Joe Di took out a stalk of Kunlord Mushroom, along with dozens of auxiliary spirit herbs, preparing to refine the Kunlord Pill.
For most alchemists, the main ingredient for the Kunlord Pill—the Kunlord Mushroom—is rare. For Joe Di, however, it's the opposite: he has several Kunlord Mushrooms, but only enough auxiliary spirit herbs to refine a single batch of Kunlord Pills.
So he must succeed with this batch. If he failed, he would have to leave and seek out places to buy more auxiliary spirit herbs for the Kunlord Pill.
Before obtaining the Genesis Cauldron, Joe Di had no confidence in refining the Kunlord Pill. Now, he was brimming with confidence.
One spirit herb after another was tossed into the cauldron by Joe Di, as the Cosmic Flame and Celestial Nightfire blazed forth.
The spirit herbs decomposed, impurities swept away by Joe Di, followed by the fusion and breakdown of the spirit liquid under his alchemy techniques...
Though this was only his fourth batch of Seventh Grade spirit pills, Joe Di seemed as if he had refined countless such pills before, fully immersed in the Kunlord Pill's creation.
As the medicinal liquid churned in the Genesis Cauldron, Joe Di's Dao sense settled upon the liquid, and he felt a vastness—a resonance of the World Tree growing between heaven and earth. This aura was infused by Joe Di's divine sense, merging with the spirit liquid.
At this moment, Joe Di forgot he was still refining pills. He closed his eyes, feeling the flow of Dao resonance, as if he were cultivating.
No one knew how much time passed before Joe Di suddenly swept his hand, drawing out twelve Kunlord Pills, each marked with distinct pill patterns, and placed them into the prepared jade bottle.
The fragrance of the pills wafted over, but Joe Di still did not open his eyes; he remained immersed in the vast aura of the Genesis Cauldron.
Several hours passed before Joe Di finally opened his eyes. The enlightenment he gained could not be put into words. His cultivation laws became clearer, and his Dao grew even more defined.
After months of refining pills alongside Martin Kee, today, with the successful creation of the Kunlord Pill, his Dao of Alchemy finally took shape. Though Joe Di still didn't fully understand his own Dao of Alchemy, he vaguely sensed its connection to the vast, heaven-reaching aura of the World Tree.
Whether it was the World Tree that helped him form the embryonic shape of his Dao of Alchemy, or whether touching the World Tree allowed his Dao techniques to take shape, Joe Di resolved that unless he perished, the Genesis Cauldron would never leave his possession again.
This pill cauldron was far too important to him.
Joe Di poured a Kunlord Pill into his palm. Its fragrance was pure and clear, and aside from the faint trace of cosmic energy from his own starry meridians, it also contained a subtle, vast aura of heaven and earth.
Joe Di was certain his Kunlord Pill differed from those refined by other Pill Kings; his contained a unique Dao resonance.
At this moment, he suddenly understood Martin Kee's intentions. Martin had claimed to have three months left to live, but in truth, his soul dissipated after just over two months.
As a top-tier Dao of Alchemy master, Martin Kee would never miscalculate his own lifespan. The only possibility was that Martin had willingly let his soul dissolve, returning to the world.
Martin Kee had only one purpose—to help Joe Di comprehend his own Dao of Alchemy. Martin must have known that if he did not perish, Joe Di would inevitably ask him for help if problems arose during pill refinement. If Joe Di asked, Martin would surely answer. Even if Martin refused, Joe Di would still rely on him, seeking advice at the last moment. In that case, Joe Di would never have formed his own Dao of Alchemy.
With Martin Kee gone, Joe Di had no choice but to seek his own path in the Dao of Alchemy. Otherwise, he would never be able to refine the Kunlord Pill, and without it, he could not step into the Cauldron Lord Stage.
Joe Di walked out of the great hall and came once more to Martin Kee's tombstone. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master, for everything. I will surely carry the Dao of Alchemy forward."
What Martin Kee imparted to him at the end was no longer just the Dao of Alchemy of Cauldron Pill Mountain, but how to forge his own Dao of Alchemy. The former was a narrow path, the latter the Dao of Alchemy of the world itself.
Such a great kindness, Joe Di could never repay.
After paying respects to Martin Kee, Joe Di landed atop a broken peak of Cauldron Pill Mountain. With a wave, he tossed out half a spiritual vein and a million spirit stones from his ring. He was preparing to break through to the Cauldron Lord Stage. Once he stabilized his cultivation, he would head straight to Little Central Star to await Miles Phantom.
His trip to Little Central Star was a promise made with Miles Phantom. It was crucial for both of them, so he had to go.
Joe Di swallowed a Kunlord Pill, activated the Starstream Technique, and instantly, the dense spiritual energy around him formed a vortex cloud. This vortex enveloped him as he began his breakthrough to the Cauldron Lord Stage.
The spirit liquid from the Kunlord Pill was like a blazing fire, yet it also carried a cool clarity of pill law, allowing Joe Di to clearly sense the barrier to the Cauldron Lord Stage. Under the Starstream Technique, the pill liquid surged through dozens of meridian points in a single cycle, erupting with a terrifying force.
The overwhelming spiritual power and clear pill law aura caused Joe Di's cultivation to soar. Even as the medicine continued to spread, he already sensed the threshold of the Cauldron Lord Stage.
It was clear that having the pill made all the difference. Without hesitation, Joe Di gathered all his spiritual power and charged ahead.
Boom! The raging spiritual power slammed into the barrier of the Cauldron Lord Stage, making Joe Di's whole body tremble. In the past, such an impact would have left him bloodied, but now, with his Tri-God Realm body, he remained unharmed.
One Kunlord Pill was not enough. Joe Di grabbed another. Before he could take it, the sky darkened and a powerful arc of Lightning Tribulation struck down.
Now possessing a Tri-God Realm body, Joe Di didn't even think of resisting the Lightning Tribulation. He let the lightning crash down on him, while continuing to push the spirit liquid from his second Kunlord Pill against the Cauldron Lord Stage barrier.
The Kunlord Pills refined by Joe Di were far more potent than ordinary ones. Even so, after consuming two, the barrier to the Cauldron Lord Stage only wavered slightly.
(Irrelevant system message—skip translation.)
The arcs of Lightning Tribulation overhead grew denser, the thunder louder. Joe Di felt fortunate to have reached the Tri-God Realm; otherwise, even if he survived the tribulation, his injuries would be worse than before.
Now, all he needed to do was operate the Starstream Technique. The countless lightning arcs falling on him only provided endless lightning energy, which, together with the spiritual energy he absorbed, was swiftly drawn in and transformed into powerful true essence, brewing within his starry meridians.
As he absorbed more spiritual and lightning energy, Joe Di began to worry that if he didn't break through the Cauldron Lord Stage soon, his body might burst from the limitless influx.
This time, Joe Di simply took out three Kunlord Pills and swallowed them all at once. Boom! Violent spiritual power exploded in his dantian like a bomb, the endless Dao resonance and spirit liquid from the Kunlord Pills rampaging throughout his body.
One clear law after another gave Joe Di further insight; he seemed to sense the aura of the Cauldron Lord Stage's laws.