“The Seven Thunders Pill requires seven minor pills as its ingredients. This jade slip shows how to make the first of the seven. There are enough materials there to make two of them. That’s all there is, so you only have two chances. If you fail, we have no hope of leaving.” He tossed her the pill furnace along with an empty bag of holding. Without another word, he sat down cross-legged next to the cave, his eyes closed in meditation.
Chu Yuyan’s brow furrowed. She quietly lifted up the pill furnace and placed the medicinal plants into the bag of holding. Next, neared the earthly fire aperture and studied the flames for a bit. Then, she sat down cross-legged and began to analyze the jade slip.
Meng Hao’s eyes opened a sliver and he looked at her for a moment before closing them again.
The Seven Thunders Pill he had asked her to make was, of course, the Perfect Foundation Pill. Only by concocting that pill would he have the hope of attracting Heavenly Tribulation lightning, and thus the chance to break open the shield.
As Chu Yuyan began her alchemy, doubts and suspicions would no doubt begin to well up within her. However, Meng Hao didn’t care about this. The Perfect Foundation Pill required the seven minor pills. Missing even one wouldn’t do. However, the minor pills were useless by themselves. They were only effective when combined together.
Meng Hao had two of the minor pills in his possession, but of course, Chu Yan wouldn’t be able to reproduce them.
“There are a lot of weird things about this place,” he thought to himself. “I’ve been able to restore some of my Cultivation base, I should go look around. Especially at that lake of blood.”
A moment later, he stood up. Ignoring Chu Yuyan, who was currently studying the jade slip, he walked forward, disappearing into the mists.
Chu Yuyan watched him as he left, then looked back down at the Spirit Stone stuck into her bloody flesh.
“A low-grade Spirit Stone isn’t enough to activate my branding… At the very least, I would need a mid-grade Spirit Stone. Even with that, I wouldn’t be completely confident of the results. It’s already been more than a month, and no one from the Sect has arrived, which proves that the shield really can suppress everything. Very well then. I’ll concoct the Seven Thunders Pill for him. That’s the only chance of getting out of here.” With a light sigh, she continued to examine the jade slip. She did so more earnestly than she had ever studied anything with her master back in the Sect.
Seven days flashed by. Meng Hao hadn’t returned to the cave. Instead, he sat cross-legged in a cave he had hollowed out in the rock wall a bit over three hundred meters from the shore of the lake of blood.
In front of him were ten Spring and Autumn trees. His face was pale and his body trembled. In his hand was an additional Spring and Autumn tree. His eyes opened, and let out a long sigh.
The breath that he exhaled transformed into a three-colored flower that looked like a demonic face. It grinned ferociously, and then slowly disappeared.
His gaze swept across the ten trees in front of him. A moment ago, the poison had begun to flare up, and he had successfully used the Spring and Autumn tree against it. “So, the Spring and Autumn tree really can suppress the poison in me.”
He flicked his sleeve, collecting up the rest of the trees. He adjusted his Cultivation base and then opened his eyes again and looked at the lake of blood. His eyes filled with determination.
“This whole place is really bizarre, as if it’s been sealed somehow. Furthermore, it has this lake of blood… I’ve been stuck in here for two months, and other than the first time we came here, haven’t experienced any real sense of danger. I shouldn’t place all my hopes in the Perfect Foundation Pill. I should be prepared in case Chu Yuyan fails to concoct the pill. This is the strangest place in this whole location.
“In fact, I have the feeling that the reason this place is sealed to begin with has something to do with the lake of blood.” He slowly stood up and walked out of the cave. He spit out an arc of electricity which turned into a mist that surrounded him, then began to slowly approach the lake of blood.
As soon as he stepped foot within the area three hundred meters surrounding the shore, ripples appeared on the calm surface. His eyes glittered, and he took another step.
The closer he got, the more ripples appeared. Gradually, roaring sounds echoed out and the dark green stone altar appeared. Waves roiled as it rose out from the surface of the lake, supported on the backs of the countless bloody bodies, whose faces were twisted in agony. The altar rose higher and higher.
The throne was there, seated upon which was the corpse wearing a mask. More than half of the altar was visible.
Meng Hao stopped, and slowly walked backward. He found that as he did so, the altar also stopped rising up, and then slowly began to sink down.
“Very interesting,” said Meng Hao, his eye