Chapter 475 - 450: Meeting Yinuo, Knowing the Inside Story

In just half a month, Lu Yan was able to operate the furnace and refine elixirs on his own. Although the first batch failed and the materials were wasted, he successfully produced two finished Soul Pills on his second attempt.

When the finished Soul Pills appeared, another Avatar condensed and emerged from the Dao Book.

The Soul Elixir Avatar.

"Indeed, alchemy can also condense an Avatar. Dao Book, the Dao Book, as long as it belongs to a type of Dao, it can condense an Avatar. The way of alchemy is also a Dao."

Lu Yan was elated.

Lu Yan refined Soul Pills so quickly that even Dan Hua was stirred, taking the two Soul Pills Lu Yan had made in his hands and inspecting them meticulously, nodding in satisfaction.

"Master, since Zhang Wei has such talent, why not simply take him as a disciple?"

Yan Xue suggested softly beside Dan Hua.

"The talent for alchemy is high, but after all, he has just started and needs further observation and testing,"

Dan Hua said.

Returning to his bedroom, Lu Yan immediately took out an Immortal Corpse and fed it to the Dao Book to accelerate the progress of the Soul Elixir Avatar.

But to Lu Yan’s astonishment, the Soul Elixir Avatar’s progress was extremely slow, requiring ten times more energy than Divine-level Martial Arts.

"It looks like I’ll have to use the corpses of the Immortal beings from the Immortal Realm."

Lu Yan thought to himself.

He had no qualms about it; as his cultivation level increased, it would become easier for him to hunt down beings from the Immortal Realm.

With a wave of his hand, he took out the remains of the Purple Eye Celestial Ox and fed them to the Dao Book.

As expected of an Immortal Corpse, even though it was damaged, it contained astonishing energy.

The progress of the Soul Elixir Avatar rapidly increased, and after two days, the Soul Elixir Avatar reached its highest level, the Unity of Man and Elixir.

Lu Yan felt as though he had hundreds to thousands of years of experience in refining Soul Pills; now, he could refine them with complete ease.

"I mustn’t stand out too much; advance step by step and control the pace."

Lu Yan reminded himself.

"Eh, the Dao Book has gone into slumber — is it about to evolve?"

Lu Yan noticed the Dao Book being enveloped in a cocoon of light, motionless.

He had seen this situation before.

The longer he possessed the Dao Book, the more certain he was that it had suffered heavy damage and was severely impaired, consuming immortal power to heal itself.

"Is it because it consumed the Immortal of the Immortal Realm which caused the Dao Book to gain significant repairs and needs to hibernate?"

Lu Yan speculated and looked forward to the outcome.

What new functions would the Dao Book have when it emerged from its cocoon?

In the following days, Lu Yan gradually showcased his talent for alchemy, with the success rate and quality of the Soul Pills progressively improving, even surpassing many Soul Pills on the market.

Therefore, it was natural for the Soul Pills he refined to be sent to Shen Yinuo for her cultivation.

...

At the top of Skull Fire Mountain, within a secret chamber, there sat a beautiful figure, cross-legged — it was Shen Yinuo.

Suddenly, there came a voice from outside.

"Miss Yinuo, I have brought the Soul Pills for you."

A shriveled voice sounded.

"Come in."

Shen Yinuo spoke indifferently.

An old woman with white hair walked in, holding a jade box in her hands.

"Miss Yinuo, these are the newly refined Soul Pills from the Elixir Workshop. They are of excellent quality; Miss Yinuo should cultivate diligently to soon cross over the Heavenly Tribulation and achieve Immortality, to truly be carefree and at ease,"

The old crone showed a withered smile, her wrinkles piling up like mountains.

"I know, you may leave."

Shen Yinuo waved her off.

"Yes."

The old crone bowed and exited the room, closing the heavy door behind her. Her smile immediately vanished, replaced by a cold and predatory grin.

"Little girl, cultivate well, and step into Immortality soon. When that time comes, the mountain master will take your place and then break through to the Immortal Fifth Layer, taking us to the Origin Continent."

The old crone left, laughing coldly.

Inside the secret chamber.

Shen Yinuo opened the jade box, which neatly contained rows of Soul Pills.

Shen Yinuo casually took out one pill and swallowed it, beginning to refine it.

But moments later, she suddenly opened her mouth, and a tiny glimmer of light flew out.

Shen Yinuo reached out and captured the faint light in her grasp, her gaze as bright as the stars, with a powerful aura uncontrollably spreading around her.

"Soul energy, this is Lu Yan’s soul energy, how could it be inside this Soul Pill? Could he already be at Skull Fire Mountain, in the Elixir Workshop?"

Shen Yinuo revealed a look of surprise and excitement, her thoughts rapidly churning.

Just now, as she refined the Soul Pill, she found it contained a strand of soul energy.

Initially, she thought it was an accident where a Soul Elixir Master had let some of their soul energy slip into the pill during its refinement.

It’s not uncommon for soul energy to appear in pills refined by Soul Elixir Masters as they use their souls in the process.

But upon closer identification, she discovered the strand of soul energy was incredibly familiar; it was unmistakably Lu Yan’s.

The soul energy of every person is unique and cannot deceive anyone.

"Lu Yan must have come to Skull Fire Mountain, right inside the Elixir Workshop; he is using this strand of soul energy to inform me. I must meet with him."

Shen Yinuo said to herself.

However, she didn’t act immediately but waited for three days.

After three days, she emerged from the secret chamber.

"Miss Yinuo, where are you going?"

The old crone who had delivered the pills appeared again, blocking Shen Yinuo’s way.

"The Soul Pills you brought this time are of exceptional quality and are perfect for my cultivation. After refining them, I felt significant improvements. I’m quite curious about the Elixir Master. Who refined these pills?"

Shen Yinuo asked.

"The Soul Pill comes from the Elixir Workshop, but I do not know which Elixir Master refined it,"

the old crone said.

"I need to visit the Elixir Workshop and meet that Elixir Master to discuss the matter of the Soul Pill. If he can refine it according to my requirements with slight modifications, it would be of even greater help to me."

Shen Yinuo said.

"Improve the Soul Pill, you say? Isn’t that risky? It might increase the toxicity of the pill,"

the old crone said, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Even if it does increase the toxicity a bit, it doesn’t matter. As you should know, my Great Sun Melting Furnace can remove the pill toxins. As long as it can speed up my cultivation, everything is fine. I believe the master wouldn’t refuse me, especially since master has placed a Soul Ban within my Primordial Spirit. What’s there to fear that I might run away?"

Shen Yinuo said.

"Miss is joking, then I will accompany Miss to the Elixir Workshop,"

the old crone said.

Shen Yinuo nodded her head.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the Elixir Workshop where Dan Hua personally welcomed them.

"Master Dan Hua, who crafted the most recent batch of Soul Pills? Miss Yinuo would like to meet the Elixir Master in question to discuss the matter of the Soul Pill,"

the old crone inquired.

"The most recent batch of Soul Pills? It should be made by a newly admitted disciple. What’s the matter? Is there a problem?"

Master Dan Hua asked.

"No problem at all, the quality is outstanding, extremely suitable for me. That’s why I want to meet him personally, to see if it can be modified to be even more suitable for me,"

Shen Yinuo said.

"Alright, wait here for a moment, I’ll fetch that disciple for you,"

Dan Hua said.

Before long, Dan Hua brought Lu Yan over.

"Yinuo..."

Upon seeing Shen Yinuo, Lu Yan’s heart couldn’t help beating faster for a few moments, but he quickly concealed it.

"Zhang Wei, this is the new personal disciple taken in by our lord, Miss Shen Yinuo. Do not be rude."

Dan Hua said.

At the Immortal Realm, one’s sensitivity to qi-blood is exceptionally sharp. Lu Yan’s rapid heartbeat didn’t escape Dan Hua’s detection, although he merely thought it was because Lu Yan had seen a beautiful woman.

"Yes,"

Lu Yan nodded again and again.

"Miss Yinuo, this is Zhang Wei, who has refined this batch of Soul Pills,"

Dan Hua introduced.

Shen Yinuo gave Lu Yan a few looks.

Since Lu Yan had joined Skull Fire Mountain, he naturally had disguised himself by changing his appearance.

Because Chi Luan, capitalizing on the moment they were battling Zhao Zhihuan of the Immortal Clan at the Immortal Realm, took Shen Yinuo, they must have been watched secretly, perhaps even seen by Lu Yan.

Thus, when joining Skull Fire Mountain, it was natural for Lu Yan not to show his real face.

However, he merely adjusted his facial muscles slightly, not daring to make too drastic a change, lest he be detected.

"The two of you, I would like to have a private talk with him, to ask about the Soul Pill,"

Shen Yinuo said.

"Of course, you can. Zhang Wei, after a while, make sure you cooperate well with Miss Yinuo,"

Dan Hua instructed.

"Yes,"

Lu Yan said.

The old crone hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t say anything.

In the back courtyard, there was a stone table set with some food and drinks. Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo sat across from each other.

"Lu Yan, let us communicate covertly with our souls while outwardly discussing the matter of the Soul Pill,"

Shen Yinuo transmitted to Lu Yan with her soul while outwardly saying, "Elixir Master Zhang Wei, I have taken the Soul Pill you refined, and the quality felt excellent. Could you introduce me to the method of refining it?"

"Alright, Yinuo, how have you been during this time?"

Lu Yan transmitted with his soul, without any visible change in demeanor, while he started to explain the method of refining the Soul Pill.

"I’m fine, just not free to move around. The master of Skull Fire Mountain has placed restrictions upon my Primordial Spirit. If I leave Skull Fire Mountain within a range of eight thousand miles, the master immediately becomes aware,"

Shen Yinuo said.

"A Soul Ban has been placed upon your soul? It seems that the master of Skull Fire Mountain doesn’t truly wish to cultivate you, for what reason would one treat their own personal disciple this way?"

Rage began to swell in Lu Yan’s soul as he transmitted this.

"Lu Yan, you are right. When Chi Luan captured me, she was covetous of my Great Sun Melting Furnace. But after arriving at Skull Fire Mountain, they didn’t make me bring forth the Great Sun Melting Furnace for their understanding. Instead, the master took me on as a disciple, placed restrictions upon my Primordial Spirit to keep me from leaving Skull Fire Mountain, and dedicated resources to cultivating me wholeheartedly, wishing for me to step into immortality as soon as possible."

"They claim it’s for my protection, but I feel it’s because my cultivation level is still low and the mysteries of the Great Sun Melting Furnace haven’t fully emerged. Once I reach Immortality, the Great Sun Melting Furnace will surely be even more mystical, and that would be the time for them to kill me and take the furnace,"

Shen Yinuo said.

Lu Yan’s heart shook, feeling that Shen Yinuo’s speculation was highly likely accurate.

"Yinuo, what is your cultivation level now?"

Lu Yan said.

"I have surpassed the Three Nine Heavenly Tribulations,"

Shen Yinuo said.

"Crossed the Tribulation?"

Lu Yan’s heart shook again, about to ask Shen Yinuo why she didn’t suppress her cultivation knowing the dangers of crossing the tribulation.

But upon further reflection, he understood Shen Yinuo’s predicament.

If she purposely suppressed her cultivation level, the master of Skull Fire Mountain would definitely notice, and she would likely die even sooner.

Her only choice was to press on and elevate her level, just not too quickly.