The emerald flame seemed to scorch the void itself. A wave of heat surged upward, making the medicine cauldron spin like a gyroscope, light and airy as a dancing sprite.

The Jianye Wannianchun and Baiyang Cao merged with incredible speed. In just a few dozen seconds, a faint ding-dong sound could be heard from within the cauldron. This was the concentrated medicinal essence, urged by the fire, constantly colliding with the cauldron walls, seemingly desperate to break free.

The first two steps had gone perfectly. Nie Kong's expression remained unchanged, his mind still immersed in the cauldron, cautiously controlling the flames beneath his palm.

"Crack!"

Another deep, resonant sound followed as the cauldron lid lifted by a slight crack.

Nie Kong's left hand flickered, and a bean-sized piece of Xianling Lanya Zi darted from his fingertips, shooting through the fissure and plunging into the cauldron.

"Pop!"

Amidst a muffled explosion, Nie Kong’s left hand flashed continuously. In the time it took to snap one's fingers, eight Xianling Lanya Zi pieces had entered the cauldron, echoing eight consecutive pa-pa sounds like popcorn popping, though each sound was fainter than the last, until the final piece registered as barely audible.

A thought stirred in Nie Kong’s mind, and the little one instantly sealed the lid shut.

A torrent of spiritual energy was forced outward. The flames under Nie Kong’s palm intensified, and the eight Xianling Lanya Zi instantly melted. Their essences, like fine threads, coiled around the clump of medicinal power that was still frantically crashing around inside the cauldron, rapidly permeating it.

"Jianye Wannianchun, Baiyang Cao, and Xianling Lanya Zi have completely fused. Next is the Dilong Lian," Nie Kong thought rapidly.

Based on Nie Kong's deduction, the Dilong Lian served a crucial transitional role. Any failure in adding this herb would nullify all previous efforts, forcing a complete restart. This Dilong Lian was one of the keys to forming the Yuye Liuli Dan.

"Open!"

Nie Kong roared inwardly, and the cauldron lid shot upward. Accompanying it was a column of green smoke that looked almost tangible, and within that column, a perfectly round, vivid green mass of medicinal power ricocheted around like a headless fly.

In an instant, a scroll of shredded Dilong Lian fell into the cauldron.

"Close!"

Nie Kong's eyes briefly opened, and the lid, which had not yet reached its apex, immediately pressed down, forcing the green essence and smoke back inside.

"Boom!"

The moment the lid sealed, a tremendous sound erupted from within the cauldron, like dozens of pounds of explosives detonating simultaneously. The cauldron vibrated with a continuous, deep hum.

The fire shifted again, from weak to strong…

Sensing, through his mental link with Xiangxiang, that the Dilong Lian inside had begun to dissolve under the intense heat, Nie Kong let out a silent sigh of relief.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a faint, crisp sound, like shattering glass, echoed.

Nie Kong frowned, investigated briefly, and his expression dramatically changed.

Though the surface of the medicinal mass inside remained smooth and slick, numerous minute cracks had appeared within it. And the cause of this sudden shift was…

Insufficient Dilong Lian essence?

Because he was unsure of the exact required ratios for refining the Yuye Liuli Dan, Nie Kong had intentionally increased the amounts of the preceding ingredients. He had used eight qian of Jianye Wannianchun, Baiyang Cao, and Xianling Lanya Zi. Remnants of their medicinal power still lingered in the corners of the cauldron.

The Dilong Lian was the linchpin, so Nie Kong used a measure of one liang, only to find the essence was still not enough? This trouble was serious!

Once the Dilong Lian fully integrated with the main mass, this attempt would be counted as a failure.

"Open!"

Nie Kong gritted his teeth, shouting inwardly, and the lid sprung up again. Wisps of green smoke extended from the cauldron's sidewalls, coalescing into an even denser emerald column, trapping the wildly colliding medicinal essence within.

Nie Kong’s right palm burned with vigorous spiritual power, the emerald flames churning and circling the smoke column, ensuring that even with the lid open, the essence maintained contact with an adequate level of heat. Otherwise, failure was the most likely outcome awaiting Nie Kong.

Almost without hesitation, a larger scroll of shredded Dilong Lian dropped into the cauldron.

Instantly, the emerald smoke column began to contract, pulling the cauldron lid downward. However, the closer the lid got to the body of the cauldron, the slower its descent became.

When the lid was only an inch from the rim, it stopped descending altogether, unmoving.

"Aiyaya!"

The little one cried out desperately, straining to shrink the green energy, but the force surging up from the cauldron top was overwhelmingly strong, holding the lid utterly still. Opening the cauldron while essences were merging was extremely dangerous; this precise moment was the most likely to trigger an explosion.

If this cauldron were not transmuted by Xiangxiang, Nie Kong would have had to start over rather than risk this desperate push.

Yet, this moment was not easy for the little one either.

The lid and the cauldron body were both manifestations of Xiangxiang; logically, she should be able to open and close them at will. But reality was far from simple.

The searing of the spiritual fire and the merging of the essences generated immense internal pressure. The stronger this pressure, the higher the grade of the spiritual medicine would be. Only when on the verge of completion would the essence begin to incorporate the spiritual herbs; until then, it remained contained within the vessel. It was easy to open the lid during the fusion process, but closing it invoked intense resistance from this power. If it couldn't be suppressed, the final result was predictable!

"Close!"

Nie Kong’s eyes snapped wide open, spiritual energy surging violently from his body. His luminous green left palm descended from above, and the lid, which had begun to rise again, suddenly slammed shut.

"Boom!"

The moment the lid sealed, a deafening blast erupted from inside, accompanied by a violent gust of energy surging out from the cracks.

For an instant, the room felt like it was swept by a gale, making Nie Kong's clothes flap wildly. His long hair flew, and the candlelight on the table flickered violently, dimming and brightening. Fortunately, Nie Kong had placed his left palm on the lid and shielded the table; otherwise, all the various herbs laid out would have been blown away.

"Finally done."

The fire from his right palm continued steady. Nie Kong wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and let out a breath of relief, yet he dared not relax his concentration, monitoring the situation inside the cauldron closely.

"That was close!"

Nie Kong secretly rejoiced. The subsequent dissolution of the Dilong Lian occurred exactly as the previous scroll had fully integrated with the core essence—a remarkably smooth connection, front to back. If this connection had broken for even a second, the mass inside would have been ruined.

This time, Nie Kong had added plenty of Dilong Lian. After a large portion fused with the essence, a small residue remained, mixed with other remnants in the corners. With the massive supplement, the cracks within the core mass gradually healed, allowing Nie Kong’s heart, which had been lodged in his throat, to settle back into place.

A moment later, Qu Rui Silk Thread and Bodaohua were added simultaneously.

Nie Kong chose the timing for opening the cauldron with extreme precision. The addition of these two herbs caused barely a ripple; no unusual phenomenon occurred within the vessel. After fusing with the Qu Rui Silk Thread and Bodaohua, the mass of medicinal power, now as thick as a thumb, glowed with an intense green light.

This tranquility did not cause Nie Kong to slacken; instead, his focus sharpened.

"Only the Baxing Hailuo remains!"

Gazing at the sea-blue leaf shaped like a conch shell on the table, Nie Kong’s mind became preternaturally calm. Based on his earlier analysis of the formula, the Baxing Hailuo required in the Yuye Liuli Dan was minimal; the medicinal power contained in a single leaf was sufficient.

Yet, this tiny trace of Baxing Hailuo essence played the role of the finishing touch in refining the Yuye Liuli Dan. Without it, no matter how well the preceding essences fused, the effort would be futile. With the Baxing Hailuo, the new properties generated by the fusion of Jianye Wannianchun and the other herbs could be fully unleashed, forming the true Yuye Liuli Dan.

"Click!"

With a soft sound of the lid opening, Nie Kong enveloped the Baxing Hailuo leaf in spiritual energy and carefully guided it into the cauldron.

The lid sealed, and Nie Kong concentrated fully.

In a trance, he felt as if he, too, had merged into the cauldron's sidewalls; not the slightest tremor within the vessel escaped his perception.

A thought crossed Nie Kong’s mind, and the heat inside the cauldron surged. The Baxing Hailuo leaf slowly unfurled, completely enveloping the deep green mass of essence.

The heat emanating from his palm, which had gradually softened, suddenly intensified. The mass of essence spun violently, seemingly trying to tear free from the cauldron’s restraint. Unfortunately, obstacles blocked it from all sides. Every time the essence struck a sidewall, it caused a thunderous roar, like cracking lightning.

Time flowed slowly by…

Faintly, the Baxing Hailuo leaf began to fade. The original deep green essence turned azure, and the surface of the essence began to display the vascular patterns of the Baxing Hailuo leaf.

At this stage, if Nie Kong wished to shape the Yuye Liuli Dan into a leaf form, he could begin molding this semi-finished spiritual medicine. Nie Kong skipped this step entirely; since this pill was for his own consumption, its shape was irrelevant. If it were intended for sale, it would absolutely need to be shaped like a leaf—simply because it would fetch a higher price.

"The final step!"

With intent, the emerald spiritual energy in Nie Kong’s palm began to change. Instead of rising straight up, it spread outward in all directions, like a proudly blooming lotus, though the spiritual energy composing the petals remained intensely blazing, the heat actually becoming fiercer.

This time, the target of the heat was no longer the cauldron bottom, but the four walls of the vessel.

This step was critical. Whether the internal energy could be fused to transform the mass into true spiritual medicine depended entirely on this moment.

Nie Kong dared not be careless in the slightest.

Compared to the Zili Dan, refining a spiritual medicine capable of directly raising one's rank by two tiers was infinitely more troublesome. During the final stages of the Zili Dan, the internal energy would unconsciously integrate into the medicine without the alchemist needing to exert much effort. But the Yuye Liuli Dan was different; it demanded the alchemist carefully manipulate the heat, otherwise, it could never fully form.

The intense heat permeated through the walls, surging inward.

The internal energy, struck by this force, rampaged madly. In an instant, the inside of the cauldron resembled a raging hurricane, causing the cauldron body itself to deform slightly.

Nie Kong remained calm, carefully controlling the heat searing the cauldron walls, slowly driving that chaotic energy toward the center of the vessel.

The searing breath rising from the walls condensed into a round mass, tightly enveloping the rampaging energy and the azure essence, then continuously driving it inward…

Compression!

Compression! And further compression…

Energy seeped into the mass of essence, thread by thread. With almost every thread absorbed, the luster on the surface of the spiritual energy brightened by a degree.

About half an hour later, the essence had transformed into a finished spiritual medicine—azure, smooth, and brilliantly luminous.

"This is the Yuye Liuli Dan!"

Nie Kong murmured in awe, forcing the last trace of energy remaining in the cauldron into the spiritual medicine, while simultaneously beginning to reduce the heat from his right palm. However, just as that final sliver of energy was about to fully penetrate the medicine, the residual impurities in the cauldron corners, freed from the restraint by the weakening heat, began to scatter. Immediately, as if drawn by a magnet, they rushed toward the spiritual medicine at the center, competing fiercely to get there first.

Bad!

Nie Kong’s face changed drastically. The joy of the Yuye Liuli Dan being on the verge of final formation had made him forget about the residual essence inside the cauldron. Attracted by the pure medicine, they swarmed toward it in a chaotic rush, their speed too great for Nie Kong to react in time.

"Bang!"

With a world-shattering explosion, the medicine cauldron was blasted into shards, completely dissolving into the void. The violent shockwave erupted like a monstrous tidal surge. Nie Kong couldn't dodge in time; his body was caught up and sent flying backward like a cloud climber, slamming heavily against the wall.

When Nie Kong came to his senses, the room was a wreck. The bed, chairs, and tables were shattered, looking as if a thief had just ransacked the place.

"Spiritual medicine? Where is the spiritual medicine?"

Nie Kong endured the soreness throughout his body, his eyes wide as copper bells, frantically searching everywhere. But in the room, besides the burnt stench from the cauldron's explosion, there was no spiritual medicine whatsoever.

Damn it! Surely heaven isn't playing such a cruel joke on me. I finally managed to refine the Yuye Liuli Dan, only to have it utterly annihilated in the final second, reduced to ash? I’m finished! Finished! Nie Kong’s vision dimmed, and he nearly passed out.

"All that work for nothing!"

Nie Kong felt like weeping, his features contorted. He felt like the most tragic man alive, sitting before an endless table laden with cups of sorrow.

"Aiyaya!"

The little one's tender voice sounded.

The cauldron was smashed to pieces—was Xiangxiang unharmed?

Nie Kong's heart lurched. Putting aside his despair, he quickly shifted his attention to his Yaochi acupoint. He saw the little one curled into a ball, looking slightly fatigued but intact—no missing stems or leaves, no broken roots.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Spiritual medicine can be refined again, but if Xiangxiang had been blown up into 'missing arms and legs,' he would truly regret it beyond measure.

Nie Kong breathed a profound sigh of relief.

"Aiyaya!"

The little one stretched out its body, and a round, azure object suddenly appeared, tightly grasped by its roots. It held the object up as if presenting a treasure, swaying its stems and leaves, looking exactly like a child eagerly awaiting praise after achieving a perfect score on an exam.