Several days later.
In Shen Mo's courtyard.
He stared unblinkingly at the pill furnace, tension faintly rising in his heart.
He had refined many pills before, but this was his first time attempting a Saint-tier pill.
Over the past few days, he had already failed twice.
This was his third attempt.
Saint-tier pill ingredients were not easy to come by.
Shen Mo didn't want to fail a third time.
"This is the moment of pill formation."
"Now comes the final step!"
He exhaled a slow, steady breath and withdrew his palm.
His spiritual energy retracted.
The flames of the Solar Essence Fire gradually weakened, eventually reducing to a faint, gentle flame that quietly burned.
Buzz!
Inside the pill furnace, the medicinal liquid was rapidly coalescing into a single pill.
Shen Mo watched with anticipation.
During his second attempt at refining the Golden Jade Pellet, he had failed precisely at this moment—during pill formation.
He had lost control of the flame's intensity, causing the pill to shatter before it could take proper form.
Such a result drastically weakened the medicinal potency while amplifying the toxic side effects, rendering the pill unusable.
It would be a complete waste.
Buzz—buzz—buzz!
A string of low, resonant hums echoed from within the furnace, like a wild beast rampaging inside.
Then suddenly, everything went quiet.
A seven-colored radiance burst out of nowhere, shooting straight into the sky!
A rich, fragrant medicinal aroma exploded from the furnace and spread in all directions.
In just the blink of an eye, the entire courtyard became like a celestial paradise.
Brilliant light danced, and the air was thick with an intoxicating fragrance.
For cultivators one or two major realms below Shen Mo, staying in such an environment would extend lifespan and cure hidden ailments.
Even an ordinary mortal, breathing in just one or two whiffs of the aroma, could awaken their spiritual roots and gain the potential to cultivate!
However, both the light and the fragrance were sealed within the array formation and didn't leak a single trace outside.
Shen Mo stepped forward to the pill furnace, a surge of excitement rising within.
He lifted the lid in one swift motion.
Inside lay a perfectly round, golden pill.
This was the low-grade Saint-tier pill—Golden Jade Pellet!
The radiant light and spreading aroma from earlier were precisely the signs of a Saint pill's successful formation.
Had he not used an array to contain them, the entire outpost would've been enveloped.
Such a disturbance would have brought unwanted attention.
The demon clan would have received word and ramped up their efforts to eliminate him.
That would only backfire.
After all, there were many cultivators in the Dharma Aspect Realm—each of the ten Demon Suppression Strongholds had twenty to thirty of them.
But a pill master capable of refining Saint-tier pills?
Not even half a person across all ten strongholds.
Shen Mo was one of a kind.
As long as a Saint-tier pill master had enough time and resources, he could nurture many more Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators.
To the demon clan, that was an even greater threat.
The principle Shen Mo followed now was: grow stronger in silence—don't invite trouble by standing out.
Until he reached the Nirvana Realm, he would avoid making waves that could provoke greater fear from the demon clan.
In fact, he could already imagine: if word got out that he was a Saint-tier alchemist, the demon clan would stop at nothing to assassinate him.
The number one Sky Demon, An Cang, would likely strike personally.
And at that point, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't fend off everything alone.
"It's time to begin refining. I must break through to the peak of the Dharma Aspect Realm as quickly as possible."
Without hesitation, Shen Mo grabbed the Golden Jade Pellet and shoved it into his mouth.
Unlike ordinary pills, the Golden Jade Pellet didn't melt upon contact.
It was incredibly solid.
As its name implied, it was like being forged from gold and jade.
Shen Mo had to rely on overwhelming spiritual energy and blood essence to refine it.
And in doing so, he had to endure the immense agony of his body being torn apart.
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