Divine Pill Peak, Pill Tower.
At the entrance of the several-hundred-zhang-tall tower, only two guarding disciples stood at the moment.
Compared to the herb garden, the Pill Tower had far fewer guards. Though the pill recipes were invaluable, the presence of a Spirit Transformation-level demonic beast inside meant these disciples would be little more than cannon fodder if a thief could overpower such a creature.
Not far away, hidden among the trees, Ye Chuan sat perched on a branch, observing everything. With his spiritual sense, he could easily detect the formidable aura emanating from within the Pill Tower.
"Spirit Transformation realm, huh," Ye Chuan mused.
Demonic beasts weren’t exactly known for their spellcasting prowess, but fortunately, Ye Chuan had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. It was worth a try.
In the next instant, he teleported inside.
"Hmm?" One of the dozing disciples suddenly stirred, nudging his companion. "Hey, did you feel that? Like a cold gust of wind just blew past?"
"What cold gust? You must be dreaming."
"Tch, whatever."
Meanwhile, Ye Chuan had already infiltrated the Pill Tower—barriers and restrictions meant nothing to him.
Magic immunity!
"..." Ye Chuan stepped into the tower’s interior, where various alchemy tools, pill furnaces, and books were neatly arranged. Finding no one else inside, he began his search.
The lower floors held nothing of real value—just basic alchemy techniques and improvement methods.
For an ordinary alchemist, these would be treasures. But for Ye Chuan? Useless. He didn’t need techniques—just a tap of his finger and a quick animation sequence.
"Ah well, might as well take them." With a wave of his hand, the furnaces and books vanished into his spatial storage.
[Item: Dilapidated Pill Furnace
A shoddy furnace with a high chance of exploding.]
[Item: Secondhand Pill Furnace from a Beauty Alchemist
A broken-down furnace.]
[Item: Alchemy Methods
Worthless.]
...
No surprises there. These were probably just training materials for Divine Pill Peak’s disciples. Understandable.
Ye Chuan continued upward, noting that each floor had its own set of restrictions—just like the Sword Pavilion in Flying Sword Peak. The higher he went, the better the treasures.
"Mine now." He didn’t even bother inspecting the items. The moment he saw them, every book and artifact on the shelves disappeared into his inventory.
No time to waste. Floor by floor, he ascended, looting everything in sight.
Finally, at the very top, Ye Chuan paused at the stairway. A powerful presence loomed ahead.
"This is the place..." He teleported again, appearing in a hidden corner. Thanks to his Chaos Immortal Body, he didn’t have to worry about being detected by spiritual senses.
Holding his breath, he pressed his back against the moss-covered wall. After confirming no movement, he cautiously peeked out, following the faint but oppressive aura.
Moonlight filtered through the dark stained-glass dome above, casting jagged shadows on the weathered stone floor. There, coiled in the dim light, was a massive beast.
The creature stretched ten meters long, its bronze mane crackling with dark purple lightning. Three ferocious lion heads were arranged in a triangular formation, each maw lined with dagger-like fangs.
Its enormous wings, covered in obsidian scales, gleamed ominously, their edges sharp as blades. With every slow, rumbling breath, waves of pressure rippled outward.
A thick chain, embedded deep into the beast’s neck, pulsed with eerie crimson runes—testament to its untamed savagery.
"Hmm..." Ye Chuan withdrew slightly. "A Spirit Transformation-level demonic beast. Yeah, looks plenty fierce."
But seeing the purple lightning coursing through its body, he felt a bit more at ease.
At least it wasn’t purely a physical fighter. If it relied on elemental attacks like lightning or fire, he had nothing to fear.
His gaze swept the room, landing on a shelf filled with pill recipes and high-grade alchemy tools. Given their placement at the pinnacle of the tower—guarded by such a beast—they couldn’t be ordinary.
Too bad they were just out of his spatial storage’s range. Otherwise, he could’ve swiped them from a distance and saved himself the trouble.
"Time for you guys to shine." Shadows pooled at Ye Chuan’s feet, spreading outward until dozens of shadowy beasts materialized—each at the peak of the Crystal Core realm.
"Roar..."
The slumbering beast stirred, its eyes snapping open as lightning crackled across its wings. To its bewilderment, it found itself surrounded by a pack of shadowy creatures.
You’re awake.
"Roar?" The beast blinked, as if wondering if it was still dreaming.
Then it roared, shaking the entire Pill Tower!
The shadow clones lunged, launching a full-on gang assault. Though their attacks couldn’t pierce the beast’s defenses, the momentary distraction was enough—Ye Chuan teleported to the shelf, grabbed everything, and vanished.
BOOM!
Thunderbolts rained down as the beast unleashed its fury, but the shadow clones remained unfazed, completely immune to the lightning.
Realizing magic was useless, the beast snarled and chomped down on one of the shadow wolves, crushing it instantly.
Seeing physical attacks work, the three-headed lion went berserk, tearing through the clones with brutal efficiency. Within moments, the shadows were obliterated.
"ROAR!" The beast bellowed triumphantly, sending pebbles skittering across the floor with the force of its cry.
Whoever dared provoke the great Lion King would pay with their life!
But then—
Wait.
Something was off.
All three heads swiveled, scanning the room. The shelf was empty. Not a single item remained.
Impossible. The beast was certain it hadn’t damaged the shelf, and the protective barriers should’ve shielded the contents from the battle’s aftermath!
The ferocious beast’s expression twisted into something almost comically bewildered.
Just then, the commotion drew the attention of nearby disciples.
"How—?! Everything’s gone!"
"It’s that thief again! Alert the elders!!"