Chapter 101: The Elixir Summons Calamity

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Zhou Yi snapped back to his senses and placed a section of pine wood beneath the alchemical furnace before rising to prepare for his meal.

“Master Yuan, please eat first,” Zhou Yi courteously offered.

Yuan Tingyu nodded, placed the thick tendon of the San Yin Pi Shui herb into the furnace, then turned to grab a steamed bun and began eating.

“Master Yuan, when I arrived, I caught a glimpse of a blood spring at a chaotic burial ground. I only know that the blood spring is a profoundly yin phenomenon; beyond that, I know little,” Zhou Yi said, chewing a piece of cabbage as he spoke.

Yuan Tingyu was momentarily stunned before asking, “Are you certain it was a blood spring?”

Zhou Yi nodded affirmatively. He had only heard of blood springs before but never seen any records in books, so his knowledge was scant.

“I, too, have only heard of blood springs but never witnessed one. In this world, beyond the mortal realm, there exist countless balanced voids, among which the underworld and the celestial realm are the most documented. Legend says that the blood spring is a passage from the Nine Nether Underworld to the human world,” Yuan Tingyu explained, turning back to the furnace to add the Tibetan Heavenly Lotus. He continued, “Those who commit great evil in life do not enter the cycle of reincarnation and cannot be reborn as humans. Instead, they suffer torment in the underworld—cutting, burning, and endless agony. If a blood spring appears, it means that hellish demons have opened a gateway to the human world, seeking to return and wreak havoc again. Of course, this is all hearsay and not to be taken as absolute truth.”

“If that’s true, then isn’t the Northeast now overrun with evil spirits?” Zhou Yi murmured in astonishment.

Yuan Tingyu shook his head. “No matter how malevolent, they are still spirits. The yang energy of the human world repels them. If they come, they must wait for the right opportunity.”

“What kind of opportunity?” Zhou Yi had finished eating and added more firewood to the furnace, curious to learn more since Yuan was willing to explain.

“They wait for the convergence of yin and yang in the heavens and earth—either yang within yin or yin within yang. Such celestial anomalies happen rarely, sometimes once a century, other times once in several centuries. They are occurrences one may happen upon but cannot seek out,” Yuan Tingyu smiled wryly, clearly having witnessed such phenomena.

“The convergence often aligns with the stars. The last anomaly was yang within yin—a blood moon appearing at night. That night kept me quite busy; it’s been a full sixty years since then,” he said.

Hearing this, Zhou Yi couldn’t help but smile faintly. Since his injury, he rarely smiled, but conversing with someone helped divert his mind from his troubles.

“Legend has it that the celestial dog devouring the sun is yin within yang, turning daylight into darkness. I have yet to encounter that phenomenon,” Yuan Tingyu added.

By this point, a foul stench emanated from the furnace—undoubtedly the poisonous fumes of the pill.

Zhou Yi hurriedly took a bottle of dew he had prepared earlier and dampened a cloth to cover his mouth and nose.

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“Does this morning dew protect against pill poison?” Yuan Tingyu asked, noticing Zhou Yi covering his face.

Zhou Yi smiled lightly. “This dew was collected from Maocang Herb just yesterday morning by Mu Chen.”

Yuan Tingyu nodded thoughtfully. “The Maocang Herb is common throughout Maoshan, but I never considered that dew gathered from it could shield one from pill toxins. Truly, the world is full of wonders.”

As they spoke, the poisonous fumes dissipated. The sound of pills boiling inside the furnace was now audible, suggesting the refining was complete.

Zhou Yi leaned in to listen closely and heard two pills.

“Only one pill embryo was used—how did it yield two pills?” he asked, puzzled.

“Yin and yang are everywhere, often coexisting. One is a yang pill—the main one, the Heaven Mending Pill—and the other is a yin pill, a toxic pill. If I’m right, the yin pill is a powerful poison meant to disperse energy,” Yuan explained.

“To disperse energy? So its effect is the opposite of the Heaven Mending Pill?”

Yuan Tingyu nodded but remained silent, focusing on the pill that had just formed. The timing of the fire was crucial; whether the pill would succeed depended on this moment.

Every day, Lady Fu personally delivered meals to the two—always vegetarian. During pill refining, it was taboo to consume meat, as impurities in the body could cause failure.

Though Maoshan Daoists do not strictly forbid meat, they generally avoid excessive consumption.

Zhou Yi’s case was different. As a hunter from beneath Changbai Mountain, he was unaccustomed to going without meat for so long. Though his complexion was pale, he endured it for the sake of successfully refining the Heaven Mending Pill.

They had been in the pill chamber for half a month, only leaving briefly for the restroom. Throughout this time, Zhou Yi learned much about yin, yang, and the five elements from Yuan Tingyu.

One day, after half a month, the spiritual energy of Great Maoshan began to stir, converging toward the pill chamber. The Maoshan disciples, upon witnessing this, were elated but cautious.

The Heaven Mending Pill had been refined but now faced the most critical trial—the pill tribulation.

Unlike the heavenly tribulation faced by cultivators, which Zhou Yi endured by physically withstanding the lightning strike through sheer stubbornness, this pill was extremely fragile. Even a slight brush with the tribulation could cause the pill to shatter the furnace and be lost.

Avoiding the pill tribulation was impossible. Without it, the pill’s power could not be fully realized, rendering it no better than an ordinary medicine if consumed.

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They could only rely on Yuan Tingyu and two elders from Maoshan, each having survived heavenly tribulations themselves, to endure the lightning on their behalf.

The furnace fire blazed steadily, awaiting the moment when the furnace would cool enough to retrieve the pill.

A crimson cloud had already enveloped Great Maoshan’s skies, and the crackling of thunder filled the air, as if seeking a target.

The first bolt of the pill tribulation thunder roared down, striking the pill chamber’s thatched roof.

Yuan Tingyu and the two Maoshan elders appeared above the chamber, extending their spiritual energy to form a protective barrier over the hut.

The barrier had barely formed when the lightning struck, shattering the shield instantly.

Before they could catch their breath, a second bolt came crashing down.

The three immediately stood atop the roof, using their bodies to shield the pill chamber completely.

Crack! The second tribulation struck again, sending the three flying backward. Even united, the three tribulation survivors could not withstand it.

Zhou Yi’s recovery depended entirely on the pill in the furnace. He dared not be careless and held the furnace tightly beneath him.

The pill chamber was struck by the lightning, collapsing instantly.

As the dust settled, Zhou Yi stood amidst the ruins, clutching the furnace unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief.

The crimson cloud in the sky had yet to dissipate and was gathering for an even greater pill tribulation.

Yuan Tingyu and the two elders were injured from the second strike. How could they withstand another?

Holding the furnace, Zhou Yi looked up and shouted defiantly, “Bring it on! I’ve weathered countless storms—I’m not afraid of your pill tribulation!”

Crack...