Elder Han had never been this overjoyed in all his life. Even the wrinkles on his aged face seemed to smooth away; he danced with delight, laughing without pause.

And at this very moment, Ye Fan had long since returned to a state of deep composure, focusing wholeheartedly on expanding the Bitter Sea, settling his heart into cultivation.

The roar of waves continued ceaselessly — the tidal surge shook the heavens — accompanied by lightning and rolling thunder. The great din reverberated through the stone chamber, and Elder Han’s heart brimmed with longing; he desperately wished the seven days would pass quickly.

The bronze cauldron was enveloped in silver flames, continuously absorbing spiritual energy. Sacred radiance spilled outward in all directions, and the entire stone chamber was shrouded in a hazy glow.

It continued in this fashion for over two shichen before the sound of waves gradually faded and the deafening thunder slowly fell silent. The interior of the bronze cauldron grew calm; only the silver flames continued to burn fiercely.

Elder Han was not concerned. It would take seven days and seven nights of refinement before the lid could be lifted — the anomalous signs could not persist the entire time. He had long since convinced himself in his heart that this was a batch of supreme-grade divine elixirs, for it was entirely in accordance with what the ancient texts described.

Another full day and night passed. The cauldron remained tranquil — only the Fire-Sha blazing and dancing, milky-white light flickering ceaselessly.

Inside the bronze cauldron, Ye Fan had entered a state of luminous emptiness. Only now did he gradually come back to awareness. The golden Bitter Sea had once again been expanded — considerably enlarged, now roughly the size of an unpeeled lychee — golden and brilliant, like a glittering star pulled down from the cosmos and anchored within his body.

The divine markings had multiplied by twenty-seven new ones — like chains of divine iron, or like streaks of lightning, stretched across the sky above the Bitter Sea. And strangest of all: ripples had begun to stir within the Bitter Sea. From the very center, bubbles welled up ceaselessly — bursting open to form dreamlike, misty colored haze that draped itself over the golden sea’s surface, making the Bitter Sea look supremely mysterious.

Ye Fan opened his eyes and perceived the changes in his Bitter Sea with clarity. A surging vitality had appeared within him; his eyes shot forth two flashes of deep, luminous divine light. Not content to stop here, he reached out and seized the fruit of the Azure Jade Snow Lotus.

This chicken-egg-sized green fruit radiated a brilliant green shimmer that was intoxicating to look upon — as though it had been polished from the essence of green jade — glowing with gentle, crystalline radiance.

The Azure Jade Snow Lotus fruit was extraordinarily rare — the parent plant growing on a snowy mountain tens of thousands of meters high, never seeing sunlight for a thousand years, guarded by powerful demon beasts — and had cost Elder Han a full eight years before he managed to chance upon a single specimen.

The moment the fruit reached his hand, Ye Fan felt a bone-penetrating chill. The boiling medicinal fluid had not dissolved the Azure Jade Snow Lotus fruit. He tasted it the way one might bite into an apple, savoring it carefully. This time, of course, he was extremely cautious — he made not the faintest sound, doing everything in complete and utter silence — for a full day and night had already passed; by all ordinary reasoning, he should long since have been thoroughly cooked.

The green-jade-like fruit was sweet and refreshing but cold as ice, causing Ye Fan’s body to shiver involuntarily as abundant life essence raced swiftly through his four limbs and hundred channels.

In the end, streaks of green light enveloped Ye Fan — his skin taking on an emerald jade-like hue, shimmering with a strange luster — causing the temperature inside the cauldron to fall steadily, so that the medicinal fluid no longer boiled.

Half a shichen later, the sound of crashing waves erupted once more from within the bronze cauldron — far more tremendous in scale — accompanied by lightning and thunder, with the great cauldron shuddering slightly.

The entire stone chamber rumbled continuously, making Elder Han feel as though he stood facing a boundless, raging sea — his heart surging in response. He murmured to himself: “The anomalous signs have returned — the divine elixir will surely be perfected!”

Elder Han seemed to have grown ten-odd years younger in an instant. He laughed with great delight, his heart brimming with anticipation — he could hardly wait for the seven days to be over.

Wave upon surging wave, deafening thunder, lightning splitting the sky, thunder shaking the heavens — the stone chamber trembled without cease!

“The day the elixir is complete will be the day I break through!” Elder Han was in high spirits, filled with a sense of achievement — with such a batch of supreme-grade divine elixirs in hand, he felt that breaking through his bottleneck and ascending several more levels would be no problem at all.

Inside the bronze cauldron, the sounds raged and the anomalous signs were rampant — though those outside could only hear sound. Elder Han could not contain himself, pacing endlessly around the cauldron, his excitement beyond measure.

This time, the crashing waves and rolling thunder persisted for a full three shichen before gradually subsiding. The stone chamber slowly returned to quiet.

“Once the cauldron is sealed, it cannot be opened again — I can only wait until the seventh day…” Elder Han’s only regret was that he had been overly cautious and had not placed all the rare spirit medicines inside. Otherwise, perhaps even more anomalous signs would have appeared — and the “celestial radiance descending from the heavens” mentioned in ancient texts might even have become reality.

Even so, Elder Han remained fully confident. He was certain he had seized upon a great opportunity, and that nothing could change this now.

Another day and night passed. Ye Fan slowly opened his eyes — divine brilliance stirring within them, his body brimming with vitality. The wounds on his four limbs and chest had completely vanished, leaving not even a scar.

Ye Fan’s golden Bitter Sea had undergone another change — grown one full size larger, yet not expanded excessively. At its very center, the ripples pulsed with greater intensity — bubbles welled like a spring without cease, bursting open to form dreamy, multi-colored haze that enveloped that region entirely, making the Bitter Sea supremely mysterious.

At this moment, Ye Fan felt the same sense of achievement as Elder Han — their emotions, in this moment, were virtually identical.

He could not allow himself to be satisfied. He reached out and seized the Phoenix Divine Herb — it was burning hot in his hand, and he could feel surges of divine power radiating from it. Legend had it that only pure earth touched by phoenix divine blood could produce this divine herb. Elder Han had spent more than ten years journeying through countless ancient lands and ruins before finding a single stalk — a truly priceless treasure!

The Nine-Leafed Phoenix Divine Herb shone throughout like blazing red agate, with a waft of exotic fragrance drifting from it — penetrating to the heart, making one instinctively lose oneself in its scent.

Ye Fan placed it in his mouth and had barely chewed a few times when the divine herb dissolved into a sheet of blazing crimson radiance that charged into his body — instantly cloaking his entire form in a mysterious red haze, as though a burning scarlet flame were blazing within him.

Had this been an ordinary person’s body, they would have been reduced to ashes at once. But Ye Fan’s physique was extraordinarily unique — his Bitter Sea like a bottomless abyss that could never be filled. All the blazing crimson radiance converged like ten thousand rivers flowing to the sea, and in the end was fully absorbed.

In that moment, his flesh, viscera, and bones became crystalline and pure — without dust, without blemish — like a magnificent work of art, radiantly resplendent, his skin shimmering with translucent luminescence as the force of life flowed gently through him.

When the crashing waves and thunder erupted once more, Elder Han was startled to his feet again, pacing back and forth around the great bronze cauldron. “Han’s fortunes are surely blessed by heaven…”

When Ye Fan awoke once more, he found that the golden Bitter Sea had grown by another full size — though not expanded excessively. For as one’s cultivation advanced, progress grew ever more arduous. The three spirit medicines, each of roughly comparable potency, had produced diminishing returns — the first expansion thus had been the greatest.

After refining the three supremely rare spirit medicines, Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea had undergone an astonishing transformation. At its very center, colored mists billowed and rose, wreathing countless divine markings. Beneath the Bitter Sea, it was as though a volcano was awakening — bubbles welled like a spring, and bursts of radiance continuously surged up from the sea’s surface.

Ye Fan understood this clearly and felt no confusion.

Cultivators at the Bitter Sea realm must pass through several stages. In the beginning, only a small amount of life essence drifts above the Bitter Sea — and as it accumulates day by day, the essence condenses into divine markings that stretch like chains of divine iron across the sky above the sea.

As the Bitter Sea continues to expand and one’s cultivation deepens, bubbles will begin to well up. When they burst, they form clouds of colored haze. Eventually, the bubbles beneath the sea well up like a spring — like a volcano reawakening — and the clouds of haze billow upward, magnificent and brilliant.

When, on some future day, the “volcano” beneath the Bitter Sea is fully awakened, the glorious clouds will gradually transform into liquid form. At that point, one may attempt to break into the Spring of Life realm. Should that breakthrough succeed, a divine spring will begin to flow from the “volcanic vent.”

Cultivators at the Bitter Sea realm must pass through all three of these stages before they can attempt entry into the Spring of Life realm. Today Ye Fan had experienced the second stage — at the center of his golden Bitter Sea, all was nearly boiling, vital energy welling like a spring, clouds and rosy dawn billowing as though a volcano were reawakening — continuously erupting, magnificent and splendid.

“If I could refine all the ten-odd supremely rare spirit medicines Elder Han has gathered, find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and carefully contemplate the Classic of the Dao, perhaps within one or two years I could break into the Spring of Life realm…” Ye Fan murmured inwardly to himself, a quiet anticipation stirring within him.

But first, he must escape the present crisis and preserve his own life — otherwise, everything was wishful thinking.

After fully refining the three spirit medicines, Ye Fan made no reckless move. He waited quietly for his opportunity. Three days had already passed — he must wait four more days before the cauldron would be opened.

The medicinal fluid inside the bronze cauldron was entirely fit for extracting Hundred-Herb Fluid — fully half a cauldron of it. Though it could not compare to the Nine-Leafed Phoenix Divine Herb and the other rare medicines, it still contained abundant life essence. With plenty of time remaining, Ye Fan naturally would not pass it up — he sat in meditation, steadily drawing every current of vital energy into his own body.

Two days later, Elder Han began to feel something was off. No further anomalous signs had appeared, and the medicinal fragrance wafting from the bronze cauldron was growing ever fainter — until finally, there was almost no fragrance at all.

“What is going on…” He grew somewhat suspicious. At last, as though something had come to him, he murmured: “Could it be that the divine elixir has taken initial form and its essence is drawing inward?”

“Indeed — it must be so! Legend has it that when a supreme divine elixir nears completion, all its essence is drawn inward — not a single shred of fragrance escapes, not a trace of potency is wasted.” Elder Han was greatly excited. “Now it can be confirmed — I have refined the legendary divine elixir!”

Over these two days, Ye Fan had absorbed every last trace of essence contained in the medicinal fluid. His Bitter Sea was filled with welling vital energy, clouds of haze ascending — like an active volcano reawakening — radiant in swirling, colored mist and shimmering spiritual energy.

By his reckoning, two more days remained before the cauldron could be opened. Ye Fan remained perfectly composed, waiting quietly for his chance, and began refining the spiritual energy contained within the Fire-Sha — streams of silvery light flowing ceaselessly into his body.

Time passed swiftly. Two days blinked by in an instant. Elder Han roared with laughter — a sound like a night owl’s cry — as he prepared to open the cauldron lid and retrieve his “divine elixir.”

“Little brat — blame only yourself for having consumed the legendary Holy Fruit and Divine Spring. Be reborn into a better family in your next life. In this one, you were destined to come into this world solely to fulfill my aspirations.”