Chapter 49: Powerful Blood Spirit Pill

Ruxley had been preparing for this alchemy session for a long time. After notifying Fafnian, he returned to his room and entered the Shura Palace. Currently, the once-empty Shura Palace was piled high with various herbs that Ruxley had gathered over the past few days. Among them was the Millenium Blood Ganoderma he had acquired from the auction. Taking a deep breath, Ruxley picked up the Millenium Blood Ganoderma, walked over to the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dragon Cauldron, and began the alchemy process. With skillful hands, he opened the lid of the cauldron, placing the Millenium Blood Ganoderma along with several other auxiliary herbs into the cauldron in the correct sequence. Over the past few days, Ruxley had practiced making Blood Spirit Pills using low-grade herbs. He had now completely mastered the alchemy technique for these pills. Unfortunately, the quality of those herbs was poor, resulting in subpar Blood Spirit Pills that were far from being the top-grade quality he desired. This time, Ruxley prepared a large amount of high-grade herbs, hoping to successfully refine a batch of top-quality Blood Spirit Pills. Sitting cross-legged next to the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dragon Cauldron, Ruxley gently channeled his spiritual energy into the cauldron. In the next moment, the nine dragon engravings on the cauldron gleamed as if they had come to life, slithering together to the bottom of the cauldron and breathing out a purple-red flame. This flame, known as the Dragonia Flame, was unique to the cauldron's interior. Its temperature is extremely high, capable of melting metal and stone. Within just a few seconds, the temperature inside the alchemy hall rose drastically, akin to a massive furnace. Ruxley closed his eyes and focused on manipulating the Dragonia Flame, carefully refining the herbs inside the cauldron. Thanks to his earlier practice, this round of alchemy proceeded very smoothly. Within roughly ten minutes, all the herbs had melted into a pool of liquid. Then, Ruxley began circulating his spiritual energy with full force, removing impurities from the liquid. This step is one of the most crucial parts of alchemy — only by eliminating all the impurities can the pill be condensed properly; otherwise, it would greatly affect the pill's quality. Under the intense heat of the Dragonia Flame, the impurities in the liquid were gradually removed, though Ruxley's spiritual energy was rapidly depleting in the process. Finally, just as Ruxley was about to run out of spiritual energy, all the impurities were cleared from the liquid. With a sudden shout, Ruxley opened his eyes. "Condense!" Roar! A deafening dragon roar erupted from the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dragon Cauldron. In the next instant, an intense medicinal fragrance burst forth from the cauldron, filling the entire alchemy hall. "Finally succeeded!" Ruxley wiped the sweat off his forehead, a relieved smile spreading across his face. This alchemy session was the most dangerous one he had attempted yet, nearly exhausting all his spiritual energy. Had he been just a moment slower, this batch of pills might have been ruined. "It seems that my current strength is still too weak," Ruxley muttered to himself. Blood Spirit Pills were only low-grade pills, and they had already drained him significantly. If he were to attempt refining higher-grade pills, it would be nearly impossible, even if he gave it his all. Taking a deep breath, Ruxley gently opened the cauldron lid. At once, an indescribably fragrant aroma wafted out, refreshing his spirit. Suppressing his excitement, Ruxley looked inside the cauldron. At the bottom of the Great Wilderness Heavenly Dragon Cauldron lay eight pills, each the size of a soybean. They were deep red, smooth, and round, with intricate golden lines etched across their surface — exquisite in appearance. "Golden pill lines, top-grade quality!"  Ruxley's eyes shone with delight as he saw the golden lines on the pills. Depending on their quality, pills were categorized into five grades: inferior, lower, middle, upper, and top-grade. The higher the grade, the fewer the impurities and the stronger the effects of the pills. The golden lines were the hallmark of a top-grade pill, signifying that there were no impurities left whatsoever. No matter how many pills are consumed, there would be no side effects. "I never imagined I'd be able to refine top-grade pills!" Ruxley couldn't help but smile. Top-grade pills were exceedingly difficult to make, even if they were of a low grade, and were worth a fortune. During his earlier alchemy sessions, the highest quality he managed to produce was middle-grade. But this time, he refined eight top-grade pills in one go — how thrilling. Taking out a porcelain bottle he had prepared, Ruxley carefully placed the eight Blood Spirit Pills inside. After a quick tidy-up, he hurriedly went to the small courtyard of Shura Palace, sat cross-legged, and prepared to test the effects of these top-grade Blood Spirit Pills. After adjusting his state to its peak, Ruxley took one Blood Spirit Pill from the bottle and swallowed it. The pill instantly dissolved in his mouth. Shortly after, he felt a surge of pure energy rise from his abdomen and flow into his limbs. Ruxley's body trembled, and he quickly closed his eyes, fully circulating his Blood Fiend Shura Technique to absorb the powerful energy within him. One circulation. Two circulations. Ruxley completed a full 49 circulations before he finally absorbed all the energy within his body. "What tremendous medicinal power! This top-grade Blood Spirit Pill is worlds apart from regular ones!" Slowly opening his eyes, Ruxley's face lit up with excitement. This single top-grade Blood Spirit Pill had increased his spiritual energy by 30%.  The medicinal power was astonishing. It was important to note that Ruxley's spiritual energy was already several times greater than other martial artists of his level. For a typical ninth-grade martial artist, consuming this pill would likely result in an immediate breakthrough to a higher level. Furthermore, Ruxley discovered that after consuming the Blood Spirit Pill, his body's strength had also significantly increased, and his entire being was brimming with powerful vitality. With a gentle clench of his fist, an explosive force surged forth from his body as if he could tear the world apart with his bare hands. The primary effect of Blood Spirit Pills was to enhance a martial artist's strength by substantially boosting their vitality. Under the right conditions, it could even help a martial artist break through to a higher realm.  This was precisely why Ruxley chose to refine Blood Spirit Pills. Currently, many of the generals in Shura Palace were stuck at a bottleneck in their cultivation. For instance, the top elites Igneel and Fafnian have all reached the peak of the eighth-grade level. If they were to consume Blood Spirit Pills, they might instantly break through to the ninth-grade War God level. If that happens, the power of Shura Palace would experience a qualitative leap.