Yue Longsha’s Moondew Pill, Gu Zun’s Dao Fruit Pill, and Wayfarer’s Lifeline Pill were stunning enough. Although the pills were poison and couldn’t bring about their intended effects, the three pill masters had impressed everyone with their techniques.
However, Lu Yun’s pill laid a surreal veneer over the scene, what with the tribulation it’d summoned. Wasn’t it said that all of the herbs for the auction were dead, and that pills refined with them were nothing but poison?
Why would one of them elicit a pill tribulation then?
Or was the pill so poisonous that the heavenly dao refused to tolerate it?
“He succeeded. He actually succeeded....” Qing Xun gaped at Lu Yun in disbelief.
“The blood of a golden immortal… refined with ancient herbs to create a pill that isn’t immortal-grade. Can it be....” Wayfarer trembled, shock flickering through his face. No, this can’t be real! It simply can’t be!
“This isn’t a pill tribulation!” Gu Zun burst into uproarious laughter. “To hell with this bullshit ‘top youth sovereign’. He just used some cheap tricks to call down lightning and fake a tribulation. It’s a hoax!
“It’s just a lightning technique that looks like a pill tribulation! We all know that Lu Yun used similar smoke and mirrors in Dusk Province to summon lightning from the nine heavens. This tribulation is all his doing! Not even dao immortal pill masters can create a miracle pill with dead herbs.”
Many took his explanation as the truth. Lu Yun had used a strange technique to summon heavenly lightning before, which was what heavenly tribulations consisted of.
“I agree with the Dusk governor, Master Gu Zun,” rang out a clear voice from one of the gazebos. “Ignorance is not a crime, but mistaking it for superiority surely is.”
“Who was that?!” Gu Zun raged. Armed with three thousand years of cultivation, he was one of the greatest pill masters in the world. Even dao immortals treated him with respect whenever they saw him, as did the major factions of the world.
Zhao Shenguang, for instance, had paid a heavy price to recruit him. No matter how good his self control was, he couldn’t keep down his anger after being called ignorant again and again in public.
“Jin Heyi of the Corpse Refiners.”
Gu Zun’s face clouded over when he heard the sect name and a trace of fear flashed through his eyes.
“The blood of a golden immortal and nine hundred and some ancient herbs.... He must’ve refined the Heaven Descent Pill from the legends of old,” Jin Heyi sighed. “He deserves his title as the top youth sovereign. It’s said that even the ancient pill master Qi Hai only succeeded in refining the pill thrice after billions of attempts. Yet the young governor succeeded on his first try.”
“Heaven Descent Pill?” The name threw many for a loop. Clearly, they hadn’t heard of the pill before.
“What is that? This pill looks like nothing and doesn’t even seem like an immortal pill. Can it really be mentioned in the same breath as the Moondew, Dao Fruit, and Lifeline Pills?” The majority was far more willing to believe Gu Zun’s words. Lu Yun must’ve faked this so-called tribulation with a special lightning method to pass his pill off as a success.
The Jin Clan wasn’t among the top clans in Xiankan, and many had never even heard of Corpse Refiners before. Therefore, Jin Heyi’s explanation wasn’t terribly persuasive.
“Allow me to introduce the pill, then.” Unfazed, Jin Heyi cracked a small smile as he looked at the frowning Lu Yun up on the stage. While he might respect the young governor, they were enemies. He was more than happy to stir up some trouble for Lu Yun.
The young man already had a good number of enemies; there were quite a few who wanted him dead so they could gain control over Dusk Province. Revealing Lu Yun’s talent in pills would only hasten his demise.
“The Heaven Descent Pill has no rank, but it’s said to allow someone to ascend to heaven at birth! If a pregnant woman takes this pill, she will give birth to a babe with a constitution tempered by the golden immortal principles. The newborn will be a golden immortal! And as I just mentioned, the ancient pill master Qi Hai could only refine three in his lifetime, but those three pills gave rise to three immortal emperors!”
“Can such a heaven-defying pill be real?!” The crowd erupted in an uproar.
Some didn’t believe it. “The heavens wouldn’t permit such a thing to exist…” one person trailed off.
The tribulation had grown even more intense. Lightning struck the unassuming pill like a downpour of torrential rain. But now, Lu Yun was floating in midair with his pill and cauldron. Had he stayed on the stage any longer, the treasure that could record anything that happened on it would likely be destroyed by the tribulation.
“That’s right,” Jin Heyi responded faintly. “It’s said that every Heaven Descent Pill must overcome four hundred and eighty million lightning strikes before its emergence. Master Qi Hai refined five of them, but two were destroyed by their tribulations.”
Widened eyes stared at Lu Yun without blinking as many gazes turned murderous. With the immortal dao severed, it was unlikely for anyone to become an immortal emperor, and no one wanted Lu Yun to help give rise to more of them.
Nine were more than enough for the world.
“Is it really the Heaven Descent Pill?” Gu Zun’s face grew dark as ink. “Then this Lu Yun must die!”
“Who is he?! How does he know so much about Qi Hai and the tribulation that the pill must overcome?” Shock painted Empress Myrtlestar’s face within the Scroll of Shepherding Immortals. “Other than Qi Hai and myself, only three of our contemporaries knew about the need for this pill to endure a pill tribulation. They would never tell others or put it into the records! There’s more to this man than meets the eye!”
“It’s his sect that’s more than meets the eye.” Qing Han didn’t look at all surprised. “Lu Yun said the Corpse Refiners were experts in refining corpses and living zombies. Perhaps they have a way to extract the memories of dead immortals.”
Empress Myrtlestar fell silent.
Four hundred and eighty million bolts of lightning streamed down from the sky. It was fortunate that the pill was their sole target, or a tribulation of such intensity would destroy the entire blessed land. The Panorama Pavilion had activated a grand formation, isolating the space around Lu Yun and preventing the lightning tribulation from spreading.
“The tribulation....” Lu Yun frowned at the thickening thunderclouds. “It seems I haven’t prepared enough formation disks. I need to set up more formations!”
He didn’t use any foundation stones, since they wouldn’t be able to withstand such power, instead opting to etch formations directly into thin air.
“What… what is he doing?” His actions made the clamor soften in shock.
“He’s setting up formations!”
“He’s skilled in formations as well?!”
“What a freak!”