STNS: Chapter 522 (Patreon)

Wu Jian floated in front of Loong Feng to impede his progress. He didn’t know much about this man. In fact, he knew next to nothing beyond his name, but he didn’t need to know him to understand the greed in his eyes.

“Can I help you, Èr Zhǎnglǎo Feng?” asked Wu Jian with a respectful martial bow. He even went so far as to refer to Loong Feng by his title of First Elder. It was a sign of respect that he, as an outsider, didn’t necessarily need to display.

His words brought Loong Feng up short. The man blinked a few times as his face morphed like he was struggling to decide how he should handle Wu Jian. He finally plastered an insincere smile on his face.

“Ah, Jian’er… I was merely coming to check on your alchemist’s progress. As you know, Jingshu’er is an important person to us Flood Dragons, and so we want her… mate… to heal quickly so we can decide on the next course of action.”

Wu Jian did his best not to shudder at the man’s use of the “er” suffix, which was often used as a diminutive of affection term, conveying a sense of closeness, affection, or endearment. No such relationship existed between him and this man. They had only met a short time ago.

“We appreciate your concern,” Wu Jian said with a diplomatic smile. “Li--ahem, Zhou Lihua is currently refining the pill, so we’re doing our best to keep everyone away so they won’t interrupt her. I’m sure you can tell from the scene that she’s not close to finished yet.”

“Hmm, yes, I can tell from the scent that she must have refined only the core ingredients,” Loong Feng said as he sniffed the air several times.

If you know that, then go away.

“You have an excellent sense of smell,” Wu Jian complimented, wondering what it would take to drive this man away. “By the way, where is Loong Mei?”

“Loong Mei?” Loong Feng’s eyes sharpened. “You dare call our clan head by her name so casually? Do you not think that’s a bit rude? We have graciously allowed you to remain in our village despite your status as an outsider, and further, your status as Xīfāng Báihǔ’s successor. I think you should show more courtesy toward her.”

So that’s his angle…

Wu Jian wanted to sigh, but he knew that would cause problems. He could not afford to act recklessly right now.

Offering a slightly deeper martial bow, he said, “You are correct. It seems I forgot my manners. Xiǎojiě Loong Mei requested I simply call her by name, but it seems I overstepped my bounds. I will make sure not to step over them again.”

Loong Feng clicked his tongue as Wu Jian deftly parried his attempt at gaining the upperhand. Right now, Wu Jian and his party were guessed of the Flood Dragon Clan’s matriarch. Loong Feng might be an elder, but he could not go against the matriarch’s orders. It might be a different story if he was stronger than her. However, if that had been the case, he would have been the clan’s patriarch instead of a mere elder.

“Hmmmm. Since it seems the process is going well, I shall leave you to it. Tell your alchemist that I wish her luck. I hope nothing unfortunate happens while she is refining that pill for you.”

Wu Jian smiled politely at the subtle threat as if he truly believed this man was expressing genuine concern. “Thank you. I shall be sure to let her know of your concern.”

“Hmph.”

With a bit of a huff, Loong Feng left. Wu Jian watched him go, waited until he was out of sight, and then sighed in relief.

“That was stressful,” he muttered.

“I don’t like that man,” Youmei said as though in agreement. She had been very good about keeping quiet while Loong Feng confronted Wu Jian.

“But you did a good job,” Wu Meiying said as Wu Jian floated back down to take a seat. Locking himself into space like this was exhausting, and he didn’t want to waste Qi if he didn’t have to. “You were able to accurately recognize his intentions and avoided his attempts to force you into a submissive position, all without offending Loong Feng. That’s no small feat when it’s very obvious that he was trying to offend you.”

Loong Feng had done his utmost to assert his authority by reminding Wu Jian that he was an outsider, then tested his loyalty and respect by insisting Wu Jian refer to Loong Mei by her proper title. The fact that he had come all this way after Zhou Lihua started refining the pill made it obvious that he wanted to intervene somehow.

Wu Jian had been able to avoid all of Loong Feng’s diplomatic traps by avoiding giving Loong Feng an excuse to escalate the situation. He referred to Loong Feng by his title, bowed respectfully, and subtly pointed out that Loong Mei had let Wu Jian refer to her by name instead of title. If Loong Feng had continued to act out, it would have looked bad for him.

“Oh? Looks like it’s started,” Wu Meiying said with a glance up.

Wu Jian also looked up as clouds started forming overhead. Flashes of lightning blitzed through the sky, their appearance accompanied by roars akin to dragons. The distant rumble shook Wu Jian to his bones.

“Pill Lightning, huh? This is my first time seeing a heavenly tribulation for an alchemy pill,” Wu Jian said.

He was mostly speaking to himself, but Wu Meiying began talking. “It’s a strange phenomenon that happens to pill’s of a specific tier. Many believe Pill Lightning is a test, much like the Heavenly Tribulations, to determine whether the pill is worthy of existing in this world. If a pill can withstand the lightning, it will become far more potent.”

“And if it can’t?” asked Wu Jian, though he already knew the answer.

Wu Meiying looked at him with her knowing eyes as she said, “Then the pill will be destroyed and we’ll be out of luck.”

***

Zhou Lihua noticed the darkening sky and sounds of distant thunder, but she only paid them a cursory glance. Her refining process was in its most crucial stage.

All of the ingredients had been refined. It was hard work. Sweat had poured down her face, back, and chest as she controlled the temperature of her flames to refine each ingredient.

Different ingredients required different temperatures to refine, and there were over a hundred ingredients, which meant her Heavenly Ghost Flame had over one hundred different localized temperatures. This monumental effort required splitting her concentration in multiple directions to keep track of each shift in temperature. She needed to maintain all of these various temperatures in order to properly refine each ingredient.

“Haaaaah… haaaah… just… a little more…”

All of the auxiliary ingredients had been refined. That left just the main ingredients: Azure Dragon’s Bone Marrow, Mystic Dew Herb, Golden Thread Root, Phoenix Ash, and Celestial Lotus Pollen. Each ingredient had a powerful Qi that surrounded it like a barrier. This Qi made it difficult for Zhou Lihua to refine them, and so she had to bump up the temperature of her flames just to get through that barrier.

Taking hold of her flames, she willed the Heavenly Ghost Flame to split apart and surround each ingredient separately. She shifted through several hand seals. The rat seal for precise Qi control was used on the Mystic Dew Herb, which required a lower temperature to refine than the others. Meant for stability and endurance, Zhou Lihua used the ox seal to refine the Golden Thread Root; this ingredient was going to require the longest amount of time. The rabbit seal was used on the Phoenix Ash. It was actually the easiest ingredient to refine of the group. Phoenix Ash was powerful but adaptable, which was why it made such an excellent ingredient. The dragon seal, which amplified her Qi, was used to refine the Azure Dragon Bone Marrow, and she switched to the snake seal to refine the Celestial Lotus Pollen.

Hand seals did not actually change the refinement process. They were used to help alchemist’s concentrate. The process of refining pills required immense focus, as even the slightest mistake could lead to failure. Forming hand seals allowed the alchemist to engage their mind-body connection to enhance their thoughts and Qi. It was essentially a mnemonic device to help alchemists compartmentalize the steps of refinement, ensuring they stayed mindful of their goals without becoming overwhelmed.

Hand seals were used primarily by beginner alchemists. Masters like hers did not need to use hand seals. Zhou Lihua normally did not use them either, but the Eternal Genesis Rebirth Pill was so difficult to refine that she’d had no choice but to revert back to using them.

She blinked several times as sweat stung her eyes. Eventually decided her eyesight wasn’t needed, she closed them to avoid the sting of salt water distracting her.

The sound of thunder echoed far more loudly in her ears, and she didn’t need to see to know that the Pill Lightning would soon be upon her. She could feel it in the air currents. The tiny hairs on her arms were prickling. The lightning was drawing closer and closer, agglomerating overhead to form a massive sphere of crackling blue flashes that would soon rain down upon her. She could even see the flashes behind her eyelids as bursts of light.

Finally…

Rumble… Rumble…

KRA-KOOM!

A massive bolt of pale blue lightning struck her cauldron. Lightning exploded all over the surface, skittering across it like spiders and leaping off it to strike the ground, gouging chunks out of the earth.

“SEAL!”

Zhou Lihua clapped her hands together and the Heavenly Ghost Flame erupted from several vents in the cauldron to form a protective barrier around it. This not only served to protect the cauldron but prevent the lightning from escaping. Her goal was to use the lightning to further refine the pill.

The energy of the lightning bounced around inside of the cauldron, striking the ingredients and further refining them with the heavenly qi found within all tribulation lightning. Zhou Lihua bit her bottom lip. Blood seeped from the small mark as she harnessed the power of her flames to encapsulate the lightning and her ingredients, resulting in a higher purity pill.

“NOW! COMBINE!”

Clenching her clapped hands, she willed all of the ingredients to merge. This was the hardest part of pill refining. Many of the ingredients did not want to merge, and this reluctance was made even harder by the pill lightning. The ingredients would come close, then bounce away from each other as if repelled. Zhou Lihua licked the blood from her lips, then gritted her teeth and formed the tiger seal.

“Don’t. Think. I. Won’t. Force. You. To. Form!!”

Each word she spat out was accompanied by a heavy grunt, as though the effort of forming the pill was taking physical strength instead of mental strength, but she pushed on, the ingredients coming closer and closer and closer.

Then it happened.

CRACK!

“Ah?!”

Zhou Lihua almost lost control as the ingredients collided together in a flow of sparks and energy. Brilliant light flared as a single bolt of lightning slammed once more into the cauldron. Energy erupted from the cauldron, which cracked straight down the middle. Zhou Lihua was nearly knocked onto her back.

“Ghostly Flame Blossom!”

She leaned forward and thrust out a hand, white flames forming a chrysanthemum before her. The energy from the lightning slammed into her shield, which cracked in several places, but she reformed and reinforced it with Qi. It took all she had to withstand the eruption of energy.

Pop… pop…

Sizzle… sizzle…

Rmmm…

When the surge died down, Zhou Lihua let her shield collapse. She slowly stood up and went over to her cauldron. The crack running down the middle was not large, but it was obvious that this cauldron was done for. It would take a powerful artificer to repair something like this.

I’ll need to find a new cauldron…

She sighed, but soon dismissed her lamentations in favor of opening the cauldron lid.

Footsteps echoed behind her as three people came up the mountain.

“Lili! Are you okay?” asked Wu Jian.

“That was some powerful pill lightning. You’re not hurt, are you?” asked Wu Meiying at the same time.

Zhou Lihua smiled as she reached into the cauldron, grabbed something, and stood back up. She turned around.

“I am fine. Thank you for your concern. More importantly…” She held out her hand and presented them with something. “I’ve done it.”

Wu Meiying, Wu Jian, and Youmei looked wide-eyed, for sitting in the palm of her hand, was a pill with beautiful veins running across its surface.