Chapter 21: Alchemy Furnace

Lin Yun's eyes burned with exhaustion as he ran tirelessly towards the ancient temple. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, blurring his vision, but he knew he had to keep pushing forward. The menacing Bloody Crocodiles with their gaping mouths seemed to be closing in on him, their presence sending shivers down his spine.

But luck was on his side. Against all odds, Lin Yun managed to outmaneuver the ferocious creatures and found himself standing before the entrance to the underground ruins. However, his heart sank when he saw the mechanisms beginning to close, leaving only a small gap that seemed impossible to squeeze through.

Desperation surged through his veins, causing his voice to crack as he pleaded, "Don't close it, please! Let me in!" Sixth Young Master Lin's eyes welled up with tears of frustration, his voice echoing through the ancient temple. His determination pushed him to pounce forward like a famished tiger, but his efforts were in vain as the mechanism sealed shut before him.

The disappointment was too much to bear. His face turned ashen, and his gaze filled with a primal rage as if he could consume the person responsible. The weight of his failure pressed heavily against his chest, threatening to crush his spirit.

Just as despair threatened to overwhelm him completely, the sound of air being sliced apart reached his ears. A figure clad in a majestic green robe burst through the opening, the blood staining his clothes bearing testament to the harrowing journey they had endured. His presence alone caused Lin Yun's aura to tremble, and the sheer power emanating from them forced him to spit out a mouthful of blood and recoil several feet away.

Seething with anger, the green-robed man glared at the sealed mechanism, his eyes locked on it with an intensity that could burn through solid steel.

Rumble!

The mechanism above his head closed, and the entire underground palace rumbled.

After Lin Yang jumped into the underground palace, he paused at the entrance instead of proceeding inside right away. He gathered his aura, his gaze fixed on the entrance. If anyone dared to follow him inside, they would be met with a devastating attack.

Luckily, no one ventured inside before the entrance sealed shut once again.

The underground ruins stretched out magnificently before him. It resembled a vast underground palace, spacious and grand. Lin Yang turned around and stepped forward, his eyes growing wider with amazement.

This underground palace appeared to have been meticulously crafted by human hands. At the entrance, there were several stone rooms, each fully furnished with stone stools, tables, pots, stoves, and even porcelain vases and chopsticks. It was a simple layout, but everything was present.

Splash!

In the distance, the sound of running water reached Lin Yang's ears. His body sprang into action, moving like a cheetah as he followed the sound. Passing through a few stone rooms, he arrived at a clearing where a crystal-clear spring emerged. The gentle sound of water echoed from within the spring. Lin Yang squatted down and cupped his hands, scooping up a handful of the refreshing water.

"There must be an underground river beneath this place!" Lin Yang's gaze traced the path of the spring as it flowed out from underground, forming a meandering stream in the palace and disappearing into a dark hole.

Standing up, he continued his exploration, walking a few hundred steps forward. After traversing several more stone rooms, Lin Yang pushed open a stone door, revealing a vast alchemy room.

In the center of the room stood an enormous alchemy furnace, surrounded by a Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams formation. A passage leading to the depths of the earth's core marked the presence of an underground fire tunnel.

It was evident that this underground ruin had been abandoned for a considerable period. The flame in the underground fire tunnel had long been extinguished, leaving behind a layer of dust. As Lin Yang opened the door, a gust of wind blew in, carrying a cloud of swirling dust with it.

He hastily held his breath, waiting for the dust to settle before stepping into the room and igniting the fire on the wall. The warm glow illuminated the ancient alchemy room.

Bathed in the dim light, Lin Yang's eyes were immediately drawn to the massive alchemy furnace at the center. It stood several times his height, its peculiar design emitting an imposing aura. The furnace had a bronze hue and exuded a heavy medicinal fragrance.

This was an extremely valuable alchemy furnace, as if it had absorbed the essence of countless medicinal pills. The pill qi permeated the furnace, releasing a delightful aroma.

Imagining the furnace's past busy days, Lin Yang pictured it diligently refining countless pills, its essence gradually imbuing it with the precious fragrance it now radiated.

An alchemy furnace's true worth was not determined by its quality alone, but rather by the number of pills it had refined. The more pills it had processed, the higher its value became, as the furnace absorbed the pill qi during the refining process.

A well-cultivated alchemy furnace required centuries of nurturing to reach its peak!

Every time such a furnace was born, countless alchemists would fight over it, recognizing its immense value.

Undoubtedly, this was an incredibly high-quality alchemy furnace! Joy flickered across Lin Yang's face. Proficient in pharmacology and medical theory, he was no stranger to alchemy. It was no exaggeration to call him an alchemy grandmaster. To an alchemist, the value of such a straightforwardly designed, high-quality furnace was self-evident.

Moving closer, Lin Yang could sense the unextinguishable aura emitted by the furnace's flame.

"This must be the furnace that nurtures the Primordial Vitality Pill, as mentioned in ancient legends!" Lin Yang's smile widened. The Primordial Vitality Pill was a divine pill, lost to time, with its main ingredient being the Primordial Vitality Exiler. The creation of a divine pill would even stir the hearts of immortals.

However, Lin Yang didn't act impulsively. Instead, he carefully surveyed the entire alchemy room. The alchemy room held immense importance for alchemists, and many would set up restrictions and mechanisms to protect their precious pills. One wrong step could result in death within the confines of the alchemy room.

Arranged neatly on the shelves surrounding the alchemy furnace were rows of alchemy gourds. Lin Yang could discern faint traces of restrictions that had once adorned the shelves, but the ravages of time had rendered them ineffective.

"The relentless passage of time proves to be the greatest enemy of even the most powerful individuals..." Lin Yang sighed softly. Pushing forward, he plucked a gourd from the shelf and gingerly opened it, catching a whiff of its contents. A spark of recognition lit up his eyes.

"Three-Spirit Revitalization Pill!" he exclaimed in awe. This pill was renowned for its rejuvenating properties, capable of replenishing and revitalizing one's spiritual essence. Unfortunately, the ravages of time had reduced the pills to mere crumbled remnants. They disintegrated into fine dust as they slipped through Lin Yang's fingers.

The shelves showcased an array of other precious elixirs, each more valuable than the last. There was the Heavenly Resurrection Salve, the Essence Cleansing Elixir, the Harmony Restoration Pill, and many others, all well-known for their potent effects and rarity.

Regrettably, the effects of time had caused the medicinal properties of these elixirs to dissipate, turning them into mere stone artifacts, devoid of their once-mighty powers.

Continuing his exploration, Lin Yang stumbled upon another shelf, where he discovered a few more coveted elixirs. Among them was the Celestial Breakthrough Pill, revered for its ability to shatter cultivation bottlenecks and propel cultivators to a higher realm.