Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 339: Number One

On the Alchemy Platform, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed intently on the grey, unremarkable Medicinal Pill in Fang Hao’s hand, yet it seemed to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth. There were no world-shaking phenomena, no pill halos soaring into the sky, but the aura of the ’Dao’ it radiated caused all the Cultivators present, including several Late Nascent Soul Stage judges, to feel their souls tremble, even giving rise to a faint urge to prostrate themselves in worship.

In front of Shen Xinghe, within that Earth Fire Pill Furnace, a Medicinal Pill shimmering with spiritual light and flowing pill halos was slowly taking shape. Its medicinal fragrance was nose-piercing, and its quality had absolutely reached the Peak of the fourth tier. But at this moment, this pill that should have been the center of attention appeared so... mundane in front of that grey pill.

The composure on Shen Xinghe’s face had long since vanished, replaced by an unconcealable shock and bewilderment. He had practiced the Heavenly Derivation Alchemy Arts since childhood and could deduce the changes in the Dao of Alchemy, believing that no other Medicinal Pill in the world could surpass his own. But the pill before his eyes completely exceeded his scope of understanding; his art of deduction actually seemed to have lost its effect in front of this pill.

"This pill... what is its name?" Pill Star Child took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart. His voice carried a trace of undetectable trembling as he asked the question on everyone’s mind.

Fang Hao’s face was pale and his aura weak. Forcing himself to refine the ’chaos unity pill’ just now had almost exhausted all of his mental energy and Qi, even triggering a slight backlash from the Chaos vortex. But he forced himself to stand straight, his calm gaze meeting Pill Star Child’s searching eyes. He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse yet clear:

"This pill is called... the chaos unity pill."

"chaos unity pill..." Pill Star Child murmured, a sharp light exploding in his eyes. "What a ’Chaos Unity’! Embracing all methods and evolving all Daos, this pill... has nearly reached the realm of a ’Dao Pill’! In my eight hundred years of refining pills, I have never seen such a miraculous Medicinal Pill!"

Dao Pill! These two words were like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone’s ears. Legend had it that only great experts who had reached the ultimate understanding of the Dao of Alchemy and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth could refine a ’Dao Pill’ containing the Laws of the Great Dao. Such a pill was no longer a common object; it could be called an Immortal Pill!

Hearing this, Shen Xinghe’s body shook violently, and the color drained from his face. He slowly put away the nearly completed pill and gave a deep bow to Fang Hao. His tone was bitter, yet it carried heartfelt admiration: "Fellow Daoist Ning’s Alchemy is profound; you were actually able to refine a Dao Pill prototype... I admit defeat wholeheartedly."

The dignified Young Lord of the Heavenly Derivation Sect, the leader of the younger generation’s Alchemy path in the Western Regions, had actually admitted defeat personally in front of everyone! This scene caused the entire Myriad Laws Immortal City to tremble.

Pill Star Child and the other three judges discussed in low voices for a moment before standing up. His voice was sonorous and spread throughout the city: "By our unanimous verdict, the final winner of this Myriad Laws Immortal City Debate is—Fang Hao!"

"Fang Hao! Fang Hao! Fang Hao!"

After a brief silence, cheers like a mountain torrent or a tsunami erupted from all around the Alchemy Platform. Countless Cultivators shouted Fang Hao’s name feverishly. This dark horse who had appeared out of nowhere as a Loose Cultivator, defeated the Geniuses of the two Holy Lands, Medicine King Valley and the Heavenly Derivation Sect, and finally refined a ’Dao Pill prototype,’ had completely conquered everyone present.

Fang Hao stood on the platform, bathed in the spotlight of the crowd. However, there wasn’t much joy in his heart, only a sense of relief mixed with exhaustion, and... deep concern.

He had won, but he was also completely exposed. The chaos pill cauldron, the nine-revolutions soul-splitting pill, the chaos unity pill... each of these trump cards was enough to bring about a fatal disaster. Especially this last chaos unity pill, which Pill Star Child had identified as a ’Dao Pill prototype.’ Once the news spread, who knew how many old monsters would covet it.

More importantly, he had crippled Willow Follow Wind and formed a blood feud with Medicine King Valley. Now, he had defeated the Heavenly Derivation Sect’s Young Lord in front of everyone. Although Shen Xinghe had extraordinary grace and was willing to accept his loss, how could a behemoth like the Heavenly Derivation Sect let the matter rest after their reputation had been damaged?

"I must leave this place of trouble as soon as possible..." Alarm bells rang in Fang Hao’s heart.

The award ceremony ended hastily. Fang Hao received the jade plaque symbolizing the championship and a generous reward from Pill Star Child’s hands (including a large amount of Spirit Stones and several rare Alchemy Materials). He politely declined all invitations from various forces and conversations with other Cultivators. He didn’t even have time to say a word to Clear Sound before he forced his Qi to circulate. With a flicker of his body, he used the Divine Spirit Steps and instantly vanished from the spot, racing toward the direction of ’Listening Waves Villa’.

He had to find Su Xuan immediately, get the nascent soul pill formula, and then fly far away!

However, just as he returned to his inn room and before he could set up any Restrictions, a figure appeared before him silently like a ghost. It was Su Xuan.

At this moment, the previous indifference on Su Xuan’s face was gone, replaced by a burning gaze and even a hint of uncontrollable excitement. He stared fixedly at Fang Hao as if looking at a rare treasure.

"Good! Good! Good!" Su Xuan said ’good’ three times in a row, his withered palms actually trembling slightly. "The chaos unity pill! A Dao Pill prototype! Fang Hao, you have truly given this old man a massive surprise!"

Fang Hao’s heart tightened. Suppressing the urge to immediately demand the Pill Formula, he said in a deep voice, "Senior Su, I have won first place in the Debate as agreed. I ask Senior to fulfill your promise and grant me the nascent soul pill formula."

Hearing this, the excitement on Su Xuan’s face receded slightly, replaced by an unfathomable smile. "The Pill Formula will naturally be given to you. However... before that, you still need to help this old man do one last thing."

Fang Hao’s face darkened. "What does Senior mean by this? The original agreement was that if I placed in the top three of the Debate, I would gain the qualification to trade. Now that I am first, is Senior going back on your word?"

"Not so, not so." Su Xuan waved his hand, his tone still amiable but carrying an unquestionable dominance. "The original agreement was to ’gain the qualification to trade.’ You have gained the qualification, but this Pill Formula still requires you to use the reward from this ’one last thing’ to exchange for it. If this matter is successful, I will hand over the Pill Formula with both hands, and I can even give you an extra portion of the main ingredient for refining the nascent soul forming pill—the ’nascent soul condensing fruit’!"

Anger flared in Fang Hao’s heart. This old fox was indeed not that easy to deal with! But his face remained impassive as he said coldly, "I wonder what this ’one last thing’ Senior speaks of actually is?"

Su Xuan’s eyes flickered, and he lowered his voice. "This matter concerns an ancient secret. I need you to use the method you used to refine that ’chaos unity pill’ to refine a special... ’key’ for me."

"A key?" Fang Hao’s brow furrowed.

"Correct." Su Xuan’s voice dropped even lower, carrying a hint of mystery. "This ’key’ requires Chaos power as a guide. The refining method has many similarities to your chaos unity pill. In all the world, I’m afraid only you can refine this object. As long as you refine this ’key’ and help me open a secret location, the nascent soul pill formula and the nascent soul condensing fruit will be presented immediately!"

Fang Hao sneered inwardly. This Su Xuan had indeed come for his Chaos power. ’Key’ and’secret location’ were just excuses. From the very beginning, what this man valued was not his Alchemy, but the secret that he possessed Chaos power! Now that he had seen him refine the chaos unity pill, he was even more certain and wanted to use him to achieve some unspeakable goal.

"And if I refuse?" Fang Hao’s gaze was icy, and the Qi in his body quietly circulated, the golden puppet ready to strike at any moment.

Su Xuan seemed to sense Fang Hao’s alertness and gave a chuckle. However, the aura around him suddenly became unfathomable. A terrifying pressure far exceeding the Late Nascent Soul Stage, like an invisible mountain, enveloped the entire room.

"Little friend Ning, do you think... you still have the room to refuse?" Su Xuan’s voice was still gentle, but it carried a naked threat. "You possess the secret of Chaos and have exposed a Dao Pill prototype. Right now in Myriad Laws Immortal City, I don’t know how many pairs of eyes are watching you. Medicine King Valley, Heavenly Derivation Sect, and even... some old monsters who haven’t emerged from seclusion for ages. Without my protection, you won’t make it out of Myriad Laws Immortal City."

Fang Hao’s expression was extremely ugly. He knew that what Su Xuan said was the truth. He was currently the target of all, surrounded by dangers.

"Don’t worry." Su Xuan’s tone softened slightly, and the pressure receded. "As long as you help me complete this matter, I will not only give you the Pill Formula but also ensure you leave Myriad Laws Immortal City safely, and even... give you a great fortune. How about it?"

Fang Hao remained silent for a long time, his thoughts racing. Fighting head-on offered absolutely no chance of victory. Su Xuan’s strength was unfathomable; he had likely already stepped halfway into Soul Transformation. The only plan for now was to temporarily play along and act according to the situation.

"Fine." Fang Hao finally gritted his teeth and said, "I agree to Senior’s request. But after this matter, Senior must immediately deliver the Pill Formula and the nascent soul condensing fruit, and ensure I leave safely."

"That is natural." A satisfied smile appeared on Su Xuan’s face. "Three days from now, at the hour of the Rat, at the Withered Willow Ferry south of the city, I will send someone to pick you up. For these three days, rest well here and do not leave the inn. Rest assured, with me here, no one will dare touch you."

After saying this, Su Xuan’s figure flickered and vanished like a ghost, as if he had never appeared.

As soon as Su Xuan left, Fang Hao immediately set up several layers of his strongest Restrictions. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. The confrontation with Su Xuan just now, although they hadn’t fought, was more dangerous than any battle he had faced before.

"Old fox..." Fang Hao cursed under his breath, a cold light flickering in his eyes. This Su Xuan was a hundred times harder to deal with than the likes of Willow Follow Wind and Shen Xinghe!

He knew he had fallen into a massive whirlpool. With Medicine King Valley and the Heavenly Derivation Sect watching like tigers, and an old monster like Su Xuan plotting with ill intent, his greatest secret had also been exposed. To him, the current Myriad Laws Immortal City was a giant cage with killing intent at every step.

"I must find a way to escape..." Fang Hao forced himself to calm down and began to calculate carefully. He would never easily refine the ’key’ Su Xuan wanted; that would undoubtedly be seeking his own death. But for now, he needed to pretend to cooperate to lull the other party into a false sense of security.

He took out several treasures for concealment and escape from Mo Yunhe’s storage ring and checked the state of the golden puppet. After this period of nourishment, the golden puppet had recovered sixty to seventy percent of its combat power, making it barely usable. Although the silver light shuttle was destroyed, he still had a spare third-tier Medium Grade azure spirit boat, as well as several high-grade escape talismans obtained from Mo Yunhe.

"Three days... only three days to prepare." Fang Hao took a deep breath, a flash of determination in his eyes. In these three days, he had to make full preparations, and then... in this dragon’s den and tiger’s lair that was Myriad Laws Immortal City, he would carve out a path to survival!

As for the nascent soul pill formula... it seemed he could only look for another way.