During this period, Qin Ming was also on the island, gathering several spiritual materials useful for refining the Mysterious Pill.

After some painstaking research, Qin Ming had almost figured out this Tier Five Spiritual Pill.

However, he still needed to incorporate some materials containing the Power of Time to replace a few ingredients in the original pill formula.

"Still missing some spiritual materials."

"Where can I find auxiliary materials containing the Power of Time?"

Qin Ming randomly found a cave mansion to rent in the Immortal City, then entered the Little Spirit Realm.

Thinking it over, a sudden flash of inspiration hit him, and he immediately thought of something.

It was the Tier Four Top-Grade Spring and Autumn Gu, which might be used to refine this pill.

This Gu was the supreme Holy Gu among the Demon Gu Race, ultimately falling into Qin Ming’s hands after a relentless backlash of five thousand years of lifespan. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Qin Ming immediately rummaged through his storage pouch and finally found the box where the Spring and Autumn Gu was stored.

He lifted the Sealing Talisman from the box to reveal the transparent Gu insect inside, resembling an earthworm.

As soon as the seal was opened, the Time Gu began struggling violently, trying to escape.

However, in the next moment, it was firmly restrained by Qin Ming’s powerful Divine Thought, unable to move.

What surprised Qin Ming was.

The moment he took out the Gu, a silver figure flickered and disappeared, stopping in front of him, staring intently at the Gu insect in his hand with unprecedented anticipation.

It was none other than Qin Ming’s Spirit Pet, the Silver-winged Frost Bee, showing such a strong reaction for the first time since he had been cultivating it.

It seemed that the Tier Four Spring and Autumn Gu held a deadly allure for the Silver-winged Frost Bee, as both were rare insects.

The extreme longing transmitted by the Silver-winged Frost Bee to Qin Ming confirmed his idea.

He was about to perform alchemy, and feeding the entire Tier Four Gu insect to the Silver-winged Frost Bee would be beyond what she could digest with her current Tier Three Perfection cultivation.

Qin Ming had no interest in the Path of Gu Manipulation.

Immediately, Qin Ming pinched a spell, and a streak of cyan spiritual light flashed, instantly slicing the Spring and Autumn Gu into several pieces, taking a small segment and throwing it to the Silver-winged Frost Bee.

Having received the benefit, it gleefully carried the half-segment of the Gu insect back to the hive under the Immortal Vine Tree to cultivate.

Thereafter.

Qin Ming summoned with one hand, and the emerald-green Spirit King Cauldron spun in the air before landing steadily in front of him.

Feeling the time was right, he prepared to refine the Mysterious Pill.

In an instant.

Qin Ming patted his storage pouch.

Hundreds of high-tier spiritual materials needed for refining the Mysterious Pill surrounded him.

Qin Ming’s Nascent Soul spewed out a three-colored Ancient Poison Flame, transforming into a griffin and diving into the Spirit King Cauldron to heat it up.

At this point in his cultivation, the precise preparation of spirit medicine and the extraction of spirit liquid were as easy as eating and drinking water for Qin Ming.

Moreover, he had already discussed various feasible alchemical plans with Su Yuqing in advance, so he only needed to proceed step by step.

Whether he would succeed or not was left to fate.

In the Little Spirit Realm, Qin Ming divided the spiritual materials given by the Cloud-Fishing Elder into five portions.

This meant that within five attempts, Qin Ming had to refine this Tier Five Pill, which he had never refined before.

Especially with spiritual objects like Tier Five Profound Turtle Essence Blood and Tier Five Lifebound Mystic Crane Plume, which even a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator like Cloud-Fishing Elder might not be able to gather again.

Thus, Qin Ming was more focused and invested than ever in this alchemy process.

Spiritual flames soared, and the fragrance of medicine filled the air.

After a few days passed, dull rumbling sounds of two consecutive failures in pill refining came from the Spirit King Cauldron.

Qin Ming had anticipated this outcome.

He didn’t expect to succeed on his first attempt at refining a Tier Five Pill in one go.

Qin Ming’s expression remained calm as he proceeded to attempt the third refining.

...

Meanwhile.

In the top-level pavilion of the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion.

Pavilion Master Xiao was lazily lying on the bed, holding a jade scroll of intelligence reports and carefully browsing through it.

After a while.

A faint voice came from behind the purple screen:

"True Monarch Wangyue is quite interesting indeed."

"Just at mid-stage Nascent Soul, he could make a late-stage Nascent Soul Demon Monarch retreat..."

"Now that he’s secretly advanced to late-stage Nascent Soul, he might be unrivaled within the Nascent Soul realm."

"No wonder Lii Qianjie, that fellow, is so wary of him, even choosing to cooperate... I suppose they’ve crossed paths."

"Otherwise, with his temperament, he’s not the kind to be easily persuaded."

"In that case, this palace can consider going personally."

Shortly after, she took out a Sound Transmission Talisman and sent a message outside.

Before long.

Lii Qianjie’s figure appeared once again within the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion, knocking on the door before strolling in.

With a slight smile, he addressed the back of the purple screen: "So, Pavilion Master Xiao, have you made a decision?"

Lii Qianjie felt somewhat confident, given the tempting terms he had offered the other party.

At their level of cultivation, the remaining time was spent pursuing the Divinity Transformation Opportunity, and few other things could move them.

But what came next.

The reply given by the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion Master was somewhat unexpected to Lii Qianjie.

Only hearing the woman’s faint reply from behind the purple screen:

"In that case, this palace shall accompany the two fellow daoists personally."

Lii Qianjie was taken aback by the words, not expecting her to agree to join.

However, with the addition of a Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator, the journey to the Dragonbone Reef had much more assurance.

He was naturally extremely pleased.

"Haha! That couldn’t be better," Lii Qianjie nodded in agreement.

Pavilion Master Xiao’s voice faintly drifted out: "In that case, there’s no time like the present. Fellow Daoist Lii, introduce True Monarch Wangyue to me, and we shall set off immediately."

"Uh... it seems we’ll have to wait a little longer. A few days ago, I went to find Fellow Daoist Qin and learned that he is currently in closed-door cultivation refining something and will need some time," Lii Qianjie explained, not knowing why Pavilion Master Xiao was suddenly interested in the matter.

She had actually agreed to accompany them to the Dragonbone Reef.

He had previously invited her several times regarding this matter, but she had always refused.

Upon hearing this, Pavilion Master Xiao also nodded slightly, "Then inform me once Fellow Daoist Qin emerges."

...

Time flashed by.

In the Little Spirit Realm, Qin Ming had already failed four times.

In front of him lay only the last set of materials.

However, with the experience of the previous four failures, he finally grasped some key insights and was close to success.

There were no excessive emotions of gain or loss on Qin Ming’s face. After cleaning the remnants from the Spirit King Cauldron, he began the final alchemy attempt.

Though Qin Ming had failed to refine the Tier Five Mysterious Pill four times, it wasn’t without gain.

While conducting alchemy in the Spirit King Cauldron, he obtained four strands of ’Essence of Wood,’ which could make his Lifebound Spirit Plant grow a section.

With a calm mindset, Qin Ming used his divine thought to control the spiritual materials floating around him, starting the final refinement.

Time passed by, second by second.

Extracting the Medicine Embryo, preparing the medicinal liquid, merging the pill—a series of alchemy processes proceeded in an orderly fashion.

One after another, pill techniques were cast into the Spirit King Cauldron by Qin Ming.

Several days later.

Above the Spirit King Cauldron, a mist of colorful light rose and spread.

Chirp!

A long-missed clear sound echoed from within the Pill Furnace.

In the Little Spirit Realm, a strange phenomenon of purple energy rising from the east filled the entire space.

Suddenly, a rich and incomparable fragrance of the pill wafted through the air.

A hint of joy appeared on Qin Ming’s face as he immediately retracted the Ancient Poison Flame back into his body.

He then gestured toward the Spirit King Cauldron, where five purple-gold Spirit Pills, exuding a strong spirit essence, landed in Qin Ming’s palm.

The purple-gold Spirit Pills were covered with eighteen Dao Patterns, a unique mark of a Tier Five Spirit Pill.

Moreover, a rich green vitality emanated from the Spirit Pill, indicative of the Longevity Pill’s characteristics.

To Qin Ming’s slight surprise, after the successful refinement of the next batch, there were unexpectedly five pills formed at once.

"It seems the last method Brother Su offered is feasible."

Qin Ming immediately took out an exquisite jade bottle, placed four Mysterious Pills inside, and affixed a Spirit Talisman to prevent medicinal power from escaping.

Afterward.

He consumed the remaining Mysterious Pill, allowing its medicinal power to dissolve within him.

Mysteriously, the vitality within Qin Ming immediately grew denser.

His original lifespan of five thousand six hundred years suddenly increased by five hundred years, reaching six thousand one hundred years.

"Henceforth, I can be counted among the ranks of the Tier Five Pill Saints."

Tier Five Pill Saints are scarcely found even when surveying the Human Realm, and even among Divinity Transformation Sects, there are no such high-tier Alchemists.

They are all hidden and elusive old monsters.

Feeling the changes within him, Qin Ming’s heart couldn’t contain his joy.

He tidied up the remnants on the ground and suddenly remembered his agreement with Lii Qianjie.

By now, over half a month had passed, and that old fellow must be quite anxious.

Having finished everything, he adjusted his aura, mindful that residual medicinal power might still be detectable by some high-tier cultivators.

Just as Qin Ming stepped out of the cave mansion in the city, he saw that two Sound Transmission Talismans from Lii Qianjie were left at the door.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, if you have emerged from seclusion, please inform me."

His eyes flickered a few times, and he immediately contacted the other party.

Before long.

Lii Qianjie’s figure appeared before him; he smiled wryly, "Fellow Daoist Qin, choosing to enter seclusion at a critical moment, I almost thought our plan was going to be canceled..."

"I, Qin, coincidentally seized a fortuitous moment during the ritual refinement of a Spiritual Treasure, which delayed me slightly. I apologize for keeping you waiting, Fellow Daoist Lii," Qin Ming replied with a faint smile, "In that case, let’s set off now."

However, Lii Qianjie, with a peculiar expression, stopped Qin Ming: "Hold on, Fellow Daoist Qin... Another fellow is joining us on this journey to the Dragonbone Reef to gather fruits."

"Oh? Who is it? I, Qin, have no intention of increasing unnecessary variables during the fruit gathering," Qin Ming asked with a frown.

The implication of his words was very clear: an increase in numbers could affect the distribution of Spirit Fruits.

Though Qin Ming didn’t care much about this, as even a single Spirit Fruit would allow him to ripen a complete Heart Inquiry Fruit Tree, it would nonetheless consume considerable effort and time.

Lii Qianjie hurriedly explained, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Qin, she is not an outsider but Pavilion Master Xiao of the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion. She has a Nascent Soul Great Perfection Cultivation. With her joining, our chances in this journey will be much greater..."

He still hadn’t mentioned the characteristic of the Heart Inquiry Fruit "withering immediately upon detachment," which required Pavilion Master Xiao’s Spiritual Treasure for harvesting.

At that moment.

A spiritual light flashed and descended in front of the two, accompanied by a scent reminiscent of osmanthus and orchid.

Revealing a tall woman dressed in purple, her skin as white as jade, like congealed fat, her face adorned with a thin veil concealing her appearance.

It seemed to be a high-tier hidden Spiritual Treasure, making it impossible to see her face clearly.

Her voice, melodious and pleasant, spoke:

"I am Xiao Xun, greetings to Fellow Daoist Qin, I’ve long admired your name."