Chapter 1248 Breakthrough to Golden Immortal

Chapter Fifteen: Breaking Through to the Golden Immortal Realm and Slaying the Alchemist Envoy

The following morning, as the crimson sky of the Pill Realm was just beginning to lighten, the Heaven-Burning Pill Furnace erupted with golden flames. As if sounding a rallying cry, dozens of black-robed envoys, wielding chains, strode quickly towards the iron cage area. A cold voice emanated from beneath the mask of the leading envoy: "All materials, awaken! The Pill Master's furnace is ready. Today, you will be refined into the Myriad Spirits Tempering Pill!"

The creatures inside the iron cage let out desperate roars, but Liu Yang and the women had firm eyes. After a night of cultivation, Su Xiao had successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Chen Dan had stabilized his late Golden Core stage, and the other ability users had also improved. Even the merman woman who had been trembling before could skillfully control her water-based spirit body to detect movements.

"Hurry up!" A black-robed messenger impatiently kicked the iron cage where Li Mengting was, the black energy on the chains almost touching her. Just then, Liu Yang suddenly opened his eyes, and his immortal power erupted instantly—the aura of the Ascension Realm that had been suppressed by the chains was completely released, the energy-absorbing runes on the iron cage bars shattered instantly, and the chains wrapped around his wrists broke like rotten wood.

"What?!" The leading envoy's expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to unleash a spiritual attack, Liu Yang teleported in front of him, the Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword already at his neck. "You...you actually managed to break free from the Pill Realm's restrictions?" The envoy's voice was filled with disbelief and fear. He had never seen anyone freely wield such powerful strength within the Pill Realm.

"Enough with the noise." Liu Yang, too lazy to waste words, flicked his wrist, and a flash of sword light appeared. The envoy's head rolled to the ground, black blood spraying onto the rocks and instantly swallowed by the magma beneath. Seeing this, the remaining envoys raised their chains and attacked—although they were only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, they were familiar with the circulation of spiritual energy in the Pill Realm and could enhance their attacks with the help of the flames from the pill furnace.

"Mengting, disrupt their minds! Su Xiao, use an ice-type barrier to trap the three on the left!" Liu Yang gave the orders while wielding the Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword to meet the envoys. The sword's blade was imbued with the immortal powers of ice, fire, and lightning, each swing accompanied by a whistling sound that tore through the air. One of the envoys had just released his black chains when his arm was severed by the sword's energy, and he fell to the ground screaming in agony.

Li Mengting immediately activated her mental ability, and a pale purple mental field spread out. The attacking envoys' movements instantly slowed, and confusion flashed in their eyes—their mental strength was weak to begin with, and they couldn't withstand the mental interference of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Su Xiao seized the opportunity, formed hand seals, and a pale blue ice barrier descended from the sky, firmly trapping the three envoys. The runes on the surface of the barrier flickered, instantly freezing their spiritual power.

"Chen Dan, make your move!" Liu Yang shouted to Chen Dan. Chen Dan understood, and golden flames rose from her palm, mixed with immortal power, flying towards the frozen envoys—the moment the flames touched the ice barrier, they triggered a violent explosion, and the three envoys were torn apart by the impact of the flames and ice before they could even scream.

The tide of battle instantly turned in Liu Yang's favor. Seeing their comrades fall one after another, the remaining envoys lost all will to fight and turned to flee. A cold glint flashed in Liu Yang's eyes, and the power of space around him surged. He instantly teleported in front of the fleeing envoys, and the Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword drew an arc, its sword energy forming a golden net that enveloped all the envoys.

"Pfft—" A flash of sword light, and the last messenger fell to the ground, completely lifeless.

Liu Yang sheathed his longsword, walked to the messengers' corpses, and bent down to pick up their dropped "alchemy artifacts"—black jade bottles engraved with alchemy runes. These bottles could store large amounts of spiritual energy and immortal power, and were commonly used storage and auxiliary tools by alchemy cultivators. "These artifacts are perfect for storing immortal power; we'll need them when we go to the Heaven-Burning Alchemy Furnace later." He distributed the jade bottles to the women, urging them to absorb the spiritual energy within as quickly as possible.

Just then, Liu Yang suddenly felt his immortal power fluctuate violently—the spiritual energy from the Pill Realm he absorbed last night, combined with the energy he gained from killing the envoy, actually caused his cultivation to show signs of a breakthrough. He immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated the "Meteorite Immortal Technique." The immortal infant in his dantian opened its eyes and began to frantically absorb the surrounding spiritual energy and the spiritual power left behind by the envoy.

The spiritual energy of the Pill Realm surged towards Liu Yang like a tide, and a golden halo enveloped his body, with a huge vortex of immortal power appearing above his head. As the vortex spun, his aura continued to rise, gradually progressing from the early stage of the Ascension Realm to the middle and late stages, finally stopping when he broke through to the early stage of the Golden Immortal Realm—his immortal power became more condensed, and even his control over spatial power became more precise than before.

"He's broken through! The leader has broken through to the Golden Immortal Realm!" Su Xiao exclaimed in surprise, his eyes filled with admiration.

Liu Yang slowly opened his eyes, a wisp of immortal power gathering in his palm. The pressure contained within the immortal power made the surrounding air viscous. He stood up, looked at the Heaven-Burning Pill Furnace in the center, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes: "Pill Master, now it's our turn to settle accounts with you."

The women stood up, clutching their alchemy tools and weapons, their eyes resolute as they followed Liu Yang. The other creatures in the Iron Cage Zone watched their retreating figures, their eyes filled with hope, yet they dared not follow rashly—they knew that only a powerhouse like Liu Yang was qualified to participate in the upcoming battle.

Liu Yang led the women toward the Burning Heaven Pill Furnace. The golden flames of the furnace flickered ahead, like the fangs of a giant beast, but their steps were unwavering—to leave the Pill Realm, to protect each other, they had to win this decisive battle against the Pill Master.

The heat emanating from the Heaven-Burning Alchemy Furnace could be felt even from a hundred feet away. Golden flames erupted from the furnace's opening, turning the surrounding dark red sky a fiery orange-red. The ancient runes engraved on the furnace's surface flowed like living things, each rune radiating a suction force that devoured spiritual energy. Even dust in the air was drawn into the furnace, turning into auxiliary materials for alchemy.

Liu Yang led the women to a stop beneath the alchemy furnace. Looking up, they saw a furnace thousands of feet tall, resembling a colossal pillar reaching to the heavens. Its walls were covered with winding pipes, from which flowed a viscous golden liquid—the very "alchemy liquid" produced by the Alchemist when refining pills. The mermaid woman quietly approached the pipes, her fingertips radiating water-based magical energy. She whispered, "The water-based spirit says the entrance to the alchemy chamber is in the runic groove on the east side of the furnace wall; it needs to be activated with immortal power to open."

Liu Yang nodded, raised his hand and condensed a golden stream of immortal power, shooting it towards the rune groove on the east side. The moment the immortal power touched the rune, the groove instantly lit up with a dazzling light, and the furnace wall slowly opened to both sides, revealing a stone staircase leading into the furnace—the stone staircase was covered with a thin layer of alchemical fire, radiating a high temperature enough to melt steel, but it automatically extinguished within Liu Yang's immortal power domain.

"Everyone be careful, the source of the alchemy fire within the furnace might actively attack outsiders." Liu Yang took the lead, stepping onto the stone steps, his Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword hovering in front of him, ready to deal with any unexpected situations. Li Mengting, Su Xiao, and the others followed closely behind. Li Mengting's psychic abilities were constantly spreading, alerting her to any movement around her; Su Xiao, on the other hand, condensed an ice-type barrier around herself to resist the remaining high temperature.

At the end of the stone steps was a massive circular platform, in the center of which floated a golden flame the size of a basketball—surrounded by countless tiny fire patterns, each containing terrifying energy, the core power of the Pill Master, the "Origin of Pill Fire." At the highest point of the platform, a figure clad in a golden alchemy robe sat on a stone chair, holding a jewel-encrusted "Myriad Spirit Pill Staff"—the ruler of the Pill Realm, the Pill Master.

"Finally here." The Pill Master slowly opened his eyes, his eyes showing no surprise, only a hint of amusement. "A mere Golden Immortal dares to trespass into my Pill Palace. It seems the previous alchemy envoys have all become your stepping stones?" His voice carried the unique weight of the Pill Realm, echoing across the platform like the roar of a pill furnace. The mid-stage Golden Immortal pressure emanating from his body instantly enveloped the entire platform.

Su Xiao, Chen Dan, and the others' expressions changed drastically. Under this oppressive force, even breathing became difficult, and their supernatural abilities were even harder to activate. Li Mengting gritted her teeth and activated her mental power, trying to offset some of the oppressive force, but she was easily crushed by Dan Zun's mental power, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

"You dare to hurt my people? You're courting death!" Liu Yang's eyes flashed with rage, and his immortal power erupted. The pressure of an early-stage Golden Immortal collided with that of the Pill Venerable, instantly cracking countless fissures in the platform's ground. Holding the Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword, he teleported in front of the Pill Venerable and slashed at the Pill Venerable's head—the sword's ice, fire, and lightning immortal powers intertwined, forming a sword aura several meters long, carrying an aura of destruction.

The Pill Master remained calm and composed. With a gentle tap of his Myriad Spirit Pill Staff, the Pill Fire Origin instantly split into dozens of golden fire blades, which met the sword energy head-on. "Boom!" The collision of the sword energy and the fire blades created an energy shockwave that shattered the stone steps on the platform. Liu Yang was forced back three steps, but the Pill Master remained seated firmly on his stone chair, a hint of disdain on his face: "Early Golden Immortal Realm, you dare to be presumptuous in front of me?"

He raised his hand and waved it at Liu Yang, causing the essence of the pill fire to surge once more. A massive pillar of fire rose from the ground, engulfing Liu Yang. The pillar of fire contained the power of the essence of the pill fire, capable of easily refining the immortal power of a Golden Immortal cultivator, even distorting space itself.

"Liu Yang, be careful!" Li Mengting shouted anxiously.

A hint of seriousness flashed in Liu Yang's eyes, but he did not back down. He activated the "Meteorite Immortal Technique," and the power of space around him surged, instantly teleporting to the side of the pillar of fire. At the same time, he activated the defensive power of the lightning pattern armor to its maximum—the lightning patterns on the surface of the armor burst out with dazzling light, forming a golden defensive barrier.

"Bang!" The pillar of fire crashed into the barrier, golden flames scattering everywhere, but it still couldn't break through. Liu Yang seized the opportunity and unleashed the Ice-Fire Immortal-Slaying Sword once more, its sword energy aimed directly at the source of the Pill Fire—he knew that only by destroying the Pill Venerable's core power could he have a chance to defeat this powerful being in the mid-stage of the Golden Immortal realm.

Dan Zun's expression changed slightly, surprised that Liu Yang could withstand the attack of the Dan Fire Origin. He immediately increased the output of the Dan Fire Origin, and countless fire patterns flew out from the flames, wrapping around Liu Yang like chains. Liu Yang teleported to dodge, but found that the fire patterns were like maggots clinging to his bones, accurately tracking him no matter where he teleported, constantly shrinking his range of movement.

"The Pill Realm is my territory. Here, my Pill Fire Source can mobilize the spiritual energy of the entire world." The Pill Master's voice carried a hint of smugness. "Even if you break through to the Golden Immortal realm, you still can't defeat me!"

Liu Yang didn't refute, but his mind was racing, trying to find a way out of the predicament—his Dan Fire Origin could be restored with the help of the Dan Realm's spiritual energy, but if the battle dragged on, his immortal power would eventually be exhausted. He had to find the weakness of his Dan Fire Origin as soon as possible, otherwise he would not only fail to save the women, but he himself would also perish here.

Just then, Li Mengting suddenly sent a message using her mental power: "Liu Yang, I sensed an extremely cold aura within the fire patterns of the Danhuo Origin! Its core may be afraid of ice-type power!"