Refining Grade Six Pills

The sky began to fade from black to a silvery gray. The early morning air was still filled with a thin mist, and the sound of leaves gently swaying could be heard clearly along the entrance of the Qinlin Sect. After a long battle against the giant snake of the Snake Clan and successfully obtaining the required Huangqi herbs, Lu Xian and Qin Chang'er finally arrived at the gate of the sect.

"Quick, it's almost morning. We have to refine the pill soon." Qin Chang'er said as she ran towards the alchemy room.

Their steps were hurried, almost slipping because the road was still wet with the night dew. Once they arrived at the alchemy room, they immediately prepared the furnace, ingredients, and spiritual fire.

"The first step, insert the Huangqi stalk, then light the blue flame from the spiritual stone." Qin Chang'er explained as she concentrated her spiritual energy on the furnace.

Lu Xian watched carefully and nodded.

The furnace began to emit a bright blue light. Steam rose slowly. Qin Chang'er opened the furnace lid with anticipation.

BOOM!

A small explosion occurred. Dust billowed into the room. Their faces were burnt black, their hair was a little messy, and coughing sounds could be heard from both of them.

"Ah, damn it! The first attempt failed." Qin Chang'er said as she patted her face.

"If it fails again, I'd rather stay a prisoner." Lu Xian muttered.

Without wasting any time, they immediately tried the second attempt. This time, Qin Chang'er added a few drops of blood from a sixth-level spiritual beast into the mixture.

"This mixture will stabilize Huangqi. Hopefully it will work." she said softly.

The furnace glowed blue again, calmer than before. The light that came out was like moonlight—gentle yet strong. When the steam subsided, Qin Chang'er quickly opened the lid of the furnace and found a whole pill floating inside.

"It worked!" she exclaimed, then immediately handed the pill to Lu Xian. "Quick, swallow this pill!"

Lu Xian immediately swallowed the pill, but suddenly his expression changed.

"It tastes… a little spicy and hot. Don't tell me you put chili in this pill?" he asked with a grimace.

"Normal side effects. What's important is that your demonic energy is released." Qin Chang'er replied.

But a few seconds later, Lu Xian's body began to tremble. His face turned red, and a strange hiss of laughter escaped his lips.

"What's happening? Is he… possessed?" Qin Chang'er muttered, alert.

A fiery red aura began to surround Lu Xian's body. His gaze was blank. His body seemed to be burning from the inside.

"Can't let it be… I have to channel spiritual energy to suppress it!"

Qin Chang'er sat cross-legged behind Lu Xian, placed her palms on his back, and began to channel spiritual energy throughout Lu Xian's body. Lu Xian's body shook violently, then he screamed:

"AAARRRGHHH…!!"

The sound echoed in the alchemy room. The powerful demonic energy tried to rebel against it, but Qin Chang'er held on. Her face began to pale, sweat dripping profusely.

"Just a little more… just a little more…!"

After almost two hours, the red energy began to fade. Lu Xian slowly regained consciousness, his eyes opening weakly.

"Senior… is… it done?" he asked softly.

Qin Chang'er did not answer. She immediately collapsed to the floor, her breath coming out short from draining too much spiritual energy.

Lu Xian slowly got up, realizing that it was almost morning.

"I have to go back to the prison. If I get caught, it could be bad…"

Qin Chang'er was still lying weakly, but nodded. "Go… I'll… be fine…"

Lu Xian looked at her for a moment and then ran out. Nimbly, he snuck back into the prison. Fortunately, the guards had not yet noticed.

"That was close…"

But someone's voice startled him.

"Where have you been? I didn't see you here last night." The voice came from Zhao Li, a fellow prisoner who was sitting with his back against the wall.

Lu Xian started to panic for a moment, but quickly replied, "I… I just went to the bathroom. I couldn't sleep."

Zhao Li nodded slowly. "Hmm… okay. I believe it."

Meanwhile, in the alchemy room, a female disciple entered with some tools. However, she was shocked to see Qin Chang'er lying unconscious on the floor.

"Senior Qin?!"

Without thinking, she ran towards the main hall and called out to the sect master.

"Excuse me, Master Tian Xuan! Senior Qin Chang'er is lying unconscious in the alchemy room!"

Hearing that, the sect master—Tian Xuan, stood up. "What?! Quickly take me there!"

Together with the elders, Tian Xuan headed towards the alchemy room. They found Qin Chang'er in a weak condition, but starting to regain consciousness.

Tian Xuan immediately channeled spiritual energy into Qin Chang'er's body to stabilize her.

"What happened? Who made you like this?" Tian Xuan asked in a worried tone.

"I… am just… too tired. Refining pills all night long." Qin Chang'er replied softly.

But before Tian Xuan could ask any further, a loud noise was heard from outside the sect.

"Qinlin Sect Master! Come out and take responsibility!"

Tian Xuan and the elders immediately went out to the sect grounds. Outside, dozens of Tianhua Sect members had surrounded the main gate.

In the middle of them stood an old man in a golden-red robe — Tianhua Sect Master, Zhu Hao.

"What do you mean by coming here with an army?" Tian Xuan shouted.

"Your sect has committed a great crime! Your sect's disciples have killed our first elder, Li Yuanmo." Zhu Hao said loudly.

"This must be a misunderstanding. None of our disciples would be brave enough to do such a thing." Elder Zhou Tianren said.

"We have eyewitnesses." Zhu Hao said.

A young man from the crowd stepped forward, wearing a blue robe with the Tianhua Sect emblem on his chest.

"My name is Yan Liang, I saw it with my own eyes. Two people from the Qinlin sect—a man with dark blue hair and a woman with white hair—killed Li Yuanmo and threw him into the Tianhua Valley."

Tian Xuan and the elders looked at each other. Their faces became serious. Zhou Tianren frowned.

"If what is said is true… then the only man in this sect with dark blue hair is… Lu Xian!"