C632 The Cultivation of Alchemy!!

Moonfall Sanctuary.

Suspended in the air, the Soulforge Pool bore sword scars on its walls, radiating a sword's will with the power to cleave the heavens and the earth. These marks resonated with the Soulforge Matrix, sealing off the forbidden area.

Beneath the earth, four ancient characters glowed faintly like a dark sun in the subterranean space.

The power of "To Know All is to Suffer All" seemed more contained than before.

Thunderous roars erupted from the suppressed space channel below, as Sky Fiends in various Alien Soul forms emerged in a bizarre array.

One Sky Fiend towered over a hundred feet tall, its greenish-black body reminiscent of the Indigo Wraith, and it cast a cold glance at the four somber words.

With a whoosh, this Star-Spawned Terror burst forth, revealing itself within the isolated Moonfall Sanctuary.

Following suit, a multitude of Sky Fiends crossed through the space channel—some winged, some resembling savage beasts, others with a single eye or arm, and still others sheathed in scales.

Many Star-Spawned Terrors lacked a corporeal body, yet they could harness various powers for transformation.

Upon materializing in the Moonfall Sanctuary, they immediately drew upon the divine force, moon energy, and Arctic Breath to forge their bodies out of thin air.

Nevertheless, these Sky Fiends, hailing from diverse origins, generally possessed modest combat strength.

Their caution stemmed from a fear that the sudden opening of the spatial passage might be a trap set by the Everlands. They dreaded the possibility of their elite being lured in, only to have their escape routes cut off and to be systematically slaughtered within the sanctuary.

In the past, when Boulderdawn reigned supreme in the Everlands, they were fond of such tactics.

They would open the spatial passages, allowing Sky Fiends to pour in, and then let their cultivators pick them off one by one. Using Boulderdawn's mystique, they would refine the Sky Fiends to enhance their own souls.

Having previously suffered heavy losses and aware of the recent unrest in the Everlands, along with Boulderdawn's stirrings, the Sky Fiends were uneasy and hesitant to take any rash actions.

Initially, a group of expendable scapegoats, as deemed by the Sky Fiends, were dispatched to scout the situation in the forbidden area.

Once it was confirmed that the spatial passage was clear and not a devious trap, the true might of the Sky Fiends, including Demon Guards, Demon Generals, and even Demon Kings, would cross over.

That would mark the beginning of the true conflict.

At that moment, hundreds of Sky Fiends, having morphed into various forms, were unleashing their howls within the forbidden area, preying on the weaker soul spirits.

Meanwhile, immensely powerful alien creatures from the forbidden area broke free, soaring out from different locations to consume the Sky Fiends arriving from extraterrestrial realms.

The Soulforge Pool, suspended in the sky, seized the chance to engulf souls and further augment its power.

The Evil Statue, sculpted from the Sword Prison, was similarly adrift in the forbidden area.

Thunderous rumbles echoed as meteorites, shattered by the Moon Slayer cultivator, emerged from their craters and drifted above the forbidden area.

The gravity within the entire Moonfall Sanctuary was in disarray.

The aerolites, suspended in midair, drew in the moon energy through the Soulforge Matrix, refining it before channeling it toward the Evil Statue.

Both the Star-Spawned Terrors and the ghosts of the forbidden area recoiled from the presence of the Evil Statue.

With a sharp crack, a Sky Fiend collided with the wall of the Soulforge Matrix and, like a fly ensnared in an electrified web, was instantly vaporized.

A Demon General, kin to the Indigo Wraith, witnessed the Sky Fiend's demise and, sensing danger, let out a mournful howl in the demonic tongue.

Others, eager to break free and behold the world outside the Soulforge Matrix—a world long coveted by their kind—halted abruptly, pulling back at the last moment.

Inside the forbidden area, chaos reigned and the struggle was merciless.

Outside, a formidable force of 30,000, clad in silver armor and mounted on steeds, marched from the City of Silvermoon of the Shadowlight Empire toward the Crimson Sun Empire. They traversed the edge of the Serpent Spine Mountains with the Shadowlight Empire's purple crescent banners, emblems of the new empire and the will of Emperor Yan Gui.

Once past the Serpent Spine Mountains, this army would emerge onto the plains outside the Crimson Sun Empire's Red Rock City, ready to engage with the opposing forces.

On the other side, the armies of the Sunblessed Empire and the Empire of Dawn had been clashing on a desolate ice field in the north for several days. The battle was fierce, with blood flowing like rivers, the screams of war horses, the cries of human warriors, and the explosive demise of Lunar Spirit cultivators echoing in the skies above the ice field. Nearly a hundred thousand warriors from both empires, dozens of Lunar Spirit experts, and hundreds of Veil Breaking and Subtlety Realm powerhouses were engaged in this brutal conflict. Both empires, with mightier forces and deeper roots than the Shadowlight Empire, fought with a ferocity born of desperation.

Within the Moonfall Sanctuary, the visage of the Evil Statue, a face twisted with war, destruction, and madness, became increasingly prominent. In contrast, the benevolent side began to fade into obscurity. The side representing ultimate evil, carved into the wooden body of the Evil Statue within the Sword Prison, revealed only the aspects associated with annihilation and death.

...

On the mid-lake island, the sound of whooshing filled the air. Yu Yuan, with his exquisite control over spiritual sense, manipulated clusters of sunfire around the Serpentflame, expertly adjusting the temperature to his liking. Fire Crystals served merely as an auxiliary, no longer the primary source of heat.

Yu Yuan sat tranquilly before the Serpentflame, using strands of soulstone as extensions of his own limbs to fine-tune the sunfire and introduce herbs into the furnace at the optimal moment. The furnace, fueled by the flames, exuded a medicinal scent that soothed the soul.

"Subtlety!" Yu Yuan murmured, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes. He fully appreciated the immense advantage of being a cultivator who had reached the Subtlety Realm, refined his spiritual sense, and could masterfully control the fire and herbs. His spiritual sense allowed him to precisely manipulate the sunfire, ensuring the temperature was exactly as he envisioned. Combining spiritual sense with spiritual energy, he could deftly handle each herb, waiting by the furnace, and instantly discern its softness, warmth, and moisture content upon contact.

This was far more intuitive than when he used to discern herbs by touching them with his fingers.

Previously, he relied on his sight, the touch of his fingertips, and his sense of smell to identify each herb and determine whether it was ready to be cast into the furnace to fully unleash its medicinal properties.

The right timing, the herb's maturity, and its moisture content all made subtle differences and had an impact.

He used to spend a great deal of time and energy on this task, which is why he needed an herb slave like Du Jing to handle the menial work.

But now, in this lifetime, after his breakthrough to the Subtlety realm, he found that the challenges of the past were effortlessly resolved.

The acuity of his spiritual sense far exceeded the capabilities of his eyes, nose, and fingers from his previous life!

As the spiritual sense infiltrated, all information flowed directly into his Mindscape, and he instantly comprehended it.

He suddenly realized why he had such a profound understanding of the various effects of herbs and the intricacies of pills, to the point where his master still felt a sense of loss.

His master often lamented that if only he could cultivate like his senior brother, Zhong Chichen...

He didn't need to reach the Spirit Walk realm by condensing a Lunar Spirit; breaking through to the Subtlety realm was enough for him to achieve significant advancements in his alchemy.

Back then, he had stubbornly told his master that he could succeed without embarking on the path of cultivation.

Eventually, he proved himself right; he truly could...

But the effort he exerted and the hardships he endured on that path were incomparable to those of his senior brother, Zhong Chichen!

"If there's a shortcut to alchemy, then embracing the path of cultivation, with its formidable power aiding the alchemical process, is indeed that shortcut!" Yu Yuan couldn't help but reflect, even feeling that his senior brother, Zhong Chichen, was correct in his dedication to cultivation.

At the Subtlety realm, he could exquisitely manipulate his spiritual sense, which was in itself a form of cultivation and a means of continuous progression.

In this state, at this moment, his alchemy was also for the sake of cultivation, to grow stronger.

Half a month later, he emptied the furnace and placed the newly formed pills into porcelain bottles. With a hearty laugh, he dashed out of the mid-lake island.

"It's time to head to Gavanas and settle accounts with the Skyreach Consortium."

...