Chapter 445: Essence
Sparks bloomed within the Pill Furnace, incinerating all the medicinal dregs and extracting their essence.
Lin Feng immediately took out new medicinal ingredients and tossed them into the Pill Furnace, resuming the refinement process.
With each ingredient he added, the dregs gradually dissolved, vaporized by the flames within the furnace.
"CRACK, CRACK..."
A continuous sound of cracking bones could be heard—the groaning of Lin Feng's own muscles and skeleton, unable to withstand the immense pressure.
This agony was far more intense than when he had refined ordinary potions before!
But Lin Feng didn't dare to slacken in the slightest. He knew with absolute clarity that he couldn't let his guard down now, or else failure would be the only outcome.
「Another two hours passed.」
Inside the Pill Furnace, a layer of pale yellow liquid had now accumulated, its rich medicinal aroma wafting out.
"BOOM!"
Lin Feng threw open the lid of the Pill Furnace, and a round, crystalline pill, like a piece of jade, slowly floated up.
The verdant green pill, so vibrant it seemed almost liquid, carried a refreshing coolness and a medicinal fragrance that was simply mouth-watering.
"It's finally done."
Looking at the pill before him, Lin Feng let out a long sigh of relief, a trace of exhaustion appearing on his face.
Two straight hours without rest was taxing, even for someone like Lin Feng, who could be considered a true Alchemy Master.
More importantly, his current realm was simply too low. This level of exhausting strain was too much for him.
The excessive circulation of his Inner Strength, in particular, had left the meridians throughout his body on the verge of shattering. If not for his extraordinarily resilient physical body, he would have likely already passed out.
'I should rest for a bit before cleaning up.'
Lin Feng sat cross-legged and immediately began to meditate to recover his stamina.
...
An unknown amount of time passed before Lin Feng finally awoke. He could feel that his condition had been fully restored to its peak.
In fact, perhaps because of this overuse of Inner Strength, he was now faintly stronger than before after recovering.
"Huuuh."
After letting out a long, turbid breath, Lin Feng opened his eyes.
He stretched his limbs, feeling vitality course through his entire body. He immediately stood up and walked over to the Pill Furnace.
There, the vibrant green pill lay quietly inside the Pill Furnace, emitting a faint, swirling mist.
"Whew, finally succeeded."
Sighing softly, Lin Feng picked up the pill and placed it inside a porcelain bottle.
The quality of this pill was barely passable. Although it was a pill Lin Feng had refined while only at the Innate Realm, it wasn't a failure. It could even be considered a rather rare item.
After all, this was a pill meant for Martial Artists, not some ordinary healing pill from the mortal world.
"Although it has some flaws this time, a pill of this grade should be enough to suppress the Gu Insect inside Murong Yi Yun's body."
Lin Feng murmured to himself while carefully observing the bronze-colored porcelain bottle in his hand.
Although it was only for a brief moment, a few barely perceptible cracks had been left on the pill's surface.
This made Lin Feng feel quite regretful. While the pill's appearance was good, it was, after all, something he had forcefully refined while only in the Innate Realm. He still needed much more practice.
Of course, if anyone else heard him say this, they would probably cough up blood from anger.
They would also curse Lin Feng for being such a show-off!
One must understand that even among the numerous Pharmacists in the Ancient Martial Realm hailed as geniuses, very few could successfully concoct a pill by themselves while in the Grandmaster Realm.
Especially a pill of such an extremely high grade.
But what about Lin Feng?
He had managed to refine this pill while only in the Innate Realm!
Moreover, both its appearance and its medicinal fragrance were top-tier. This was even more remarkable, as not everyone had to work under such harsh conditions as Lin Feng.
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK."
Just then, a series of knocks suddenly came from outside the door.
"Who is it?"
Lin Feng frowned at the sound. He hadn't called for anyone. Why would someone come to his room uninvited?
'It's a good thing I've already finished refining the pill and recovered. Otherwise, that abrupt knocking could have easily disturbed me and made all my previous efforts go to waste.'
Besides, he could tell from the hurried knocking that the person outside seemed to have something urgent to discuss with him.
"It's the middle of the night. Have you no manners?"
Lin Feng asked in a cold, unfriendly tone, his body tensing in preparation for any unexpected events.
"Young Master Lin, the Patriarch sent me to bring you a late-night snack."
"The Patriarch saw that you didn't come out for dinner and was worried you might be hungry, so he specifically sent me over with some dishes."
A clear, crisp voice came from outside, indicating the speaker wasn't very old.
Upon hearing this voice, Lin Feng's tense nerves relaxed slightly.
It was indeed the voice of a young girl; there probably wouldn't be any trouble.
"Since it's a kind gesture from Patriarch Murong, you can come in."
"But please wait a moment while I tidy up."
After a moment of thought, Lin Feng agreed.
After quickly cleaning up the medicinal dregs, Lin Feng went downstairs to open the door.
"Please thank Patriarch Murong for me. It's a bit inconvenient for me right now, I can't..."
As he spoke, Lin Feng had just opened the door halfway when a cold glint of light under the cover of darkness stabbed toward his neck!
"Hmph?"
The sudden attack didn't cause Lin Feng to panic. After all, a visitor at this hour was suspicious to begin with, so naturally, Lin Feng hadn't completely let down his guard.
He merely shifted his position slightly at the last second, and the dagger scraped past his cheek, drawing a bit of blood!
"SWOOSH!"
Having failed with the first strike, the person pulled back, intending to take the opportunity to flee.
"Where do you think you're going?"
But Lin Feng wasn't about to let this person go. No one had ever managed to injure him and get away completely unscathed!
"Stay right there!"
He slightly raised his right arm and threw a punch—fierce and domineering, aimed straight for the person's back!
"Heh, as expected of the man who killed Murong Yuan. Ordinary people truly don't possess such courage."
But as Lin Feng attacked, the burly figure actually stopped retreating. Instead, he spun around and kicked at Lin Feng's head with equal ferocity.
"BANG!"
The two collided and were both sent flying backward.
"Hiss!"
Lin Feng clutched his chest and couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. 'This person's strength is no joke!'
"Hehe, worthy of the man who killed Murong Yuan. Your physical constitution is truly formidable. To take my Iron Sand Leg and still be able to stand... but you're still doomed to die here today."
The burly man sneered. He was the strongest warrior cultivated under Murong Yuan, specifically responsible for his safety. His strength had even reached the level of the Early Stage of the Grandmaster Realm!