Several hand seals were formed in rapid succession. Almost tangible spiritual energy struck the alchemy furnace, causing the spiritual herbs within to begin a violent transformation.
Mo Tiange closed her eyes, using her Divine Sense to monitor the medicinal liquid inside the furnace.
Dozens of materials dissolved, fused... Due to the hand seals, this change grew increasingly intense.
This was the dissolution and fusion stage, a process that would last a long time. When the changes ceased, that would be the moment of pill formation. So for the next few days, they would have to wait like this, periodically forming hand seals to urge the materials to fuse and expel impurities...
Time passed bit by bit. Elders Qingmiao and Qingxi took turns every three hours, while Elder Qingyi remained guarding the door. Xia Qing was recording her alchemy steps, learning her hand seal techniques. Wei Haolan assisted her.
One day, two days, three days... The materials within the furnace finally integrated smoothly.
Mo Tiange wiped the sweat from her brow and let out a sigh of relief, but quickly re-entered a state of total concentration, forming several more hand seals to initiate pill formation.
This was the final day. Success or failure hinged on this moment.
The medicinal liquid within the furnace began to slowly gather and solidify...
"Who are you?!" Elder Qingyi's sharp cry rang out, accompanied by a strange wave of energy.
The five people in the alchemy room all changed expressions. This was the critical period for pill formation. What had happened?
As that strange energy fluctuation grew clearer, Mo Tiange's expression shifted dramatically. She had sensed it—it was Ren Yufeng!
Upon arriving in Linhai, she hadn't detected Ren Yufeng's trail. Three months of peace had almost made her think he had been washed away by the waves to some other place. But now, Ren Yufeng had appeared at this crucial moment!
However, she quickly calmed down. With three Core Formation cultivators present, Ren Yufeng wouldn't gain any advantage. Although Elder Qingxi was nearly exhausted from outputting Dantian True Fire, Elders Qingyi and Qingmiao were still intact. With two Core Formation elders present, Ren Yufeng, whose cultivation was unorthodox, certainly couldn't win.
Elder Qingmiao, who was meditating to recuperate, frowned and said in a low voice, "I'll go take a look. You all hold steady."
"Yes," Wei Haolan and Xia Qing responded. The two of them consciously moved to the doorway, just in case.
Mo Tiange also steadied herself and continued refining the pill.
Screams rang out from outside, followed by the sounds of battle.
"You are a Demonic Cultivator?" Elder Qingyi demanded.
"Hmph!" If it was just a guess before, hearing this voice, Mo Tiange was certain—yes, it was Ren Yufeng.
"What Demonic Cultivator? I am the Son of the Divine Dragon!" Ren Yufeng's tone was arrogant and overbearing.
"Son of the Divine Dragon?" Elder Qingyi's voice was full of confusion.
"Senior Sister!" Elder Qingmiao stepped out of the alchemy room and said, "What Son of the Divine Dragon? I think he's just a Demonic Cultivator. He's even injured our disciples. No need for more talk, just eliminate him!"
"Correct," Elder Qingyi agreed. "His entire body is filled with demonic energy. If he's not a Demonic Cultivator, then what is? He even injured our sect's disciples. No need to be polite with him!"
"You—" Ren Yufeng flew into a rage. "How dare you slander me! I am the Son of the Divine Dragon. I am the Son of the Divine Dragon!"
The spiritual energy fluctuations grew even stronger.
Mo Tiange knew they must have started fighting. She said to Elder Qingxi, "Senior, let's speed up. Finish refining quickly. Please strengthen the True Fire."
Elder Qingxi also sensed the danger outside and nodded. "Alright, I'll trouble you, Fellow Daoist Ye."
As she spoke, she urged her spiritual energy, and the Dantian True Fire immediately thickened.
Mo Tiange also rapidly formed hand seals. Although she felt two Core Formation cultivators would surely be able to stop Ren Yufeng, it was always wise to have a backup plan, just in case.
Suddenly strengthening the pill fire was an impact on the medicinal liquid within the furnace. Mo Tiange used hand seals to mitigate the impact while accelerating the pill's solidification.
"Sect Leader Wei, what's the situation outside?" Focused on the pill's solidification, Mo Tiange had no time to spread her Divine Sense, so she had to ask Wei Haolan.
Wei Haolan stood at the door, peering out. "This person... this Demonic Cultivator is very strong in battle. But don't worry, Fellow Daoist Ye. The two elders can handle it."
"That's good..." Mo Tiange felt slightly reassured. She also thought Ren Yufeng couldn't defeat two elders, but she kept feeling a throbbing between her eyebrows—not a good omen.
"Huh?" Wei Haolan made a sound.
Mo Tiange tilted her head. "What is it?"
"Senior Brother Shangguan has come," Wei Haolan said. "Senior Brother Shangguan has reached Foundation Establishment perfection. Hopefully, he can lend the two elders a hand."
Hearing this, Mo Tiange frowned. She instinctively felt something was wrong...
"Master, Elder Qingmiao, I've come to assist you!" This was the voice of that Fellow Daoist Shangguan.
"Yunhao, why aren't you at the Dao-Attainment Pagoda? What are you doing here?" Elder Qingyi's voice was somewhat stern.
Right, why would he happen to come here?
Shangguan Yunhao replied, "I just detected a strange aura at the Dao-Attainment Pagoda, so I tracked it here."
With a great enemy present, Elder Qingyi couldn't blame him much. She only said, "Then come quickly. This Demonic Cultivator's abilities are extraordinary. Be careful!"
Although Foundation Establishment perfection was only a step away from Core Formation, it was actually much weaker. Elder Qingyi truly doted on this disciple, worrying about him getting injured as soon as he arrived.
"Sect Leader Senior Sister," Xia Qing asked quietly, "where did this Demonic Cultivator come from? Is there a flaw somewhere in our Bixuan Pavilion's protective grand formation?"
Hearing this, Wei Haolan frowned. "That's right. Logically, we should know as soon as this Demonic Cultivator enters our protective grand formation. How could he suddenly appear at the alchemy room?"
Mo Tiange had heard from Yiliu and Yiqiu that west of Linhai lay a branch of the Demonic Mountain. This Demonic Mountain not only had a towering main peak but also many complex, intertwined branches where those Demonic Cultivators of the demonic path lived.
The reason these Linhai cultivators didn't dare cross the Demonic Mountain to reach Kunwu, aside from fearing high-level Demonic Cultivators, was because these mountains had peculiar terrain that was simply impossible to traverse. For many years, no Demonic Cultivators had reached Linhai either, for the same reason.
"Sect Leader Wei," Mo Tiange spoke up, "this person is the enemy I mentioned. His personality is strange. He kills indiscriminately. Be careful."
Since Ren Yufeng had fallen and become a Demonic Cultivator, his temperament must have changed as well. During that year, Mo Tiange had witnessed his perverse and unpredictable nature and knew he had become a true Demonic Cultivator in name and reality.
Wei Haolan and Xia Qing both changed expressions simultaneously. Although they knew about this, these past few months, there had been no trace of any Demonic Cultivator, so they hadn't taken it seriously. They never expected he would actually come knocking.
"Ah!" A sudden scream came from outside. The voice sounded like Elder Qingyi's.
Wei Haolan was shocked. She looked outside and immediately paled. "Senior Brother Shangguan..."
No further explanation was needed. Elder Qingmiao's furious voice came from outside. "Shangguan Yunhao, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Shangguan Yunhao's voice was also gloomy. "Killing you, of course!"
Everyone in the alchemy room was stunned. Elder Qingxi was especially shaken. Her hand trembled, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Elder Qingxi!" Wei Haolan and Xia Qing's expressions changed, and they rushed over.
Mo Tiange heard a muffled sound from within the furnace and couldn't help but sigh. At the final moment, the Azure Cloud Pill refinement had failed.
But now was not the time to dwell on that. She took out a healing pill from her bosom and handed it to Wei Haolan. "Quick, give this to Elder Qingxi. Also, take a Spirit-Restoring Pill!"
Since Elder Qingyi had been ambushed, they now had to preserve Elder Qingxi's strength as much as possible.
"Shangguan Yunhao!" Elder Qingyi's voice, though somewhat weak, was sharp. "The three of us have treated you well, we believe. Why repay kindness with enmity?!"
"Treated me well?" The Shangguan Yunhao voice Mo Tiange had heard before was polite and restrained, but now it was full of sarcasm. "Did you really treat me well? Then why am I one hundred and seventy years old and still haven't formed my Core?!"
"You know perfectly well that Linhai lacks resources!" Elder Qingmiao said coldly. "But ever since taking you in as a disciple, whenever there were pills, you always got the first share. As soon as you established your Foundation, we let you enter the Dao-Attainment Pagoda! When you reached Foundation Establishment perfection, we kept sending disciples to Kunwu to search for Wu-Chen Pills. Bixuan Pavilion is only a small sect, but we've always treated you ten times better than other disciples! What more are you dissatisfied with?"
"Dissatisfied? Of course I'm dissatisfied!" Shangguan Yunhao snorted, clearly disagreeing with Elder Qingmiao's words. "That's right. As soon as I entered the sect, I had your guidance. As soon as I reached Qi Refinement tenth layer, you gave me a Foundation Establishment Pill. But you treated me so well only because I was the most talented disciple Bixuan Pavilion had received in centuries! And later? After I reached Foundation Establishment perfection, you delayed giving me the Wu-Chen Pill, preventing me from forming my Core. You trapped me at the Foundation Establishment perfection realm for fifty years. Fifty years!"
"Fifty years ago, I begged you to let me go to Kunwu, to find the Wu-Chen Pill myself or seek some opportunities. But what did you do? You'd rather send disciples with no future to Kunwu than let me go! Weren't you just afraid that once I reached Kunwu, I wouldn't come back? Because you were afraid you couldn't control me, you made me wait fifty years without forming my Core!"
Hearing these words, Wei Haolan's expression changed. She stood up and walked out of the alchemy room. "Shangguan Yunhao, search your conscience! The elders didn't let you leave because they were worried for your safety. So many of us sisters have been constantly running around for your Wu-Chen Pill! From the moment you entered the sect, have we ever made you do a single thing? No, not only no, we provided everything you needed for your cultivation. If you aren't grateful, that's one thing, but to turn around and bite the hand that fed you!"
"For me?" Shangguan Yunhao sneered. "Wei Haolan, aren't you ashamed to say that? Forty years ago, when the previous sect leader stepped down, I wanted to be sect leader. With my seniority and cultivation, why did the position end up in your hands? And what's more, you wouldn't let me take a single step out of the sect, imprisoning me in all but name!"
"Shangguan Yunhao!" Wei Haolan said angrily. "Our Bixuan Pavilion is a female cultivator sect. Every generation's sect leader has been a female cultivator. Making you sect leader would invite gossip, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, that's exactly it!" Shangguan Yunhao's tone was mocking. "Just because I'm a male cultivator, you guard against me everywhere! Don't think I don't know. Actually, you obtained the Wu-Chen Pill years ago, but you just didn't let me advance smoothly!"
"Guard against you?" Elder Qingyi finally spoke. After saying this, she coughed before continuing, "That's right. I was guarding against you!"
"Elder Qingyi?" Wei Haolan was shocked and doubtful.
"When you were competing with Haolan for the sect leader position, I could see your intentions were not upright! So at that time, I didn't let you leave, nor did I give you the Wu-Chen Pill immediately. But do you think I did this for no reason? If you don't grind away your greed, if you don't cultivate your mental state, and you try to form your Core, you will fall at the hurdle of inner demons!"