179: Be merciful, I'm such a good cat!

Mo Fan soon arrived in front of the Pill Tower.

From a distance, the Pill Tower looked majestic and imposing.

But upon closer inspection, he found it was actually old and unadorned, with some stone bricks on its walls having flaked off.

It had a total of nine floors, nearly a hundred meters high, its spire shrouded in gray, misty clouds.

Looking at this scene, Mo Fan always felt a sense of déjà vu.

Soon, the image of the Trial Tower surfaced in his mind.

"Isn't this the Trial Tower? They look exactly the same?"

Mo Fan was a bit confused.

"Why is this?"

After carefully comparing them, Mo Fan discovered the telltale signs.

Although the Trial Tower and the Pill Tower were similar, they weren't completely identical; many details were different.

For example, the bronze door of the Trial Tower was half a foot shorter than the Pill Tower's.

The Trial Tower's tilt angle was two degrees, while the Pill Tower's was three degrees.

"So, was the Trial Tower built in imitation of the Pill Tower? Or are they... twin towers?" A thought flashed through Mo Fan's mind.

He had previously heard people say that the Trial Tower was dug out whole from a ruin by the Old Ancestor of Yuxu Academy.

"Then where is the Legacy site corresponding to the Trial Tower?"

He wasn't interested in other facilities.

But Mo Fan still cared about the Formation Source Runes and Field Origin Essence inside the Trial Tower.

If he could find their place of Origin, there might be unexpected gains.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan didn't find any locations related to the Trial Tower on the map.

Furthermore, the Hidden Sword Manor's ancient texts also contained no records about the Trial Tower.

This somewhat puzzled Mo Fan.

"Forget it, let's explore the Pill Tower first."

Mo Fan shook his head, stopped thinking too much, and strode towards the Pill Tower entrance.

The Pill Tower's entrance, like the Trial Tower's, was also a massive bronze door, even the style was the same.

However, after taking just a few steps, Mo Fan turned around and walked back.

Glancing around, Mo Fan instantly focused his Mental Energy, his ten fingers emitting a faint blue light as he quickly began carving in the Void Realm.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*

Mental Energy focused, communicating with the heaven and earth's Origin Qi, mysterious energy converged. rune markings glowing with a faint blue light, incredibly profound, were quickly generated and scattered in various corners.

These rune markings seemed to be casually tossed out by Mo Fan, but in reality, they contained a certain pattern and arrangement.

Time passed minute by minute, and in a flash, three hours had gone by.

Mo Fan tossed out the last rune marking, feeling slightly mentally fatigued.

He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead, finally breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled faintly.

At this moment, a dim blue mist rose around the Trial Tower, completely enveloping it.

From the outside, the Trial Tower directly vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.

Moreover, even the terrain and landscape within several kilometers around the Trial Tower had changed.

"Not bad. Although there wasn't time or Materials to set up a powerful killing array, it can at least serve some purpose of confusion.

"Plus, the thunder array set up using Formation Source Runes also possesses considerable lethality. It won't be easy to break through the array and walk in."

Looking at his masterpiece, Mo Fan nodded slightly.

For some reason, he always felt someone was watching him.

Especially a few hours ago, when he had just left the Flower Queen Palace, a sudden inspiration struck him, making his scalp tingle.

He felt he had almost been locked onto by a powerful aura.

Fortunately, he had learned the Breath Concealment Art and forcefully evaded that aura's detection.

"A powerful being in the Secret Realm has noticed me; I must act cautiously."

Mo Fan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, pondering seriously.

If he hadn't learned the Breath-Fixing Art...

...he probably would have been found by someone already.

"Can't let my guard down." Mo Fan frowned.

That aura was too powerful.

So powerful that Mo Fan couldn't resist it at all.

"Hopefully, this array will be of some use.

"If he really finds this place and breaks my array, then I can only——"

Mo Fan focused slightly, connected his consciousness to the system space, and his gaze locked onto a sword talisman flickering with lightning radiance.

This was a sword talisman condensed from the power of Sword Dao Laws, capable of slaying a Supreme.

Mo Fan could sense that the aura that had almost locked onto him, though immensely powerful, was still within the Supreme category.

Because beings above Supreme, in the Void-Breaking Realm, had already condensed their own Law power.

Such an existence, even if Mo Fan possessed the Breath-Fixing Art, could not evade its aura lock.

Therefore, Mo Fan judged that the being attempting the lock was still at the Supreme level.

Since it's only Supreme...

...then it can be slain.

After quickly checking the array he had set up, Mo Fan nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and walked towards the Pill Tower again.

"It's a pity the Law power in this space has already collapsed. Otherwise, using the Pill Tower itself, I could have set up a terrifyingly lethal Field.

"Even a Supreme would be greatly troubled by such a Field; it could hold them off for a while."

The Pill Tower's construction site originally contained a hidden grand momentum. If utilized, it could naturally create a Field with immense lethality.

Unfortunately, with the collapse of Law power, the grand momentum of heaven and earth naturally ceased to exist.

Mo Fan shook his head with a regretful expression, reached out to push open the bronze door, and stepped inside.

Upon entering the Pill Tower...

...soft light immediately lit up, illuminating the entire Pill Tower.

The light source was night pearls, about the size of fists, placed on both sides.

"Just like the Trial Tower——"

Mo Fan shook his head and continued forward.

Soon, he saw layers of wooden shelves.

Exquisite jade boxes were placed on the wooden shelves.

On the jade boxes were character labels from the same system as those on the stone tablet in the Sword Pavilion's backyard.

"Dragon Beard Grass, Nine-Leaf Golden Lotus, Crescent Orchid, Phoenix Tree Wood, Fate Fruit, Heavenly Phoenix Marrow, Nine Revolutions Spirit Ginseng——"

Looking at the labels on the jade boxes, Mo Fan was somewhat stunned.

He had seen these names in the Materials from Cangyan Peak's archives. They were legendary Materials, truly priceless treasures!

Any single one taken out could cause a sensation on Blue Star.

Yet now... they're all mine?

Mo Fan took a deep breath, suppressed the excitement in his heart, slowly walked towards the wooden shelves, carefully picked up a jade box, held his breath, and slowly opened it.

As the jade box opened, a dazzling golden light immediately burst forth, making Mo Fan instinctively squint his eyes.

Then, a spirit ginseng, about the size of a baby's arm, with nine tendrils, its skin crystal clear, its main stem resembling a human torso, emitting rich waves of Origin Qi, slowly appeared before Mo Fan's eyes.

"Is this the Nine Revolutions Spirit Ginseng?" Mo Fan's breathing became slightly rapid.

This thing was the main ingredient for refining the legendary holy medicine, the Great Recovery Pill!

"The other auxiliary Materials should also be findable." Mo Fan focused slightly and was about to store the Nine Revolutions Spirit Ginseng into his system space.

The Great Recovery Pill was a legendary holy medicine that could revive the dead and regenerate flesh and bone.

For beings above the Returning to Origin realm, as long as a wisp of Primordial Spirit Light remained, it could instantly reshape the body, reconstruct the Primordial Spirit, and restore them to their Peak in an instant.

If he could refine it, it would undoubtedly be like gaining an extra life.

However, just as Mo Fan was fantasizing about refining the Great Recovery Pill, he suddenly froze, dumbfounded... At the same time...

Outside the Pill Tower.

A Black Cat, its whole body pitch-black, fur smooth as satin, with a missing section of its tail, slowly materialized.

Staring at the location from its memory, a trace of confusion appeared in its pitch-black vertical pupils.

"Huh? Why is the Pill Tower gone?

"Did I take the wrong road?

"Also, that guy's aura... why has it disappeared again?"

The Black Cat was somewhat annoyed.

It was naturally extraordinary, with exceptional perception.

Even now, with less than one-tenth of its cultivation remaining, relying on instinct, it could still capture a faint, elusive trace of aura.

Even if the other party cultivated the Flower Queen Palace's Breath Concealment Art, it could still lock onto them; it just took a bit more time.

A minute ago, it had finally captured Mo Fan's aura, discovered he was heading towards the Pill Tower, and immediately rushed over.

But it hadn't expected this situation.

After carefully observing for a while, the Black Cat ultimately shook its head.

"Maybe I haven't been out for too long, and my memory is a bit muddled?

"Forget it, let's check elsewhere."

The Black Cat shook its head and turned to leave.

It couldn't remember how many tens of thousands of years it had been since it last left the Military Camp.

For someone as lazy-minded as it was, having a muddled memory wasn't strange.

At the same time.

Pill Tower.

Mo Fan suddenly froze, staring dumbfounded at the Nine Revolutions Spirit Ginseng in his hand.

In just a moment, the originally vibrant spirit ginseng instantly turned into specks of starlight, completely dissipating into the world.

Watching this scene, Mo Fan's face twitched slightly.

"Was it stored for too long, and just crumbled to dust upon being taken out?"

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan placed the jade box back on the wooden shelf.

After pondering for a moment, he slowly walked towards a nearby jade box labeled 'Heavenly Phoenix Marrow'.

This time, he wasn't in a hurry to open the jade box, but directly stored it in his system space.

Watching the jade box disappear from his hand,

Mo Fan immediately focused his mind, his spiritual body descended into the system space, and his gaze locked onto the newly stored jade box.

With a slight lift of his hand, the jade box flew towards Mo Fan.

Steadying himself, Mo Fan casually broke the sealing spirit formation on the jade box and lifted the lid.

In an instant, a gelatinous substance, sparkling and translucent, bursting with five-colored divine light as if containing infinite vitality, appeared before Mo Fan's eyes.

This was the legendary Celestial Phoenix Marrow.

Although Blue Star had not yet evolved mythical-level Yao Beasts like the Phoenix,

similar species had already appeared.

It was rumored that on Demon God Mountain, there was a Peacock capable of breathing five-colored divine light, possessing extremely terrifying combat power.

It was one of the few Supreme-level beings among the Yao Race; its bone marrow could probably also be used for medicine.

Mo Fan speculated that as Spiritual Qi continued to recover, it might not be impossible for mythical-level Yao Beasts like the Phoenix to appear in a few years.

While pondering, Mo Fan kept his eyes on the Celestial Phoenix Marrow inside the jade box.

"The system space can preserve states, so this Celestial Phoenix Marrow should be able to be preserved—"

However, as soon as this thought arose, Mo Fan's face immediately darkened.

With a swish, the Celestial Phoenix Marrow turned into specks of azure-blue light, dissipating within the system space, its aura disappearing without a trace.

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan immediately tried to sense, attempting to capture the aura of the Celestial Phoenix Marrow.

Yet, he searched every corner of the system space but found no trace of the Celestial Phoenix Marrow.

"What's going on?" Mo Fan was dumbfounded, standing there in a daze.

"Not even the system space can preserve its state?"

But soon, Mo Fan figured it out.

These Sacred Medicines had actually long since dissipated in the river of time.

What he saw just now was merely a remnant image, a reflection before the Sacred Medicine dissipated.

Since the state was predetermined,

then even storing it in the system space would be utterly useless.

Having undergone the Age of Dharma Decline, no matter how miraculous a Sacred Medicine was, it couldn't possibly be preserved.

Even though Spiritual Qi is now recovering again.

Even though Origin Qi has reappeared in the city.

It cannot change the outcome that has already been determined.

Thinking of this, Mo Fan slightly frowned, losing some interest in the Pill Tower.

"No wonder these things weren't taken away—" Mo Fan shook his head and looked around.

Fortunately, he soon found some valuable items.

Some Manuscripts that had luckily been preserved.

These Manuscripts were carved on the walls of each floor of the Pill Tower, most left by the Pill Tower's Alchemists.

For Mo Fan, who wanted to improve his Alchemy Dao level, they were perfect.

Upon seeing the Manuscripts, Mo Fan immediately immersed himself in an ocean of knowledge.

Soon, he also found some ancient Pill Formulas, which made him even happier... At the same time.

Outside the Pill Tower, the Black Cat returned, wearing a human-like expression of utter despair.

"Meow? So it was concealed by a Magic Array.

"This guy is really cunning, with endless tricks, almost got fooled meow—

"Luckily This Cat is smart and saw through your tricks!"

The Black Cat proudly raised its head, its pupils immediately slitting, shooting out two beams of azure-blue light.

It focused slightly, casting a glance forward.

This glance seemed to contain the ability to see through illusions, piercing through the layers of Magic Arrays, and the Pill Tower's original appearance instantly became visible.

At the same time, it once again captured Mo Fan's aura.

"You can't escape meow~"

The Black Cat grinned, immediately turning into a blur as it rushed towards the Pill Tower.

However, as soon as it entered the range of the Magic Array, its whole body trembled, its pupils contracted, and it instinctively wanted to retreat.

But it was already too late.

With a loud boom, the void exploded, and dense, arm-thick purple lightning bolts rained down, striking the Black Cat.

"Awoo!"

Letting out a painful cry, the Black Cat was electrocuted until all its fur stood on end, and moments later, a burnt, unpleasant smell wafted out.

"Meow!" The Black Cat roared, again turning into a blur as it fled the Magic Array's range, leaving only a steaming mass of lightning behind.

Smoothing its somewhat curly and charred fur, the Black Cat stared intently at the terrifying Magic Array before it, its eyes flashing with disbelief.

"In such a short time, he could set up such a terrifying Lightning Array meow?

"His mastery of Magic Arrays has probably already reached the King Rank meow?"

The Black Cat couldn't quite believe it: "Last time he came in, he clearly struggled just to break the city wall's Magic Array.

"To improve this much in such a short time meow?"

The Black Cat was very puzzled.

It couldn't figure out how Mo Fan had achieved this.

But it couldn't be bothered to think about it.

"Forget it, I'll just wait here for him to come out."

Looking at the steaming lightning, the Black Cat felt a bit daunted and decided to wait on the spot.

Although it could forcefully break the array with brute strength,

it would consume its already scarce Origin Essence power.

It still wanted to live a few more years.

"I'll just wait here; I don't believe he won't come out."

...Inside the Pill Tower, Mo Fan thirstily absorbed Alchemy Dao knowledge, analyzing one ancient Pill Formula after another, his Alchemy Dao level visibly rising.

The higher he went, the more complex the characters on the stone walls inside the tower became, and the more excited Mo Fan became about learning.

Given the limited time, Mo Fan skimmed through these Alchemy Dao Manuscripts and Pill Formulas hastily, absorbing them uncritically.

What he could understand, he understood.

What he couldn't understand for now, he memorized first, planning to verify and ponder them slowly when he had time.

Just like that, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

After browsing the final manuscript, Mo Fan let out a long sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.

"Quite a harvest!"

Focusing slightly, a virtual azure-blue screen, visible only to himself, appeared before Mo Fan's eyes.

With a thought, his attribute information appeared.

Mo Fan locked his gaze on the special abilities column.

[Special Abilities: Alchemy Dao (Great Grandmaster), Magic Arrays (King Rank), Fields (King Rank)]

"My Alchemy Dao Rank has already been raised to the Great Grandmaster realm.

"Once I digest these Manuscripts, I should almost reach King Rank.

"More importantly—"

Mo Fan smiled slightly, a Pill Formula appearing in his mind.

[Pill Name: condensing origin pill]

[Effect: Can reshape a damaged Primordial Spirit, re-gather Primordial Spirit Light.]

[Main Materials: Thousand-Year Fire Ginseng, Sky Star Blue, Earth's Core Milk, Nine Sun Flower, Dragon Saliva, Schrödinger Fruit, True Phoenix Essence Blood...]

[Suggested Technique: Cangyan Flame Control Art or Xuanyang Refining Fire Art, combined with continuous output of Wood Attribute Origin Energy.]

[Detailed Tutorial: Using the Schrödinger Fruit as a guide, decompose the Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Ginseng into powder using pure quality or elemental methods, with Earth's Core Milk as an auxiliary...]

"This condensing origin pill can not only solve Second Master Sun's problem but also allow Liu Xiyan to reshape her Primordial Spirit and re-condense her Primordial Spirit Light.

"This way, her sword dao physique will also recover, and with her Sword Nurturing Art already at Major Achievement, she can instantly become a Sword Immortal.

"It's just that the refining Materials are a bit outrageous—"

Mo Fan shook his head. The earlier Materials were manageable; although rare, they could still be collected on Blue Star.

The later ones like Dragon Saliva, Schrödinger Fruit, True Phoenix Essence Blood, etc., just by their names, sounded outrageous and simply couldn't exist on Blue Star at this stage.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Mo Fan sighed, stopped overthinking, turned around, and prepared to leave the Pill Tower.

Moments later, Mo Fan passed through the Magic Array he had set up and once again saw the outside world.

"I've finished visiting both the Flower Queen Palace and the Pill Tower; should I go check out the Military Camp?" Mo Fan frowned in thought.

However, at that moment, a sudden sound rang out.

"Meow?"

Hearing the unexpected cat cry, Mo Fan's face drastically changed, his pupils sharply contracting.

He steadied himself, immediately looked around, and simultaneously spread out his Mental Energy, sensing in all directions.

Yet, even so, he still didn't sense any aura.

"Trouble!" Mo Fan's expression changed drastically, and he was about to turn around and re-enter the Magic Array.

But as soon as he turned, he saw a pitch-Black Cat, about the size of a soccer ball, looking round and plump.

Without time to think, Mo Fan had a thought, and a sword talisman emitting thunderous light immediately appeared in his hand.

The moment the sword talisman appeared, the world brightened a bit, endless Sword Intent gathered, bursting with terrifying power as if about to pierce the heavens.

At the same time, Mo Fan locked his Mental Energy onto the Black Cat.

"Holy crap?!" Sensing the danger, the Black Cat's face drastically changed, its fur instantly standing on end, and it hurriedly said,

"Hold on, I'm not a bad cat, I mean no harm!"