Chapter 59
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Chapter 59: The Pill Furnace Gains Awareness
"Damn it, are you fooling me?" Yuan Zhenggang seized the old steward’s collar and bellowed, "How could this happen?"
"Young master, I wouldn’t dare lie about such a grave matter! Haven’t you noticed even the guards vanished? They fled after learning the Yuan family’s ruin!" the old steward cried bitterly.
"What exactly happened? Speak now!" Yuan Zhenggang demanded, tears streaming down his face.
Once a privileged young master from a bustling great family clan with dozens of cultivators across its branches, he now emerged from a month of closed-door training to find himself utterly abandoned. The brutal slaughter of his entire kin was unbearable.
The old steward hastily recounted the feud between the Yuan family and Fang Lie without omitting details.
Yuan Zhenggang’s fury blazed as he gnashed his teeth. "Fang Lie, you cursed mutt! I’ll exterminate your whole bloodline!"
Though the steward’s account remained factual—the Yuan family had framed Fang Lie first before attempting his murder, making their deaths justified—family disciples like Yuan Zhenggang saw differently. To them, bullying others showed superiority, enduring injustice was expected, and resistance became an unforgivable crime. Annihilating his family? An eternal vendetta!
"Where’s Fang Lie? I’ll kill him!" Yuan Zhenggang roared.
"Master, don’t be reckless!" The steward yanked his sleeve. "Fang Lei somehow obtained an undying nature. Even the Great Heaven Fierce Fire Formation failed to kill him! You’re the Yuan family’s last cultivator—if you perish, our clan ends!"
"So I’m to swallow this insult?" Yuan Zhenggang spat.
"Seek your teacher’s counsel," the steward urged. "He’s wise and may guide you."
Yuan Zhenggang soared toward his master’s cave dwelling, hoping for aid. Yet outside the dwelling, his two senior brothers intercepted him, declaring their master’s order: confinement under the guise of closed-door training.
Stunned, Yuan Zhenggang realized this was imprisonment. His once-affectionate master now shunned him; his formerly deferential senior brothers sneered mockingly. The truth struck him—without the Yuan family’s influence, he became just another Mo Sect disciple. His mediocre talent warranted no attention from a Nascent Soul True Immortal nor respect from peers.
The imprisonment likely stemmed from his master fearing Fang Lie’s retaliation. Swallowing his pride, Yuan Zhenggang followed obediently. In this merciless world where the weak were devoured, resistance meant death. He’d bide his time like a coiled serpent—rebuilding his clan and avenging his parents demanded survival. For now, he retreated into shadows, nurturing vengeance.
But this did not mean Yuan Zhenggang would give up. On the contrary, he’d already planted seeds of hatred, silently awaiting their maturation.
After returning home, Fang Lie laughed with his numerous younger siblings, animatedly recounting recent events while omitting his own punishment. He exaggerated Zhou Hongjian’s humiliating suspension until the children roared with laughter – though Bing, Huo, Du, and Long alone knew the true extent of his suffering.
During subsequent days, Fang Lie gathered low-grade herbs to craft ordinary cultivation pills. Producing Flawless Pills for Qi Sea level cultivators proved simple, soon yielding a sizable batch.
These Flawless Pills held dual advantages: multiplied efficacy and zero impurities eliminating Pill toxin risks. Unlike regular pills requiring cautious dosage, they could be consumed freely. Their superiority was undeniable – cultivation efficiency multiplied exponentially using these pristine pills.
Market prices reflected this, with Flawless-grade spirit pills costing tenfold more than standard versions, though availability remained scarce. Fang Lie’s current batch served internal use only; earning spirit stones required higher-tier pills yielding better profits with less effort.
While repeatedly using his damaged Pill Furnace, Fang Lie noticed something astonishing – its internal fractures were gradually healing. Puzzled, he consulted the old bird, who investigated and jubilantly announced: "You’ve obtained treasures! This furnace approaches sentience!"
All earthly things nourished by sufficient Spiritual Energy may develop awareness, though lifeless objects like stones or gems require millennia. Yet such awakened entities become extraordinarily potent, like Five Elements Primordial Embryos embodying elemental essences.
Though originally ordinary, this furnace possessed remarkable fortune. Mass-produced during Mo Sect’s founding to supply pills, it outlasted countless counterparts across epochs. Constant alchemy operations kept it perpetually bathed in medicinal energies.
Over millennia, minuscule Spiritual Energy absorption from each batch accumulated into colossal reserves, nearly sparking consciousness. However, Heavenly Dao opposes nonliving entities gaining awareness, often smiting them with tribulations.
Recently, an incompetent alchemist’s ingredient error caused catastrophic explosion, wrecking the furnace’s internal formations. Despite its fragile frame and nascent intelligence, complete destruction was averted – endless medicinal saturation had altered its fundamental nature, granting self-repair capacity through continued alchemical nourishment.
Mistaken for broken junk, it was discarded until Fang Lie purchased it for ten spirit stones. Continuous refinement using pure Spirit Pill Essence delighted the furnace’s dim awareness, accelerating recovery.
After ten days, Fang Lie recognized its true value – a near-sentient Pill Furnace! Aware objects possess limitless growth potential, akin to treasures housing item spirits. Even initially weak specimens rapidly advance into peerless artifacts.
Overjoyed yet alarmed, Fang Lie suddenly realized: "Disaster! My treasure’s missing its lid!"
