Soul Emperor Martial God

Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Snow Soul Pill, Success

Purple Flame could indeed destroy everything, but right now it was just being used for its flame temperature.

Under Xiao Yi’s control, it would only melt the ingredients to extract their potency, without burning it away.

The four worked on their refining with orderly precision.

Nearly all the Martial Artists present, save for a few individuals, buzzed with excitement.

Such a scene of Fourth-grade Alchemists refining was a rare sight to behold.

The pace of the four was nearly identical.

After half an hour, the potency of the ingredients was fully extracted, and then began the process of orderly fusion, a true test of the Alchemist’s patience and control.

After two hours, sweat was clearly visible on the foreheads of the four.

In truth, as long as one comprehended the pill recipe, few accidents would occur during the process of refining.

The entire process was monotonous and incredibly grueling.

This was when the true skill of the Alchemist was put to the test.

Bai Family Master watched with a tense expression, his heart in knots.

The other Martial Artists present watched unwaveringly. Witnessing the emergence of a Peak Fourth-grade Snow Soul Pill was an event worth boasting about.

After all, such Elixirs were so hard to come by that even a Fifth-grade Alchemist could not guarantee success every time.

Amidst this tense atmosphere, no one noticed that Murong Sha, the Deacon accompanying Murong Yin from the Northern Mountain Murong Family, had quietly slipped away.

Soon after, Murong Sha returned with two young individuals.

The two young ones stood by his side with utmost respect.

And he, with an air of superiority, lectured, ”You two juniors, with only Postnatal Cultivation, normally wouldn’t qualify to be here.”

”Now, as the four Alchemists are refining on the spot, I made an exception to bring you here to witness.”

”Thank you, Deacon Murong Sha,” the two young people said gratefully.

Their voices were not loud, afraid to disturb the four’s refining.

However, Martial Artists above the Innate Realm had very keen ears. Unless they chose not to listen, they could easily overhear if they wished.

Of course, none of the Martial Artists present were idle enough for such eavesdropping.

Except for Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi was always cautious; regardless of necessity, he wouldn’t overlook any detail.

Although the conversation between Murong Sha and the others was held in public and likely to be of no importance,

at this moment, he listened to the voices of the two young men and slightly furrowed his brow.

Their voices seemed familiar.

He continued to control the refining process accurately while listening intently.

His hearing was incredibly sharp with the aid of True Qi.

The two young people asked respectfully, ”Deacon Murong Sha, when can we follow you back to Purple Cloud City for our revenge?”

”Rest assured,” Murong Sha waved his hand and said, ”Murong Mo is an Outer Sect Steward and has contributed to the family; he won’t die in vain.”

”As a Martial Artist of the Sixth Layer of Mysterious Profundity, I could wipe out the Xiao Family with a wave of my hand.”

The two youngsters were immediately thrilled, ”Then we thank Deacon Murong Sha.”

Then, a malicious gleam appeared on their faces, ”Hmph, I want everyone in the Xiao Family to perish.”

”Don’t rush,” Murong Sha said casually, ”The family sent me to Baiwu City this time for some matters. Once that’s settled, in a day or two, I’ll follow you back.”

”Just a minor clan, after all, I’ll tie them up one by one, and you can deal with them as you wish. Kill the men, keep the women, haha.”

”For now, let’s enjoy watching Deacon Murong Yin’s prowess in refining. In our Northern Mountain Murong Family, even a mere Deacon is an insurmountable expert, revered wherever they go.”

Murong Sha laughed smugly.

Of course, no one present heard his laughter or took notice of him.

Everyone’s eyes were firmly fixed on the four at the center, engaged in their refining.

Suddenly, Murong Yin’s Alchemy Furnace let out a thunderous boom, a fierce explosion, sending flames scattering in all directions.

Murong Sha’s laughter came to an abrupt halt.

”The furnace has burst... it’s burst....”

The Martial Artists present exclaimed in shock.

”Cough cough.” Murong Yin coughed twice, his face covered in soot, but he was uninjured.

However, the potency inside the furnace was utterly destroyed, signifying a failed attempt.

Seconds later, another explosion sounded.

Fang Hee’s Alchemy Furnace had also burst.

”Master Fang Hee has failed as well,” the Martial Artists present said disappointedly as they shook their heads.

”Ah.” Fang Hee sighed deeply.

Then, one minute later, Ye Ming’s Alchemy Furnace also exploded, indicating another failure.

”Even Ye Ming couldn’t succeed,” the disappointment grew among the present Martial Artists.

Bai Family Master clenched his teeth; he could accept the failures of Murong Yin and Fang Hee.

But he had held Ye Ming in very high regard, and Ye Ming’s failure understandably left him sullen.

As for Yi Xiao, he hadn’t held out much hope to begin with and seemed to have anticipated Yi Xiao’s failure as well.

Indeed, almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Xiao Yi’s furnace did not explode, but a surging Purple Flame poured out, nearly injuring the other Martial Artists.

Such an occurrence signified a loss of control over the flames, likely incinerating the potency as well.

”Yi Xiao has failed too, but that was expected,” the Martial Artists actually found it reasonable.

After all, they didn’t have confidence in Yi Xiao from the start, and with the other three failing, his success seemed even less likely.

However, the truth was that Xiao Yi hadn’t caused the alchemy furnace to explode, nor had he failed.

He possessed the perfect alchemy technique granted by the Ice Phoenix Sword. How could the perfect process lead to failure?

It was merely because he momentarily lost his focus upon overhearing Murong Sha and others’ conversation, which resulted in the loss of control over the Purple Flame.

The Purple Flame’s power was formidable in itself, and even a slight loss of control could cause quite a commotion, appearing as if the furnace had exploded.

But in reality, Xiao Yi quickly regained his composure and managed to control the flames, leaving the medicinal strength inside completely undamaged.

”Murong Xuan, Murong Qianjun, you even went to the Northern Mountain Murong Family,” Xiao Yi thought fiercely. ”Had I known this, I would have pursued and killed you at all costs when I first awoke.”

”Thinking about destroying the Xiao Family? I will not give you the chance.” A surge of murderous intent rose in Xiao Yi’s heart, but as he was in the middle of alchemy, he forcibly suppressed it.

At this moment, the expressions of Murong Yin and Fang Hee turned ugly, and Ye Ming also lost his previous composure, furrowing his brows.

Fang Hee didn’t pay attention to Murong Yin but instead looked towards Ye Ming, saying, ”Ye Ming, are you encountering the same issue? At the final step of pill solidifying, the Cold Ice aura clashes with the flames, causing the furnace to explode.”

”Mhm,” Ye Ming nodded and said, ”The Snow Soul Pill itself is an extremely cold medicine, and it conflicts with our flames. If the flame is slightly weaker, the Cold Ice aura will overpower the flames, making it impossible to solidify the pill.”

”If the flame is a bit more intense, the Cold Ice aura gets out of control, leading to an explosion of the furnace.”

Fang Hee nodded and said, ”Unless we can find a balance between the two and start from there, the pill simply can’t be successfully refined.”

Ye Ming agreed, ”This balance is too difficult to grasp. We have never refined Snow Soul Pills before and have no experience. If we have to figure it out on our own, it would take at least eight to ten attempts to get it right.”

”But we each only have two sets of materials and can only refine twice. With this failure, we only have one last chance.”

This was also the reason for Ye Ming’s frown.

At that time, seeing that no one was talking to him, Murong Yin felt somewhat embarrassed. Noticing that Xiao Yi was still controlling the Purple Fire inside the alchemy furnace, he scoffed, ”Brat, you already caused the furnace to explode; what’s with the pretense now?”

After the alchemy furnaces of the three had exploded, they still had flames burning inside.

Although Xiao Yi continued with the alchemy, from the outside, the interior of all four furnaces seemed engulfed in flames, looking identical.

Naturally, outsiders also thought that Xiao Yi’s furnace had exploded.

Murong Yin, seeing that Xiao Yi was ignoring him, grew even more embarrassed and angry.

”Brat, if you’re not that skilled, then don’t waste materials. Your materials should go to me. With one more chance at refining, my success rate will increase.”

With that said, Murong Yin intended to use his spiritual energy to snatch the other set of materials beside Xiao Yi.

”Get lost.” Xiao Yi’s voice was filled with killing intent as he threw the second batch of materials into the alchemy furnace.

”I’d rather burn than give them to you,” Xiao Yi said coldly.

Right now, all he felt towards the people of the Northern Mountain Murong Family was the desire to kill.

”You...” Murong Yin was furious, pointing at Xiao Yi, ”Yi Xiao, wasting materials like this is disregarding the life-threatening danger facing the daughter of the Bai Family Master.”

The Bai Family Master, watching from the side, also had an extremely ugly expression.

In his eyes, even if Yi Xiao was indeed a fourth-grade alchemist, his skill in alchemy was no match for the others.

By wasting a refining opportunity like this, Yi Xiao was essentially joking with his daughter’s life, which triggered murderous thoughts in his heart.

Of course, Yi Xiao had already thrown the herbs into the alchemy furnace, so he couldn’t afford to disturb him, lest it affect Yi Xiao’s alchemy.

Even if he didn’t have much confidence in Yi Xiao, he still had to give it a try.

The Martial Artists present changed their expressions upon hearing Xiao Yi’s words and seeing his actions.

”Darn, this Yi Xiao is provoking Murong Yin.”

”He’s made his point, but by offending the Bai Family Master, he’s in for a disaster if he fails after this alchemy session.”

”To disregard the life of the Bai Family Master’s only daughter like this, he’s asking for death.”

The Martial Artists on the scene all shook their heads in disappointment, as if they had already determined Xiao Yi’s fate to be grim.

But Xiao Yi himself turned a deaf ear to all this.

He didn’t cause the Alchemy Furnace to explode at all. How could he fail when he had the Cold Ice Aura and flame balance point at his fingertips?

The Ice Phoenix Sword had long perfected his control over flames.

The first batch of ingredients was actually almost at the point of forming the Solidifying Pill.

What he did just now with the second batch of ingredients was simply starting the Alchemy process over again.

Beside him, Ye Ming, Fang Hee, and Murong Yin also began their second attempt at Alchemy.

Whether they were confident or not, they had to try.

More than an hour later, as expected, all three exploded their furnaces once again.

The Snow Soul Pill was indeed too difficult to refine. Without enough experience, success was nearly impossible.

To find the balance point after one failure was a feat that perhaps only a Fifth-grade Alchemist could achieve.

These three were but Fourth-grade Alchemists; the gap from a Fifth-grade Alchemist was too vast.

”Alas.” All three sighed. The potency in their Alchemy Furnaces was ruined, and with another failure, they had no more chances.

Even Ye Ming’s expression was that of sadness; after all, it was a life that was at stake.

On the contrary, Murong Yin immediately jumped up, angrily pointing at Xiao Yi, ”You little brat, it’s all your fault. If you hadn’t wasted that batch of ingredients, one of us three might have had another chance and could have succeeded.”

”Hmph, if anything happens to the Bai Family Master’s daughter, even if the Bai Family Master is magnanimous and doesn’t hold it against you, I as the Deacon won’t spare you.”

In fact, where would the Bai Family Master be magnanimous? Murong Yin’s words were nothing but an attempt to shift all the blame onto Xiao Yi and clear himself of any involvement.

The Martial Artists present also shook their heads, ”Yi Xiao really went too far this time.”

”Just to show off, he wasted a set of ingredients and a chance to refine.”

”Alas, the Bai Family Master won’t spare him.”

The Bai Family Master on the side had a face so dark it seemed as if it could drip ink, his heart aching immensely.

”Is it over? Is there really no hope for Ice Snow? With time pressing and no Fifth-grade Alchemist to call upon, now that the ingredients are exhausted...”

After the failure of Ye Ming, Fang Hee, and Murong Yin, he had already lost all confidence.

”Yi Xiao...” The Bai Family Master suddenly gritted his teeth, but in the next second, he sighed again, ”Ah, forget it, it’s not his fault.”

Just as his sigh faded, a terrifyingly cold aura suddenly burst forth from Xiao Yi’s Alchemy Furnace, startling all the Martial Artists present.

The Bai Family Master, however, was visibly electrified.