As Guo Xingyue awoke from his meditation, he found Li Yanfeng and Lin Zhongyang smiling at him with keen interest. A bit puzzled, he wondered why they were staring at him so intently. Lin Zhongyang was the first to speak, "Not bad, kid! You've even managed to find the Rebirth Mirror. I heard from my disciple that you can also refine Recovery Pills. Impressive!"
Guo Xingyue scratched his head in embarrassment, "Ah, it's just luck, really." The two elders erupted in laughter at his response. After a moment, Guo Xingyue handed the Rebirth Mirror over to Li Yanfeng, saying, "Elder Brother, you've done me a great favor. I can't repay you adequately, but since I have no immortal essence, this Rebirth Mirror is useless to me. I'd like to give it to you as a token of my gratitude."
Li Yanfeng held the mirror, his usually calm demeanor suddenly shifting, his expression becoming complex. After a long pause, he managed to calm himself and said, "This gift is too generous; I cannot accept it." He raised his hand to stop Guo Xingyue's protest. "This Rebirth Mirror, once it surfaces in the celestial realm, will surely cause a huge commotion. My old bones can't handle that kind of trouble. A treasure belongs to its rightful owner; this mirror is destined for you. I cannot accept such a heavy gift." He returned the Rebirth Mirror to Guo Xingyue, urging, "You should keep it safe. Until you reach the Heavenly Lord realm, don't let anyone know it's in your possession. Both I and Old Lin will keep your secret; you can rest assured."
Lin Zhongyang added with a smile, "I'll be heading back to the celestial realm today. Those unworthy disciples of mine need looking after, so I'll leave the rest to you." With a hearty laugh, he vanished from sight.
Li Yanfeng, too, prepared to leave. "There's quite a bit of trouble brewing in the celestial realm due to this incident. I'll likely face some issues when I return. Before you ascend to the celestial realm, I probably won't get the chance to meet again. Young brother, you have great fortune; your future achievements will be limitless. Take care!" With that, he disappeared as well.
Guo Xingyue stood in silence in the grand hall for a moment before exiting. He understood that while Li Yanfeng mentioned "minor troubles," these issues would likely be significant. There was nothing he could do but silently wish the two immortals well. The other elders of the Jinshi Sect were still in their quiet chambers recuperating. Other than the rotating Jinshi Sect disciples on the mountaintop, no one else was present. After chatting briefly with the guarding disciples, Guo Xingyue headed back to Ye Mingcheng's home.
Time flew by, and years passed in a blur. During this time, Guo Xingyue not only guided his disciple Ye Kai's training but also continued his own studies. With ongoing research into the "Tao Te Ching," his insights into the Dao deepened significantly. Although his realm remained at the Initial Stage of Spirit Transformation, he sensed that he was on the verge of breaking into the Middle Stage of Spirit Transformation. Guo Xingyue intentionally controlled the growth of his cultivation, refining his true essence repeatedly to make it more robust. As a result, the color of his true essence gradually shifted from a mix of gold and white to a faint golden hue.
Initially, Guo Xingyue's flying sword techniques were still heavily influenced by his martial arts training from Pangu Star, so he hadn't developed much finesse with the flying sword artifacts. While his techniques were impressive enough to hold their own in battle, he knew there was much room for improvement. After witnessing the battle between Li Yanfeng and Luo Yi, he gained considerable insight into swordsmanship. Although he hadn't yet reached Luo Yi's level of mastery, he was confident he would eventually surpass it.
Over these past few years, Dong Xu and the elders of the Jinshi Sect had all been in closed-door cultivation. Whenever he had free time, Guo Xingyue would visit Baicao Sect to seek advice from Cheng Qian about the properties and effects of medicinal herbs in preparation for refining Recovery Pills. While he had gathered all the necessary materials, the absence of the elite cultivators from Jinshi Sect meant there weren't enough hands to protect the pills during the refining process. If someone were to break in and steal the pills, it would be quite the embarrassment. Therefore, he could only wait until Dong Xu and the other skilled elders emerged from their meditative states before officially starting the refining process for the Recovery Pills.
Finally, the time had come; Dong Xu and the other elders had started to emerge from their closed-door sessions. With the necessary protective force assembled, Guo Xingyue was ready to begin refining the Recovery Pills.
The open space in front of the Grand Elder's hall was filled with people, all of whom were experts; even the weakest among them was at the Initial Stage of Spirit Transformation. Dong Xu, Lin De, and Qian Yi each stood at different corners with their respective disciples from the Baicao Sect, quietly awaiting the appearance of Guo Xingyue and Cheng Qian.
Although Guo Xingyue and Cheng Qian had discussed the refining of Recovery Pills multiple times, the significance of this event warranted one final preparation. Together in the Grand Elder's hall, they reviewed their collaborative process before stepping out to formally begin the refinement of the Recovery Pills.
Guo Xingyue had enough materials to refine two batches of Recovery Pills. If he succeeded in refining even one batch, it would suffice to distribute to the promised recipients. However, these ingredients were extremely precious treasures; while Guo Xingyue did not mind using them, wasting any would still be regrettable.
Standing in the center of the open space, Guo Xingyue took a deep breath to stabilize his emotions. With a wave of his hand, a precious cauldron flew out from within him, slowly descending from the air.
Changing the cauldron's size with another gesture, Guo Xingyue placed a fist-sized fire crystal at the bottom of the cauldron. He then arranged the eighteen necessary herbs for refining Recovery Pills in their proper positions and closed the cauldron's lid. After casting a series of hand seals, a mixture of Three-Flavored True Fire and lightning erupted from Guo Xingyue's palm and shot into the cauldron. With a humming sound, the cauldron shook, indicating that the ignition was successful.
Guo Xingyue withdrew the Three-Flavored True Fire and took a moment to recuperate. He then executed another series of hand seals, channeling his faint golden true essence into the cauldron, beginning the process of harmonizing the properties of the herbs. This stage lasted a full half month; although his true essence was substantial, the consumption was still considerable. Upon completing the harmonization, Guo Xingyue quickly took a Recovery Pill to restore his energy and sat cross-legged to recuperate while Cheng Qian adjusted the fire and monitored the pill formation.
As Guo Xingyue and Cheng Qian continued their collaboration, the refining of the pills finally reached the critical stage of collecting them. At this moment, the pills inside the cauldron had taken shape, and there were nine Recovery Pills in total. However, how many would successfully be collected depended on the might of the Pill Tribulation and the ability to protect and collect the pills.