The Blazing Golden Glazed Flame was one of the finest flames used in alchemy—an 异火 (strange fire). It could increase a pill's success rate, enhance its quality, refine out more impurities, and significantly speed up the refinement process. Pills made with it were purer and more potent. For these reasons, Blazing Flame City held quite a reputation on the battlefield.
It was one of the most favored war cities among alchemists.
Thanks to the unique environment, Blazing Flame City had become a gathering place for a large number of alchemists. The strange fire's allure was simply irresistible to them.
Of course, its benefits weren't limited to alchemy—refining weapons also gained tremendous advantage from this flame. The benefits were by no means inferior.
Yet, at this moment, across the entire plaza, apart from a single elder and his pill furnace, no one else was engaged in pill refining. All eyes were silently fixed on him, watching intently, afraid to miss even a single moment—lest they commit an unforgivable sin.
"The Medicine King!!"
Even Yi Tianxing couldn't help but narrow his eyes upon seeing the figure.
From the elder's aura, one could distinctly feel a kind of ethereal and natural divine rhythm, coupled with a compassionate energy that seemed to care for the world. It gave off an inexplicable sense of intimacy, making it nearly impossible to harbor ill will toward him.
That was a unique kind of personal charm, nurtured by virtue and moral character.
"This time, I am attempting to refine a pill obtained from the Divine Demon Treasury," the elder said with a gentle smile. "It is called the Seven Aperture Exquisite Pill. This is an ancient pill—its true name is the Exquisite Aperture-Unlocking Pill. Its quality ranges from one to seven apertures. Each additional aperture signifies a higher tier, greater purity, and stronger effects."
🔹 Seven Aperture Exquisite Pill (七窍玲珑丹 / Exquisite Aperture-Unlocking Pill)
One-aperture pill: ~30% chance to unlock a life aperture.
Two-aperture pill: ~40% chance.
Seven-aperture pill: ~90%, or virtually guaranteed.
However, the aperture unlocked is random in type and strength—left to fate.
The elder continued calmly, "I make no promises on how many apertures the pill I refine will possess. This is merely an attempt. If I succeed, fellow cultivators may exchange spiritual herbs or fruits for it."
It was clear: he intended to put the refined pill up for trade.
Everyone had a chance to obtain it—as long as the pill succeeded in reaching seven apertures.
Around him, many cultivators couldn't help but show visible excitement in their eyes.
This was the Seven Aperture Exquisite Pill—capable of directly unlocking life apertures without needing any method to develop them. Even more impressive, once an aperture was unlocked, one could derive a technique from it, which could then serve as a powerful legacy.
Even with a chance of failure, the potential reward was enormous—a classic high risk, high reward gamble.
"You're too modest, Medicine King!"
"If this pill is successfully refined, it is we who owe you our thanks."
Several cultivators voiced their excitement.
The elder didn't linger on the conversation. He simply declared, "The main ingredient for the Seven Aperture Exquisite Pill is the Exquisite Fruit, supplemented by Seven Star Grass, Aperture Fruit, Millennial Stalactite, Life Spirit Dew..."
🔹 Ingredients:
Exquisite Fruit (玲珑果)
Seven Star Grass (七星草)
Aperture Fruit (通窍果)
Millennial Stalactite (千年石钟乳)
Life Spirit Dew (生命仙露)
Although he didn't disclose the full recipe, just naming these core ingredients caused alchemists around him to burst with excitement. A new pill formula was a rare treasure in itself.
With the preheating complete, he opened the furnace.
One after another, ingredients were placed inside in a specific sequence. Top-tier alchemists never opened the furnace mid-process. Instead, all ingredients were inserted at the start, each suspended inside using secret techniques. They remained isolated until the exact moment they were meant to be refined. This required precise timing and flame control.
Such a method greatly improved the success rate—but it also required powerful spiritual sense and intense mental focus to manage each material's timing and integration flawlessly.
The elder began casting pill incantations, each assisting the refining process—stimulating medicinal properties, eliminating impurities, regulating flame intensity. Every gesture corresponded to changes inside the furnace.
One could understand the entire pill refinement process simply by watching the pill formulas he deployed.
Too much flame? Use a formula to suppress it.Too little flame? Use one to intensify it.Every step required deep concentration.
Naturally, a powerful barrier had already been set around the refining area, including soundproofing, to prevent any interference.
"His surname is Sun. He's the Medicine King Sun Simiao," Yi Tianxing finally murmured, eyes burning with fervor.
If this really was Sun Simiao, the unexpected boon from this trip was beyond words.
"It's true," Li Zhilin confirmed. "When I first encountered him, I was equally shocked. His status in the Gathering of Heroes Pavilion is very special. He wouldn't have stayed if not for our Pavilion's care toward human cultivators and our ongoing battles against foreign races. The constant stream of injured cultivators persuaded him to remain for now. But he did say he'd eventually leave."
Sun Simiao preferred to heal people. If not for the pavilion's alignment with his ideals, he would not have stayed.
In Chinese history, Sun Simiao was a renowned figure—his legacy eternal.
From a young age, he was intellectually gifted, with an insatiable hunger for knowledge. He suffered from illness in his youth and, after spending his family's wealth on treatments, resolved to study medicine himself. By age seven, he knew over a thousand characters. By eighteen, he had vowed to dedicate himself to medicine. By twenty, he was deeply versed in Taoist philosophy, and known as a prodigy.
He wrote the legendary Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold and its sequel—volumes that blessed countless lives.
He loved to travel and explore rare and difficult ailments. A man of great benevolence.
His achievements in medicine were unmatched. And medicine and alchemy shared a deep connection. While not all alchemists were doctors, great physicians often became excellent alchemists.
Sun Simiao—the Medicine King—was living proof.
His mastery in alchemy was extraordinary. Compared to him, the likes of Wang Fengshan and Qiu Weiming in the Great Yi Dynasty were not even worth mentioning. Yi Tianxing saw that clearly.
"If I can recruit him, the Great Yi's alchemical standards would soar," Yi Tianxing thought, his mind racing for strategies to recruit the Medicine King.
All benefits would be meaningless if the man himself refused.
So for now, he remained silent, simply watching.
And what a spectacle it was.
Time passed unnoticed. Many alchemists' faces occasionally lit up with inspiration—they were clearly learning something new.
Nine full hours went by.
Suddenly, misty vapor rose from the furnace. It began to tremble, as if rays of rainbow light were about to burst from within.
Whoosh—!
In that instant, clouds churned in the sky, and a dark thundercloud formed above.
"Look! It's a tribulation cloud!"
"A pill tribulation! When a top-tier pill is about to be born, it summons heavenly tribulation. If it survives, it will be complete. If not, the pill will be destroyed. The Seven Aperture Exquisite Pill… it's powerful enough to summon a tribulation!"
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
Crack!
Lightning wouldn't wait—it streaked down from the cloud and struck the pill furnace with a sharp crack.
Roar!!
Screech!!
But just as it fell, the mist from the furnace condensed into a dragon and tiger, lifelike and fierce. They let out a dragon's roar and tiger's roar as they soared upward—blocking the tribulation head-on.