Chapter 114 - 109: Yun Buliu Advances!

Chapter 114: Chapter 109: Yun Buliu Advances!

"BUBBLE BUBBLE!"

Yun Buliu rapidly formed hand seals. He wanted to make the medicinal liquid break down on its own, evolving to show the initial process of how such a liquid was formed. The green medicinal mass tumbled, resembling a water balloon churning with turbulent currents. The small Array inside the Purple Gold Cauldron continuously tugged and tore at the green mass. However, no matter how much it pulled, the medicinal mass showed absolutely no sign of separating.

A long time passed.

"Master..." Standing beside him, Shangguan Xiu’Er’s face filled with shock. She looked at her master, Yun Buliu, wanting to ask him what to do. This was merely medicinal liquid—it couldn’t even be considered a first-grade Elixir. Yet, it was unbelievably difficult to separate! Even when they deciphered a Fifth-Grade King Pill last time, the difficulty was likely no more than this.

Yun Buliu stared at the green medicinal mass in the Purple Gold Cauldron with a gloomy expression. Although he was anxious, he wasn’t as panicked as Shangguan Xiu’Er. He knew he couldn’t lose his composure; otherwise, things would only get worse.

"It’s fine. This is normal," Yun Buliu said. "For a Perfect-grade Elixir, it would actually be strange if it were as easy to decipher as ordinary medicinal liquid! Hah!" He formed hand seals once more, repeatedly supplying Spiritual Qi to the Array inside the Purple Gold Cauldron.

BUBBLE BUBBLE.

The green medicinal liquid continued to tumble, showing no signs of separating.

A few minutes later, Yun Buliu’s face was dripping with sweat. His entire body was soaked. Shangguan Xiu’Er’s delicate face was also flushed red, as rosy as a peeled egg. She was exhausted as well. It was simply too difficult.

"As expected of a Perfect-grade medicinal liquid. The medicinal properties of each ingredient are tightly connected, like a locked padlock. It’s incredibly hard to separate them!" Yun Buliu said.

Every kind of medicine, whether a medicinal liquid or an Elixir, was formulated and refined from different medicinal materials. Every medicine was different; they either repelled one another, generated one another, or merged together. It was just like the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Metal counters wood, wood counters earth, earth counters water, and water counters fire, just as metal generates water, and water generates wood. They mutually generated and restrained one another, linking together like an endless ring. They were closely interconnected.

Elixirs were the same. Depending on their medicinal properties, they would mutually generate and restrain each other, forming a tight bond. Furthermore, the more Perfect a medicine was, the tighter its internal "clasps" became. The more securely it was locked, the harder it was to separate.

Clearly, Yun Buliu had still underestimated the Perfect degree of the medicinal liquid. The liquid refined by Su Tan had already reached an extremely high quality. Was it truly Perfect?

"No wonder Mr. Su didn’t mind me taking the medicinal liquid. No wonder Mr. Su casually left it in the courtyard without placing any restrictions on it... So it turns out it’s this hard to decipher!" Yun Buliu said. "Mr. Su doesn’t care because no one can decipher it. If I’m struggling this much and still can’t unravel it, who else in Celestial Fragrance could possibly decipher it?"

He finally understood Su Tan’s mindset. He finally knew why Su Tan wasn’t afraid of others stealing his medicine.

"If it’s this difficult to decipher even without restrictions, what would happen if he actually placed restrictions on it?" Yun Buliu said. "Mr. Su is truly unfathomable!"

"Master, can even you not decipher it?"

Hearing this, Yun Buliu indeed felt a trace of despair. No matter what he did, he couldn’t separate the various attributes of the medicinal liquid.

"It’s a bit difficult... but it can definitely be deciphered!" he said, seemingly reassuring his disciple while also cheering himself up. "However, the more difficult it is, the higher the value of the medicinal liquid. If we decipher it and learn the Alchemy Skill hidden within, it will be an incredible feat!"

At this thought, Yun Buliu’s despairing heart regained its spirit.

One minute... Two minutes... Three minutes... Ten minutes... Twenty minutes... The master and disciple were completely exhausted. Traces of paleness appeared on their faces, and their sweat seemed to have dried up entirely.

However, the medicinal mass in the Purple Gold Cauldron continued to struggle like a water balloon churning with undercurrents. Its various attributes simply refused to separate, remaining exactly the same. As a dignified Medicine King, Yun Buliu had never imagined that there would come a day when deciphering a fingernail-sized blob of unranked medicinal liquid would cause him such embarrassment.

Another ten minutes passed.

The master and disciple were nearing their limits. Yun Buliu had consumed the most energy; his usually vibrant eyes were now bloodshot and completely red, looking like an internet-addicted teenager who had stayed up for more than ten days straight. It was too difficult!

Yun Buliu wondered, "Why hasn’t it separated yet... why... why is it so hard?"

He had assumed that deciphering this medicinal liquid would require absolutely no effort. But now, he realized he had been overthinking it. This thing was incredibly difficult.

"Sigh... Has the fated opportunity not yet arrived?" Yun Buliu muttered in complete despair.

CRACK CRACK CRACK.

"Master, it seems... it seems to be opening!" Shangguan Wan’Er spoke up just as Yun Buliu was about to give up.

Hearing this, Yun Buliu’s gaze narrowed as he looked at the medicinal liquid. Sure enough, the turbulent currents of the medicinal liquid had become much fiercer. Furthermore, the medicinal mass began to break down, and its colors started to change. This was the prelude to separation!

"Yes... it... it’s true!" Yun Buliu gritted his teeth and roused his spirits, using all his remaining strength to strike one Spiritual Hand Seal after another into the Purple Gold Cauldron.

CRACK CRACK CRACK.

The medicinal mass spun more and more violently, its reactions becoming increasingly terrifying, almost like nuclear fusion. Yun Buliu didn’t have much strength left, but at this moment, he was thrilled because he was about to succeed.

"Crack... break..."

The medicinal liquid divided into over ten streams of energy, finally separating. Yun Buliu and Shangguan Xiu’Er’s faces lit up with immense joy.

"It worked... it worked... Master... it worked!!" Shangguan Xiu’Er said happily.

Yun Buliu’s face was also unusually excited, though he tried hard to suppress his emotional fluctuations. He hadn’t achieved victory just yet. He had merely separated it; there was still an important step remaining—the evolution.

"Disciple, quickly absorb Spirit Stones and swallow Elixirs to replenish your physical strength. There are even more important steps to come!" Yun Buliu ordered.

"Yes, Master!"

The master and disciple quickly retracted their hands, taking out Elixirs and Spirit Stones to absorb. Now they could absorb and swallow Elixirs, but earlier, it was impossible. When separating the medicinal mass, if they had stopped controlling the Array and injecting energy, the mass would have immediately reverted to its initial liquid form. It might have even been torn apart directly by the small Array inside the Purple Gold Cauldron, completely ruining all their efforts.

Now that it was separated, the medicinal liquid was divided into several streams. This was equivalent to the phase in the Alchemy Era when the medicinal properties were extracted from the materials. During this stage, there were no overly high or meticulous processing requirements. They only needed to maintain an appropriate temperature and a steady supply of Spiritual Power within the cauldron. Therefore, they could take a brief moment to replenish themselves.

"Are you ready?"

"Master, I’m ready!"

"Alright then... let the evolution begin," Yun Buliu said.

BOOM.

Having replenished their energy, the two were in much better condition. Furthermore, the previous separation step had greatly boosted their confidence. Success was right before their eyes. As long as they completed the evolution, they would obtain the Alchemy Skill. They were both extremely excited.

RUMBLE.

The evolution process was not simple. Through Yun Buliu and Shangguan Xiu’Er’s efforts, the formation process of the medicinal liquid was evolving. Streaks of medicinal properties merged and transformed. Lines of medicinal principles were constructed. It was as if someone were simply demonstrating it right in front of them. It was a success!

Yun Buliu could no longer hide his inner excitement, and his body began to tremble. They were studying the Perfect formation of the medicinal Dao. This moment felt like it lasted for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. They were completely immersed in the evolution of the medicinal Dao.

POOF.

Finally, the evolution was complete. All the medicinal attributes returned to the medicinal mass. Then, it exploded like a firework. Everything had been fully presented. However, Yun Buliu fell into deep thought because there were still some things he didn’t quite understand. He stood perfectly still, as if entering a meditative trance.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Yun Buliu’s dull eyes suddenly shot forth a brilliant light.

"I understand... I understand!" Yun Buliu growled in a low voice.

RUMBLE.

He immediately summoned another large cauldron and actually began to refine medicine.

SWISH SWISH SWISH.

Stalks of Spirit Medicine were thrown into the large cauldron.

SIZZLE SIZZLE SIZZLE.

A strong medicinal fragrance assaulted their noses.

"Master... are you going to refine that Elixir?" Shangguan Wan’Er asked.

By this time, Yun Buliu was completely immersed in his own world. Extracting the medicinal liquid, fusing it, and forming the Elixir—everything flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water.

"He is normally never this smooth. Could it be... Master has broken through?" Shangguan Xiu’Er wondered aloud.

RUMBLE.

It sounded like an exploding thunderbolt. The Elixir was formed! A crimson-red Elixir flew out from the Pill Cauldron.

"It worked... it worked... Master has refined a peak Fifth-Grade Elixir!" Shangguan Xiu’Er exclaimed.

PUFF PUFF PUFF.

At the same time, waves of medicinal fragrance spread throughout the entire Chen Family Village. Everyone smelled the intense scent of the Elixir and heard a series of humming sounds.

"The unique phenomenon of a King Pill? And it’s the scent of the Red Fire Glaze Pill! Could it be..."

In the Xu Mansion.

Yun Menglong, who was meditating, suddenly jolted awake. He stood up immediately and looked toward Yun Buliu’s location.

"Has Yun Buliu... broken through?" he wondered.

As far as he knew, Yun Buliu’s alchemy realm had been stagnant for over ten years. He never expected him to break through at a time like this.