Chapter 791 – Refining the Fivefade Void Pill
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Xiaoxiao’s collar was originally very high. As she peeled it off, the deep purple cloth cast a faint silhouette on her pure white skin. Under the swaying and dim candlelight, her luscious body flowed like smooth wood spirit jade; it seemed exceptionally soft and beautiful.
After untying the first buckle, Xiaoxiao seemed to have found her courage. She then continued with the second and the third buckle as she bit her tender lips and said, “Sir Lin, I know that you have the eye and appreciation of the Crown prince. I… I’m merely the head of a small trading company; I haven’t even held a succession ceremony yet. There’s nothing I can bring out that would be able to move you again save for my pure virgin body. Still, even though I know that I am not enough, I have nothing else to offer you…”
Xiaoxiao closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling in the light. Two drops of crystal clear tears silently fell from the corners of her eyes.
Lin Ming never thought that such a sudden change would occur. He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
These were the cruel and callous rules of the world.
In the face of absolute power there was no mercy or sympathy. In order to survive, one had to pay a high enough price. Even the exquisite and beautiful Heavencraft Xiaoxiao, a beautiful woman that could cause the downfall of nations and had near endless resources, even she could do nothing but bow her head before a stronger power. Otherwise, she could only wait for her own destruction.
This was the sorrow of the weak.
This was their never ending plight.
Lin Ming shook his head and said, “Miss Heavencraft, you don’t have to do this and cause yourself to suffer.”
“I’m completely willing. Compared to the foundation of my family clan, what worth is my body? Much less, Sir Lin is also a chosen talent gifted by the heavens. As for me, I’m but a nobody. My only fear is that Sir Lin despises my average appearance.”
As she spoke, she quietly pulled down her veil, revealing an appearance as soft and as glorious as the bright moon. Her purple overcoat also fell, sliding down her fragrant shoulders and ravishing breasts.
She felt a cold wind brush by her body, whereafter her originally pale face blushed a bright red. In fact, she wouldn’t have pushed Lin Ming away if he ever desired her. If it weren’t for him, she would’ve already been abducted by Corpsemancer, living a life where she couldn’t even die if she wished to.
“Miss Heavencraft, I won’t stay at the Heavencraft Trading Company. You don’t need to ask me anymore.”
A simple and succinct refusal. Xiaoxiao froze where she was.
Lin Ming stood up and let out a long sigh. If he stayed at the Heavencraft Trading Company, he was doomed to seek asylum underneath the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. Otherwise, he would never cross over the perils of the Asura Divine Kingdom.
Moreover, if Yang Yun really cleaned up and annexed the trading companies and the other great financial organizations of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, only leaving behind the Heavencraft Trading Company, then this was the same as Lin Ming owing Yang Yun a great favor. One and then two, Lin Ming would slowly become entangled in the affairs of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. At that time, it would be equal to having joined them.
There might be over a dozen Emperor level powerhouses in the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, and Lin Ming had on him the Cosmic Melting Furnace and the Burning Star Flame. These were treasures that Divine Sea alchemists would go mad with jealousy over. The only choice would be for him to not use these treasures ever; otherwise, once he was discovered by those old fellows with incomparably sensitive perceptions, his fate might even be worse than falling into the hands of the Asura Divine Kingdom.
As he looked at the pitiful and beautiful Xiaoxiao, he had a suspicion floating in his mind. ‘When Yang Yun invited me, he also invited Xiaoxiao. Had he already planned for all of this to happen?’
Although these sorts of methods left Lin Ming very unhappy, the truth was that the Nine Furnace Guard had only shown the evidence to Xiaoxiao. No one had forced her to look to Lin Ming for help, as if nothing that had happened so far involved Yang Yun. Even Lin Ming couldn’t be sure whether or not he was involved.
Besides, no one forced him to promise Xiaoxiao anything. The choice between a beauty and to leave was his to make.
“Why…?” Xiaoxiao fell to the ground in exhaustion, her voice shaking.
By joining the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, Lin Ming would have resources, the trust and appreciation of the Crown Prince, the asylum of the Divine Kingdom, and so much more! This was a massive opportunity that others couldn’t even dream of!
Lin Ming didn’t intend to reveal his thoughts that he felt somehow Yang Yun had plotted this. Regardless of this, because of the many secrets on his body, he didn’t intend to involve himself in the upcoming whirlpool.
As he saw Xiaoxiao’s miserable appearance, he eventually couldn’t bear it any longer. He sighed and said, “Miss Heavencraft, while I can’t agree to your request, I can leave a letter here for you. As for His Highness the Crown Prince, I can’t say whether or not he’ll value my words.”
Lin Ming was self-aware of his own status and strength. Although he could be said to have endless potential, his strength was still far from reaching the peak of the Sky Spill Continent. If he could rank at the top of the Destiny Decree, then he could perhaps request a favor. But, for now, it wouldn’t be easy to do so. As for leaving a so-called letter behind… Its main content would be to thank Yang Yun for his gracious hospitality while also vaguely mentioning Xiaoxiao.
If Yang Yun agreed, this would be considered as Lin Ming owing Yang Yun a favor.
“Thank you, thank you so much Sir Lin…” Xiaoxiao bowed again. She was already more than satisfied with this result.
She waited for Lin Ming, her fingers pressed against the purple belly band around her waist, still not moving to put her clothes back on.
Lin Ming looked at the nervous Xiaoxiao who was overwhelmed with anxiety. Then, he smirked and said, “Miss Heavencraft, please, put some clothes on. While you are indeed beautiful, I already have a wife, and two at that.”
Lin Ming couldn’t help but acknowledge that he was attracted to Xiaoxiao’s body. Even though his will was firm, he inevitably felt the fires of lust stir up within him. But not only did he have Mu Qianyu, but more importantly he also had Qin Xingxuan who he hadn’t even had a marriage ceremony with or brought to the nuptial chamber. If he were to have sexual relations with another girl before completing his marriage with Qin Xingxuan, then this would be no different from betraying her.
Xiaoxiao blushed red and hurriedly dressed herself. She felt something in her heart but she couldn’t quite place her finger on what it was. Although she had made her decision during a time when she was nervous and not totally willing, she had still firmed her determination. For everything to suddenly end like this, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sense of failure.
After waiting for Xiaoxiao to dress, Lin Ming picked up a pen and some paper, and began writing a letter to Yang Yun. This could also be considered his parting farewell.
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Three days later at nighttime, within the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, at a mountain range that lay close to the Sea of Miracles, a green masked youth landed on the ground like a ghost. This youth that wore a wood spirit jade mask was Lin Ming.
A wood spirit jade mask could block even the perception of a Divine Sea Supreme Elder. It could be called the power most formidable and yet most simple method to hide one’s identity.
The reason he dared to walk within the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom was all dependent on this wood spirit jade mask.
Moreover, these were the lands of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. Even if the Asura Divine Kingdom intended to hunt him down, they wouldn’t blatantly and flagrantly do so here.
Still, he remained as careful and safe as he could. After leaving the Crown Prince Palace, he walked through several different transmission arrays and also changed routes several times before arriving at this nearly inaccessible and remote mountain range.
The heaven and earth origin energy here was barren to the point of nearly not existing. Without any resources here, martial artists wouldn’t search this place either.
Bang!
With a thrust of his spear, its sharp sword pierced through the mountain side like a knife cutting through tofu, immediately opening up a 200 foot deep cave. Lin Ming smoothed out the cave, reorganizing the lay out a bit, and then lay down several cloaking array formations and alarm array formations around the entrance. Only then did he fully enter.
These array formations all had wood spirit jade powder added to them. They were excellent at isolating energy.
He cut several more chambers in this cave and arranged the Eight Dragon Jade Dawn Array in the largest chamber. With Demonshine’s help and in addition to his memories of the array formation, although he couldn’t reproduce the complete power of the Eight Dragon Jade Dawn Array in the Demon God Imperial palace, he could still simulate 30-40% of it.
Then, Lin Ming waved his hand and a reddish-golden small bronze furnace flew out of him, spinning in the air. It soared into the air, spinning and growing until it became several dozen feet high with a golden light shining out from within. Brilliant flames burned all over the surface. This was the Cosmic Melting Furnace.
For the sake of security, this hiding place he chose had extremely poor heaven and earth origin energy. He had no choice but to fill all corners of the room with great numbers of spirit essence stones and fire-attribute top quality true essence stones. For a time, the entire chamber was thick with fire-attribute origin energy. The Eight Dragon Jade Dawn Array released red clouds and the Cosmic Melting Furnace glowed an even brighter crimson color.
Alchemy was an extremely tedious and complicated process. On top of that, he had only studied alchemy for less than a year. Even though he had inherited the complete experiences and knowledge of the Realm of the Gods alchemist and had even used over half of all the precious medicinal materials he had obtained from the Yin Yang Profound Palace and the South Sea Demon Region’s medicine gardens, he still wasn’t skilled enough to have absolute confidence he could successfully refine or even control a top grade pill such as the Fivefade Void Pill.
He estimated that he would need to practice alchemy for another one or two years if he wanted to increase his chances of successfully refining the Fivefade Void Pill to 70-80%. However, he couldn’t afford to wait for such a long time. His only chance was to use the wood spirit jade quintessence and forcibly increase his chance of success.
Although this method was extremely wasteful, time was the most precious commodity to him.
He didn’t immediately start refining the Fivefade Void Pill. First, he refined some ordinary pills. This was to familiarize himself with the techniques again and also to preheat the Cosmic Melting Furnace. This would provide the best conditions for refining.
This Cosmic Melting Furnace was also one of the main reasons Lin Ming dared to refine the Fivefade Void Pill. As a quasi-Saint artifact, the Cosmic Melting Furnace could increase the chances of successfully refining the pill by 20-30%.
After concocting three pills in the furnace, Lin Ming took out all the materials required to refine the Fivefade Void Pill from his spatial ring. He then activated the Eight Dragon Jade Dawn Array, and with a flick of his hand, a wisp of the Burning Star Flame flew into the Cosmic Melting Furnace.
The Burning Star Flame was a reward he acquired from Timeworn Phoenix City. It was considered a good Flame Essence even within the Realm of the Gods and its effects for alchemy were naturally astounding. It wasn’t something that the alchemists of the Sky Spill Continent and their earth-step Flame Essences could compare with.
Of course, while a higher grade Flame Essence was more useful and effective for alchemy, the premise of all this was that one could control it. Otherwise, if the energy fluctuations of the Flame Essence were too strong, then it would be easy to burn the alchemy materials down to ash.
But this was not a problem to Lin Ming. With the Heretical God Seed as well as his extremely high comprehension of the Concept of Fire, he could control the Burning Star Flame with absolute precision.
It was with all these various reasons combined that Lin Ming dared to refine the Fivefade Void Pill.
With another slap of his hand, the skyflower stones were the first material to fly into the Cosmic Melting Furnace. Lin Ming then added the Concept of Burning Heat and a touch of the Concept of Annihilation to the Burning Star Flame. At that point, with the assistance of the Eight Dragon Jade Dawn Array, it only took several more breaths of time before the hard and inflammable skyflower stones began to burn and melt.
This was a speed that a general alchemist couldn’t hope to keep up with.
Next was the dragonspine grass. Dragonspine grass was different from the fire resistant skyflower stones. If the heat was even a trace too much then it would be burnt down to nothing.
Lin Ming controlled the Flame Essence and urged it to weaken. The golden totem engraved on the Heretical God Seed began to blaze with a brilliant light. Underneath the steady flame, the dragonspine grass turned into green droplets.
Underneath Lin Ming’s control, the two different liquids merged together, becoming a crystal clear whole.