Inside the Fire Dragon Cauldron, the flames did not intensify but became much more solidified, and at this moment, the cauldron started to buzz.
"Ding." The lid of the Fire Dragon Cauldron opened, and a round, green pill appeared before Li Lin, immediately filling the entire secret chamber with a rich medicinal fragrance.
"Go!" With another change of hand seals, Li Lin concentrated spiritual power into two flames that burst forth, enveloping the green pill, while another flame surged from within the cauldron to wrap around the pill. As these three flames enveloped it, the green pill began to tremble within the flames.
Li Lin's face turned increasingly pale, the consumption was life-threatening, but now was not the time to rest. Any mistake would lead to failure.
"Condense for me." Li Lin commanded softly, perfectly controlling everything under the wrap of the three flames with his soul power, suppressing all the medicinal fragrance into the pill.
The green pill, under the wrap of the three flames, became even more volatile, and cracks began to appear on its surface as if it was about to split.
"Damn it." Li Lin's heart sank, failure was not an option.
"Let's go all out." Gritting his teeth, Li Lin released all the spiritual power in his mind in a surge, along with his soul power.
Under the frenzied control of soul power, the temperature of the three flames began to rise rapidly. Finally, under Li Lin's relieved gaze, the green pill was completely enveloped.
The surface cracks on the green pill slowly merged and disappeared, and the flames atop the Fire Dragon Cauldron danced wildly, while Li Lin, unaware, did not know that in a certain room, old servant Uncle Jiang was sitting cross-legged, worried, but now opened his eyes with a trace of surprise and mostly joy.
"This kid, his innate talent is exceptional indeed. I didn't expect that after cultivating both spirit and martial arts, his soul power would increase so significantly. Being able to refine a second-grade pill on his own so quickly, there are probably not many with such talent on the entire Spirit Martial Continent," Uncle Jiang chuckled, then resumed his elderly demeanor.
In the secret chamber, with a change of hand seals, the green pill began to rotate within the three flames, emitting a faint glow.
"Form." With another change of hand seals by Li Lin, spiritual power surrounded the area, creating ripples in the invisible space. At this moment, the three flames suppressed and converged, then infused the faint glow into the green pill.
"Chirp..." A green pill with a pale yellow glow fell into Li Lin's hands, and he collapsed in the secret chamber, gasping for air, his chest heaving.
"Success, Yuan Enhancing Pill." Lying on the ground, looking at the green and red pill in his hand, Li Lin smiled. A second-grade Yuan Enhancing Pill, a common second-grade pill, was priced at nearly two hundred gold coins, several times more expensive than first-grade pills.
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"One more to go, continue." Li Lin got up, put away the Yuan Enhancing Pill, then sat down cross-legged to recuperate. This near-exhaustive consumption made Li Lin feel his spiritual energy not only increased but also became more solid.
Several hours later, Li Lin opened his eyes, which appeared even darker and clearer than before.
"Continue refining." Li Lin gave a wry smile, knowing he had to push himself to the limit to enhance his strength and repay his debts.
Chapter 38 Post-New Year Competition
In Qingyun Town, the New Year's festivities were upon them. Every household hung lanterns high, and decorations were everywhere, presenting a joyous scene. The Li family's residence was no exception; every courtyard was cleaned spotlessly, and many red lanterns were hung, creating a festive atmosphere.
Besides the celebration of the New Year and welcoming the new, there was another happy occasion within the Li family. After the ancestral worship of the New Year, the younger generation of the clan would participate in a competition. The two strongest individuals would then represent the Li family in the triennial competition held among the major families of Qingyun Town. The top five winners would have the opportunity to enter the Yunyang Sect and become its disciples.
The Yunyang Sect only recruited new disciples every three years, coincidentally right after the New Year, making it an eagerly anticipated event for many.
Becoming a direct disciple of the Yunyang Sect was a dream for everyone. The status of Yunyang Sect's direct disciples was much higher than that of ordinary disciples. If a direct disciple were in Qingyun Town, even the head of a major family would treat them with great respect.
As the New Year approached, young members of both the direct and collateral branches of the Li family hurried back, including the older generations, for two reasons: to participate in the ancestral worship and to witness the competition to see who would represent the Li family.
With the return of members from the collateral branches, the servants of the Li family were extremely busy. Li Xiaobai, now promoted to head steward, found his job much easier and became the envy of the other servants. Many maids in the front courtyard flirted with him, making him itch with desire. However, he dared not act rashly. Having become a martial artist, Li Xiaobai's standards had risen, and he suddenly found the previously appealing Xiao Cui no longer as attractive.
Inside the secret chamber, Li Lin was surrounded by a layer of light, his hand seals constantly changing, and his breathing became more steady.
At this moment, the space in the secret chamber, illuminated by the surrounding glow, seemed as if a stone had disturbed the calm surface of a lake, quietly rippling. A visible stream of energy flowed from the glow, transforming into thousands of energy strands that surged towards Li Lin.
These thousands of energy strands wrapped around Li Lin, presenting an indescribably mystical sight. Inside Li Lin, this energy was refined by the Yin-Yang Spirit Martial Art into Qi and spiritual power, entering his Dantian Qi Sea and mind, respectively.
However, the energy transformed into Qi was much more abundant than the spiritual energy, only slightly enhancing his spiritual power.
As these energies flowed through Li Lin's meridians, they expanded rapidly. Li Lin even felt minor cracks forming on his meridians, through which light seeped out, enduring the pain with gritted teeth.
Uncle Jiang had already explained to Li Lin that consuming and refining pills would enhance energy. The stronger the pill, the more intense the energy, potentially leading to meridian rupture and death if the meridians couldn't withstand it.
Therefore, even if Li Lin had access to fifth or sixth-grade pills, he dared not consume them, as it would be risking his life. Besides, fifth or sixth-grade pills were treasures on the Spirit Martial Continent, and he lacked the strength to refine them himself.
At some point, Li Lin's skin connected with the millions of energy strands through countless pores, voraciously absorbing the energy. The aura around him gradually strengthened in an imperceptible manner.