Refining a 3-star Heaven pill in secret within the Imperial City was next to impossible. And since Cao Yun didn't want to wait a few months for them to get to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, the best course of action was indeed to perform the refinement in public as part of the Alchemy Conference. Thanks to that, they could make use of all the array formations of the Imperial Palace, and of many other resources.
For two days, Xiao Xuefeng, Hua Fenfei and their disciples, as well as Cao Yun of course, got ready for the refinement. Even for a late Spirit Warrior, refining such a pill required a thorough preparation. Besides, they didn't want to refine just any pill, they wanted to reach the highest quality possible. With the help of a few middle Spirit Warriors, they completely transformed the stage where the trials of the younger alchemists had taken place. Everything was ready for a pill refinement. It had been decided that the cauldron used would be Hua Fenfei's.
It was a silver cauldron with many sculptures all over it. There were several openings at the top. This cauldron had in fact eight chambers within. In each one, it was possible to refine ingredients separately and there were ways to make the chambers communicate with each other if need be. Only a Heaven alchemist could use this cauldron since it required to fully see what was going on inside, not just vaguely sense the Qi within. Without spiritual senses, this cauldron would be almost impossible to use even for a mere Earth pill. This was the 'Eighth Aerial Heart'. And it had been custom-made for Hua Fenfei. As such, her sister was also rather competent when it came to using it. Since they were going to lead the refinement together, this was a good thing.
A few hours before the refinement would start, all five people involved meditated to calm their minds. This wasn't a small thing they were attempting. Even if Spirit Masters hua and Xiao was certain to succeed, they had no guarantee on the quality of the outcome. Of course, they were confident, but they always wanted to reach the best quality possible. With Cao Yun's ingredients, they could make more pills but they had decided to refine only eight of them. Three of those pills would be payment to Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng. Obviously, they intended to use two of them for their direct disciples.
Finally, the day of the refinement came. The place was crowded. Even though there were more than three times the audience capacity compared with the previous trials, not everyone had been able to get a seat. Unfortunately, since flying was forbidden, no Spirit Warrior could fly above the crowd to watch the refinement process. Even their spiritual senses were restricted. Anyway, they would never had dared to use their spiritual senses to watch the refinement. Indeed, their souls might disturb the alchemists or even interfere with the process.
Under Hua Fenfei's 'Eighth Aerial Heart', there was a large furnace that was meant to allow several alchemists to use it at the same time. It was highly decorated with many engravings that were absolutely not functional at all. This furnace's aspect was entirely for show and it was used during ceremonies. However, the innards of the furnace were great. There would be almost no loss of energy while using fire. Everything would be concentrated directly toward the cauldron, letting the alchemists get a better control over the temperature. There were also several openings for the flames. Like that, each alchemist could control their own fire. This allowed for much more minute control over the flames and thus the general refinement process.
Now that everyone was present, the five persons of the day appeared. Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng took place to the south-east and the north-west of the cauldron. Their direct disciples were close to them. And Cao Yun was standing to the west of it, next to Mei Hua. In front of him was the cauldron and behind it, he could see the top of Feng Yingyue's head.
Since they were about to refine a 3-star Heaven pill, Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng had gotten the right to use their spiritual senses to the limit of course. And there were many guards protecting them. A couple of late Spirit Warriors were watching the array formations to avoid any kind of problem. Even for the Imperial Palace, this was a great honor to have the two Spirit Warriors perform that refinement today. Of course, they didn't want anything to go wrong. But there was another thing on their mind too. This exhibition could be a good moment to attack for the demonic cultivators.
Indeed, Emperor Weide was present. He was sitting on the balcony of the tall building facing the stage. It was where he had made his first speech. However, Xiao Xuefeng could tell he wasn't the real Emperor, he was just a body double. As she was about to begin though, she heard the unmistakable voice of Emperor Weide in her mind.
"Spirit Master Xiao. Forgive me that deception. As you know, there are many threats to our Imperial Palace. These tricks are sadly a necessity. Besides, as you might have guessed, I suffered from serious injuries before. Although I have recovered most of my strength, I do not wish anyone to know. Those who don't even know of my condition don't need to learn that I was indeed injured. In those trying times, this would be a disaster for everyone's morale. And those who caused those injuries absolutely can't know how well I've recovered. But, Spirit Master Xiao, do believe that I am thankful for the opportunity to watch your art. As such, I can confirm that I will not miss a second of your prowess. Although you don't need my words, I wish that you're able to produce an incredible pill today."
It was the first time since at least a century that Xiao Xuefeng had heard Emperor Weide's voice. As it resounded in her mind, she could feel that he was even more terrifying than before. While Sect Leader Xuan was credited as the best fighter of the Hongchen Kingdom, Emperor Weide was recognized as the strongest cultivator. In that moment, Xiao Xuefeng could tell this reputation was fully deserved. She had met with Matriarch Huang. Even if that woman seemed very close to breaking through to the Sage realm, what she had just felt now eclipsed her completely. His spiritual senses were even stronger than Xiao Xuefeng's. Still, she could boast that she had a better control and a greater sensitivity.
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Anyway, now that she knew what Cao Yun had told her, she was sincerely terrified by it. Emperor Weide was just too powerful. The only way to take him down would be for Sect Leader Xuan and Matriarch Huang to work together with a substantial battle formation of Spirit Warriors. Obviously, this wasn't something easy to do. And they would have to face the entire army of the Hongchen Kingdom. Using force here would not be enough at all. However, they had absolutely no concrete proof against him.
Since she couldn't do anything right now, Xiao Xuefeng cleared her mind. Her sea of consciousness was filled with the beautiful and peaceful song of a white crane. Her ocean and her sky were so clear that it was impossible to differentiate them at all. The same thing was true for Hua Fenfei. On the other hand, Cao Yun was using his Drop of Wrath to activate the Rune of Fire. Not only would he gain a Frozen Fire pill today, he would also benefit a lot from being so close to the refinement process itself.
In the audience, Xue Gulin was observing it as well. Although he was jealous beyond measure, he couldn't pass on such an opportunity. Even in the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, it was a rare sight. Most refinement wasn't open to the public after all. They couldn't make a show of everything or this would disturb the institute's everyday work.
From Xiao Xuefeng's spatial ring, two of the main ingredients appeared, the Universe Spanning Frost and the Eternal Frostfire Fir. Both of them were 5-star Heaven ingredients and they had a very high quality. The Eternal Frostfire Fir was covered in a layer of ice while emitting extreme heat around it. On the other hand, the Universe Spanning Frost was still trapped within the meteorite it had come with. Most of the rock had been trimmed away, but the ice itself remained within. And from Hua Fenfei's spatial ring, several scales of the Hellish Dragon Fruit appeared as well. They had obviously chosen the best ones for this refinement.
In front of the audience were three 5-star Heaven ingredients. Getting all three of them was not just a matter of money, even though they were indeed expensive beyond belief. Yet, no one felt jealous at all. After all, there was no better choice to handle those precious ingredients than those two women. Furthermore, they had the chance of watching them do. That too was not something one could simply buy, no matter how rich they could be.
While Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng processed those ingredients, several others appeared from their disciples' spatial rings. Those were mostly low Heaven materials. For 5-star Human alchemists, they might be a bit difficult to prepare. However, no one doubted the capacities of the two girls, neither did they doubt those of Cao Yun. And they were right. They handled every ingredient expertly. The preparation was perfect on all fronts. It took almost the entire morning. But by the end, everything was ready.
The crux of that refinement was to fuse extreme heat and absolute cold. This was obviously a contradiction, but the Eternal Frostfire Fir was proof of that concept. Obviously the main concern was for the two extremes to clash with each other. During the process, the Universe Spanning Frost would provide the absolute cold, the Hellish Dragon Fruit the extreme heat. And the Eternal Frostfire Fir was meant as a binder as much as a buffer.
When the flames began to heat up the 'Eighth Aerial Heart', the Eternal Frostfire Fir was the very first ingredient introduced within. Xiao Xuefeng coated the interior of the eight chambers with the properties of the fir. Its scales had already been separated during the preparation. Each one contained the two extremes while also being incredibly rich in Wood element. For several long minutes, the five alchemists only focused on coating the 'Eighth Aerial Heart' with the Wood element of the Eternal Frostfire Fir. As they were doing so, the two extremes of the ingredients were also affecting the cauldron. And they had to keep them both alive at the same time while avoiding any clash.
In order to do so, traces of both Universe Spanning Frost and Hellish Dragon Fruit were inserted now and then. Only the pieces with the lowest quality were used as their goal was simply to maintain the balance of the two extremes for now. In the previous days, the cauldron had also been nourished by many materials. Some metals had been used to strengthen it against both cold and heat. The first two principles of Five Golden Elixir Principles had been perfectly adhered to.
When finally the cauldron was ready, Xiao Xuefeng and Hua Fenfei put the two main ingredients in together. The two women were perfectly synchronized. Since the 'Eighth Aerial Heart' cauldron had several openings, they were able to introduce those two opposite ingredients at the same time without any problem. It was within the cauldron that it would become dangerous. While the two women were controlling what was going on inside, the other three alchemists were controlling the flame. In real time, they were receiving the two women's thoughts to know exactly what was going on in specific parts of the cauldron.
Thanks to their reports, they could control the flames accordingly. Considering how talented the three of them were, the two women didn't have to give any command, they simply had to directly send them what they were observing. And as a consequence, it was as though they had all developed spiritual senses. The three of them had a perfect view of what was going on inside the cauldron. Obviously this would benefit them greatly in their alchemy. From this day, they would reap many benefits apart from the pills themselves.
Cao Yun's control over his flames was way above what a 5-star Human alchemist could do. In fact, he was closer to a 5-star Heaven alchemist, especially with the reports from the two Spirit Masters. At the same time, Dian Mo was observing the array formations and the fluctuations of energy all around the cauldron.
At some point, Cao Yun sensed something in his Rune of Fire. He was not just connected to the fire outside of the cauldron, he also had a vague familiarity with the Hellish Dragon Fruit within. After all, his Rune of Fire had appeared on this fruit. Without thinking, he sent a though to Xiao Xuefeng. It was only that vague sensation he had felt. But to the half-step Spirit alchemist, it was a great source of information. Thanks to this connection, she was able to control the medicinal essence to an even greater degree. Of course, she shared this insight with the other alchemists.
It took several more hours. When the sun was about to hide itself, they were done.
From the cauldron, eight pills erupted in the air. They were flying with such speed that Xiao Xuefeng and Hua Fenfei were forced to use a lot of strength to stop them. Thankfully, they were not Spirit pills so they had no instinct whatsoever. The refinement had just caused them to fly away at the end of it. But the two women could feel that those pills were of higher quality than they should be. What even they couldn't sense was that a tiny part of the Dao of Fire was at work there.
Seeing the eight Frozen Fire pills in the alchemists' hands, the audience cheered. Even Emperor Weide congratulated Xiao Xuefeng.