Two Realms: I Will Become the Immortal Emperor

Chapter 382: Chapter 353: Pill Furnace and Tree Demon

They didn’t rush over immediately, but waited quietly on the roof for a moment longer.

The Pill Furnace had long since been extinguished, and True Master Chixia, sitting cross-legged before it, was completely lifeless. Yet, when Chen Che focused his gaze, a fierce aura washed over him, inspiring an involuntary sense of awe.

He was the master of this Traveling Palace, after all.

’He’s definitely dead, and it looks like he has been for a long time—even longer than the Double-tailed Dragon Wolf. I don’t know how he died. But I wonder what kind of Pill he was refining in this furnace?’

Chen Che pondered as he observed.

Beside him, Meng Qianxun stared at the Pill Furnace with gleaming eyes, lost in thought. The others also looked at the Pill Furnace in surprise before glancing back at True Master Chixia.

After all, everyone present had grown up hearing the legends of True Master Chixia. Seeing him in person, especially in such a scene, naturally stirred complex emotions. Finally, at Meng Qianxun’s suggestion, they all descended.

They didn’t get too close, however. They waited a moment to confirm there was no danger before carefully approaching.

”This Furnace Cauldron is of a high grade. It’s definitely more than Tier Three—could it be Tier Four? The legends never mentioned True Master Chixia having a Pill Furnace like this...”

”I wonder what kind of Pill he was refining?”

”A Pill Furnace... Could he have died suddenly during Alchemy? Or maybe this Pill was beyond his limits?”

The group glanced at True Master Chixia a few times but quickly lost interest in the deceased legend. What truly captivated them was the Pill Furnace standing before them.

Anyone would have had the same reaction upon learning that a legendary figure from a thousand years ago had died before a Pill Furnace.

Meng Qianxun gently caressed the massive Furnace Cauldron. It stood seventy or eighty feet tall, as large as a small hill. It was more exquisite, more majestic than anything he had seen in his centuries of life. Standing beneath it, they looked like mere ants.

Not only that, but they even discovered a pile of Spirit Stones stacked to one side, used as fuel. Even after several hundred years, the scene alone was enough to convey the sheer scale of this Pill refinement.

Although none of them were Pill Masters, they had all heard of Pill Masters exhausting themselves to death during Alchemy...

”Using Spirit Stones as fuel... He truly was a legendary Pill Master...”

Lu Qinglian couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

She had heard Chen Che mention before that using Spirit Stones as fuel was possible, but it was mostly done to purify the flames.

”That’s not right. It’s also possible his lifespan simply ran out. He was very old, after all.”

Meng Changtu shook his head.

According to the limited records, when True Master Chixia was last seen, he was already approaching the natural lifespan limit of a Golden Core True Master. Many factions had speculated that he had simply died of old age...

After some speculation, they all inevitably looked to Chen Che. After all, he was the only Pill Master among them.

”They’re all possibilities.”

Ever prudent, Chen Che didn’t give a definitive answer.

However, he was focused on two main points. First, could the refinement of the Pills inside this Pill Furnace be continued? After all, the Pills being refined by a figure legendary enough to be remembered for a thousand years were incredibly tempting.

Furthermore, they had passed several Spirit Medicine Gardens on their way here. The Spirit Treasures within the gardens seemed to have been completely harvested, with the plots now mostly overgrown with weeds or occupied by Low Tier Spiritual Medicine.

Some of the High Tier Spirit Trees and Spiritual Medicines had long since withered and died due to the insufficient Spiritual Qi.

’Those Spiritual Medicines are probably all inside this Pill Furnace.’

The second point was the source of that Divine Sense they had felt earlier.

After all, a Golden Core Great Perfection Cultivator was a figure to be feared.

’Could it be... there’s another Cultivator in this Traveling Palace? Is he trapped somewhere, or is he hiding inside this Pill Furnace?’ He tried to probe with his Divine Sense but was blocked by the Pill Furnace.

”Should we open it and take a look?”

After a brief discussion, they decided to see what was inside the furnace. Even Chen Che nodded; he had been suspecting all along that the source of that Divine Sense was hiding within the Pill Furnace.

Unfortunately, the other party’s Divine Sense Level was high, and he hadn’t been able to track their whereabouts.

”Agreed.”

The group immediately took up positions on all four sides and activated their True Essence.

With a CLANG, the lid of the Furnace Cauldron flew open. A faint, rosy light shone from within, but everything was quiet—none of the chaos they had anticipated occurred. Chen Che leaped up to the rim of the furnace, took one look, and frowned.

”What a pity...”

Hearing this, the others all leaped up, crowding around the opening like mice around an oil jar. With just one glance, they understood what Chen Che meant.

The furnace was empty, save for a pool of Pill Juice at the bottom. Having settled over time, it was no longer milky white, but as clear as spring water.

All that was left was to condense this pool of Pill Juice to form the final Pill.

Of course, countless refinements had failed at this final step.

Meng Changtu stared at the pool of Pill Juice for a moment before finally voicing the question on everyone’s mind:

”Che’er, can you resume the refinement for this Pill?”

”I can’t.”

Chen Che almost laughed and shook his head bluntly.

”You’re giving me too much credit. Resuming a refinement requires extremely high Alchemy Skill, and I’ve never even refined this type of Pill before. Besides, this refinement was halted for far too long. I’m afraid even True Master Chixia himself couldn’t continue it if he came back to life...”

Alchemy isn’t like stir-frying.

You can’t just turn off the heat, wait a while, and then start again.

The changes in medicinal properties are incredibly complex. You could use special Alchemy Techniques to seal the Pill for a time, but even that has its limits. Trying to resume a Pill refinement after several hundred years is just far too difficult.

Hearing Chen Che’s explanation, the others lost all hope.

However, Xiao Chan voiced another question on everyone’s mind:

”In that case, can we drink this Pill Liquid?”

Just as Chen Che was about to speak, he felt a sudden impulse and looked over his shoulder.

Before the others could understand why, they too stopped what they were doing and looked in the same direction, as if they had also sensed something. But when they looked up, they saw nothing but a vast forest.

”It’s back?”

”That Divine Sense from before... It’s in the forest?”

”True Master Chixia is dead, so how can there be a second being at the Golden Core Great Perfection Realm in this Traveling Palace...”

They exchanged wary glances.

One moment they were captivated by the Pill Juice in the furnace; the next, this immense Divine Sense had dragged them back to reality. They were still inside the legendary Pill Master’s Traveling Palace, and no one knew what else it might contain.

”Che’er?”

Sensing the vast Divine Sense retreat, Meng Qianxun seemed dazed for a moment before turning to look at Chen Che.

Although he was the most senior among them, Chen Che was the strongest, so it was only natural to ask for his opinion on such matters.

”We’ve already been noticed, so there’s no point in hiding.”

Chen Che pondered for a moment. ”Let’s go take a look. For it to reveal its Divine Sense twice, it must be no ordinary being. Friend or foe, man or monster, we need to find out what it is.”

The others exchanged a look and nodded in agreement.

”What about this Pill Furnace?”

Meng Changtu was reluctant to leave it behind. Even if the Pill Liquid was useless, the Pill Furnace itself was of exceptional quality. Not just him, but everyone present suspected it was Tier Four. It was very likely the most valuable object in the entire Traveling Palace.

”Leave it for now.”

Before Chen Che could speak, Elder Meng spoke up, gesturing toward the forest.

”If the being in there doesn’t want us to take it, we won’t be able to. And if we take it now, we might be breaking some taboo. It doesn’t matter if we leave empty-handed, as long as we all make it out safely.”

Chen Che nodded.

Essentially, all of their close associates were gathered here in this Traveling Palace. If they were all wiped out in one fell swoop, Jinyun Valley, the Meng Family, and the Chen Clan would likely be erased from existence.

Better to be safe than sorry.

If there was no problem, they could always come back for the Pill Furnace.

And if there was a problem...

...they would just have to face it.

Beyond the Traveling Palace lay a single bamboo forest. It was dense, with bamboo stalks soaring hundreds of feet into the air like jade pillars.

This was no ordinary bamboo, of course, but Taibai Jade Bamboo. It was a Tier Three Middle Grade Spiritual Bamboo, and as its name suggested, it had a wide range of uses. However, it was somewhat brittle; even with its high Grade, the best one could do was fashion it into a Tier Three Low Grade Weapon.

Mostly, though, it was just used as fuel.

The group advanced slowly. The terrain wasn’t complex, but because of the unknown Golden Core Great Perfection entity, they all proceeded with extreme caution.

Especially since they didn’t know if it was friend or foe.

Chen Che had expected it to take some effort, but they found their target surprisingly quickly.

”Is that...?”

He narrowed his eyes.

At the end of the bamboo forest stood a colossal willow tree, hundreds of yards tall. Its leaves were as translucent as jade, and its countless branches cascaded down like a green waterfall.

There was no wind in the forest, yet its myriad branches swayed gently, an unnerving sight that immediately marked it as something extraordinary.

”A Willow Tree Demon?”

They exchanged astonished glances.

They had considered all sorts of possibilities, but never once did they imagine that a Willow Tree Demon would be waiting for them. Though they were all well-traveled, they had little experience dealing with such entities.

After all, the conditions for a Tree Demon to come into being were even more stringent than for a Demon Beast; their existence was usually the result of pure chance and opportunity.

After all, it was no easy feat for a Tree Demon to gain self-awareness.

Even the Meng Family’s Peach Tree Demon was extremely weak; in terms of a Demon Beast’s or Cultivator’s Realm, it was only at the Qi Refining First Layer, and it was completely impossible to communicate with. But now, a Willow Tree Demon possessing a Divine Sense at the Golden Core Great Perfection Realm had appeared...

”What do we do?”

”I never expected the source of that Divine Sense to be... this thing...”

”Tree Demons are notoriously difficult to approach!”

The group exchanged uncertain glances, and for a time, no one dared to approach.

”Should we just cut it down?”

Xiao Chan tightened his grip on his Soul-Calling Banner.

The others exchanged glances; most of them were thinking the same thing.

Although the Willow Tree Demon hadn’t shown any aggression, no one dared to make a reckless move.

The power of a Tree Demon could vary wildly.

Some Tree Demons might possess a high Realm in name only... but others possessed power that far exceeded their supposed Realm.

Just as they were mulling this over, the Little Chick suddenly flapped its wings and flew over. To everyone’s astonishment, it tucked in its wings, landed directly on a branch, and even wiggled about a bit as if trying to find a comfortable spot.

Chen Che’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

”You want to leave with us?”