Sun Lie looked at Meng Chong and said unkindly, "Your grandfather has given the order to help you quickly disperse your power."
"With my method, your cultivation will vanish in one night. What, are you afraid?"
Meng Chong immediately raised his eyebrows and puffed out his chest, "Why would I be afraid?!"
Sun Lie burst into loud laughter, "Good, I didn't misjudge you."
In a turn of speech, he added, "Actually, relying on a pill furnace for cultivation has always been done."
"You must have heard of the divine skill Fire Eyes and Golden Eyes."
"To master this skill, you first need to have the immortal aptitude of either Fire Eyes or Golden Eyes, then enter an old Pill Furnace."
"Once the furnace is opened, a cultivator must endure the agony for forty-nine days, keeping their eyes open the whole time, only blinking at most. You must fully bear the smoke and flames, enduring the pain with determination."
"You should be mentally prepared when you enter the Pill Furnace this time."
Meng Chong nodded solemnly.
Sun Lie opened his storage bag and took out a large bowl and a small glass bottle.
Inside the bowl was an amber-like sticky substance, orange and translucent. The small bottle contained red and yellow powdered granules.
Sun Lie instructed, "Come on, take off all your clothes."
"First, apply what's in the bowl, then sprinkle the powder from the bottle all over your body."
Meng Chong made a sound of agreement, stripped himself bare, and took the bowl and the small bottle.
He applied the contents of the bowl first, then evenly sprinkled the powder from the bottle.
He gradually sensed something was off, sniffing the air and said, "Old Sun, why does it smell like honey and cumin?"
Sun Lie tilted his head back, took a big swig of wine from the gourd, and laughed, "Haha, you just realized? Your grandfather said your skills in the Cultivation Hundred Skills are extremely poor, and he wasn't wrong!"
Meng Chong's face immediately turned dark, "I may not be good at alchemy, but I have eaten quite a few Spirit Pills, and even more Spirit Food."
Sun Lie nodded, "Since ancient times, medicine and food have been inseparable."
"The best medicine is food therapy."
"What's the difference between Spirit Food, Spirit Chefs, Spirit Pills, and Alchemists?"
Saying this, he winked at Meng Chong, "You wouldn't worry that I'm going to cook you, making you deliciously crispy, right?"
Even though he hadn't met Meng Chong many times, he had accurately grasped the latter's personality.
Meng Chong was even younger than Ning Zhuo, only fourteen years old, but he looked like he was eighteen or nineteen. He had the mindset of a young boy, competitive and proud, and he took pride in his surname Meng and his family.
"Do not underestimate me." Meng Chong glared at Sun Lie, then directly climbed into the Purple Sun Furnace.
Sun Lie belched, followed closely, and shut the furnace door.
The sound of the furnace door closing made Meng Chong's heart skip a beat.
The Pill Furnace sealed shut, with only dim light.
Meng Chong stood in front of the furnace door and scanned his surroundings, immediately noticing that the bottom of the Pill Furnace was already filled with various herbs.
Seeing this, Meng Chong felt slightly reassured, which indicated that Sun Lie had already made preparations.
It seemed unreliable that they had smeared him with honey and cumin, but considering Sun Lie's identity as an Alchemy Grandmaster, this arrangement must have some purpose.
Immediately, Meng Chong walked to the center of the Pill Furnace and sat down cross-legged.
Outside the Purple Sun Furnace, Sun Lie tilted his head, took a big sip of wine, and then breathed out.
Whoosh.
The wine fire spewed out, igniting the Purple Sun Furnace.
In a few breaths, the temperature in the air rose sharply. The red firelight cast Sun Lie's face into a full red glow.
"Here it comes." Meng Chong's heart moved, perceiving the temperature surge.
The once dim interior of the Pill Furnace instantly became bright, filled with a red glow.
Meng Chong's body temperature rapidly rose, causing the honey on his skin to melt and the cumin granules to emit a strong fragrance. Simultaneously, a large amount of Mana steamed out of his pores like smoke.
At this moment, outside the Ziyang Courtyard, Sun Lingtong's eyes were flashing with a strange light.
His Lingtong saw vague scenes through multiple walls.
"Excellent. Sun Lie is alchemizing, this is a perfect opportunity to strike." He felt a surge of excitement in his heart.
Once alchemy began, the Alchemist often could not leave even for a step.
This meant that Sun Lie, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, was temporarily incapacitated!
"Array Breaking Talisman, go!"
Sun Lingtong acted decisively, deploying the strongest means directly.
Detecting the attack, the array of the Ziyang Courtyard activated instantly, forming a hemispherical light shield.
The Array Breaking Talisman seemed small and insignificant, but as it landed on the light shield, it immediately disintegrated and the light emitted dispelled the hemispherical light shield entirely.
The array of the Ziyang Courtyard failed!
"Go." Ning Zhuo, who had been waiting for a long time, swung his cloak.
A plethora of Mechanical Thunder Silence Birds shot out.
They traced arcs of lightning in mid-air, covering the front yard.
Clang, clang, clang!
An ear-piercing alarm bell resounded in the Ziyang Courtyard.
Ning Zhuo's heart beat slightly faster. He unraveled two storage bags from his waist, clutching the bottoms and emptying the contents.
One by one, the mechanical artifacts expanded from small to large, restoring to their true sizes upon touching the ground.
Twenty brass mechanical men, along with forty red copper mechanical beasts, were lined up orderly, charging toward the Ziyang Courtyard.
Naturally, the Ziyang Courtyard had its guards equipped.
Four Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators and eighteen Qi Refinement Late Stage cultivators were all alarmed.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators performed spells, clearing away the Mechanical Thunder Silence Birds.
The eighteen Qi Refinement Late Stage cultivators formed a battle formation, unleashing power surpassing the Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage, firmly holding their positions.
The mechanical artifacts surged like a tide, while the battle formation stood like rocks on the seashore, unmoved by the rushing tide.
"Brother, Sun Lie is alchemizing in the alchemy room!" Sun Lingtong's voice passed over in secrecy.
Ning Zhuo felt a shift in his heart, immediately dispatching a portion of the mechanical artifacts, all rushing towards the alchemy room.
Attack to save!
"Damn!" The four Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivators cursed, but did not move.
A Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator suddenly appeared from the shadows, wielding a Magic Mirror, releasing mirror light to encompass all the advancing mechanical artifacts.
The mirror flickered again, and the mirror surface revealed a hidden youthful guest.
"There he is!" The Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage cultivator holding the mirror shouted, pointing out Ning Zhuo's specific location to his companions.
Thus, a figure darted away like electricity.
"Another hidden Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage!" Ning Zhuo's pupils contracted slightly as the Mechanical Thunder Silence Birds swirled around him, while the youthful guest's whip-like arms raised like black pythons, ready for battle.
Soon, the narrow alley where he was hiding erupted with the sounds of fierce combat.
"Hmph! Hope this one is as skilled as Sun Lingtong claimed." Han Ming glanced in Ning Zhuo's direction and swiftly took action.
Her entire body surrounded by eerie wind, moving swiftly and silently, like a ghostly shadow.
The ghostly shadow flew first toward the alchemy room but swiftly redirected toward the storage room upon seeing another Foundation Establishment cultivator emerge at the alchemy room's entrance.
Unexpectedly, along the way, sword light flickered, and a flying sword shot out, intercepting the ghostly shadow of Han Ming.
A Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator slowly appeared.
"Tonight, I only seek pills, I don't wish to harm anyone." Han Ming narrowed her eyes and spoke.
In response, there was only a sharp flash of sword light.