The pill flew from the cauldron and landed in the hand of Grand Master Hua. Examining it with scrutiny, she then exclaimed.
"Very good. This Frozen Heart Pill retains 87% of the medicinal essence. It's a huge success."
Pill forging's success could be measured by the ratio of medicinal essence retained between the ingredients and the pill. A pill could be considered successful as long as it contained 60% of medicinal essence. A pill exceeding 90% was considered as Perfect, but they were extremely rare on the market. The Frozen Heart Pill bought at the auction had around 92% of the medicinal essence. It had indeed be forged by Master Alchemist Zhi He. A junior in the Mortal realm who could forge a 87% 5-star Earth rank pill with such a difficult balance was a true genius.
"I declare the examination over." Grand Master Hua did not even look at the fail product of Luo Jiang. "The victory goes to Feng Yingyue." She walked toward the young girl, still in the arms of Cao Yun. A pill appeared from her ring and into the hands of the boy. "Give her this Autumn and Springs Reviving Pill."
The pill was very small with orange, red and brownish colors constantly moving on its surface. Cao Yun had no reason to be suspicious of such a Master. She was a Spirit Warrior and could destroy them with a mere thought. She had no reason to harbor any ill will toward Feng Yingyue.
As soon as she consumed the pill, a rejuvenating sensation spread in her mind. All her stress and mental fatigue simply vanished, like dead leaves blown by the wind.
Luo Jiang was absolutely crazy. He knew this pill, it was a 2-star Human rank pill. Such a precious medicine was wasted on that girl. Before his thoughts could become even darker, he heard an anxious voice behind him.
"Master Hua! I feel something strange with these two girls."
"Not now, Song Guixiang." Master Hua was busy with Feng Yingyue and did not want to entertain her mischievous disciple.
"Master! I'm serious." For once, Song Guixiang really was serious. He had even stopped caressing the two beauties. A fear took over Luo Jiang.
"Seniors, my two consort must simply be tired." He tried to take them by their hands and leave. But Song Guixiang stopped him and it attracted the curiosity of everyone present.
Hua Fenfei appeared in a flash before the two women. "What's wrong?"
"They seem to be completely out of it. At first, I thought that maybe they were drunk. But I checked their pulse and... I don't know. Something's not right here." As a matter of fact, Song Guixiang was not groping the two ladies, he was examining their condition. Well, maybe he did cop a feel... But it was for a good cause.
Master Hua used her spiritual senses to explore the women's bodies. Her eyes opened in shock and energy rushed from her fingers. Two strands of fiery energy engulfed the ladies. Everyone was shocked except for City Lord Dun Mofan. He was a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior and he knew that Hua Fenfei could control her energy to enter someone's body without hurting them. Indeed, even though her energy was similar to fire, it got inside the women through their skin without any burn at all. Two or three breaths later, they coughed a vicious black smoke.
Luo Jiang was ready to flee when he felt a powerful killing intent freezing him where he was. With this pressure, he could barely breathe.
"Enchanting Snowy Powder." Hua Fenfei's eyes were full of resentment.
"Master?"
"This is a forbidden poison. Only a demonic cultivator would dare produce such a thing. This powder penetrates the mind and erodes it. Anyone who fall victim to it will become obedient but their minds will be forever broken. These two women were used as cultivation tools."
She turned toward Luo Jiang as her killing intent intensified. Behind her, Song Guixiang was grinding his teeth and clenching his fists. He really liked to play around, but this kind of evil ways made him absolutely mad.
Hua Fenfei examined the young alchemist who was paralyzed by her intent. "If I'm not mistaken, you must practice some evil arts. That's why your mind is so chaotic and your body so Yang. That's the reason why you failed so miserably during the examination despite having the skills. These two women have extreme Yin bodies."
"So he abused them to balance his Yang?!" Song Guixiang could not bear it anymore. He jumped on Luo Jiang and sent him flying with a kick. The sound of his bones breaking on impact echoed in the courtyard. No one said anything to defend the beaten alchemist, not even Huang Longwei.
"Don't kill him." Master Hua stopped her disciple who was beating him to death. "Only a Spirit Warrior could produce Enchanting Snowy Powder. If there is a demonic Spirit Warrior, we need to know everything about him." She lifted Luo Jiang in the air just by moving her right hand. "Little demon, tell me. Who is your master?"
Before he could utter a single word, black flames erupted from his heart. Amidst terrible screams, Luo Jiang was devoured by this black fire.
"A Heart Locking Fire Pact?!"
"Master?"
"Some demonic alchemist can put a special kind of fire in the heart of their disciple. It will enhance their alchemy and their cultivation. But their master can activate the flames anytime they want to eliminate their disciple. It ensures that they have absolute obedience."
"What is the range of such a pact?"
"As long as the flames are within the heart of the disciple, his master can ignite them from almost everywhere. He could be in Yinmen City or on the opposite side of the Hongchen Kingdom. Impossible to know."
After everyone finally realized what had occurred, all eyes fell on Huang Longwei. He was Luo Jiang's friend after all. Huang Longwei did not even wait for someone to interrogate him. He kowtowed before Hua Fenfei.
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"I swear, I knew nothing! I met this demon in the woods. He was getting some ingredients. When I witnessed his alchemy, I decided to use him to try and gain some benefits. I swear! Had I known what he was..."
Master Hua got closer. "Tell me absolutely everything about this Luo Jiang. Everything!"
Cold sweat ran down Huang Logwei's spine.
-
Somewhere in a remote cave, an old man shrouded in darkness woke up.
"Idiot! You could not forge a single pill and you even exposed yourself. Taking the two human furnaces with you... How stupid can you be! You're lucky I just burned you alive. If I had the time, I would have made you repent from ever being born in the same world as me."
-
After it became clear that Huang Longwei knew nothing of interest, he was let go. He got back to the Huang mansion as fast as he could.
"I must warn the Institute! My guess is they knew we were coming here and they tried to get this boy to enter our Institute. It's possible that other demonic cultivators infiltrated us as well. We must search thoroughly and eliminate them all!"
The atmosphere that should be joyous with the great success of Feng Yingyue became incredibly gloomy. Realizing this, Hua Fenfei handed a small box to the young alchemist.
"I'm sorry that your victory turned out this way. We should celebrate but time is of the essence. You will find the official token of our Institute. Join us within a month and ask for me."
As she was about to depart, Hua Fenfei remembered something else.
"Oh! There's also the Frozen Heart Pill that you forged. Since I gave you the ingredients for the examination, this pill is rightfully yours. It should prove beneficial for your mind."
Feng Yingyue opened the small box and found both the pill and a little token looking like a golden hibiscus flower. The characters Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute were engraved on it.
"Grand Master Hua, thank you." She hesitated a little. "Can I do what I want with the pill?"
Hua seemed confused. "Of course! It's yours. But you shouldn't wait too long to consume it. The more you wait, the more medicinal essence will be lost. Its Yin nature makes such a pill really fragile."
"I understand, Master." Feng Yingyue turned toward Cao Yun. "Chen Guo, please take this Frozen Heart Pill."
Cao Yun had a feeling that this was her intention all along.
"I can't accept..."
"I forged it for you. If you don't accept it, wouldn't it mean that all my work was for nothing? You even shared your understanding of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' with me. I do not think I will be losing anything by gifting you this pill. I know you really need it, so please, accept."
Master Hua was silent, but not her disciple.
"Come on, little friend. When such a beautiful lady gives you something, you smile and you accept. Ah, ah, ah!" Song Guixiang was slapping Cao Yun's shoulder. Well, he mostly slapped his arm because he was too small to reach his shoulder.
Finally, Feng Yingyue began to have a good impression of the little guy.
"And, I'm sure you can think of some other way to repay her. Huh?" As fast as Song Guixiang blinked, the good impression was gone.
The young boy paid no mind to the little guy. He really was crude, but after the way he reacted earlier, it was obvious that he wasn't a bad guy at all.
"Feng Yingyue, I swear that I will never forget your kindness." He took the pill and they held hands for some time as everyone around was a little embarrassed, except for Song Guixiang who was ecstatic.
With flashes of blue light, two swords appeared from Hua Fenfei's spatial ring.
"I'm sorry, but this matter is of utmost importance. We can not delay. We must inform the Institute immediately. I did not think things would turn out this way so I did not prepare any means to contact them, we'll have to fly there."
Song Guixiang was a little apprehensive. "Maybe Master can go back first, you'll be faster without me, right?"
"Oh? And maybe I can deprive you of wine for the next month as well?"
He literally jumped on the sword and bid farewell to everyone.
A Spirit Warrior as powerful as her could fly without assistance, but to travel long distances, it would be too exhausting. And a flying sword was faster than most Spirit Warriors before a certain grade. They ascended into the sky and a huge boom was heard as the swords flew at their fastest speed.
City Lord Dun Mofan was so happy that his candidate was accepted into the Institute that he organized an entire banquet for the whole town. It lasted several hours. The first ones to leave were Feng Yingyue and Cao Yun as the feast given in their honor kept on without them.
-
Inside Feng Yingyue's shop, Cao Yun sat cross-legged and took the Frozen Heart Pill. The two cultivators held hands and circulated the Yi character as they were used to. Cao Yun could feel the medicinal essence following his mind. This cold Yin energy drew the character in the same way Cao Yun was doing it.
Once. Twice. ... Twelve times. Thirteen times. As Cao Yun sensed that he was about to faint, the soothing and cold fragrance of the Frozen Heart Pill spread through his mind. He felt fresh and well rested. Thus, he persevered. Fourteen times. Fifteen times. It went on and on.
Usually, it would take around a month for all the medicinal essence of the pill to be used up. This night, it took less than two hours. Sixty-three. Sixty-four. True Success! Cao Yun even pushed past True Success and ended at seventy-two repetitions before feeling the medicinal essence of the pill becoming too weak.
When he opened the eyes, the world around him had changed. His senses were sharper and he could focus all his mind on a single point to absorb everything details about it. Not only the world outside him, but the world inside him had changed as well. He tried to focus his intent within and he discovered that he could move his Qi more freely. When he focused his intent, it was way stronger than before and his Qi obeyed more easily and with more speed. He could also feel more subtle movements inside his body, like the blood flowing through his veins are his muscles contracting and relaxing. He was discovering new sensations he never knew existed.
I just reached True Success and I already have that many benefits. I'm sure my cultivation will go faster and smoother than before. Wait! What about the Drop of Wrath?
Cao Yun focused his intent on the Drop of Wrath. It tried to vibrate under this scrutiny. But soon after, it calmed down and surrendered to it. Cao Yun was then able to direct the intent of the drop as if it was his own.
It seems to have calmed down. But I can't let my guard down. I feel like a prey before a crouching tiger. I don't even know it's here but in its head, I'm already dinner.
All of a sudden, an inspiration hatched in Cao Yun's mind. He stood up and fetched a paper and a brush. He focused all his intent on the brush and tried to draw the Yi character, the Earth Intention. Of course, he had already tried it before but each time, even though the drawing was right, it had no effect at all. As soon as he finished, he examined his drawing.
He was right! After achieving True Success, he could partially reproduce the effects of the character. His understanding of the character was finally present in the drawing. It was not as clear as the real one, but it could already be used to cultivate the Earth Intent up to True Success, but not Perfection.
Taking the paper, he handed it over to Feng Yingyue.
"Take it. I know it's not as useful as the original manual, but it will still help you. As an alchemist, strengthening your mind is really important. I swear I will also give you the other characters as soon as I master them."
She took the drawing and without knowing what took over her, she kissed Cao Yun.