Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

The two teacups clinked together in the air with a crisp sound, like a silent agreement.

Chapter 176 The Birth of an Eighth-Grade Pill!

In the inner courtyard of Canaan Academy, a large open plaza next to the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower was bustling with people.

Su Baichen, Yao Chen, Cai Lin, Cai Die, and the three little ones, along with all the elders and students of the academy's alchemy department, all gathered here.

Even some of the inner court experts who are rarely seen on ordinary days stopped to watch from a distance.

In the center of the crowd, Su Baichen looked at the dense crowd around him, shook his head helplessly, and sighed: "I said, who among you leaked the news that I wanted to refine pills?"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Cao Ying, who was standing in the front row.

Cao Ying, who had been watching her master prepare to refine pills with great interest, suddenly became the center of attention. Her face flushed red, and she stuck out her tongue: "Uh... Master, I was wrong. These past few days in the alchemy room, many senior students have come to ask me when you're going to start refining pills..."

She twisted her fingers, her voice growing softer and softer: "I thought you were going to refine pills, so I just told them, so they could learn from you and improve their own alchemy skills. Hehe..."

After saying that, she gave an awkward yet ingratiating smile.

Looking at his disciple's expression, Su Baichen was both amused and exasperated. In the end, he could only shake his head and chuckle, "Sigh, I'm really fed up with you. Oh well, since everyone's here, let's just leave it at that."

He turned to the elders and students whose eyes were filled with reverence and expectation, and said in a clear voice: "The elixir refined today is of a high grade, and there may be some aspects of the process that can be learned from. How much you can learn depends on your own destiny."

As soon as he finished speaking, a low cheer erupted from the crowd.

To witness a high-level alchemist refining pills is an opportunity that countless alchemists dream of! If one can glean even a sliver of insight from it, the improvement in their alchemy skills will be immeasurable.

Su Baichen said no more, his expression becoming focused. With a wave of his hand, a stream of light flew out from his storage ring, landing on the ground and instantly transforming into a three-legged cauldron—the Heavenly Profound Cauldron!

The cauldron is simple and heavy, with mysterious patterns engraved on its surface. It gleams with a dark golden luster in the sunlight, exuding an ancient and majestic aura as soon as it appears.

Immediately afterwards, Su Baichen took out the mysterious jade stone he had obtained at the Black Seal City auction.

With a light tap of his finger, the jade shattered, and a drop of crimson blood, as red as a gemstone and imbued with an ancient aura, slowly emerged, hovering in the air and emitting a heart-palpitating ripple.

"That's... the essence blood of a magical beast?" an elder who knew its value exclaimed in a low voice.

But the most shocking thing was yet to come. With a slight thought, Su Baichen conjured a ball of purple-gold flame in his palm.

The flames were as clear as glass, yet they burned with the power to incinerate everything—it was Su Baichen's Glass Heaven-Burning Flame!

The moment the flames appeared, the beast fire within the bodies of all the alchemists present trembled violently, bowing their heads as if paying homage to a king towards the Glazed Heavenly Flame.

Even the auras of the strange fire within Cao Ying's body and the cold fire of Yao Chen Bone Spirit showed obvious fluctuations, as if paying homage to this flame.

"Even the strange fire..." Yao Chen narrowed his eyes, a look of admiration flashing in them.

"This kid's luck is truly remarkable."

Su Baichen remained calm, the purple-gold flames dancing at his fingertips as if they were his own arms.

With a flick of his left hand, several rare medicinal herbs that he had prepared beforehand flew toward the flames one after another—Dragon Blood Mushroom, Nine-Turn Snake Blood Grass, Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Core Milk… Each one was a top-grade spiritual material that was hard to find in the outside world.

The flames gently enveloped the medicinal herbs, and Su Baichen precisely controlled the temperature. Under the scorching heat of the Glazed Heavenly Flame, the herbs melted rapidly, impurities turned into blue smoke and dissipated, leaving only the purest medicinal essence.

Su Baichen's movements were fluid and natural, each gesture perfectly executed, as if he were not refining pills but performing an art piece.

The onlookers held their breath, watching the scene intently. Even Yao Chen, an eighth-grade alchemy master, watched with great focus, nodding slightly from time to time, clearly gaining some insight from it.

After the medicinal liquid was refined, Su Baichen's eyes narrowed, and he injected the drop of ancient blood essence into the center of the flame.

The moment the essence blood came into contact with the medicinal liquid, it burst forth with a dazzling light, and a violent energy wave spread out, but it was quickly suppressed by the Glazed Heaven-Burning Flame.

The fusion process was extremely slow, requiring astonishing soul power for precise control. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Su Baichen's forehead, but his hands remained as steady as a rock.

One hour passed, then two hours passed...

The rudimentary form of the elixir gradually took shape in the flames, emitting a refreshing medicinal fragrance.

Upon smelling this fragrance, many Dou Wang powerhouses who were stuck in their bottleneck period actually felt their Dou Qi stirring within their bodies, seemingly showing signs of a breakthrough!

"The fragrance of the pill alone has such an effect..." Elder Su Qian stood beside Yao Chen, utterly astonished.

Just as the pill was about to take shape, Su Baichen suddenly shouted and formed a hand seal.

Around the plaza, array patterns lit up—it was a spirit-gathering array that had been set up beforehand!

The formation was operating at full power, and the energy of heaven and earth within a radius of dozens of miles surged in like a tide, transforming into a visible milky white stream of energy that frantically poured into the pill that was about to take shape.

The elixir greedily absorbed the energy, and mysterious elixir patterns gradually appeared on its surface.

The process lasted a long time, but none of the onlookers felt tired. Their eyes were only filled with longing and fascination for the supreme alchemy skills.

Finally, just as the sun was about to completely sink below the horizon, the elixir was fully formed!

The instant the elixir detached from the flames, a sudden change occurred—

The sky suddenly darkened! The once clear twilight was obscured by rolling dark clouds, thunder roared and churned within the clouds, and a terrifying pressure enveloped the entire Canaan Academy!

"My God, Dan Lei! It's Dan Lei!" a student from the Alchemy Department shouted excitedly.

"A seventh-grade pill! Only a seventh-grade pill could attract such pill lightning!"

"I actually witnessed the birth of a seventh-grade pill!"

"This life has been worth it, truly worth it!"

Cheers and gasps of amazement erupted. Seventh-grade pills were practically legendary in a place like the Black Corner Region!

However, Yao Chen frowned slightly, looked up at the sky, and whispered, "No, this is not the pill lightning of a seventh-grade pill."

"What? Elder Yao, you're saying this isn't a seventh-grade pill?" Cao Ying, who was standing next to him, overheard this and turned around in surprise.

"This is an eighth-grade Dan Lei." Yao Chen's voice carried a hint of solemnity and appreciation.

"Your master has actually broken through to the middle level of the eighth grade alchemist without making a sound."

"Really?!" Cao Ying's eyes lit up instantly.

Yao Chen nodded and continued his analysis: "However, although the medicinal materials used this time are precious, they are not yet at the top level. If all the materials were of the highest quality, with his current alchemy skills, it should not be a problem for him to refine an eighth-grade pill of Five-Colored Thunder Pill."

As if to confirm Yao Chen's words, the lightning in the sky suddenly began to change color—red, blue, and purple lightning intertwined and rolled in the dark clouds, illuminating the entire inner courtyard as if it were a dream!

"Three-Colored Thunder Pill! This is an eighth-grade Three-Colored Thunder Pill!"

"Rank 8! It's actually a Rank 8 pill!"

The entire venue erupted in cheers! An eighth-grade pill, with three-colored pill lightning—this was an achievement that even many grandmaster alchemists could only dream of in their entire lives!

Su Baichen looked up at the sky, his expression calm. He formed hand seals again, and the array patterns of the Spirit Gathering Array suddenly changed, forming layers of energy shields around him and the pill, like an inverted glass bowl, tightly protecting the two of them.

The three-colored lightning in the sky finally condensed and crashed down with the force of destruction!

The first crimson lightning bolt slammed into the outermost protective shield, causing it to tremble violently and cracks to spread, but it ultimately held firm.

The second bolt of azure lightning followed immediately, shattering the protective barrier. Then came the third, the fourth…

The lightning struck like a violent storm, shattering the protective shield layer by layer. The power of the three-colored pill lightning far surpassed that of ordinary pill lightning; each strike contained the power of the laws of heaven and earth, determined to destroy this heaven-defying pill.

Finally, after shattering the ninth layer of protective barrier, the power of the pill lightning was reduced to less than one-tenth. The last bolt of purple lightning pierced through the final barrier and struck straight down towards the pill.

At this critical moment, Su Baichen made a move.

He didn't use any fancy fighting techniques; he simply raised his right hand and struck out with his palm.

The moment the palm collided with the lightning, time seemed to stand still for a second. Immediately afterwards, the lightning that had made countless Dou Zong experts retreat in fear shattered like glass, turning into countless specks of light that dissipated into the air.

Chapter 177 The Elixir Possesses Spirit!

After the thunderclouds dispersed, the sky was as clear as a piece of washed glass, and the setting sun poured down without obstruction, gilding the tall figure in the center of the square with a dazzling golden edge.

A strange aura permeated the air—a rich, almost overwhelming medicinal fragrance mixed with the slightly burnt smell unique to those after a tribulation of lightning, and an indescribable, vibrant energy that stirred the very soul.

Su Baichen stood there quietly, with a pill the size of a longan floating above his palm.

The pill was perfectly round, and its surface was not just a monotonous sheen, but rather flowed with three-colored patterns that seemed to come alive—the gold patterns were as dazzling as the sun, the silver patterns were as cool as moonlight, and there was also a faint purple pattern, deep and mysterious, as if it contained the mysteries of the void and the starry river.

The three-colored light swirled and flowed, forming a soft and beautiful halo around the pill. A powerful yet restrained energy fluctuation, like the breath of a sleeping beast, contracted and expanded, causing the surrounding space to subtly distort.

This is an eighth-grade pill that has just survived the tribulation of the three-colored pill lightning. It has been reborn and has developed a nascent spirituality.

Just as the halo shifted to a certain subtle angle, the pill trembled violently!

"Om-"

A soft yet soul-piercing rang out, and the three-colored light on the surface of the pill suddenly burst into a burst, transforming into a three-colored stream of light. Like an arrow released from a bow, it was about to break free from Su Baichen's grasp and shoot towards the sky!

It wanted to escape! This newly sentient elixir instinctively resisted its fate of confinement.

Everyone in the audience held their breath, before a gasp could even escape their lips—

Su Baichen didn't even lift his eyelids, his fair and slender hand simply and casually cupped inwards.

There was no earth-shattering energy eruption, nor any profound and complex hand seals. It was just a simple gesture, yet the space within that small area seemed to suddenly freeze and collapse.

The three-colored light seemed to have crashed into an invisible swamp, its speed instantly slowed down. No matter how it tried to break free, its light flashed and it emitted a series of unwilling buzzing sounds, it could not escape the range covered by that palm.

The pill struggled more and more violently, its light flickering, and it even tried to draw out the trace of pill lightning power remaining inside it to fight back, with tiny electric snakes darting between the pill's patterns.

However, Su Baichen's palm seemed to be a world unto itself. All the restlessness and resistance melted away like snow the moment they touched his skin, disappearing without a trace.

The struggle lasted for about ten breaths.

Ten breaths later, the three-colored pill seemed to have finally exhausted all the sharpness of its nascent spirit and realized the unfathomable depth of the person before it.

Its surface radiance dimmed for a moment, then, with a resigned attitude, it slowly withdrew all its strange phenomena, obediently falling back into Su Baichen's palm, no longer moving, with only the pill patterns still flowing regularly and gently.

From the moment the pill suddenly appeared and fled, to its effortless suppression and subjugation, it all happened in just a dozen or so breaths.

The square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The overwhelming shock gripped everyone's throat.

They witnessed the birth of the legendary eighth-grade elixir, and even more so, they witnessed how this extraordinary object, imbued with spirituality and worthy of the respect of even Dou Zong and Dou Zun experts, was easily subdued by Su Baichen, much like the most unruly child being tamed by an adult.

Silence spread under the sunlight, as if even the wind had stopped flowing.

"I... rely on..."

Someone, from deep in their throat, squeezed out two dry syllables, breaking the suffocating silence.

next moment--

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!!"