Sun Lie looked at Meng Chong and said irritably, "Your grandfather gave an order for me to help you disperse your power as quickly as possible."
"Using my method, you can get rid of all your cultivation within one night. What, you don't dare?"
Meng Chong immediately raised his eyebrows and puffed out his chest, "Why wouldn't I dare?!"
Sun Lie burst into laughter, "Good, I didn't misjudge you."
Then, changing the subject, he continued, "Actually, cultivating through a pill furnace is nothing new."
"You've surely heard of the Divine Skills, Fire Eyes and Golden Eyes."
"To master these skills, you must first possess the Immortal Aptitude for Fire Eyes or Golden Eyes, and then you must enter an old pill furnace."
"After the furnace is ignited, the cultivator must endure intense suffering for forty-nine days, without closing their eyes, and at most, they can only blink. They must fully withstand the heat and pain."
"This time, as you enter the pill furnace, you need to be mentally prepared."
Meng Chong nodded solemnly.
Sun Lie opened his storage bag and took out a large bowl and a small glass bottle.
The bowl contained an amber-colored, viscous substance, orange and crystal clear. The small bottle held red and yellow powder granules.
Sun Lie instructed, "Come, take off all your clothes."
"First, apply what's in the bowl onto yourself, and then sprinkle the powder from the bottle all over your body."
Meng Chong responded with an "oh," stripped himself naked, and took the bowl and the bottle.
He first applied the bowl's contents, then evenly sprinkled the powder from the bottle.
He gradually felt something was off, sniffing while saying, "Old Sun, why does this smell like honey and cumin?"
Sun Lie tilted his head back, took a big gulp of wine from his gourd, and then laughed, "Haha, did you just notice? Your grandfather was right when he said you were poor at all cultivation arts!"
Meng Chong's face instantly darkened, "I may not be good at alchemy, but I've eaten plenty. Spirit Food, even more so."
Sun Lie nodded, "It's been said since ancient times that food and medicine are not separate."
"The best medicine supplement is a food supplement."
"What's the difference between Spirit Food, Spirit Chefs, Spirit Pills, and Alchemists?"
At this, he winked at Meng Chong, "You're not worried I'm going to roast you till you're fragrant and crispy, are you?"
Although he hadn't met Meng Chong many times, he accurately grasped the other's character.
Meng Chong was even younger than Ning Zhuo, only fourteen, but he looked like he was eighteen or nineteen. He had the heart of a young man, was competitive, and took pride in his surname and family.
"Don't underestimate me." Meng Chong glared at Sun Lie and directly climbed into the Purple Sun Furnace.
Sun Lie burped, followed closely, and shut the furnace door.
The sound of the furnace door closing made Meng Chong's heart jump.
With the furnace sealed, there was only dim light inside.
Meng Chong stood in front of the furnace door, scanning around, immediately noticing the bottom of the furnace was already filled with various herbs.
Seeing this, Meng Chong felt slightly relieved, indicating that Sun Lie had made preparations in advance.
Just applying honey and cumin seemed unreliable initially. But considering Sun Lie's status as an Alchemy Grandmaster, this setup surely had its intentions.
At once, Meng Chong walked to the center of the furnace and sat cross-legged.
Outside the Purple Sun Furnace, Sun Lie tilted his head back, took a big gulp of wine, and then opened his mouth to spit.
Boom.
Flames erupted from the wine, igniting the Purple Sun Furnace.
Within a few breaths, the air temperature rapidly soared. The crimson firelight illuminated Sun Lie's face, making it red.
"Here it comes." Meng Chong felt his heart stir, sensing the sudden rise in temperature.
The previously dark interior of the furnace instantly brightened, filled with red light.
Meng Chong's body temperature quickly rose; the honey on his skin began to melt, cumin particles scattered their aroma, while a large amount of Mana steamed out of his pores like smoke.
At this moment, outside the Ziyang Courtyard, Sun Lingtong's eyes gleamed with a peculiar light.
His Lingtong penetrated multiple walls, catching a blurry scene.
"Excellent. Sun Lie is alchemizing, which provides a perfect opportunity to strike," he thought joyfully.
Once alchemy was initiated, the Alchemist often couldn't leave their post.
This meant Sun Lie, with his peak Foundation Establishment combat power, was temporarily out of commission!
"Array Breaking Talisman, go!"
Sun Lingtong decisively deployed his strongest move.
Sensing the attack, the array of the Ziyang Courtyard activated immediately, forming a hemispherical light shield.
The Array Breaking Talisman seemed small and insignificant, but when it landed on the light shield, it instantly disintegrated, the micro lights it emitted directly dissolving the hemispherical shield.
The array of the Ziyang Courtyard was neutralized!
"Go." Ning Zhuo, who had been waiting for a long time, flung his cloak aside.
Numerous Silent Thunderbirds shot out.
They traced arcs of lightning in mid-air, covering the front yard.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
An ear-piercing alarm erupted in the Ziyang Courtyard.
Ning Zhuo's heartbeat quickened slightly. He unclasped two storage bags from his waist, opened their bottoms, and shook out everything inside.
One by one, the mechanism artifacts grew from small to large, returning to their real sizes when they hit the ground.
Twenty brass mechanism men and forty red copper mechanism beasts aligned in formation, charging toward the Ziyang Courtyard.
Of course, the Ziyang Courtyard was equipped with guards.
Four early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and eighteen late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were alerted.
The Foundation Establishment cultivators cast spells to clear the mechanism Silent Thunderbirds.
The eighteen late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators formed a battle array, unleashing power beyond that of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment to hold their ground.
The mechanism artifacts surged like waves, while the battle array stood firm like rocks on a beach, unaffected by the pounding waves.
"Bro, Sun Lie is in the Alchemy Room, making pills!" Sun Lingtong's voice came through in a whisper.
Ning Zhuo's heart stirred, and he immediately diverted a portion of his mechanisms, sending them rushing towards the Alchemy Room in unison.
Targeting the essential for rescue!
"Damn!" The four early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators cursed but did not move.
A mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly appeared from the shadows, wielding a magical mirror that released light, enveloping all approaching mechanism artifacts.
With a flick of the mirror, the reflection on its surface showed the hidden Youthful Guest.
"There he is!" The mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with the mirror shouted, pointing out Ning Zhuo's exact location to his comrades.
Then, a figure suddenly dashed towards Ning Zhuo.
"Another hidden mid-stage Foundation Establishment!" Ning Zhuo's pupils constricted; each Silent Thunderbird circled him in flight, and his hanging whip, like a black python, stood ready.
Soon, the alley where he was hiding erupted in the sounds of fierce combat.
"Hmph! I hope this person is as skilled as Sun Lingtong claims," Han Ming glanced in Ning Zhuo's direction and started to move.
Surrounded by dark winds, she moved swiftly and silently, like a ghostly shadow.
The ghostly shadow first rushed toward the Alchemy Room. Seeing another Foundation Establishment cultivator appear at the door of the Alchemy Room, she decisively changed direction and charged to the Storage Room.
But midway, sword light flickered, and a flying sword shot out, intercepting the ghostly Han Ming.
A peak Foundation Establishment cultivator slowly revealed himself.
"Tonight, I only want the pills; I don't wish to hurt anyone." Han Ming squinted her eyes and spoke.
What answered her was a brilliant flash of sword light.