Facing the terrifying lightning, Xiao Yan no longer relied solely on the pill itself to resist.
Although the Flame Energy within the fire pillar was substantial, it was still barely sufficient against the pill tribulation's lightning.
After all, the lightning produced by a seventh-rank high-grade pill could rival a full-force strike from a seven or eight-star Dou Zong.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan's power had now reached an incredibly terrifying level.
With a single step forward, the next moment found him standing atop the Yin-Yang Marrow Refining Pill.
Facing the lightning that caused most of the imperial city's experts to flinch, his expression remained utterly calm. Hidden beneath the black robe, his back faintly glowed, and five flame tattoos flared up in unison.
Then, without any flashy movements, he thrust a single fist directly at the descending lightning!
"Heavens! This boy is going to resist the pill lightning with his bare hands?!"
The crowd of onlookers changed color.
Many Dou Huang and Dou Zong experts involuntarily narrowed their eyes; those below Dou Huang couldn't fully sense the power of this lightning.
But the stronger fighters present knew exactly how fearsome it was.
Among everyone, only Xiao Li and Zun Fuding might have been able to withstand such a strike.
Even Yun Shan, who had already entered Dou Zong, would be almost certainly dead if struck by this lightning.
Yet, when Xiao Yan's fist collided violently with the lightning, the crowd's eyes widened in shock once more.
The impact produced no deafening explosion; instead, the space fell into a brief silence, and then a terrifying wave of energy spread outward.
The lightning shattered into countless silver fragments.
"Crack!" The calm space first split into a web of cracks, then disintegrated into pieces.
Where Xiao Yan stood, a black hole nearly ten zhang wide appeared, the surrounding space completely shattered.
"Hiss!" Gasps echoed from the crowd, many staring dumbfounded.
A pill lightning comparable to a seven- or eight-star Dou Zong's full-force strike had been shattered by this young boy's fist.
This boy was terrifying!
"Xiao Yan has really grown this much?" Xiao Li looked at his brother's proud stance in the sky, speechless.
He had thought that Xiao Yan returning and suddenly reaching five-star Dou Zong level was already absurd. Now, his physical body had become even more fearsome.
Xiao Li wondered—if he fought his brother now, who would win?
After all, he was not an ordinary Dou Zong. With the Xiao Clan's secret techniques, clan marks, and multiple powerful Dou Skills at his disposal, he was no easy opponent.
Even as an eight-star Dou Zong, Xiao Li rarely faced opponents of comparable strength.
In just one year away from home, his younger brother had grown beyond any need for his presence.
His heart was filled with complex emotions.
Others were even more shocked. Yun Shan's old eyes nearly bulged from disbelief.
A few months ago, he could still exchange a couple of moves with Xiao Yan at Yun Lan Sect. Now, Xiao Yan could effortlessly obliterate him.
"The term 'monster' doesn't even begin to describe this guy," Yun Shan thought, glancing at his disciple Yun Yun, his astonishment quickly turning to delight.
The stronger Xiao Yan became, the more outrageous his power, and the happier Yun Shan was—his disciples were now part of Xiao Yan's entourage.
Although Xiao Yan was flirtatious, he clearly treated his women well. Yun Shan might even benefit indirectly from their connection.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Yan, when Yun Yun confessed her feelings after returning from the Monster Mountains, Yun Shan almost shed tears of joy.
It felt as if a nobleman had just learned his daughter became a palace consort.
After Xiao Yan's fist shattered the pill lightning, the fractured space gradually healed.
He returned to the ground, holding a black-and-white pill in hand.
With the bonus of Yin-Yang Holy Flame, refining a pill with Yin-Yang attributes was naturally enhanced.
Thus, Xiao Yan's first attempt at the Yin-Yang Marrow Refining Pill yielded impressive results.
Placing the pill into a jade bottle, he did not stop but sat cross-legged, entering a recovery phase.
Only Ya Fei, quietly observing, couldn't help her eyes reddening.
She knew the pill was specially prepared for her.
In the past, she could never have imagined someone would refine a seventh-rank pill just for her. This pill alone could have caused chaos across the Gamma Empire and neighboring nations.
The Yin-Yang Marrow Refining Pill was high-grade, but for Xiao Yan, it was not yet the pinnacle.
His goal was to craft a peak seventh-rank pill.
Only a pill of peak seventh-rank quality could truly prove his mastery in alchemy.
This pill would also serve to revive Yun Po Tian, the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill!
Also starting with Yin-Yang, its rank was higher than the Yin-Yang Marrow Refining Pill.
Its origins were lost to history, but it was known that the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill was on par with the Yin-Yang Mystic Dragon Pill invented by Elder Yao.
One helped near-death individuals rise higher; the other could pull a person back from the brink of death.
After resting an hour, Xiao Yan opened his eyes, ensuring he had recovered to peak condition. He exhaled a thick breath.
With a wave of his hand, seven-colored flames appeared and rose again in the cauldron.
Another wave of herbs floated from his Na Ring, suspending in midair.
Reviewing the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill formula carefully in his mind, Xiao Yan finally relaxed.
A flick of his finger summoned a strikingly colorful flower. Its center bore a vivid human face, eyes, nose, and mouth lifelike, sending chills down the spine.
This was the main ingredient for the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill: the Ghost Face Flower.
Its growth conditions were extreme, requiring it to bloom atop a strong cultivator's corpse in the Nine Nether Realm.
Each flower represented a soul completely lost to the world, allowing the herb to reverse life and death.
Its rarity rivaled the Nether Demon Lotus, grown from the corpse of the Nether Demon Snake.
A single main herb was worth at least a Breakthrough Pill.
As the Ghost Face Flower entered the cauldron, it let out a piercing cry, like a newborn wailing.
Xiao Yan's focus masked the sound, but weaker cultivators turned pale, as if encountering a nightmare.
"No matter how eerie you are, you'll obey me!" Xiao Yan snorted.
Flames surged in the cauldron, enveloping the Ghost Face Flower. Even its terrifying cries were subdued by Xiao Yan's spiritual power.
As the temperature rose, the black aura dissipated, leaving the flower exposed.
The Ghost Face Flower withered rapidly, its human-like face drooping, and after about ten minutes, it exploded into black powder.
Xiao Yan flicked his hand, summoning a mini seven-colored fire lotus to nurture the powder.
After refining the essence of the Ghost Face Flower, Xiao Yan continued, placing all the main ingredients for the Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill into the cauldron:
Soul Revival Demon Fruit, Life-Death Grass…
Once all the main herbs were processed, he began refining the auxiliary ingredients.
Though the Xiao Clan was wealthy, extravagance had limits.
The refining continued, the night fell, and the alchemy arena glowed with seven-colored light once again.
After three days and nights, many weaker cultivators grew drowsy, though their excitement never waned.
Alchemy enthusiasts knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
Even exhausted, they eagerly observed Xiao Yan at the cauldron's center.
The Yin-Yang Life Soul Pill, a peak seventh-rank pill, took five days and nights to refine, despite Xiao Yan having fused flames rivaling the top ten on the Exotic Fire list.
Weaker cultivators eventually could not endure, meditating to restore energy, yet they still stole glances at the cauldron upon waking.
Even weaker alchemists consumed stimulants to stay awake, their eyes locked on the cauldron.
For five days and nights, the seven-colored light illuminated the arena.
On the fifth night, the blazing fire lotus slowly closed.
The crowd erupted; they knew another seventh-rank pill was about to emerge.
As the lotus bloomed, the dark clouds in the imperial sky trembled, and an even more terrifying lightning descended.
Compared to the Yin-Yang Marrow Refining Pill's lightning, this one was far more formidable, illuminating the entire imperial city.
"Heh heh, perfect timing!" Xiao Li's eyes gleamed with wild battle intent.
He gripped a silver spear that appeared in his hand, summoning a surge of lightning Dou Qi from within.
It coalesced into a spear nearly a hundred zhang long.
"Thunder Saint-Slaying Spear!" he shouted, charging toward the lightning above.
Under the astonished gaze of all, the hundred-zhang silver spear collided violently with the equally massive lightning.
A blinding white light accompanied by a deafening roar lit up the entire imperial city.
In an instant, the city was bathed in dazzling silver-white, brighter than daylight.
The brilliance passed quickly; within moments, the world returned to normal.
Yet everyone looked on in awe at the tattered figure standing amid residual electricity—Xiao Yan's own brother.
"What a family… how terrifying."
"Second brother, you look a little worse for wear," Xiao Yan said, noting Xiao Li's scorched clothes and crackling sparks.
"Heh heh, you don't understand," Xiao Li grinned, showing off his now-brighter silver spear.
Xiao Yan realized his brother had used the pill lightning to temper his weapon and even enhanced his own aura.
Smiling, Xiao Yan summoned a black-and-red pill into his hand with a wave of power, ready to continue refining.
...................
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