"Very good, this much medicinal material should be enough." In the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Zhu Ziyang looked contentedly at the herbs he had painstakingly gathered and happily muttered to himself.
At the same time, on the other side of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Huo Yuhao had already obtained the backup plan left by the Sea God Tang San from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass—a book titled Xuantian Treasure Record.
"Senior Brother!" Huo Yuhao walked over to Zhu Ziyang with a slight look of disgust on his face and handed the book to him. Clearly, he didn't want the book; he thought Zhu Ziyang needed it, so he unhesitatingly offered it.
Zhu Ziyang was stunned for a moment and instinctively took the Xuantian Treasure Record. He immediately sensed a trace of divine power attached to the book, originating from the same source as the divine power on the jade tablet Mu En had given him—it was obviously Sea God divine power. A cold smile appeared on his face. As expected, the Sea God couldn't have left a book in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for no reason; the divine power was the key.
In the Sea God's plan, Huo Yuhao would surely enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for some reason and then obtain this book from the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. The content of the book wasn't important; the crucial part was the trace of divine power attached to it, which could very likely influence Huo Yuhao's mind!
This wasn't alarmist talk—it was fact. Zhu Ziyang detected that the divine power on the Xuantian Treasure Record wasn't ordinary divine power but a special divine power containing Word Spirit. Word Spirit was the feedback the gods gave to believers after receiving faith power—a form of psychological suggestion proving that the god was always watching you.
Normally, Word Spirit did not affect non-believers, but the trouble was that it was a subtle psychological suggestion. It was like having a voice constantly whispering something in your ear. In the short term, it might have no effect, but after a long time—say, five years—you would unconsciously accept it.
Generally, this kind of Word Spirit worked best on people with unstable emotions, especially those who had suddenly suffered great changes or faced despair in life. Such Word Spirit could turn them into a god's faithful believer in a short time.
Considering Huo Yuhao's experiences, Zhu Ziyang had reason to believe this was exactly what the Sea God Tang San had planned. Without his intervention, Huo Yuhao might have already fallen into the Sea God's trap. Suddenly, Zhu Ziyang understood why the Sea God wanted to kill him.
It had to be said, the Sea God had invested heavily in Huo Yuhao. Using Word Spirit privately on a non-believer—if discovered—would result in the revocation of his right to collect faith power from the Douluo Continent!
"Aren't you curious about the contents of this book?" Zhu Ziyang thought many things, but didn't stop moving. He directly took the Xuantian Treasure Record and asked Huo Yuhao.
"I am curious," Huo Yuhao nodded honestly, but a trace of disgust appeared on his face. "But the moment I think this book was left by the Sea God, my heart fills with anger. I want to tear it to shreds!"
"Uh! Alright!" Zhu Ziyang hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to feel this way. He was surprised but also understood, so he smiled and said, "Fine then. I'll keep it for now. When we return to the academy, discuss with Tang Ya and the others how to handle this book. After all, it's something from your Tang Sect!"
"Alright!" Huo Yuhao nodded reluctantly.
"Good. Pick some spiritual herbs for Tang Ya and the others, then we can head back to the academy." Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
"Mm-hmm!" Huo Yuhao finally smiled upon hearing this. He had just absorbed an immortal herb called Yearning Autumn Water Dew and gained a lot. Naturally, he was very willing now.
Huo Yuhao turned to select immortal herbs, while Zhu Ziyang stored the Xuantian Treasure Record in the Sacred Law Semi-Plane, handing it to Electrolux for safekeeping like the jade tablet. Then, he walked toward the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.
"W-What are you going to do?" Seeing Zhu Ziyang approach, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass immediately shrank back in fear. But as a plant, no matter how hard it tried, it could only move in a small area near its roots—it couldn't escape far.
"Heh heh!" A cold smile appeared on Zhu Ziyang's face. "I'll give you two choices. Either come with me willingly, and I won't touch your roots, or I'll uproot you completely!"
"N-No! You can't do this to me!" The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass immediately screamed in resistance.
"Hmph!" Zhu Ziyang snorted coldly. His terrifying aura instantly silenced the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, rendering it speechless. "You have no other choice! Hurry up—my patience is limited!"
"I-I'll go with you!" The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass ultimately made its choice. Compared to being uprooted and losing the possibility of rebirth, its own life or death was insignificant. It knew clearly what was more important.
"Very good. You made the right choice!" Zhu Ziyang smiled. "Don't worry, I won't really kill you. I'm just relocating you."
With that, Zhu Ziyang took out a prepared jade box, opened it, and placed it in front of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, gesturing for it to enter on its own.
"I think, as a 100,000-year soul beast, your vitality should allow you to survive for some time after leaving your roots, right?" Zhu Ziyang asked.
"At most half a year!" The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, now obediently detached from its roots and lying in the jade box, said listlessly. "I hope you keep your promise and find me a new place soon."
"Don't worry, I will." Zhu Ziyang said calmly, then closed the jade box and stored it in the Star Flame Ring.
Moments later, Huo Yuhao had selected seven immortal herbs. Zhu Ziyang was surprised because he thought one of them would be for Wang Dong'er. But Huo Yuhao himself told Zhu Ziyang that each herb corresponded to a person—and unfortunately, none was for Wang Dong'er.
Clearly, although Huo Yuhao hadn't said it outright, his feelings for Wang Dong'er after Xiao Xiao's incident could no longer return to what they were. It was unclear whether their martial soul fusion skill could still be used.
The two left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and returned to the academy.
Coincidentally, upon arriving back at the academy, they ran into Wang Dong'er at the gate. It seemed she had just returned from outside as well.
"Yuhao, Big Senior Brother!" Seeing Zhu Ziyang and Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong'er's face lit up with a surprised smile, and she immediately walked toward them.
"Dong'er." A smile appeared on Huo Yuhao's face, though it was somewhat forced. In truth, Huo Yuhao knew Xiao Xiao's incident had little to do with Wang Dong'er, but for some reason, he couldn't forget the image of Wang Dong'er appearing before him, carrying Xiao Xiao on her back. Perhaps he shouldn't have been indecisive.
"Dong'er, did you just return from home?" Zhu Ziyang asked with a smile.
"Mm." Wang Dong'er nodded, her smile unchanged, though her eyes held a hint of pleading as she looked at Huo Yuhao. "I saw that Yuhao had preserved Xiao Xiao in ice. Coincidentally, my family has a Mysterious Ice Bed that should help Xiao Xiao, so I brought it. Yuhao, here, for you."
Wang Dong'er handed Huo Yuhao a soul guidance ring. Even through the soul guidance device, Zhu Ziyang could feel the chill emanating from it. Clearly, the Mysterious Ice Bed Wang Dong'er mentioned was a rare treasure.
"This…" Huo Yuhao's face showed hesitation. He instinctively wanted to refuse Wang Dong'er—he didn't want further entanglements with her; being ordinary friends was fine. But when he heard the Mysterious Ice Bed would benefit Xiao Xiao and saw the pleading in Wang Dong'er's eyes, his heart ached. "Alright, thank you, Dong'er."
Huo Yuhao carefully took the soul guidance ring from Wang Dong'er, avoiding touching her hand, then bid farewell to them and left directly.
Watching Huo Yuhao's departing back, a bitter, miserable smile appeared on Wang Dong'er's face. She now hated the Valley of Love to death. She had never agreed to share Yuhao with Xiao Xiao; the three of them had gotten along harmoniously before. But because of that meddling Valley of Love, everything was ruined!
Now, she probably could never enter Huo Yuhao's heart again. Thinking of this, Wang Dong'er's heart twisted in pain. Ever since leaving the Valley of Love, the Haodong Power she and Huo Yuhao were proud of had disappeared, and the connection between their martial souls was severed. She knew this was because Huo Yuhao had closed his heart to her.
She really hated it!
"Big Senior Brother, do you think Yuhao and I can ever go back to how things were?" Wang Dong'er's voice was filled with deathly stillness and despair.
"It's not necessarily impossible." Hearing her words, Zhu Ziyang sighed inwardly. His little junior sister was also a pitiful person—she was an innocent victim of manipulation. He advised, "The tragedy between you wasn't caused by you but by the god who toyed with people's emotions. If you want to reconcile with Yuhao, then cultivate hard. Strive to assist him when he faces the gods!"
"Really?" A glimmer appeared in Wang Dong'er's eyes. Like grasping a lifeline, she stared at Zhu Ziyang, her voice trembling as she asked.
"Really!" Zhu Ziyang nodded solemnly.
"I understand!" With Zhu Ziyang's affirmation, a spark of life returned to Wang Dong'er's nearly lifeless heart. She immediately brimmed with determination and shouted, "I will definitely work hard!"
With that, Wang Dong'er ran into the academy, leaving Zhu Ziyang standing there with an inexplicable look of pity. How should he put it—his little junior sister might be a bit lovesick. There were many questionable points in what he had just said, yet she didn't question any of them and believed him outright. It felt a bit absurd.
"Sigh, whatever. How far they can go is up to fate—it has nothing to do with me." Zhu Ziyang sighed, his figure flashed, and he vanished.
When Zhu Ziyang reappeared, he was back in the Tianyuan Pavilion. After brief preparations, he took out all the herbs gathered from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, categorized them, and placed them before him. Finally, he brought out a large cauldron.
It was obvious what Zhu Ziyang intended to do—he was about to start pill refining. Since entering the inner court, he rarely refined pills because Elder Zhuang handled them. But that didn't mean his pill-refining skills had stagnated. On the contrary, he had never stopped theoretical research over the years.
Theoretically, his pill refining level had surpassed Elder Zhuang's, but he hadn't practiced it yet, so he couldn't be 100% sure. Still, it should at least match his theory.
Confidently, he patted the cauldron in front of him. This cauldron was a rank 9 soul guidance device borrowed from Elder Zhuang, who had no plans to refine pills recently, so he lent it to Zhu Ziyang. He wasn't worried about Zhu Ziyang damaging it—after all, as the Tianyuan Pavilion Master, Zhu Ziyang wouldn't break a subordinate's item without compensation, right?
After preheating the cauldron, Zhu Ziyang began inspecting the herbs.
The pill that mobilized him so greatly was naturally no ordinary pill. In fact, it was a peerless treasure pill he found after scouring ancient records in the library, called the Origin Golden Pill. It was said to be refined from exactly eighty-one types of spiritual medicines and immortal herbs, with powerful effects: reviving the dead, regenerating flesh and bones, transforming mortal marrow, and forging a divine body.
Zhu Ziyang was skeptical of the book's description of the pill's effects, but judging from the refining method and required herbs, he felt it was worth trying. If it failed, it was just a waste of herbs. But if it succeeded, the payoff would be huge.
No sooner said than done. With the cauldron ready, Zhu Ziyang began following the pill formula's steps and techniques.
The most difficult and complex step in refining the Origin Golden Pill was purifying the herbs. The pill required eighty-one types, each needing to be purified into essence liquid. Generally, the higher the herb quality, the harder the purification. The lowest quality among the eighty-one herbs for the Origin Golden Pill was high-level spiritual herbs—the difficulty was unimaginable.
Zhu Ziyang spent three full days purifying all the herbs into essence.
With all herbs purified into essence liquid, the second step—fusion—began. This step was extremely intricate; the order of adding each essence was fixed, allowing no carelessness. Zhu Ziyang's mind remained tense throughout, with no relaxation.
After about a day and a night, the fusion of the eighty-one herb essences was complete. A rich, pill fragrance had already filled the entire Tianyuan Pavilion. If not for the pavilion's excellent isolation, the fragrance would have attracted many people.
Zhu Ziyang had no intention of resting. He pressed the advantage to complete the third step: pill condensation.
His expression was extremely serious. By adjusting the soul power injected into the cauldron, he controlled the flame temperature. After careful attempts, he found the optimal temperature for condensation. Maintaining this flame, he slowly controlled a small mass of liquid, gradually compressing it with the fire. Time passed quietly.
About two days later, a muffled sound came from the cauldron, followed by a surge of white vapor from the top. The pill fragrance was now visible to the naked eye. With each breath Zhu Ziyang took, he inhaled heaven and earth origin qi gathered here due to the Origin Golden Pill's refining, dense to the point of near-liquid.
"It's done!" Joy appeared on Zhu Ziyang's face. His exhausted mind finally relaxed, so he didn't open the cauldron to check immediately. Instead, he sat cross-legged and entered meditation.
He was too tired. For nearly a week, his mental state had been tense. Now he needed rest to recover, and he couldn't waste the room full of pill fragrance and heaven and earth origin qi. Absorbing it would also increase his cultivation a bit.
For the current Zhu Ziyang, any chance to increase cultivation absolutely could not be wasted.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"The novel is already finished on Patreon."
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