Chapter 1056 Blessed by the Heavens
The yin-yang exchange in the furnace congested the entire pill-refinery process. At first, he actively spurred on the yin-yang exchange, but now, he had to balance and stabilize this equilibrium. It was difficult to move something that was standing still, but it was even more difficult to stop something from moving. What was important was his grasp of balance at that moment.
"Your guidance should be gentle, but your actions have to be quick. You cannot allow the medicine to sense external forces, but you have to gradually permeate the medicine at the same time. You have to use the most sudden method to fix it in place while it hasn"t reacted.
"Once the outer layer has solidified, ensure the inside is still working…"
Nini continued to provide guidance. At the same time, she pressed her hands on the pill furnace with w.a.n.g Zhong. To a newbie, refining a level-8 Yin and Yang Pill was just too difficult. When she considered the success rate of forming pills, Nini stepped in without any hesitation. The ice powers of a water elemental spirit who was more skillful than w.a.n.g Zhong continued to spread over the surface of the Abstruse Ice Bronze Furnace. Along with the yin-yang exchange that w.a.n.g Zhong had created with the fire, the ice powers permeated the furnace and provided its guidance.
w.a.n.g Zhong was also at full attention. Whether he succeeded would depend on this move. At that moment, the exchange between their spiritual powers had formed a perfect cycle at the surface of the furnace, forming a mutual interaction with the medicine inside the furnace.
At this moment, Nini did not even need to talk. They allowed their spiritual power to "slow jog" about a hundred rounds inside the furnace. Not only did their spiritual power permeate the medicine, it felt as if even their soul, heartbeat, and pulse were in complete agreement with the rhythm of the medicine spinning inside the furnace.
When everything was perfect and they felt that they were one and the same with the pill furnace, they suddenly sensed that the spiritual power in their entire body — their soul, consciousness, heartbeat, and even pulse — was suddenly fixed in this instant!
The entire world seemed to have completely frozen in that moment. The buzzing pill furnace fell silent, and the spinning black and white powers turned into fixed yin and yang segments.
Then, a ray of white light shone from their hearts at the same time and broke through the solid darkness, releasing their consciousness once again. Lao w.a.n.g instantly felt that even through the thick pill furnace, he could smell the fragrant scent wafting throughout.
It was done!
Nini was somewhat excited and proud. Her master"s natural talents in pill refinery were not just for show. He had successfully refined a level-9 pill on his first try and had refined a level-8 pill on his first try too. Furthermore, it was the Yin and Yang Pill, one of the more difficult pills among the level-8 pills. Even then, he had succeeded on his first time!
However, it was a pity that she could only admire this kind of thing as it was very difficult to boast about. Back then, when she went back to tell those b.i.t.c.hes that her master had been able to form pills on his first try, those b.i.t.c.hes were so skeptical that they all verbally abused her. They did not believe her and caused her to hold back for a long time. Hmph hmph hmph! If there was a chance to do so, she would definitely make those little b.i.t.c.hes witness this for themselves!
Beside her, w.a.n.g Zhong wiped his sweat. The refinery process had taken almost nine hours. Combined with the control of the yin-yang exchange at the beginning and the end, this was much more difficult than refining the Vitality Supplement Pill. He had consumed two Vitality Supplement Pills just to replenish his spiritual power. However, what was more terrifying was the exhaustion of his spirit. Even with his powerful soul, he already felt extremely fatigued after refining this batch of pills.
Luckily, he had succeeded. If he had failed at the final stage, regardless of whether it was his spirit, stamina, or ingredients, his investments in many aspects would have threatened his livelihood.
He rested for a few minutes before opening the furnace lid. The level-8 pills were evidently much more intelligent than level-9 pills. Even after leaving the pills for a few minutes, the intelligence concealed in the pills did not disperse and flew out of the pill furnace like a wave. Furthermore, there was a much greater number of pills compared to when he refined the Vitality Supplement Pill. Luckily, Lao w.a.n.g"s movements were quick, and he was prepared. He captured 90% of the pills but still missed seven or eight pills. These pills started to fly everywhere in the pill house.
The speed at which these intelligent pills flew was extremely fast. He spent a lot of effort before getting them into a box. He counted the number of pills and found that there were 36 pills.
"Master is too amazing! This number is very good. Thirty-six is the number of the Big Dipper. This seems to be heaven"s intention." Nini chattered and curried favor with him. Of course, this definitely did not seem like bootlicking to her. She was simply explaining a reality.
"What about the results of pill formation?" Lao w.a.n.g had taken a look and had already formed a rough judgment but wanted to refer to Nini"s opinion as well. After all, he was a newbie, but Nini was a professional.
"Master, Master, you should know even without looking. They are at least 70% pills! The quality of this batch is too good!" There was no lack of bootlicking, but this time, Nini did not exaggerate the reality.
The number of pills formed from each batch of pills was also the most basic condition to judge the quality of the pills at a glance. If one was able to achieve the Big Dipper number, the quality of the pills would be decent. One could not a.s.sure that they would all be 70% pills, but they were definitely at least 60% pills.
This was similar to the results of w.a.n.g Zhong"s quick judgment. He had estimated that they were between 60% to 70% pills. It could be said that his first batch of level-8 pills had exceeded his standards. Of course, Nini"s help at the end when the pills were being formed was also one of the key factors.
Lao w.a.n.g was very satisfied and consumed a Vitality Supplement Pill to replenish his vitality. His calm mind nourished his fatigued soul. After a short recuperation, he immediately jumped into the second batch.
"We have to strike the iron while it"s hot. Another batch!"
With 10 portions of ingredients and 10 batches of pills, the refinery process stretched over four to five consecutive days. They were all extraordinarily successful, even more successful than w.a.n.g Zhong and Nini had expected.
He did not fail in any of the 10 batches. The quality of the pills were good, and he produced 70% pills on average. He had even refined a batch of 90% pills. Furthermore, the number of pills produced was very high. In total, he had 403 pills. Each batch produced a stable number of about 40 pills. The first batch of pills was considered a small batch.
With these achievements, it was very obvious that his success with the first batch was not a coincidence.
The difficulty of the Yin and Yang Pill was in the yin-yang exchange. Back when he was on Earth, w.a.n.g Zhong, who had the Great 5 Elements Const.i.tution, had interacted with the exchange and integration of the 5 Elements. Although the essence of the two were different, they involved the mastery of balance between different powers. This was definitely w.a.n.g Zhong"s forte. As a result, he was unusually smooth in adjusting the balance between yin and yang. The more he refined, the more he understood.
Nini started to feel that this kind of freakish performance was no longer strange. Even though she would still shriek in fright, most of the time, it was just to display her admiration towards her owner. In any case, regardless of what heaven-defying performance he had in pill refinery, Nini would not feel that it was impossible.
When he walked out of the pill house, Lao w.a.n.g was fatigued to the point that he almost could not open his eyes. This was a rare occurrence.
He could not use a Yin and Yang Pill for himself. Other than three pills he took as a souvenir for himself, he threw the remaining 400 pills to Nini and asked her to bring it to Old Cow and Uncle Sea in the Heavenly Treasures Street.
However, when he returned to the mushroom house, his fatigue, as well as how he fell asleep, immediately caused Jhonas to have many thoughts.
According to normal procedures, when Boss locked himself in the pill house for a few days before emerging again, he would definitely throw a bunch of pills for Jhonas to sell. But this time, not only were there no pills for him to sell, but Boss also looked dispirited and did not want to utter even one sentence… He had definitely failed.
He had no intention of looking down on w.a.n.g Zhong, but Jhonas had managed to find some balance in his mentality.
How would it be possible for a pill refinery genius that was even more impressive than the Sh.e.l.l race pioneers to appear so easily? He was very impressive in both combat and pill refinery. He even allowed the people around him to be confident and live bright lives.
Boss had definitely refined the Vitality Supplement Pill by fluke. It just so happened that this pill was suitable with Boss"s attributes, but he had actually dared to say that he wanted to begin refining a level-8 pill. See, this was the price of "arrogance"… Forget it, forget it. He did not need to ask Boss. After refining the level-8 pills for several days with no success at all, his losses were very large. No one knew how big the fire that Boss was suppressing in his heart was. It was best for Jhonas to lie low for the next few days, to not tease him and ask for a scolding.
...
There were countless legends regarding the Netherworld River. There were terrifying ones, pleasant ones, and destructive ones. There was a variety of myths, and almost every civilization had a different legend about the Netherworld River. Any intelligent life would turn to their beliefs in a difficult and despairing environment. Meanwhile, the entire divine territory could not explain the reason why the Netherworld River existed. They could only sense its strength.
However, there was a similarity among these different legends. They all mentioned a Netherworld King. They all believed that the Netherworld River had a consciousness. It was said that this King was a Gold Core expert living in the underground world.
This was supposed to just be a legend. Just like the great deities in other legends, the Netherworld King was an unreachable existence.
However, from an unknown period of time, a declaration that many people pledged was true had started to spread everywhere in the underground world. "The Netherworld King has appeared, and he has chosen an apostle. The power of the Netherworld River is increasing, and the underground world is going to walk towards brilliance. Furthermore, there is the mysterious Netherworld River Wanderer, as well as a second person who has been brought in as an apostle of the Netherworld King. The Netherworld King will bestow eternal life upon his apostles."
This rumor instantly gave those who were curious about the mysterious Netherworld River Wanderer a most-satisfying explanation. In the depths of their hearts, they had thought the same. Although the Wanderer was powerful, he relied more on the power of the Netherworld River and was not a peak expert. Now, there was a perfect explanation to everything.
Most importantly, the will of the Netherworld River had to expand and needed apostles who could walk on land. Thus, the great Netherworld King bestowed them with the powers of the Netherworld River. This was a fatal temptation.
The clouds of rumors surged and drew in the entire underground world! After living in the underground world, who did not respect and fear the Netherworld River? Who did not know about the invincible might of the Netherworld River? Who did not want to become the spokesperson of the Netherworld River? Just the point of being unharmed by the Netherworld River was enough to drive everyone into a frenzy.
No one doubted the truth about the Netherworld King. As for the existence of the Wanderer, the constant trading for Netherworld River red spider lilies was a new phenomenon that had never occurred in the underground world. They had guessed that this definitely meant something. Now, the hidden information had finally seen the light of day, and everything now had a convincing reason and a greater significance behind them. "The Netherworld King will rise from the underground world. The will of the New World will expand."
At the same time, various large Factions explored countless times and used many divine artifacts to observe the Wanderer. They could be 100% sure that the so-called Wanderer was no more than a mere Foundational Stage. This did not make sense! How could the Netherworld River choose a weakling? However, the Wanderer was not equal to an apostle. This made everything rational again. His power had been "bestowed" upon him, and he had borrowed his power from the Netherworld King.
Of course, they did not dare to look down upon the Netherworld River Wanderer because of this. After all, he was the first. Just as he had said, he was the first pupil of the Netherworld King. Anyone could see how close he was to the Netherworld River as the first pupil. Thus, the Netherworld River would naturally ensure his safety, conceal his whereabouts, and even open the door to the Netherworld River for him, allowing him to instantly arrive at any area of the River he wanted to go.
Thus, the entire underground world went crazy from this piece of information. The treasure vault of the Netherworld River was opening. They had personally seen how the Netherworld River Wanderer had squandered these treasures of the Netherworld River!
Some experts had started to awaken. This incident was large enough. The rising powers in the entire divine territory were controlled by the civilizations above. The Heavenly Gates was a key that closed off the underground world. Thus, the Netherworld River might be their only chance of breaking through.
At h.e.l.l Island…
Grai cautiously touched the Netherworld River. His face was rather pale. He sensed the terrifying and threatening power in the Netherworld River as his soul was being pulled on. It was like the feeling of entering the Fifth Dimension with his soul back on Earth. However, this place was not the Fifth Dimension that could be formed by soul energy. Grai was very clear that with the density and pressure of the divine territory, once a soul with a strength of no more than the peak Foundational Stage left the body, it would immediately be smashed into pieces by the divine territory. Furthermore, those pieces would be engulfed by the Netherworld River.
There was no s.p.a.ce for one to fight back or escape by luck.
He sensed coldness. The entire world was devoid of warmth. His body became colder and colder as the heat was rapidly washed away from his body…
Suddenly, a hand landed on Grai"s shoulder. Gentle warmth was immediately transmitted. In an instant, the power of the Netherworld River started to retreat. His soul was no longer being pulled on.
Whoos.h.!.+
Grai suddenly pulled back his hand. He turned around and saw the smile on Mu Zi"s face. He shook his head and laughed bitterly. "I still can"t do it. Whenever I try to absorb its power, the Netherworld River will instantly break through the safe limits."
"That"s a pity. But you have adjusted to the Netherworld River, so the power of the Netherworld River will no longer harm you. Thus, you will eventually be like me and find a way to communicate with the Netherworld River." Mu Zi smiled. As long as one established communication with the Netherworld River, one would not feel any backlash when absorbing the power of the Netherworld River.
Grai nodded his head. From a certain angle, the rumors were not wrong. Indeed, Mu Zi had received the consciousness of the Netherworld River, while other people did not.
To Grai, w.a.n.g Zhong, Aiolos, and Mu Zi were Earthlings who had been blessed by the heavens. Mu Zi was able to give other lives the "Netherworld River Seal" that made them immune to harm from the Netherworld River. This was one of the main points when constructing the "Netherworld King". Of course, they would not give this away easily. This was the key to establis.h.i.+ng their footing.
Furthermore, the hidden trump card was that Mu Zi could bestow the Netherworld River Seal, but could also remove it.
Mu Zi guarded the Netherworld River, while Grai would be the person to take action. This way, it would be much easier to protect Mu Zi"s existence. Also, Grai was more nimble when dealing with matters like these.
Grai proposed a contribution-mark strategy. That is, the Netherworld King would issue missions, and those who completed the mission in the best manner would obtain Netherworld River contribution marks. Once they acc.u.mulated enough contribution marks, they would obtain the Netherworld River Seal. At the same time, there was another method: destiny. Any destined ones could become an apostle of the Netherworld River without any contributions.
Needless to say, Grai had understood the rhythm of the underground world thoroughly. While he was crazy and used unrestrained methods, he also liked to be opportunistic and take risks. These two methods could put them in a relatively safe position.