Chapter 4759 — An Arc of Lightning Pierces the Sky
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Reassured, Wei Zhao immediately channeled his true qi according to the tablet's instructions, and the Divine Farmer's Cauldron began to hum. Every one of the women except Han Jingyi could not help but show tension on her face; Huo Yudie in particular felt her heart pounding. Success or failure in this refinement bore directly on her lifelong happiness. It absolutely must not fail!
Everyone knew that each step up in pill grade meant a steep rise in refinement difficulty—not a doubling or tripling, but at least tenfold or a hundredfold, and for certain special pills perhaps even a thousandfold. The gap was far wider than that between cultivation levels; otherwise high-grade alchemists would not be so exceedingly rare.
Every grade apart was a chasm all but impossible to cross. Across Cloud Terrace Island, outside of the Eastern Continent, third- and fourth-grade alchemists were not exactly uncommon, but by the fifth and sixth grades they had already become the prized retainers that every faction vied to court. As for seventh-grade alchemists, only the very top powers could boast one—and only ever a single one—their status utterly transcendent.
Though Huo Yudie had come to harbor an almost blind faith in Wei Zhao, in her heart she truly had not the slightest confidence that he could refine a Thunder Mystic Pill. If it were so easy to make, her master would never have been so troubled, never have stooped to haggling with a man like Ren Zhongyuan.
Whether or not the Thunder Mystic Pill could be refined, Huo Yudie was already deeply moved simply to see Wei Zhao willing to strive so hard on her behalf. As for what to do if it failed—well, they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it.
Time crept by, and everyone's nerves stayed strung tight. Now and then the Divine Farmer's Cauldron would stir with some strange movement, giving Wei Zhao and Huo Yudie and the others a fright each time. Once in particular, electric arcs came darting wildly all over the room, as though heavenly thunder had descended upon them, giving everyone a thorough scare.
A single careless moment in refining a Thunder Mystic Pill could burst the cauldron—and that was no idle saying. At that moment Wei Zhao had even been prepared to forcibly withdraw his true qi and flee with the women to safety. Fortunately the episode lasted only an instant; the startling arcs raced about for a while and then swiftly dissolved into nothing, which finally let everyone breathe a little easier.
For a full day and night, Wei Zhao and the others somehow got through to the end without mishap. To cultivators of their level, such a span of time was hardly long, yet the entire process had been one of constant dread, with the Divine Farmer's Cauldron stirring every so often and even spitting dangerous arcs of lightning. This was no pill cauldron—it was a time bomb!
Such mental strain was truly more than an ordinary person could bear. With a slightly weaker constitution, a total breakdown on the spot would not have been out of the question.
Fortunately, their minds proved sturdy enough. At the tablet's chime announcing the end of the refinement, and at the sight of the Divine Farmer's Cauldron falling completely still, Wei Zhao and the others exchanged a lingering, fearful glance and let out a long breath in unison.
"Little junior brother, quick, see if it worked!" Shangguan Lan'er urged impatiently, and the others all wore looks of eager expectation as well.
Huo Yudie especially—though she had held no hope for it at the start, now that the moment had truly arrived she could not help but cherish a sliver of luck. The whole process had looked so very impressive—what if it really had succeeded?!