Chapter 260: Supreme Condensing Infant Pill
"True Disciple Gu, are you satisfied with this setup?" Yun Chen led Gu Mo to the nearby fire vein. At this moment, Cloud Sky Immortal City had already transformed this fire vein extensively.
"Not bad!"
Gu Mo nodded. The fire vein itself was fairly ordinary in quality, but it was quite large in scale. With the array concentrating its power, it could now be used for alchemy or artifact forging.
Of course, using it to refine a breakthrough pill like the Condensing Infant Pill was still far from enough—but Gu Mo never intended to rely on this fire vein in the first place. It was merely bait to draw out the Fenghua Sect.
"As long as True Disciple Gu is satisfied."
Seeing Gu Mo's nod, Yun Chen couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. To reconstruct this fire vein in such a short time, Cloud Sky Immortal City had certainly invested enormous effort.
Yet doubts still lingered in his heart. Though not an alchemist himself, as the city lord he was well-traveled and knowledgeable. In his view, this fire vein could barely support the refining of some ordinary fourth-tier pills, let alone a breakthrough pill like the Condensing Infant Pill.
But Gu Mo's calm confidence silenced his concerns. As a true disciple of a top-tier sect, who could say he didn't possess some unique method of alchemy?
"Then let's begin."
As Yun Chen and the cultivators of Cloud Sky Immortal City withdrew, Gu Mo seated himself at the fire vein's core. He took out a fourth-tier Fire Torch Stump and a spirit-grade alchemy furnace—these were the true foundations of his confidence. The fire vein's sole purpose here was to supply spiritual energy to the Fire Torch Stump.
"Xiao Huo, cut in the Earthheart Molten Fire!"
Gu Mo set the spirit-grade furnace atop the Fire Torch Stump and spoke.
"Yes, Master!"
At once, a fierce, booming voice answered. The next instant, blazing Earthheart Molten Fire erupted from the Fire Torch Stump, engulfing the spirit-grade furnace.
At the same time, the runes etched across the furnace flared to life, its furnace spirit actively cooperating.
With both Xiao Huo and the furnace spirit assisting, Gu Mo's success rate in pill refinement had reached a staggering level.
Outside the fire vein—
The surrounding cultivators felt the surging spiritual power and craned their necks. Everyone knew the Shennong Valley true disciple was refining pills. The question was whether he could truly succeed.
"Success? Ridiculous—on such a poor-quality fire vein?" A newly advanced Nascent Soul True Lord of Fenghua Sect hid among the crowd. In his eyes, this fire vein was utterly unfit for such a high-tier pill. Yet, facing the reputation of a Shennong Valley true disciple, he dared not be careless.
At this moment, his power had already seeped into the fire vein. At the crucial instant, he would disrupt it. No matter what methods that disciple of Shennong Valley possessed, the pill would surely fail.
Time ticked by.
Gradually, a faint wisp of pill fragrance drifted out.
The onlookers froze in astonishment.
Already? So soon? Could this really be the Condensing Infant Pill, and not some lesser concoction?
But as more and more pill visions manifested, doubts were swept away. The omens accompanying a Condensing Infant Pill's refinement were widely known—even non-alchemists could name a few.
And the greater the vision, the higher the pill's quality. At the highest level, the pill could even draw down heavenly tribulation.
"What the—!"
Many were mid-discussion of legendary pill visions when suddenly the sky darkened, thunderclouds roiling overhead. Gasps broke out.
"It's pill tribulation! This Shennong Valley true disciple is refining a supreme Condensing Infant Pill!"
Everyone stared at the gathering thunderclouds, equivalent to those of a Nascent Soul Tribulation.
Of course, a cultivator's Nascent Soul Tribulation held nine bolts, while a pill tribulation for a Condensing Infant Pill would summon only one to three. Yet even a single bolt meant the pill had reached supreme quality.
If three bolts descended, then not only would the pill be supreme, but mysterious pill patterns would appear. Such a three-tribulation Condensing Infant Pill could almost guarantee a peak Core Formation cultivator's ascension to Nascent Soul, while also strengthening their foundation.
"Tell me, if it's supreme Condensing Infant Pills… will they still be auctioned?" one cultivator muttered. His words made everyone uneasy.
Even Yun Chen felt a pang of anxiety. If such pills appeared at Cloud Sky Immortal City's auction, it would be a historic event. But whether this Shennong Valley true disciple would actually put them up for auction was far from certain. Supreme-grade pills were too rare and unpredictable—even low-tier pills almost never reached that grade.
"No matter the quality, all Condensing Infant Pills will be auctioned." Gu Mo's voice resounded.
He himself was surprised to have produced a supreme Condensing Infant Pill. This was his very first refinement since reaching Nascent Soul and obtaining the spirit-grade furnace, and the synergy of Xiao Huo and the furnace spirit exceeded his expectations.
"As expected of a top sect's true disciple—magnanimous indeed!"
The crowd erupted in excitement. None had expected him to auction even a supreme Condensing Infant Pill.
Soon, sects and clans began tallying their resources. For an ordinary Condensing Infant Pill, many would hesitate, unwilling to gamble their entire fortune on a pill that only slightly increased the odds of breaking through.
But a supreme Condensing Infant Pill? For any Core Formation cultivator with a solid foundation, it was nearly a guaranteed ascension.
Faced with such certainty, countless sects were ready to stake everything. If they produced a new Nascent Soul True Lord, their sect would rise in rank, and today's sacrifice would repay itself manyfold.
"Well then, Fenghua Sect—it's your move."
Gu Mo spread his divine sense outward, watching the crowd. With a supreme Condensing Infant Pill about to be successfully refined and openly auctioned in Cloud Sky Immortal City, Fenghua Sect's Immortal City plan was as good as dead.
If they intervened to sabotage the pill and it failed, the blame would fall squarely on them. At that point, Gu Mo would have every reason to strike, and no one would object—indeed, most would applaud.
Boom!
Gu Mo had barely finished the thought when the previously steady fire vein began to churn violently.
The onlookers gasped, Yun Chen most of all. He had overseen the array within the fire vein—if something went wrong, the responsibility would fall squarely on him.
"That's it?"
Gu Mo sensed the disturbance and shook his head. This would not affect his alchemy in the slightest. After all, he hadn't even been using the fire vein.
Even if it exploded outright, it would make no difference. Well—except perhaps slowing Xiao Huo's spiritual absorption.
Ignoring the disturbance in the fire vein, Gu Mo continued refining the pill. Although he could tell that the disruption was caused by Fenghua Sect, their method was so well concealed that if he were to declare the alchemy a failure now, there would be no way to pin the blame on them.
Instead, Yun Tian Immortal City would end up taking the fall. After all, the fire vein was under their responsibility. With the fire vein now showing abnormal fluctuations, people would naturally assume that Yun Tian Immortal City's formations had malfunctioned.
"In circumstances like this, he can still remain steady… That true disciple of Shennong Valley has terrifying mastery in the Dao of Alchemy."
Outside, the crowd looked at the tribulation clouds still rolling in the sky. Their earlier worries about the fire vein disturbance gradually eased. To remain this stable in such unfavorable conditions—what astonishing alchemical skill that was.
"Impossible!"
Among the crowd, Fenghua Sect's newly advanced Nascent Soul True Lord was shaken. Even under these conditions, he couldn't disrupt the opponent's pill refinement. His expression shifted.
The plan had failed. Now, that Nascent Soul of Fenghua Sect also realized how troublesome this was. If it were just an ordinary Condensing Nascent Pill, Fenghua Sect could still afford to retreat.
But a supreme-grade Condensing Nascent Pill? Fenghua Sect could not back down. If such a pill were to appear in the world, their Immortal City project would be finished. Fenghua Sect had poured enormous effort into that project.
Beyond that, the emergence of such a pill meant that yet another sect or faction would gain a new Nascent Soul True Lord. That was hardly good news for Fenghua Sect.
"Don't tell me this is their only move."
Gu Mo noticed that aside from the fire vein disturbance, nothing else had happened. He couldn't help but feel speechless—surely Fenghua Sect hadn't only prepared this one trick?
If they didn't make another move, he was about to draw the pill.
"Could it be they're betting the pill won't survive the tribulation?" Gu Mo muttered inwardly. At the very moment when the pill was completely refined and emerged from the furnace, the tribulation would descend. Only by surviving the baptism of heavenly tribulation would a pill be recognized as a true supreme-grade.
If it failed to withstand the tribulation, everything would be for nothing. This was why supreme-grade fourth-rank pills were so precious—the difficulty wasn't just in refinement, but also in overcoming tribulation.
However, Gu Mo was confident that this Condensing Nascent Pill had a high chance of success. With Xiaohuo and the artifact spirit working in perfect harmony, medicinal essence loss had been minimal, giving the pill deep reserves. That foundation should be more than enough to resist the tribulation.
He continued nurturing the pill for a while longer. Still seeing no follow-up from Fenghua Sect, Gu Mo no longer hesitated and opened the furnace to release the pill.
In that instant, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the fire vein region. The gathered cultivators all felt their spiritual power subtly rise just from inhaling it.
"It must have succeeded."
Yun Chen inhaled the fragrance and was almost certain. Only a pill with profound depth could exude such a dense aroma. Pills refined with barely enough success would only emit a faint scent.
"Rumble!"
At the very moment the pill flew out, a blinding bolt of lightning fell from the rolling tribulation clouds.
"Boom!"
Within that dazzling thunderbolt, a second streak of lightning suddenly appeared. This one was clearly not from the tribulation—it was a human strike, someone seizing the cover of heavenly lightning to destroy the supreme Condensing Nascent Pill.
"They finally acted!"
Gu Mo, who had been watching carefully, instantly locked onto one figure in the crowd. Yet he did not strike immediately. After all, the pill had not yet been destroyed. Using a supreme Condensing Nascent Pill as bait to drag Fenghua Sect into the open—Gu Mo was willing to pay that price.
"Crack!"
Struck by the two bolts, the pill's smooth surface split with fissures before shattering completely.
"Ah!!"
Everyone stared in shock as the pill burst apart in the sky.
"Something's wrong—how could there have been two lightning bolts just now? Someone interfered!" one cultivator suddenly shouted. A moment earlier, everyone's attention had been fixed on the pill itself, but that second lightning strike couldn't have gone unnoticed.
It was just that since all eyes had been on the pill, nobody could tell who had acted.
The others might not know, but Gu Mo knew perfectly well. And now it was time to act. At once, the dragon-blood kelp coiled at his waist shot forth, lashing toward the target he had locked on earlier.
Seeing Gu Mo suddenly attack, the crowd was startled. The most shocked of all was, of course, Fenghua Sect's newly advanced Nascent Soul. He had assumed everyone's focus was on the pill, so his move would go unnoticed.
But he never expected Shennong Valley's true disciple to come straight for him.
Without hesitation, the Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul fled at once. Having disguised his identity, as long as he wasn't caught, things wouldn't be too serious.
Except…
"Boom!"
With a deafening crash, the Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul was struck from the sky mid-flight. Yun Chen had acted. His heart was filled with rage.
Yun Tian Immortal City had been on the verge of receiving a supreme Condensing Nascent Pill, only for it to be ruined by sabotage. All their anticipation shattered in an instant. Even with his long years of experience, Yun Chen found the emotional blow unbearable.
Against a long-established figure like Yun Chen, the Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul dared not clash directly and tried again to flee. But just then, the dragon-blood kelp arrived.
Having been nourished with Gu Mo's sun essence, the kelp's power had grown by leaps and bounds. Before long, it would reach mid-fourth rank.
Two against one, the Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul couldn't last long before being captured by Yun Chen. In truth, Yun Chen and the dragon-blood kelp could easily have killed him.
But neither Gu Mo nor Yun Chen chose to. Yun Chen, having guessed the man's identity, didn't wish to completely tear things apart with Fenghua Sect, so he held back.
Gu Mo, on the other hand, felt there was little meaning in killing a Fenghua Sect Nascent Soul. He could crush such opponents anytime. Better to capture him alive and demand compensation for the supreme pill.
Gu Mo had always been wary of the relic inheritance Fenghua Sect had acquired. Perhaps this time he could use the situation to probe their secrets.
One supreme Condensing Nascent Pill, plus a Nascent Soul True Lord as a hostage—Fenghua Sect would hardly be able to smooth things over without revealing something of that relic inheritance.
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