The Imperial Martial Pill Venerable

On Liubo Island, in a wide, open space.

Qin Ya stood dressed in white, a simple, ancient, three-legged Pill Furnace before him. The Ting Xiao Sword, now in a new purple scabbard, was tied at his waist. The blade trembled slightly, and the Ting Xiao Sword Spirit clicked its tongue. "This Pill Furnace of yours is truly something special."

"Could it be... the Spiritual Artifact of the Pill Venerable, the Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace?"

Hearing this, a bitter smile touched Qin Ya’s lips. "It is. Unfortunately, its Artifact Spirit was grievously injured and has fallen into a deep slumber. I don’t know when it will awaken."

The Ting Xiao Sword sighed, remarking with emotion, "Ten thousand years is a long time. The world changes, and even the Artifact Spirit of the Pill Venerable’s Primordial Heaven Qi Furnace has been reduced to this."

The two fell silent for a moment. Before long, the Ancient King, Yur Piaoyun, and Lin Yuan arrived. The Ancient King immediately took out a Storage Ring and handed it to Qin Ya.

Inside the Storage Ring were the exact medicinal ingredients needed for the Spirit Pill.

When Lin Yuan saw this, the corner of his mouth twitched. ’Those ingredients are worth a million pounds of Primordial Stones, and they’re really just letting a teenager squander them like this.’

As a merchant, the sight pained him.

"Young Friend Qin, are you really going to refine a Spirit Pill?"

After holding it in for a long time, Yur Piaoyun finally voiced his doubt. As a Ninth-Grade Alchemist, he couldn’t bear to watch someone waste ingredients like this. If it weren’t for the fact that the Nourishing Spirit Pill and Spirit Pill Formula Qin Ya had previously provided were so shocking, he never would have handed this batch of ingredients over to the young man.

"Of course," Qin Ya replied simply.

With a flicker of his Divine Thought, a dazzling array of exceedingly rare ingredients from the Storage Ring appeared in his mind. After taking stock, he smiled. There were four hundred and sixty-seven types of ingredients in total, and both the variety and quantity were exactly right, without a single discrepancy.

"Excellent."

With a faint smile, Qin Ya began his preparations for the alchemy. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

With a mere thought, a pale blue Ice Flame danced on his fingertips. But unlike before, it emanated not a biting cold, but waves of extreme heat so intense it seemed to warp the very space around it. At this sight, the pupils of the Ancient King and the others contracted.

’The transition between ice and fire is so natural,’ the Ancient King thought, a trace of awe on his face as he watched the young man. ’His mastery of the Ice and Fire Mysteries must be at least at the First Heaven and Earth Stage.’

"Heh, it’s said the Pill Venerable possessed a type of purple Exotic Fire," the Ting Xiao Sword praised. "But in my opinion, this Ice Flame of yours is just as impressive. What’s more, it’s derived from the Ice and Fire Mysteries, so its potential for growth is immense. Not bad, not bad at all."

But Qin Ya was no longer paying attention to its words.

Once he began the alchemy, he entered a state of absolute focus. One after another, he retrieved ingredients and tossed them into the Pill Furnace to be dissolved and tempered... His movements were as fluid as flowing water, as if he had merged with the world itself, possessing a unique and captivating beauty.

It only takes one move to recognize a master.

Not far away, Yur Piaoyun’s pupils contracted violently, as if he were witnessing the impossible. His body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The Ancient King and Lin Yuan weren’t Alchemists, so they perhaps only found Qin Ya’s movements aesthetically pleasing. But for Yur Piaoyun, it was a different story.

As a Ninth-Grade Alchemist, every single one of Qin Ya’s actions sent a profound shock through him. He couldn’t help but ask himself, ’Could I ever reach this level?’

After running through it in his mind, he realized... he couldn’t.

’The gap between us is just that stark.’

"His timing for adding the ingredients is so precise, without the slightest deviation. To think he’s mastered the ’Smell the Medicine’ technique to such a level."

"Gods... how is he doing it? The medicinal properties of Blazing Flame Red, Ice Heart Spring, and Silver Flower Hatred are incredibly volatile together. How did he manage to harmonize them so perfectly?"

"This... this is... The reactions between Seven-Star Begonia, Sun Lake Moon Stone, and the Cloud-Encompassing Insect produce at least four hundred and fifty different medicinal changes. How could he possibly identify the single one most suitable for the black lotus flower out of all of them?"

Yur Piaoyun muttered to himself as he watched Qin Ya perform the alchemy. His eyes were wide as saucers, fixed unblinkingly on the young alchemist. He ignored the calls of Lin Yuan and the Ancient King beside him, terrified of missing a single detail.

Lin Yuan and the Ancient King exchanged a look, seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes.

’To make a Ninth-Grade Alchemist lose his composure like this... this young man’s skill in the Alchemy Dao must be truly exceptional. He already possesses incredible talent in Martial Arts, having reached the Extraordinary Realm at such a young age. Could he really be this breathtakingly brilliant in the Alchemy Dao as well?’

’How can such a monstrous, logic-defying genius even exist?!’

Just as the two were reeling from shock, a potent medicinal fragrance suddenly filled the air.

The aroma was like a gentle, cool breeze, wafting across Liubo Island. As it seeped into the onlookers’ senses, a cool current seemed to rush straight to their heads, making them shudder as their minds became clearer than ever before.

Immediately after, a column of Pill Qi shot toward the Nine Heavens. Clouds began to gather on the distant horizon, coalescing from pure Primordial Qi. The countless clouds merged, forming a vast Cloud Sea.

SKREEE—! The piercing cries of fierce birds echoed across the sky.

In the distance, flock after flock of birds flew in, weaving through the Cloud Sea and letting out cries of joy and excitement. Suddenly, a colossal, fierce bird with a hundred-zhang wingspan appeared, so large it seemed to blot out the sun. Its feathers shimmered with a green light as it flew toward the Cloud Sea, driving all the smaller birds away.

’That’s one of the Beast Kings of Liubo Island! I can’t believe the Pill Cloud attracted even a Beast King... Just what Grade is this Elixir?!’

The Ancient King and Lin Yuan were inwardly stunned.

A pill is forged, clouds gather, and its fragrance drifts for miles!

This phenomenon wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to them; after all, they had watched Yur Piaoyun perform alchemy before and had seen similar sights. However, a Pill Cloud capable of luring a Beast King was something neither of them had ever witnessed.

And yet, Qin Ya wasn’t even halfway through the refining process!

’Such a phenomenon, and he’s not even halfway done... What will it be like when the pill is actually complete? Could it... could it really be the legendary Spirit Pill?’

The wild thought suddenly surfaced in their minds.

But undeniably, a sliver of hope sparked in the Ancient King’s heart. If a Spirit Pill could truly be refined, the injury to his Divine Thought would finally be healed.

’My Cultivation would have a chance to advance again.’

Aside from the Ancient King, both Lin Yuan and Yur Piaoyun had distinctly different expressions on their faces.

Yur Piaoyun was still lost in a trance, his gaze fixed on Qin Ya as if he were the most fervent believer beholding his god.

’This is the pinnacle of the Alchemy Dao... Isn’t this what I’ve pursued my entire life?’

Lin Yuan, on the other hand, had a feverish look, his eyes darting about. He was now completely convinced that Qin Ya was an extraordinary Alchemist. Whether or not he could actually refine a Spirit Pill was no longer the main point. What he was thinking about now was how to forge a good relationship with Qin Ya, preferably a long-term partnership.

’My god, a prodigy in both Cultivation and alchemy... he’s the most valuable partner I could possibly develop.’ He couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. ’Why did I only give him a regular One-Star VIP Card? I should have given him the best Three-Star VIP Card!’

The three men were lost in their own different thoughts. Time trickled by, and Qin Ya’s alchemy was now more than halfway complete. The sea of Pill Clouds in the sky continued to expand, growing ever larger. In addition to the first Beast King, several more had arrived, each one comparable in size—all of them were powerful Beast Kings.

However, compared to the boundless Pill Cloud, those few hundred-zhang-long behemoths seemed as insignificant as small fish in the ocean.