Chapter 540: Reporting to the Star Pivot Hall

Night had fully descended.

The Star Pivot Hall sat atop the main peak of Formation Peak, resembling a colossal fortress suspended within a sea of stars against the pitch-black night sky.

Su Ming, clad in the purple robe that symbolized his status as a True Disciple, ascended the steps paved with white jade. The hem of his purple robe flipped ever so slightly in the night breeze, producing not a single superfluous rustling sound.

Shadow stood alertly on his left shoulder. After absorbing the dense spiritual energy within the sect, its jet-black feathers appeared even glossier and smoother, its golden eyes gleaming with piercing sharpness in the darkness.

The grand doors of the Star Pivot Hall were wide open.

There were no guards, nor any complex prohibitive runes.

Su Ming stopped at the entrance, straightened his robe slightly, then stepped over the high bronze threshold.

No lamps were lit inside the hall.

The only source of light came from an enormous star chart suspended in mid-air at the center of the hall. Countless tiny specks of light, representing the nodes of formations, drifted slowly through the void according to some profoundly arcane rhythm, casting the entire hall in flickering light and shadow.

Xuanheng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, silently positioned directly beneath the star chart, facing away from the door.

The loose, deep-blue Daoist robe hung on his frame, making him look almost empty. He stood there as if he had merged completely with the star chart and the entire hall.

Su Ming stopped three zhang away from Xuanheng.

He folded his hands in front of his chest, bowed deeply, and executed a perfectly standard disciple's grand salute.

"Disciple Su Ming pays respects to Master."

Su Ming's voice was steady and clear, echoing slowly through the hall.

The light of the star chart flickered faintly.

Xuanheng did not turn around immediately. Instead, he maintained his posture of gazing at the star chart for a full three breaths.

"You're back."

Xuanheng's voice carried no discernible emotional fluctuation, like the still, deep water of a well.

"Yes." Su Ming straightened up, but his hands remained respectfully at his sides.

Su Ming raised his right hand and made an incredibly steady sweep over his storage pouch.

A small, exquisite jade bottle, translucent like mutton-fat white jade, materialized silently in his palm.

Holding the bottle with both hands, Su Ming stepped forward twice and placed it with great solemnity on the stone table in front of Xuanheng, which was carved with intricate formation lines.

"Master, the Ten-Thousand-Year Sky-Blue Stone Marrow. This disciple has brought it back."

Xuanheng's gaze fell upon the jade bottle.

Even Xuanheng, who was always unreadable, couldn't suppress an extremely rare flicker of emotion in his eyes when he saw this peerless spiritual medicine.

He extended his right hand, his withered fingertip gently brushing over the top of the jade bottle.

The stopper of the bottle slipped off silently.

In an instant, an overwhelming, terrifying surge of life force erupted from the small bottle mouth like a volcanic explosion.

The frigid air within the Star Pivot Hall seemed to be injected with boundless vitality in that single moment. Even the floating star chart light points trembled violently from the impact of this life force.

Xuanheng closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Excellent quality." Xuanheng opened his eyes again, flicked his finger to reseal the stopper, and the astonishing life force was instantly cut off.

Without a moment's hesitation, Su Ming swept his hand over his storage pouch once more.

Two other exquisitely crafted jade boxes appeared side by side on the stone table.

"The Nine Netherworld Lotus. The Phoenix Rebirth Branch."

Su Ming stepped back half a pace, gazing at the three peerless treasures on the stone table.

"Master, the three principal ingredients are all prepared." Su Ming's voice was incredibly steady, but at this moment, he naturally brought up the question he had pondered on the airship.

"However, the formula for the Heaven-Mending Pill..." Su Ming paused at the perfect moment, his eyes showing a hint of appropriately measured doubt and inquiry.

Xuanheng looked at Su Ming, and a barely perceptible curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He seemed to have long anticipated Su Ming's question.

"You little rascal. You already have an answer in mind, yet you insist on hearing it from my own lips." Xuanheng shook his head.

He turned around, his wide sleeve gently brushing over the stone table. The three jade boxes filled with peerless spiritual medicines vanished instantly, absorbed into his personal storage space.

"The formula for the Heaven-Mending Pill was with your teacher from the very beginning."

Xuanheng clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze returning to the star chart suspended in mid-air.

"It is an extremely incomplete ancient prescription. I obtained it by chance many years ago while wandering the Central Continent."

"Since the formula and the ingredients are all ready." Su Ming bowed slightly, asking the most critical question. "Master, may this disciple inquire about the alchemist..."

Xuanheng turned around and looked at Su Ming.

"Elder Qingyang of Pill Cauldron Peak."

As Xuanheng spoke this name, his tone became exceptionally solemn.

Su Ming quickly searched his memories for any information about this name. But in the rumors of the Cloud Hidden Sect, the most famous figure on Pill Cauldron Peak was its Peak Master. As for this Elder Qingyang, wasn't he the one who, a hundred years ago, due to a furnace of Earth-grade top-tier pills exploding, had sworn an oath to seal his furnace for a century?

"You need not worry." Xuanheng seemed to see through Su Ming's concerns, speaking lightly. "Although Qingyang sealed his furnace for a hundred years, he and I share a bond of life and death. Over this century, his Dao of alchemy has not regressed; on the contrary, through the sedimentation of his solitude, he has faintly touched a higher threshold. In the entire Cloud Hidden Sect, only he has the qualifications and the possibility to refine this furnace of Heaven-Mending Pill."

"This disciple understands." Su Ming bowed his head and responded without hesitation.

"But you must not let your guard down."

Xuanheng's tone suddenly turned incredibly stern, as if the very air in the hall had solidified at that moment.

"The Heaven-Mending Pill is a product of plundering the creation of heaven and earth. The refinement process is extremely long and perilous."

Xuanheng walked step by step until he stood before Su Ming, his deep gaze fixed intensely on him.

"On the final day of pill formation, the laws of heaven and earth will manifest Pill Fiend. That is heaven and earth's will to obliterate anything that defies its natural order. Qingyang must focus all his energy on controlling the furnace fire; he will have no capacity to resist."

"And you," Xuanheng pointed at Su Ming's chest, "as the medicine lord of this pill, must be present throughout. When the Pill Fiend descends, you must use your own strength to withstand that wave of backlash."

Su Ming's breath caught for a moment.

"If you cannot withstand it, the pill is destroyed and you die." Xuanheng's voice was as cold as the wind from an icy crypt. "If you endure it, your shattered Dao foundation will be reforged as good as new."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Su Ming had no path of retreat, nor did he need one.

He slowly raised his head, meeting Xuanheng's stern gaze.

Folding his hands before him, Su Ming bowed deeply with the utmost solemnity.

"This disciple will not fail his mission."

Xuanheng looked at the disciple before him, whose eyes burned with unwavering resolve, and a trace of extremely well-hidden approval flickered in his gaze.

He swept his sleeve and turned around.

"Go back and rest." Xuanheng's voice returned to its calm. "Adjust your condition to its peak. Tomorrow morning, come find me at the Star Pivot Hall."

"I will take you to Pill Cauldron Peak."