Yao Lao landed beside the table, casually fiddled with the medicinal herbs laid out on it, then raised his palm toward Xiao Yan. In an instant, the ancient black ring on Xiao Yan's finger flew into Yao Lao's hand.
Yao Lao carefully held the black ring, then flicked his finger. A pure black Medicine Cauldron, large enough to cover the entire tabletop, suddenly appeared before them.
The black Medicine Cauldron looked exceptionally sturdy, with a subtle yet steady aura lingering around it. Its surface was adorned with lifelike flame totems. As the cauldron slowly rotated, the flame patterns seemed to come alive. Xiao Yan could clearly sense faint traces of flame energy gathering around it.
"Good cauldron!" Xiao Yan's eyes shone with admiration. Compared to his own shabby Medicine Cauldron, this one was on an entirely different level. Moreover, judging from the way it automatically gathered flame energy, it clearly had a significant amplifying effect on alchemy.
"A Medicine Cauldron is the most important tool for an alchemist. A good one can greatly increase the success rate of pill refinement…" Yao Lao said with a sigh and a faint smile as he looked at the floating black cauldron. "My cauldron has quite a domineering name. Others call it the Black Demon Cauldron… Hehe, I paid a heavy price to obtain it back then."
"Black Demon Cauldron? That name really is domineering…" Xiao Yan clicked his tongue in admiration.
Xiao Yan suddenly asked, "Tian ge, do you have a Heavenly Cauldron?"
Xiao Tian was slightly stunned before nodding. "Of course."
Xiao Tian smiled and replied, "I have one as well."
Yao Lao's eyes widened in surprise. "Which one?"
"Mountain Melting Cauldron," Xiao Tian answered calmly.
Yao Lao's expression changed dramatically. "You really have the Mountain Melting Cauldron? That cauldron is very special. It can melt almost anything. For pill refining, it is an absolute boon."
Xiao Tian simply smiled without elaborating further.
"Alright, let's begin refining the pill," Yao Lao said, refocusing on the task.
He trembled his palm slightly, and a pale white flame quickly enveloped his hand. He placed his palm on the fire opening of the Black Demon Cauldron and flicked his finger. The pale white flame immediately swirled inside the cauldron.
"Hehe, it seems Teacher is taking this seriously. He even brought out his own Medicine Cauldron," Xiao Yan said with a smile. In the past, Yao Lao had always refined pills directly in his palm.
"The failure rate of a sixth-grade medicinal pill is not low. Moreover, I am currently only in a soul state, so my strength is far from what it used to be. Refining this kind of pill naturally requires the assistance of a proper cauldron," Yao Lao replied indifferently.
His withered hand moved rapidly across the table like a dancer plucking flowers. One medicinal herb after another was grabbed and tossed into the Black Demon Cauldron.
After withdrawing his hand, Yao Lao's expression remained calm. His fingers moved with incredible precision, and the pale white flames inside the cauldron obediently split into more than a dozen small flames, each enveloping a different medicinal ingredient.
Xiao Yan watched Yao Lao's fluid, masterful movements with envy, wondering when he would reach such a level. He quietly sat on a nearby chair and observed carefully. At Yao Lao's level, even the smallest details could bring him sudden insights.
In the room, pale white flames danced enchantingly while a faint medicinal fragrance slowly filled the air.
Perhaps because it was his first time refining the Breaking Barrier Pill, Yao Lao's first attempt failed due to a slight imbalance in the medicinal properties.
Even so, Yao Lao showed no unusual expression. Failure was commonplace in the world of alchemy. Even with his skill, he could not guarantee 100% success every time.
Fortunately, only a small portion of the ingredients was wasted. Yao Lao lit the flame again. With the experience from the warm-up attempt, his second refinement went much smoother. He completed every step perfectly and methodically.
Inside the tidy room, the Black Demon Cauldron rotated slowly in mid-air as the bone-white flame churned intensely within it. As the cauldron spun, subtle energy ripples spread outward in circles, only to quietly dissipate before touching the walls.
Inside the cauldron, a thumb-sized, light purple medicinal pill prototype gradually took shape under the intense heat.
At a certain moment, a rich purple medicinal fragrance suddenly burst forth from the cauldron, filling the entire room and lingering for a long time.
"Is it almost finished?" Xiao Yan rubbed his tired eyes, his spirit reinvigorated by the fragrance. He had seen Yao Lao refine fifth-rank pills before and knew this was usually a sign that an advanced pill was about to form.
"Yes. Although the effects of the Breaking Barrier Pill are somewhat special, its refining difficulty isn't too high. With the help of the Black Demon Cauldron, the refining time has been reduced by at least half," Yao Lao said with a smile.
He glanced at Xiao Yan, nodded slightly, and flipped his left hand. The bone-white flame suddenly appeared and began to compress rapidly. In moments, the flame, originally the size of a human head, shrank into a tiny white crystal no larger than a thumb. Within the crystal, an eerie bone-white flame could faintly be seen churning.
Holding the white crystal between his fingertips, Yao Lao flicked it lightly. The crystal turned into a streak of white light and shot into the Black Demon Cauldron, directly entering the medicinal pill prototype.
The crystal dissolved into tiny specks of white light that permeated every part of the pill.
Observing the small hole on the pill prototype gradually closing, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction. After a brief pause, he waved his hand. The bone-white flame inside the cauldron surged violently, completely enveloping the purple pill prototype for the final intense refinement.
The flame only burned fiercely for a moment before rapidly dying down.
When the flame extinguished, a perfectly round, thumb-sized, light purple medicinal pill emitting a faint luster spun gently inside the cauldron.
The moment the pill appeared, a fierce wave of energy ripples surged outward. Although most were intercepted by the Black Demon Cauldron, the remaining ripples still spread violently.
Yao Lao casually waved his withered hand. An invisible soul energy instantly formed a transparent shield around the room.
The energy ripples collided with the soul shield, causing it to ripple like the surface of a lake. After a moment, the ripples gradually weakened and completely dissipated.
Yao Lao withdrew the soul shield and gestured toward the cauldron. The light purple Breaking Barrier Pill obediently flew out and landed in his palm.
He examined the pill carefully, turning it over a few times before nodding slightly. "Not bad."
He then casually tossed the pill to Xiao Yan, who was standing nearby.
The surface of the Breaking Barrier Pill was light purple, perfectly round and lustrous. Faint, mysterious patterns could be seen on its surface, as if they carried some profound meaning.
Yao Lao stretched his body and said, "I've done my part. I'll go back now to help that little fellow Xiao Yan refine the Green Lotus Core Flame."
Xiao Tian nodded. After Yao Lao returned to his ring, Xiao Tian also returned to his own room.