Chapter 653 - 647: Heart Demon

Shen Haoran was in no mood to pay Feng Miaoke any mind. He was deep in thought, head lowered and brows furrowed. He kept replaying the recent Elixir refining process in his mind, searching for the reason he had failed. Shen Haoran meticulously reviewed his Alchemy process from start to finish, but he couldn’t find a single mistake.

’That can’t be right. I followed the refining method from the Alchemy Dao to the letter, even the final Spirit Infusion. There wasn’t the slightest mistake!’ Shen Haoran’s brow furrowed even deeper. Refinement of Spirit Medicine, fusion into a Finished Pill, infusion of Spiritual Qi—Shen Haoran had performed every step with extreme care, yet he still couldn’t find anything he had done wrong.

’Then why did I fail?’ Shen Haoran’s frown deepened. After a moment of thought, he was still completely clueless.

’Looks like my only choice is to try refining it again,’ Shen Haoran mused. He still had two sets of ingredients left in his Storage Ring. If he wanted to find the problem, his only option was to test it through action.

At that thought, Shen Haoran wasted no more time. With a flick of his will, over fifty stalks of Spirit Medicine reappeared on the stone table, and he began his second attempt at refining.

This time, Shen Haoran was even more meticulous and focused than before. He mentally rehearsed every single detail countless times before daring to make a move, terrified that a single mistake on his part would lead to failure. After all, he only had two chances left. If he failed, Lady Ya’s life would be lost. ’I absolutely will not allow that to happen!’

Time ticked by, second by second. Fine beads of sweat trickled down Shen Haoran’s forehead. Under his painstaking effort, the Spirit Medicines on the table vanished one by one as the Alchemy process unfolded step-by-step.

’Refinement of Spirit Medicine: correct! Fusion of the Essence of Spiritual Medicine: correct! Final step, Spirit Infusion: correct!’ Shen Haoran had followed the Alchemy Dao perfectly with every step. He was certain he hadn’t made the slightest error this time. ’This time, it has to succeed!’

High above, Yao Wuchen observed the contestants immersed in their Alchemy and nodded lightly. Spurred on by Feng Miaoke, the participants were all giving it their utmost, performing at a level beyond their norm. However, when Yao Wuchen’s gaze landed on Shen Haoran, his brow twitched. ’Shen Haoran’s current state... it seems a little strange.’

「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」 Only three days remained until the end of the third round. Now, the Elixir inside Shen Haoran’s Pill Furnace was ready, prepared to emerge at any moment.

Seeing the perfectly round Elixir, Shen Haoran let out a long sigh of relief. ’I knew it. How could I possibly make a mistake following the methods of the Alchemy Dao!’

Yet before Shen Haoran could even celebrate, his expression suddenly changed. The once perfectly round Elixir began to swell uncontrollably. In the blink of an eye, its surface became bumpy and uneven. The next instant, it violently exploded before his stunned gaze.

"CLANG..."

The sound of clashing metal rang out once more, far louder this time, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze. Shen Haoran was sent flying by the shockwave, landing hard on his rear. He stared blankly at the blackened Pill Furnace, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

’I did nothing wrong... How could I fail? Why?’ The questions echoed endlessly in Shen Haoran’s mind, and his eyes grew vacant.

By now, the spectator stands were in an uproar. Countless eyes turned back to Shen Haoran. A single failure in Alchemy might not have drawn much comment—it was a common enough occurrence, after all. Even High-Tier Alchemists made mistakes. But after Shen Haoran failed a second time, a storm of criticism was directed his way.

"Look at that kid! He failed again!"

"What’s that saying? Pride comes before a fall. Serves him right for trying to act all high and mighty, refining fifty stalks of Spirit Medicine at once!"

"Heh heh, look at him. He’s probably finished. Maybe this will ruin him for good!" Gleeful, mocking voices rose from the crowd. No one sympathized with Shen Haoran; only cold, ruthless laughter echoed across the Central Square.

Upon the four high platforms, Feng Miaoke saw Shen Haoran’s vacant expression and a cold sneer touched her lips. ’Him, in that state, trying to compete with me for the title of Pill Emperor? What a joke!’

In contrast to Feng Miaoke’s gloating, both Long Aotian and Yan Jue frowned deeply. The Shen Haoran they knew wasn’t one to give up so easily. But seeing his hollow, lifeless eyes and vacant expression, they couldn’t help but worry. There was nothing they could do, however, but watch on with growing anxiety.

On their high platform, the Elders of the Medicine Hall all shook their heads. They had thought Shen Haoran was a promising sapling. He possessed the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, and his control over his Spiritual Thought was exquisite. With a bit of nurturing, he could have become a one-in-ten-thousand Talent. They never expected his mental fortitude to be so weak that a mere two failures would break him. They were truly disappointed.

"Tch. And here I thought he was another rising star. I didn’t realize he was so fragile," Feng Qingwu snorted. He had originally planned to move against Shen Haoran, but after seeing his heaven-defying Talent, he had abandoned the idea. A genius like Shen Haoran was sure to receive the full protection of the Medicine Hall. But now that Shen Haoran had been defeated by his own failure, the Medicine Hall would surely write him off. An Alchemist who couldn’t accept failure was unworthy of the title.

Everyone else saw only Shen Haoran’s failure, but Yao Wuchen saw it differently. ’Judging from his condition just now, he seemed too tense. So tense that he’s completely forgotten the true purpose of Alchemy.’ Shen Haoran had indeed failed, but he was merely lost in a state of confusion. If he couldn’t pull himself out of it, then he would truly be ruined. But if he could, it would be a complete metamorphosis for him.

Yao Wuchen was right. Shen Haoran was indeed far too tense. No one knew what this battle for the title of Pill Emperor truly meant to him. Lady Ya was still lying on her sickbed, hovering on the brink of death. Shen Haoran had to win the Wood Spirit Cyan Profound for her. This was his greatest motivation, but it was also his greatest Heart Demon. And now, he had been defeated by that very Heart Demon. Just as Yao Wuchen had surmised, if Shen Haoran couldn’t overcome this, he would be ruined forever. But if he could pull through, what awaited him was a whole new realm.

The jeers and laughter in the Central Square continued unabated as countless cold stares were fixed on Shen Haoran. He remained with his head lowered, his eyes lifeless, his expression numb. But deep within his gaze, a struggle was raging, as if he were trying to break free from something...