Chapter 44: The Eyes Watching from the Shadows

The quest for absolute perfection proved far more daunting than he’d imagined.

The thirty-third batch still yielded no success.

Qin Shu continued his meticulous review, mentally combing through every overlooked detail: Was it an issue with temperature control, divine sense pressure, or perhaps a missed opportunity during the fusion process?

After seven more attempts, victory finally eluded him no longer. In the forty-first batch, he at last crafted ten Yin-Yang Pills of flawless quality.

These pills bore a dynamic dan pattern of intertwining blue-red koi fish, evoking the very essence of yin and yang. From any angle, one would behold a harmonious balance of azure and scarlet, reminiscent of the Tai Chi diagram minus its yin-yang eyes.

“Success at last,” Qin Shu murmured, his tense spirit instantly unwinding.

Among third-rank medicinal pills, mastering the Yin-Yang Pill was paramount; once conquered, refining other pills would be but child’s play.

For forty-one days without respite, he hadn’t stirred from the prayer mat beneath him, fully devoted to this endeavor.

In the villa’s courtyard, Xiao Yan lay vigilantly nearby, serving as guardian.

Each day after refining a batch of Yin-Yang Pills, Qin Shu would reward Xiao Yan with a perfect specimen. This daily ritual persisted for a month, resulting in a remarkable surge of strength within Xiao Yan. A faintly discernible monster core had begun to form, signaling an imminent breakthrough to fourth-rank power.

As for whether his cultivation realm was stable? As a demon, particularly of noble lineage, such concepts held little meaning.

So long as power continued to grow, matters like realms were secondary—especially before reaching the Immortal Realm. The faster one’s strength increased within this stage, the better.

It’s worth noting that Qin Shu himself had yet to consume one of these Yin-Yang Pills.

Having spent over a month refining them, he’d depleted and replenished his true essence multiple times. This process further expanded his qi vessels and sea of qi considerably.

His divine sense also received significant training; now, when he extended his spiritual awareness, it surpassed eight kilometers by more than three hundred meters.

A Yin-Yang Pill, roughly thumb-sized, rested in the center of his palm.

The yin-yang fish symbol flowed gracefully across its surface, making it resemble a work of art, perfectly harmonious.

He placed the pill in his mouth and swallowed it whole.

Under the catalysis of his Karma True Yuan, the medicinal potency erupted fiercely.

The Yin-Yang Pill split into two energies—one yin, one yang—which circulated through his meridians alongside his Karma True Yuan. With each major cycle, the medicinal power was absorbed incrementally.

Simultaneously, more spiritual energy gathered from the outside world within the sealed chamber, creating a phenomenon where spiritual energy condensed into liquid form during breakthroughs.

Within this spiritual liquid, Qin Shu’s body manifested alternating red and blue hues as the yin-yang medicinal powers circulated through his meridians.

It took him a full day and night to fully absorb a single Yin-Yang Pill.

That one day and night of progress equaled an entire month’s worth of cultivation, including expanding his sea of qi and widening his meridians.

As the yin and yang medicinal powers circulated within him, they also refined his physical body.

Only the growth of his divine sense lagged behind.

Unfortunately, pills that enhanced divine sense were at least fourth-rank.

Qin Shu could indeed concoct such pills, but achieving perfect quality would require far more time than he had invested so far, making it cost-ineffective.

The Karma Cauldron spun, its true karma fire blazing as Qin Shu fed in enough materials for six batches of Yin-Yang Pills.

His previous efforts had been well worth it.

With the automatic pill-concocting feature activated, the cauldron operated six times faster than he could manually. However, it absorbed spiritual energy rather quickly, forcing him to abstain from cultivating during the process lest he disrupt the delicate balance of spiritual energy fluctuations in the chamber.

Still, there remained other tasks he could undertake: comprehending divine abilities.

Specifically, he focused on “Circulating Destiny,” the lifebound divine ability derived from the Cyan Lotus Dao Seed.

During the Qi Refinement Abyssal Tribulation, this very skill had saved his life.

Later, with the acquisition of the Qingping Sword Pill and the subsequent mastery of the Cyan Lotus Sword Art through divine sword control techniques, this great divine ability fell out of favor for direct combat due to its relatively low lethality.

However, Qin Shu never abandoned his pursuit of deeper understanding in it.

The complexity of comprehending such a profound art was immense; his grasp remained rudimentary at best.

Despite recognizing its potential to enhance the pill-concocting process, he lacked confidence in fully controlling it.

Perhaps only upon reaching the Primordial Infant or even the Primordial Spirit realm could he unlock some of its true mysteries.

In contrast, the Five Elements Great Escape proved far more accessible. Its techniques, ranging from foundational to advanced, offered a clear path for progressive learning.

Qin Shu had invested significant effort into mastering these escapes: the Void Escape within Metal, the Xun Wind Escape in Wood, the Water God Escape in Water, the Fire God Escape in Fire, and the versatile Earth Escape—all of which he now understood completely.

These escape arts matched the speed of flying swords while offering greater flexibility against adversaries.

As for Stellar Transformation, this divine ability could only be used passively.

His previous divination at the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion marked the peak of his understanding of this technique thus far.

With the Karma Cauldron automatically refining pills, Qin Shu closed his eyes, delving deep into meditation.

His spiritual world divided into five distinct yet interconnected realms, each embodying one of the Five Elements—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—in perfect harmony.

A spiritual entity traversed five interconnected realms, embodying different attributes with each transition.

In this realm of the Five Elements Great Escape, he could discern various elemental magic techniques through contemplation alone.

Accessing the legacy spaces for Circulating Karma and Stellar Transformation proved elusive; despite multiple attempts, Qin Shu found himself thwarted at every turn.

Ding!

The Karma Cauldron chimed softly, startling Qin Shu from his meditative state.

Ten perfect Yin-Yang Pills emerged, gracefully settling into the jade bottle’s mouth.

“Balance is key in cultivation,” Qin Shu mused. He stored the Karma Cauldron within his lower dantian for nourishment before rising and exiting the secret chamber.

“Master, you’ve finally emerged!” Xiao Yan exclaimed excitedly upon seeing him.

“I have indeed. It must be awfully dull here, cooped up day after day,” Qin Shu said, stroking Xiao Yan’s head affectionately. With a thought, he dispelled the villa’s enveloping mist.

“Not too bad, Master. I’ve been enjoying daily doses of medicinal pills. As long as there’s no danger, I’ve been refining their potency. In fact, I’m on the cusp of a breakthrough!”

“Is that so? My little Xiao Yan, you’re truly impressive.” Qin Shu praised him warmly. “Now then, I’m setting out. Would you like to accompany me?”

“No need,” it replied sensibly. “Xiao Yan can’t yet change his size at will. Let me enter the blood pact space; I wouldn’t want to inconvenience my master.”

“Alright.” Qin Shu, feeling pleased, put away the creature before stepping out of the villa gates and heading towards the Money God Shopping Mall.

Over these past few days, he had accumulated quite a stockpile of high-grade Yin-Yang Pills and even some top-grade ones—all ripe for sale.

A ripple coursed through his body, transforming his aura from late Foundation Establishment into early Core Formation realm.

After all, when selling third-rank medicinal pills, one must naturally project an equivalent cultivation level.

“Young Master, Young Master! He’s emerged!” Several kilometers away from Yanghe Villa District, a figure’s eyes glowed golden as they observed Qin Shu leaving. They immediately shouted into their communicator.

“Roger that. Keep him in your sights. I’ll inform our esteemed Third Brother right away.”

“Yes, Young Master. Rest assured, he won’t slip past me.”

As soon as Qin Shu stepped outside, he sensed someone watching him. Yet, despite extending his divine sense, he found no trace of another presence.

Am I being followed again?

He hesitated briefly but ultimately continued his journey towards the Money God Shopping Mall.