuo's broken body is at your command." The Flame Sovereign was also a shrewd old fox, immediately climbing up the pole offered to him.
However, Jiang Yun's reaction to this was noncommittal, neither agreeing nor refusing.
"Brother Jiang Yun, so this is an eighth-tier pill? It can actually become like this? Won't it truly turn into a living creature someday?"
By now, Zi Yan, Qing Lin, and Xiao Yi Xian had also come to Jiang Yun's side. Gazing at the blood-colored tiger, Qing Lin couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
The Flame Sovereign also knew his place, understanding now was not the time to interrupt. Without Jiang Yun needing to act, he chose to fall silent himself.
Hearing this, Zi Yan and Xiao Yi Xian also had colorful lights flickering in their eyes. They looked at Jiang Yun curiously. This was alchemist 'secret lore,' after all—who wouldn't be curious?
After putting away the pill properly, Jiang Yun turned back to the three and said with a smile, "Ninth-tier pills can transform into true living creatures. Such pills, it's said, can even cultivate autonomously, virtually no different from us."
Hearing Jiang Yun's answer, Zi Yan's and the other two's beautiful eyes widened in shock. It was truly hard to imagine a pill turning into human form.
"Would that still be a pill?" Xiao Yi Xian couldn't suppress the shock in her heart and blurted out the question.
"What do you think?" Jiang Yun smiled.
Faced with Jiang Yun's counter-question, Xiao Yi Xian turned her head back to look at the blood-colored fierce tiger suspended in Jiang Yun's palm. Apart from its size, its lively, spirited eyes were no different from any Magical Beast she had ever seen.
She couldn't imagine the image of a humanoid living being being eaten. It was simply too shocking.
Shaking her head fiercely, Xiao Yi Xian banished the image from her mind.
Zi Yan, however, didn't care about human form or beast form problems. Her gaze was tightly locked onto the pill in Jiang Yun's hand. The look of greedy desire on her face—drool was practically about to flow.
As a Magical Beast, and a Taixu Ancient Dragon currently growing at a rapid pace, any high-tier pill held an immense attraction for Zi Yan.
Suddenly, that pill vanished from Zi Yan's line of sight. She hurriedly looked up to see Jiang Yun smiling, a teasing look in his eyes as he watched her.
Zi Yan immediately gave an embarrassed laugh, one hand scratching the back of her head. "I've just never seen an eighth-tier pill before, just curious... purely curious!"
Seeing this, Jiang Yun smiled warmly, reached out, and pinched Zi Yan's cheek. "Zi Yan, this was refined for Xiao Yi Xian. I currently have no more of the ingredients. Once I find more ingredients later, I'll refine an eighth-tier pill just for you."
"Then it's settled!" At Jiang Yun's words, Zi Yan immediately said excitedly.
During their conversation, the Saint Demon Flame within Jiang Yun's body, which had been ceaselessly refining the thunderclouds, suddenly transmitted an extremely pure surge of energy. The energy began coursing through Jiang Yun's meridians.
"Crack—"
Suddenly, an almost imperceptible sound rang out. A fierce, formidable aura also abruptly erupted from within Jiang Yun's body with overwhelming force!
The eruption of this aura lasted only a brief instant before Jiang Yun quickly withdrew it back into his body. Yet this sudden change was still sensed by Zi Yan, who was right next to him.
"Xiao Yun, you..." Zi Yan looked at Jiang Yun with delighted surprise.
"That's right, five stars!" Jiang Yun chuckled. He casually clenched his fist, feeling the Dou Qi within him that was much stronger than a few days prior. A pleased smile surfaced on his face.
"Now you've completely caught up to me!" Hearing Jiang Yun's words, after an initial burst of happiness, what followed was a sense of defeat and urgency.
"It's fine. I'm just a 'weak and feeble' alchemist who still needs Zi Yan's protection!" Sensing Zi Yan's low mood, Jiang Yun smiled and rubbed her purple hair, his face full of doting affection.
"Hehe!!!" Hearing Jiang Yun's doting words, Zi Yan's eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.
"Qing Lin can also protect Brother Jiang Yun in the future!" At this moment, Qing Lin beside them also raised her hand, unwilling to be outdone.
"Alright, alright. Then Qing Lin must cultivate well, okay?" Toward the enthusiastic Qing Lin, Jiang Yun also offered his affirmation.
"Mm!" Receiving Jiang Yun's encouragement, Qing Lin instantly felt full of motivation.
"Xiao Yi Xian, now that the pill is refined, we can begin resolving your constitution issue!" At this moment, Jiang Yun's gaze suddenly shifted to the tranquil, ethereal girl standing quietly to the side.
"Ah, right now? Don't you need to rest?" Xiao Yi Xian was a bit slow to react and looked up at Jiang Yun blankly.
"I'm fine. The sooner we resolve your problem, the sooner I can set my mind at ease."
Hearing Jiang Yun's words, a surge of gratefulness rose in Xiao Yi Xian's heart!
Afterward, Jiang Yun brought Xiao Yi Xian back to the wooden hut in the valley. Qing Lin and Zi Yan stood guard outside for the two of them.
Inside the hut!
Jiang Yun looked at Xiao Yi Xian and chuckled softly, saying, "Next, leave everything to me!"
As his voice fell, Jiang Yun keenly sensed Xiao Yi Xian instantly grow nervous.
"Don't worry. Although I don't have absolute certainty, with my preparations, even if the worst-case scenario occurs, I can guarantee your life will be safe."
"In that case... let us also begin." Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian nodded slightly. Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the nervousness in her heart, then sat cross-legged on the bed, her upper body straight. Her slender, jade-like neck and her slim waist outlined a stirringly graceful curve.
Jiang Yun nodded, waved his hand, and a jade box appeared. Inside it was a clump of sticky substance that was emerald-green and slowly wriggling.
It was precisely the Bodhi Transformation Saliva he had obtained back then!
"I need to use the power of flame to burn your constitution, and even your soul. A person's attribute is determined by their soul power."
"I will use the devouring power within the Saint Demon Flame to devour the origin of your Calamity Poison Body, then use the life-giving power of the Bodhi Transformation Saliva to activate the wood attribute originally within you. During this process, you must endure the agony of flame burning your body. If you cannot withstand it, all previous efforts will be wasted!"
"Are you certain you still want to continue?"
Xiao Yi Xian looked at Jiang Yun's solemn expression and nodded gently. Matters having reached this point, she absolutely would not give up.
"Set your mind at ease. I am here..." Seeing this, Jiang Yun chuckled lightly. A blazing black-and-white flame ignited in his left palm—it was precisely the Saint Demon Flame.
Looking at Xiao Yi Xian, Jiang Yun waved his palm, and the black-and-white flames immediately surged forth violently. Instantly, they enveloped Xiao Yi Xian's entire body.
In the blink of an eye, the white dress on Xiao Yi Xian was burned away completely by the terrifying temperature of the heavenly flame, not even ashes remaining.
A perfect, delicate body, like mutton-fat white jade and still carrying a hint of youthful greenness, was thus exposed right before Jiang Yun's eyes.
However, at this moment, neither of the two had any mind to spare for this. Xiao Yi Xian now had completely lost the ability to think. The pain searing into the very depths of her soul nearly made her pass out instantly.
"Soul Link!"
Just as Xiao Yi Xian could no longer bear it and her soul was about to collapse, a purple chain fell into the depths of her soul.
In an instant, an indescribably comfortable sensation swept over her. The originally unbearable agony of blazing flames burning her body, at this moment, seemed no longer quite so unendurable.