In the sky, the mass of energy continued to gather.
Xiao Dong panicked—this was his first time attempting the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Style. “Old man, what do I do? What should I do? I can’t stop now!” Sweat poured down his face like rain as he tried to calm himself and think.
Suddenly, he recalled Duan Tianya’s words from his first alchemy session: “With a single phrase, you can touch the profound; why need tens of millions of alchemy texts? Next, I will tell you the ultimate secret of alchemy—’Collect herbs into the furnace under the sun and moon, return to the void and create transformation through will alone!'”
A sharp light flashed in Xiao Dong’s eyes. He understood! “Collecting herbs into the furnace under the sun and moon” meant gathering soil essence, dew, and floral fragrance as ingredients, then entering the furnace of heaven and earth to be refined through wind, rain, and mist. “Returning to the void to create transformation” meant condensing the floral fragrance, forming an illusory pill shadow, and fusing it with the earth’s energy to give it life. The only thing left was the final step—completing it with willpower!
Since it was the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Style, he would use the will of heaven and earth itself. “Thunder move, will of heaven and earth!”
Xiao Dong straightened his posture, lightning flashing in his eyes, his aura unmatched. Instantly, the heavens and earth changed—lightning flashed, thunder roared, and all vegetation shrank back in fear.
Jiang Lin’s eyes widened in shock. Even without Duan Tianya, this guy could still complete the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Style? As expected of the protagonist! But why didn’t he remember anything about using lightning will…?
Long Xiyue stared in confusion. Was this really the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Style? Was Xiao Dong truly a Grandmaster of Alchemy? Did it have nothing to do with the remnant soul? “Jiang Lin, you lost. Yue Shang isn’t—”
Before she could finish, the ground trembled, and the formation that nurtured the spirit herbs collapsed. Liu Ziyang’s voice was full of glee. “Princess Xiyue, look at the flowers! This isn’t the Heaven and Earth Alchemy Style at all—it’s the demonic horizontal refinement method!”
Long Xiyue quickly looked down. The hundred rare flowers were withering, their colorful branches fading into lifelessness, all vitality pouring into Xiao Dong. In the air, pill after pill began to form.
“Pfft… this kid is using the power of heaven and earth to forcibly strip the spirit flowers of their origin essence, then condense it into pills!”
Jiang Lin was stunned—completely stunned. This kid was a freak! To be able to deduce the next step on his own, even though he got it wrong, still showed incredible talent. The protagonist truly wasn’t simple. Today, he had to take him down!
“It’s over, completely over! These flowers are Father Emperor’s materials for refining a Transcendent Realm Pill!”
Long Xiyue’s pupils contracted in fear. She had always known her special treatment from the Emperor came only from his guilt, as compensation for letting Long Zhan steal her companion dragon source blood, which had crippled her cultivation forever. The royal family had no true affection. After today, she might lose the Emperor’s favor entirely.
Not far away, Jiang Zhiyi, who was about to leave, suddenly turned back. “Who dares use the will of heaven and earth here to take the essence of the flowers?” Realizing the location, her expression darkened. “No—it’s the core Hundred Flowers Area! Could it be Lin’er and the others?”
In the next moment, she appeared in the Hundred Flowers Area, seeing the flowers withering away. It was over. A third of the materials for the Transcendent Realm Pill were destroyed. With the complete pill recipe, she could have refined it soon, but now she would have to start gathering the materials all over again.
“Dan form!”
Xiao Dong’s gaze focused as four perfectly round Hundred Fragrance Pills took shape, each etched naturally with strange floral patterns. Top-grade Hundred Fragrance Pills—success! He slowly descended, a faint smile on his lips, ready to hear the gasps of admiration. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Instead, a blast of force struck him.
Puff! His body was torn open, blood spraying as he crashed to the ground. Through fading consciousness, he caught a glimpse of the attacker—it looked like a celestial maiden from the Nine Heavens Ice Palace.
“Thief! You trespassed into the Wanhua Pavilion, used the will of heaven and earth, and stole the essence of the flowers—what is your intent?”
Jiang Zhiyi hadn’t held back, crippling him in one blow and declaring him solely responsible for the incident.
Just then, a figure descended from the sky. “Red-Eyed Dragon General Wu Shan greets the Azure Plume Pill Immortal.”
Wu Shan? He had been Xiao Zhan’s top general. After Xiao Zhan’s death, he vanished—turns out he’d been secretly protecting Xiao Zhan’s son.
Jiang Zhiyi’s voice was cold. “General Wu, are you a dragon general of the court, or a general of the Xiao family?”
Wu Shan’s expression didn’t change. “I ask the Azure Plume Immortal to spare this child, Xiao Dong!”
Xiao Dong!?
Shangguan Yaoyao suddenly sat upright from Jiang Lin’s embrace, looking toward the Hundred Flowers Area. There, Xiao Dong lay in a pool of blood, his disguise gone, revealing his true face. It really was Brother Xiao Dong! She had just kissed someone else in front of him?
Seeing the gravely injured and unconscious Xiao Dong, Shangguan Yaoyao rose, ready to run to him.
Jiang Lin’s lips curled coldly. As expected—Xiao Dong was still more important to her. Grabbing her arm, he said, “So it really is Xiao Dong. Looks like your worth to him is indeed less than that necklace—you were kidnapped, and he came here to curry favor with the royal princess!”
Shangguan Yaoyao froze, as if struck by lightning. It was true… Brother Xiao Dong, do you not care about me anymore? Am I really worth less than a treasure?
“No—it must be that you never delivered it to him!”
“Feel it—where is your earring?”
She panicked, afraid to check, afraid Jiang Lin might be right.
“Stop lying to yourself!”
With a cold snort, Jiang Lin’s words made her shiver. She sent out a sensing pulse—within ten meters, it was on Xiao Dong’s body. She was stunned. I… really am worth less than a necklace?
A faint smile flashed in Jiang Lin’s eyes—success. The moment Xiao Dong had fallen unconscious, Jiang Lin had used top-tier mental power to place the earring on him, all for this exact moment to strike at her heart.
Meanwhile, Wu Shan pulled out an immunity token from Xiao Dong’s body. “Back when General Xiao defended Reincarnation Mountain, holding off the combined assault of the Witch and Demon clans for the Grand Xia Empire, His Majesty granted this immunity token. Is that enough to spare Xiao Dong’s life?”
Three meters away, Long Xiyue’s face turned pale, her body trembling. Jiang Lin had Jiang Zhiyi behind him, Xiao Dong had the Xiao family’s old general—but she had no one. Once her father learned of this, she would lose all favor.
Clutching the Huanglong Token in her hand, she realized this was her last card—and soon, it would be gone. Despair consumed her as she slumped to the ground.
“No, I want him dead! He dared to deceive me—I’ll kill him!”
In the next instant, holding the Huanglong Token, she activated the secret realm’s array. The entire space trembled as deadly spells locked onto Xiao Dong’s body.
“No… don’t kill Xiao Dong! Jiang Lin, I beg you, save him! You made a bet with Long Xiyue—she’ll listen to you! As long as you save Xiao Dong, I’ll do anything—be your concubine, your maid, anything!”
Tears streamed down Shangguan Yaoyao’s face as she turned to Jiang Lin.
Jiang Lin ignored her plea, watching the situation carefully. Liu Ziyang and the other playboys hid in the pavilion, trembling and not daring to appear. Jiang Zhiyi stood among the flowers, checking the damage, the fury in her eyes growing stronger. Long Xiyue, in a frenzy, poured all her strength into the secret realm’s array to kill Xiao Dong outright. Wu Shan, covered in blood, held the immunity token while shielding Xiao Dong with his own body.
In Jiang Lin’s mind, calculations ran quickly. Soon, he let out a helpless sigh.
Xiao Dong… still couldn’t die.