Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Pill Tribulation Descends—Could I Be the Pill Emperor?

That is indeed the case. If Jiang Cheng cannot refine a Saint-tier pill, it proves he is not a true Pill Saint. According to the original rules, since Jiang Cheng arrogantly allowed Xuanji to make the choice, failing to replicate her feat would mean his defeat.

Jiang Cheng let out a cold snort, his expression unchanging. "Whatever you bring out, so be it."

Deep down, however, he was secretly transmitting his voice to the system: "System, be reliable for once! Copy this for me!"

After all, the system provided the pill furnace, spiritual fire, and other auxiliary means automatically. As long as it was not the raw materials for the pill, it should be fine, right?

Xuanji glanced at him coldly, then began to busily construct a miraculous furnace array with both hands. Unlike the previous rounds, she did not rely solely on a pill furnace this time; she also used her own spiritual power to carve complex runes on the ground—a necessary step to integrate various conflicting spiritual materials at the final moment, aided by her unique blood as a catalyst.

"Ignite the furnace!"

With a low shout, flames surged within the furnace. The "Extreme Flame Sacred Fire" from earlier erupted once more, but it was clearly far more violent this time.

This process was extremely time-consuming. It took an entire day for her to add the various spiritual materials one by one and perform multi-layered fusion and purification. Only after several more hours did Xuanji finally enter the crucial "pill solidification" stage. Fortunately, the alchemists from the Xia Kingdom watching the proceedings gained so much inspiration that they couldn't stop exclaiming how worthwhile it was.

Just then, she took a deep breath, quietly bit the tip of her right index finger, and squeezed out a drop of crystalline blood. It carried a faint, golden-red halo, resembling some kind of sacred, ancient blood.

"Go!"

Without hesitation, she dripped the blood into the small cluster of dark golden flames at the bottom of the furnace.

Instantly, the flames roared and expanded, bursting with golden-red radiance, while the rune array on the ground lit up, as if triggering a thunderous roar. The cultivators surrounding the plaza felt their skin burning, and the air seemed to distort from the heat.

"I have never seen such a terrifying aura..." many whispered in shock. "That drop of blood..."

Su Ruoxi frowned slightly, keenly sensing that the drop of blood contained an astonishing innate spiritual resonance, like a mark of the Great Dao. She pondered to herself, "Could this woman possess some rare bloodline talent that allows her to use it as a pill catalyst?"

Jiang Cheng had been watching Xuanji work without immediately adding his own materials, instead using the Emperor’s Pill Furnace within his consciousness to record her process. However, upon seeing her add that mysterious blood, the system-provided Emperor’s Pill Furnace sent a series of prompts into his sea of consciousness:

"Currently recording the host's partner's alchemy. Unknown bloodline catalyst detected; cannot fully replicate. Host must provide a blood catalyst of equal or higher tier to upgrade the alchemy to a Saint-tier or higher pill!"

"Equal or higher?" A thought struck Jiang Cheng. He suddenly remembered his disciple, Xiao Ya, who was the reincarnation of an ancient medicine spirit. She was born with a constitution that invited the jealousy of the heavens—a truly rare physical form. Her blood would surely not lose to Xuanji’s bloodline catalyst!

Thinking of this, he turned his head without hesitation and shouted, "Someone, bring my eldest disciple here."

In the distance, Su Ruoxi felt slightly surprised, but she immediately understood Jiang Cheng’s plan. She was the one most aware of Xiao Ya’s unique constitution. During their previous dual cultivation sessions, she had been reluctant to let Xiao Ya leave; even just being by her side had assisted in the awakening of her own Empress-level constitution. This bloodline was surely defying the heavens!

She ordered the protector to summon Xiao Ya to the stage. Having digested the Tianyuan Foundation Pill, the little girl had already embarked on the path of cultivation.

"Daddy, you called for me?" Xiao Ya ran onto the stage. She still looked young, but her delicate features carried faint, extraordinary traces.

"Good girl, my dear daughter, are you afraid of pain?"

"With you here, Daddy, I'm not afraid!"

"Then listen, Daddy is in a competition with that bad woman. If I lose, I’ll be in big trouble, and our Xia Kingdom will fall. Can you help Daddy defeat her?"

"Yes! I will help you, Daddy!"

"Good girl. Once Daddy wins, I’ll spank that bad woman’s bottom every day to vent your anger!"

Jiang Cheng gently stroked her head, subtly releasing a trace of spiritual power to prick her fingertip. In Jiang Cheng's eyes, the drop of blood seemed to contain seven-colored flowing light, releasing strange fluctuations as it dripped into mid-air.

When the blood appeared, Jiang Cheng felt a refreshing medicinal fragrance envelop his entire body—it was no weaker than the blood Xuanji held, and even more majestic. This was the innate power of an ancient medicine spirit! Moreover, Xiao Ya’s medicine spirit body possessed "Schrödinger's blood": if offered willingly, it was a peerless spiritual medicine, but if taken by force, it became a peerless poison. This attribute was truly terrifying.

"System, analyze and replicate the highest-grade blood catalyst!" Jiang Cheng commanded silently.

In an instant, the drop of spiritual blood was absorbed by the system's "Emperor’s Pill Furnace," and a wisp of seven-colored light retracted, appearing like a miraculous rune flickering in the void.

"You..."

Xuanji suddenly sensed that Jiang Cheng had also used "some kind of blood catalyst," and she stared in disbelief. "Where did he get blood comparable to my constitution?!" Her heart pounded, and she felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

She knew of Jiang Cheng’s "alchemy in the void" method; it was several times faster than her own at liquefying and solidifying pills. Although she had started a day earlier, Jiang Cheng had caught up in just an hour or two. Both sides entered the final solidification stage almost simultaneously.

The plaza once again fell into a deathly silence.

Within Xuanji’s furnace, the flames had turned into a red-gold thundercloud, accompanied by violent vibrations caused by her golden-red constitution, as if heaven and earth were being turned upside down. The void where Jiang Cheng was "refining pills empty-handed" also erupted with blinding golden light, interspersed with seven-colored threads of light that left everyone speechless.

Time passed; the sky shifted from dim to dawn. Several hours went by as Xuanji performed extreme temperature control. Finally, in the eyes of the onlookers, Xuanji completed the pill solidification first. In reality, the Emperor’s Pill Furnace had simply not finished recording and replicating yet, and it was merely lagging by a beat.

"Boom—!"

With a thunderous explosion, her body retreated half a step as if struck by a massive force. She gasped for air as the furnace lid flew off, releasing endless red-gold radiance. A brilliant, dazzling pill rose slowly from the furnace—the very Saint-tier pill spawned by her "blood-dripping" technique.

"Success! I have truly transcended further; this is an upgraded version of a Saint-tier pill, my own exclusive Saint-tier pill! The ancient recipe has reappeared in the world. I, Xuanji of the Danxia Sacred Land, have stepped into the realm of a Pill Saint today! Jiang Cheng, admit your defeat!"

Xuanji’s face was filled with ecstasy; she couldn't help but want to look up and laugh. She had finally achieved the most ideal result—this level of pill was nearly extinct in the Chenguang Realm. Although it wasn't refined at a grand alchemy convention, she had refined it, making her a Pill Saint. At this moment, she had no reservations about acknowledging her status!

However, before her laughter could fade, she suddenly saw a terrifying radiance burst forth from Jiang Cheng’s "empty-handed alchemy," a hundred times more dazzling than her own.

"Hum—"

It was as if a sacred decree had descended from the heavens. A soul-shaking force brewed in the void. In an instant, thunder rolled, and the clouds churned, as if nature itself intended to strike that pill with a beam of destructive light!

"This... is this a Pill Tribulation?!"

A veteran alchemist in the crowd shouted in horror, "Ancient legends say that only 'Emperor-tier pills' trigger Pill Tribulation, for the heavens are jealous and seek to destroy them!"