But for different people, the passage of the same time possessed differing speeds.

A full shichen later, He Yiming finally opened his eyes. Fatigue was etched across his brow, yet his gaze shimmered with an intense, almost ecstatic excitement.

That single shichen had been agonizingly drawn out, yet simultaneously, utterly joyful.

Hao Dong had demonstrated the entirety of this fire-control hand seal technique countless times, holding nothing back. In the process, he had even risked the complete destruction of the entire batch of medicinal pills.

To be honest, even Hao Dong himself had never imagined that at his age, with his composure and steadiness, he would experience such an irrational day.

Though no verbal exchange passed between them, the zhenqi flowing through the furnace allowed He Yiming to grasp everything with unparalleled clarity.

This was the method of transmission between true masters; what was being imparted was far more than just set movements. It contained the countless accumulated experiences from Hao Dong’s centuries of immersion. And this, in itself, was even more vital than the rigid hand gestures.

It was precisely because Hao Dong dedicated himself to guiding him in this unique manner that He Yiming managed to truly master the technique within a single shichen.

A faint smile of relief touched Hao Dong’s lips, and his heart finally settled completely.

The ultimate secret art he had dedicated his life to studying finally had the best successor. The only regret, however, was that this successor was not a disciple of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. Moreover, since he was not a disciple of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, he naturally could not utilize this replica Nine Dragon Furnace.

If a common medicine furnace were used, the effect of this technique would be severely diminished.

But regardless, he had done his utmost...

With a soft sigh, Hao Dong picked up the final herb and murmured, "Yiming, be careful now."

He Yiming’s expression instantly sharpened. Seeing the herb in Hao Dong's hand, the joy vanished from his face, replaced by a solemn nod. "This junior understands."

Hao Dong blew a gentle breath, and the top of the furnace automatically swung open.

With a speed that defied the eye, Hao Dong slipped the ingredients into the furnace, then gently closed the lid.

Once the last ingredient was placed, they reached the critical juncture. At this moment, even Hao Dong could no longer afford the slightest distraction; his entire focus was poured into the refining process.

Although he had subtly hinted that the success rate for the first attempt was not high, as long as there was a sliver of possibility for success, he would not give up, striving with two hundred percent effort to turn that possibility into reality.

He Yiming’s face was equally grave. In his perception, the inside of the furnace had transformed into a world saturated with flame. Especially the flames dancing like a pair of hands, executing the magical control technique to its absolute peak.

If Hao Dong had maintained this speed from the beginning, He Yiming would never have discerned the underlying structure, let alone learned this marvelous hand seal technique.

Feeling the increasingly rapid surge of fire waves, He Yiming’s heart filled with profound gratitude.

He had already resolved that if he ever had the chance in the future, he would repay this kindness manifold.

Even while pushing his own abilities to the extreme, Hao Dong made no effort to deliberately expel the power belonging to He Yiming from the furnace.

During the previous instruction, the fire powers of the two had already developed a profound synergy—a communion of spirits, far more potent than any pale words.

The herbs tumbled incessantly within, their life forces beginning to condense. When this force finally gathered completely and perfectly, it meant the pill was successfully refined. But if any error occurred, and the life force failed to coalesce but instead dissipated, this entire batch would turn into dross.

Sensing every minute change in the herbs at the core, both He Yiming and Hao Dong maintained impassive expressions, yet their hearts were clenched tight, daring not to allow the slightest deviation.

Suddenly, the life force within the herbs became unstable. The force that had been gathering seemed to shatter internally, flowing outward in all directions.

He Yiming’s face changed drastically. He had refined dozens of batches of pills independently before. While in terms of preciousness, even those combined were far less valuable than this current batch, he was not unfamiliar with this sign.

He knew this batch of pills was likely ruined.

Yet, the instant this thought formed, he heard Hao Dong give a soft snort.

Following his snort, the nine fire dragons carved onto the furnace body flared to life.

Inside the furnace, augmenting the presence of the fiery hands, there abruptly appeared nine massive, coiling fire dragons. These dragons seemed imbued with a certain sentience; once the internal zhenqi was trapped by them, the explosive life force from the herbs instantly ceased its outward leakage and instead began slowly converging toward the center.

He Yiming watched everything, his jaw slack, finally understanding why Hao Dong had praised this particular furnace so highly.

These external nine dragons possessed such a miraculous, supplementary function; had he not witnessed it firsthand, he would never have believed it.

Under the reinforcement of the fire dragons, the life force within the pills slowly stabilized, allowing the fiery hands to continue baking and nurturing, seeking to fuse all the herbs' vitality into one through specialized means.

Through the influence of fire, the life forces between the various herbs underwent subtle transformations. By harmonizing these changes, marvelous effects would manifest.

This was the ultimate purpose of a pill formula; without the guidance of the recipe, one could never reverse-engineer the manufacturing process of the pill.

However, meticulously adhering to the formula to successfully refine a pill was itself no simple task, especially for advanced elixirs like the Youth-Retaining Pill.

With the aid of the nine fire dragons, Hao Dong stabilized the situation, but even so, he had reached his limit.

The trapped herbs churned listlessly in the center. While the life force within was not escaping, there were no further signs of it condensing.

Both Hao Dong and He Yiming knew that some oversight must have occurred during the refinement process, but the problem was, they could not pinpoint the cause.

In such a scenario, most people would have already given up, but for Hao Dong to reach his current realm, his tenacity of will was truly terrifying. He maintained the delicate balance, controlling the nine fire dragons to attempt, through various methods, whether the pill could still be salvaged.

From start to finish, the word 'quit' never entered his mind.

He Yiming silently absorbed all of this. The images of the herbs listed in the pill formula flashed through his mind.

He had obtained this formula from the Medicine Daoist, who had possessed it for over a hundred years and had thoroughly researched every herb contained within. Upon receiving the formula, He Yiming had also acquired this knowledge.

Now, sensing the refinement process firsthand, as He Yiming reviewed the herbs and recorded steps in the formula, he vaguely felt he was perceiving something new.

Finally, his eyes suddenly lit up. In that instant, he understood the underlying reason.

A powerful surge of joy erupted within him, and his dormant fire power immediately burst forth, surging toward Hao Dong’s influence.

Had He Yiming's fire power entered the furnace only now, it surely would have disturbed Hao Dong, provoking a fierce counterattack. This would have resulted in injury to He Yiming and the complete failure of the entire process.

But He Yiming’s fire power had mingled with Hao Dong’s for over an shichen within the furnace; the two were almost integrated.

Sensing He Yiming's eager fire power, Hao Dong hesitated only briefly before releasing his control over the Nine Dragon Furnace, handing everything over to He Yiming.

After all, he had tried countless methods without success in condensing the life force of the herbs. Since that was the case, letting He Yiming try was fine.

However, the very next moment, his heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He Yiming’s performance drastically exceeded his expectations.

Upon taking control of those pulsing waves of fire, He Yiming’s zhenqi poured out like a tidal wave.

Only then did he comprehend the terrifying consumption of zhenqi required for refining pills using this method—it was absolutely beyond the endurance of anyone below the Venerable realm. He knew he had only one chance; failure now meant he could not attempt it again anytime soon.

Calming his mind, he used the control hand seals he had just learned to keep the fire waves churning. But simultaneously, within that immense sea of fire power, there abruptly appeared a trace of Earth energy.

This small amount of Earth energy circled through the herbs for a moment before transforming into sharp, piercing Metal energy, which then shifted into Water energy—the complete antithesis of fire. Following that came vibrant, vigorous Wood energy.

After these five elemental powers manifested, they only circulated through the herbs briefly, and their intensity could not compare to the vast Fire power.

But when the cycle of the Five Elements was complete, the life force in the herbs, which had been as stubborn as stone, underwent a staggering transformation.

They actually began to condense, slowly merging into one.

Hao Dong’s expression was complex and dynamic. As an observer, the contents of the pill formula flashed through his mind, and a look of sudden realization dawned on his face.

Comparing the required steps and herbs of the formula with He Yiming’s current actions, he grasped the truth instantly.

The Youth-Retaining Pill required the power of the Five Element Cycle to be successfully refined.

In that moment, Hao Dong's admiration for He Yiming deepened further.

To discover this profound secret even sooner than he had showed just how exceptional He Yiming’s observational skills and innate talent were on the path of the Dao of Pills.

He sighed internally once more, wondering why this young man was not a disciple of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.

P.S.: Five chapters today, and there is a major foreshadowing. I wonder if anyone noticed it. Heh heh, a true divine artifact—do you know what it is?