'The terrain here is quite stra's rare to see such a rge tration of precious herbs growing together like this iside world. Hopefully, I refine a 4th-tier medial pill within a month.'

  Xiao Yan had already made up his mind to improve his alchemy skills to the 4th tier and refihe Hidden Spirit Pill.

  His Spirit Heart Gathering Soul Teique had reached the te stage of the minor mastery level several months ago, giving him a Spiritual Strength equivalent to the te stage of the Intermediate Mortal State. This was more than suffit to refih-tier medial pills.

  Furthermore, with the aid of the Nihility Dev Fme's Seed Fme, he had the necessary resources to refih-tier medial pills. The only remaining obstacle was his ck of practical experience.

  Although he possessed the fual skills required to refih-tier medial pills, what he cked was the hands-on experieo back it up.

  Fortunately, the herbs grew quickly in this small, secluded valley, and preedial ingredients were abundant. In addition, Xiao Yan's months as a wild man in the Magic Beast Mountains had allowed him to colleumerous monster cores, providing him with a 'cost-free opportunity' to accumute experience.

  In the secluded small valley, Xiao Yan and Little Fairy Doctor quietly went about their lives: one focused ily on improving his alchemy skills, while the other diligently studied the Poison Scripture. Aside from pyfully teasing each other duriimes, their peaceful days were rather leisurely yet fulfilling.

  Boom! An explosion echoed from the cave, but Little Fairy Doctor, who was studying the Poison Scripture ihatched hut, merely gnced over. She shook her head in resignation, having long since grown aced to such occurrences.

  Xiao Yan had been causing explosions almost daily for the past few weeks. Blowing up medial cauldrons had bee routine.

  "Cough, cough." Xiao Yan emerged from the bck smoke with a soot-covered face. Refining a 4th-tier medial pill was no easy feat.

  He hadn't successfully refined a sih-tier pill in the past ten days.

  After all, 4th-tier medial pills marked the beginning of a signifit turning point. While the 1st to 3rd-tier medial pills usually had straightforward effects, such as healing injuries or rest Dou Qi, the 4th-tier medial pills and above began to exhibit more extraordinary properties.

  When a 4th-tier her medial pill was successfully refihe air would be filled with a fragrant aroma and a surge of energy fluctuations.

  "Damn it! The cauldron actually shattered." After the smoke cleared, Xiao Yaered the cave and discovered that the medial cauldron had exploded into pieces!

  However, it made sehe cauldron was a mere three-mouthed cauldron that was generally used to refine 3rd-tier medial pills. It could no longer withstand the high temperatures of the grown Nihility Dev Fme's Seed Fme.

  Xiao Yan looked at the shattered cauldron on the ground, pondered for a moment, and then took out another cauldron from his ste ring.

  A solid bck-colored medial cauldron appeared in front of him.

  The bck-colored medial cauldron had a robust and sturdy body, its entire surface faintly shrouded in a tranquil aura. Lifelike fme patterns were etched on the surface of the medial cauldron. These fme drawings even seemed to be physically real as they slowly rotated.

  This medial cauldron had been stored ie ring from the beginning, and Xiao Yan surmised that it must have beloo the ring's inal owner.

  However, he hadn't used it yet because this was no ordinary cauldron. It was the Bck Demon, rah on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking!

  The Heavenly Cauldron Ranking only sisted of 13 cauldrons in total, and the pitch-bck cauldron before him was one of them.

  "This is truly a good stuff."

  Xiao Yan couldn't help but marvel at the beauty and majesty of this medial cauldron, no matter how many times he id eyes on it.

  He had always beeant to use it because the Bck Demon possessed a unique effect. When an alchemist used the Bck Demon to refine pills, they would enter a state of profound tration, shedding all distras to achieve a selfless state of mind. Their Spiritual Strength would rea exceptionally sensitive state, thereby signifitly increasing the success rate in alchemy.

  However, this wasn't necessarily a good thing, as being overly absorbed and losing oneself in alchemy could lead to an overdrawn Spiritual Strength, potentially redug the alchemist to a babbling idiot.

  This state was akin to being ed by inner demons, hehe name 'Bck Demon.'

  "Sihe cauldron has beeroyed, perhaps it's a sign from the heavens tellio try using the Bck Demon."

  Xiao Yaly ran his fingers over the lifelike fme patterns on the Bck Demon. After more than ten days of practig alchemy and cultivating the Spirit Heart Gathering Soul Teique, his Spiritual Strength now rivaled that of a peak 4th-tier alchemist. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to attempt using the Bck Demon.

  Sitting cross-legged, Xiao Yan slowly circuted the Spirit Heart Gathering Soul Teique to restore his Spiritual Strength.

  After a while, once his Spiritual Strength had returo its peak dition, he flicked his finger, and a wisp of bck fme slipped into the Bck Demon. The lifelike fmes drawn on the surface of the cauldroed a strange light as the fme ignited within.

  The cauldron automatically began to gather the surrounding fire energy, rapidly raising the internal temperature and even intensifying the heat of the bck fme.

  Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened, his gaze resolute as his Spiritual Strength surged outward. The instant he eled his Spiritual Strength into the Bck Demon, he suddenly realized that all the sounds around him had vanished!

  Except for the pill recipe in his mind, no other thoughts remained.

  His hands moved swiftly across the table, grabbing herb after herb and tossing them all into the cauldron in one fluid motion.

  At this moment, his expression was serene and his gaze unwavering, pletely free of any distras. His youthful hands fluttered about in quick, deft movements remi of plug petals or leaves.

  As his fingers glided across the Bck Demon like pying the piano, the intense bck fme inside obediently split into several small clusters. Each cluster ed itself around the herbs that had been thrown in and tinuously extracted their medial essence.

  The series of movements flowed in a smooth manner, revealing a hint of the posure Hun Huzi had once dispyed during his own alchemy process!

  Hun Huzi's alchemy demonstration back then had profoundly impacted Xiao Yan's heart. It could be said that it had granted him some insights and brought him a sense of enlighte.

  Now, with the aid of the Bck Demon, Xiao Yan had fully grasped this uanding.

  The dark fme danced in an enting manner. After a while, a faint medial fragrance began to permeate the air.

  Ihe rolling fmes of the medial cauldron, a pale blue-colored pill the size of a thumb slowly took shape uhe seari.

  At a certain moment, a heart-pierg aroma suddenly wafted out from the medial cauldron, and a mist of medial fragrance lingered for a long time.

  Xiao Yan withdrew his Spiritual Strength and made a gesture toward the Bck Demon. The pale blue-colored pill was expelled from the cauldron and obediently nded in his palm before he pced it in a pill bottle.

  He didn't even g the pill. Instead, he casually set it aside and took out more herbs from his ste ring, intending to refine another medial pill!

  With his current strength, refining a sih-tier pill was his limit, and attempting to refine another one would undoubtedly lead to overexertion.

  The instant Xiao Yan shot a wisp of bck fme into the Bck Demon, the Nihility Dev Fme withied. A torrent of bck fmes burst forth from the cauldron's mouth, engulfing the entire cauldron in an overwhelming bze.

  ! ! ! !

  The Nihility Dev Fme that engulfed the Bck Demon was equivalent to isoting it. Freed from the Bck Demon's influence, Xiao Yan abruptly snapped out of his trance.

  "Ha!" Exhaustion flooded Xiao Yan's mind, and with his Spiritual Strength severely depleted, he colpsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

  'That Bck Demon is far too dangerous. Thankfully, Mao Wu's instincts sensed my peril; otherwise, I might have overdrawn my Spiritual Strength.'

  Xiao Yan vividly recalled what had just transpired. He fell into a state of utter selflessness after his Spiritual Strength ehe Bck Demon. If it wasn't for the dev ability of the Nihility Dev Fme, he feared that he would have pletely exhausted his Spiritual Strength.

  After withdrawing the Nihility Dev Fme, he g the Bck Demon with lingering trepidation. It truly lived up to its reputation as the 8th-ranked cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking; its effects were indeed eerie and terrifying.

  He turned his gaze to the pill bottle on the ground and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the Hidden Spirit Pill had been successfully refined. Once he had successfully refined a 4th-tier pill, subsequent attempts would have a higher ce of success.

  'I still o find another medial cauldron. The Bck Demon should not be used unless absolutely necessary.'