Chapter 296: Chapter 297: Refining the Li Fire Pill

"That’s not right. Why would he poison Xiaoxue? She’s so young, she’s no threat to him at all!" Han Xu said, frowning.

"If your sister were poisoned, who would be the most worried?" Shen Haoran asked lightly, his eyes narrowing.

"My father and I, of course!" Han Xu answered without a second thought.

"And if you learned of a Spirit Medicine that could cure the cold poison in your sister, would you stop at nothing to obtain it?" Shen Haoran asked again.

"Of course! Xiaoxue is the apple of our eye. If we could cure her cold poison, any price would be worth paying!" Han Xu said with conviction.

At this, Han Xu suddenly understood, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"I see you understand now," Shen Haoran said calmly, seeing Han Xu’s shocked expression.

"Hmph. All these years, out of respect for our blood ties, I’ve called him Second Uncle. To think he would do this to Xiaoxue and Father just for the Patriarch’s position... I was blind!" Han Xu said resentfully, his face dark.

That was it. In those few short sentences from Shen Haoran, Han Xu had connected the dots. Why his father had vanished in the Desert Land, why Han Xue’s cold poison only worsened with treatment—it was all Han Ding’s doing!

Han Ding knew Han Xue was his brother’s weak spot. So he poisoned Han Xue with the cold poison, then revealed that a Spirit Medicine capable of curing it could be found in the Desert Land. Han Xu’s father would naturally stop at nothing to get that Spirit Medicine for Han Xue.

And if Han Ding set up an ambush at the location he revealed, he could kill Han Xu’s father. Then, the position of Patriarch of the Han Family would naturally fall to him!

The more he thought about it, the more horrified he became. Han Xu couldn’t believe his own uncle would commit such a treacherous act just for the title of Patriarch!

"No, I have to go find him and demand an explanation!" The more Han Xu thought about it, the angrier he became, and he started to rush out to find Han Ding.

"Hey, calm down. The Han Family is under his control right now. If you go, you’ll just be walking to your death! This is something we need to plan carefully. The most important thing right now is to cure your sister’s cold poison," Shen Haoran said, quickly stopping Han Xu to prevent him from doing something he’d regret.

Hearing this, Han Xu calmed down and said resentfully, "I will get to the bottom of this!"

With that, Han Xu glanced at Han Xue, who was fast asleep inside the room, and sighed softly. "Brother Shen, I’m counting on you to take care of the cold poison in Xiaoxue."

Shen Haoran nodded, signaling for Han Xu not to worry. Then, Han Xu turned and left to gather the Spirit Medicines for Shen Haoran.

The Han Family truly lived up to its name as one of the three great powers of Desert City. In just two short days, they had gathered all the Spirit Medicines and the Spirit Core from the Spirit Beast that Shen Haoran required. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Looking at the two complete sets of Spirit Medicines before him, Shen Haoran nodded in satisfaction.

"Brother Shen, what kind of Elixir are you planning to refine?" Han Xu asked curiously.

"A Fifth Grade Elixir, the Li Fire Pill!" Shen Haoran said with a slight smile.

"A Li Fire Pill? I remember Xiaoxue took a similar kind of Elixir before, but it didn’t work at all!" Han Xu said with a frown.

"My Li Fire Pill is different from theirs. Don’t worry, I guarantee it will drive out the cold poison in your sister’s body! Right now, I need a quiet place for Alchemy. Brother Han, do you know of such a place?" Shen Haoran said with a mysterious smile.

"A quiet place? Yes, you can use my usual cultivation spot. No one will disturb you there!" After speaking, Han Xu led Shen Haoran to the place where he usually went into seclusion for Cultivation.

Looking at the serene surroundings, Shen Haoran nodded in satisfaction and said, "Please stand guard for me, Brother Han. Don’t let anyone disturb me!"

After giving a few more instructions, Shen Haoran stepped into the Cultivation Room.

Sitting cross-legged on a cattail mat, Shen Haoran took a deep breath. ’It’s been a long time since I’ve performed Alchemy. To jump right into refining a Fifth Grade Elixir like the Li Fire Pill... I’m not entirely confident.’

THUD... With a wave of his hand, a jet-black, ancient Pill Furnace appeared before him. This was the one Shen Haoran had obtained from the Alchemy Room in that Secret Realm, and he had never used it before!

Gently stroking the sharp, angular carvings on the black Pill Furnace, Shen Haoran’s gaze focused, and his expression turned solemn.

’Here we go!’ Shen Haoran took another deep breath. As he opened his palm, the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian flared to life, and the temperature in the room shot up instantly.

With a flick of his finger, he tossed the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian into the black Pill Furnace to preheat it. It was then that Shen Haoran discovered the marvel of this black furnace. As the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian burned, the giant beasts carved on its surface seemed to come alive, squirming and shifting.

As these Fierce Beasts moved, they completely sealed the temperature inside the Pill Furnace, preventing even the slightest leak.

"It even has this function!" Shen Haoran exclaimed, his face lighting up. ’This Pill Furnace seems to control its internal temperature. Alchemy with this should be twice as effective!’

"I don’t know your original name, so I’ll just call you the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron!" Shen Haoran chuckled. Then, with a grand wave of his hand, the Spirit Medicines beside the cauldron were swept into it. The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian surged, instantly engulfing them and beginning the frantic process of Refinement.

Although Shen Haoran hadn’t performed Alchemy in a long time, his skills were still there. Extracting the Essence of Spiritual Medicine was a piece of cake for him.

A few dozen minutes later, Shen Haoran had refined all the Spirit Medicines on the table into their Essence of Spiritual Medicine. All that remained was the Spirit Core of the Tier Four Spirit Beast.

With a thought, Shen Haoran directed the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian to swarm and envelop the Spirit Core of the Tier Four Spirit Beast, beginning its Refinement.

This Spirit Beast’s Spirit Core was not as easy to refine as the Spirit Medicines. Before a Spirit Beast dies, its resentment enters its Spirit Core, making the Energy within incredibly violent. Refining it would definitely take considerable effort.

Just as Shen Haoran expected, when the searing heat of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian melted away the outer barrier of the Spirit Core, a violent aura erupted and spread throughout the Pill Furnace!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The violent, Powerful Qi relentlessly bombarded the inner walls of the Pill Furnace, causing crisp ringing sounds to echo from within. ’It’s a good thing the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron is of higher quality. If I had used that crimson Pill Furnace, it probably would have exploded by now!’

Inside the Pill Furnace, Shen Haoran hastily used the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian to shield the extracted Essence of Spiritual Medicine, preventing the rampaging Powerful Qi from destroying it. After all, he had worked so hard to refine it!

Having done that, Shen Haoran turned his attention back to the Spirit Core. By now, the Spirit Core had completely shattered, transforming into a crimson Two-headed Fire Wolf that roared continuously, resisting the corrosive power of the surrounding Fire Spirit Black Obsidian!

"This Spirit Core must have been taken from this Two-headed Fire Wolf," Shen Haoran muttered, frowning at the spectral beast. To refine the Spirit Core, he had to slay this Two-headed Fire Wolf!

"ROAR!"

Just then, the Two-headed Fire Wolf noticed Shen Haoran’s Spiritual Thought. It let out a furious roar and charged directly at him...