Eternal Tale
chapter-168

"Nurture Pill, don't be ungrateful!"

Chen Xun shouted fiercely, his fingers moving with precision. One by one, rare spiritual herbs were thrown into the alchemy furnace, and fierce alchemical flames rose from within.

His eyes gleamed with intense focus as his consciousness roamed inside the furnace. He was extremely confident in his alchemy skills now.

There is no other reason but the abundance of spiritual herbs, his practiced hands, and the blessings of the celestial beings and Buddhas.

"Old Ox, set up the formation. If we're refining pills underground, how can the heavens bless us?" Chen Xun raised two fingers skyward, the fragrance of the herbs spreading in all directions and working smoothly. "Haha, it seems the sequence is a bit off; these two herbs are clashing."

"Moo~" The big black ox responded and began setting up a bewildering array around them.

It squatted in a corner of the formation, its big eyes staring at Chen Xun as he refined the pills with one hand and took notes in a small booklet with the other.

"Moo~~" The big black ox let out a cry, thinking that its big brother was indeed becoming more formidable.

It reminded me of when Chen Xun used to blow up the furnace, wasting many spiritual herbs without being able to produce even a single Qi Condensation pill.

The big black ox grinned at the thought, its tail gently swaying. It wanted to follow its big brother forever.

A year passed silently through spring and summer.

Chen Xun was still refining pills, but he had already figured out the correct pill formula.

The big black ox frequently fetched spiritual herbs from underground, staying by Chen Xun's side and occasionally performing rituals with an incense burner.

"So that's it. The potency ratio of these Nascent Soul herbs can indeed be traced." Chen Xun occasionally muttered to himself, filling pages of his small booklet, "I feel like I can create my own pill formulas in the future."

"Moo~" The big black ox nodded to itself in the distance, as if responding to him.

Chen Xun glanced at the big black ox at the edge of the formation, smiling inexplicably. He felt an immense peace of mind and continued his research.

He believed that their breakthrough pills needed to have those pill patterns, eliminating the need for external spiritual energy, as the potency would suffice.

One by one, inferior Nurture Pills gradually took shape in the alchemy furnace, only to turn into a puddle of waste liquid at the last moment.

Chen Xun was never discouraged, hardly resting; his alchemy skills were honed to a terrifying level in the underground forest cave.

The big black ox would read the formation books whenever it saw Chen Xun tired. It never felt boring, knowing there was still much to learn.

...

Time was never harsh to Chen Xun and the big black ox, and the years were never complicated. Eight more years passed.

News had already spread from the Northern Territory that the cultivators of the Qian Nation were even waging war against the eastern nations at the borders, encircling and attacking reinforcements.

The flames of war seemed to be spreading everywhere, with everyone understanding that there are no whole eggs under a broken nest; this was a struggle for the Dao!

On the Tian Duan Plains, a man and an ox lived in seclusion, completely unaware of the earth-shaking events in the cultivation world.

They sat on the ground, chatting and laughing, then solemnly absorbing the purple qi of the sunrise.

More than twenty Dao-patterned Nurture Pills were stored in a medicine box and successfully refined in the previous year. Now it was all about accumulation.

When the pills formed, the weather changed dramatically, but it quickly subsided. Chen Xun attributed it to a coincidence.

However, his alchemy skills had indeed increased significantly, even faster than when he refined the Five Elements Pills during the Foundation Establishment stage. His greatly improved strength was part of the success.

"Old Ox, do you remember the tribulations we faced during the Golden Core stage?"

"Moo!"

The big black ox trembled, its heart filled with fear, feeling insignificant and powerless.

"Haha, there's actually no need to be afraid." Chen Xun shook his head and smiled, full of confidence.

"Moo?"

"The tribulation corresponding to our realm has its limits. If it really wanted to kill us, it could just send a tribulation with the power of a Nascent Soul." Chen Xun sneered, looking at the fearful big black ox, "Think about it carefully, isn't that right?"

"Moo!!"

The big black ox cried out, realizing its big brother was right!

If the tribulation really wanted to kill them, it wouldn't need to go through all the trouble. A single lightning bolt, far beyond their realm, would be enough to end them.

"You see, back then we jumped to conclusions, and that led to misunderstandings with the heavens, didn't it?" Chen Xun sighed deeply, his voice rising. "Moreover, every time a tribulation strikes, it has the power to temper the body. Old Ox, don't you understand yet?!"

"Moo!!" The big black ox realized this, jumping up and eagerly accepting the wisdom of Chen Xun's insights.

Its eyes were filled with sincere reverence and hopeful anticipation, as if to say: "Big brother, keep talking; I want to hear more."

"In those days, I was ignorant and foolish, daring to confront the tribulation head-on. Truly, ignorance is fearless.” Chen Xun's eyes held an apologetic look, "This isn't a calamity sent by the heavens, but a blessing and baptism from above. Accept it calmly, there is no need to fear."

"Moo~~~" The big black ox snorted, recalling that the tribulation hadn't really struck it hard back then...

Now, with their greatly increased strength, thinking back, big brother was absolutely right. He always saw things more clearly than they did.

Though the power of the tribulation was indeed frightening, it was mainly a psychological trauma, which was slowly being soothed by Chen Xun.

"When we break through to the Nascent Soul stage, accept the heavens' congratulatory baptism with a ritual of thanks. There's no need to resist." Chen Xun's eyes were filled with enlightenment as he gently patted the big black ox, "Get ready; let's go deeper, burn incense, and bathe before breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage."

"Moo!!"

The big black ox lifted its spirits, felt its fear completely vanish, and hurried to tidy up the cave.

Chen Xun laughed heartily, starting to fiddle with various incense burners, wiping them clean, and looking increasingly satisfied.

After the big black ox had finished tidying, they headed west. Wind and sand followed them, constantly covering their tracks.

Another half-month passed. A clear, round moon hung in the sky, casting a silver glow over the desolate land.

Chen Xun and the big black ox leisurely placed incense burners, scattering some petals of spiritual herbs around, showing great attention to detail.

"Old Ox, stay back a bit." Chen Xun, relaxed, sat cross-legged in the center, saying, "Don't disturb the heavenly blessing."

"Moo moo~" The big black ox nodded frantically, leaping into the air and running far away, becoming a small black dot in an instant.

"Alas, in these hundreds of years, my five Golden Cores haven't changed at all." Chen Xun sighed, they hadn't just been cultivating in vain, "We'll have to use the pill's power to forcefully break through. Come on, big baby."

As he spoke, a medicine box opened, revealing a smooth, dark pill with a blue pill pattern encircling it. Even from a distance, one could feel its immense internal power, though none of it was emanating outward, seemingly confined by the pill pattern.

Chen Xun pinched it between two fingers, feeling quite uncertain without a mentor to guide him through the breakthrough.

"If the impact fails, the pill isn't poisonous anyway; what's there to fear?"

Chen Xun muttered, suddenly swallowing the Nurture Pill. His expression changed dramatically in an instant.

"Damn..."

A trace of ferocity appeared in Chen Xun's eyes; a feeling of restlessness arose, along with inexplicable irritability.

But in a flash, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Is this it? Breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage even affects the state of mind." Chen Xun spoke calmly, though the ferocity in his eyes grew. "But what major storms and waves haven't I seen? Continue."

The big black ox, watching from afar, saw something strange: Chen Xun's expression was clearly violent, yet his words were calm.

"This feeling is indeed peculiar." Chen Xun laughed heartily, as if the turmoil only affected his surface, not his true inner self, "Let's perform the ritual first."

His facial features twisted strangely, and bloodshot lines appeared in his eyes, yet he lit the incense unhurriedly.

At this moment, a vast medicinal power completely spread over Chen Xun's Golden Core.

**_Crack!_**

A slight cracking sound echoed, Chen Xun's face twitched, and the feeling seemed to be coming...