The crimson cauldron, adorned all over with animal patterns, landed heavily upon the stone platform, its weight nearly causing the platform to tremble slightly. Facing the cauldron, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, then exhaled a burst of emerald flame as he opened his mouth. With a flick of his fingers, the flame trailed gracefully into the cauldron, where it instantly flared into a vibrant surge. The roaring flames danced and swirled within the cauldron, steadily raising the temperature, and gradually infusing the surrounding realm with a growing sense of warmth. As the flames rose, Xiao Yan waved his sleeve, and one after another, herbs drifted out from his storage amulet, floating in the air above the platform, suspended in a sphere of combat energy—like glowing, delicate orbs. From below, they appeared radiant and splendid. "The Tianhun Melting-Blood Pill, a seventh-rank concoction, exhibits remarkable effects in improving physical constitution and enhancing cultivation potential. Its preparation requires an exceptionally intricate array of ingredients—approximately seventy-seven in total. Among these, four primary materials stand out: Longxue Zhī (Dragon Blood Mushroom), Gǔlíng Guǒ (Bone Spirit Fruit), Xuāntiān Qīng Téng (Heavenly Blue Vine), and the essence of seventh-rank or higher mythical beasts. Each of these four materials is rare and precious, making their acquisition quite challenging. Moreover, the method of preparation itself is both meticulous and demanding..." The technique for crafting the Tianhuo Melting-Snow Pill gradually surfaced in Xiao Yan's mind, with key details being absorbed perfectly and without omission. Seventy-seven types of medicinal materials—such a quantity of herbs for a pill—had been something entirely new that Xiao Yan had never seen before. Even the Di Ling Pill, crafted by the Elder Pharmacist specifically to collect the fallen Heart Flame, required fewer herbs than this. Thus, it was evident that the difficulty in preparing the Tian Hún Róng Xuè Pill surpassed even that of the Di Ling Pill. A flurry of thoughts flashed through Xiao Yan’s mind, only to be swiftly dispelled. He raised his head, sensed the temperature within the cauldron, and nodded slightly. With a gentle gesture of his finger, the vigorous emerald flames swirling within the cauldron gradually softened and dimmed. He kept his gaze fixed upon the cauldron. After a moment, Xiao Yan moved his finger slightly, and a beam of light swept across, then solidified into a single Lingzhi mushroom, its entire body a deep crimson, which settled into his hand. As soon as the mushroom appeared, a rich, blood-like aroma filled the air. Within this scent, a particularly refined energy pulse subtly shimmered. This is one of the primary ingredients for crafting the Celestial Soul-Infused Blood Pills—Longblood Mushroom. Though this mushroom is not truly stained with dragon's blood, its formation is no less difficult; it must absorb the blood of at least three serpent-shaped mythical beasts before it can break through the soil and emerge. Xiao Yan gently rubbed his fingers over the surface of the Longblood Mushroom, sensing the refined, slightly cold energy within. He exhaled softly, then lightly flicked his finger, causing the mushroom to shimmer into a crimson glow and fall into the medicinal cauldron. With the addition of the Longblood Mushroom, the previously dormant emerald flames within the cauldron instantly surged like starving wolves, violently surging upward and engulfing it in one go. As the flames devoured the Longblood Mushroom, Xiao Yan swiftly snapped his fingers, and the numerous floating luminous dots suspended in mid-air immediately divided into nearly ten consecutive segments, each one deliberately plunged into the cauldron, bravely advancing into the flames. Since the Longblood Mushroom is naturally cold and perishes upon contact with heat, its medicinal essence must be extracted through the counterbalancing effect of other herbs to neutralize its cold nature. The herbs previously added to the cauldron were precisely prepared for this purpose. With so many herbs being simultaneously refined, the demands on the user's spiritual strength were quite rigorous—yet fortunately, Xiao Yan currently possessed both the qualifications and the strength required. Numerous herbs that had plunged into the flame were swiftly withered within just a few breaths of contact with the Liru Lotus Heart Fire, ultimately reducing to fine ash. Meanwhile, droplets of pure medicinal liquid remained, and under the precise control of Xiao Yan's soul force, they were gently blended and evenly dripped onto the increasingly withered Longxuechi. A few drops of pale liquid medication were sprinkled onto the blood-red sheets of powder. Immediately, under the steady temperature surrounding them, the sheets began to melt subtly. Within a few minutes, a blood-colored mass, about the size of a fist, appeared in the medicinal cauldron. Watching the successful initial refinement, Xiao Yan finally exhaled in relief. With a wave of his hand, the flames enveloped the substance, and the gradually radiating warmth caused the blood-colored liquid to shrink steadily. Its hue, however, grew increasingly rich and deep. When the liquid had shrunk down to the size of a thumb, it had become remarkably viscous. Seeing this, a smile appeared on Xiao Yan's lips. With a simple gesture, a beam of light swept over and solidified into a white fruit with a surface marked by numerous irregular depressions—this was the so-called Bone Spirit Fruit. The extraction of the primary materials was exceptionally demanding; without a specialized refining method, it was extremely difficult to isolate and extract the desired medicinal essence. This was true of Longblood Mushroom; the Bone Spirit Fruit and even the later-stage Xuan Tian Qing Vine were no exception. The refinement of the Bone Spirit Fruit proved even more challenging. After carefully blending nearly twenty ingredients and spending nearly an hour of continuous effort, Xiao Yan finally succeeded in extracting a droplet of pale, marrow-like liquid. Following the successful refinement of the Bone Spirit Fruit, Xiao Yan then transferred the Heavenly Azure Vine into the medicinal cauldron. This Heavenly Azure Vine was exceptionally hard—neither wood nor metal—and notably remarkable for its outstanding fire resistance. Even with the aid of the Lustrous Lotus Heart Flame, it took Xiao Yan a full two hours to finally crack fissures across its surface. As the cracks appeared in the Xuan Tian Qing Tong, another twenty or so luminous orbs soared into the cauldron and were ultimately fully refined by Xiao Yan, transforming into droplets of pure, potent medicinal liquid that settled upon the vine... Thanks to the harmonizing effects of these numerous herbs, roughly half an hour later, the Xuan Tian Qing Tong, which had previously resembled a dry branch, finally burst open, releasing a few pale green powders that were then solidified by Xiao Yan's spiritual power into a single green powder sphere. Three primary materials were successfully refined. Watching this scene, Xiao Yan and the distant observers, Su Qian among them, all exhaled in relief. Xiao Yan's swift and precise refining techniques had initially left them dazzled—though they were not deeply versed in alchemical practices, the seamless, fluid grace of his movements clearly conveyed a sense of elegance and harmony, something truly pleasing to behold. The waves of astonishment echoing through the inner courtyard failed to reach Xiao Yan's ears. After successfully extracting the three primary materials, he took a brief rest, then settled back, meditated quietly, and retrieved a jade vial from his storage amulet. Gently tilting the vial's mouth, a drop of vividly greenish-red blood slowly dripped down. Suspended before Xiao Yan, the drop of blood, though small in volume, radiated an intense, turbulent energy that was far from insignificant. This so-called azure blood was naturally extracted from the mysterious dry corpse of a mythical beast that Xiang Yin had obtained during the auction. The beast had a high rank during its lifetime, far exceeding the requirements for crafting the Tian Hún Róng Xuè Dan. Using it would undoubtedly yield a superior quality of medicine if the process succeeded. When this drop of azure-red blood appeared, the numerous elders in the sky also noticed and were visibly moved. Xiang Yin fixed his gaze upon the drop of azure-red blood, and after a moment, gently flicked his finger, causing the blood to drift gently and finally settle into the medicine pot. As soon as the azure-red blood entered the pot, the powerful energy it contained immediately stirred up strong gusts of wind within the pot. Observing this, Xiang Yin furrowed his brows, hesitated slightly, then firmly decided to pour the medicinal liquid and powders extracted from Long Xuè Zhī, Gǔ Líng Guǒ, and Xuan Tiān Qīng Téng directly into the azure-red blood. All three were items imbued with exceptionally potent energies. When they fell into the jade-red blood within the cauldron, they stirred not a single ripple. Yet, as Xiao Yan was just about to ease his breath, a sudden, violent surge of energy erupted violently from the jade-red blood, crashing forcefully against the inner wall of the cauldron. Instantly, a sharp, resonant sound spread rapidly, reaching every corner of the inner courtyard. The heavy cauldron trembled several times under the impact—had it been an ordinary one, this single shock would have caused it to burst open. Xiao Yan's expression remained uncertain, gazing intently at the droplet of jade-red blood within the cauldron. Now, its smooth surface had developed fine, slender spines, giving it the appearance of a small sea urchin. Within the swirling sea urchin, a turbulent energy surge roared with such intensity that words could scarcely describe it. Clang! Clang! One after another, waves of energy continuously struck against the inner walls of the cauldron, resonating with a clear, persistent sound throughout the inner courtyard. At this moment, nearly everyone clearly sensed that something was amiss in the brewing process. "Senior Elder, what should we do?" one elder asked softly, gazing at the stone platform. "What else can we do? Preparing pills isn't like fighting someone—how could we simply step in and help? In the current situation, we can only watch as Xiao Yan handles it himself. Any intervention from others merely disrupts him. Moreover, producing a seventh-rank pill is inherently challenging, and Xiao Yan is still only a sixth-rank alchemical artisan. A failure is entirely expected and far from unusual. There's no need to be alarmed." Su Qian said, frowning and speaking firmly. After being scolded by the senior elder, the elder only sighed and nodded in resignation. Amidst the entire inner courtyard, stunned by the continuous, resonant waves of sound, Xiao Yan's gaze remained fixed on the cauldron, his soul energy pouring out completely, saturating every corner of it. Though he knew that with his current alchemy skills, the success rate of producing seventh-rank pills was quite low, and even seasoned seventh-rank alchemists found it difficult to achieve a successful batch in a single attempt. As Xiao Yan's focus narrowed, his mind grew increasingly concentrated. At a sudden moment, a green flame surged within his dark eyes, and as the flame rose, he seemed to faintly perceive the intense battle between energy erosion and fusion occurring within the dark crimson blood. "So it is..." A soft, murmured voice slowly emerged from his lips.