He has a bold idea...

Su Jiu stepped back slightly, her arms instinctively crossing in front of her chest in an attempt to hide the bandages that were clearly the wrong size.

Her fox-like eyes now stared warily at Su Ji.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Though the two of them had long known each other inside and out, and had even gone through the deepest sparring sessions countless times, a certain degree of modesty was still necessary.

Su Ji, however, just gave a nonchalant "hmph," followed by an "oh," without moving his gaze in the slightest.

His self-righteous expression only deepened the blush spreading across Su Jiu's cheeks.

"Then let's restore our cultivation first!"

She stamped her foot, forcibly steering the conversation back on track.

Only then did Su Ji withdraw his intensely aggressive gaze, shrugged, and stopped teasing her on the matter.

Restoring cultivation wasn't difficult.

What was difficult was figuring out how to do it without raising suspicion.

With injuries like his, any other cultivator would have been dead for sure.

Golden core shattered. Spiritual meridians severed.

Yet he had somehow survived. That alone was absurd, but still within the realm of what people could accept.

He didn't dare make a big show of it, because Yun Yao came by to check on him every single day.

If the changes in his physical condition were too obvious, Yun Yao, with her inability to keep her mouth shut, would have the entire Yin Yang Sect knowing he was a monster capable of "reforging his golden core" within three days.

People's hearts were hard to fathom.

With an ability like that, he must be harboring some earth-shattering secret.

If the Yin Yang Sect got greedy, with only half his strength restored at that time, he would have no means to fight back.

As for leaving the mountain? Not even worth mentioning.

A cripple who had lost all his cultivation, diving headfirst into the lawless, dog-eat-dog Chaos Star Sea, was no different from throwing himself into a meat grinder.

So, he had to wait for an opportunity.

And now, that opportunity had conveniently arrived.

Using "healing through alchemy" as a pretext, his subsequent recovery speed would still appear exaggerated, but it would at least fall within reasonable bounds.

After all, a "master" who could instruct a Nascent Soul realm alchemy grandmaster might just have some rare pill formulas on hand. That didn't sound so hard to swallow.

Besides, even if the Yin Yang Sect did harbor ill intentions afterward, as long as he had fully recovered his strength, he wouldn't be so afraid.

At worst, he'd just fight another battle.

Also...

There was now almost no doubt that he was a fire-attributed spell cultivator.

And the wanted poster from Emperor Courtyard Mountain depicted a fierce, terrifying spear cultivator. What did that have to do with a handsome spell cultivator like him?

Even if someone wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't go that far.

After all, people's energy was limited.

Most cultivators presumed that one cultivator wouldn't pursue two completely opposite paths.

This meant he had also successfully dodged a potential threat.

"Alright, I'll refine some pills first, then I'll feed you some medicine."

Su Ji pointed to a relatively empty corner deep inside the cave dwelling.

"You go cultivate over there."

"Big brother, can you really refine pills? Are you sure you're not just bluffing? Before, you couldn't even recognize the ingredients."

"Before was before. Now is now."

Su Jiu nodded, didn't ask further, and with a flicker of her figure, silently melted into the shadows of the corner.

Only then did Su Ji sit down cross-legged.

He didn't start immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes first and ran through the entire cave's structure, as well as the nodes of every formation, in his mind.

Elder Yao's cave dwelling was indeed a great place.

Not only did it have a full set of formations, but the key point was that it had been baked by alchemical flames for years, making the fire-attributed spiritual energy incredibly dense. It was practically a natural sacred ground for pill refining.

After confirming everything was safe.

Su Ji activated his intention.

Clatter, clatter—

A series of crisp sounds rang out.

It wasn't just a pile or two. Instead, a small mountain formed from all kinds of rare medicinal herbs suddenly appeared before him!

A thousand-year-old Corpse Grass, still carrying the fragrance of soil;

Heart of the Earth Fire Lotus seeds, bright red and radiating scorching waves of heat;

And those gleaming Dragon Scale fragments...

All of Elder Yao's belongings, hoarded over the past few centuries, had been thoroughly dumped out by Su Ji without the slightest hesitation.

The dense, rich fragrance of herbs instantly filled the entire cave dwelling. Just one whiff made one feel refreshed, as if all the limbs and bones were at ease.

"This old man actually has some good stuff."

Su Ji smacked his lips, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

Then, with another sweep of his hand.

Clatter, clatter!

Another small mountain appeared.

A small mountain made of tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones!

The pure spiritual energy formed an almost tangible thick mist, instantly enveloping his entire body.

Everything was ready.

He had a bold idea...

The Night King's legacy required an ocean of heaven and earth’s spiritual energy to repair the golden core.

But the efficiency with which his body absorbed spiritual energy, as well as the quality it could handle, had their limits. It couldn't be done all at once.

And yet, the Desolate Fallen Alchemy Technique mentioned a method of using the body as a furnace, which could allow the body to temporarily contain a massive spiritual sea and overwhelming medicinal power.

If he combined the two, could he directly skip the furnace-step and rebuild the golden core?

Theory exists. Time to start the practice.

Su Ji didn't hesitate any longer.

He pressed one hand firmly onto the mountain of medicinal herbs!

"Buzz—!"

There was no need for a furnace.

At that moment, Su Ji himself became the flame!

Those rare herbs, even before they fully touched his skin, began to wither and weather away at a visible speed, turning into streams of pure medicinal power!

At the same time, the other hand pressing on the mountain of spirit stones started trembling violently.

Countless high-grade spirit stones cracked and shattered with "kacha kacha" sounds, turning into a rolling river of spiritual energy that rushed wildly along the meridians of his arm, pouring into his body!

Two completely different yet equally vast forces collided violently inside his body!

An indescribable, excruciating pain instantly engulfed his entire being!

Clearly, he didn't need low-level tricks like Returning to Void Pills.

【Using the body as a furnace, refining all things; using the soul as the flame, forging heaven and earth!】

【All things can become pills; heaven and earth can be used as ingredients!】

Su Ji suddenly released his suppression of the two rampaging forces within his body!

He let them charge recklessly through his limbs, bones, and internal organs!

Boom!

Su Ji's body, as if ignited like a barrel of gunpowder, swelled up abruptly!

Fine cracks split across the surface of his skin, and scorching hot blood mixed with the glittering points of the medicinal power surged out.

He instantly became a bloody mess!

"Big brother!"

From the corner, Su Jiu could no longer remain calm. She let out a cry, her figure flickering as she was about to rush over.

But then.

At that very moment, a new change occurred.

That cry was immediately torn apart by the violent torrent of spiritual energy.

Su Jiu's body, just about to rush over, was forcefully repelled by an invisible wave of air.

The two torrents—medicinal power and spiritual energy—collided and merged, creating an impenetrable violent force field!

"Don't come over!"

Su Ji forcibly blended those two distinct, conflicting energies together!

Boom—!!!

Su Ji's Dantian exploded completely at this moment!

The fragments of the Heavenly Palace Golden Core, which had been scattered everywhere without any sheen, were crushed even finer under the impact of this destructive force, turning into the most primal golden specks.

Then.

An unbelievable scene occurred!

Those golden specks did not dissipate. Instead, as if drawn by some fatal attraction, they began to converge wildly toward the center of the Dantian!

This was nowhere near repairing the Golden Core.

This was clearly recasting the very foundation of the Dao in an unimaginable way!

Destruction precedes creation!

Without destruction, there is no creation!

In the corner, Su Jiu stood stunned, watching this, her face etched with sheer astonishment.

She could clearly sense that the energy within Su Ji's body was undergoing an unimaginably rapid transformation—from annihilation to rebirth.

...