10: Refining elixirs in a fiery cave! The elixir is complete, and a thunderbolt strikes an "acquaintance"!

The night was deep, and the back mountain of the Qingyun Sect was silent as the grave. The turmoil from the medicinal residue field during the day seemed to have been forgotten, with only the mountain wind whistling through the rugged, strange rocks, emitting a low, wailing sound.

Jiang Linfeng moved like a ghost blending into the night, shuttling silently along the rugged mountain paths. He avoided all possible patrol routes, his goal clear—the Waste Slag Pit of the Earth Fire Cave in the back mountain!

Old Man Zhong's "guidance" and Elder Situ's "gift of thanks" were like invisible threads, pulling him toward this seemingly dangerous place.

Jiang Linfeng knew clearly that this was by no means simple goodwill. Elder Situ's sharp, hawk-like eyes had likely never truly left him.

Sending the earth fire flame heart fragment and pointing out the Earth Fire Cave felt more like a carefully arranged test! They wanted to see what kind of trickery this "lucky" Menial Worker was hiding!

A test? A cold arc curled at the corner of Jiang Linfeng's mouth. "Then let me show you what real 'luck' is!"

The Earth Fire Cave was located deep in a desolate rift in the back mountain. Looking from afar, the rift resembled a hideous wound on the earth, pitch-black and emitting the pungent odor of sulfur and burnt matter.

Upon approaching the valley entrance, a wave of scorching heat rushed toward his face, and the air was distorted by the high temperature.

A tremendous roaring sound came from the bottom of the valley; it was the roar of the earth fire surging and crashing against the rock walls!

The so-called "Waste Slag Pit" was located on a steep cliff on one side of the rift, still hundreds of meters away from the main vein of earth fire at the bottom. It was a massive opening carved out by human hands, about ten zhang in diameter and bottomless.

Piled along the edges of the cave entrance were large amounts of black-red molten slag, emitting wisps of heat, resembling congealed blood.

Waves of scorching air, mixed with pungent sulfur smoke and dust, were continuously gushing out from the depths of the cave, forming a heat barrier that distorted the air.

The environment here was harsh to the extreme!

With the scorching high temperatures and pervasive toxic fumes, an ordinary Menial Worker would likely dehydrate and faint within a hundred meters!

Even a Cultivator in the Innate Realm would find it difficult to stay for long without special means!

Jiang Linfeng stood at the edge of the Waste Slag Pit, feeling the scorching touch of the rock beneath his feet. His Source Spirit Body activated spontaneously, instantly purifying and absorbing the scorching aura and sulfurous toxins that invaded his body, converting them into pure Spiritual Qi to replenish himself.

He felt as if he were in a hot spring; far from feeling uncomfortable, he felt warm all over, and his depleted Origin Spirit Power was recovering at an accelerated rate!

"A good place!" A bright light flashed in Jiang Linfeng's eyes! Although the heat from the residual earth fire veins gushing from this Waste Slag Pit was violent and chaotic, it had the advantage of being inexhaustible!

It was more than a hundred times better than using green sandalwood cores to build a fire! What was even better was that this place was desolate and filled with toxic fumes, so no one was willing to come near; it was the perfect "secret base"!

He found a relatively flat hollow, shielded from most of the heat waves by large blocks of slag, and sat down cross-legged.

He took the earth fire flame heart fragment that Elder Situ had "given" him out of the System space.

As soon as the crimson Ore was exposed to the air, it immediately emitted a soft "hum"!

As if stimulated by the rich fire qi in the surroundings, the magma patterns flowing on the surface of the Ore instantly brightened, emitting astonishing heat!

A pure and domineering flame energy escaped from it!

Jiang Linfeng did not hesitate; he activated his Source Spirit Body, separated a wisp of pure Origin Spirit Power, and carefully injected it into the earth fire flame heart fragment!

Hum—!

The fragment jolted violently! It was like a spark being ignited! A scarlet flame, condensed, stable, and with a temperature far exceeding the heat waves gushing from the Waste Slag Pit, erupted from the core of the fragment!

The flame, like a docile fire snake, coiled and swirled under the guidance of Jiang Linfeng's Origin Spirit Power, emitting a heart-palpitating high temperature!

It was done! A controllable earth fire core!

Jiang Linfeng suppressed his excitement and immediately took out the "tools" he had prepared long ago—a thick earthenware pot that was much sturdier than before, its inner walls having been repeatedly reinforced by his Origin Spirit Power, as well as a pile of carefully selected medicinal residue clumps mixed with calming flower powder and hemostatic herb powder.

He did not immediately start refining the qi nurturing pill (Yellow Rank Low Grade), but instead used this stable earth fire core to try refining the simpler "inferior calming powder" to practice and familiarize himself with flame control.

Sizzle, sizzle...

Under the exquisite control of the Source Spirit Body, the crimson flame licked the bottom of the earthenware pot, the temperature stable and even.

The medicinal residue clumps quickly melted, decomposed, and merged under the high temperature... A calming, refreshing fragrance, several times richer and purer than before, spread out!

After a moment, the flame extinguished.

Inside the pot lay five round, plump "Medicinal Pills," grayish-white in color with a faint green luster, exuding a cooling aura!

Although they were still inferior calming powder, their quality had improved by more than one grade compared to before! They were almost approaching the threshold of Yellow Rank Low Grade!

[Ding! Refined "inferior calming powder" × 5 (quality improved)! Alchemy proficiency + 50!]

"Good!" Jiang Linfeng's spirits soared! The combination of the earth fire flame heart and the Source Spirit Body for flame control had an effect far exceeding his expectations!

He did not pause and immediately began preparing to refine his true target—the qi nurturing pill!

The qi nurturing pill, a Yellow Rank Low Grade Medicinal Pill, was a basic pill for Cultivators to meditate, regulate their breathing, stabilize their Foundation, and restore Spiritual Qi. The required main ingredients were ten-year-old "qi condensing grass" and "gathering origin flower."

Jiang Linfeng did not have them, but he had medicinal residue! Among the medicinal residue he had screened, there was a large amount of waste from refining basic pills like qi condensing pills and gathering origin pills! The medicinal essence remaining within them, after being purified by the Source Spirit Body and tempered by the earth fire flame heart, could completely serve as a substitute!

Following the steps of the "Pill Refining Art," he put the selected medicinal residue clumps containing the medicinal properties of qi condensing grass and gathering origin flower into the earthenware pot. At the same time, he added a few auxiliary common herbs to neutralize the medicinal properties.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Linfeng's eyes became incredibly focused! He circulated his Origin Spirit Power to the fullest, communicating with the earth fire flame heart!

Boom! The crimson flame rose again! The temperature soared suddenly! The earthenware pot was instantly scorched bright red!

This time, Jiang Linfeng felt tremendous pressure! The Fusion of medicinal properties for the qi nurturing pill was far more complex than that of the calming powder!

The gentleness of the qi condensing grass and the domineering nature of the gathering origin flower clashed violently under the high temperature! The earthenware pot vibrated violently, emitting groans of being unable to bear the load! The medicinal liquid roiled and boiled, and it could explode the furnace at any moment!

"Condense!" Fine beads of sweat seeped from Jiang Linfeng's forehead, and he pushed his Source Spirit Body to the limit!

His powerful spiritual sense acted like the most precise probe, penetrating deep into the earthenware pot, forcibly sorting and harmonizing the violent clash of medicinal properties! His Origin Spirit Power turned into invisible giant hands, suppressing the boiling medicinal liquid with all its might!

Time passed second by second. The medicinal liquid inside the pot, amidst the violent conflict, gradually began to fuse! A herbal fragrance, ten times richer than that of the calming powder and carrying vibrant vitality, mixed with pure Spiritual Qi fluctuations, began to diffuse from the cracks in the earthenware pot!

Jiang Linfeng was overjoyed! The most critical step was coming! Pill formation!

He formed hand seals, following the records of the Pill Formula, casting one simple yet rhythmic pill-forming hand seal after another. Under the guidance of the technique, the medicinal liquid inside the pot began to rotate and compress slowly!

Hum! At the center of the medicinal liquid, a faint yet solid pill light began to shine!

It was done! The pill light appeared! Pill formation was imminent!

However, at this crucial moment— "Aoo—!!"

A mournful howl, so shrill it didn't sound human, suddenly came from below the Waste Slag Pit, from the shadows near the bottom where the heat waves were gushing!

Immediately following this, a figure covered in charred black, dressed in tattered clothes, and exuding dense Devilish Qi and the foul stench of sulfur, like an evil ghost crawling out of Hell, suddenly lunged out from the rolling heat waves!

His eyes were blood-red and filled with bloodshot veins, his face scarred with terrifying burns, and he made unintelligible wheezing sounds from his mouth, staring fixedly at Jiang Linfeng... and the earthenware pot in front of him that was emitting an alluring pill fragrance!

Pockmarked Wang?! Jiang Linfeng's pupils contracted sharply! Wasn't this guy dragged away by the Law Enforcement Hall?! How could he be in a place like this?! And... the dense Devilish Qi on his body... it was several times stronger than it was at the medicinal residue field! He had clearly been deeply eroded by Devilish Qi, lost his sanity, and turned into a Devil Puppet that only knew how to devour spiritual objects!

"Heh... heh... pill... fragrance... eat... eat you!" Pockmarked Wang, or rather, the Devil Puppet, let out a beast-like low growl from his throat, saliva mixed with black blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

He suddenly spread his arms, his ten fingernails becoming pitch-black and sharp, and with a fishy wind, he lunged toward Jiang Linfeng and the earthenware pot in front of him! His speed was actually several times faster than before!

Jiang Linfeng's heart sank! This was the critical moment of pill formation! It must not be interrupted! Otherwise, all previous efforts would be wasted! It might even cause the furnace to explode and injure himself!

A cold light flashed in his eyes! He kept his left hand maintaining the pill-forming technique motionless and suddenly swung his right hand toward the lunging Devil Puppet Pockmarked Wang!

This swing seemed hasty and without any methodology, as if it were an instinctive reaction from being frightened!

However—at the same time he swung his hand, he "extremely coincidentally" stepped on a loose rock that had been baked crispy by the earth fire! Crack! The rock shattered!

Jiang Linfeng's body "stumbled," his center of gravity unstable, and he fell to the side! And his swung right hand, driven by the tilt of his body, "just happened" to hit a huge molten rock next to him that was half a person tall, sharp-edged, and scorched bright red by the earth fire!

Boom! That huge molten rock, hit by Jiang Linfeng's "stumble," suddenly detached from the cliff's support and, with the force of ten thousand jun, smashed down directly onto the head of the lunging Devil Puppet Pockmarked Wang!

"Aoo?!" A trace of instinctive fear flashed in the Devil Puppet Pockmarked Wang's blood-red eyes! He subconsciously wanted to dodge! But the momentum of his lunge was too strong! The distance was too close!

Bang—!!! A dull, teeth-grindingly loud noise! The huge molten rock, like a meteorite from heaven, smashed with pinpoint accuracy onto the head of the Devil Puppet Pockmarked Wang! The terrifying force instantly smashed his entire body into the pile of scorching slag!

Black blood mixed with brain matter splattered! The charred black limbs were twisted and deformed! He didn't even have time to let out a scream before he was completely buried by the scorching rocks and hot slag!

Only a few wisps of black qi struggled to emerge, only to be instantly evaporated and dissipated by the heat waves of the residual earth fire veins!

[Ding! Passive · Misfortune Aura Lv1 activated! Target "Devil Puppet Pockmarked Wang" triggered a fatal accident!]

[Reminder: The source of Devilish Qi erosion has been cleared!]

Jiang Linfeng "unsettled," steadied his body and didn't even look at the pile of still-smoking slag, as if he had just tripped over a stone. All his attention instantly returned to the earthenware pot!

Pill formation! Only the last step left! His hand seals changed faster! Origin Spirit Power was injected frantically!

Inside the earthenware pot, that speck of pill light became brighter and brighter! At the center of the rotating medicinal liquid, a pill the size of a dragon's eye, perfectly round, and emitting a soft cyan-white halo was rapidly taking shape! The rich herbal Spiritual Qi and pure Origin Power fluctuations spread out like a tide!

It was done! The qi nurturing pill!

Jiang Linfeng was overjoyed! At the very moment he was about to collect the pill—Boom—!!!

A deafening thunderclap exploded without warning in the clear night sky above the Waste Slag Pit!

Immediately following! Crackle—!!! A bolt of pale white lightning, as thick as a bucket and blindingly bright, like a spear of divine punishment, tore through the pitch-black night sky, carrying the aura of destroying everything, and struck down fiercely toward the Waste Slag Pit, toward the top of Jiang Linfeng's head, toward the nearly formed qi nurturing pill...!

Pill Tribulation?! Jiang Linfeng's scalp instantly exploded! An unprecedented sense of mortal crisis enveloped his entire body! He was refining the most basic Yellow Rank Low Grade qi nurturing pill! How could it possibly trigger a Pill Tribulation?! This was unscientific as Hell!

Could it be... refining with medicinal residue? Tempering with the Source Spirit Body? Catalyzing with the earth fire flame heart? Leading to a mutation in the pill's quality?!

Thoughts flashed like lightning! There was no avoiding it! A trace of madness flashed in Jiang Linfeng's eyes! He suddenly withdrew his left hand that was maintaining the pill formation, pressed his hands together, and the Origin Spirit Power in his body erupted without reservation! It was all injected into the earth fire flame heart fragment in front of him!

Hum—!!! The earth fire flame heart fragment erupted with unprecedented crimson light! A pillar of fire, condensed to the extreme, shot into the sky! It met the descending tribulation lightning!

Boom—!!!! The fire pillar and the tribulation lightning collided violently in mid-air! The blinding light instantly illuminated the entire rift! The violent energy shockwave swept out like a tsunami! The mountain of molten slag piled at the Waste Slag Pit was instantly blown away! The cliff rocks cracked inch by inch!

Pfft! Jiang Linfeng was hit as if by a heavy blow! His chest felt stuffy, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out! His entire body was fiercely blown away by the shockwave, crashing heavily into the cliff wall behind him! The earth fire flame heart fragment flew out of his hand, its light dim!

And that tribulation lightning, although its power was mostly offset by the fire pillar, the remaining lightning light still, like a silver snake, fiercely struck... Boom! It struck the earthenware pot in front of Jiang Linfeng that contained the nearly completed qi nurturing pill!

The earthenware pot shattered into countless fragments upon impact! The blinding lightning light mixed with the pill qi, erupting in a final burst of light!

The light faded. The Waste Slag Pit was a mess. Jiang Linfeng leaned against the cliff wall, blood at the corner of his mouth, his face pale. On the ground in front of him.

A pill the size of a dragon's eye, cyan-white throughout, but with a few fine silver thunder patterns wrapped around its surface, exuding rich herbal Spiritual Qi and a trace of strange thunder aura, was lying quietly in the center of the earthenware pot fragments.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host! Successfully refined "mutated · thunder pattern qi nurturing pill" × 1 (Yellow Rank Medium Grade)!]

[Pill effect: Basic qi nurturing effect + 50%! Additionally adds a weak thunder Body Tempering effect (can strengthen meridian toughness)!]

[Alchemy proficiency + 300! Pill Refining Art Rank increased: Proficient (150/500) → Mastered (450/1000)!]

[Origin Spirit Power over-consumed! Realm temporarily dropped to Innate Tenth Level Early Stage! Requires three days to recover!]

It was done! Although the process was extremely thrilling, it was finally done! And it was mutated!

Jiang Linfeng looked at the thunder-patterned pill, then looked at the pile of still-smoking, thoroughly dead "remains" of Pockmarked Wang next to him, and finally looked up at the night sky that had returned to calm, as if nothing had happened... The corner of his mouth twitched.

This "coincidence"... was it a bit overdone?

Just at this moment— "Cough, cough... good lad! What a commotion!"

A voice filled with deep astonishment and a trace of fatigue rang out above the Waste Slag Pit.

Jiang Linfeng looked up sharply! He saw Elder Situ, who had appeared at the edge of the cliff wall at some unknown time! His face was still pale, and his right arm was still in a splint, but his hawk-like eyes were now staring fixedly at Jiang Linfeng... and the thunder-patterned qi nurturing pill at his feet! His eyes were filled with disbelief and... a trace of indescribable burning heat!

"A Yellow Rank qi nurturing pill... that triggered a Pill Tribulation?!" Elder Situ's voice was somewhat distorted, "You... did you refine that... using that broken earthenware pot just now?!"