The flames at the heart of the furnace suddenly surged several times, almost extinguishing on the spot.

Both He Yiming and Hao Tong broke out in a cold sweat.

To fail at this very last step, when success was practically in hand, would be enough to drive a person to despair and self-destruction.

A colossal surge of Fire Element power rushed in, instantly squeezing out He Yiming's Fire Force.

He Yiming, however, withdrew his Fire Force without resistance.

Only by personally executing this fire technique and attempting to control the Nine Dragons did he realize the sheer magnitude of zhenqi consumption, which far exceeded his projections.

The nine spiraling fire dragons, in particular, were bottomless pits devouring zhenqi. After just one cycle of the Five Elements' flow, He Yiming felt as though he had been completely drained.

At the final moment, he finally could hold on no longer. Fortunately, Hao Tong had been continuously monitoring the changes within the furnace, and their zhenqi remained interconnected and communicating. Thus, at the critical juncture, Hao Tong managed to forcibly take over, finally stabilizing the situation.

He Yiming let out a long breath, only then realizing with surprise that he was completely soaked in sweat, pouring down like rain.

He shook his head, filled with a profound sense of awe for this imitation divine artifact.

This thing was even more challenging to control than the Five Elements Ring.

Although he was nearly exhausted, maintaining a sliver of Fire Force to observe the situation inside the furnace was still barely possible.

In his perception, as soon as Hao Tong took over, he once again executed that unique method of fire manipulation. Furthermore, during this execution, even the nine fire dragons within the furnace began to stir restlessly.

As if understanding that the final moment had arrived and there was no need to conserve any strength, the spiraling speed of the nine fire dragons instantly increased dramatically.

Slowly, the volume of the nine fire dragons continued to shrink, while the life force within the medicinal herbs at the absolute center of the crucible finally began to coalesce.

Countless waves of fire danced wildly, and He Yiming’s respect for Hao Tong’s unfathomable strength reached its peak.

Finally, the nine fire dragons exploded, forming a new, materialized furnace-within-a-furnace inside the original crucible.

Within this furnace-within-a-furnace, the potent medicinal essence successfully converged. Upon sensing this miraculous transformation, He Yiming’s face involuntarily broke into an expression of ecstatic joy. Based on his previous alchemy experience, he instantly understood: the Youth Restoring Pill (Zhuyan Dan) had been successfully refined.

His heart finally settled completely, allowing him the leisure to focus a bit on this magical furnace-within-a-furnace formed by the nine fire dragons.

After observing it carefully for a moment, He Yiming finally recognized that the shape of this inner furnace was virtually identical to the imitated Nine Dragons Furnace, with the sole difference being the decorative addition of the nine fire dragons. If those nine dragon ornaments were removed, he was certain that, aside from differences in size and reality versus illusion, the two furnaces would be indistinguishable.

However, he also knew that the nine-dragon decoration was certainly not installed on the furnace by accident. If those nine dragon ornaments were truly removed, the Nine Dragons Furnace would likely become nothing more than an empty name.

When the changes in the medicine within the furnace-within-a-furnace stabilized completely, this inner structure also began to slowly dissipate.

He Yiming watched the inner furnace silently, and suddenly, his expression shifted slightly. A thought flashed through his mind, and his body involuntarily began to tremble with excitement.

Although he exerted immense willpower to control his body fully, the sudden jolt made it difficult to achieve that level of stillness.

Hao Tong glanced toward his direction, feeling somewhat surprised, unable to fathom why He Yiming had suddenly become so agitated. This demeanor seemed completely different from the composure and wisdom he had displayed moments before.

Jin Zhanyi leaped up and took a step forward, cautiously asking, "Brother He, what is wrong?"

Having spent months in each other’s company, their relationship was quite harmonious. Jin Zhanyi’s concern at that moment came entirely from the heart, untainted by any ulterior motive.

He Yiming took a deep breath, his expression a strange mix of crying and laughing. Biting his lip, he finally managed, "The Youth Restoring Pill—it's successful."

Hao Tong and Jin Zhanyi both rolled their eyes. Jin Zhanyi laughed helplessly, "Brother He, a mere handful of Youth Restoring Pills—is it really worth getting so worked up over?"

He Yiming chuckled several times. He finally managed to bring his overwhelming excitement under control. "Brother Jin, with this Youth Restoring Pill, Li Xun can keep her beauty unchanged for a lifetime. Thinking of that, I couldn't help myself. Please forgive my impulse, Senior and Brother Jin."

Jin Zhanyi curled his lip, unable to hold back, "Brother He, your deep affection for your wife is touching, and I shouldn't say much. But given your talent in the martial path, it would be a true pity if you couldn't focus solely on martial arts."

Hao Tong cleared his throat and abruptly interjected, "Yiming, your martial talent is indeed unparalleled in the world, but your talent in the Dao of Alchemy is equally extraordinary. In truth, dedicating a portion of your energy to the Dao of Alchemy would not significantly affect you."

The muscles in Jin Zhanyi’s face twitched slightly; ultimately, he lacked the courage to directly contradict the Elder.

He Yiming sighed inwardly. He hadn't expected to encounter someone like the Pill Dao Master (Yaodao Ren) in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. He collected his thoughts, nodded slightly, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. This junior will definitely delve into the Dao of Alchemy and will not abandon it."

A look of immense relief flashed across Hao Tong's face. He had expended considerable effort secretly imparting this fire manipulation technique to He Yiming. If He Yiming were to abandon his development in the Dao of Alchemy, Hao Tong would surely be severely disappointed.

Jin Zhanyi secretly shook his head, making a decision to try and reverse He Yiming's thinking when they were alone later.

Hao Tong nodded. "Yiming, actually, Junior Nephew Jin speaks correctly. Romance and affections are not of great importance to us martial practitioners."

He Yiming considered the statement for a moment. "Senior, Brother Jin, if romantic affections are not important, then why did you exchange so many Innate Golden Pills for the formula of the Youth Restoring Pill, and prepare so many rare herbs? If my estimation is correct, you intended to succeed in refining the Youth Restoring Pill, regardless of the cost."

Hao Tong and Jin Zhanyi exchanged glances.

After a long pause, Jin Zhanyi finally managed a wry smile. "Brother He, these are the orders of the Sect Master. We must obey them no matter what."

He Yiming smiled slightly. "Then, for whom did your esteemed Sect Master issue such an order?"

The old man and the youth looked at each other again, finally letting out a long sigh, and stopped trying to persuade him further.

Hao Tong turned his head and flicked his finger; the lid of the crucible immediately shifted aside.

The lid of the Nine Dragons Furnace was somewhat different from that of an ordinary crucible; the lid was embedded in the top surface and could not simply be lifted off, but had to be slowly rotated open.

When the lid opened, a burst of delicate fragrance emerged. In the next moment, the entire room was filled with this strange aroma.

The gazes of He Yiming and the others simultaneously fell upon the interior of the crucible. Even though Hao Tong and He Yiming had previously explored the interior using Fire Force, they were still quite excited now.

Achieving the refinement of the Youth Restoring Pill on the very first attempt was a result that greatly exceeded their expectations. Even Hao Tong inwardly congratulated himself that if he hadn't involved He Yiming before the refinement, even if he had deciphered the intricacies of the formula, he wouldn't have been able to execute the crucial Five Elements Conversion.

Glancing at the formula, he understood that successfully refining the Youth Restoring Pill likely required the combined efforts of several top alchemists to complete this specialized Five Elements Conversion process.

But achieving unified effort was never easy; the slightest lack of coordination would certainly lead to complete failure.

Had it not been for He Yiming, this anomaly who cultivated the Five Elements, he truly wouldn't have been highly confident of success.

Inside the crucible lay eight pills emitting a five-colored radiance.

Although these lights were somewhat dim, these three individuals possessed eyes sharp enough to discern their extraordinary nature.

Hao Tong nodded slightly. "Eight Youth Restoring Pills. Not bad; this harvest is quite good."

He Yiming's face was also wreathed in smiles, unable to close his mouth as his gaze rested upon the pills.

On the surface, it appeared he was overjoyed by the eight Youth Restoring Pills, but only He Yiming himself understood that his smile was merely a disguise for a certain nearly manic joy within his heart.

Of course, mixed within this joy was also a trace of apprehension—a complex emotion that was perhaps best kept secret from outsiders.

Hao Tong extended his hand, and from a cabinet in the alchemy room wall, two crystal-clear jade bottles flew over.

He opened the jade bottles and carefully placed the eight Youth Restoring Pills into them, two in one bottle and six in the other.

As he held the bottle containing six pills, he hesitated for a moment, finally taking one pill from the six-pill bottle and placing it into the two-pill bottle.

Then, he tossed the bottle containing three Youth Restoring Pills to He Yiming.

He Yiming was surprised. "Senior, according to our original agreement, I only needed two."

Hao Tong waved his hand slightly. "If you hadn't assisted in this refinement, it would have certainly failed. Three Youth Restoring Pills are what you deserve to receive."

He Yiming pondered for a moment, then bowed deeply to Hao Tong.

In this refinement process, he not only obtained three Youth Restoring Pills but also learned an entire set of fire manipulation techniques.

However, what truly sent him into paroxysms of ecstasy was the Nine Dragons Furnace.

This imitation divine artifact had brought him an unimaginable surprise at the final moment.

What dominated his thoughts was that furnace-within-a-furnace...