Chapter 90: No More Waiting

"Jie jie jie jie..."

In the Demon Realm, the Heavenly Demon Emperor threw his head back and cackled madly. A pitch-black banner hovered behind him, radiating boundless black fog. Within the mist, it was as if countless souls were letting out ear-piercing wails.

"I never would've guessed—I really never would've guessed!"

The Demon Emperor was nearly laughing himself stupid.

By the Devil Saints!

Forty-six Tribulation Realm cultivators dead—slaughtered in one go by a killing maniac who triggered the heavenly tribulation through some unknown means. All wiped out at once.

He’d only just received the news and had almost choked to death from laughter.

Around him, the many demon race cultivators—also at the Tribulation Realm—bared their fangs in savage grins.

They’d been worried before—concerned that their younger generation had suffered too many casualties, leaving them with a weak future.

But now?

There was nothing to worry about at all.

Because the human race wasn’t running out of strength anymore—they were just plain out of strength.

"Forty-six Tribulation Realm cultivators. Forty-six!"

The Demon Emperor kept repeating the number, unable to contain his joy. For the demon race, this was like losing a colossal enemy overnight.

"Pass down my Demon Emperor Decree! Contact the other clans! It’s time to march into the Great Wilderness—our chance to unify the First Heaven is here!"

"This time, I will let my Ten Thousand Soul Banner feast on the souls of the human race!"

"Yes!"

Just like in the Demon Realm—

The spies of other races embedded among the humans had already sent word back. When the foreign clans heard it, they all exploded into uproar.

The fall of forty-six Tribulation Realm powerhouses was practically a festival for them.

They quickly received a message from the Heavenly Demon Emperor.

"Attack!"

"Attack!"

"A once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity! We must strike the Great Wilderness now—while the humans are in chaos and fear!"

"Unite! This time, we’ll make the human race pay!"

"I think we should wait a little longer. The humans have already lost their Tribulation Realm experts. Every one of those takes immense time and resources to cultivate. And now they’ve turned on each other. That Lu Ye, ranked first on the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking, killed all those cultivators—and the Grand Dao Sect still chose to side with him. How could the other sects possibly let this go?"

"There will definitely be another war. And it won’t be small."

"Either the Grand Dao Sect gets destroyed, or the rest of the human factions suffer another massive loss. Don’t rush—don’t rush!"

"Amitabha. Wise words. This humble monk also believes we should wait a little longer."

"Very well. But we must begin gathering strength. Be ready to strike at any time!"

The many foreign clans began their discussions.

Then, from the God Clan, a voice rose—Water Liang, descendant of the Water God.

"Perhaps... we can also reach out to the forces that lost the most during the slaughter."

"What do you mean?"

"The Supreme Empire has already contacted our God Clan. They said—if we can destroy the Grand Dao Sect and kill Lu Ye, the Supreme Empire is willing to coexist with us."

Hm???

This news from Water Liang instantly piqued the foreign clan leaders’ interest.

"The Supreme Empire really said that?"

"Indeed."

"Interesting. That’s worth considering."

......

Grand Dao Sect.

"I’ve had enough waiting!"

Lu Ye shot to his feet. No enemies had come—just waiting here like this was a waste of life.

Lu Ye wasn’t the type to sit idle.

He needed to cultivate.

His figure vanished.

And when he reappeared, he was already at Pill Peak.

By now, everyone in the Grand Dao Sect knew his name. The image of him summoning tribulation lightning to annihilate the enemy was still vivid—like it had happened only yesterday.

"Disciple Lu Ye seeks audience with Peak Lord Qinghuo!"

As soon as they heard it was Lu Ye, the elders of Pill Peak didn’t dare be negligent. One of them immediately led Lu Ye up the peak and sent word to Daoist Qinghuo.

They hadn’t even walked far when Qinghuo’s laughter rang out loudly.

"Hahaha! Lu Ye! Coming to my Pill Peak—surely you’re here for some pills? Whatever you need, just tell me!"

Lu Ye stepped forward and bowed to Daoist Qinghuo.

"Greetings, Peak Lord. This disciple has not come to request pills—I wish to borrow the Nine-Dragon Departing Flame Furnace to refine a grand pill of my own."

Peak Lord Qinghuo was immediately surprised.

"You know how to refine pills?"

"I do."

No need for modesty here—Lu Ye’s alchemy skills could be described as nothing short of a Dao unto itself.

"What kind of pill do you intend to refine?"

"It has no formal name. But if you must call it something... then let it be called Great Spirit Pill."

"Hmm?"

Qinghuo blinked, confused.

A pill with no name? Didn’t that mean... this pill was created by Lu Ye himself?

Now come on—that couldn’t be right. The kid was still so young. It was already monstrous enough that he had reached this level of cultivation. How could he also have the years of immersion and study needed to become a grandmaster of alchemy?

Lu Ye smiled. "This disciple understands your doubts, Peak Lord. But it doesn’t matter. I only need to use the Nine-Dragon Departing Flame Furnace for a while. It’s tough enough that even if I blow it up, it won’t take a scratch. You can rest easy."

Well, that was true.

"Alright then. Come with me!"

The two of them made their way to the location of the Nine-Dragon Departing Flame Furnace.

The furnace stood about three feet in diameter, with nine dragons spiraling around its outer shell. When activated, all nine dragons could spew flame simultaneously—an extraordinary artifact, and one of the most famed pill furnaces in not just the Grand Dao Sect, but the entire First Heaven.

"Uh... can I watch you refine?" Qinghuo asked curiously.

He didn’t entirely believe Lu Ye had high-level pill-refining skills. But if the kid wasn’t bad, he could offer some guidance. And who knew? If Lu Ye was impressed by his knowledge, he might even ask to learn under him. Then he’d technically become half of Lu Ye’s master.

Just the thought of it made him giddy.

Lu Ye didn’t refuse.

"Feel free, Peak Lord."

He raised a hand—white Sunlight Flame ignited beneath the furnace. The nine carved dragons immediately responded as if they’d awakened from slumber.

The furnace flared to life, beginning to preheat.

Qinghuo nodded slightly. Alright, this part looked pretty solid. Good fire control, clean technique.

Lu Ye then pulled out a handful of spiritual herbs—and casually tossed them all in at once.

"Eh?"

Qinghuo blinked. Lu Ye had already thrown them in before he could even see what they were.

Wait—what?

Who refined pills like this?!

The flame roared higher, and within the furnace, the herbs were instantly liquefied into potent medicinal essence.

Qinghuo instinctively lifted both hands—if he weren’t too embarrassed, he probably would’ve already covered his ears.

This was going to explode!

He waited for the blast—

But it never came.

Instead, the lid of the furnace opened on its own. Inside, twelve Qi-replenishing Pills glowed with thick medicinal fragrance. Every pill was perfectly round, glistening, evenly marked with refined lines.

"Boundless Heavenly Sovereign!" Qinghuo cried out.

It was done?!

Who the hell refined pills like this—just tossing everything in at once? Medicinal energies had different melting rates—this method should’ve guaranteed violent conflict between essences.

But Lu Ye... did it anyway.

And he succeeded.

Lu Ye casually tested his hand, gauging his current state. Not bad.

Time to begin.

Suddenly, he summoned a massive pile of spiritual herbs—each brimming with intense spiritual energy.

These were Tribulation-tier treasures.

"Wait, wait—" Qinghuo /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ stammered.

Lu Ye casually tossed dozens of kinds of spiritual herbs straight into the Nine-Dragon Departing Flame Furnace.

"—wait a moment!"

Lu Ye turned his head, manipulating the flame with ease, and asked curiously, "What is it?"

Qinghuo’s face had turned pale.

It was over. Pill Peak was about to blow sky-high.