Chapter 245 - The Profound Pill Camp Is About to Disappear!
On the final level of the Pill Tower, the oppressive pressure vanished along with Mo Huaiyuan, and the three no longer felt suffocated.
Shen Xuan felt lighter, immediately becoming much more agile. “It’s gone?”
Murong Yan appeared completely bewildered. “What happened? Could this have been a test? We lasted this long, did we pass it?”
Yang Ying shook his head. “Probably not. Look at it.”
The humanoid figure that had stood motionless before pill chamber forty-five spun around once more. It drifted toward the second-floor entrance and vanished from sight in an instant.
Shen Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly. “It moved again? What’s the reason this time—huh?”
His expression shifted dramatically. Everything before his eyes seemed to be covered by a thin veil, becoming hazy. Within that haze, there was a sense of illusion.
Murong Yan was startled and uncertain. “What’s going on?”
Yang Ying sighed. “This whole place is going to disappear soon.”
Having been there before, he understood this place a bit better than the other two.
Shen Xuan swallowed hard. “Don’t tell me it has something to do with Brother Gu?”
Murong Yan was the first to make a move. “Only one way to find out. Nine times out of ten, this change has something to do with him!”
***
Gu Han was still frowning in frustration inside pill chamber number one. Just then, he sensed something and whipped his head around. Somehow, Dan Chen had found his way here!
After staring blankly at the pill furnace for a moment, Dan Chen waved his hands repeatedly, forming a set of hand seals. They were far more complex and profound than the ones used to unseal the restrictions.
Gu Han was startled, then overjoyed. That’s right! I don’t know how to refine pills, but someone else does!
Dan Chen was the youngest and most promising alchemist in the pill tower. When it came to alchemy dao, he was ten thousand times better than Gu Han!
Without hesitation, Gu Han immediately performed the same set of hand seals. Dan Chen provided the hand seals, while he provided the spirit power. The two coordinated seamlessly!
However, Gu Han had clearly overestimated his cultivation level and the grade of the pill. The moment the hand seals were formed, a tremendous sucking force suddenly came from the pill furnace. Like a whale devouring water, it drained a third of his spirit power. The flickering, unstable pill flame temporarily stabilized.
Gu Han instinctively wanted to pull back. Yet the pill flame pressed down with unbearable force, gripping him tightly and constantly draining his spirit power. There was no escape. Now, he had only two paths. He would either be drained completely and fail, or survive until the pill was fully refined.
As if I’d give up! No matter what, I will obtain this pill!
Gritting his teeth, he relentlessly stuffed the previously scavenged pills into his mouth. Even though most of their medicinal power had been lost, they were still more potent than ordinary pills.
A torrent of spirit power poured into him, swiftly absorbed and transformed into cultivation by his extraordinary meridians. However, it still wasn’t enough. Although the rate at which his spirit power was depleting had slowed, there was still no hope of enduring the full twenty minutes.
More!
His eyes were bloodshot. He took out even more pills and crammed them all into his mouth. If he could absorb divine power, then why not spirit qi? The extraordinary meridians he gained after his rebirth were his foundation.
Murong Yan and the others, who had rushed over, were dumbfounded upon seeing this scene.
***
Meanwhile, inside the great palace...
“Gone again!”
“Greedy bastard!”
“Damn it, he beat us to it again!”
Chu Kuang and his group cursed loudly, full of hostility. They hadn’t even gotten a single scrap, having only licked the bottom of the pot.
One could only imagine how overjoyed they were upon discovering these hundred-plus pill chambers. They had intended to thoroughly loot them, but the result disappointed them once more.
If the previous palaces were like they’d been licked clean by a dog, then this place had been licked ten times over. They hadn’t found even one ruined pill. Not knowing the whole story, they of course attributed all of this to Gu Han.
Wu Han stared intently at Di Kan and Zhao Mengyou, blazing with anger. “I told you! Forget those palaces for now, finding him and getting the pills is the real priority! You just wouldn’t listen! And now? He had taken everything again!”
Despite joining forces, breaking through the palaces’ restrictions still took a considerable amount of time. They were too late.
Di Kan wouldn’t accept this criticism. “Stop with the useless talk! When I suggested sharing, didn’t you all agree?”
Zhao Mengyou remained impassive. “Correct. And when we were dividing the pills, no one saw you taking any less.”
Chu Kuang rubbed his brow, suppressing the anger in his heart. “Enough! He should be in that tower right now. The opportunity there is the most important. If we keep arguing, I’m afraid—huh?”
His pupils constricted sharply. Their surroundings were growing hazy and indistinct, as if fading from reality. Of course, they were familiar with this situation.
“Damn it! The Profound Pill Pavilion is about to disappear!”
Chu Kuang stopped hesitating. “Let’s go! We must force him to hand over the pills before the place disappears! Once we’re outside, forcing him won’t be so easy! He has the backing of the Flame Emperor’s legacy, after all!”
They no longer had the heart to argue and rushed straight for the giant tower. The pavilion’s opportunities were beyond imagination! They had to force a portion of those benefits from him!
***
Inside pill chamber number one, Gu Han barely maintained the status quo, downing pill after pill. Yet he didn’t dare pause for even a moment. He knew stopping would drain him and destroy the pill. With all his attention on the pill furnace, he didn’t notice Murong Yan and the others arriving.
Unbeknownst to him, the pill was at its final moment of formation. Simply maintaining the pill flame was enough, which reduced the consumption of spirit power significantly.
Even though his cultivation level wasn’t high, he managed to preserve the pill furnace by sheer luck. Had it been anyone else, they would have failed miserably. Not even Chu Kuang, with Dan Chen’s hand seals, could have succeeded.
Murong Yan tried to call out to him, “Brother—”
However, Shen Xuan stopped her. “Don’t. He’s in a very special state right now. He absolutely cannot be disturbed, otherwise the consequences would be dire.”
Silently, the few of them withdrew and stood guard outside.
Murong Yan sniffed the air, instantly discerning the pill’s purpose. She couldn’t help but grin. “Yang Guy, it looks like your luck isn’t so bad.”
Shen Xuan smiled. “Junior Brother Yang, congratulations. The only worry now is whether he can get that pill before this place completely disappears.”
He could see that the place was growing hazier.
Yang Ying remained silent, his feelings complicated. He stared at Gu Han, whose eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and persisted stubbornly. A thought surfaced in Yang Ying’s heart, Maybe, I really could be saved?
Just then, Shen Xuan’s expression shifted slightly, as if sensing something. “Shit! They’re here!”
