The Sorgo Fruit is the main spiritual herb required for refining the Tribulation Elixir. The reason Joe Di asked Cynthia Winters was because she had reached the ninth level of Cauldron Ascension. If nothing unexpected happened, Cynthia Winters was very likely to possess Sorgo Fruit or even Tribulation Elixir.
Cynthia Winters replied coldly, "That's right, I do have Sorgo Fruit. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in your spiritual veins."
Joe Di was ecstatic. He immediately took out a Kunlord Pill and handed it to Cynthia Winters, saying, "Fairy Winters, I am a Ninth Grade Alchemy King and can refine top-grade Tribulation Elixirs. If you give me the Sorgo Fruit, we can split the pills fifty-fifty. This is a Kunlord Pill I refined; you may examine it."
In reality, Joe Di was only a Seventh Grade Alchemy King, but since he wanted to cooperate with Cynthia Winters, a little exaggeration was necessary.
Cynthia Winters calmly accepted the Kunlord Pill, completely unfazed by Joe Di's claim of being a Ninth Grade Alchemy King.
In all these years, Little Central Star had never produced a Ninth Grade Alchemy King. How old was Joe Di anyway? Not to mention Little Central Star—even in the True Domain, a Ninth Grade Alchemy King stood at the absolute pinnacle. Rumor had it there was only one such king in the entire True Domain.
Cynthia Winters, who had initially been indifferent, felt her heart skip a beat as soon as she held the Kunlord Pill. She was no novice cultivator; she had seen countless high-grade pills. She vaguely sensed that Joe Di's Kunlord Pill was a grade above even the finest Seventh Grade Spirit Pills she had encountered. Though she couldn't pinpoint exactly why, she felt this was a truly one-of-a-kind Kunlord Pill.
The pill patterns on the Kunlord Pill were clear, carrying faint traces of Dao resonance, and even a subtle aura of wood element rules. Among all pills, those imbued with the wood element rules were the most effective.
"Did you really refine this yourself?" Cynthia Winters stared wide-eyed at Joe Di, unable to believe it.
Joe Di replied calmly, "If you don't believe me, I can refine one for you right now."
"Refine it right now," Cynthia Winters said without hesitation, her gaze unwavering. Joe Di nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude as he glanced at Sherry Jing, whose complexion was visibly improving thanks to the medicinal effect of the Tribulation Elixir. The tension in the room eased slightly, and Joe Di understood how much this moment meant for Sherry Jing's recovery.
Joe Di was at a loss. He had assumed that, after his explanation, Cynthia Winters would trust him. To his surprise, she returned Sherry Jing to the Pocket World, her eyes never leaving Joe Di as she quietly observed his every move, determined to see the truth for herself.
"Alright, but when I refine pills, no outsiders can watch." As he spoke, Joe Di began to set up various concealment restrictions. Meanwhile, Cynthia Winters opened the jade bottle, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she saw the rare pills inside. The exquisite pill patterns and potent aura confirmed their extraordinary rarity.
In fact, though he could barely manage to refine Seventh Grade Kunlord Pills now, Joe Di understood his own situation. The reason he could produce Kunlord Pills with such clear pill patterns was not only because he possessed the golden lightning law that allowed him to comprehend the Dao of Alchemy, but mainly thanks to the Genesis Cauldron and the Cosmic Flame. Whether it was the Genesis Cauldron or the Cosmic Flame, Joe Di would never reveal them in front of Cynthia Winters. Cynthia Winters, meanwhile, bowed her head in sincere gratitude, expressing her urgent need for the pills to break through before the True Domain competition.
Seeing Joe Di set up restrictions to prepare for pill refinement, Cynthia Winters did not interfere. She could tell whether the pill had just been refined. Joe Di glanced at her, his tone firm as he reminded her, "Our transaction is based on mutual trust. I hope you will prioritize Sherry Jing's safety in the future."
Once inside his own restrictions, Joe Di took out the Genesis Cauldron and the spiritual herbs for the Kunlord Pill to begin refining. The Kunlord Pill herbs he had obtained on Little Central Star were far superior to those from his previous batch. Cynthia Winters, seeing that everything was in order, bid Joe Di farewell and quietly departed, leaving him to his work.
In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Joe Di finished refining a batch of Kunlord Pills. He didn't stop there; after refining the remaining batches of Kunlord Pills, he went on to refine several batches of Vitaldew Pills. Vitaldew Pills were top-grade healing pills, extremely important to Joe Di. Cynthia Winters, upon witnessing Joe Di's skill and the quality of the pills, was struck by a wave of shock and suspicion—how could he possess such extraordinary opportunities and talent?
After several days had passed, Joe Di finally lifted the restrictions. Cynthia Winters couldn't help but speculate about Joe Di's comprehension of alchemy laws and his rapid advancement, her mind racing with questions about his mysterious abilities.
Joe Di had taken quite a long time to refine the Kunlord Pills, but Cynthia Winters didn't mind. She simply focused her gaze on the jade bottle in Joe Di's hand, pondering whether Joe Di's array skills could rival those of a King Array Master.
"You may take a look." Joe Di tossed the jade bottle to Cynthia Winters. As she caught it, realization dawned on her—Joe Di was not only young, but had mastered both alchemy and arrays. Her shock deepened, unable to fathom how someone his age could achieve such dual mastery.
Cynthia Winters immediately opened the jade bottle. Sure enough, the pills inside were exactly the same as the Kunlord Pills she had, six in total.
"Excellent pills." Cynthia Winters didn't know that Joe Di could refine twelve Kunlord Pills in one batch; for an Alchemy King, producing six Seventh Grade or higher spirit pills per batch was already considered a full yield.
Every pill in Cynthia Winters' hand had clear pill patterns. With her keen eyesight, she could immediately tell these pills had just been refined.
"You truly are a Ninth Grade Alchemy King." Cynthia Winters was inwardly shaken and returned the Kunlord Pills to Joe Di.
Joe Di put away the Kunlord Pills without saying a word. He knew that if Cynthia Winters really had Sorgo Fruit, she would surely bring it out to trade. If she didn't have it, nothing he said would make a difference.
Cynthia Winters produced a jade box. "I do have one Sorgo Fruit. Sorgo Fruits are almost extinct. I need your guarantee—if you fail, you must give me thirty Prime Ley Lines."
Joe Di sneered inwardly. Thirty Prime Ley Lines were worth far more than a Sorgo Fruit, but he was confident he wouldn't fail.
"Agreed. We'll split the pills fifty-fifty," Joe Di said without hesitation.
"No. I need four pills—you can only have two. And all the auxiliary spiritual herbs will be provided by me," Cynthia Winters said decisively.
Elsewhere, auxiliary spiritual herbs might be worth something, but on Little Central Star, they're just trash. The only thing of real value is the Sorgo Fruit.
"Alright." Joe Di still answered crisply.
When he used the Genesis Cauldron to refine pills, a full batch was twelve, not the six Cynthia Winters assumed. After giving her four, he would still have eight Tribulation Elixirs.
"How long will it take?" Cynthia Winters asked as she handed the jade box to Joe Di.
"Half a month." Joe Di grabbed the jade box and immediately entered his own array of restrictions.
This Sorgo Fruit was not only important to Cynthia Winters, but even more so to Joe Di. Refining a batch of Tribulation Elixir might only take an hour, but Joe Di said half a month because he wanted to become an Eighth Grade Alchemy King first.
Once inside the restrictions, Joe Di opened the jade box. Sure enough, it was a top-grade Sorgo Fruit. Carefully closing the box again, Joe Di sorted through Logan Gray's ring—the ring contained mostly high-grade spiritual herbs.
Joe Di already had plenty of high-grade spiritual herbs, and now he had even more. Naturally, he began refining all sorts of high-grade spirit pills without restraint. If he failed, it didn't matter—he would just try again.
Batch after batch of spiritual herbs were reduced to waste, but Eighth Grade spirit pills gradually began to appear. From lower grade to middle grade, from middle grade to upper grade, and then to top grade... Each success brought Joe Di a surge of confidence and anticipation, his heart pounding with the thrill of progress. He poured his spirit and focus into every refinement, determined to surpass his limits.
This made Joe Di realize the true advantage of Little Central Star. If he weren't on Little Central Star, how could he afford to practice alchemy so extravagantly? The abundance of resources here gave him the freedom to fail and try again, fueling his relentless pursuit of mastery.
This made Joe Di realize the true advantage of Little Central Star. If he weren't on Little Central Star, how could he afford to practice alchemy so extravagantly?
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Once Joe Di was sure he could refine Eighth Grade spirit pills without any issues, he finally brought out the Sorgo Fruit and the spirit herbs needed for the Tribulation Elixir.
There was only one Sorgo Fruit—Joe Di had to succeed with this batch of pills.
He cleaned the pill furnace and put the spirit herbs in order. After half a month, Joe Di had become quite adept at purifying high-grade spirit herbs, but he still performed each step with meticulous care.
As the pill liquid was continually purified, condensed, decomposed, and fused, the fragrance of pills wafted from the furnace. Under Joe Di's tenth-level divine sense, each step of the pill's formation was perfectly clear. This made Joe Di realize his divine sense had advanced again since leaving Mount Cultivation.
An hour later, with the Pill Completion Formula, Joe Di raised his hand and produced twelve Tribulation Elixirs, each the size of a longan. All twelve pills were uniform in size, each marked with clear pill patterns and Dao principles.
Joe Di put four Tribulation Elixirs into a jade bottle and opened the restrictions. Cynthia Winters was waiting outside, her eyes red from anxiety.
"Did you succeed or fail?" As soon as Joe Di emerged, Cynthia Winters blurted out the question.
"Where's Sherry Jing?" Joe Di didn't see Sherry Jing and his face darkened; he didn't answer Cynthia Winters' question.
Ignoring Joe Di's attitude, Cynthia Winters pointed to the ring on her hand and said, "My ring is a Pocket World. Inside, there's a Vitalis Spring with wood attributes. Sherry Jing is in the Pocket World, and the Vitalis Spring is with her."
Joe Di had seen wood attribute Vitalis Spring before—Sprout had given him a cluster once. The Vitalis Spring also had grades; the one Sprout gave him was relatively low. After all, Sprout wasn't born a spirit tree, but rather transformed from an ordinary ancient tree.
Seeing that Joe Di still hadn't spoken, Cynthia Winters directly brought Sherry Jing out. Joe Di noticed that Sherry Jing's complexion was indeed rosier, her life force fluctuations stronger. Only then did he clasp his fists and say, "Thank you, Cynthia Winters."
Cynthia Winters sent Sherry Jing back into the Pocket World, her gaze fixed on Joe Di.
Joe Di handed the jade vial to Cynthia Winters, who opened it immediately. When she saw the four Tribulation Elixirs with clear pill markings, her hands trembled with excitement. These were top-grade Tribulation Elixirs—rare to obtain even one, yet she now had four.
"Thank you..." Cynthia Winters carefully put away the Tribulation Elixirs, sincerely expressing her gratitude. Without them, she would need much more time to reach the Realmshatter Stage. With the True Domain Prodigy Trials approaching, every day she advanced was a greater chance at success.
Joe Di waved his hand. "No need to thank me. This is a transaction. When we leave the Pocket World Star, I hope Cynthia Winters will put Sherry Jing's safety first."
"I understand. Farewell." With that, Cynthia Winters' figure flickered and she vanished.
Joy surged in her heart, but so did shock. She began to suspect Joe Di's fortuitous encounters—becoming a Ninth-grade Alchemy King was no small feat. For one so young to reach such heights, even if his pill refining speed was slow, he must have had extraordinary opportunities.
Joe Di's luck might be linked to some rule affecting the alchemy path. If he had comprehended such a rule, his alchemy skills would rise rapidly, far beyond others.
Moreover, Joe Di's array skills seemed formidable. Earlier, he set up a sixth-level shielding barrier with ease. Could it be that, besides being a Ninth-grade Alchemy King, Joe Di was also a Seventh-grade Array King?
Cynthia Winters suddenly halted. Whether Array King or Alchemy King, either title required a lifetime of mastery. Joe Di claimed he would join the True Domain Prodigy Trials, which meant he was under two hundred years old. For a cultivator under two hundred to be both Alchemy King and Array King—this...
A sudden thought struck Cynthia Winters: someone had stolen the World Tome from Skyveil. Had Joe Di been to Skyveil as well? Was the disappearance of the World Tome connected to him? If Joe Di had taken it, everything would make sense.