The very last stages of the pill were beginning. Every single alchemist, no matter how exhausted they were, was watching as intensely as possible. Indeed, they were about to witness history in the making. About fifteen years ago, maybe more, Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng had gained their title as Spirit Masters when they had refined the Life Boiling Cradle pill. It had only been a 1-star Spirit pill, and yet it had created a huge uproar among all alchemists. Anyone interested in alchemy had heard about it and many had studied all the records about their refinement. Indeed, everything had been written down.
Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng had written entire treatises on the matter. And even more alchemists had produced hundreds of exegeses on their work. Unfortunately, it had not helped anyone to produce another 1-star Spirit pill, not even simpler pills. That being said, all this uproar had helped push alchemy further and further. It gave great ideas to some alchemists. Most didn't go very far, but a handful of them had changed entire fields.
Obviously, every alchemist aware of the current refinement process was hoping for a new revolution. Maybe they would finally open the door to the legendary Spirit pills. Even if they were to fail, the insight they would gain could help them refine more Spirit pills of lower quality. Simply refining a single 1-star Spirit pill could keep the alchemists busy for decades studying it. It was such a pity that no one had been able to study the Life Boiling Cradle pill. Indeed, it had been consumed, after all.
Both Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng could feel the pressure. With their cultivation and their mind cultivation, this didn't cause them any problems. Besides, they had another form of pressure. Like Cao Yun, they knew that the fate of all humanity on the Piaolu planet might depend upon this very moment. For Cao Yun, it was much more concrete and personal of course. But still, they were all painfully aware that this was the moment they actually rebelled against Emperor Weide. Until now, those had just been words. Today, they would step through the door, there was no going back.
Director Hua was the first one to work on the pill. Although she was director of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, she knew for a fact that her sister Xiao Xuefeng was a better alchemist than she was, in that situation. Overall, Director Hua could boast of being better. However, this pill was all about the soul and Xiao Xuefeng was a degree better when it came to the soul. As such, Director Hua didn't let her ego get the better of her, and they had to succeed as much as they could. After all, they were working on the most difficult pill since the Forsaken Dao Era. Failure simply wasn't an option.
Some alchemists literally stopped breathing as Director Hua stood up. Behind her, dozens of veterans were ready to help with her refinement. They were all used to working with her. In fact, she didn't even need to give any orders, they all did exactly what she was expecting. Sometimes, they acted even before she knew something was necessary.
Before Cao Yun took any ingredient out, Director Hua and her group sent their spiritual senses within the Thirteen Celestial Pyre and the Core Earthly Life. The fire split into thousands of tendrils that danced all over the place. Sun Liao personally took charge of the Core Earthly Life Master array formation for a few hours to make sure that everything went smoothly. Dian Mo was observing all that and almost boasted to Cao Yun. At the very last moment, he kept silent. Cao Yun needed all the concentration he could muster. The young man's mind was fully immersed within the refinement. Cao Yun could already see his victory and the face of his sister, but at the same time, he could also see her broken corpse beside him while Emperor Weide crushed them both. At the moment, he was walking a very thin line and he could fall on either side very easily.
Finally, he took out several bones. Each of them was split open and the marrow was visible. Thousands of runes had been engraved in those bones and the marrow was shining with a golden and silver hue. Although it was beautiful, there was also an ominous aura around them. Everyone could feel death in the air.
As Director Hua directed the flames into the bones, they all began to vibrate. Crackling sounds echoed from the bones as if they were trying to escape the grasp of both Cao Yun and the flames. But Cao Yun was holding them in place. As such, they were cracking all over. Tiny pieces of bone fell but were vaporized before they could touch the ground. Slowly, plaintive moans rose from the bones. They weren't very loud but they could reach deep within one's soul. For the alchemists, it was as if they were witnessing the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu being slowly burned alive. It couldn't fight back and couldn't even scream. As such, they could only hear its struggling moans.
Of course, the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu was already dead, but parts of its soul were still reacting, trapped by Cao Yun himself.
When Hua Fenfei opened the lid of the Thirteen Celestial Pyre, a powerful medicinal aroma spread all over the Calamity Wing. Even the guards outside felt it. Among them, Sun Liao's guards were overjoyed. This was proof that the refinement was going very well. Maybe Emperor Weide might actually become a Sage. This would be the greatest achievement of the Hongchen Kingdom, breaking the Forsaken Dao Era before the demons. In an instant, morale would soar and mankind might actually triumph. At the very least, they would survive for sure.
This profound aroma silenced the bones completely. Another sound flooded the Calamity Wing, however. A majestic screech snuffed out any other sound. Although no one had ever heard it, they all knew that it was the sound of a Thirteen Calamities Vulture. It was the very beast that had been used to produce this great cauldron. Under the effects of this screech, the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu was thoroughly suppressed.
Once the flames had entirely consumed the bones, Hua and her alchemists brought the tongues of fire into the Thirteen Celestial Pyre. Then, the lid was closed. For hours, Hua Fenfei and her alchemists struggled. The pills within the cauldron were beginning to move all over the place. As such, some alchemists had to hold them in place, fighting against them and exhausting themselves. At the same time, they were always vibrating and pulsating. Thus, it was harder to inscribe them precisely as Cao Yun had instructed. For some time, Cao Yun wondered if he should help, but he had to save his strength. Only if things went out of hand would he intervene directly.
The five remaining pills were also trying to absorb more of the flames containing the essence of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. So Hua Fenfei had to control the flames more strictly than ever before. They couldn't allow the pills to siphon the essence as they needed all of it to inscribe them.
It was a very arduous process. Even Director Hua was showing signs of exhaustion. After more than two days, she sat cross-legged because she could barely stand on her legs. A few assistants were wiping her forehead of sweat, but she didn't even notice them. All of her mind and intent were focused within the Thirteen Celestial Pyre.
They were almost done with the first pill when it suddenly reacted violently. Without any warning, it unleashed a powerful wave of pure resentment. If it reached the other pills, it might actually destroy them. Thankfully, the cauldron was vast so the pills were far from each other, as far as possible in fact. Cao Yun sensed it immediately. Unfortunately, Hua's alchemists were not fast enough. For the first time, Cao Yun intervened directly within the cauldron. He spread his Black Heart Flame inside. Containing the wave of resentment was too hard, so instead, he covered the other pills in his Black Heart Flame. The wave crashed upon those shields and the pills were safe. However, the wave hit the walls of the cauldron.
As it hit the cauldron, it produced a sound that shook the very organs of all the alchemists present. Most of them were fine but a few weaker alchemists collapsed to the ground. They had already been weakened and exhausted by their participation in the refinement process. In fact, two alchemists just threw up some blood. They were young and frail. Their bodies were quivering while their faces got extremely pale as though they were ghosts. Immediately, several assistants went to them and took them away to go see physicians. No one could tell whether they would survive or not, hopefully, they would.
Despite that scene, no one was distracted. Sun Liao's array formation masters activated more array formations, but they kept a few of them inactive for now as they would need them for later. Dian Mo was about to say something to Cao Yun when Sun Liao gave orders. Although they weren't exactly what Dian Mo had in mind, they were very good commands. As such, Dian Mo stayed silent. In fact, he realized that Sun Liao's commands made perfect sense from his point of view. He would never have admitted that Sun Liao's commands were actually better than his own ideas. That being said, he was too busy worrying about the entire process to ponder over that. Dian Mo was just happy that a boy who had recognized him as his master was so talented.
The pill that had reacted almost seemed angry that nothing more had happened. Clearly, it was gaining awareness, but it was still only acting out of instinct. Indeed, it was the last instincts of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu, pure resentment and the desire to slaughter all. Hua Fenfei didn't let herself be distracted. Sun Liao was protecting her and her group particularly, but he was also taking care of Xiao Xuefeng and her group, as well as the alchemists who would help Cao Yun in the final moments.
Although Director Hua was very close to being done with the first pill, she didn't finish it yet. Instead, she focused on the other pills. Cao Yun quickly retracted his Black Heart Flame. Unfortunately, it had disturbed the cauldron, but there had been no other way to react in time. Anyway, Director Hua had to stabilize the cauldron first. For five hours, that was what her team did while Hua Fenfei herself worked on the other pills.
After two more days, she was done with the other pills. She stopped short of completion. Even her own alchemists weren't too sure what her reasoning was, but they trusted her completely. Finally, they would do the final step and complete the seventh circles. Using that step as a cover, Director Hua planned on fusing some Shattered Soul Hellbloom to the best pill of the batch, the one that had erupted earlier.
With the Black Heart Flame, Cao Yun had introduced bits of the Shattered Soul Hellbloom inside the cauldron. Without her own alchemists noticing anything, Director Hua mixed it with the flames she was manipulating. Despite her entire group observing everything, they didn't notice it at all. Indeed, they were all busy finalizing the seventh circles on the five pills. Director Hua brought the flames toward the first pill and inscribed very specific runes Cao Yun had given to her.
Thanks to those runes, even Cao Yun himself would have a hard time finding any trace of the Shattered Soul Hellbloom. He had worked on those seals with Dian Mo for months. Unless Emperor Weide studied the pills for a few years, Cao Yun and Dian Mo were confident he wouldn't sense anything amiss. But now, the pill had been chosen. No matter what happened, this pill had to be a success. Moreover, it had to be a greater success than all the other pills as it would be the one gifted to Emperor Weide, and no other.
By the end of the day, the five pills were fully refined. Only one seemed to be unstable. At tht time, it was still a success, but it was also clear that it had little to no chance of going all the way to the end. Most likely, it would crumble during the eighth or ninth circle. However, Cao Yun and Director Hua didn't choose to remove it, for now.
There were many reasons behind this decision. First of all, removing it would cause the cauldron to be unstable again and they would need more time to salvage it. Time was clearly their enemy. Besides, the pill was unstable but it wasn't a failure yet, it was still possible for it to succeed. Moreover, keeping it would give them insights for later. There were many reasons. One of them was also that if the pill were to explode, it could help them hide the poison. The more other alchemists were busy, the less likely they were to find anything out of the ordinary.
At last, Director Hua was done. Only two circles remained. And the eighth circles would be inscribed by Spirit Master Xiao Xuefeng herself. When her time came, the woman stood up. All around them, about thirty alchemists were sitting in a very strict formation. They were all merging their spiritual senses together and Xiao Xuefeng was leading them all. As if their souls were just one, they invaded the Thirteen Celestial Pyre just as Director Hua left it. Since the two women were very close, there was absolutely no clash between their spiritual senses, and it caused no disturbance at all.
Director Hua even sent a few thoughts directly to Xiao Xuefeng. Before witnessing the situation herself, she knew exactly what was going on in the cauldron. Immediately, she brought support to the unstable pill and monitored the first pill. Xiao Xuefeng knew what she had to do and intended to do it thoroughly. Now, she only had to wait for Cao Yun's next ingredient.