A god-level alchemist, starting by manually crafting forbidden pills.

early morning.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the wooden house.

Luo Fan took Bai Jie back to the temporary residence they had come from.

He sat cross-legged on the simple wooden bed, opposite Bai Jie who was meditating.

The cold fire of the dark spring pulsed in his palm, transforming into a gentle warm current that soothed her turbulent meridians.

He spent the entire night tending to her wounds.

At this moment, Bai Jie's complexion regained some color, and her breathing gradually stabilized.

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she opened her eyes.

What came into view was Luo Fan's bloodshot eyes and his undisguised exhaustion.

"You stayed up all night for me again?"

Bai Jie's voice was hoarse, but she was no longer weak.

Luo Fan extinguished the flames, grinned, and said, "I was afraid you'd wake up and not see me, and then you'd worry again."

"Fool…"

Bai Jie wanted to raise her hand to touch his face, but found that her arm was still a little weak, so she had no choice but to give up.

Luo Fan grasped her hand, channeling his spiritual energy to carefully examine her condition.

The turbulent spiritual energy in the meridians has subsided.

The damage caused by forcibly increasing his cultivation level has been almost completely recovered.

Her foundation was thus rebuilt after this setback, becoming even more solid.

"Fortunately, I only used up some spiritual energy."

Anyway, he has the Great Dao Furnace, which can replenish his spiritual power at any time; it just means he will consume more spirit stones.

He wasn't lacking in spirit stones either, as he could replenish the spiritual energy of the Great Dao Furnace at any time.

"I wonder which fairy warned me before, this time she herself is risking her life."

Luo Fan rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Bai Jie's pretty face flushed slightly, and her eyes darted away. "Then we're even. In the future... don't mention it again."

"Alright! Then later!"

Luo Fan smiled maliciously, leaving her with a dashing back view.

As she watched his figure disappear from sight, Bai Jie felt that there was something more to his words than met the eye.

Outside.

Luo Fan took out the Myriad Souls Banner from his storage ring; the banner was still pitch black.

However, when held in one's hand, the bone-chilling coldness lessened considerably.

Luo Fan wrapped the banner with the cold fire of the Nether Spring, attempting to purify the evil energy within.

Amidst the flames, black vapor billowed from the banner, causing the twisted runes to dim slightly.

"It works, but it takes time."

Luo Fan observed the space inside the banner.

The demonic soul of the Yinming Horned Python was coiled in the center, its aura weak and its eyes fierce.

In addition, most of them are the souls of demonic beasts in the Qi Refining stage, and some are remnants of human souls.

Upon seeing those remnants of human souls, Luo Fan's eyes suddenly turned cold.

The Hall of Soul Killing truly deserves to die.

He also saw a line of tiny characters at the bottom of the banner.

"Black Wind Envoy, branch of the Soul-Slaying Hall!"

"Black Wind Envoy, it seems to be the person in charge of the Soul Killing Hall here."

Luo Fan put away the banner and then took out the Xuan Yin You Ming Grass.

They almost lost their lives for this herb, but their hard work finally paid off.

Obtaining this spiritual herb can be considered as repaying the debt owed to the sect leader, Fairy Yunxi, for secretly protecting him.

Suddenly, Luo Fan noticed a faint trace of black aura remaining at the roots of the spirit herb.

That aura originated from the same source as the Myriad Souls Banner, and it was almost imperceptible unless one was fully focused.

"Is this a mark?"

Luo Fan's heart sank slightly.

He tried to burn it with the cold fire of the Nether Spring, but the black aura was extremely difficult to deal with and could not be eliminated in a short time.

"It seems we need to leave here as soon as possible."

He carefully put away the jade box, then took out the corpse of the Yinming Horned Python, a giant python that was a treasure trove from head to toe.

Scales can be used to forge weapons, flesh and blood can be used in medicine, and demon essence is a rare material for refining Foundation Establishment pills.

Luo Fan did not waste any time and extracted its demonic essence using a special method.

Then, using the Soul-Severing Knife, he peeled off its scales and cut off several pieces of the tenderest python meat.

He lit a campfire, put in the python meat, and added several medicinal herbs he had obtained from the secret realm.

The cool spring water danced beneath the pot, and in less than half an hour, the fragrant broth was ready.

The broth is milky white with iridescent colors flowing across its surface, which is the result of the five elements of medicinal power blending together.

"What smells so good?"

Bai Jie walked out of the wooden house. She had changed into a clean, moon-white dress and her hair was simply tied up in a bun.

Her face was still somewhat pale, but she had regained her usual aloof demeanor.

But when she looked at Luo Fan, a hint of tenderness appeared in her eyes.

"The Five Elements Nourishing Soup uses the Yinming Horned Python as the main ingredient, along with five-colored flowers and several other warming and nourishing medicinal herbs."

Luo Fan ladled out a bowl and handed it to her, saying, "Your spiritual energy was in a state of chaos before, so you need this soup to stabilize your foundation."

Bai Jie took it and tasted it in small bites.

The soup is warm and smooth, containing the spiritual power of the five elements, which nourishes her meridians.

A short while later.

The spiritual energy within her body circulated spontaneously and faster and faster, and the bottleneck in her cultivation quietly loosened.

Bai Jie put down the bowl, sat cross-legged, and began to fully circulate her internal energy.

Luo Fan didn't disturb them, but simply stayed by their side.

After an incense stick has burned.

Bai Jie opened her eyes, a look of astonishment flashing across them.

"I've broken through?"

Her cultivation level advanced to the third level of Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, its foundation is solid, and its spiritual energy is pure, making it much stronger than before.

Luo Fan smiled and nodded, unsurprised.

He explained, "The flesh of the Yinming Horned Python contains pure Yin essence, which, when combined with the five-colored flowers in the secret realm, perfectly replenishes the foundation and becomes an opportunity."

Bai Jie looked at him, then at the pot of meat soup, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

This trip to the secret realm was fraught with near-death experiences; I almost lost my life.

But at this moment, not only have her injuries been healed, but her cultivation has also broken through to the peak of the third level of Foundation Establishment.

Good fortune and misfortune are interdependent; this is generally true.

"Only you can turn bad things into good things."

She looked at Luo Fan's silhouette in the morning light, and smiled so charmingly.

Luo Fan smiled at her, "Because I have the best senior sister to protect."

Bai Jie's cheeks flushed slightly. She turned her face away, took small sips of soup, and unconsciously smiled.

After finishing their breakfast and getting ready, the two prepared to leave this troublesome place.

A figure in black robes appeared on the open ground ten feet away.

It was an old man with a withered face.

His eyes were sunken, his skin clung to his bones, and he was surrounded by an aura of death. There was also a wound on his chest.

The wound cut diagonally from the left shoulder to the right abdomen, deep enough to expose the bone, with black blood seeping from the flesh.

The wound was surrounded by lingering, icy blue sword energy that continued to erode his life force.

Luo Fan frowned. The old man's aura was extraordinary; he was clearly at the Golden Core stage!

He could also see that the spiritual energy within the old man's body was stagnant and disorganized.

The sword wound on his chest nearly severed his heart meridian, leaving him with less than one-tenth of his strength.

At most, they only have the combat power of the peak Foundation Establishment stage.

Even so, the pressure from the Golden Core cultivator still made the two of them catch their breath.

"Young man, you bear the aura of the Myriad Soul Banner and the Myriad Poison Pearl!"

The old man stared at Luo Fan with his cloudy eyes. "But you ruined my plans?"

"You must have mistaken us for someone else. We are just passing through and are about to leave."

Luo Fan remained calm and subconsciously shielded Bai Jie behind him.

"Admit your mistake?"

The old man smiled sinisterly, a smile that made his withered face even more ferocious.

"The Banner of Ten Thousand Souls was buried by me personally under the Mysterious Yin Nether Grass, nourishing the Yin souls within with the ultimate Yin energy."

As for the Myriad Poison Pearl?

"Hmph, I was there when they slaughtered three cities in the Eastern Spirit Realm and used a million souls to refine this pearl."

Upon hearing this, Luo Fan's heart sank even further.

This old man not only knew about the arrangement of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, but also participated in the massacre of the city and the pearl refining incident back then!

The old man's gaze shifted from Luo Fan to Bai Jie.

He stared at Bai Jie for a moment, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes, and then burst into laughter.

"Ice-type spiritual power?"

"The martial arts flowing through your body are those of the Peach Blossom Temple. Are you disciples of the Peach Blossom Temple?"

"So what if it is?"

Bai Jie tightened her grip on the sword.

The old man laughed even harder, his laughter filled with undisguised smugness.

"What a coincidence! What a coincidence! Fifty years ago, I met a female cultivator who was out on a training trip."

The female cultivator was on the verge of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, which caused her spiritual energy to leak out, allowing me to locate her.

He licked his chapped lips, and his laughter grew louder.

"I can't stand seeing others break through, especially righteous cultivators."

So, taking advantage of her critical moment, he interrupted her breakthrough with a Yin Sha Palm strike.

This caused her to suffer a backlash; her nascent soul was not formed, her foundation was damaged, and she almost lost all her cultivation.

The old man stared at Luo Fan, speaking each word carefully.

"If I'm not mistaken, that female cultivator is none other than your current sect leader, Fairy Yunxi, isn't she?"

"So it was you!"

The killing intent in Luo Fan's eyes solidified into a tangible form.