Chapter 26

The sky was a clear blue, with not a cloud in sight, and the scorching sun baked the earth like a blazing fire.

Although it was still spring, the temperature was comparable to the height of summer.

In the Daochen Mountains, most of the lush green leaves had withered under the intense sun, and the birds on the branches no longer had the energy to sing. Occasionally, one could see some strange beasts hiding under the big trees, panting heavily. They were struggling between fighting the scorching sun and hunger, a difficult choice.

The remaining pools of water in the stone forest had almost completely evaporated under such temperatures, and some of the soil had even begun to crack.

In the stone forest, Baise sat cross-legged, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The originally damp cave had become dry due to the intense sun and the blazing fire.

He was bare-chested, and even his back was drenched in sweat.

In front of Baise was a still-burning campfire and the hanging ancient tripod. Unlike before, a small amount of steam was now rising from the hole in the tripod's lid, and the tripod was no longer as cold as it had been.

In fact, Baise had maintained this posture for more than three days...

During these three days, the sun had been scorching every day.

Baise was very clear that if there was no heavy rain soon, the vegetation that had just awakened in the Daochen Mountains might be burned to ashes.

At one moment, Baise took a deep breath, sensing the subtle yet powerful force, and slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to wake up at this time every day during these three days.

The moment he opened his eyes, his slightly relaxed brows furrowed tightly as he looked at the ancient tripod, as if he had noticed something.

He wiped the sweat from the corner of his eye, not because the sweat entering his eyes would cause discomfort, but because he wanted to see the almost imperceptible change more clearly.

Over these few days, Baise had observed the changes in the ancient tripod whenever he had the chance, so even if the change was as fine as a hair, he could still detect it.

Indeed, Baise noticed a fine crack near the bottom of the tripod!

"Hmm... Could the ancient tripod be about to crack?" Baise's brows furrowed, and a sudden worry flooded his heart.

But then, Baise dismissed his worry. When he focused on the hair-like crack again, it began to change strangely, gradually turning red at a visible speed!

It was a color like molten lava!

Even so, Baise did not touch it but continued to observe the changes. He speculated that if this continued, the bottom of the tripod would soon turn the color of molten lava, and he could then add the Purple Dawn Spirit Grass and the Chaos Flower Stamen to the tripod.

This speculation filled Baise with a strange excitement. Under this excitement, he took out the two herbs.

As he took out the herbs, the subtle changes became more noticeable. In a short time, the bottom of the tripod turned the color of molten lava.

The water in the tripod had evaporated to about half its original amount over these days, and Baise knew that this was the best time to add the herbs.

But strangely, even when Baise lifted the lid, the water, though reduced to half, did not boil.

Baise pinched his nose; the foul smell from the tripod made him instinctively step back. Looking at the calm water that only emitted a slight steam, Baise's pupils contracted, and he murmured, "What's going on?"

Because the lid was lifted, the foul smell spread faster. Baise instinctively took another step back and muttered, "I remember, the illusion said that when the water is reduced to half and the bottom of the tripod turns the color of molten lava, it's the best time to add the herbs..."

As he pondered, Baise looked at the bottom of the tripod again, knowing that the ancient tripod was very peculiar. He worried, "This ancient tripod is very strange. Now it's the color of molten lava, but the water isn't boiling. If I miss this opportunity... will the tripod revert to its previous state, and will I have to wait several more days for it to turn the color of molten lava again?"

"But... if the water isn't boiling, how can I add the herbs?" Anxiety showed in Baise's eyes.

Staring at the calm, slightly warm water, Baise couldn't see the colorful tiger gall inside, as the clear water was no longer cool. His heart was as anxious and chaotic as the water.

In the depths of his heart, Baise felt a strange unease, which forced him to make a decision!

"If I hesitate any longer, I might have to wait a few more days... and these herbs were hard to find... but now that I have the white fox, traveling through the forest is no longer a concern... finding these herbs should be much easier, but I have to wait for the rainbow to appear..."

As he pondered, Baise subconsciously looked up at the sky. The weather over the past few days allowed him to roughly predict that it would rain soon.

"Fine... if the attempt fails, I'll just have to wait a few more days, but if I don't try, I'll be tormented by worry!" Baise's gaze returned to the ancient tripod, and he hesitated for a moment before throwing the herbs into the tripod!

As the prepared herbs were thrown into the tripod, a strange change occurred inside!

A 'pfft' sound erupted as the herbs touched the water, and water droplets splashed out. A large amount of white smoke rose, masking the foul smell and enveloping the entire cave.

The thick white smoke spread like a veil, completely covering the cave. Baise stood still, listening to the boiling sound inside the tripod, but he didn't dare take a step forward.

"It seems... the water inside the tripod didn't boil because a layer of membrane formed on top due to the colorful tiger gall..." Baise pondered, suddenly understanding why the water didn't boil.

Gradually, as Baise remained still, the boiling sound grew quieter, and the white smoke in the cave began to dissipate. In Baise's line of sight, the weak firelight flickered.

"I didn't expect that the fire-resistant wood would be extinguished by the boiling water... truly strange." As he pondered, Baise took a step forward and looked into the tripod. The boiling water had now returned to its original calm state. A fragrant aroma wafted out before the white smoke dissipated.

Taking a deep breath, Baise slowly squatted down, trying to see the changes inside the tripod more clearly. He blew away some of the white smoke and noticed that inside the tripod, there was less than a liter of a gel-like substance, like agar.

Furrowing his brows, Baise was surprised and asked, "Is this gel-like substance the result of refining with spiritual energy... the Hehe Powder?"

As he speculated, Baise carefully poured the gel-like substance into a stone bowl.

Then, he gazed at the substance for a moment before sitting cross-legged and slowly extending his hands. He vaguely remembered that in Xichen Village, Xichenzi had mentioned that when refining a pill, the best time to infuse it with spiritual energy was just before it was formed and taken out of the tripod.

"The illusion mentioned... that if human blood is mixed in during the infusion of spiritual energy, the effectiveness of the medicine would be even better..." Baise pondered, looking at his extended hands, feeling hesitant.

"Such an evil method... was the one who left the illusion a malevolent cultivator? And the amount of blood required is not small. If I follow what it says, the blood would be enough to make me unconscious for several days." As he pondered, Baise fell silent.

Staring at the gel-like substance in the stone bowl, his heart became conflicted. He knew that if he used his own blood to refine it, fainting would be a minor issue, but the more important thing was that he wouldn't be able to infuse the substance with spiritual energy, and if the effectiveness of the medicine expired, all his efforts would be in vain!

If he didn't use blood to help refine it, the effectiveness of the medicine would be greatly reduced, and this was not what Baise wanted to see.

Thus, in this conflict, Baise slowly stood up and began to pace in the cave.

"It seems that if human blood is really needed to refine it, I'll have to do something I don't want to do."

As he paced, a glint of determination flashed in Baise's eyes, and a hint of ruthlessness appeared.

Looking at the weeds outside, he knew that beyond them lay the dangerous 'Daochen Mountains,' where hunters often roamed.

Just as he was about to leave the cave, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

"Quick... there's a cave here, let's go in and rest for a while..." As the footsteps approached, a deep and urgent voice echoed.

Before Baise could hide, a figure darted into the cave.

The moment this person entered the cave, he noticed Baise and the white fox beside him!

And it was clear that he was not interested in Baise but was extremely excited by the white fox beside him.

"Ha ha... I didn't expect to find such a spiritual beast here. If we can capture it, we'll be rich!" The moment he saw the white fox, the man laughed, and a sinister look appeared in his eyes.

This was a bare-chested man with skin tanned by the sun. He carried a bow on his back, and his forehead was sweating. His eyebrows were like a sharp sword, exuding arrogance and dominance. From his appearance, he seemed to be a hunter who had entered the mountains.

As his voice echoed in the cave, another man darted in.

The second man was dressed similarly to the first, the only difference being that one had long hair, and the other was bald.

They wore large earrings that glinted in the sunlight, somewhat blinding.

"Indeed, it's a spiritual beast. Those deep blue eyes and the fur on its body clearly show its value!" As the second man entered, he also noticed the white fox beside Baise. As hunters who often roamed the Daochen Mountains, they could easily judge the value of a beast from its fur.

The white fox, frightened, hid behind Baise, gently biting his trouser leg.

After sizing up the two hunters, Baise knew that they were no match for him, so he didn't need to worry too much.

The cultivation in the cave over the past few days had increased his strength significantly.

Thinking that everything was going according to plan, he gently squatted down, carefully picked up the white fox, and looked at the two hunters with a calm but somewhat unnatural expression, which made people feel a chill from the inside.

"It... is mine!"

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