Chapter 277

Chapter 277

Upon entering the Miao Dan Tower, Mu Chen released Ye Shi. "We're here. Let's go."

Ye Shi looked around curiously, "We really made it inside? It seemed so easy!"

"Yes, we're in. Come on," Mu Chen replied.

Ye Shi nodded, holding Mu Chen's hand. He thought to himself: All the cultivators outside are useless. With so many of them, none could enter, yet Mu Chen did it effortlessly. Looking at Mu Chen's profile, Ye Shi couldn't help but feel proud. Mu Chen seemed invincible.

"Have you successfully refined the eighth-grade elixir?" Ye Shi asked.

Mu Chen shook his head, somewhat dejected, "No. The gap between the seventh and eighth-grade elixirs is vast. I was too presumptuous. The eighth-grade elixir isn't so easy to refine."

"If the eighth-grade elixir was easy to make, the Pill Tower wouldn't only have a few elderly alchemists at that level. Mu Chen, don't push yourself too hard. You're already incredible," Ye Shi reassured.

Mu Chen smiled and said, "I understand."

Mu Chen and Ye Shi entered an alchemy room. Inside was a furnace split into hundreds of pieces, a blood-red stone, and a fragmented, incomplete skeleton.

"Such a rich fire elemental force!" Ye Shi murmured.

The blood-red stone in the center of the room radiated intense heat.

"This skeleton..." Ye Shi frowned, noticing the crystalline, sacred aura emanating from the bones. It was clearly not ordinary.

He frowned further, saying, "Mu Chen, this looks like the remains of a Martial Saint."

"A Saint-level skeleton? How do you know?" Mu Chen inquired. In Zhongzhou, a Martial Venerable was already top-tier. Mu Chen hadn't heard of Martial Saints.

"Its bone structure is very similar to the descriptions of Saint remains in the Bai family's records. I've heard that the marrow of a Saint's bones is an excellent material for body refinement," Ye Shi explained.

With a wave, Mu Chen collected the scattered bone materials into the Spirit Tower.

The Tower Spirit shrieked, "What are you doing, Master? Bringing in dead bones?"

"They're the remains of a Martial Saint," Mu Chen retorted.

"Martial Saint remains are still dead bones! Do you think the Spirit Tower is a dumping ground? Just because they're Martial Saint bones doesn't make them special. You're overreacting," the Tower Spirit yelled back.

"Quiet," Mu Chen said coldly.

"Master, every time you're at a loss for words, you tell me to shut up. You're so unfair!" the Tower Spirit exclaimed.

Mu Chen took a deep breath, ignoring the Tower Spirit.

"I wonder how this Saint met his end," Ye Shi pondered.

"He died while refining pills," Xiao Qinghu, perched on Mu Chen's shoulder, said with a touch of schadenfreude.

"Died from pill refining?" Ye Shi asked, puzzled.

Little Green Tiger nodded and said, "Indeed! Do you know what that red stone is? It's a Sun Seed, with the potential to become a sun. The owner of these bones must have wanted to refine the Sun Seed into an elixir."

Ye Shi's eyes widened in astonishment, "Refining a sun? Is that even possible?"

Little Green Tiger, looking at Ye Shi's surprised expression, scoffed, "For you ignorants, it's hard to imagine. But for someone of the Martial Saint level, plucking stars and seizing the moon is possible. Refining a Sun Seed isn't that big of a deal. However, if not done right, the elixir can destroy its creator, leaving no place for burial. This guy probably wasn't lucky."

Ye Shi tried to pick up a shard of the alchemy furnace nearby, only to find it very heavy. He had to exert a lot of effort to lift even one piece.

"This must be a fragment of a Tier-9 alchemy furnace. The materials used for crafting such a furnace wouldn't be ordinary. What a pity…" Little Green Tiger said, shaking his head thoughtfully.

Mu Chen waved his hand, and all the scattered furnace shards were absorbed into the spirit tower.

Little Green Tiger remarked, "Master Pretty-Face, you look like a scavenger. Tsk, it's so embarrassing..."

Mu Chen laughed lightly, "It must be tough for you, having a scavenger like me as your master."

Rolling his eyes, Little Green Tiger muttered under his breath, "A tiger, when fallen, is bullied even by dogs."

"Ah! What kind of weird stuff have you put in now?" The tower spirit howled in distress.

However, the tower spirit's tone shifted, "Hmm, this isn't bad! The materials inside are the same as those used to forge this spirit tower. Perhaps in the future, you can separate these materials to upgrade this tower. But that's a distant possibility, who knows if you'll even live that long."

Mu Chen, feeling a bit exasperated, muted the tower spirit.

"Master Pretty-Face, when you go out now, out of a hundred Martial Lords, ninety-nine probably want to kill you for your treasures. The only exception would be your father-in-law. Master of the Tower, I have an idea to win over some more Martial Lords for you. Do you want to hear it?" Little Green Tiger asked with smugness.

"What? Let's hear it," Ye Shi said with keen interest before Mu Chen could reply.

Little Green Tiger grinned slyly at Ye Shi, "Well, Master Pretty-Face here could get himself a few more fiancées. More fiancées means more Martial Lord fathers-in-law."

Ye Shi's expression darkened. Mu Chen chuckled and said, "Ye Shi, don't mind him. He always comes up with such outrageous ideas."

Little Green Tiger retorted with a cold laugh, "Master of the Tower, you really lack taste. To think you'd say my idea is outrageous."

Holding his head in annoyance, Mu Chen wondered why all his spiritual beings – whether in the tower or the flame – were such rascals.

Ye Shi, glaring at Little Green Tiger, threatened, "If you spout nonsense again, I'll throw you into a cesspit."

Little Green Tiger: "..."

"Master Pretty-Face, since you're collecting all these random things, why not take the Sun Seed too?" Little Green Tiger asked Mu Chen with hopeful eyes.

"The Sun Seed would be useful to you, but you probably can't absorb it right away," Mu Chen contemplated.

Little Green Tiger admitted sheepishly, "True."

With a wave, Mu Chen gently placed some restrictions on the Sun Seed and transferred it into the spirit tower.

Immediately, the tower spirit shrieked, "Mu Chen! How could you send this thing here? Are you trying to burn me alive?"

Mu Chen responded nonchalantly, "Why would I? I know you're not that easy to kill."

Flapping its wings, the tower spirit replied, "You really think highly of me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Mu Chen replied matter-of-factly.

Seeing the Sun Seed being transferred into the spirit tower, Little Green Tiger smiled contentedly, "Master Pretty-Face, I must say, you're quite reasonable."

"Mu Chen has always been reasonable," Ye Shi asserted naturally.

"Pretty-Face, since you're so accommodating, let me share some information with you as a reward," Little Green Tiger said with a mysterious tone.

"What is it?" Mu Chen asked with curiosity.

The ancient Qing Ru Xiao Tian had been around for a very long time and undoubtedly held many secrets.

"The soul energy of a Martial Saint might still linger in this room. After so much time, it should be close to vanishing. If you're lucky, you might be able to connect with a fragment of this soul. If that fragment holds any alchemy or cultivation insights, then you'd hit the jackpot," Little Green Tiger said with a playful smile.

It was as if a light bulb went off in Mu Chen's head, recalling the Soul Fusion technique occasionally mentioned inside the spirit tower.

Mu Chen cautiously released his soul energy, searching for any lingering soul fragments in the alchemy room. After a while, he indeed found a fragment. The soul fragment had no consciousness left, just some pure memories.

Slowly, Mu Chen began to assimilate the soul fragment. Moments later, not only did he acquire the alchemical teachings from the fragment, but he also integrated the fragment into his being. The prowess of a Martial Saint was truly terrifying. Even after so many years, their soul fragments could persist. But alas, even the most powerful must eventually face death.

Ye Shi looked at Mu Chen and asked, "How did it go?"

Mu Chen smiled, "Pretty good. My soul energy has increased a bit, and I've gained some insights into alchemy. But it's still very limited."

Ye Shi shrugged, "Any progress is good. Take your time and see if there are any other soul fragments in this room."

Mu Chen nodded, closing his eyes and thoroughly searching. He absorbed two soul fragments; one detailing some experiences of a pill master, which seemed irrelevant, and the other containing insights on crafting the Nine Suns Burning Sky Pill.

The Nine Suns Burning Sky Pill is a top-tier ninth-grade elixir. It's possible that the pill master died attempting to produce this pill.

Many of the details within the soul fragment were beyond Mu Chen's current understanding. But after absorbing the jade pendant linked to the pill master, the challenges he faced when crafting eighth-grade elixirs suddenly became clear, as if clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

Together with Ye Shi, he entered the adjacent scripture room. After searching, Mu Chen found two eighth-grade pill recipes, but unfortunately, none for the Anti-Spirit Pill.

"Mu Chen, look at this..." Ye Shi said, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"This pill book might not have the recipe for the Anti-Spirit Pill, but it does mention that the main ingredient is the Soul Return Fruit!" Ye Shi exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Mu Chen glanced at the restored pill book in Ye Shi's hand, feeling a surge of elation. If the Soul Return Fruit can be used to craft the Anti-Spirit Pill, finding it might lead them directly to the pill's recipe. This gave them another path to pursue.

"Let's keep it safe for now," Mu Chen advised.

Ye Shi nodded in agreement, replying, "Okay."

............

Ye Shi and Mu Chen entered a pill chamber filled with labeled elixirs. Regrettably, due to the passage of time, the elixirs inside the bottles had turned to dust.

Seeing the powdered elixirs, Ye Shi lamented, "Such a pity."

Mu Chen offered a resigned smile, saying, "It's unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do."

After ensuring they hadn't missed anything in the Miao Dan Tower, Mu Chen led Ye Shi out.

Seeing Mu Chen and Ye Shi emerge, Ge XiaoDie couldn't help feeling a touch of melancholy.

Ge XiaoDie thought to herself: With both Mu Chen and Bai Yanxing out of the Miao Dan Tower, there's no longer a reason for her to linger. Bai Yanxing is notorious for leaving no stone unturned.

"Young Master Bai, you've returned. You must've found many treasures inside," Ge XiaoDie approached, suggesting hopefully.

Ye Shi smirked, saying, "All we found inside were shattered pill furnaces, powdered elixirs, and scattered bones. Nothing of value."

Ge XiaoDie chuckled awkwardly, replying, "Is that so?"

With sincerity, Ye Shi nodded, affirming, "Indeed."

Mu Chen, glancing at his map, urged Ye Shi, "Let's get moving. We have several more places to search."

Ye Shi agreed, saying, "Right! Miss, we're heading out. There's nothing left inside for you."

Offering another dry chuckle, Ge XiaoDie thanked him, "Thank you for the heads up, Young Master Bai."

Ge XiaoDie silently mused: Of course there's nothing left after you've been through it.