110: One year later

The warm daily life in the pavilion courtyard was the most comforting backdrop to Mo Yuhan's monotonous cultivation.

Lin Fei constantly experimented with various pastry recipes from the Gama Empire, and every day, without fail, she would place freshly baked, fragrant pastries into Mo Yuhan's hand, watching him eat them with immense satisfaction, as if it were her greatest achievement.

Her chattering voice, like the most cheerful background music, dispelled the frost that had settled on Mo Yuhan's brow due to fatigue.

Xue Mei still spoke little, but her care was woven into every meticulous detail.

After Mo Yuhan practiced his sword, a warm medicinal bath was always ready.

Upon returning from alchemy, a soul-nourishing Spirit Calming Dew was always offered immediately.

Even his clothes, singed by sparks during alchemy, would be neatly folded and placed at his bedside the next morning.

Her care was like a deep, still current, silent yet nourishing to the heart.

Instructor Ruo Lin, having broken through to the Dou Ling realm, made rapid progress in her cultivation; already a Three-star Dou Ling, her irregular 'sparring sessions' remained 'inhumane'.

But each time she knocked Mo Yuhan down, she would gently help him up: "You lasted three more moves than yesterday. There's progress. I'll treat you all to barbecue."

And Xiao Xuner remained that elusive presence.

She rarely participated in the lively atmosphere of the pavilion courtyard, spending most of her time in her own quiet room, or wandering alone in the secluded depths of the academy.

Yet, Mo Yuhan could feel that the cool gaze, fixed upon him, seemed to be quietly increasing in frequency.

Sometimes it was when he practiced his sword, sometimes when he wearily walked out of the Hundred Refinements Hall.

That gaze was no longer merely scrutiny; it seemed to hold a hint of... observation?

There was even one time, when he failed to refine a medium-difficulty third-grade medicinal pill, suffering a backlash of Soul Power, and was leaning against the cauldron, pale and gasping, that he seemed to glimpse a light green figure flash past the window on the second floor.

Time flew by, and the seasons changed.

When Canaan Academy was once again dyed in the golden autumn hues of maple, a year had passed since Mo Yuhan became the disciple of Fire Elder.

In the deepest core quiet room of the Hundred Refinements Hall.

The temperature here was high enough to suffocate an ordinary Dou Shi, and the air was distorted by the heat.

The enormous Azure Flame Ancient Cauldron lay silently in the center like a colossal beast, its body a dark green. Three earth core fire crystals now emitted a scorching deep red light, like molten lava, illuminating the entire stone room in a fiery crimson.

Mo Yuhan, now ten years old, sat cross-legged before the cauldron, the Xuan Huang Flame obediently Binding around his slender fingertips, dancing like dark gold sprites.

He took a deep breath, and the three deep red, almost black, earth core fire crystals within the cauldron seemed to sense the call, lighting up silently, illuminating the entire cauldron belly like the core of a furnace, as a pure, heavy heat silently permeated the air.

"Hiss--"

With a flick of his finger, a wisp of Xuan Huang Flame fell into the cauldron.

The fire crystals hummed, and that wisp of flame instantly surged, transforming into a surging dark gold sea of fire. Heat waves billowed but were strangely locked within the cauldron belly, the tongues of fire licking the cauldron walls, not a single wisp of excess heat escaping—the fire control power of the earth core fire crystal was indeed miraculous.

Mo Yuhan's gaze was calm, his hands forming seals as fast as phantoms.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's beast fire origin, that untamed mass of violent, high-temperature deep Purple Flame, hovered in the air.

It suddenly trembled, forcibly restrained and compressed by an invisible Soul Power, transforming into a concentrated purple line of fire, slowly piercing into the surging Xuan Huang Flame sea within the cauldron.

"Boom!"

The moment the two flames met was like cold water poured into boiling oil.

Dark gold and deep purple fiercely tore at each other, repelling and devouring.

The cauldron body shook violently, its dark green walls instantly illuminated in a chaotic mix of gold and purple. Violent energy currents surged back and forth within the cauldron belly, emitting a dull, thunderous roar.

The ground where the cauldron stood, made of hard azure steel rock, actually emitted unbearable "crack, crack" sounds, and spiderweb-like cracks spread out.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Mo Yuhan's forehead, not daring to relax in the slightest. With a flick of his finger, a thirty-year-old Clear Heart Three-Leaf Clover was thrown above the two-colored flames.

The grass leaves were a vibrant green, and pure dew, like the morning sun, flowed through their veins.

The flames gently brushed over it, and under precise temperature control, the grass leaves curled and withered at a visible rate. The vitality and coolness contained within the leaves were extracted and stripped away, thread by thread.

Three drops of pure, flawless crystal-like green liquid, emitting a clear herbal scent, floated up, enveloped by invisible Soul Power, and moved to the outer edge of the flame for warming.

This was "Clear Heart Dew," the spiritual guide for the Spirit Awakening Pill.

Next, a ripe Bodhi Heart Fruit was thrown into the core of the flame.

It was the size of a fist, perfectly round, with a smooth, jade-white skin, subtly revealing a solemn golden light from within.

As soon as it touched the Xuan Huang Flame, which had merged with the Purple Flame, the Bodhi Heart Fruit trembled violently, as if chanting sounds echoed softly within the cauldron.

The jade-white skin rapidly melted and vaporized, and the pure golden Buddha light within was exposed to the domineering flame, immediately radiating brightly, even subtly resisting the flame's refinement.

Mo Yuhan's eyes narrowed, and his hand seals changed again.

The flames within the cauldron suddenly contracted, and the temperature instantly soared to a terrifying degree. The two-colored flames transformed into two roaring dragon shadows, one gold and one purple, fiercely calcining.

Hissing sounds were incessant, and the impurities on the outside were violently stripped away and incinerated.

Finally, there was the ten-year-old Spirit Absorbing Tree branch.

It was unremarkable, dusty like a withered branch, only at the cut end could one see extremely fine silver-white annual rings.

Mo Yuhan carefully placed it into the gentlest edge region of the flame.

The two-colored flames now displayed astonishing control, the heat permeating evenly. The withered outer skin silently peeled off, and the wood within seemed to be infused with life in the flames, becoming moist and transparent, like fine jadeite.

As the flames continued to lick, strands of viscous, faintly shimmering silver-green sap, emitting a peculiar suction, were slowly forced out, stretching into crystalline threads within the flames.

This was "Spirit Absorbing Marrow," which connected to heaven and earth and gathered spiritual energy.

The essences of the three main medicinal ingredients each occupied a corner.

The Clear Heart Dew was pure green and clear, the Bodhi Golden Liquid solemn and pure, and the Spirit Absorbing Marrow was emerald green and viscous. Supported by the two-colored flames, they slowly circulated within the cauldron, emitting distinct yet equally powerful energy fluctuations.

Mo Yuhan took a deep breath, his Soul Power extending like tentacles, carefully beginning to guide the three into contact.

The light green and emerald green touched first, coolness and suction intertwining, still relatively gentle.

Three energies of vastly different attributes violently collided and surged in the confined space within the cauldron.

The entire Azure Flame Medicinal Cauldron trembled violently. The cloud-thunder beast patterns on the cauldron wall seemed to come alive, wildly moving across the dark green background, emitting low, suppressed roars.

"Hold... steady!"

Every line of thought power from his Soul Power precisely Bound a wisp of escaping energy turbulence, like the most skilled weaver, forcefully threading the needle through a vortex of destruction.

"Combine!"

Accompanying this shout from the soul level, the chaotic energy storm within the cauldron suddenly paused.

The violent turbulence seemed to be fiercely grasped by an invisible giant hand.

The three streams of light, amidst violent trembling, were forcibly pulled, squeezed, and merged along the lines of thought power. Each fusion erupted with dazzling light clusters and dull roars, making the entire pill chamber tremble.

The roaring of the cloud-thunder beast patterns on the cauldron wall grew increasingly high-pitched, carrying an ancient, wild pressure, as if also helping to suppress the chaos within the cauldron.