Chapter 217: Opening the Pill Seal

The Cloud Heaven Sect's Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons have a rather mysterious origin. According to legend, there were originally nine such cauldrons, personally forged by the Cloud Heaven Sect's founder, then sealed beneath the Cloud Heaven Mountain Range, awaiting fated future Disciples to summon them.

Logically, even if the Cloud Heaven Sect's founder had Heaven-Defying cultivation, he absolutely couldn't have surpassed the Soul Transformation Stage, as the Chu Cultivation Country has always been a Rank Three Cultivation Country. Thus, a Pill Furnace made by such a person, even if it possessed some Divine Ability, certainly wouldn't be too powerful.

However, the power of these Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons is quite perplexing; using the words 'Heaven-Seizing' to describe them is no exaggeration.

In the ancient scrolls of the Cloud Heaven Sect, there was a legend that these Nine Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons were actually fakes. The Cloud Heaven founder, during his early travels, encountered the true cauldrons, memorized their appearance, and then returned to forge these based on his memory.

The reason there were nine cauldrons was that with the founder's cultivation, he couldn't integrate all the images from his memory into a single cauldron. He had to divide it into nine attempts to imprint all his impressions.

Thus, these Nine Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons came into being.

In fact, there's another miraculous aspect to these Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons: they cannot leave the Cloud Heaven Mountain Range. Once they leave, they immediately turn into scrap metal. This phenomenon attracted even high-Rank cultivation Countries to investigate, but they ultimately found nothing. However, precisely because of this, they gave up the idea of demanding them and instead opted for support.

Therefore, the Cloud Heaven Sect developed so rapidly and earned the title of the number one sect in Chu Country.

Li Muwan's expression was solemn. She looked up at the mist spewing from the seven black Dragons on the Pill Furnace and softly said, "The method to open the Pill Seal requires coordinating with the opportune time and location. Tonight, during the Yin hour and Yin moment, is precisely when the Cloud Heaven Sect's main hall performs Alchemy. We need to steal some Spiritual Qi during the Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons' Alchemy to open this Pill Seal."

Wang Lin's expression was calm. He came to Li Muwan's side, carefully examined the Pill Furnace, and then calmly asked, "Does the Cloud Heaven Sect perform Alchemy every month during the Yin hour and Yin moment?"

Li Muwan lightly nodded her head, her voice gentle and pleasant, saying, "These Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons can only unleash their greatest efficacy during the Yin hour and Yin moment. In fact, performing Alchemy with the Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons once a month is a privilege only enjoyed by all Cloud Heaven Sect Elders. Generally speaking, some particularly precious Medicinal Pills require the Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons for refining to increase their quality and success rate."

Wang Lin nodded slightly, pointing at the Seven Dragon Cauldron before him, and asked, "Is this cauldron also a Heaven-Seizing Cauldron?"

Li Muwan's face showed a triumphant smile, and she said in a charming voice, "Although this cauldron is not a Heaven-Seizing Cauldron, its effects are quite similar. I secretly refined this Pill Furnace during my years in the Cloud Heaven Sect, after comprehending the Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons. I originally intended to use it as a final trump card. If the Cloud Heaven Sect forced me to do something, I would use this cauldron as a guide to trigger the Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons, causing them to undergo an anomaly during Alchemy and shatter into dust. At that time, the immense Spiritual Qi accumulated within the cauldrons over a thousand years would instantly erupt, leaving the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of the Cloud Heaven Mountain Range busy repairing them and unable to pursue me. After all, the importance of these cauldrons far surpasses everything else."

Wang Lin smiled faintly, nodded, and said no more. Instead, his eyes flickered as he gazed at the Pill Furnace. After a long while, he suddenly asked, "You just said that above are the Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons outside the main hall? And that the cauldrons contain a thousand years of Spiritual Qi?"

Li Muwan was startled, then nodded and said, "That's right, the cauldrons indeed contain over a thousand years of Spiritual Qi, and certainly no less. After all, countless Medicinal Pills have been refined with these Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons over innumerable years, so Spiritual Qi naturally accumulates within them."

Wang Lin's eyes suddenly lit up. He walked around the Seven Dragon Pill Furnace for a moment, then lightly touched it with his right hand, causing the cauldron to emit a clear sound.

Without turning around, he asked, "Can this cauldron draw in the Spiritual Qi from the Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons above?"

Li Muwan's eyes widened, and she immediately reacted, exclaiming, "You want to Cultivate inside this cauldron?"

Wang Lin turned around and laughed approvingly, "Exactly. If I Cultivate inside this cauldron, it will certainly yield twice the results with half the effort. However, it won't be this body of mine, but my main body!"

Li Muwan's expression was strange, and she was about to speak, but at that moment, the seven black Dragons on the Pill Furnace suddenly intensified their spewing of mist. Large swathes of black mist gushed from the Dragon mouths, merging together to almost form a black cloud.

Within that black cloud was the Pill Furnace with the Pill Seal attached. A trace of red light flickered on the Pill Furnace, and at the same time, the Pill Seal moved without wind, slowly rising and falling unsteadily.

At this very moment, outside the main hall above this secret chamber, several Elders of the Cloud Heaven Sect were intently watching the sky, silently calculating the time in their hearts.

These Elders were all Alchemy Great Masters of the Cloud Heaven Inner Sect, and among them was Ouyang Zi, one of the three Rank Five Great Masters.

Ouyang Zi was originally the chief Disciple of the previous Sect Leader of the Cloud Heaven Inner Sect and should have taken charge of the Inner Sect, but he willingly gave up power to single-mindedly devote himself to Alchemy.

His obsession with Alchemy had reached a frenzied degree. He didn't care about cultivation, power, or anything else in the world; his only obsession was Alchemy!

Ouyang Zi's life goal was to refine the legendary Rank Nine Divine Pill!

However, this goal was too distant, almost impossible to achieve. One must know that even a Level Six Cultivation Country could only refine Rank Six Spirit Pills at best, and even a few individual Geniuses could at most refine Rank Seven low-grade Medicinal Pills.

It was precisely because of the difficulty of Alchemy that the Cloud Heaven Sect was protected by the Rank Four Cultivation Country, the Giant Demon Race. One must know that the Cloud Heaven Sect being able to refine Rank Five Medicinal Pills was almost the limit for a Rank Four Cultivation Country.

From this, one can see the Cloud Heaven Sect's status within the Giant Demon Race.

Ouyang Zi, as a Rank Five Alchemist, had a cultivation that reached the Nascent Soul Early Stage. In fact, if he hadn't been so devoted to Alchemy, his cultivation would certainly have reached the Late Stage, making him one of the founders.

Although his cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, his status was noble, and he was more highly regarded by the Cloud Heaven Sect than an outsider like Li Muwan.

On this day, he was preparing to refine a Rank Five Spirit Pill. For this Alchemy session, he had been preparing for several years. This time, the six people besides him were all called by him to refine sacrificial pills.

So-called sacrificial pills were a unique Alchemy method created by Ouyang Zi.

In his Alchemy philosophy, refining Medicinal Pills was inherently a Heaven-Defying act, so sacrifices were needed, similar to ancient Heaven-worshipping rituals, except that the sacrifices he prepared were Medicinal Pills!

Ouyang Zi looked old and had white hair, but his eyes flickered with a faint light, possessing a rather strange temperament. None of the six Alchemists behind him dared to look directly at him.

One must know that this faint light actually had the effect of captivating people's souls, and when used in Alchemy, it could see through the Pill Furnace and directly observe its interior.

This was somewhat related to his early consumption of the Netherworld Pill. The Netherworld Pill was a rather peculiar Medicinal Pill; only one in ten users could succeed, and failure would result in blindness.

Such a sinister Medicinal Pill naturally had good effects. If one successfully absorbed the Netherworld Pill, their eyes would automatically form Netherworld Eyes.

The Netherworld Eyes played a role in his journey to his current status in Alchemy.

At this moment, Ouyang Zi, dressed in a loose gray robe, looked up at the sky. After a long while, he frowned slightly and shouted, "When this old man performs Alchemy, unauthorized persons are strictly forbidden from watching. Sect Leader Junior Brother, do you not know this?"

Inside the main hall behind Ouyang Zi, three people walked out. The one in front was precisely the Cloud Heaven Inner Sect Leader. He gave an awkward smile and bitterly said to the two people beside him, "You see, I told you long ago that Senior Brother doesn't allow others to watch when he performs Alchemy."

After speaking, he cupped his fist towards Ouyang Zi and loudly said, "Senior Brother, these two are distinguished guests from the Rank Three Cultivation Country, Tianwu Country. They came specifically to witness Senior Brother's Alchemy. Senior Brother, what do you think…?"

The two people behind him were both tall and thin, but their entire bodies exuded powerful auras, and their cultivation was clearly not low.

Ouyang Zi frowned and coldly said, "Scram!"

The Sect Leader's expression remained as usual, but the two distinguished guests from Tianwu Country's expressions changed, and a cold smile appeared on their faces. However, they did not act out and instead turned to leave.

The Cloud Heaven Inner Sect Leader sighed. He had already told these two envoys from Tianwu Country, but they insisted on watching. After sighing, he moved and chased after them, engaging in conversation with the two envoys.

In his opinion, these two were, after all, here to purchase Medicinal Pills, and the price they offered was quite tempting, so he still needed to appease them slightly.

After the three left, Ouyang Zi calculated the time. After about ten breaths, his eyes flashed, and he continuously made Hand Seals with both hands, leaping into the air and casting seven Spiritual Spells onto each of the Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons.

At this moment, his loose clothes danced in the wind, and he exuded an inexplicable aura. The six Alchemists on the ground simultaneously showed expressions of reverence in their eyes.

The Seven Heaven-Seizing Cauldrons immediately trembled throughout their bodies after the Hand Seals fell, and they actually began to move, as if an invisible large hand was waving above them, forming a circle.

Six of the cauldrons formed a circle, surrounding the one in the center.

At the same time, in the secret chamber beneath this plaza, the seven Dragons on the Pill Furnace refined by Li Muwan also sensed this, emitting wailing sounds.

Li Muwan took a deep breath, immediately bit her fingertip, and formed Hand Seals with both hands, continuously transforming her fresh blood into seven symbols that landed on the seven Dragons. Immediately after, the seven forged black Dragons seemed to come alive, roaring as they flew up from the Pill Furnace, coiling and soaring in the secret chamber's mid-air.

Soon, the seven black Dragons all transformed into illusory Pill Furnaces. Six of them formed a circle floating in mid-air, while the central cauldron slowly sank, merging with the Pill Furnace Li Muwan had made.

Wang Lin's eyes flickered. Without a word, he waved his right hand in front of him, instantly casting a circle of afterimages onto the ground. Immediately after, he formed Hand Seals and shouted in a low voice, "Main body, appear!"

Silently, Wang Lin's main body, with white hair flowing and a purple star dot imprinted between his brows, appeared sternly from within the circle of afterimages on the ground.

As soon as he appeared, the secret chamber instantly became as cold as the depths of winter. Even the illusory Pill Furnaces formed by the seven black Dragons in mid-air involuntarily blurred.

Li Muwan stared blankly at Wang Lin's true body, her eyes filled with reminiscence, but soon, they shone brightly. In her opinion, this was the figure she had waited two hundred years for. The Clone was simply too inferior compared to this true body.

After his true body appeared, his gaze was icy as he walked forward. As he neared the Pill Furnace in the center of the secret chamber, he turned his head and glanced at Li Muwan. Li Muwan felt a chill in her heart from his cold gaze. She was too familiar with this look; from the moment she first met him two hundred years ago, he had always possessed such a gaze. Now, two hundred years later, the chill in his eyes was even more intense than it had been back then!

Li Muwan took a deep breath, quickly formed Hand Seals with both hands, and under her control, the lid of the Pill Furnace slowly moved to the side.

Wang Lin's true body did not hesitate. He leaped up and sat cross-legged inside the Pill Furnace. Immediately after, the lid closed.

At this moment, in the plaza above the secret chamber, Ouyang Zi spread his hands, muttering to himself. A moment later, a faint light flickered in his eyes as he stared at the main cauldron in the center. Suddenly, a dense green smoke emanated from the main cauldron, which dispersed into a large green hand, spreading horizontally.

Ouyang Zi took a deep breath, took out a Storage Pouch, and poured it out. Immediately, countless rare Heaven and Earth Treasures fell down and merged into the large hand.

Then, the large hand clenched, immediately transforming back into green smoke and returning into the Pill Furnace.

Ouyang Zi's eyes flickered, and he shouted, “Sacrifice Pills! First, sacrifice the Rank Four Demon Blood Pill!”

As soon as he spoke, one of the six people on the ground stepped forward, patted his Storage Pouch, and a white jade bottle flew out. He crushed the wax Seal at the bottle's mouth, came to a Pill Furnace, and carefully poured out a blood-red Medicinal Pill. As soon as this Medicinal Pill appeared, a bloody aura immediately permeated the surroundings.

The man's face was somewhat pale, and his right hand holding the pill trembled slightly, but he still gritted his teeth and threw the Demon Blood Pill into one of the six outer Pill Furnaces.

As soon as the Medicinal Pill entered the Pill Furnace, roars seemed to emanate from within. Immediately after, a crimson light burst forth from the Pill Furnace, forming a blood-red pillar that almost reached the sky.

The same scene was unfolding in the secret chamber beneath the plaza. One of the Pill Furnaces, transformed from a black Dragon, suddenly flashed with red light. Immediately after, a red pillar shot out from within, identical to the sky-reaching blood pillar above the plaza, save for its size.

Wang Lin's eyes flickered as he watched the scene before him, and he asked in a deep voice, “What kind of Alchemy technique is this?”

Li Muwan's eyes showed great respect as she softly said, “This is the Sacrifice Pill Refining Technique created by Ouyang Zi. Simply put, it involves sacrificing several Rank Four Spirit Pills to obtain a Rank Five Spirit Pill. Although the success rate of this method is still not high, it is much higher than normal refining.”

At this moment, above the plaza, Ouyang Zi's eyes flickered, and he shouted again, “Next sacrifice, Rank Four Luolin Pill!”

Another person on the ground came to a Pill Furnace, carefully took out a completely azure Medicinal Pill from his Storage Pouch, and placed it carefully inside the Pill Furnace.

Immediately, a blue light pillar appeared within the Pill Furnace.

Next, Ouyang Zi spared no expense, continuously sacrificing four Rank Four Medicinal Pills. Six light pillars of different colors appeared one after another from the six Pill Furnaces. This scene could be clearly seen even from outside the Cloud Heaven Mountain Range.

Ouyang Zi felt quite nervous in his heart. He stared at the central Pill Furnace, muttering to himself, “It must succeed! It must succeed! If this succeeds, I will have three Rank Five Medicinal Pills in my possession. If I then take the remaining three from the sect, I can gather six. At that time, I can sacrifice them as Rank Five Medicinal Pills to take a gamble and try to refine a Rank Six Spirit Pill!”

His eyes gleamed with an unprecedented light as he stared intently at the central Pill Furnace. After taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and shouted, “You six, begin the refining!”

The six Alchemists all showed excitement on their faces. If this Alchemy succeeded, they would be witnesses to a Rank Five Spirit Pill, an honor that was the lifelong pursuit of an Alchemist.

The six of them leaped up one by one, floating cross-legged above the six Pill Furnaces arranged in a circle. Their entire bodies merged into the six light pillars, forming Hand Seals, and continuously activating the Spiritual Qi within their bodies.

Ouyang Zi did not hesitate at all. His body slowly descended, finally floating cross-legged above the Pill Furnace, closing his eyes without speaking.

At this moment, in the secret chamber beneath the plaza, the Pill Furnaces, transformed from black Dragons, also flashed with light, forming six different colored light pillars, just like above the plaza.

Within these light pillars was the Pill Furnace with the Pill Seal affixed, and beneath this Pill Furnace was the Pill Cauldron made by Li Muwan. Inside this Pill Cauldron was Wang Lin's true body.

Even though his true body was inside the Pill Cauldron, he did not absorb any Spiritual Qi. All the current preparations were for opening the Pill Seal. As for absorbing Spiritual Qi, it would not be too late after the Pill Seal was opened.

Li Muwan's expression was solemn. Her hands rapidly changed Hand Seals, which fell into the six light pillars. Immediately after, countless fine threads scattered from each of the six light pillars. These fine threads slowly extended, eventually all converging on the Pill Furnace with the Pill Seal affixed.

The Spiritual Qi obtained from sacrificing Rank Four Spirit Pills was secretly taken and used by Li Muwan through this method. This solved the problem that opening the Pill Seal required a rootless place with extremely abundant Spiritual Qi.

In reality, the method Li Muwan obtained for opening the Pill Seal had only two requirements. The so-called 'geographical advantage' meant finding a place that was not only rich in Spiritual Qi but also rootless. Ouyang Zi had already helped her solve this point.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the time to remove the Pill Seal.

Besides the geographical advantage, the second requirement was 'heavenly timing'! The so-called heavenly timing meant finding the exact time when the Pill Seal was originally affixed. Only by opening the Pill Seal at the same time would it meet the requirements of heavenly timing.

The smaller the time difference, the smaller the chance of damaging the pill. Conversely, if the difference was too great, the Medicinal Pill would definitely be damaged.

Wang Lin already understood all of this from Li Muwan's explanation. The problem now was, what was the exact time when the Pill Seal was affixed to this furnace?

Li Muwan searched through a large number of ancient texts and finally deduced a time: Yin hour, Yin quarter. Yin hour refers to the Hour of the Rat (11 PM to 1 AM), and Yin quarter refers to the third quarter of that hour.

Thus, the time was 12:45 AM. This was the best time for Alchemy and sealing pills. One must know that whether it was Alchemy or sealing pills, the time chosen was always when Yin and Yang separated.

Of course, such meticulous attention to Alchemy was generally only chosen when refining particularly precious Medicinal Pills. For ordinary Medicinal Pills, there was no distinction.

However, this speculation was not entirely accurate. In fact, some Alchemists, to prevent someone from stealing a pill-sealed furnace, deliberately altered the timing. This way, even if someone obtained the Pill Furnace, without the exact time, they would ultimately be unable to retrieve the Medicinal Pills within.

The method Li Muwan obtained to solve this problem was to use a powerful Spiritual Qi impact to slightly lower the quality of the Medicinal Pill and activate the Pill Furnace, thereby causing the Pill Seal to fall off.

This way, as long as the time difference was not too great, the Pill Furnace could be opened steadily, and the degree of damage to the Medicinal Pills inside would be much less compared to opening it through normal means. However, if the time difference was too great, it would still cause the Medicinal Pills to become废丹 (waste pills).

“Because of the existence of this Pill Cauldron, Ouyang Zi's success rate for this Alchemy is not high. From what I know of him, he is very likely to perform a blood sacrifice. After performing the blood sacrifice, the Spiritual Qi will reach another peak. That will be the moment to impact this Pill Furnace!” Li Muwan said to Wang Lin in a low voice, her expression solemn.

Time slowly passed. At this moment, Ouyang Zi opened his eyes in the plaza. He could clearly feel that the Spiritual Qi created by the surrounding pill sacrifices was, for some reason, rapidly decreasing. In this situation, it would be insufficient to complete the refining of a Rank Five Spirit Pill.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation; it had never happened before. At this critical moment of Alchemy, he had no time for other concerns. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he shouted, “Blood Sacrifice!”

The Alchemists within the six surrounding light pillars all changed their expressions slightly, but soon, their eyes showed determination. Without any hesitation, they detonated their inner cores one after another. Amidst a series of popping sounds, clouds of blood mist instantly permeated the entire plaza. At the same time, chaotic Spiritual Qi roared wildly all around.

The Spiritual Qi in the entire plaza suddenly reached a peak. Ouyang Zi's eyes flashed, and he immediately formed Hand Seals in the Void Realm. The Pill Furnace he sat upon was like a Vortex, frantically absorbing all the surrounding Spiritual Qi. At this moment, the six light pillars also suddenly moved, all surging towards the central Pill Cauldron.

Ouyang Zi's expression became even more solemn. At this moment, not a single mistake could be made; success or failure depended on this one attempt. He had failed many times before, and he had no confidence whether he would succeed this time.

At this moment, in the secret chamber underground, Li Muwan pointed at her glabella with her right hand, and immediately a wisp of pill blood spewed from her mouth. This blood landed on the six Pill Cauldrons in mid-air, and all the Pill Cauldrons suddenly vibrated. The light pillars emanating from them immediately dispersed, transforming into countless colorful star-like specks, frantically surging towards the Pill Furnace.

The Pill Furnace gleamed with seven-colored light. The yellow paper of the Pill Seal on it slowly rolled up from the bottom the moment the surging Spiritual Qi appeared, eventually rolling completely into a scroll and slowly falling off the Pill Furnace.

At the same time, a Spiritual Pressure like heavenly might emanated from within the Pill Furnace. The Pill Furnace shattered with a boom, and a greenish Medicinal Pill the size of a longan appeared.

But just then, a crisp cracking sound came from the green pill. Cracks instantly appeared on it.

“Rank Seven Spirit Pill!!” Li Muwan's eyes widened abruptly. Although she had some preparations in her heart, she still couldn't help but exclaim in surprise!