Chapter 1522 : A New Emperor Rises

The two Demon Race Great Emperor [titles for supreme rulers of the demonic races] clashed with the group for over a hundred exchanges, finally realizing their opponents were quite formidable.

"Withdraw for now!"

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the Crimson Dragon Great Emperor immediately activated his Crimson Dragon Heaven-Refining Furnace [a legendary furnace artifact] to force the group back, then retreated with Bixi the Great Emperor in tow.

The group's battle fervor was at its peak. Seeing the two Demon Race [the collective term for demonic beings] figures flee, they were eager to give chase. Fortunately, Eldrin Chen held them back.

"Let's go."

Eldrin Chen led the group away without delay. Once outside the Crimson Dragon Nebula, he cast a solemn glance back at the swirling cosmic cloud, his expression grave.

Noticing this, Exquisite Jiang inquired, "What is it?"

"That Bixi the Great Emperor seems to be a newly ascended Great Emperor [a supreme rank among cultivators]. He was outside our calculations. This is not good news."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone present grew slightly somber.

It was clear. The unexpected presence of an additional Bixi the Great Emperor had significantly disrupted their original plans.

The Violet Mystery Path Master pondered for a moment before speaking. "The resources within this stretch of heaven and earth have been nearly exhausted. Logically, the Crimson Dragon Nebula should find it difficult to sustain a newly ascended powerhouse of the Primordial Unity Realm."

"If my deduction is correct, the reason Bixi the Great Emperor was able to achieve his breakthrough was due to support from the True Dragon Grotto-Heaven."

"That is precisely what concerns me."

Eldrin Chen nodded, his expression grave. "For such a True Dragon Grotto-Heaven to expend resources without hesitation to nurture a Primordial Unity Realm powerhouse... the underlying motive behind this is worthy of deep contemplation."

Glazed Divine Lord's brow furrowed slightly. "Are you suggesting there is a conspiracy behind this?"

"It seems likely."

Eldrin Chen gave another nod. "However, this matter is not our immediate concern. Our priority now is to swiftly refine the Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill and bolster our own strength."

With that said, Eldrin Chen wasted no time and immediately headed for the Netherworld Small Universe.

Upon their return to the Netherworld Small Universe, the group gathered within a Great Hall, pooling together all the spoils from their expedition.

"This time, our harvest is sufficient to propel our cultivation forward by leaps and bounds."

Gazing upon the treasures before him, Eldrin Chen could not help but smile as he spoke.

Upon hearing his words, the others also revealed smiles of their own.

The harvest from this venture could be described as exceptionally bountiful, a rarity in itself.

The treasures they had obtained were beyond counting. Among them, the Inner Pills of Eighth Rank High-Grade alone numbered close to thirty.

These included twenty-two Immortal Phoenix Inner Pills and five True Dragon Inner Pills, both of which are crucial primary ingredients for the Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill.

Beyond these more common World-Opening Marvels, the most precious treasures, those of Eighth Rank Supreme Grade, numbered roughly four.

These four supreme-grade treasures were: the Heaven Trigram Pure Energy, the Phoenix Plume, the Phoenix Inner Pill, and the Ice Phoenix Sky-Freezing Wheel.

Among these treasures, the Heaven Trigram Pure Energy is one of the two primary ingredients required for the Pill of Polarity Enlightenment.

Having now obtained it, Eldrin Chen had a faint premonition that the day of his Primordial One Limitless Rule reaching its Great Perfection might be close at hand.

The Phoenix plume, meanwhile, is the finest material for crafting immortal garments and Immortal Treasures. Whether used for personal crafting or sold on the market, it would fetch an excellent price.

The Phoenix Inner Pill contained pure Ice Phoenix [a mythical bird of frost and ice] origin essence, making it a top-tier rare treasure for alchemy and medicine. Unfortunately, Eldrin Chen did not possess the corresponding Elixir Formula [a recipe for crafting spiritual pills].

Furthermore, given his current level of alchemical skill, he lacked the confidence to process this item without the proper Elixir Formula.

The final item, the Ice Phoenix Sky-Freezing Wheel, was an ice-attributed World-Opening Supreme Treasure [a treasure of the highest order, capable of shaping nascent worlds]. Its immense value went without saying.

After comprehending the preciousness of these four treasures, Eldrin Chen addressed Glazed Divine Lord and Violet Mystery Path Master: "This Heaven Trigram Pure Energy [a primordial energy aligned with the cosmic trigrams] is of great use to me. As for the remaining three treasures, each of you may choose one."

Upon hearing this, both Glazed Divine Lord and Violet Mystery Path Master gave slight, acknowledging nods.

Eldrin Chen was not only the mastermind behind this operation targeting the Solar Realm Small Universe, but the combat prowess displayed by the Chen Immortal Clan had also been formidable. It was only right that he received the largest share.

With that thought, Glazed Divine Lord selected the Ice Phoenix Sky-Freezing Wheel. As a Seven-Colored Immortal Clam [a divine mollusk that commands seven elemental attributes], she wielded power over multiple elements, ice among them, and could naturally refine this treasure.

Violet Mystery Path Master, meanwhile, took the Phoenix [the legendary firebird] plume. Its attributes did not align with his own path, so he would have to reserve it for a future Barter Convention [a grand gathering for cultivators to trade rare items] to exchange it away.

The final Phoenix Inner Pill from the Ice Phoenix was also exceptionally valuable and thus fell into the hands of Eldrin Chen.

Having divided the four most precious treasures, Eldrin Chen had little inclination to meticulously sort through the remaining spoils.

He directly took twenty-seven Eighth Rank High-Grade Dragon-Phoenix Inner Pill [a potent pill refined from the core of a dragon-phoenix hybrid], then spoke, "These are of great use to me. You may divide the remaining items amongst yourselves."

"I shall first go to refine the Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill [a legendary pill said to grant a cultivator a chance at a supreme breakthrough]. Await my good news."

With those words, Eldrin Chen departed the Small Universe [a pocket dimension or miniature realm] with the members of the Chen Immortal Clan and returned to the Flowing Fire Star Palace.

His purpose for returning was to utilize the Fire Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated fire-attribute spiritual energy] within the Flowing Fire Blessed Land to refine the Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill.

The refinement of the Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill was no simple task. However, given Eldrin Chen's current mastery of alchemy, even using his own Primordial Solar Heavenly Flame [a supreme-grade flame of solar origin], the success rate should not be too low.

Normally, refining a single batch of Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill would take Eldrin Chen several centuries. Yet, with the aid of a top-grade Fire Vein within a Blessed Land [a land of exceptional spiritual fortune], this time could be shortened to within a single Sixty-Year Cycle [a cycle of sixty years, a significant temporal unit in cultivation].

Returning to the matter at hand, upon arriving back at the Flowing Fire Blessed Land, Eldrin Chen proceeded directly to the Alchemy Chamber.

To save time, he enlisted the help of Exquisite Jiang and Verdant Consort to prepare the auxiliary ingredients. Working together, they successfully refined the first batch of Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill in a mere fifty years.

Although this was the first batch of Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill Eldrin Chen had ever attempted, the success rate was remarkably high, yielding four perfect pills.

Not long after, Eldrin Chen commenced a second refinement. Once again, the alchemical process was a success, producing another four Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill.

By the time of the third batch of Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill, there was a significant breakthrough, resulting in the successful refinement of five pills.

"With ample spiritual power and profound cultivation, refining Eighth Rank High-Grade Pill truly becomes much easier," he mused.

Gazing upon the thirteen Dragon-Phoenix Ascension Pill, Eldrin Chen could not help but reveal a faint smile.

Back when Eldrin Chen was at the Early-stage Earth Immortal realm, his success rate for a single batch of Eighth Rank High-Grade Pill barely scraped ten percent.

Later, after his breakthrough to the Middle Stage Earth Immortal realm, his success rate for Eighth Rank High-Grade pills had already reached a full thirty percent.

Now, his alchemical skill remained at the Eighth Rank High-Grade level, but with his cultivation advancing once more, he could effortlessly achieve a success rate of forty, even fifty percent.

This rate of success had already surpassed the limits of a typical Eighth Rank High-Grade Alchemist.

For an ordinary alchemist, achieving a thirty percent success rate with Eighth Rank High-Grade Pill would qualify them to attempt the breakthrough to Eighth Rank Supreme Grade Alchemist.

With a forty percent success rate, refining just two or three batches of Eighth Rank Supreme Grade pills would give one a high probability of crossing the threshold into Eighth Rank Supreme Grade.

However, the Spirit Herb required for Eighth Rank Supreme Grade Immortal Pill were far too precious. Even the most affordable Immortal Pill used solely for restoring spiritual power, the 'Star Sea Essence Restoration Pill', had material costs exceeding three million Immortal Source.

Therefore, for an alchemist to break through to the Eighth Rank Supreme Grade [the pinnacle of alchemical mastery] is no simple feat.