Chapter 242: Emperor Pill!
A world-shaking battle had drawn to a close, yet it left behind a Dou Qi Continent riddled with scars. The former prosperity was gone. Even the Central Plains, which had served as the main battlefield, had been split in two, a massive abyss tens of thousands of zhang across now cleaving straight through its heart.
The terrifying laws left behind from Jiang Yun and Xin Kui's clash still lingered there. So long as that chasm existed, none would ever be able to forget that the Dou Qi Continent had once endured such an earth-shattering war...
The prosperity of the Central Plains was no more. Fortunately, however, the major imperial clans emerged from their ancient realms and began interacting with the remaining powers of the region. And upon hearing the news that Jiang Yun had once been a great head of the Pill Tower, people from the even more ruined surrounding territories began flooding toward the Central Plains.
There was no doubt that before long, this region would once again become the very heart of the Dou Qi Continent.
A remote, nameless mountain range.
It was here that Jiang Yun planned to refine an Emperor-grade pill to help his father-in-law, Zhu Kun, break through to Dou Di. As for the question of where the necessary medicinal ingredients for an Emperor-grade pill would come from—well, for that, he had to give thanks to Xin Kui.
As a proud genius of the Heart Demon Clan, Xin Kui's personal collection had been extraordinarily rich, filling in the gaps among the materials Jiang Yun required.
Buzz—
A massive array materialized in the sky. The surrounding natural energy instantly began converging toward its center. Refining a ninth-tier Mystic Pill required draining an entire ancient realm of its energy—let alone an Emperor Pill.
Jiang Yun had set up a grand array to draw energy directly from the planar void outside the Dou Qi Continent. Otherwise, he suspected that the continent's current energy reserves might not even be enough to sustain the birth of a single Emperor Pill.
Whoosh—
With a grand sweep of his hand, Jiang Yun sent a flood of densely packed medicinal ingredients surging into the array in several streams.
At least a hundred thousand spiritual herbs blanketed the sky, forming a canopy that blotted out the sun. A rich, intoxicating medicinal fragrance spread outward, instantly transforming this remote, nameless mountain range into an ocean of herbal aroma.
"It's starting!" In the void ten thousand li away, Zi Yan, Medusa, Qing Lin, Little Medical Fairy, and Zhu Kun were all present. Their gazes sharpened, fixated on Jiang Yun's every move.
"So many ingredients..." Zi Yan gasped sharply, her tone filled with awe as she watched the sky-covering canopy of medicinal materials.
"An Emperor-grade pill is the highest-tier pill on the Dou Qi Continent. Even in the ancient era, such pills were rare. No one knows exactly how to refine one, but extrapolating from ninth-tier pills, I'd say this amount of ingredients is the bare minimum, if not more," Zhu Kun said, his expression grave. Even he, at this moment, was showing a rare trace of nervousness.
After all, this was the pill that would help him break through to Dou Di—how could he not be nervous?
Though he had full confidence in Jiang Yun, nothing in this world was absolute. If it failed, no one could say when he would ever gather the ingredients again.
In that case, his only option would be to personally absorb Origin Qi and slowly break through to Dou Di on his own. That would consume an incalculably long stretch of time.
That's right—the Origin Qi needed to break through to Dou Di could be obtained after Jiang Yun's breakthrough. But if Zhu Kun were to absorb Origin Qi and break through by himself, it would inevitably take a massive amount of time.
After Tuo She Ancient Emperor absorbed all twenty-one Heavenly Flames from the Heavenly Flame List, he had to cultivate in seclusion for a thousand years before he finally broke through to Dou Di. By the time that was done, the entire story of the Great Thousand World would already be over.
Thus, a pill was needed to break through at this moment.
High above, Jiang Yun's hands danced, and an endless torrent of Saint Demon Heavenly Flame surged from his body, rushing toward the highest heavens.
After his personal refinement, this Saint Demon Heavenly Flame's internal laws were now completely different from when he had first obtained it from the Saint Demon Emperor. It could now be considered an entirely new flame—one perfectly attuned to himself.
He cultivated the profound mysteries of Life and Death. This flame, too, now possessed the ability to reverse life and death. It could be called the Samsara Demon Flame.
As the Samsara Demon Flame twisted and churned high in the sky, a colossal, black-and-white intertwining fire cauldron condensed into existence.
Fire condensed into a cauldron!
Herb after herb was sent into the fire cauldron by Jiang Yun. Flames immediately surged forth, engulfing the spiritual herbs completely.
The Samsara Demon Flame was terrifying beyond measure. In just a few breaths, it extracted every last drop of medicinal power from the herbs. Then, catalyzed by the Samsara Demon Flame, that medicinal power seemed to sublime to its ultimate limit.
A single spiritual herb was refined into a single drop of spiritual liquid. Within that drop surged an energy fluctuation of extreme purity, gleaming faintly like a dazzling pearl.
"Such a horrifying energy fluctuation..."
"Even more terrifying than a nine-star Dou Sheng... It even surpasses that Emperor-grade Prototype Pill."
"Is this a true Emperor Pill?"
Witnessing the most shocking alchemy scene in all of history, the onlookers' mouths hung slightly agape, utterly entranced.
The boiling energy even made the void itself tremble. The phenomena of soaring dragons and leaping tigers seemed to carry a supreme divine majesty. Even the Dou Qi within the peak nine-star Dou Sheng Zhu Kun was not even a hundredth of that energy.
As time passed, Jiang Yun had become like an energy vortex, pulling in energy from every direction.
This wind of spiritual energy surged and howled for tens of thousands of li, still ceaselessly expanding. It was a good thing he had prepared in advance; otherwise, the already heavily wounded Dou Qi Continent would have been completely drained dry by this point.
On the Dou Qi Continent, sensing this monumental disturbance, people began rushing toward this region one after another. They couldn't think of a single other person besides Jiang Yun who could create such a commotion.
After the great war, Jiang Yun had vanished along with the Ancient Dragon Clan. No one knew where he had gone. Now that he had reappeared, everyone was naturally intensely curious about what he was doing.
The pill cauldron sat high in the sky, surrounded by over a hundred thousand spiritual herbs that exuded a rich, fragrant medicinal scent. Jiang Yun sat atop the clouds, monstrous spiritual power sweeping up the herbs in batches and sending them into the cauldron.
He then refined them with the Samsara Demon Flame. With his level of control, managing the fire was as simple as eating or drinking. Refining spiritual herbs posed no difficulty for him. Even while splitting his focus a hundred ways, he maintained perfect order, extracting every last drop of medicinal power from each herb with flawless precision, then sublimating that power to its absolute extreme.
Between sunset and moonrise...
In a single day, Jiang Yun had completed the refinement of a hundred thousand spiritual herbs. It was as if a hundred thousand resplendent pearls now hung in the sky, or like the countless brilliant stars within a boundless galaxy.
Gazing at this sight, Jiang Yun chuckled softly. Then, his expression turned serious. His hands formed an incomparably complex string of seals, moving so fast they left afterimages in their wake. Surging spiritual power spread out like tidal waves.
"Condense!"
With a low shout, the grand array began operating at full speed. Energy from the void swept across the firmament and madly rushed into the pill cauldron, swirling like a storm and pulling in those star-like drops of spiritual liquid.
Every single drop of liquid contained wildly surging medicinal power. Under Jiang Yun's manipulation, they slowly began to merge with one another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was as if stars were colliding. Infinite spiritual power erupted at that moment. Within those tiny droplets played out a scene of a collapsing universe, a complete picture of the apocalypse.
But no matter how fiercely they resisted, under Jiang Yun's terrifying control, the medicinal liquids merged in an orderly fashion. Every point of light, every droplet's form, structure, trajectory, and fusion pattern—all were precisely calculated to the extreme, without the slightest error.
At that moment, within the center of the cauldron, it seemed as if a miniature universe had been born. Every point of light was like a star, all revolving around a single core, spinning like a galaxy.
With every integration of medicinal liquid, it was as if countless stars were being destroyed and countless new stars were being born.
Buzz—
A resonant hum rang out. Within the pill cauldron, the densely packed droplets of spiritual liquid had completely vanished. In their place, a single blazing sun now floated within the cauldron. It contained an aura of spiritual power so extreme and terrifying that the void itself quaked. Even the Samsara Demon Flame was stirred by it, swirling around it to form a ring of intertwined black and white fire.
At that very moment, a terrifying consciousness awakened within the pill cauldron. Light and shadow flickered and warped. A hazy silhouette seemed to materialize within the cauldron. Boundless power unfurled, and as space flickered in and out of existence, it was ceaselessly annihilated and recreated.
For a fleeting instant, it even seemed as if the pill cauldron itself could not contain this figure.
"Pill formation!"
In an instant, the Emperor Pill's consciousness seemed to fully awaken. Drawn by its aura, infinite spiritual energy from all directions gathered high in the sky. Thick, heavy clouds pressed down upon the firmament like slabs of lead.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The roar of thunder, brimming with the awe-inspiring might of heaven, resounded across the realm. Intense, overwhelming destructive intent saturated the air, as if even the heavens themselves could not tolerate the existence of such a consciousness.
"This aura... this aura is in no way inferior to Hun Tiandi when he first became a Dou Di..."
"A true Emperor Pill... has the strength of a Dou Di?!"
Such massive commotion naturally drew the sidelong glances of countless experts. Upon sensing the Emperor Pill's aura, none of them could remain calm. All were struck with horrified disbelief.
Zhu Kun's eyes blazed with fervent heat. He murmured to himself, "So this is the phenomenon of an Emperor Pill's birth. I never thought I'd live to see such a sight. Judging by the current situation, this Emperor Pill can definitely push me to Dou Di. My Ancient Dragon Clan is about to welcome a new Dragon Emperor."
"No—" Having spoken, Zhu Kun immediately shook his head fiercely. He glanced at Zi Yan, whose beautiful eyes had remained fixed on Jiang Yun this entire time, and chuckled. "Two Dragon Emperors. And a legendary Dragon-Phoenix Dou Di at that. My Ancient Dragon Clan is truly destined to flourish!"
Rumble...
High above, a muffled boom echoed from within the pill cauldron. Immediately after, a storm of energy swept out in all directions. Despite the grand array's barrier, this terrifying disturbance still rippled outward, reaching the Central Plains and even stretching as far as the Northwestern Continent and the Northern Continent.
Suddenly, violent gales raged across the world. Infinite natural energy surged madly toward the pill cauldron from every direction. This massive-scale disturbance of heaven and earth formed a chaotic energy storm that howled wildly across the realm.
In the distance, countless experts stared up at the sky in awe, watching the terrifying energy storm. Everyone could feel the sheer immensity of the energy contained within it. Heart-pounding fluctuations of power radiated outward ceaselessly.
The terrifying energy storm made everyone tremble with dread. Even among the Dou Sheng experts present, many could faintly feel their own Dou Qi threatening to burst out of their bodies.
"Retreat! Quickly!"
"Get away from here, fast! If we stay too close, even our own Dou Qi might become part of that Emperor Pill!"
This bizarre phenomenon sent waves of terror through the countless experts. They shouted in panic, each one fleeing as far from the grand array as they could.
BOOM! RUMBLE!
Layers upon layers of tribulation clouds stacked atop one another. Amidst the towering, overlapping masses, pitch-black thunderbolts, like frenzied dragons, revealed fleeting glimpses of scales and claws within the clouds. The terrifying fluctuations of spiritual power carried an ultimate aura of annihilation.
Then, at a certain moment—
BOOM!
A pitch-black thunder dragon burst out from the tribulation clouds, howling toward the pill cauldron standing in the sky. It directly tore apart space, leaving a jagged scar across the void.
Roar!
Inside the pill cauldron, the Emperor Pill sensed the arrival of the thunder. It was about to shatter the cauldron and flee from the thunderous destruction. But in the very next second, countless abstruse threads of flame lashed out and bound it mercilessly. Its terrifying spiritual power gradually subsided into nothingness under Jiang Yun's suppression.
Although the Emperor Pill, in terms of energy level, was comparable to a Dou Di, to Jiang Yun—the one who had refined it—it held absolutely no advantage whatsoever.
Jiang Yun suppressed the violently trembling cauldron, then lifted his head to face the heavens. The thunder dragon seemed to already be right before his eyes.
Everywhere the thunder passed, the void warped violently, spiderweb-like cracks spreading across its surface.
Roar!
The thunder dragon raged, lightning roared. Radiating an aura of world-ending destruction, it plunged straight toward Jiang Yun.
"Disperse—"
Gazing at the descending thunder dragon, Jiang Yun seemed to speak with the very authority of heaven itself. A profound and mysterious syllable escaped his lips, carrying ripples through the fabric of space.
Crack—
As Jiang Yun's word faded, the thunder dragon came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, as if struck by an immobilization spell. Then, under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers, cracks began to spider across its body. The very next moment, the thunder dragon, like a beautiful porcelain vase, shattered with a resounding crash.
After obliterating the thunder dragon, Jiang Yun did not pause. Behind him, a ten-thousand-zhang Dharma Body condensed into existence in the blink of an eye. Its features and appearance were identical to Jiang Yun's in every detail, down to every single strand of hair.
The Dharma Body gazed up at the tribulation clouds in the sky. Its massive mouth opened wide. In an instant, a searing, domineering aura swept mightily in all directions. The tribulation clouds in the sky were swallowed whole in a single gulp.
Rumble...
After swallowing the clouds, countless fine strands of black thunder coiled around Jiang Yun's Dharma Body, destroying it from within. But every time the Dharma Body was damaged, writhing flames surged in and repaired it. This cycle repeated again and again, until finally, the destructive force slowly dwindled to nothing.
The Dharma Body, now completely restored to its original state, once again stood tall within the firmament. The terrifying aura it emanated now seemed even stronger than before.
"This Emperor Pill... can be considered a success!"
Having dealt with the heavenly thunder, Jiang Yun chuckled softly and slowly extended his hand. The colossal pill cauldron rapidly contracted. All the energy converged into his palm, finally transforming into a pill the size of a longan fruit, covered in purple-gold patterns. It was like a perfect work of art.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
Even at this moment, the pill cauldron was still trembling fiercely. The Emperor Pill within was still not content, still trying to break out. It possessed ample intelligence. It knew perfectly well that, aside from the heavenly tribulation that sought to destroy it, Jiang Yun harbored no good intentions either. He was simply lusting after its body.
Now that it had gained consciousness, how could it be willing to be eaten? It wanted freedom.
"Quiet down!"
Sensing the commotion from his palm, Jiang Yun shifted his gaze to the pill cauldron and spoke in a soft voice.
BOOM!
At the same time, the immense spiritual power within his body surged forth, flooding into the pill cauldron. The cauldron instantly erupted with dazzling light. Within it, the Samsara Demon Flame blazed even more furiously. Flame dragons condensed one after another, coiling toward the rampaging figure.
"No—!"
"You damned bastard! You created me, and now you're going to destroy me in the very next breath?! You alchemists deserve the most wretched deaths!"
"Ahhh—!"
Inside the pill cauldron, the Emperor Pill howled in agony. Its hands desperately clawed at the flame dragon constricting its body as it roared in fury. Even though its flesh palms were already being burned until the skin split open, it paid no heed, continuing to rage at the mouth of the cauldron.
Jiang Yun's gaze remained cold and indifferent. He completely ignored the Emperor Pill's anguished screams. With a grand wave of his hand, the flames within the cauldron surged explosively, howling as they engulfed the Emperor Pill.
"Ahhhh~~~"
Amidst a succession of wretched screams, within the blazing Samsara Demon Flame, the Emperor Pill slowly began to transform. Finally, it became a purple-red spiritual pill. Light and shadow flickered across its surface, as if it were begging for mercy, appearing remarkably sentient.
Looking at the pill within the flames of the cauldron, Jiang Yun murmured, "You are right. Alchemists are indeed cruel. But who told this to be a cruel world? We are all forced to become even crueler."
Seeing Jiang Yun successfully form the pill, Zhu Kun began to tremble with excitement. He could almost see Dou Di beckoning to him.
"Eh? What is that rascal doing now?" Suddenly, Zhu Kun voiced a puzzled question. Up in the sky, after refining the Emperor Pill, Jiang Yun had not stopped. Instead, he waved his hand again, retrieving over ten thousand more types of ingredients and once more beginning the grand enterprise of alchemy.
"Father, even consuming a ninth-tier Mystic Pill requires the assistance of an eighth-tier pill. Do you really think you could refine an Emperor Pill all by yourself?" Zi Yan rolled her beautiful eyes at the clearly impatient Zhu Kun and delivered a gentle verbal jab.
"..." Zhu Kun was speechless. He scratched his head in embarrassment and let out a forced laugh. "Hahaha, this old man was just a bit too excited and forgot about that. Auxiliary pills are good, auxiliary pills are very good..."
Seeing Zhu Kun's flustered state, Medusa, Qing Lin, and Little Medical Fairy all burst out laughing. Behind them, Zhu Ming and the others, constrained by Zhu Kun's authority, were desperately trying to hold in their laughter, making for an exceptionally comical sight.
"So many ingredients... Could the Heavenly Emperor be refining yet another Emperor Pill?"
Farther away, the experts of the Dou Qi Continent, having just feasted their eyes on a visual spectacle, cried out in renewed astonishment upon seeing Jiang Yun's actions.
Refining Emperor Pills one after another... Did he have to be this ferocious? Watching the "Dou Di" existence they had all dreamed of for a lifetime being casually manufactured by Jiang Yun was a severe blow to their hearts.
Seeing Jiang Yun's intent, many of the experts below were utterly dumbfounded. Indiscriminately refining Emperor-grade pills... just because you're the Yao Emperor, you think you're so great?!
And yet, one group watched Jiang Yun's every move with unbridled enthusiasm—the alchemists of the Dou Qi Continent. In an era where even a Golden Pill Grandmaster was nowhere to be seen, witnessing an Emperor-level alchemist practice his craft with their own eyes was an honor beyond compare.
If they could comprehend even a fraction of his technique, it would benefit them for a lifetime.
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Thanks for reading the chapter!
I started a new translation and I would be very happy if you decided to check out my new translation story. It's a crossover of Toaru and One Piece... Well, the only Toaru element here is one cute Misaka. This is all that came of my desire to translate a Toaru fanfic, but I'm not complaining—even though I've only just started reading and translating it, I'm really enjoying the story. It has plenty of slice-of-life elements, and the pacing is quite slow and detailed. It's written in a sweet, positive way—at least for now. There likely won't be any romance, as there were no tags indicating such, but I won't say for sure until I've finished reading it myself. I'd recommend it to those who aren't craving violence, carnage, or excessive cruelty. In my opinion, it's a worthwhile story, though it's definitely a matter of personal taste—especially since the protagonist is a girl, which isn't everyone's cup of tea (though it doesn't really matter for now—at least as of 30+ chapters in, Misaka is still 6 years old). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.
One Piece: Railgun Misaka Misaka https://www.webnovel.com/book/one-piece-railgun-misaka-misaka_37195209600636405