“It is naturally the Immortality Elixir!” Ye Fan said.
Within the soul sea of a certain king and marquis of the Eternal Star Domain, there was a clear imprint — the Immortality Elixir was the rarest and most precious of all great medicines. If a complete, unblemished specimen could be found and combined with other divine mineral materials, it would be possible to refine the ninth-stage perfect evolution fluid.
Unfortunately, since ancient times, not only had divine medicines been nearly impossible to find, but even seventh and eighth-stage primary divine mineral materials were exceedingly rare to come across. The most sensational news to emerge from the Eternal Main Star in the last fifty thousand years was merely that someone had managed to extract a sixth-stage evolution fluid.
“Surely you don’t intend to put the Qilin Divine Medicine seeds in there to refine them?” The Great Black Dog’s expression changed drastically as he strongly objected.
They had returned to Heaven’s Village, for these medicinal agents were far too precious to discuss at Shencan Ridge, lest they attract unnecessary trouble.
“Of course not!”
The Immortality Elixir was far too rare. That a few specimens could be found throughout the Ancient Northern Star was only because the great emperors of antiquity had passed through, having brought them from other star domains. Otherwise, such things would be nearly impossible to encounter in ten thousand ages.
Using the seeds of the Immortality Medicine to refine an evolution fluid would yield losses far greater than gains, for without other primary divine materials, it would be impossible to obtain a perfect ninth-stage precious fluid.
Moreover, even if refining were possible, one would need to weigh whether it was truly worth it. As it was known, each of the ancient great emperors had possessed one specimen, and none had been recorded as needing to refine medicines from it.
In the Eternal Main Star, when ancient divinities obtained the Immortality Medicine, they did not extract an evolution fluid from it — instead, they refined it into a Nine-Cycle Immortal Elixir!
This transcended the scope of precious fluids entirely. The effects could no longer be ascertained in the present age, and the ancient methods could no longer be fully restored.
Presently, though some great factions used pill refinement methods to temper evolution fluids, not all steps were identical to those of antiquity. Those were the secret formulas of ancient divinities, too difficult for those of the current age to master completely.
“We do not have a complete Immortality Medicine, but we do have drops of the True Dragon Immortality Medicine fluid — we could add a few drops.” Ye Fan said.
In those days, having narrowly escaped death time and again, he had obtained some True Dragon medicine fluid from beside the coffin of a formidable figure within the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, and had distributed it to everyone present. Now the time had come to put it to use.
These things were too precious to be squandered entirely in pill refinement. Ye Fan felt that injecting just a few drops would perhaps be sufficient.
“Just a few drops — don’t exhaust the supply,” Ye Fan said. “After all, these things belong exclusively to the ancient great emperors. In the future, every single drop could save our lives!”
“A few drops… that is too little. Most likely it will have no effect.” The Slaughter Saint Qi Luo shook his head; he too was participating in the discussion.
“Gai Jiuyou returned the Ancestral Ginseng fluid and the Divine Phoenix Immortality Medicine drops — he only consumed a portion of them. Let us use the remainder this time to extract the evolution fluid.” The Black Emperor said with pained reluctance.
The Divine Phoenix Immortality Medicine was rooted within the Purple Mountain. In those days, before Ye Fan was to set out on the Ancient Starry Road and return to Earth, the Black Emperor had sought out a few drops for him to preserve his life.
After Ye Fan had returned to the other shore of the starry sky, he had encountered the Ancestral Ginseng in the Changbai Mountains and had been gifted a portion of its fluid — a type of semi-divine medicine.
Ye Fan had barely used either of these two things. When he returned two years prior, he had given them both to Gai Jiuyou. Yet that peerless powerhouse had used only a small amount, returning the rest to Heaven’s Village.
These were all heaven-defying objects. Now that they were to be used in refining an evolution fluid, everyone felt a stabbing pain in their hearts. These were life-preserving treasures — once consumed, they could never be replaced.
“Let us place two drops each of the True Dragon and Divine Phoenix immortality fluids, and nine drops of the Ancestral Ginseng fluid. What remains shall be kept in Heaven’s Village — in the future, should anyone face a tribulation, these may well be the last straw that saves their life.” Ye Fan said.
These heaven-defying treasures — he had no intention of using all of them to temper the precious fluid. Some must be set aside for future needs.
Though the immortality fluid drops being added were few in number, they were of extraordinary preciousness. By their estimation, they were equivalent to one primary ingredient, sufficient to extract a fourth-stage evolution fluid.
“The primary materials are ready, but we are lacking divine supplementary materials.” Yan Yixi said with a furrowed brow.
Indeed, the number of divine materials needed to refine an evolution fluid was immense. Several primary materials were indispensable, and a large quantity of other supplementary mineral materials was also required.
“There should be quite a few supplementary materials on the Heavenly Fate Rocks — we can continue to use those. As for the rest, we will think of ways to acquire them; let us purchase them from all across the land.” Ye Fan said.
In those days, the young purple-eyed girl and her brother had been refining divine fluid near the Undying Mountain. When they had attempted violence as they prepared to leave, they had been countered by Ye Fan, who took back an entire pool of precious fluid with him.
The pool constructed of Heavenly Fate Rocks had long since dried up, but the divine mineral materials remained — and some could still be used.
“The materials they had collected were few, sufficient only to extract an initial fluid. We will need to search the entire world.” The Holy Prince said with a furrowed brow.
“If the divine primary materials are sufficiently abundant, then even if the supplementary materials are somewhat lacking or incomplete, it will not pose a problem!” Ye Fan said.
He brought out the fluid he had obtained from the Immortal Ascension Pool on Earth, preparing to use a portion of it to extract an evolution fluid.
If the fourth-stage evolution were to succeed, it would be enough to elevate Ye Fan to a higher level. However, achieving Sainthood would be extremely difficult — most likely requiring the fifth-stage evolution fluid.
Yet as long as he could advance one more step, he would be fully capable of doing battle with ancient saints!
For he was already close to possessing the foundation for it — only one more step was needed!
Likewise, Ji Zi and the Holy Prince were in the same position — they were destined to be unable to achieve Sainthood through the fourth-stage evolution fluid, as their constitutions, like Ye Fan’s, were far too formidable.
For Yan Yixi, Li Heishui, and the others, however, this was a blessing. If the fourth-stage evolution fluid could be successfully refined, they could consolidate their cultivation step by step and perhaps ultimately achieve Sainthood.
Their constitutions were not bottomless pits like those of Ye Fan and the Holy Prince.
“Indeed — since the supplementary divine materials are insufficient, let us increase the quantity of primary materials!” The Slaughter Saint said.
The Primordial Destiny Stone was as large as a washbasin — no matter how liberally it was used, it would never be exhausted. The Heavenly Fate Rock was equally substantial, large enough to have been fashioned into a pool.
“Our own blood can also be added!” Ji Zi said.
As the true son of an ancient great emperor, he had inherited the precious blood of the Void Great Dao — the most precious kind. If it were to be extracted and refined, it would absolutely be counted among the greatest medicines in the world!
“Agreed.” The Holy Prince consented. This time, there could only be success — failure was not an option, for their preparations and sacrifices had been immense.
Ye Fan also nodded. He was a Holy Body of the human race, referred to in the Eternal Main Star as the Imperishable Golden Body — his blood was of immeasurable worth. He began immediately to purify it within himself.
It did not take long before an enticing, pure fragrance drifted forth. Within Ye Fan’s chamber, the jade vessel glowed with radiant, auspicious swirling light. The golden blood within gleamed with a breathtaking luminosity.
This was the blood essence he had extracted from within himself — golden droplets rolling one by one from his wrist, their fragrance immediately filling the entire courtyard.
When he stepped outside, little bald Hua Hua was the first to come running over, gulping audibly, staring at the jade vessel with wide, eager eyes.
“He has not yet achieved Sainthood, and already his blood has transformed into precious fluid,” the Black Emperor said. “When he reaches full completion in the future — tsk, tsk, tsk, I can practically taste it already!”
From the other two courtyards came the same rich, dense fragrance — Ji Zi and the Holy Prince had also extracted their blood essence, surrounded by swirling phenomena, their life auras inherited respectively from an ancient great emperor and a primordial emperor.
“If the refinement succeeds, we will fear no saint!” The excitement among the group was palpable.
In the days that followed, everyone was busy. They split into groups, entering major auction houses and visiting ancient medicine pavilions, searching for supplementary divine materials and spending heavenly-grade currency to purchase them.
This formed a storm of activity — in a short span of time, the prices of various rare objects and exotic materials began to skyrocket, multiplying many times over.
Heaven’s Village dispatched the full force of the Heavenly Court’s people, sparing no cost as they traveled east and west, crossing Central Province, entering the Western Desert, and journeying far to the Southern Ridge.
Every day brought good news for everyone, for the people of the Northern Dipper Star Domain had never before refined an evolution fluid, and many mineral materials could still be found here, not yet extinct.
However, to everyone’s frustration, certain things could simply never be located — they did not exist anywhere on this ancient star. After all, whenever the people of the Eternal Realm sought to refine precious fluid, they would travel countless light years into the stars, entering numerous dead star systems to mine, not limiting themselves to a single location.
The Northern Dipper life source land had never been used by anyone to temper evolution fluids — it was precisely for this reason that the needed mineral materials had been preserved here, putting them on the verge of success.
In the end, the Great Black Dog barked and howled, leading some of the young people of Heaven’s Village aboard the mother ship and charging headlong into the starry sky, leaving many people utterly stupefied.
“What the hell are you all staring at? Have you never seen such a magnificently heroic cosmic champion before?”
Yet a giant dog piloting a cosmic warship was, in truth, a rather unusual sight.
They had no intention of making a long voyage — they were only searching in the nearby star domains, and it also served as a shakedown cruise to master the various operational essentials.
Over the following month, the Black Emperor truly did lead his people to retrieve some divine mineral materials, mining from one ancient star after another with considerable success.
However, after the mother ship encountered an ancient saint beyond the outer domain on one voyage, they never again risked such an expedition — for they had come within a hair’s breadth of annihilation.
“The road to immortal ascension is about to open — ancient saints are appearing in the Northern Dipper Star Domain one after another. Venturing outside the domain may invite calamity!”
In the end, they could only place their hopes on this life-bearing ancient star, hoping to find sufficient mineral materials here.
“In fact, roughly sixty to seventy percent of the supplementary divine materials have already been collected. Perhaps we can begin the refinement!” Dongfang Ye said.
“No.” The Holy Prince shook his head. Whatever they did, success was mandatory. If it failed and all these precious divine materials were wasted, it would be an unbearable loss.
“Something is wrong — all the major auction houses, well-known ancient medicine pavilions, and mining districts all have people sweeping through them now, even more frantically than we are.”
Li Heishui brought troubling news: competitors had appeared. Someone was now racing them to purchase all manner of divine mineral materials.
The one silver lining was that they had moved first and gained the advantage, having purchased nearly all the most valuable items already.
“Who are they?” Old Knife-Hilt’s eyes flashed with a cold, dangerous light.
“They are formidable adversaries. There are members of the imperial clan from Huo Lin Cave, as well as saints from Blood Phoenix Mountain, who have personally issued orders to gather all manner of mineral materials.” Li Heishui said.
“They have finally made their move.” Ye Fan nodded.
The great imperial clans, along with some ancient royal lineages, had captured several prisoners. In the days since, they had been making intensive preparations and arrangements, proclaiming their intention to launch an assault on the Eternal Main Star, while also digesting the intelligence obtained from the prisoners.
These past two days, cosmic warships had been launching into the sky at intervals — clearly they were conducting test flights.
Furthermore, certain major figures from the Eternal Main Star had survived and had fallen into the hands of imperial clans such as Huo Lin Cave and Blood Phoenix Mountain. The heaven-defying formula for the evolution fluid would certainly be extracted from them.
“We seized the initiative — their gains will not be great.” The Black Emperor said.
This indeed proved to be the case. Those dispatched by Huo Lin Cave and Blood Phoenix Mountain to purchase mineral materials were gnashing their teeth in frustration — all manner of rare objects and exotic materials, which had still been obtainable not long ago, were now almost impossible to procure.
“Very well — continue purchasing. Once the fourth-stage evolution fluid is complete, we will be capable of doing battle with saints!” Ye Fan said.
On that very day, the Slaughter Saint Qi Luo returned covered in wounds, his body drenched in blood, nearly half of him rotted away, giving everyone a terrible fright as they rushed to support him.
“This is not the first time you have been wounded in recent years. What exactly is happening?” The Black Emperor said — this was indeed not the first such occurrence.
“I have been keeping close watch on Hell and the World Between Worlds, and they detected my presence long ago. This time I was ambushed. Nevertheless, the gains were enormous — I obtained some divine materials.”
He placed a heap of luminously glowing objects on the ground, immediately drawing everyone’s eyes. They were extraordinarily unusual mineral materials — necessary supplementary ingredients — which he had managed to collect.