Chapter 860 - 678: Four Factions in Turmoil
These are intricate skills, extremely exhausting for the soul power.
Half a month has passed, and Shen Xuan is indeed quite worn out.
He’s visibly thinner.
Even his footsteps have become somewhat unsteady.
On the other side, Li Ruyi appears more vibrant and lively day by day.
The pallor on her cheeks has completely faded, her skin glows with a glossy sheen, her eyes are bright and spirited, and her aura is harmonious and transparent.
No longer in the frail state she was before, she has become full of vitality.
This calamity, Li Ruyi found fortune in misfortune.
After successfully restoring her soul to a new body, the newborn flesh and her tempered divine soul perfectly matched, her Divine Sense shattered and then rebuilt, outshining her peers.
As a Fire Cultivator, she even received several strands of True Flame from True Monarch Cyan Yang.
If it weren’t for the slight inferiority of her flesh body’s core and her cultivation technique’s spiritual power.
At this moment, Li Ruyi’s aptitude rivals that of a Golden Core.
If fortune and opportunity come her way in the future, she might even have a slight hope of glimpsing the Nascent Soul Dao path.
Perhaps, in the vast cosmos, there are predetermined fates.
"Alright, this is the last time. Fellow Daoist Li’s flesh body and soul body have perfectly merged, with no more obstructions. Those strands of Cyan Yang True Flame are rare, nurture them well, and don’t disappoint."
Upon hearing this, Li Ruyi straightened her demeanor, stepped back half a step, and deeply bowed to Shen Xuan.
Her waist bent very low.
"Ruyi will remember, and never dare to forget. Thank you, True Master Shen, for this act of re-creation."
Shen Xuan slightly turned his body, accepting half the courtesy.
Their gazes met.
He saw the sincere gratitude in Li Ruyi’s eyes.
Shen Xuan’s stern face finally softened, and he chuckled lightly.
Li Ruyi also smiled.
Her eyebrows curved, devoid of any shadows.
Within the practice room, sparks gently spiraled.
Both felt a sense of accomplishment and relief.
...
Late night, Cold Ice Cave.
Qin Yuehan’s bedroom.
Moonlight shone in from outside the window, casting a serene glow across the room.
Shen Xuan and Qin Yuehan embraced as they slept.
He whispered Li Ruyi’s past, little by little, to her.
Qin Yuehan listened quietly.
After hearing, she remained silent for a long time.
"Sister Ruyi is still too naive."
Qin Yuehan said softly.
Her tone was filled with deep regret.
Shen Xuan didn’t respond immediately.
Three hundred years ago.
Li Ruyi formed her True Pill, youthful and spirited.
She and her senior brother Liu Qianshan were of the same lineage, extremely close.
The two often studied the Alchemy Dao together, inseparable.
By chance, Li Ruyi obtained an ancient formula for the Purifying Foundation Pill.
It was a Tier Two Top-Grade Spirit Pill.
Capable of strengthening the Dao Foundation, expelling impurities.
Long-term use could improve the quality of the Dao Foundation.
It was also one of Danxia Sect’s most important sources of wealth.
One Purifying Foundation Pill sold for up to ten thousand Spirit Stones, yet it was never available.
Li Ruyi compared the ancient formula with Danxia Sect’s pill formula meticulously.
A bold idea began to take root in her mind.
She wanted to improve it.
Liu Qianshan tried to persuade her.
Again and again.
His tone was anxious, urging Li Ruyi to stop.
Yet Li Ruyi seemed possessed.
She wouldn’t listen.
During that time, her eyes only saw the pill furnace and medicinal materials.
She was sleepless and restless.
Her senior brother’s earnest advice fell on deaf ears.
After nearly obsessive striving, she unexpectedly succeeded.
The ancient formula was improved, and the new pill was refined into a full batch.
At the moment of the pill’s formation, she laughed.
A blush appeared on her pale face.
She thought she had achieved something extraordinary and groundbreaking.
Improving and creating a new, affordable Purifying Foundation Pill.
She didn’t know the noose had already tightened around her neck.
When the improvement succeeded, Danxia Sect immediately declared her a traitor.
True Master Zhi Yang personally ordered her execution.
The one to carry out the task was Liu Qianshan.
He volunteered to accept the mission.
With tears and pain, he betrayed his unsuspecting junior sister.
In the final moment, he held back.
He remembered Li Ruyi saying she had a family heirloom soul-protecting treasure.
He shattered her vitality but allowed her soul to escape.
Then sealed her still-warm flesh body in an ice coffin, quietly hiding it.
In the sect’s main hall, Li Ruyi’s Soul Token shattered.
Liu Qianshan reported back, his expression numb.
No one knew of the hope buried deep within him.
He hoped Li Ruyi’s soul wouldn’t disperse, that she’d take up the nether path and form a Soul Pill.
That one day, she would restore herself to life.
"You cannot wholly say she’s naive."
Shen Xuan finally spoke, his voice somewhat bitter.
"She really wanted to do something significant for the world’s cultivators."
He had had deep conversations with Li Ruyi.
The improved Purifying Foundation Pill greatly reduced costs.
Even ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators could scrape together enough to buy a few pills.
Their Dao Foundation could be strengthened, increasing hopes of breakthroughs.
Some may indeed reach the threshold of Core Formation.
The overall strength of Human Race Cultivators might therefore improve somewhat.
Li Ruyi always believed she was doing a good deed, benefiting humanity.
She was still too immature.
Danxia Sect did not want cheap pills or widespread good deeds.
What they wanted was monopoly, profiteering, and an unending flow of Spirit Stones.
They would rather guard the high profits of high-priced spirit pills, never allowing the emergence of low-priced pills of the same type.
Sect interests were untouchable.
Li Ruyi’s benevolence became her path to ruin.
Later, Shen Xuan and Li Ruyi redeveloped the pill.
They had to borrow True Master Cold Jade’s name and rely on Cyan Cloud Sect’s protection.
Walking on thin ice, with utmost caution.
A slight mistake would mean total annihilation.
At that time, Medicine God Valley from Song Country’s seven sects even colluded with Cyan Cloud Sect’s hidden spies, constantly plotting against him.
Qin Yuehan snuggled closer into his embrace, absorbing the warmth from his body.
"Sister Ruyi truly faced hardship."
Shen Xuan merely replied with a low "hm" and said no more.
In this world, is anyone really easy?
There’s always someone naive, thinking a bit of intelligence and fortune can change fate and dominate the Cultivation Realm.