357: Mission outside the sect

Yao Delong did not linger any longer; his body transformed into a streak of light.

In an instant, he returned to his courtyard on Luoxia Peak and stepped straight into the Alchemy quiet room he had prepared long ago.

Inside the quiet room, the high-grade heavenly artifact 'mountain river sun moon cauldron' stood silently, exuding an ancient and heavy aura.

A dazzling array of Spirit Medicines was arranged all around, their fragrance filling the air.

Yao Delong sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to focus and adjusting his state to its Peak.

"System, consume yin-yang value to optimize the 'myriad manifestations returning to origin pill' Pill Formula!"

[Ding! Consuming 50 points of yin-yang value to begin optimizing the Earth Rank High Grade Pill Formula 'myriad manifestations returning to origin pill'!]

[Optimization complete! New Pill Formula effect: Briefly raises a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator's Realm by one minor stage.]

[Side effect: Changed from burning the Primordial Spirit's Origin and significantly weakening the Foundation,]

[to consuming a portion of pure essence and blood; the weakness period is shortened to three days, with no damage to the Foundation!]

"Good!" Yao Delong rejoiced inwardly; this optimization was truly Heaven-Defying!

What was originally a life-risking Medicinal Pill had become a trump card with a bearable cost!

"Consume another 30 points of yin-yang value to optimize the 'Soul Transformation Stage Pill' Pill Formula!"

[Ding! Consuming 30 points of yin-yang value to begin optimizing the Earth Rank Medium Grade Pill Formula 'Soul Transformation Stage Pill'!]

[Optimization complete! New Pill Formula effect: Protects the Nascent Soul,]

[increases the probability of Divine Soul Fusion, and greatly enhances resistance to Heart Demon illusions!]

[Current remaining yin-yang value: 460 points!]

With the optimization of the two key Pill Formulas complete, Yao Delong no longer had any worries.

"Time for a warm-up!" His gaze swept over the Materials for those sixth-grade medicinal pills—

Soul Transformation Stage Pill, endless life creation pill, nine revolutions profound yang pill.

These Medicinal Pills no longer posed much difficulty for him now.

"Rise!"

Yao Delong gave a low shout, injecting his vast Divine Thought and Life-Generating Creation Fire into the mountain river sun moon cauldron simultaneously!

The cauldron hummed as phantoms of the sun and moon rotated, and the temperature inside instantly soared to a terrifying level!

His hands moved like butterflies through flowers, so fast they left trails of afterimages.

Portions of Spirit Medicines were precisely tossed into the cauldron, quickly refined, purified, and fused under his exquisite fire control techniques!

The refinement of sixth-grade Medicinal Pills was as smooth as flowing water in his hands, handled with effortless ease.

To pursue speed, he did not deliberately aim for the extreme of nine revolutions pill patterns for every batch;

most were controlled between seven and nine revolutions.

Even so, whenever a batch was completed, rosy light surged from the cauldron.

The fragrance of the pills overflowed, and their quality was enough to leave ordinary sixth-grade alchemists far behind.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Dozens of jade bottles were neatly arranged in a corner of the quiet room,

filled with sixth-grade Medicinal Pills shimmering with light and flowing with pill patterns.

Yao Delong adjusted his breathing for half a day,

then turned his gaze once more toward those few seventh-grade Spirit Medicines emitting startling energy fluctuations!

"The true challenge begins now!" Yao Delong's eyes were sharp as knives.

Seventh-grade Medicinal Pills: myriad manifestations returning to origin pill! yimu azure spirit pill, a sacred healing medicine!

He focused entirely, not daring to be even slightly careless.

His Divine Thought was highly concentrated, and his output of elemental energy became even more refined.

Every step was taken with caution; the requirements for controlling the heat and the timing of the medicinal properties' Fusion were demanding to the extreme.

To maximize the medicinal effects, he strove even harder to reach the perfect Realm of nine revolutions pill patterns for every batch!

"Congeal!"

Following Yao Delong's low shout, the mountain river sun moon cauldron shook violently, and the lid burst open!

Boom—!

A bolt of silver pill lightning, as thick as a bucket and carrying an aura of destruction,

tore through the Restriction above the quiet room without warning and struck down fiercely!

Its target was the myriad manifestations returning to origin pill that had just formed in the cauldron, which was emitting violent energy fluctuations!

"Come!"

Yao Delong was not alarmed but delighted. The moment the pill lightning was about to hit his body, he did not dodge;

instead, he stood up abruptly, his muscles knotted and his blood surging like a dragon!

He intended to use this pill lightning to temper his Physical Body!

Boom!

The silver lightning struck him hard, electric snakes dancing wildly!

Yao Delong gave a muffled groan as golden light flowed over his skin, enduring it by force.

He felt a power that was both numbing and agonizingly painful rampaging through his body, only to be frantically refined and absorbed by the Great Sun Body Forging Art.

His Physical Body's strength actually showed a minuscule, almost imperceptible improvement!

However, as batch after batch of seventh-grade Medicinal Pills were refined,

the power of the pill lightning grew stronger, and its frequency increased.

By the time he refined the fifth batch of yimu azure spirit pills, the descending pill lightning already carried a hint of pale purple, its power far exceeding the previous bolts!

"Hmm? The Body Tempering effect is getting weaker and weaker..."

Yao Delong felt the pale purple lightning strike his body; although he could still endure it,

the improvement it brought was now negligible.

"A waste of time!"

A flash of light appeared in his eyes as he gave up on enduring it head-on.

"Immortal Trapping!"

A low sword hum seemed to ring out from the void!

Yao Delong pointed his fingers like a sword toward the descending pale purple lightning!

Buzz!

An invisible, blood-colored Sword Domain carrying the power of delay and erosion instantly unfolded above his head!

The violent pale purple lightning charged into the Sword Domain and its speed suddenly slowed,

as if stuck in a mire. Its terrifying destructive energy was continuously eroded and decomposed by that blood-colored Sword Intent,

eventually turning into countless tiny electric snakes that dissipated in the air, without even touching the edge of the Pill Furnace!

*Hiss!*

In the distance, several Inner Sect Disciples who happened to be passing near Luoxia Peak

watched dumbfoundedly as that pale purple pill lightning, capable of heavily wounding a Nascent Soul Cultivator,

was neutralized into nothingness by Senior Brother Yao's casual finger!

"That... what kind of technique is that?!"

"It seems to be... Sword Intent? Senior Brother Yao's sword Dao is actually this terrifying as well?!"

"My god! For this past half month, the pill lightning on Luoxia Peak hasn't stopped!

Senior Brother Yao's Alchemy intensity is simply inhuman!"

In the days that followed, pill lightning fell like rain upon the summit of Luoxia Peak!

Silver lightning, purple lightning... one violent bolt after another struck down, the momentum terrifying.

But every time, an invisible blood-colored Sword Domain, a sharp invisible Sword Intent,

or a destructive beam of light that ended everything would soar into the sky, easily crushing and neutralizing the pill lightning!

Using the pill lightning as a whetstone, Yao Delong became increasingly proficient in applying the three forms of the Lesser Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, handling them with ease.

That posture of handling weight as if it were light and treating pill lightning as nothing

deeply shocked all the Yin Yang Sect Disciples who witnessed this scene.

"Senior Brother Yao's Alchemy... this cultivation... it's unfathomable!"

"The amount of pill lightning this half month probably equals the total of Pill Cloud Peak for an entire month, right?"

Just as Yao Delong was immersed in the selfless state of Alchemy and honing his sword formation,

inside the main Peak of the Yin Yang Sect, within the white-cloud-shrouded discussion hall, the atmosphere was solemn.

Sect Head White Cloud Master sat in the primary seat, with the Peak masters and core Elders on either side.

Leng Yuekui was among them, her cool eyes looking at a communication jade talisman floating in the center of the hall.

An extremely anxious message for help from the City Lord of Biqiu was being transmitted from the jade talisman.

"...The scale of the beast tide is unprecedented! It is suspected to be commanded by a transformed great demon!

The city's defensive formation is already in peril! We implore the upper sect to quickly dispatch experts for reinforcement!

The million lives of Biqiu City are in imminent danger!"

"To the north, demonic flames reach the sky; the royal capital's elites are pinned down and unable to assist. The request for help from the Hegemonic Summer sovereign has also arrived."

An Elder said in a heavy voice, "They hope our sect and the Moyang Sect will take action."

A sharp light flashed in White Cloud Master's eyes as he made the final decision.

"Delong's True Disciple Assessment task has not yet been set.

This time, reinforcing Biqiu City and repelling the beast tide shall serve as Yao Delong's final True Disciple Assessment task!

He is required to set out within two days without fail!"