“Rest assured, although I am not yet at the point of breaking my promise, when you have decided what pill you want me to refine, come and find me. For now, I am going to pursue the Imperial Jade Seal. That thing must absolutely not fall into the hands of the sea clan.”
The Medicine King Sun Ran had originally intended to kill Ling Xiao after the alchemy conference.
However, at this moment, something even better had attracted his attention, so naturally he would not linger.
Equally anxious were the Ice General Xiao Zhi from the Divine Phoenix Empire, the Corpse Granny from Blue Wave Island, and the exiled Zhang Tiande, among others.
Killing Ling Xiao was important, but how could it compare to the Imperial Jade Seal?
Of course, there were also those who looked down on the Imperial Jade Seal.
For example, the Little Medicine King Ji Luoyu.
“Ling Xiao, you lad are impressive, absolutely brilliant!”
Ji Luoyu came over and punched Ling Xiao hard in the chest, then laughed loudly.
This girl was not as tall as Ling Xiao, so she actually stood on tiptoe. That appearance was somewhat comical.
However, her behaviour inevitably gave Ling Xiao a bit of fondness. Compared to the hypocritical Medicine King Sun Ran, his disciple Ji Luoyu was truly a straightforward, genuine young woman.
“I told you long ago that the championship would be mine!”
Ling Xiao was not modest. On this matter, he had every reason to be proud and confident.
Because at this alchemy conference, even his own performance had surprised him.
“Yes, at first I did not believe you, but after seeing your miraculous alchemy techniques, I admired you utterly.”
Ji Luoyu said with a smile.
Dan Qing was clearly not as free-spirited as Ji Luoyu. His expression was rather grim.
When Tianhai Zhenzhu was here, he could vent his hostility and hatred on that sea clan woman.
However, after Tianhai Zhenzhu left, the only target of his displeasure remained Ling Xiao.
Although he felt shocked by Ling Xiao, he was absolutely unwilling to admit defeat.
“Ling Xiao, remember this. My cultivation is stronger than yours, so the pills I can refine will definitely be better than yours! This time you just got lucky. Wait and see, soon I will break through to the profound-grade alchemist level, and then I will make you understand what real strength is.”
Even though he had lost completely, Dan Qing still refused to concede. This was not an admirable trait.
When a person becomes so arrogant that they forget humility, their downfall is not far away.
One should know that even someone as domineering as Ling Xiao would act very humble and low-key in front of certain people.
When it was time to yield, he would never pretend to be tough.
“I will give you one saying: ‘Among any three people walking, I will find something to learn from at least one of them!’ Never think too highly of yourself, otherwise let alone next time, you will never reach my level, much less surpass me.”
Ling Xiao glanced indifferently at Dan Qing, revealing a hint of disdain.
He was too lazy to associate with this kind of person.
Although the cheers continued to echo, Ling Xiao no longer felt like staying. He was not someone who particularly enjoyed lively scenes.
He went to Elder Changle to collect the championship rewards, the Moon Stone and other items.
Of course, the Moon Stone was the most crucial. It was for Yue Nü.
However, Ling Xiao had also gained benefits.
The Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill that he had refined using materials provided by Changle Immortal Island could now be taken.
The Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill was originally intended for Cave Heaven realm martial artists.
But Ling Xiao’s physique was extraordinary, and with the Mountain River Martial Soul, taking it directly posed no problem.
After returning to Yun Ya’s residence, Ling Xiao and Yue Nü chose to enter seclusion.
“This time, I must use this Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill to break through to the half-step Cave Heaven realm!”
Ling Xiao held the pill in his hand, took a deep breath, and resolved himself.
Although he had achieved a great victory at this alchemy conference, the deficiency in his cultivation had restricted him everywhere. This made him very unhappy.
“Hiss!”
Within his body, the Scarlet Sun power began to clash with the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill.
This clash was a continuous, high-intensity collision.
In the Mountain River World, it was as if a storm had erupted.
Yet with every collision, a rich stream of power surged from the Orthodox One Pill and then frantically poured into Ling Xiao’s body.
The collisions struck his soul, meridians, and flesh, causing Ling Xiao intense pain as though his body were about to split apart.
This pain had to be endured.
After all, the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill was not meant for someone at his cultivation stage. Since he chose to use it, he naturally had to pay a price.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ling Xiao activated the Three Flavours True Fire and the Death Dark Flame to work with the Scarlet Sun power in suppressing the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill.
Even more energy was released from it, galloping through Ling Xiao’s body like ten thousand horses.
About two days passed. Ling Xiao neither ate nor drank, yet his body showed no sign of fatigue or weariness.
The medicinal effect of the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill was truly too powerful. Whatever physical strength and energy he expended was instantly replenished.
In these two days, relying on the two divine flames and the Scarlet Sun power, he had forcibly melted the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill completely.
But melting the pill was only the first step.
The ferocious medicinal power rampaged through his body and could very easily cause danger.
“Good heavens, it truly lives up to being a profound-grade pill. Although it is only the lowest profound low-grade and not perfect quality, the medicinal power is already this abundant. If my physique were not special, I probably would have burst.”
While marvelling in his heart, Ling Xiao felt waves of wild joy.
He calculated that once these powers fully integrated into him, his cultivation would steadily advance to the half-step Cave Heaven realm.
Only two days had passed, and he had already reached the peak of the Ten Directions Heaven.
Yet only a small portion of the Cave Heaven Orthodox One Pill’s energy had been absorbed.
Although advancing across realms was more difficult, he believed the remaining power would be sufficient.
With this thought, Ling Xiao released his soul force and began to control and guide this ferocious power into his Nine Cauldron Heavenly Meridians, starting to condense a cave heaven.
Transforming heavenly meridians into a cave heaven was another enormous leap, but not every martial artist could achieve it.
Countless martial artists spent their entire lives stuck at the Heavenly Human realm, unable even to enter half-step Cave Heaven, let alone the Cave Heaven realm.
Ling Xiao had previously released a sword domain, so he treated that sword domain as his first cave heaven domain.
Having experience made condensation much easier.
Time continued to pass.
Ling Xiao’s mind remained as firm as bedrock.
No matter how ferocious the power within his body became, under his tenacious will and powerful soul force, it posed no real problem.
He had suffered much hardship growing up, so this time it was truly nothing.
Although during the process of releasing the heavenly meridians and condensing the sword domain he felt as if his body were being torn apart, and several times he nearly gave up.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and persevered.
