Chapter 91: This Pill

"Peak Master, don’t be so nervous."

Lu Ye glanced at Daoist Qinghuo and noticed that the latter’s hands were clenched tight, so he couldn’t help but offer some comfort.

"Just keep a good eye on the pill furnace!"

Daoist Qinghuo raised his voice.

"Alright, alright. But really, it’s nothing serious. It’s not like this is my first time refining pills."

"What kind of herbs were you using before, and what kind of herbs are you putting in now? How could they be the same?"

What Daoist Qinghuo meant was that Lu Ye’s previous pill refining used ordinary low-grade spirit herbs. But now, the pile of herbs he was throwing in came from the collection of a Tribulation Stage powerhouse—absolutely top-grade materials. There was simply no comparison.

What he didn’t know was that even before, the herbs Lu Ye had used were already peak-tier divine medicines and Dao Fruits, some of which had even developed sentience—yet Lu Ye had tossed them all in like some stew.

"Pretty much the same. Herbology really only has a few basic principles. It’s all similar."

"It’s not the same at all! A tiny deviation leads to a huge mistake! Even within one type of herb, the medicinal properties can differ depending on—"

Daoist Qinghuo hadn’t even finished his sentence when Lu Ye grabbed another massive handful of herbs and tossed them in.

"Hey hey hey—!"

Daoist Qinghuo truly couldn’t take it anymore.

"Be careful, slow down!"

"See? It didn’t explode."

Yet another giant handful of herbs was thrown into the furnace. The Nine Dragons continued breathing fire, and the herbs were quickly liquefied.

Lu Ye tossed in another big handful.

Those herbs—damn, it looked like he was throwing in a pile of wild grass.

At this point, Daoist Qinghuo didn’t even dare speak anymore. He’d realized that the medicinal properties of the herbs Lu Ye was throwing in really were all about the same, just like he said.

But this... this wasn’t how pills were supposed to be refined!

A single pill formula didn’t just require herbs with similar properties—it also needed ones that counterbalanced those properties.

Using only one kind of property? You couldn’t refine a proper pill that way.

You’d just end up poisoned.

Minute by minute, time passed.

Lu Ye brought out a fresh pile of herbs with completely new medicinal properties.

"No, no, no..."

Daoist Qinghuo didn’t even know what to say anymore. All his accumulated knowledge was screaming at him that if these herbs went in, the furnace was absolutely going to explode.

He had already braced himself to die—if the furnace exploded, he’d protect Lu Ye first and foremost.

He could die. The sect’s chosen heir could not.

Lu Ye glanced at Daoist Qinghuo...

Can’t really blame him—he’d only just begun learning pill refinement himself.

Inside the furnace, the herbs melted, and massive clouds of white smoke burst out from the Nine-Dragon Lihuo Furnace, like smoke from a coal-fired train chimney.

Daoist Qinghuo’s entire body was tense.

Wait... it didn’t explode?

Just then, Lu Ye pulled out another pile of herbs and tossed them in faster than lightning.

Daoist Qinghuo realized—this Lu Ye really did have fast hands.

Whoosh—just like that, a pile of herbs came out.

He didn’t even check them properly—didn’t look to see if they were right—just yanked them out and tossed them in the furnace!

As the herb count kept increasing, the pill furnace began to tremble lightly. From within came the roar of wind and crashing waves.

Lu Ye stayed calm, steadily continuing to add herbs.

"Too many. There’s way too many herbs being added."

In standard pill refining, a pill that used a few dozen ingredients was already considered extremely complex.

But with Lu Ye? A rough count said he’d already thrown in a few hundred kinds. Who the hell refined pills by grabbing fistfuls of herbs and chucking them into the furnace like this?

Until finally, the last handful of herbs was tossed in.

The White Sunfire that Lu Ye controlled surged even more intensely. Roaring, gushing sounds filled the furnace, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) and there was even that bubbling, rumbling sound like something about to explode from within the belly.

"Ssshh..."

A massive burst of steam sprayed out.

The entire pill refining room was filled with thick smoke.

If they hadn’t been cultivators, this kind of concentration of vapor would’ve given them carbon dioxide poisoning.

"Done!"

Pill condensation successful.

Daoist Qinghuo squinted, staring unblinkingly at the pill furnace. Even as his eyes stung and watered from the smoke, he refused to look away. He had to see for himself what kind of earth-shattering pill would come from Lu Ye’s insane, brute-force method of pill refinement.

Lu Ye opened the furnace.

An incredibly rich medicinal fragrance burst out instantly.

Daoist Qinghuo was startled.

So fragrant!

Lu Ye, however, suddenly darkened his expression.

No...

Damn it—his White Sunfire was too low-level. Even though it was divine fire, refining this many peak-tier First Heaven ingredients was still incredibly difficult.

He’d actually encountered a pill-refining disaster in his life.

"What’s wrong?"

Daoist Qinghuo, curious, came closer.

And then he saw the pill inside the furnace—and froze, dumbfounded.

Lu Ye’s face was dark as he took out the pill.

It was a single pill larger than his own head, a full twenty centimeters in diameter. Intricate pill patterns glowed across its surface, releasing a scent so enticing it made one’s soul quiver.

Judging by its roundness, the markings, and the fragrance, it was clear the pill’s refinement was highly successful—this was a top-grade pill.

It was just... the size.

Daoist Qinghuo’s eyes were wide with awe. "Boundless Heavenly Venerates! I’ve never seen a pill this big in my life. This huge—who the hell could even swallow something like this?"

Lu Ye!!!

He couldn’t stop himself from shooting Daoist Qinghuo a sideways glare, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I speak before thinking. It’s just... since you didn’t follow the standard pill-refining protocols, the pill came out like this. If you refined systematically, you’d definitely be able to make pills that are—uh, this pill?"

At first, Daoist Qinghuo had only noticed the pill’s massive size. Now, finally, his focus shifted to the pill’s actual quality.

"Top-grade pill?" Daoist Qinghuo blurted out.

"Mm. Thanks to Peak Master for letting me use the Nine-Dragon Lihuo Furnace, I—ah, whatever!"

Lu Ye pulled out a blade and sliced off a chunk of the Giant Spirit Pill, handing it to Daoist Qinghuo.

"If you want to eat it, eat it. If you want to study it, study it. I’ll be taking my leave now."

Daoist Qinghuo stared blankly at the chunk of pill in his hand—it was the size of a fist.

He... he...

He used a blade to carve out a piece of the pill.

And that one chunk was already the size of a fist.

At that moment, Daoist Qinghuo’s pride in his own pill-refining Dao suffered the most devastating blow in his entire life.

Lu Ye put away the Giant Spirit Pill and didn’t dare take it out again until he was back in his own quarters.

Ding ding ding...

The system let out a barbell-like laugh in his mind.

Lu Ye was considering—should he slice this pill and eat it bit by bit? Or scoop out chunks? Or just gnaw on it directly?

Forget it!

Lu Ye’s body began to grow larger.

Heaven-Manifesting Earth-Embodying Technique! (Fa Tian Xiang Di!)

No good—there was a roof. But that wasn’t going to stop Lu Ye.

Only his head enlarged. He opened his massive bloody maw, aaaahhh—his mouth stretched to the limit, his face turning almost feral—and finally, he chomped down on the whole pill in one bite.

Munch munch munch...

The pill went down.

A massive wave of energy erupted, spreading rapidly through his body.

Lu Ye sat cross-legged. His heart was already set—after refining this pill, he would immediately leave Grand Dao Sect.

Not only would he leave—he would make sure the entire world knew.

When the time came: Dao Integration!