C11 Yu Ru's Success

The seasoned Taoist worked methodically, swiftly transforming the scattered herbs on the ground into powders and liquids, now neatly contained in various vessels. A subtle scent of medicine wafted through the air.

"Is it time to start refining the contents of the brocade boxes? I wonder what they contain," Lin Yu mused, noticing the Taoist's furrowed brow and pause in his work.

His contemplation was fleeting. As the Taoist opened one of the boxes, Lin Yu's body jolted. "Azure Dragon Ginseng, and it's significantly larger than any I've seen before, with a richer aura of spiritual energy. Could this be the legendary sixth-level Azure Dragon Ginseng? Master is preparing to craft a pill of at least the fifth level!" He was awestruck by the revelation.

With a sharp command, the Azure Dragon Ginseng dropped into the furnace. The Taoist's hands moved through spells, stoking the flames within to a roaring boil, sending a wave of intense heat towards Lin Yu, who noticed a newfound gravity on the Taoist's face, illuminated by the fiery glow.

The Taoist's eyes were closed, his brow furrowed in concentration as he maintained the spell. Indeed, this was a Spiritgrass of a caliber beyond the fifth level. An hour had passed since the Azure Dragon Ginseng began its transformation. The furnace trembled slightly, its lid popping open as thick spiritual energy burst forth, condensing into a mist.

"Capture!" A streak of green light, entwined with flames, shot from the furnace into the Taoist's waiting hands.

Lin Yu watched intently as the light faded, revealing a cluster of green powder enveloped in a gentle flame, hovering above the Taoist's palm. The Taoist's hand shifted, producing a transparent vessel, which he used to carefully encase the flame-enshrouded powder.

"This must be the Spirit Severing Bottle," Lin Yu realized, recalling a passage from the alchemical book. It described how spiritual things, rich in spiritual energy, required containment within a Spirit Severing Bottle during refinement to prevent the energy from dissipating and diminishing the potency of the medicine. The Taoist's use of flame served to preserve a consistent temperature, essential for the subsequent fusion process.

The once dimly lit cave flickered with light and shadow. A full day had passed since the Azure Dragon Ginseng's refinement. Throughout that time, the Taoist had not ceased his labors, working with Spiritgrass, liquids, and root-like substances. Though Lin Yu was unfamiliar with these materials, he sensed that each was far from ordinary.

On that day, the final spiritual thing was refined and sealed within a bottle. The weary old Taoist moved his hands in a spell, and the flames that had been rising in the furnace settled into a gentle dance. They did not go out but instead swirled around the base and inner walls, safeguarding the spiritual energy being concentrated within.

Inhaling the medicinal scent filling the cave, Lin Yu massaged his tired eyes, aware that his master was making the necessary adjustments for the final pill fusion.

With a deep exhale, the old Taoist's eyes snapped open, bloodshot from strain. He spread his hands and lifted them from low to high, causing dozens of medicinal bottles and vessels to levitate and hover mid-air.

"Collect!" he commanded. The refined spiritual medicines burst from their containers and surged into the furnace. The old Taoist's hands moved swiftly through the spells, and the furnace rose from the ground, spinning slowly in the air. The fiery red flames within roiled intensely. As the furnace turned, the surrounding space pulsed with continuous waves of fire energy, radiating out from the furnace in all directions, only to fade away as they moved further from its core.

"Is the pill about to be formed?" Lin Yu watched the rotating furnace suspended in the air, feeling the waves of fire energy it emitted. A mix of excitement and anxiety stirred within him.

As the flames roared, the old Taoist's face grew intensely focused. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the furnace, and he channeled his robust spiritual energy without reservation. It poured from him, through his hands, and into the flames, which grew incredibly dense and clung to the furnace.

If Lin Yu could have extended his spiritual sense into the furnace at that moment, he would have seen the five elements wrapped in the flames, converging and swirling like armies in a standoff, each one interlinked with the others.

"Now is the time to give it my all! Five elements of the cosmos, converge!" the old Taoist bellowed, his hands forming new spells with fierce determination. The spiritual energy flowing into the furnace intensified. The furnace spun faster, emitting a sound that was indescribable.

With a sudden jolt, the old Taoist coughed up a mist of blood. His face, once flushed with the glow of the flames, now turned deathly pale.

The old Taoist paid no heed, his hands transforming once more into claws, now wreathed in spiritual energy as he positioned them before his chest, seemingly compressing something with great difficulty.

"Ah, gather for me!" he bellowed, his whole body quaking, eyes bulging, and face contorted in a fierce roar...

The claws drew nearer, and the old Taoist's trembling intensified, his face slick with sweat. The furnace's glow seemed to respond to his pull, flaring brightly.

"Puchi!"

It appeared the old Taoist had reached his limit; his complexion rapidly reddened, and he expelled a mist of blood. A surge of energy blasted him against the cave wall, and the furnace toppled, its gleam fading.

"Master!" Lin Yu cried out, dashing toward the old Taoist's fallen form.

"Master, how are you?" Lin Yu asked, full of concern as he propped up the old Taoist.

The old Taoist was drenched in sweat, his lips deathly pale, gasping for air. He gestured dismissively, not responding to Lin Yu, and retrieved a pill from his bag of holding, swallowing it before sitting cross-legged, forming a spell with his hands, and closing his eyes to recuperate.

As the old Taoist's complexion slowly improved, Lin Yu's anxiety eased somewhat. Though Lin Yu had embarked on the path of cultivation, he had yet to see any real progress and was, in essence, still a mere mortal. Fatigue set in from the long hours without rest, but his worry for his master's injuries kept him from taking a break. He sat close by, watching as the old Taoist's breathing steadied. The memory of the pill refining process left him in awe. Silence reclaimed the cave, and had it not been for the scattered medicinal bottles and the standing furnace, it would seem as though none of the day's events had transpired.

Half a day later, the old Taoist awoke from his rest. His complexion, though not fully restored, was significantly better than post-injury.

"Master, how do you feel? Are your injuries severe?" Lin Yu inquired urgently upon seeing the old Taoist awaken.

Sensing the young man's concern, the old Taoist shook his head with a compassionate smile, not offering an answer. With a beckoning gesture, the distant furnace shrank and flew into his hand. Another motion produced an object that was neither fully round nor square, about the size of a palm, with a rough, dull black surface.

"Alas..." The old Taoist sighed as he looked at the object in his hand, then took out a jade box to store it in, placing both the box and the furnace into his bag of holding.

Lin Yu couldn't tell if the old Taoist's somber expression was due to his injuries not being fully healed or the failure to successfully refine the pill. The usually poised and nonchalant elder now bore the visage of one weathered by time and tinged with a sense of helplessness.

"Master, once you've recovered, you can try to refine another batch. I have faith that you'll surely succeed," Lin Yu said earnestly, gazing at the old Taoist's troubled face.

"Hehehe..." The old Taoist let out a light chuckle and responded, "While I am confident that another attempt could greatly improve our chances of success, the preparation for this batch of pills has taken over a decade. I fear I may not get another chance like this..."

He turned to Lin Yu, his eyes reflecting a mix of reluctance and resignation as he shook his head, "Let it be, let it be... There is a destiny that shapes our ends, and it seems I cannot escape mine..."