Northern Yan Chapter 54: A Strange Shape

Mo Hao did not feel annoyed. It would have been strange if he had succeeded in alchemy on his very first attempt anyway. Since he still had plenty of herbs left in his possession, he could simply take his time and try again.

Drawing on his previous experience, during his second attempt, he melted the medicinal herbs bit by bit, condensed all their therapeutic properties, and finally layered them one upon another. Summoning his full concentration, Mo Hao slowly extracted the newly formed pill.

Unfortunately, as expected, his face was once again covered in residue. However, good things take time, and he did not give up because of this setback. He continued to try, pulling out the jade boxes from his Qiankun pouch—those were the spiritual plants he had obtained from the fifth layer of the Profound Flame Abyss. After seven attempts, all of which ended in failure, Mo Hao began to wonder if there was something wrong with the alchemy tripod.

Mo Hao picked up the Dragon-Transforming Tripod and examined it repeatedly from all angles. No matter how he looked at it, this was undoubtedly an alchemy cauldron. Yet, every single time, it could successfully condense the pill into shape, but fail to extract it out. Why was that?

Next, he decided not to waste any more spiritual plants. Although the Qiankun pouch contained quite a few jade boxes, they could not withstand such flagrant wastage. Suddenly, Mo Hao thought of a possibility: ordinary alchemy cauldrons used external fire to heat and refine pills, but the Dragon-Transforming Tripod was precisely the opposite of other cauldrons. Could the method of refining pills be reversed as well? But how could the refining method be reversed?

Mo Hao carefully pondered the conventional alchemy process: first, place the spiritual plants and auxiliary herbs into the alchemy cauldron, use fire to heat the cauldron and melt the spiritual materials, and finally rely on spiritual power to solidify the refined medicinal liquid, allowing various spiritual materials to fuse together. In this way, the spiritual materials could be refined to the maximum extent, enabling them to exert their greatest efficacy.

Mo Hao decided to try the entire process in reverse. If it failed, he would think of another way.

First, Mo Hao used his spiritual power to grind the spiritual plants and auxiliary herbs into residue in mid-air. Then, using his spiritual power, he blended them together into individual pill formations, and tossed this pill made entirely of spiritual power into the Dragon-Transforming Tripod.

Inside the Dragon-Transforming Tripod, the Three-Pure Empyrean True Flame burned fiercely. Mo Hao controlled the flame to slowly heat the pill formed from spiritual power. Since he wanted to reverse the process, he would go all the way. Steeling his heart, he increased the intensity of the flame on the pill, causing the medicinal pellets to slowly disperse. Visualizing what a spiritual plant should look like, Mo Hao molded the shattered pill residue inside the cauldron into the shape of a spiritual flower. Surprisingly, Mo Hao discovered that his sculpting skills were actually quite impressive; he shaped this fused spiritual plant so that it looked remarkably authentic.

Looking at the crimson spiritual plant, Mo Hao felt that the time was ripe. Although it lacked the traditional shape of a pill, Mo Hao felt that this creation should not differ much in medicinal efficacy from a regular pill.

He cautiously channeled his spiritual power to lift the pill, and instantly, the pill detached itself from the alchemy cauldron. Although the pill looked like a spiritual plant, its actual size was only slightly larger than an ordinary pill. Mo Hao narrowed his eyes. He had practically been traumatized by those seven or eight previous failures, terrified that this time would result in an even bigger explosion.

However, the imagined catastrophe did not occur. The little finger-sized spiritual plant did not explode as feared; instead, it was smoothly lifted out of the alchemy cauldron.

Mo Hao was overjoyed. Although the shape looked somewhat bizarre, he had not expected it to actually succeed. This small tripod truly walked an unconventional path, even reversing the very method of alchemy.

Regarding this first pill he had ever refined, although he knew it was a Spirit-Awakening Pill, he still could not suppress his excitement. This was completely different from all the Spirit-Awakening Pills he had consumed in the past, which had all come from the hands of other alchemists and could never compare to this pill of his own making.

It was just that the shape of this pill could truly be described as bizarrely unusual.

Mo Hao placed the pill in the palm of his hand, tossed it upward, and swallowed it into his mouth. The pill melted the moment it touched his tongue, carrying a trace of sweetness. Once melted, the medicinal liquid flowed through his entire body like a surge of warm current.

"Huh?"

The moment he swallowed the pill into his stomach, he felt that something was amiss. The medicinal efficacy seemed somewhat different from usual. As Mo Hao sensed it closely, before he could fully process the sensation, a powerful surge of medicinal force rushed straight toward his dantian. This gave Mo Hao a huge scare; such a massive wave of medicinal power was equivalent to the output of at least ten Spirit-Awakening Pills combined.

Fortunately, Mo Hao's current cultivation realm was no longer that of the middle stage of Qi Condensation like before. At this moment, possessing the peak late-stage Qi Condensation cultivation, he easily managed to assimilate the medicinal power of the pill for his own use.

After refining the medicinal power, Mo Hao let out a long breath. He naturally understood that reversing the alchemy process would bring about certain differences—essentially, the medicinal potency of the pill would be easier to refine, and more medicinal properties would be extracted from the spiritual plant. However, under no circumstances should it lead to a tenfold increase in medicinal efficacy. This defied all conventional logic.

Fortunately, this was only a Spirit-Awakening Pill. If it had been a Ningyang Pill, the outcome would not have been so relaxed; it would have undoubtedly overwhelmed his body, equivalent to swallowing ten Ningyang Pills all at once.

Pondering deeply as he picked up the Dragon-Transforming Tripod, Mo Hao concluded that this probably had little to do with the reversed alchemy process itself; the fundamental reason lay precisely within the Dragon-Transforming Tripod. He was certain that he had truly picked up a treasure. This treasure not only aided in cultivation but could also help him make a fortune—no, rather, earn spirit stones.

At this moment, a bold idea had already formed in his mind, one that he would execute as soon as he left the Misty Mist Secret Realm.

Having finished refining the pills and recognizing that this small tripod was extraordinary, Mo Hao knew he must never use it to refine pills in front of others again. Carefully storing the small tripod back into his dantian, he raised his head to survey his surroundings, and this instantly crushed his excitement—much like pouring a basin of icy water over someone who was happily and intently playing, chilling them from head to toe.

This was because he realized that it seemed he would have to traverse the nine layers of the Profound Flame Abyss all over again. He immediately grew listless. Although the ninth layer was by far the most dangerous, the other layers of the Profound Flame Abyss had also put Mo Hao through hell. Having to walk back through them once more made him feel thoroughly miserable.

Fortunately, he was fully prepared. He took out the Dragon-Transforming Tripod once more to refine a few more pills to restore his spiritual power. It had to be said that these pills were even more effective than medium-grade spirit stones, allowing him to push through the most deadly layers of the Profound Flame Abyss that consumed the most spiritual power. The greatest threat had been that Crimson Flame Tiger, which had forced Mo Hao to run for his life. As for the fifth space, after emerging from that light gate, he discovered another light gate leading directly to the flame space of the fourth layer of the Profound Flame Abyss. True to his principle of leaving nothing behind, he thoroughly stripped the area of all its spiritual plants before finally departing through that light gate!

Finally, he emerged from the Profound Flame Abyss and returned to the Misty Mist Secret Realm. Mo Hao gazed at the towering wall of fire, from which scorching heat waves still periodically burst forth. This trip had yielded a bountiful harvest. However, had it not been for the Dragon-Transforming Tripod, he most likely would have died within the Profound Flame Abyss. It seemed that the reason many cultivators in the past had been able to enter and leave this place was either because they never reached the final layer and turned back after exploring only a few layers of the Profound Flame Abyss, or because they had perished on the ninth layer and joined the ranks of those withered skeletons!

Emerging at last from the Profound Flame Abyss, Mo Hao felt a wellspring of boundless emotions. Although his time inside the abyss was neither long nor short, he had walked the line of life and death multiple times, filling him with an intense yearning to advance to the half-step Foundation Establishment realm.

"Huh?"

The beams of light in the sky had actually multiplied significantly; the night sky no longer seemed so dim!

Looking across the horizon, a full seven pillars of light soared into the sky. How much time had passed, and yet four more Temporal Trees had been activated? At this rate, an increasing number of cultivators had learned of the Temple of Time. This meant very little time remained for Mo Hao to seclude himself for cultivation advancement.

Similarly, as more cultivators learned the news of the Temple of Time, once they realized that the Celestial Stones could not change ownership after being blood-sacrificed, they would grow even more frantic in activating the remaining two trees.

He had originally expected that upon emerging, at most five trees would have been activated. He never imagined that only two trees would remain unactivated. Having just fought tooth and nail to escape alive from the Profound Flame Abyss, the Temple of Time was about to open. Making a decisive judgment, Mo Hao flew for a day in the direction he had originally come from, casually found a cave, and set up layers of prohibitive arrays at the entrance to protect his quiet cultivation from outside disturbance. He would need to spend the next period of time in deep seclusion within, a matter that could not be taken lightly. Having arranged everything properly, he sat cross-legged upon a smoothed stone slab and began his secluded cultivation.

Outside the Misty Mist Secret Realm, the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators from the three major sects and the Void Sword Sect stood guard. Naturally, they also witnessed the seven pillars of light soaring into the sky—a sight that brought joy to some and sorrow to others. When the Void Sword Sect disciples entered the Misty Mist Secret Realm this time, the officials in charge had not even revealed the secret of the Temple of Time to the ten Qi Condensation disciples of the Void Sword Sect. After all, these ten disciples belonged to the future core talent pool that the sect intended to heavily nurture, whereas the three major sects possessed vast numbers of disciples and naturally cared little for the casualties of such lower-tier members.

Jiang Jianfeng, the master of the Void Sword Sect, wore a worried expression. Standing beside him was Meng Xin, her exquisite half-face likewise filled with anxiety. Naturally, they did not wish to see their disciples lose their lives in the Misty Mist Secret Realm over the competition for the Celestial Stones, nor did they wish for them to seize the Celestial Stones only to participate in the hopeless venture of the Temple of Time.

However, their worries were not unfounded. At this moment, apart from Mo Hao and Xu Jian, who had successfully obtained Celestial Stones, three of the remaining eight Void Sword Sect disciples had already perished in the process of seizing the stones, while several of the surviving five disciples were harboring similar thoughts.

The three major sects, on the other hand, naturally had a multitude of disciples. In fact, their arrival this time was precisely for their own sect members to secure a quota for the Temple of Time. If they successfully emerged from the Temple of Time, the rewards would be immeasurable. Mo Hao was naturally unaware of these details; back then, Xu Jian had only mentioned that the Misty Mist Secret Realm was not restricted to Qi Condensation cultivators alone, hinting that it was related to the Temple of Time, without explicitly clarifying why. The three major sects naturally knew all the secrets of the Temple of Time—namely, that clearing all the trials within the Temple of Time granted one the key to freely entering and leaving the Misty Mist Secret Realm.

For any sect, this temptation represented the ultimate benefit. Even the Profound Flame Abyss where Mo Hao had entered contained countless spiritual plants, let alone the many other areas of this place. Such inexhaustible resources served as the very capital needed to nurture disciples.

The Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators positioned on the far right among the three major sects belonged to the faction of Cold Wind Ridge. At this moment, their faces were expressionless. Leading them were two Golden Core stage elders. One elder possessed a transcendent, immortal aura, his grey robe fluttering in the wind, with a chin beard that nearly reached his feet. The other elder looked rather bizarre, with a completely bald, round head. His face was missing one eye, and running vertically across the orbital region was a long, jagged scar, presenting a slightly terrifying appearance upon a sudden glance.

The bearded elder appeared to be discussing something with the bald elder, but although his mouth moved, not a sound could be heard, indicating that he had set up a sound-isolating barrier around them.

"Liao Yuan, do you think your disciples will be the ones to secure this qualification this time, or will the disciples of our clan be the ones to win the qualification for the Temple of Time?"

The bald elder asked with a hint of amusement. Judging from his words, this Golden Core elder was actually a member of an alien race; without needing to guess, he must be a Golden Core cultivator of the Celestial Star alien race.

However, the bearded elder named Liao Yuan showed no surprise at these words and replied:

"All of this is naturally decided by the heavens. But if neither the cultivators of our Cold Wind Ridge nor the powerful cultivators of your Celestial Star alien race can secure the qualification for the Temple of Time, then I imagine the disciples of those other sects stand even less hope."

With that, the elder tilted his chin toward the factions of Flower Moon Pavilion and Glazed Palace, adding:

"That is true. Ah, by the way, the matter of the alliance between your Cold Wind Ridge and our Celestial Star race—though known to very few, paper cannot wrap up fire forever. Your Cold Wind Ridge better prepare yourselves so that you aren't caught in a state of panic when the time comes!"

Hearing these words, Elder Liao Yuan frowned, appearing somewhat reluctant to broach the subject. The alliance between Cold Wind Ridge and the Celestial Star alien race had been a forced move. Had the Nascent Soul ancestors of Cold Wind Ridge not been manipulated by a clever scheme orchestrated by a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Celestial Star race, Cold Wind Ridge would never have stooped to allying with an alien race, especially since Cold Wind Ridge itself occupied a peak position within the Cold Nether Mountain Range.

"Very well, we naturally have preparations in place regarding this matter. We have already issued orders instructing all disciples to prepare for battle at any moment. As for your Celestial Star race, you had better not go back on your word when the time comes. If your people fail to show up to assist us, what do you suppose should be done?"

"Hmph, you can rest assured about that. Our ancestors and your ancestors have already negotiated this thoroughly. In this matter, your faction and our race are people in the same boat, advancing and retreating together. Of course, if this endeavor succeeds, half of the benefits will naturally be shared with Cold Wind Ridge. You just need to wholeheartedly cooperate with our Celestial Star race!"

Elder Liao Yuan wore a look of disdain, seeming to harbor not the slightest shred of fondness for the bald alien, and said coldly:

"Good to hear. I am merely afraid that your alien race might suddenly switch sides at the critical moment, that is all!"

The bald alien elder shook his head, unbothered by Elder Liao Yuan's cold attitude.

"Don't you want to know why we chose to ally with you this time? Don't you want to know what those benefits are?"

"Not interested. How to handle this is a matter for the ancestors; I do not wish to ask more, nor do I wish to know!"

Seeing that Liao Yuan had no desire to entertain him further, the bald elder spoke no more!