Nie Kong’s heart sank. Just as he prepared to summon every remaining trace of his primal energy to resist the surge, intending to lessen Xiangxiang’s injury, he suddenly realized that the moment the force erupted, it immediately surged toward the aperture in the cauldron lid, as if something there was drawing it in.

That was...

Hulu’s mouth?

Nie Kong’s eyes snapped open. He saw that after absorbing the kinetic force, the small body of the gourd rapidly expanded like a rubber ball. In the blink of an eye, it was several times its original size. The gourd could actually absorb the explosive force generated when the medicine was finalized—he never expected it to possess such an ability.

“Xiangxiang!” Following a brief moment of astonishment, Nie Kong instantly sobered up. Acknowledging Nie Kong’s intent, the little fellow snapped back to reality, rolling up the medicinal power of the Hui Mou herb stored in his spiritual aperture and frantically pushing it into the medicine cauldron.

Although the force was immensely fierce, its duration was exceptionally brief.

Thud!

In the next instant, the gourd’s mouth retracted from the cauldron lid’s opening, and its swollen body dropped to the ground, leaving Mu Wanqing, Tai Yan, and Qing Yue utterly dumbfounded.

Almost the moment the surge dissipated, the fire, which had been stabilizing, turned ferociously intense. White flames roared out from Nie Kong’s palm, the heat aggressively penetrating the cauldron. The power of the Hui Mou herb integrated into the forming mass of golden medicinal energy at a terrifying rate.

When the two completely fused, Nie Kong sensed a distinct vitality within the golden mass.

The Void Penetration Golden Elixir, formed!

Buzz!

The flame abruptly converged, but the spiritual medicine continued to spin under the residual heat, occasionally striking the cauldron body, eliciting a low, resonant hum.

Nie Kong took a deep breath, putting aside his joy for a moment, and immediately focused his gaze on the gourd lying on the ground.

The gourd was motionless, its two large, round eyes fixed, appearing like a sculpture. Nie Kong was initially startled but then slightly relieved. The gourd’s vitality remained robust within its body, showing no sign of weakening. This meant that even though its body had expanded, it hadn't sustained any damage from the force.

“Hoo!”

Suddenly, the gourd’s mouth opened wide, and a substantial, almost tangible wave of energy jetted toward the sky like a fountain. Its plump body then deflated at a speed visible to the naked eye. In mere seconds, it shrank back to its original size.

“Oh my, that was close, so close! I almost swelled to death!” The rigid eyeballs swiveled twice, and the gourd abruptly sat up, shouting in a milky voice before gasping heavily, its frantic heartbeat clearly audible. Its fair, round face showed an expression of lingering fear.

“It’s good that you’re alright, good that you’re alright,” Mu Wanqing and the other two simultaneously breathed sighs of relief. Especially Mu Wanqing, a faint smile involuntarily touched her lips. Tai Yan and Qing Yue might not have understood, but she could see that the gourd had absorbed the violent surge released during the elixir’s final formation; otherwise, the result of this refinement would have been precarious.

The gourd’s breathing quickly stabilized. It looked up at Nie Kong as if seeking praise, its eyes brimming with smugness: “Nie Kong, was I impressive?”

Nie Kong nodded. “Impressive! This successful refinement owes much to you; you are the great contributor.” Hearing this, the gourd became even more self-satisfied. It glanced provocatively at Qing Yue, causing the little one to grit her teeth in frustration, wishing she could grab the gourd’s head and beat it soundly. Unable to help herself, she exclaimed, “Nie Kong, this brat suddenly disrupted your refinement, and yet he’s a contributor?”

Nie Kong made no secret of it, smiling: “Refining the Void Penetration Golden Elixir demands an extremely high cultivation level. Before the gourd acted, I was prepared to abandon this attempt. But unexpectedly, the gourd could absorb the explosive force generated during the final formation, which saved me from complete failure.”

“Oh?” After Nie Kong explained, Qing Yue and Tai Yan finally understood. Their four bright eyes curiously scrutinized the gourd, making it feel rather creeped out. It swiftly scurried behind Mu Wanqing, peeking out to observe, no longer daring to flaunt that ‘I am formidable’ posture.

Mu Wanqing couldn't wait: “Nie Kong, hurry and open the medicine cauldron to see your result.”

“Alright!”

Nie Kong was also highly expectant of the Void Penetration Golden Elixir that had formed in the cauldron. With a thought, the cauldron lid sprang open, immediately followed by a swoosh as a streak of golden light shot out from within. Nie Kong hurriedly reached out to grab it, but the spiritual medicine’s momentum was too strong, and it slipped through his fingers before he could secure it.

Fortunately, Mu Wanqing had been eagerly waiting nearby. Seeing this, she moved swiftly.

Following Nie Kong, Mu Wanqing snatched the spiritual medicine with lightning speed, but the palm of her hand was forced to sway side to side by the impact until she employed her Soul Image power to continuously grind down and neutralize the medicine’s momentum. After nearly half a minute, the golden glow seeping through her fingers finally subsided, and the spiritual medicine settled down.

“Such powerful force, truly worthy of being called the Void Penetration Golden Elixir.”

Mu Wanqing couldn't help but exclaim in praise, then loosened her fingers. The Void Penetration Golden Elixir finally revealed its true form. Nie Kong, Tai Yan, Qing Yue, and the gourd all instinctively crowded over. There, resting quietly in Mu Wanqing’s palm, was an oval, thumb-sized golden spiritual medicine. The brilliant luminescence that had initially pierced outward had completely retracted, yet the spiritual intent it contained could not be concealed in the slightest.

It seemed less like a piece of spiritual medicine and more like a spiritual being that had already gained life.

“Am I mistaken? This, this, over... ten-tenths? It’s a ten-tenths fusion rate?” Mu Wanqing suddenly exclaimed in shock, speaking incoherently.

“That’s right, ten-tenths,” Nie Kong replied with a smile, excitement also coloring his brows.

“…”

Tai Yan and Qing Yue were already used to miracles, and the gourd didn't really care about fusion rates. However, Mu Wanqing’s beautiful eyes sparkled brilliantly, unable to contain herself. She turned the Void Penetration Golden Elixir over and over for several minutes before her emotions finally calmed: “A ten-tenths fusion Void Penetration Golden Elixir! Nie Kong, even Aunt Wan cannot help but admire you.”

“Sigh.”

Nie Kong wiped a bead of sweat. “Relying only on myself, I probably wouldn’t have the strength to refine a Void Penetration Golden Elixir until after reaching the Celestial Spirit realm. The success today is largely due to Tai Yan, Xiangxiang, and the gourd; they all contributed greatly. All in all, it was the four of us coordinating that achieved the ten-tenths spiritual medicine.”

Mu Wanqing smiled. “That’s still astonishingly impressive. Setting aside the gourd’s help and Tai Yan’s medicinal power, the fact that you could fuse nineteen types of medicine while only at the seventh stage of the Void Spirit realm is already shocking. Other spiritual alchemists at the Void Spirit stage wouldn't even dare to dream of fusion, let alone achieve it.”

She paused, then added, “And those Medicine Kings—I heard that You Li, Ling Xiao, Tan Zhong, Venerable Yue, and Hua Shi once gathered the necessary spiritual herbs a dozen years ago to attempt refining the Void Penetration Golden Elixir. In the end, Hua Yi failed after adding only the thirteenth ingredient. The other four only managed between ten and twelve ingredients. Keep in mind that three of those five were already peak ninth-stage Celestial Spirits back then.”

“There was such an incident?”

Nie Kong was slightly taken aback. He presumed this was news Aunt Wan had gathered from their chats recently, and it shouldn't be false. He hadn’t expected their strongest only reached that level. Hearing this, the trace of frustration he felt from nearly being forced to give up instantly vanished.

Qing Yue couldn't help but urge him on: “Nie Kong, quickly eat it and see if it really has such powerful effects. If it truly can boost you from the seventh stage of the Void Spirit realm straight to the ninth, perhaps in less than a year, you could become the youngest Celestial Spirit Master in this world.”

“There’s no rush for that. Before consuming it, I have other uses for it.”

“…”