The Juyuan Fruit resembled a small peach, brimming with rich heaven-and-earth essence.
Its role was to lock in Tianyuan Power, an essential component of the Tianmai Pill.
Juyuan Fruits typically had a distinctive sheen; the brighter, the better the quality.
The ones Ling Xiao received from the Royal Auction House were clearly top-tier. Yunya had gone to great lengths.
Finally, the inner core of a Tianmai-level beast, radiating pure energy, enhanced the Tianmai Pill’s quality.
While not strictly necessary, it significantly improved the pill’s efficacy.
Perfect-grade Tianmai Pills required such a core.
Obtaining even one was difficult, yet Yunya secured twenty for Ling Xiao. Her effort to curry favour was almost excessive.
Ling Xiao felt a bit embarrassed.
At most, he’d refine more Tianmai or Tianyuan Pills for the Royal Auction House to sell.
With materials ready and the room’s protective barrier set, Ling Xiao began refining.
The process couldn’t be interrupted, or the precious materials would be wasted.
Money could buy more materials, but time was irreplaceable for Ling Xiao.
Everything prepared, he took a deep breath. A black-gold flame surged in his palm, rising over a foot high.
Simultaneously, a Hell Furnace appeared in the room’s centre.
Ling Xiao directed the black-gold flame into the furnace, which roared to life, heating the room to steel-melting temperatures.
Thanks to the barrier, the house didn’t burn down.
“Go,” Ling Xiao said, taking the Purple Leaf Snow Lotus and tossing it into the black-gold flame with a precise technique.
Under the Hell Dragon Fire, the lotus didn’t turn to ash but condensed into a snow-white bead, rolling in the furnace.
The bead emitted intense cold, felt even amidst the searing heat.
Using his soul force, Ling Xiao meticulously controlled the Hell Dragon Fire’s temperature and size. Refining wasn’t just tossing in materials.
Each step required different flame intensity and heat.
Too hot, and the materials would be ruined.
Too cool, and the refining would fail.
Such precise control was likely unique to Ling Xiao, thanks to his Mountain River Martial Soul.
Once all the Purple Leaf Snow Lotuses formed snow-white beads, Ling Xiao took a deep breath and added the Tianmai Spirit Fruit.
More materials meant harder flame control, balancing the needs of both the existing and newly added ingredients.
The Tianmai Spirit Fruit melted into a liquid shell, encasing the white beads, forming the Tianmai Pill’s prototype.
But this was just the start. Sweat beaded on Ling Xiao’s forehead.
The process was gruelling, even for him. It was his first attempt, and though experience would ease future efforts, the initial difficulty was immense.
When the timing was right, he added the Juyuan Fruit, followed by the Tianmai beast’s inner core.
Multiple materials were repeatedly smelted, the pill prototype in the Hell Furnace shrinking from peach-sized to pea-sized.
All impurities and unneeded components were expelled, collected by Ling Xiao in a gourd.
These “useless” components were only irrelevant for Tianmai Pills; they’d be valuable for other pills, too precious to discard.
As Ling Xiao refined, a figure lingered above the room, watching the boy’s every move with affection.
It was Lady Yue.
Even she was captivated by his deft movements.
She was there to guard against mishaps, as Ling Xiao’s barrier, though formidable, was nothing to a true expert.
She hadn’t expected to witness such a spectacular refining performance.
About an hour later, Ling Xiao stopped feeding Hell Dragon Fire into the furnace and slapped open its lid.
A fragrant aroma filled the room, and blinding red light shot toward the sky, blocked by the barrier and reabsorbed into the pills.
Twenty Tianmai Pills.
All successful.
Each was perfectly round, stunningly beautiful, and of flawless quality.
This was Ling Xiao’s refining skill, unmatched by anyone else.
“Phew…” He exhaled deeply.
Storing the twenty pills in a porcelain bottle, he sniffed the lingering fragrance, instantly feeling invigorated.
Undoubtedly, these Tianmai Pills surpassed the ones he’d obtained from the True Demon Forbidden Land.
Without that experience, though, he wouldn’t have learned the refining method or achieved this success.
Recalling the Holy Son’s arrogant expression, Ling Xiao smirked coldly.
You have Masterful Hand Venerable to refine for you, but his pills can’t match the perfection of mine.
Just wait. We’ll meet at the Martial Arts Festival finals, and I’ll show you that in my eyes, you’re just a delusional princess with a superiority complex.
Though the Tianmai Pills were ready, Ling Xiao didn’t consume them immediately.
Despite the urgency, he was exhausted from refining. Attempting a breakthrough now would almost certainly fail.
For a Tianmai Warrior, each breakthrough demanded peak physical and mental condition.
In his current state, it was impossible. Ling Xiao wouldn’t risk failure needlessly.
He sat cross-legged, took a stamina-recovery pill, and rested.
Lady Yue, initially worried he’d rush, saw his restraint and found her concerns unnecessary.
His willpower, resisting the temptation of the Heaven-Human Realm, impressed her even more.
Her gaze drifted to the Martial Arts Festival finals’ stage, a floating platform now beautifully decorated.
Just wait, she thought, this boy will leave everyone stunned.
Smiling faintly, Lady Yue reclined on a white cloud, continuing to watch over Ling Xiao.
