One after the other, the rank 2 medicinal herbs were quickly turned into a puddle of purple liquid while their essence was extracted inside the cauldron.
After he was done with the supportive medicinal herbs, Shun Long turned his attention to the crimson rank 3 fruit in front of him.
Now that he had already advanced to the peak of rank 9 in earth grade, his spiritual strength had long since reached the standard of a rank 1 silver grade alchemist, giving him absolute confidence in this pill refinement.
Shun Long grabbed the 'Blood Vermilion fruit' with both hands and tore it wide open, causing a red-colored liquid that was darker than blood, to merge with the rest of the medicinal essence inside the cauldron.
A sizzling sound was suddenly heard, the moment that this red liquid touched the purple puddle of medicinal essence, as bright red flames instantly engulfed the cauldron.
Shun Long completely ignored the flames that were burning his hands, as he used his spiritual strength to merge the 2 medicinal essences into one.
It seemed that the essence of the 'Blood Vermilion fruit' innately rejected the purple liquid, but under Shun Long's constant refinement, the 2 liquids had started to slowly merge into one.
An hour later, the scent of medicinal essence exploded from the cauldron, as a fragrant aroma quickly filled the room.
Liu Mei's eyes widened as this intoxicating scent assaulted her senses.
After opening the lid of the cauldron, Shun Long saw 5 sparkling red pills lying inside, all of them emitting a blinding red luster.
Seeing the 5 top-grade rank 3 'Blood combustion pills' inside the cauldron, Shun Long's lips curved up in satisfaction.
He placed the pills in 2 different bottles before he stood up and walked up to Liu Mei who was sitting on a white cushion opposite to him.
Liu Mei gave him a dazzling smile when she saw the satisfied expression on his face after the successful pill refinement, when Shun Long smiled at her, before he handed her a bottle with 2 pills inside it, as he said
''Mei'er, when you cultivate tonight, consume one of these pills and try to breakthrough to the rank 2 in Heaven grade. With these top-grade rank 3 'Blood combustion pills', along with your Moonlight Sigil, I don't think that you will have any difficulty in breaking through.''
''Mhm!''
Liu Mei didn't try to decline, and instead, gently nodded her head at Shun Long, who then sat down on the black cushion as he circulated the 'Monarch's Hourglass'.
As the indistinct figure of an hourglass expanded from his body, Shun Long took a deep breath to calm his mind, as he saw the 81 balls of qi floating above him.
Without any hesitation, he immediately consumed a top-grade 'Blood combustion pill', as a blue-colored whirlpool appeared above his head, absorbing the qi of Heaven and earth around the courtyard.
At the same time, the 'Heaven swallowing vine' was consuming spirit stones non-stop, filling the space inside the 'Stone of Time' with its pure qi.
Just like his breakthrough from the qi condensation to the earth grade, Shun Long needed to compress the 81 balls of qi into one, before he could successfully enter the Heaven grade.
The 81 balls of qi inside the 'Monarch's Hourglass' were compressed again and again, and half an hour later, they were down to just 27 of them.
Shun Long could feel the difficulty increasing, every time he tried to compress the balls of qi further, but at the same time, the blue-colored vortex above his head was growing bigger in size.
Shun Long had already started to feel the qi in the air around him, while his heart had also started to feel a connection with the laws of Heaven and earth.
Every time that a cultivator advanced to the Heaven grade, they would be able to sense the laws of Heaven and earth around them, helping them comprehend a Dao that they had an affinity with.
The moment that Shun Long's mind made contact with the laws of Heaven and earth around him, the 'Stone of Time' vibrated lightly, as the blue-colored vortex immediately doubled in size.
Shun Long could feel his understanding of the Dao of Time becoming deeper, while at the same time, the balls of qi above his head were being compressed at an even faster rate.
An hour later, there were only 3 qi balls left inside the 'Monarch's Hourglass', each of them emitting astonishing power.
As Shun Long was comprehending the Dao of Time and was compressing his qi balls, the swirling blue vortex above his head had already engulfed the entire 'King's courtyard'.
Everyone inside the inn had already turned their heads to look at the gigantic vortex in the sky, as shocked discussions quickly filled the inn.
''Could it be... that someone is breaking through to the Heaven grade?''
''Impossible! Not with such a huge vortex. If I had to guess, then this is probably a senior who is training in some secret technique.''
''Right, this makes sense. After all, even when the young lady of the Silver sword clan had broken through to the Heaven grade, her qi vortex had already reached 50 meters in size, while this one seemed to have already exceeded 900 meters.''
Inside a luxurious private room, the Inn-keeper Deng Zixin, had a deep look in his eyes as he stared towards Shun Long's and Liu Mei's courtyard, while he mumbled something inaudibly.
Shun Long however, was completely oblivious to the attention that his breakthrough had attracted, as his mind was fully focused on merging together the rest of his qi balls.
4 hours later, there were only 2 balls of qi left inside the 'Monarch's Hourglass'.
Each of these 2 balls of qi, had far more energy inside them, compared to all the previous 81 balls combined.
An hour later, the swirling blue vortex in the sky quickly shrunk, before it disappeared inside Shun Long's body a few moments later.
BOOOM
The moment that the vortex entered Shun Long's body, a terrifying sound was heard from the inside of the 'Monarch's Hourglass', as a single, white ball of qi could be seen floating inside.
Suddenly, the 'Stone of Time' that hadn't reacted for so many months vibrated intensely, and under Liu Mei's horrified eyes, Shun Long's body abruptly disappeared into thin air.