Chapter 134 Refining Pills

Upon entering this second-level space, Hu San felt his heart tighten abruptly. The spiritual aura of the formation here was nearly threefold stronger than below. Had he not maintained a constant state of cautious vigilance, his true nature would have been exposed on the spot. It seemed that this second level was the core of the manor's nameless formation, as well as its most formidable section.

Old Master Yu must have fully designed this second level as the ultimate defensive stronghold. Beyond the formation itself, Hu San deduced from the faint residual traces in the surroundings that there were likely extremely lethal traps here as well.

Although the exact power of these mechanisms was unknown, the fact that Old Master Yu had placed them alongside the core of the formation suggested they were bound to be exceptionally lethal.

Just as Hu San had anticipated, Old Master Yu did not linger on this level. However, as they crossed the spacious hall toward the opposite side, he offered a few words of warning to Yu Ning, advising her to mind her footing—a remark that confirmed Hu San's earlier suspicion regarding the hidden traps in this area.

Reaching the far end of the second level, Old Master Yu repeated the action from the ground floor, slapping the wall to reveal a spiral passageway leading upward.

Once the three of them emerged, the space before them was entirely different. To be precise, this was merely a sealed chamber containing two meditation mats, in the center of which stood a high platform crafted entirely from jade. It was filled with an unknown red liquid that continuously emitted a faint, refreshing fragrance.

Hovering above this jade platform was an arm-sized, purple-black spirit grass. Its roots were fully splayed out, as if possessed of a life of their own, deeply burrowed into the red liquid within the jade platform and writhing with visible motion.

If Hu San's guess was correct, this item was none other than the supreme-grade Nether Spirit Grass, a precious celestial herb capable of extending the lifespan of a senior cultivator in the immortal cultivation world by thirty years.

Indeed, the value of this single herb surpassed everything else in this place combined. Even if the entire Yu family manor were included, it likely could not match the worth of this one stalk.

Though Hu San felt a surge of covetous desire, he was well aware of his own limitations. Deep within the enemy's formation was hardly the time to make a move, so he suppressed his impulses and waited for an opportunity.

To avoid arousing suspicion through excessive scrutiny, Hu San only cast a brief, out-of-the-corner-of-his-eye glance before looking away. After all, the supreme-grade Nether Spirit Grass was Old Master Yu's lifeline, and he would undoubtedly monitor everything related to it constantly. Given his level of cultivation, almost any disturbance in the vicinity would be difficult to hide from his eyes.

The tip of the spirit grass extended all the way out of the stone tower, its apex emitting a dazzling red light. Bathed in this crimson radiance, every object in the sealed chamber was clearly visible. Hu San could distinctly see the walls covered in dense networks of red lines that, originating from the top, anchored themselves into the base of the jade platform like blood vessels.

Having finished observing the most eye-catching feature, Hu San shifted his attention elsewhere. He discovered that the two seemingly unremarkable meditation mats were each surrounded by dense clusters of spirit stones, forming two irregular patterns. Each pattern was arranged using roughly forty to fifty spirit stones. He hadn't noticed it upon a casual glance, but upon closer inspection, Hu San perceived faint wisps of white vapor drifting within the boundaries defined by these strange formations.

Such a phenomenon had been mentioned in the *Water Cloud Formula*: it was caused by the accumulation of a massive concentration of spiritual energy over a period of time. Cultivating in such a location could, to a certain extent, make up for a cultivator's deficiencies in spiritual root talent.

"Good grief, could this be the Spirit-Gathering Formation mentioned in the texts? A formation requiring fifty spirit stones—this, this is far too extravagant!"

Hu San could not helping gaping in astonishment. Earlier, he had complained that this girl Yu Ning was too poor to even possess a single spirit stone. Now, it seemed the problem wasn't that she was poor, but rather that there was simply no need for them to cultivate with low-grade spirit stones.

Thinking back to how he had only ever possessed ten spirit stones since he began cultivating—all of which were now spent—and then looking at this formation composed entirely of spirit stones, Hu San swallowed hard and sighed repeatedly. Comparing oneself to others could truly infuriate a person!

"Ning'er, this is your first time practicing the Corpse Control Technique, and losing your primordial yin has caused heavy damage to your body. Coincidentally, after thirty days of accumulation, the spiritual energy in this minor Spirit-Gathering Formation has reached the density of a spiritual vortex. Come over and cultivate here; on one hand, it will raise your cultivation level, and on the other, it will help nurture your natal corpse."

Old Master Yu first pointed to the slightly smaller formation, then indicated the larger one, continuing, "As for this, my own cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and breaking through to the seventh layer of Qi Gathering cannot be achieved simply by absorbing spiritual energy. Therefore, the spiritual energy in this minor Spirit-Gathering Formation is of no use to me. You shall enter the larger Spirit-Gathering Formation to cultivate, and let your natal corpse enter the minor one. Although it cannot cultivate, the dense spiritual energy will still be immensely beneficial to its future growth."

"Yes!"

Controlling Yu Ning, Hu San nodded hastily in agreement.

The two entered the spirit-gathering formations, and Hu San hurriedly directed Yu Ning to begin cultivation. All of Yu Ning's previous cultivation had vanished during the process of being refined into a living corpse, but fortunately, a considerable amount of Profound Yin True Qi that had not fused with the Corpse Control Pill still remained within her body. Thus, circulating this Profound Yin True Qi within the Spirit-Gathering Formation was enough to stir the spiritual energy, preventing her from being exposed by Old Master Yu.

As for Hu San himself, constrained by his identity as a living corpse and standing right beside a formidable expert of the sixth layer of Qi Gathering, he dared not make any reckless moves. Though he desperately longed to draw this immensely rich ambient spiritual energy into his body, he could not put it into action and was forced to make do with the meager amount of spiritual energy obtained purely through natural breathing.

At that moment, Old Master Yu also seated himself nearby. With a slight flick of his arm, he produced a half-person-tall bronze cauldron and gently placed it over the gap at the edge of the jade platform.

The crevice there was instantly sealed airtight, suggesting it had originally been custom-built specifically to hold that bronze cauldron.

If all of this had merely caused Hu San to glance sideways and briefly distract himself from the agonizing sensation of being surrounded by spiritual energy he could not absorb, the scene that followed completely opened the eyes of this country bumpkin.

He saw Old Master Yu tap the bronze cauldron, causing a yellow light to circle his body a few times before the lid of the cauldron popped open. At that instant, a flash of light emanated from the storage ring on the old man's wrist, and a large pile of items materialized on the empty ground beside him.

Hu San took a quick glance and found that the vast majority of these items were those thick, blood-red, superior-grade Nether Spirit Grasses, alongside a few other flowers and grasses he did not recognize at all.

Next, the old man picked up a portion of the superior-grade Nether Spirit Grasses and tossed them into the bronze cauldron. Flipping his right hand, a small pile of crimson spirit stones appeared before him.

The quality of these spirit stones was identical to those surrounding the minor Spirit-Gathering Formation; they were undoubtedly low-grade spirit stones. Unlike the others, however, these appeared to be purified spirit stones rather than mixed ones. With Hu San's current knowledge, he could not discern the finer details, but in his view, spirit stones equaled good items, and that was all that mattered.

With a motion of Old Master Yu's arm, afterimages flashed across his palms as he pressed them directly onto the jade platform beside the bronze cauldron. Within moments, eight low-grade spirit stones vanished from his side, while an octagonal formation manifested at the base of the bronze cauldron. At each of the eight corners of this octagon lay a crimson low-grade spirit stone.

Old Master Yu channeled a crimson incantation rune to activate this unknown formation, and immediately afterward, his arm began to strike the bronze cauldron with a steady, rhythmic cadence.

At first, the bronze cauldron showed no change other than slowly spinning in response to the old man's strikes. But once its rotational speed reached a certain threshold, a blood-red flame abruptly surged from the base beneath the cauldron.

Hu San hastily looked down at the formation below and discovered that it was now spinning in full rotation, continuously drawing the blood-red liquid from the jade platform into itself and converting it into gushing, crimson flames. The fire was as tangible as solid matter, directly lifting the bronze cauldron into mid-air.

After burning for a moment, the color of the entire bronze cauldron began to shift, gradually turning blood-red. Once the cauldron had completely turned crimson, Old Master Yu stopped striking it and began to meticulously control the unknown formation below, making it emit flames of varying intensities.

Whenever certain conditions were met, Old Master Yu would swiftly retrieve an unfamiliar material from his side and toss it into the mix. Throughout the entire process, the old man's movements were smooth and flowing, imbued with a peculiar rhythm that repeatedly drew Hu San's sidelong glances.

Had the old man not concentrated his entire focus on the bronze cauldron and assumed that anyone by his side was entirely trustworthy without taking extra precautions, he might well have been discovered by now.

The entire process lasted for a full quarter of an hour. During this time, Old Master Yu continuously replaced shattered low-grade spirit stones within the formation, swapping them out with fresh ones in the blink of an eye. Because of his blinding speed, this did not cause any fluctuation in the blood-red flames beneath the bronze cauldron.

Finally, the blood-red hue on the bronze cauldron slowly faded, and its form gradually descended back onto the jade platform.

Old Master Yu let out a long sigh, as if the physical toll of this brief quarter-hour refining session had been as exhausting as a grueling battle.

By this time, the formation beneath the bronze cauldron had completely ceased operating. A total of three spirit stones had been entirely consumed during the refining process, while the remaining eight were damaged to varying degrees. The worst among them had lost their spiritual light entirely, turning into ordinary stones though they had not yet shattered—meaning these eight defective pieces could no longer be used for the next refining session.

"Phew, that was close! It almost failed!"

"Even with a medium-grade elixir furnace and sufficiently good materials, it is still far too demanding for my current cultivation level without being a dedicated alchemist. Hehe, merely sustaining the fire formation consumed thirteen spirit stones in one go, not to mention those precious auxiliary materials. That is truly exorbitant! But fortunately, it succeeded."

Murmuring softly to himself, Old Master Yu took a deep breath and suddenly struck the bronze cauldron before him. With a sharp crack, the lid of the cauldron flew upward, and several streams of pitch-black light burst forth from within.