Refining the Elixir of Immortality

The Celestial White Jade Capital, with its twelve towers and five cities.

A staircase paved entirely with white jade led from below all the way to the heavens, and at the end of the stairs stood a door.

That door stood silently within the void.

It had no flashy special effects—just a frame formed of four white rays of light, transparent from front to back, allowing a glimpse of the beautiful scenery beyond. It was merely a rectangular frame, looking utterly ordinary.

But everyone knew—this was the Immortal Gate.

Once one stepped through, it would be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate, forever shedding one's mortal body and lifespan, no longer bound by the limitations of heaven and earth.

At the same time, the several Great Ascension-level phantom figures who had been locked in fierce combat all halted their attacks at once, sensing the surrounding spiritual energy, which had become completely empty, and frowned slightly.

"How has the spiritual energy in the space vanished?"

The head of the Fire Clan frowned deeply, activating his cultivation technique, yet he still could not absorb even a trace of spiritual energy.

With his level of cultivation, his influence spanned millions of miles, didn't it?

Yet it remained utterly empty.

The entire Eastern Wasteland seemed to have been drained dry, like fish that had lost their water, surviving only on the residual spiritual power and pills within their bodies.

Unlike the lower-level cultivators below, who stared in stunned bewilderment,

these experienced Great Ascension cultivators were merely slightly surprised.

"It's that brat's doing,"

said the head of the Liu Clan, directing his gaze toward the ascension stairs that reached the heavens, at Ye Shu standing there, and at the Azure Profound Sword in his hand, blazing with endless flowing light.

He had heard of this immortal sword's power.

"Using a large-scale teleportation formation to send the Azure Profound Sword to every corner of the Eastern Wasteland, then using the sword's ability to absorb spiritual energy to gather it all here—he's sacrificed the spiritual energy of the entire Eastern Wasteland to meet the requirements for opening the Immortal Gate?"

The Liu Clan head's voice carried a hint of awe.

Even he had to admit, this move showed incredible boldness. Under such circumstances, it would take at least ten to twenty years for the spiritual energy density of the Eastern Wasteland to recover.

"Hmph! Reckless and courting death,"

the head of the Fire Clan sneered disdainfully.

"A mere Nascent Soul cultivator, daring to try and ascend to immortality while bearing the weight of the entire Eastern Wasteland's spiritual energy? Who does he think he is? Even a true immortal reincarnated wouldn't dare do such a thing!"

The Liu Clan head did not refute.

The heads of the other four great clans shared the Fire Clan head's sentiment.

For an ordinary person to leap across two realms was virtually unheard of.

And today, one man dared to go straight from Nascent Soul to immortality!

It could only be called foolish.

Because cultivation was not simply a process of filling a container with water—if you had water, you could keep pouring it in. The body was a vessel, the soul was a vessel, and the state of mind was a vessel.

Cultivating the Dao was the process of constantly expanding oneself.

A process of understanding one's true self.

In this process, we gradually grew, just as a person eats mouthful by mouthful and grows little by little. Naturally, the amount of water one could hold would also increase.

And breaking through to a new realm was like swapping for a larger, tougher container.

From Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, each breakthrough blocked countless cultivators.

From Nascent Soul to immortality, there were five great realms in between: Spirit Severing, Return to Void, Void Refinement, the three stages of Tribulation Crossing, and Great Ascension—not to mention the smaller sub-realms within.

It was like pouring an entire ocean into a teacup.

How could the teacup expand fast enough?

It couldn't.

"Unless his breakthroughs have no bottlenecks," sneered the Fire Clan head. "Even so, under such immense spiritual pressure, even if his realm reached it, his physical body wouldn't have time to adapt."

"Right now, hosting the spiritual energy of the entire Eastern Wasteland, he's like a ticking time bomb. Once he explodes, it'll scorch millions of miles, leaving nothing alive. Even we would have to retreat for now."

The Liu Clan head suddenly changed expression.

"Could it be... that this brat's real plan is to die together with us?"

"Oh? Going all out to destroy our phantom figures?"

Hearing this, the six clan heads exchanged glances, then burst into earth-shattering laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Taking everyone down with us alongside our phantoms—interesting, truly interesting."

Listening to their unbridled laughter, the disciples of the Azure Profound Sect clenched their fists until their knuckles cracked, flames of anger burning in their eyes.

But they had to admit—

It was true.

This was simply an impossible task.

Reality seemed to confirm this. Almost the moment spiritual energy rushed into him, Ye Shu's body began to crack uncontrollably, revealing the crimson flesh beneath. Terrifying spiritual pressure gushed out through the cracks—horrifying yet magnificent.

But he remained expressionless, standing tall and proud.

The sky had grown dim.

Yet a beam of golden light seemed to defy the dark clouds, falling from the sky and landing upon the young man.

Lin Qingxue's eyes widened as she gazed in astonishment.

Ye Shu's state reminded her of the time in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, when facing Feng Mengli—he had been the same: confident, with no regard for life or death.

This moment, just like that moment.

On the white jade stairs, Ye Shu held the glowing Azure Profound Sword in one hand and finally took his first step.

Boom!

The moment his foot landed, that step instantly transformed into boundless spiritual energy, surging into Ye Shu's body in one wave.

One step—Nascent Soul Pinnacle!

Crack, crack...

Someone had already turned their head away, unable to bear watching.

But the next moment,

a series of glass-colored flames rose from Ye Shu's cracks. His body kept splitting and healing, splitting and healing, constantly walking a razor's edge;

he had somehow achieved a bizarre balance.

"It's the Green Lotus Celestial Fire!" someone exclaimed.

"No, it's the Ten Thousand Phoenix Azure Flame," the elder of the Medicine Peak said, his eyes blazing and voice trembling. "It's burning the escaping spiritual energy to repair Ye Shu's body."

"But... it's not enough."

"This is just the first step. There are still two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps ahead..."

Before his words faded, Ye Shu suddenly raised his left hand.

Whoosh!

A ball of ice-blue flame appeared in the sky, glowing brightly against the green flame as they swirled around him. Then, a stream of medicinal ingredients flew out from Ye Shu's storage ring and merged into the two flames.

"What is he doing?!" Everyone was baffled.

It was the Medicine Peak elder, with his extensive experience, who exclaimed in shock:

"He's refining pills!"

"Refining pills?"

Hearing this exclamation, the crowd finally noticed that the ice-blue flame seemed to gather into the shape of a cauldron, while the green Ten Thousand Phoenix Azure Flame burned beneath it.

He was truly refining pills!

They were perplexed.

At this critical moment, instead of focusing all his energy on healing with the Ten Thousand Phoenix Azure Flame, he was dividing his attention to refine pills. Had he gone mad?

Everyone held their breath, watching this scene intently.

"Twin fire pill refinement, using strange flames as a cauldron,"

the Medicine Peak elder muttered incredulously. "This man's pill-refining skill far surpasses my own; it's almost comparable to that unparalleled Medicine Immortal a millennium ago—and he's so young. Is he a monster?"

No one could answer.

But beyond doubt—

yes.

A man who could step onto the path to immortality within a single year—how could he not be a monster?

Within just a few breaths—

Boom—

a radiant glow burst forth, and the air filled with a rich fragrance of medicine, refreshing the soul of anyone who took a whiff.

“What kind of pill is this?”

The crowd focused their gazes.

In midair, three pills floated, each exuding a rich fragrance, distinct from one another. One was a vibrant emerald green, another fiery red like sunset clouds, and the last emitted a faint silver glow.

“A poison pill, the Ten Thousand Demon Soul Marrow Pill, and the other one... is?”

The elder of the Medicine Peak furrowed his brow slightly. It seemed familiar, but for a moment, he simply could not recall.

Even the vast phantom of a Mahayana realm cultivator seated high in the void frowned in contemplation.

They recognized the other two pills.

But this silver-white pill—they had never seen it before. What trick was this kid trying to pull?

Ye Shu said nothing. He offered no explanation.

From the moment he set foot on the path of cultivation, he had lost the ability to speak. This was a torment greater than attaining the ninth layer in three days, greater than being seared by the Azure Lotus Heavenly Flame.

All he could do was move forward in silence.

The other two pills in the void spun with a soft click. One landed in Medusa’s hand, while the other returned to his storage ring.

Only the silver-white pill remained—the pill whose name was not even worthy of being known by these lofty figures.

From the beginning of the story, it descended to its end.

The course of tales often repeats in striking ways. The solution to everything was already traced from the very start.

But from this day forward, in every corner of this continent—both seen and unseen—the name of this pill would spread. For it had granted one man the chance to walk the Immortal Path.

Today, it became Ye Shu’s Ninefold Golden Pill.

The Iron Armor Pill!