Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

Among the disciples of The Pill Peak who were watching from the periphery, some had dazed expressions. This was Gu Yao’s second time publicly refining pills, which made them recall the first time several years ago. Back then, Gu Yao was highly questioned and regarded as a four-spiritual-root cultivator looked down upon by the Pill Peak alchemists. That time, Gu Yao’s alchemy skills blatantly slapped The Pill Peak’s face. Since then, it seemed that the alchemists of The Pill Peak had been chasing after his steps.

Years had passed in the blink of an eye. The young alchemist, once doubted, had taken enormous strides, moving so quickly that now they had to look up at him. The doubts and disdain from a few years ago had transformed into admiration and respect, while some of the people from that time were still stuck in place, not progressing.

“Do you think Gu Yao can succeed?” The Eight-rank advanced pill was too difficult for a Ninth-rank alchemist, so the learning process turned into pure appreciation. The disciples exchanged their thoughts in private, sending soundless messages to each other.

“I think he can. Otherwise, Hu Master wouldn’t have brought him out. Doesn’t everyone know Hu Master’s character? He’s not someone who would intentionally make things difficult for his juniors. Besides, for Hu Master to come to our Tianfu Academy, Gu Yao must have played a big part in it.”

“I heard Gu Yao refined an Eight-rank intermediate pill very easily in the secret realm. His cultivation has improved since then, so it probably won’t be too difficult for him now.”

“Nothing’s that easy. I think he really doesn’t need to draw so much attention. If he fails, can he bear the consequences?”

“Tch, who doesn’t know that Gu Yao has a very high pill success rate? I’ve heard that it’s related to his soul strength. His control over the pill furnace and materials throughout the entire refining process is extremely precise, and that’s the key factor in his high success rate.”

While the disciples on the periphery had their doubts, even the alchemists sitting inside were somewhat concerned. After all, Gu Yao’s cultivation was only at the mid-stage of foundation building, and some of the foundation building late-stage cultivators present couldn’t even say with certainty that they could successfully refine this pill.

But under the watchful eyes filled with doubt, after all the materials in the pill furnace were refined, the process had entered the stage of pill fusion. Watching Gu Yao’s hand movements as he performed the pill techniques, his motions were as smooth and effortless as flowing clouds and water, without any hesitation. It was clear that he was no novice at this, and the onlookers were surprised. It seemed that the boy’s reputation for genius was not exaggerated.

Previously, when hearing others praise him as a genius, they thought it was somewhat exaggerated—people tend to inflate things, after all. But now, seeing it with their own eyes, they realized that those compliments were still an understatement.

Separating the pill, condensing it, and forming the pill—until the final collection of the pill—its fragrance still lingered in the air. The pills had already been placed one by one into jade bottles, and the alchemists and cultivators present, including those on the periphery, were still immersed in the aftertaste of the moment, unable to come back to their senses for a long while.

“Gu Yao’s skills in refinement and control indeed surpass mine in many ways. If Gu Yao’s cultivation improves a bit more, I would have to bow down to him,” Hu Master’s voice brought everyone back to their senses. His evaluation made the crowd start murmuring, discussing the pill’s quality. It was not inferior to the ones refined by Hu Master himself. In a few years, if what Hu Master said came true, the title of the number one alchemist of Tianlin Continent would have to be handed over to Gu Yao, who was so young. No one knew how far he could go in the future—his potential seemed limitless.

“No, my alchemy has no limits. There’s still much I need to learn,” Gu Yao humbly replied. “Everyone here has far more experience than me.”

Next, Hu Master and the alchemists present tried other pills. Some succeeded, others failed. Failure wasn’t something to fear; it was just a matter of learning from the experience and trying again. Through these exchanges, along with the abundance of spiritual herbs, they all felt they had made considerable progress.

In this atmosphere, Hu Master adjusted himself to his best state. After sitting down to meditate and restore his energy and spiritual sense to their peak, Hu Master finally decided to start refining the Tianyuan Pill. Everyone present watched attentively, holding their breath in fear of disturbing him.

Two people assisted Hu Master—one was naturally Gu Yao, and the other was Lin Master from The Pill Peak. Lin Master’s alchemy was flawless, and if not for a genius like Gu Yao, his name would have been even more renowned.

Chi Changye remained nearby, holding his sword. Most of the time, he kept his eyes closed, but even with his eyes shut, he could clearly sense Gu Yao’s every move.

Gu Yao felt that Chi Changye was too nervous. Though there were many other alchemists from different factions present, could they really make any harmful moves under so many watchful eyes?

This time, unless special materials required Hu Master’s direct handling, all other materials were to be refined in advance, purified repeatedly, and then handed over to Hu Master for fusion. Therefore, Gu Yao and Lin Master worked in cooperation.

Once the materials were refined, they were handed to Hu Master for inspection.

Gu Yao used his spiritual power to open a jade box in front of him, inside of which was a Yin Bone Grass, an important auxiliary material needed for the Tianyuan Pill, which grew in a place of extreme yin.

Gu Yao took the Yin Bone Grass into his hand and habitually used his spiritual sense to scan it from top to bottom, eliminating any impurities with this step. If someone were to observe closely, they would notice something remarkable: every spiritual herb that passed through Gu Yao’s hands seemed to glow with a slightly stronger spiritual light than before.

However, this time, Gu Yao’s hand tightened for a moment before quickly relaxing, as if nothing unusual had happened.

Chi Changye suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed intensely on Gu Yao.

In the space, Xu Chen, meanwhile, had caught something small. The tiny object was wrapped in a burst of soul power and was desperately struggling to break free.

Gu Yao lowered his eyes and, with his spiritual sense, asked, “Senior, what is that thing? The spiritual herbs should have been checked when they entered the storage. How could a bug have hidden itself in the herb?”

The bug was invisible to the naked eye, and could only be detected with spiritual sense.

“I’ve seen this bug before. If you were to toss it into the furnace with the herb, do you know what would happen?” Xu Chen’s voice was grave.

“Explosion?” Gu Yao ventured.

Xu Chen sneered, “An explosion would be mild. The more serious consequence might be a backlash against the cultivator’s spiritual sense, causing damage to the sea of consciousness. This is clearly someone trying to target you. These bugs aren’t something you can just find lying around.”

Gu Yao’s expression remained unchanged, and he discussed with Xu Chen, “I’ll continue refining. Senior, please keep an eye out for me. I suspect the person trying to sabotage me is nearby. I want to know who’s behind this—whether they’re from Tianfu Academy or an outsider.” He believed those within Tianfu Academy had a greater opportunity to act, as apart from Hu Master, it was unlikely anyone else would have access to these materials before they were released.

“Alright, you refine the pill. I’ll keep an eye out for you,” Xu Chen agreed, also feeling angry. If something had gone wrong, he would have been implicated as well. Since learning of Gu Yao’s special bloodline, he no longer believed that the Pill Pavilion would be handed over to Gu Yao without any reason. The origins of the Pill Pavilion itself were highly suspicious.

To the onlookers, Gu Yao took out the Yin Bone Grass, checked it as usual, and then threw it into the furnace to be purified and refined with pill fire, eliminating impurities. During this process, the alchemists present could feel a powerful spiritual sense enveloping the entire pill furnace, causing it to hum and vibrate. Due to Gu Yao’s strong control over his spiritual sense, his refining process was much faster than the others, but the purity of the spiritual liquid was not compromised—it was even better.

Gu Yao did not let his focus slip. He trusted Xu Chen completely and left the task of watching for any hidden saboteurs to him. The person acting in the shadows would surely reveal their true intentions soon.

Gu Yao operated steadily, and the impurities he removed grew more and more. Refining Yin Bone Grass was far more difficult than other spiritual herbs because of its inherent yin properties. A single mistake could turn the herb into a lump of black charcoal. Yet, under his skilled hand, a pure and cold yin aura spread throughout the space.

Some people showed appreciative looks; by this point, Gu Yao’s technique was nearly perfect. It might not be long before he could independently refine the Tianyuan Pill, which would be a great boon for Tianlin Continent.

Others, however, flashed a hint of surprise in their eyes. How could he have refined it to this extent? Was he being discovered? The person quickly calmed themselves and, like everyone else, put on a look of satisfaction and praise.

Chi Changye’s fingers twitched slightly, his gaze sweeping over the expressions of everyone present.

Xu Chen, also in the space, noticed this and thought to himself, ‘This kid has good observation skills. He detected such a subtle change.’

Finally, after the Yin Bone Grass was refined, its spiritual liquid was transferred into a jade vial and handed to Hu Master. Hu Master was extremely satisfied. However, one person’s eyes flickered with a flash of darkness—so quick that it was almost imperceptible.

Hu Master began the process of refining the Tianyuan Pill. Bottles of spiritual liquid were poured into the pill furnace in front of him, and his spiritual sense spread out, enveloping the entire furnace. His hands swiftly formed pill formulas, and in an orderly manner, he began the fusion process according to the method he had previously simulated multiple times. Intense reactions began to occur between the different spiritual liquids, and the furnace emitted a continuous roaring sound.

When Hu Master announced the beginning of the Tianyuan Pill’s refinement, more people appeared in the square above. Dean Yu even personally arrived—partly to observe and immediately know the outcome of the refining process, and partly to act as a protector for Hu Master, in case anyone tried to cause disruption. The peak masters from other mountains, as well as Elder Yi Changru and others, all showed up. Even the leader of the nearby Qianxue Sect arrived personally with several elders in tow.

These people knew how vital the result of the Tianyuan Pill refinement would be—not only for Tianfu Academy and Cuiyan Valley, but for the entire Tianlin Continent. If the refining was successful, Tianfu Academy and Cuiyan Valley would each take a portion, and they too would have a chance to obtain the Tianyuan Pill and possibly break through to the Golden Core stage.

It must be said that Hu Master’s alchemy skills, which had stagnated in recent years, had grown once again. There had been two dangerous moments during the process, but with his skillful control, he managed to stabilize everything. Gradually, the tremors in the furnace subsided, and a fragrant scent from the pill began to spread.

The crowd rejoiced!