Chapter 177: The Black Demon Thunder!
"Jiang Yun, is Senior Shen Nong truly living in seclusion here?"
High in the sky, Xiao Yi Xian leaned against Jiang Yun's chest. Gazing down at the countless mountain ranges below, towering high into the clouds, the myriad auras of living creatures within the winding mountain ranges filled her heart with a soothing sense of comfort.
Atop the giant mountains, clouds and mist wreathed. Strange, wondrous auras of life spread outward, giving one a feeling of being utterly relaxed and carefree, as if within a fairyland.
Xiao Yi Xian, nestled in Jiang Yun's arms, retracted her gaze. Raising her head to look at Jiang Yun, she continued, "We've already been searching for three days and still haven't found any trace of Senior Shen Nong. Could it be that we've come at the wrong time, and he's gone out traveling?"
Hearing this, Jiang Yun's gaze locked onto a location in the distance. The energy fluctuations there were exceptionally subtle and profound. Unless one's soul perception was exceedingly sharp, it would be utterly impossible to detect anything unusual about it.
Yet Jiang Yun, from within those subtle, profound fluctuations, sensed an exceptionally terrifying energy vortex, suppressed to the absolute extreme—and a familiar aura.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Lowering his head, he looked at Xiao Yi Xian and said, "We're in for a visual feast."
As his voice fell, Jiang Yun headed toward a distant valley.
Passing through the clouds and mist, the two found themselves in a cloud-and-mist-shrouded valley. Vast stretches of lush, verdant greenery met their eyes. All kinds of precious spirit medicines grew in wild, unchecked profusion.
At this moment, Xiao Yi Xian also saw Shen Nong in the distance. His eyes were tightly shut. A pitch-black medicinal cauldron hovered silently before him.
So Shen Nong was in the middle of refining pills. No wonder he hadn't sensed their arrival just now—or perhaps, he simply had no attention to spare!
But...
Very quickly, Xiao Yi Xian turned her head to look at Jiang Yun with some bewilderment. She hadn't sensed any pill fluctuations whatsoever from within the medicinal cauldron. Shen Nong's actions were rather peculiar.
Jiang Yun, seeing the question in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes, explained quietly, "Senior Shen Nong has already reached a critical juncture. Xiao Yi Xian, let us wait quietly for a moment longer!"
Hearing Jiang Yun's answer, Xiao Yi Xian nodded her head lightly and silently observed Shen Nong's every move.
As time passed, half a day went by in the blink of an eye!
Suddenly, Shen Nong opened his tightly shut eyes. Slowly rising to his feet, his hands flew through a rapid, dizzying series of hand seals. Heaven Realm Great Perfection soul power surged into the medicinal cauldron, paying constant attention to the changes within.
"Weng!"
And at the same time, the medicinal cauldron, which had been perfectly quiet just moments ago, suddenly emitted a faint humming sound.
"It seems the pill has been completed!" Seeing this scene, Jiang Yun chuckled lightly and spoke in a low voice.
Jiang Yun's eyes were fixed intently on Shen Nong's every move. Deep within his gaze flickered a thoughtful light. Now, he could be absolutely certain—Shen Nong still had yet to find the Living Creature Flame, ranked fifth on the Heavenly Flame List.
This was his opportunity—and Xiao Yi Xian's opportunity as well!
"Emerge!"
Just as Jiang Yun's voice fell, at that very same moment, Shen Nong let out a low shout. His palm slowly raised, then aimed directly at the medicinal cauldron from afar. He clenched fiercely.
A low, deep dragon roar suddenly rang out from within the medicinal cauldron. Unseen by the two, the fire dragon within the cauldron abruptly exploded.
Scorching waves of flame shot forth overwhelmingly and violently, directly blasting the cauldron lid flying. In an instant, the temperature of this entire stretch of heaven and earth skyrocketed. Jiang Yun reacted swiftly, pulling Xiao Yi Xian as he rapidly retreated.
In the sky, the waves of flame expanded at a furious pace. In just a short time, they swiftly evolved into a vast sea of fire.
"Condense the Pill!"
And Shen Nong, at this moment, gazed at the sea of fire in the sky, his expression unchanged. He let out an explosive shout. His hand seals transformed rapidly, leaving one afterimage after another.
As Shen Nong's hand seals continuously shifted, the sea of fire in the sky actually began to continuously shrink. And at the same time, a shocking energy fluctuation suddenly spread forth from within the sky.
"This is... the fluctuation of a pill?" Xiao Yi Xian stared at the sea of fire in the sky with astonishment. In that entire preceding period, she had not detected the slightest hint of it.
"This is the Condensed Form Pill Nurturing Method—using flame to condense a form, with the pill hidden within that form. It's a technique that only some ninth-tier alchemy grandmasters can grasp!" Jiang Yun looked at the rapidly transforming sea of fire in the sky and explained to Xiao Yi Xian beside him.
"Boom!"
And as the sea of fire shrank at a rapid pace, a resounding, thunderous boom suddenly rang out in the heavens above. Under Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian's gazes, this entire stretch of heaven and earth seemed, in an instant, to darken. In the sky above, cloud layers rapidly converged from all directions.
The cloud layers that condensed this time were not the multi-colored clouds of an eighth-tier pill, but an exceptionally deep, profound pitch-black.
Black clouds filled the sky. From within them came no sound of thunder. When one's gaze fell upon those deep, profound black clouds—so deep they seemed capable of sucking in even one's very line of sight—it felt as though even one's soul was faintly trembling at this moment.
"This is the Black Demon Thunder! Senior Shen Nong's ninth-tier Treasure Pill is complete!" Xiao Yi Xian gazed at the Black Demon Thunder in the sky, her voice faintly trembling with excitement.
Now a soon-to-be eighth-tier alchemist herself, seeing the legendary birth of a ninth-tier pill was naturally enough to stir excitement in her heart.
And Jiang Yun, at this moment, was gazing at the ceaselessly writhing black clouds. From within them, he sensed an exceptionally dense, destructive power. This power, compared to the nine-colored pill lightning, was stronger by who knew how many times...
This force—only a Dou Sheng could withstand it!
In the distant sky above, the black cloud layers continued to writhe ceaselessly. The entire world between heaven and earth was utterly silent. Not even the faintest rumble of thunder rang out. Yet it was precisely this deathlike silence that made one feel true terror.
As the black cloud layers continued to writhe, after roughly ten or so minutes, the center of the cloud layers suddenly slowly split open into a circular hole. Within that hole was still a pitch-black appearance, like the deepest, darkest of black holes.
The moment that circular hole appeared, the Dou Qi within Jiang Yun's body swept forth without the slightest reservation, tightly protecting himself and Xiao Yi Xian.
"Rumble—"
A strange sound came from the hole in the sky. Then, a black bolt of lightning, roughly the thickness of an arm, abruptly shot forth violently from within. Soundlessly and without warning, it streaked fiercely toward the condensed mass of energy at the center of the sea of flame below.
Gazing at that black lightning bolt, not particularly large in size, Jiang Yun could sense within it a force of utter annihilation.
"What terrifying Black Demon Thunder!" Xiao Yi Xian, shielded behind Jiang Yun, also saw that black lightning. A look of sheer horror flashed through her eyes.
And in the face of the Black Demon Thunder—which even a Dou Sheng would have to treat with the utmost seriousness—Shen Nong wore an expression of utter, breezy indifference. Gazing at the descending Black Demon Thunder, he murmured quietly.
"This old man went through such pains to refine this Treasure Pill. I can't very well let you destroy it."
As his voice fell, Shen Nong appeared above the pill as if by instantaneous teleportation. His palm slowly clenched.
And as his palm clenched, the energy within this stretch of heaven and earth was, as if drawn by some mighty summons, pulled overwhelmingly into his palm.
A Dou Sheng expert was fully capable of seizing control of the energy of an entire stretch of heaven and earth. At this level, even if all Dou Qi within their bodies was exhausted, they could still unleash attacks capable of destroying the heavens and rending the earth. This was the most terrifying aspect of a Dou Sheng expert!
Let alone Shen Nong—a peak six-star Dou Sheng, a top-tier expert.
"Break!"
As his voice fell, Shen Nong slashed out with a single palm. A crystalline palm imprint blazed with dazzling luster. Under Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian's gazes, it ruthlessly slashed onto that bolt of Black Demon Thunder.
"Boom!"
The two collided. A terrifying storm of annihilation, centered on the single man and the single bolt of lightning, swept forth overwhelmingly. The space of this stretch of heaven and earth, like shattered glass, exploded apart with a resounding, crackling cacophony.
In the distant sky, the terrifying energy storm raged madly and wantonly. The space within a thousand-zhang radius was, at this moment, reduced to perfect, pitch-black nothingness. The space here had, under that horrifying clash, completely collapsed!
And faced with this situation, Shen Nong remained utterly unfazed. With a soft, low shout:
"Fix!"
In the next instant, the shattered space, the raging storm—all seemed to be forcibly halted by a mighty, boundless force, frozen in place within the void. Then, visible to the naked eye, they slowly dissipated.
And although the Black Demon Thunder of the ninth-tier Treasure Pill possessed immense, colossal power, its quantity clearly had not kept pace. After unleashing a single bolt of Black Demon Thunder, the thick, dense black clouds in the sky seemed to have exhausted their energy. Slowly, gradually, they dispersed and vanished.
The black clouds dispersed. Warm sunlight once again poured down from the heavens, illuminating this mountain valley.
Just then, another sudden development occurred. The energy mass within the sea of flame abruptly erupted with dazzling, eye-piercing luster. A shocking energy fluctuation surged forth violently from within it.
"Bang!"
The gathered sea of flame abruptly exploded, transforming into a sky-filling rain of fire that scattered and fell toward the earth below.
"Could the refinement have failed?" Seeing this scene, Xiao Yi Xian looked at Jiang Yun with some stunned disbelief. They had already weathered the pill lightning—there was no reason for it to fail!
Jiang Yun's gaze quietly observed the scattering rain of fire. He spoke softly, "No. That was merely a mischievous little prank from a newly born little creature."
"Swoosh—"
From within the rain of fire, a streak of light suddenly shot forth violently. Then, under the cover of those scattering, spraying flames, it sped frantically toward the distant horizon.
"Thinking of running?"
Yet the moment this streak of light had just shot out, a trace of amusement flickered through Shen Nong's eyes. His figure flickered and, like a phantom, appeared directly before that streak of light. His large hand reached straight out to grab it.
Sensing Shen Nong's sky-high, overwhelming strength, that streak of light shuddered violently. Then, it transformed into a trembling, stark-naked, alluring figure.
The figure had long, flowing black hair. Her delicate body was soft and captivating. Her large, beautiful eyes stared at Shen Nong, brimming with terror. With that pitiful, heart-wrenchingly delicate appearance, she could intensely stir one's protective instincts.
Yet to Shen Nong, this was utterly ineffective. His large hand imprinted itself mercilessly onto her body.
Her delicate frame shuddered in response. Then, her body gradually grew illusory, finally transforming into a perfectly round pill, the size of a longan fruit, its entire body wreathed in all manner of exotic fragrances.
"Not bad—among ninth-tier Treasure Pills, this can be considered top-tier. It's not far from an arcane pill either!"
Gazing at the pill in his palm, Shen Nong smiled and offered his assessment. Then, from the top of his walking stick, he removed a jade bottle. Only after placing several layers of soul seals upon it did he place this ninth-tier Treasure Pill inside and hang it once more atop his walking stick.
Having done all this, Shen Nong turned his head to look at Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian. Laughing, he said, "Little fellows—what brings you here to visit this old man?"
"Senior Shen Nong, we will meet again." At this moment, Jiang Yun, leading Xiao Yi Xian, came before Shen Nong and cupped his fists.
"Eh—" Shen Nong's eyes, looking at Jiang Yun, were filled with a great deal of surprise. Astonished, he said, "In just three short months, you're already about to break through to Four-Transition?!"
"I absorbed the residual flames left behind by the Three Thousand Burning Flame to break through to Three-Transition. It's not particularly worthy of praise." Jiang Yun smiled faintly and waved his hand dismissively.
Shen Nong shook his head with a rueful laugh, pointing at Jiang Yun. "You little scoundrel—sometimes the things you say make even this old man want to give you a beating. You have to know, to break through two full transitions of cultivation in just three months—that's enough to drive countless people mad. And what's more..."
As he spoke, Shen Nong sized Jiang Yun up and down and chuckled lightly, "What's more, that tiny bit of residual flame alone wouldn't be nearly enough to support such a massive leap for you. Your talent—it truly makes one envious!"
Hearing Shen Nong's praise, Jiang Yun simply smiled without speaking.
"So? What business brings you little fellows here to find this old man?" Toward Jiang Yun's demeanor, Shen Nong shook his head with a rueful laugh and led the way toward a thatched cottage below.
Catching up to Shen Nong's footsteps, Jiang Yun said quietly, "Back at the Pill Tower, didn't Senior Shen Nong say that if I had any questions, I could come and seek your guidance? Has Senior Shen Nong forgotten?"
Stopping in his tracks, Shen Nong sized Jiang Yun up and laughed lightly, "How very rare! There's actually something that even you, Jiang Yun, can't figure out?"
"In learning, some hear the Dao earlier, and some later. The stones of other mountains can polish one's own jade. To rest on one's laurels and stagnate is by no means a praiseworthy thing!" A faint smile on his face, Jiang Yun met Shen Nong's gaze.
"Heh heh... Interesting!" Shen Nong looked at Jiang Yun with a grin. "If you want to learn from me, it's going to be hard work. First, come and help me with the farming!"
Having said this, Shen Nong produced two hoes and handed them to Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian. Then, taking the lead, he headed for the distant medicinal fields.
Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian exchanged a glance. Taking up their hoes, they followed step by step in Shen Nong's wake.
Shen Nong fully lived up to his reputation as a grand senior of the alchemy world—a true, genuine living fossil of the alchemy world.
Within his medicinal fields, Jiang Yun saw quite a few ingredients that only existed in ancient texts—varieties long extinct in the outside world. Many of them were ingredients not even the Pill Tower had preserved.
And during this time, Shen Nong would, now and then, explain alchemy to Jiang Yun and Xiao Yi Xian.
Jiang Yun's alchemy had been learned from Jia Nan Academy, later augmented by the inheritance of Yao Chen that he had obtained from Han Feng, and finally supplemented and completed at the Pill Tower. In the end, he had formed a school all his own.
Yao Chen's alchemy had been passed down from the Yao clan. It could be said that Jiang Yun had simultaneously delved into the two most top-tier alchemy inheritances on the Dou Qi Continent—the Pill Tower's and the Yao clan's.
It could be said that the scope of his alchemy was exceedingly broad. Yet even so, under Shen Nong's explanations, Jiang Yun still gained no small amount of inspiration.
Shen Nong, too, marveled at Jiang Yun's talent and was more than happy to see such a rising star in the alchemy world. What was more, the wildly imaginative, unconstrained ideas that Jiang Yun occasionally produced also gave him tremendous inspiration.
For a time, the two sides got along exceptionally well and harmoniously, spending entire days immersed in an ocean of harvest and discovery.