"There's still a pill being refined in this furnace. What kind of pill could it be? And yet… there's no scent of medicine, no trace of herbal fragrance. Is this pill being refined by the Dark City Lord, or was it already here to begin with? Could it be the creation of some mysterious supreme being?"
Yi Tianxing frowned slightly as he looked at the furnace before him. It exuded an ancient and mysterious aura.
He had never seen a pill-refining method like this.
Not knowing what kind of pill was being refined made Yi Tianxing somewhat uneasy. If the pill was already formed, opening the furnace rashly might ruin it, wasting the entire batch. But if it was empty, then there was no point in hesitating.
Yet if this was some kind of rare and wondrous pill…
There were countless types of pills in the world. Since the fusion of the myriad realms, bizarre and miraculous pills had become too numerous to catalog. Alchemy techniques varied wildly—some used heavenly tribulations, others used the essence of mountains and rivers.
Right now, Yi Tianxing feared that this might be one of those special pills, and that opening the furnace without the correct method might destroy it.
He wasn't afraid of the furnace being empty—but if there was a pill inside and it was ruined due to a misstep, that would be truly tragic.
"But in the end, I'll have to open it eventually. Might as well be decisive."
Yi Tianxing had never been one to hesitate. Within moments, he made up his mind.
After all, he had seized this pill furnace. Whether or not it held any pills, it was already a major gain. Just having such a top-tier alchemical furnace was reward enough. With that thought, he felt more at ease.
Now that his mind was settled, he finally had the time to carefully examine the pill furnace in front of him.
This was no ordinary pill furnace—it was a Four Symbols Furnace.
Its surface was engraved with the totems of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, each radiating a unique aura. These totems naturally gathered different types of elemental energies—fire, water, earth, and wind—creating within the furnace a simulation of the primordial chaos of the world's beginning.
By aligning with the four symbols and anchoring the four poles, it channeled innate qi.
Pills refined in such a furnace not only had a higher success rate but were also naturally purer, as impurities were removed more thoroughly. The quality of pills produced would inherently be superior. Such a furnace was extremely difficult to forge and was a dream treasure for any alchemist. It was nearly impossible to obtain.
If it were ever without an owner, fierce battles would break out over it.
What made it even stranger was that the furnace lid was held in place by the claws of the Four Divine Beasts, one claw from each, pressing it down from four directions as if it were seamlessly fused to the body of the furnace.
To open it, one would either have to be its true master—able to command the beasts to release the lid—or forcibly inject immense amounts of true essence to force them apart. The latter method would consume terrifying amounts of energy.
"Open for me!!"
Yi Tianxing pressed one hand against the furnace and, with a thought, began flooding it with waves of true essence. Immediately, a shocking scene unfolded.
As the true essence poured in, the once-faint totems of the Four Divine Beasts became gradually more vivid, shining with divine light as though returning from illusion into reality.
Roar!
Howl!
The cries of dragons, tigers, and phoenixes echoed sharply in the air.
At the same time, Yi Tianxing's own true essence poured out like a gushing river.
When more than half of his true essence had been consumed, the four totems burst into full brilliance, and the claws holding the lid down slowly lifted.
Boom!!
With a wave of his hand, Yi Tianxing lifted the heavy lid with a surge of power, detaching it from the furnace.
"...Empty? There's really no pill?"
He had been prepared to capture any pill that emerged the moment the lid came off—but nothing happened.
No light, no pill aura, no reaction.Empty.
Though disappointed, he wasn't too surprised.
"Well… if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. Seeking fortune in the unexpected too often leads to greed. I should rely on my own pill-refining skill. That's the proper path."
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath, steadying his emotions. He was no longer shaken.
This sort of thing couldn't be forced.
Just acquiring the Four Symbols Pill Furnace was already a priceless gain.
"I've already gained so much from the Dark City. No need to get greedy. Greed leads to misfortune."
Smiling and shaking his head, he stood up, grabbed the lid, and prepared to reseal the furnace.
But as he approached, he instinctively glanced inside.
That one look made his entire body tremble.
There was something inside.
It hadn't flown out because it wasn't floating—it was sitting at the very bottom of the furnace, unmoving.
"A baby...? No, a pill? Is this a Nascent Soul Pill? Or a mythical Ginseng Fruit? But I've never heard of a black ginseng fruit... What is this?"
The object in the furnace shocked even Yi Tianxing. It was nothing like a typical pill. Most pills were spherical—this one was humanoid.
A humanoid pill.
Something this rare was nearly beyond belief.
Humanoid pills were often referred to as Dao Fruits by cultivators. They were condensed manifestations of universal truth, formed through heaven and earth's boundless energy. Their value was immeasurable—true priceless treasures.
Any single one of them could cause bloodshed across the world.
"How is this possible? How could something like this exist?"
Yi Tianxing's heart thumped wildly. The pill was pitch-black and shaped like a newborn infant. Its aura was mesmerizing, seemingly able to swallow all who gazed upon it.
Even the Wordless Heavenly Tome couldn't identify it—proof that it was powerful enough to obscure heavenly secrets.
That alone marked it as extraordinary.
The humanoid pill looked like a child not even three months old. Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, arms, and legs—all perfectly formed.
Even more disturbing—it seemed to be smiling.
Yi Tianxing's expression hardened. A chill ran down his spine.
"This pill… it's smiling. That's not normal. This is no ordinary item."
The subtle, evil grin at the corner of the pill's mouth was impossible to miss. If not for his sharp memory, he might have thought he imagined it. But he knew it was real.
A regular humanoid pill should never behave like this. Could it have already gained sentience?
Legend held that once a humanoid pill awakened intelligence, it could cultivate and evolve like a living being. Born of the Dao, such entities were known as Innate Dao Bodies, capable of rapid advancement and eventually becoming true powerhouses.
"Hahaha! I've waited so long! From now on, the world shall tremble beneath my feet!"
Suddenly, the pill shot up in a streak of black light and pierced into Yi Tianxing's forehead, laughing with wild, sinister glee.
Its voice echoed in his ears, bone-chilling and manic.
"Not good!"
Yi Tianxing tried to evade, but it was too late.
The timing had been perfect. As he leaned over the furnace, the pill struck. He had no chance to react.
In an instant, it drilled into his body—straight into his consciousness.
"It wants to possess me!"
Yi Tianxing's heart filled with shock and fury.He hadn't expected such a terrifying twist.
The humanoid pill wasn't just sentient—it was trying to seize control of his body.