Chapter 240 – Mysterious Dragon Returns to Heaven Pill, Pill Tribulation Thundercloud, Base Stats Improved…

Facing the four Spirit Swords summoned by Lu Chen, the Little Gold Dragon maintained a calm exterior while his mind was roiling with shock.

An ordinary person might not recognize the true nature of these four swords, but the Little Gold Dragon could see through them at a glance.

Four Spirit Swords, four half-step Dao Artifacts.

An average Sword Cultivator obtaining just one of them could dominate their peers and reign supreme for a generation.

Yet Lu Chen had summoned all four at once.

But that wasn’t the most crucial point.

What mattered most was the familiar aura the Little Gold Dragon sensed from these four Spirit Swords.

It was as if he had encountered one of these swords before, or perhaps all four.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

How could he have never heard of this Sword Cultivator’s name within the Azure Cloud Sect before?

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he had missed something important.

Though his mind was filled with distracting thoughts, the current situation left the Little Gold Dragon no room for further contemplation.

Because the black Spirit Sword among the four had already undergone Soul Emergence.

“Roar!”

The Ink Dragon Sword, with Sword Intent as its soul, the sword body as its bones, and Spiritual Power as its flesh, transformed into a black Sword-Intent True Dragon that stood towering within the Nine Dragon Cave.

The dormant dragon had awakened from its slumber, its roar shaking the mountains.

Looking at this Sword-Intent True Dragon, the Little Gold Dragon’s expression turned grim.

Because he could see greed in the black dragon’s eyes.

This greed was undisguised, as if it already considered him a meal on a plate.

“Just a mere Puppet driven by others, how dare you compare yourself to me?”

The Little Gold Dragon snorted coldly, and numerous Corpse Dragons immediately sprouted from the Golden Cauldron.

These Corpse Dragons, upon appearing, immediately charged toward the Sword-Intent True Dragon to bite it.

But while these Corpse Dragons might be effective against ordinary opponents, facing a Harmony Realm Sword-Intent True Dragon was like throwing eggs against a stone.

When several Corpse Dragons closed to a certain distance, the Sword-Intent True Dragon moved.

It didn’t use any flashy Divine Abilities or techniques, merely raising its claws.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With each swing of the black dragon claw, a Corpse Dragon instantly perished.

Overwhelming force defeats sophisticated skill.

The Sword-Intent True Dragon’s confrontation with the current Corpse Dragons was pure Physical Body suppression.

The Corpse Dragons’ attacks were completely useless against the Sword-Intent True Dragon.

Yet every move and technique of the Sword-Intent True Dragon could directly claim the Corpse Dragons’ lives.

In an instant, all four Corpse Dragons summoned by the Little Gold Dragon had fallen.

They hadn’t been able to cause even the slightest impact on Lu Chen’s Sword-Intent True Dragon.

“Wait, wait! It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!”

A true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm.

The Little Gold Dragon had survived until now mainly by accurately assessing situations and relying on his own ‘immortality.’

But being immortal didn’t mean he enjoyed dying.

If he could avoid death, the Little Gold Dragon naturally preferred to stay alive.

Despite his previous arrogant words, they were merely attempts to intimidate Lu Chen into retreating—all bluster and threat.

But with this facade torn away, the Little Gold Dragon had no choice left but to beg for mercy.

Just as the Little Gold Dragon was about to state what benefits Lu Chen would gain by sparing him,

the Sword-Intent True Dragon standing in the cave had already slammed its claw onto the Golden Cauldron.

Sizzle!

The contact between the Sword-Intent True Dragon’s claw and the Golden Cauldron immediately produced a sound like boiling oil, emitting large amounts of white smoke and causing considerable damage to the Sword-Intent True Dragon.

Lu Chen wasn’t surprised by this scene.

During his first visit to the Nine Dragon Cave, his perspective had been limited.Even though he knew the Golden Cauldron was no ordinary object, he still couldn’t discern its exact grade, let alone deduce its effects.

But as his insight grew, he could now understand many things.

[Name: Xuanhuang Lock Dragon Golden Cauldron (Corrupted)]

[Grade: Fourth Realm]

[Effect: A dragon-locking golden cauldron forged from Xuanhuang Earth, capable of suppressing all dragon spirits in the world, locking their bodies, sealing their souls, and fixing their fates.]

[Special Effect: ???]

A Fourth Realm Dao Artifact—this was the true nature of the Xuanhuang Lock Dragon Golden Cauldron.

Although it had been weakened by the Little Gold Dragon’s thousand years of ramming and the corruption of the external Ancient Fiend Power, a Fourth Realm Dao Artifact remained a Fourth Realm Dao Artifact.

If the Little Gold Dragon had been able to wield this Golden Cauldron, it wouldn’t have been so easy for Lu Chen to deal with him.

After all, a Fourth Realm Dao Artifact was, in a sense, a weaponized Harmony Realm Dao Domain.

It was a terrifying object that could enable even an ordinary person to slay a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

And this was merely the artifact’s inherent power.

If such a Dao Artifact fell into the hands of a suitable wielder, its effectiveness would far exceed a simple “1+1” equation.

This was also why the Little Gold Dragon had been so terrified upon seeing Lu Chen wield four quasi-Dao Artifacts.

Could anyone who possessed four such quasi-Dao Artifacts be ordinary?

If given a choice, the Little Gold Dragon wouldn’t have wanted to make an enemy of Lu Chen.

But he had no choice.

It wasn’t that he refused to let Lu Chen go—it was Lu Chen who refused to let him go.

“Ahhh!!!”

Because his remnant soul was fused with the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron, the moment the Sword-Intent True Dragon seized the Golden Cauldron, it was equivalent to grasping the Little Gold Dragon’s very soul fragment, causing him to let out a piercing scream.

Although the passive effect of the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron inflicted significant damage on Lu Chen’s Sword-Intent True Dragon, the dragon’s purpose was merely to restrain the Little Gold Dragon.

The one truly making a move was Lu Chen.

With a forceful tug, the Sword-Intent True Dragon ripped the Little Gold Dragon’s remnant soul out of the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron.

In the next instant, a crimson Mystic Pill Furnace materialized in mid-air.

As if rehearsed, the Sword-Intent True Dragon seized the Little Gold Dragon and tossed him directly into the furnace.

Clang!

The moment the Little Gold Dragon was thrown into the Mystic Pill Furnace, the lid slammed shut.

Though the outcome was already sealed, the Little Gold Dragon refused to give up easily.

He thrashed wildly inside the furnace, desperate to break free from this prison.

But without the Dragon-Locking Golden Cauldron’s empowerment, his remnant soul—despite its lofty destiny—lacked the cultivation base to match.

No matter how hard he struggled, he could only make the Mystic Pill Furnace rumble and roar, utterly incapable of shaking it.

Observing the captured Little Gold Dragon, Lu Chen calmly retrieved a pre-prepared item from his Storage Bag.

“Damn you! What do you take me for, a dish?!”

“You actually want to use me for alchemy? Who do you think you are?!”

“Fine, you caught me—I admit you’re stronger. But capturing me is one thing; now you want to refine me into a pill? A dragon can be killed, but never humiliated!”

“Just you wait! Three hundred years east of the river, three hundred years west—don’t mock this old dragon in his poverty!”

“One hundred years! In one hundred years, let’s see what tricks you’ve got left! Unless you achieve Immortal Ascension by then, I’ll capture you and whip you for ten thousand years to avenge today’s disgrace!””You want to refine this dragon into an elixir? Keep dreaming your grand delusions! I’m done playing with you!”

After a torrent of colorful expletives, the Little Gold Dragon immediately prepared to self-destruct.

But in the next second, its expression turned extremely grim.

It suddenly discovered its body was no longer under its control.

Upon closer inspection, it noticed faint traces of powder lingering within the Mystic Pill Furnace.

This powder had clearly been prepared in advance, its purpose being to paralyze the dragon’s body.

How despicable! To drug me beforehand!

At this moment, the Little Gold Dragon finally understood that Lu Chen had come fully prepared.

Even preparing paralytic powder in advance – this guy had clearly been scheming for a long time.

[Name: Drunken Dragon Powder]

[Grade: Second Realm]

[Effect: Can paralyze the Divine Soul of dragon creatures, reducing their bodily control (only effective against Foundation Establishment Stage and below)]

Planning before action – the Little Gold Dragon thought this was its first meeting with Lu Chen.

Little did it know that Lu Chen had already experienced dozens of attempts to capture it.

Only after numerous trials had Lu Chen finally discovered the method to prevent the Little Gold Dragon’s self-destruction.

As for whether such methods were too underhanded,

Lu Chen didn’t care.

The process didn’t matter – only the result was important.

Besides, what’s wrong with an alchemist carrying some powder with him?

“Refine.”

Facing the Little Gold Dragon that had lost all resistance, its eyes vacant and face filled with despair, Lu Chen immediately began the refinement process.

At first, the Little Gold Dragon could still let out some screams, but gradually it fell silent.

Before long, all the essence of the Little Gold Dragon was completely refined, divided into two parts: pure essence and Shards of Dao.

Unlike the Shards of Heavenly Dao that dropped from killing the Little Gold Dragon before,

what remained from refining the Little Gold Dragon were only incomplete Shards of Dao.

Lu Chen speculated this might be because the Shards of Heavenly Dao were ‘True Immortal Cultivation’ kill rewards, not something the Little Gold Dragon itself could drop.

Without any delay, Lu Chen immediately added the previously prepared medicinal ingredients.

As these ingredients fused with the Little Gold Dragon’s bodily essence, a golden pill gradually began to take shape.

But Lu Chen’s alchemy process didn’t end there.

He controlled the Little Gold Dragon’s Shards of Dao (Minor Heavenly Cycle) and merged them into the initially formed pill.

Slowly, shallow patterns began to appear on the pill’s surface.

These patterns transformed from chaotic to orderly, gradually becoming dragon-like patterns.

And this still wasn’t the end – Lu Chen immediately added the Shards of Dao previously fused from numerous Cauldron Men into the Mystic Pill Furnace.

The addition of these two types of Shards of Dao, combined with the Little Gold Dragon’s bodily essence and the large quantity of precious medicinal ingredients Lu Chen used,

caused the pill within the furnace to become increasingly mystical.

Where there was originally only one pill pattern on the surface, two more now appeared.

But almost as soon as these two new pill patterns formed, a thundercloud silently appeared within the Nine Dragon Cave.

BOOM!

Pill Tribulation thunderclouds – this only occurred with fourth realm pills.

Or rather, the birth of every fourth realm Spirit Pill required passing through the Lightning Tribulation.

Lu Chen understood that with the appearance of this thundercloud, the refinement of this fourth realm Spirit Pill had reached its final step, and also its most critical step.

And for this step, aside from watching coldly from the sidelines, Lu Chen could do nothing.For a Spirit Pill, the Lightning Tribulation is both a calamity and a blessing.

Without undergoing the baptism of the Lightning Tribulation, the medicinal potency within the Spirit Pill cannot be fully unleashed.

Perhaps sensing the thunderclouds gathering above, the Spirit Pill inside the Mystic Pill Furnace stirred, attempting to break free from the furnace’s confinement and escape.

Yet no matter how it struggled, the Mystic Pill Furnace remained as steadfast as Mount Tai, firmly suppressing it.

Realizing escape was hopeless, the Spirit Pill began to tremble.

Fear, excitement…

Lu Chen actually sensed emotions from this Spirit Pill that only living beings should possess.

Though these emotions were faint and far from those of a true living being, Lu Chen felt that given enough time, this Spirit Pill might truly evolve into a genuine life form.

Boom!

The pill tribulation thunderclouds at the top of the Nine Dragon Cave descended without giving the Spirit Pill much time to prepare.

The Lightning Tribulation pierced through the Mystic Pill Furnace, striking the Spirit Pill directly.

The originally profound yellow Spirit Pill instantly turned charred black.

And this was only the first lightning strike.

The second, the third…

After three lightning strikes, the Spirit Pill inside the Mystic Pill Furnace fell completely still, transformed into a charred, spherical mass.

Crack!

After an unknown amount of time, a fissure appeared on the surface of the Spirit Pill, quickly spreading across its entire body before shedding away to reveal a smooth, gilded core.

On the surface of this Spirit Pill, a dragon-shaped pattern was clearly visible.

Seeing this, even though he had anticipated it, Lu Chen could hardly contain his excitement.

After so many attempts, he had finally succeeded in refining this precious four-realm Spirit Pill.

If not for the Instance’s ability to reset infinitely, Lu Chen couldn’t imagine the cost he would have had to pay to refine such a four-realm Spirit Pill.

Just the materials required for refining this Spirit Pill were often rare and hard to come by.

In a sense, Lu Chen had essentially prepared dozens of sets of ingredients needed for this Spirit Pill before achieving success.

Thus, the creation of this four-realm Spirit Pill wasn’t due to any exceptional talent in Alchemy on Lu Chen’s part—it was entirely reliant on the unique mechanics of the “True Immortal Cultivation” game.

Although it was accomplished through what some might call “cheating,” the process didn’t matter; only the result did.

Besides, he had never turned off the “cheat,” so how could it be considered cheating?

[Name: Profound Dragon Revival Pill]

[Grade: Four-Realm]

[Effect: After consumption, internal Qi becomes pure, spiritual veins expand, significantly enhancing physical attributes and cultivation potential, granting the power of one dragon.]

Looking at the effects of the Profound Dragon Revival Pill, Lu Chen was very satisfied.

What he lacked now wasn’t techniques or Divine Abilities, but the most fundamental physical attributes and cultivation potential.

In gaming terms, Lu Chen at this stage didn’t lack “mechanics.”

Whether it was the Dao Integration Realm Sword Domain or other Innate Divine Abilities, they allowed Lu Chen to fully utilize his current strength.

What he truly lacked were the most basic attributes, akin to “strength, constitution, agility” in games.

After all, in the path of techniques, Lu Chen had reached the limit at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

His Foundation Establishment cultivation didn’t permit him to explore realms beyond the Harmony Realm.

All he could do now was strive to enhance his Physical Body and Divine Soul as much as possible.

If he could overwhelm enemies with sheer stats, who would want to rely on mechanics?Without any hesitation, Lu Chen immediately consumed the newly formed Profound Dragon Revival Pill.

As a precise medicinal potency spread through his body, Lu Chen felt that at this moment… he was brimming with power.

This change was quickly reflected on his status panel.

【Name: Lu Chen (Azure Cloud Sect · Danyang Peak Direct Lineage Disciple)】

【Cultivation: Foundation Establishment Perfection (40,000,000/40,000,000)】

Only one step remained for Lu Chen to reach the 50,000,000 spiritual power required for the Transcendent Golden Core.

(End of Chapter)