As they approached the Lake of Life, warm mist drifted toward them, saturated with spiritual energy.
"Zhexian, you're here?"
Xiao Wu hopped over lightly, a carrot in her hand, bare feet tapping against the ground.
"Mm."
Li Zhexian leapt down from Er Ming's shoulder.
"I'm not the only one."
As he spoke—
Ning Rongrong burst out of the bushes, panting hard.
"Ah! Rongrong!"
Xiao Wu's beautiful eyes widened, her carrot falling to the ground as she rushed forward with open arms.
"Xiao Wu!"
Ning Rongrong didn't even bother wiping her sweat as she ran into the embrace.
Five years apart—
The moment the two sisters reunited, tears flowed like pear blossoms in the rain.
Li Zhexian didn't interrupt their reunion.
He walked quickly to the lakeside, gazing at the girl lying quietly on the lotus leaf—
his eyes filled with gentle warmth.
Before long—
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong walked over hand in hand.
"Zhexian, Rongrong said… you really obtained the Blood of a God?!"
"Hmm?!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python, resting coiled nearby, and the Titan Giant Ape—who was inspecting his cape—both raised their heads sharply.
"Blood of a God?!"
"Brother Zhexian, you actually managed it?!"
They had long heard from Xiao Wu that Li Zhexian sought three spiritual items to save the girl in the lake.
Compared to human Titled Douluo like Chen Xin or Feng Bailong,
Da Ming and Er Ming—whose path to godhood had long been cut off—
thought this task was nearly impossible.
"Mm."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing, even Li Zhexian's calm heart stirred with uncontrollable emotion.
He faced Da Ming and Er Ming and said:
"Honored Seniors, I will begin refining the spiritual item immediately!"
"Several of my Seniors are guarding outside the forest—
as for the forest interior, I leave it to you two!"
"Rest assured!"
With a sweep of wind—
Da Ming, Er Ming, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong all retreated, leaving the lakeside open.
The Spirit Master was placed atop the canopy of a giant tree so he could clearly observe and record everything.
The surroundings fell silent.
Only the lake light and mountain shadows remained.
Li Zhexian took a deep breath, slowly closing his eyes as his aura steadied.
After one full hour—
He reached peak condition.
His eyes snapped open—
Two streaks of glazed sword-light shot out.
With a sweep of his sleeve, three jade bottles floated before him.
A ripple of Spirit Power—
The bottles shattered.
One vial of Yellow Springs Dew,
a thread of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow,
and a single drop of Blood of a God—
rose into the air, radiating a profound aura as they revolved around him.
"Begin the brewing…"
"Heart-Blood Tears · Life-Restoring Nectar!"
Li Zhexian's expression became incomparably solemn.
Though this immortal brew required only three ingredients—
It was the most difficult concoction of his entire brewing life.
And that was before even considering:
To fuse the aura, essence, and nature of the Yellow Springs Dew, Ice Marrow, and Blood of a God into one liquid—
required nine full days of uninterrupted mental control.
No mistakes allowed.
Under such harsh conditions—
Even with his current spiritual power and brewing mastery, success was extremely difficult.
"There is only one set of materials. Failure is not an option."
Formless spiritual power surged from his brow, enveloping the three divine items.
Using his mental force as a bridge, he neutralized their conflicting energies, blending them together.
—
Deep underground—
In the palace—
"Blood of a God?!"
The majestic voice echoed again, tinged with shock.
"Other than the Lord, there should be no true gods on the continent."
"That this youth could acquire God's blood… unbelievable."
The Skydream Ice Worm squinted its tiny eyes, its crystalline antennae swaying as threads of spiritual force probed upward.
"Hmph!"
"Fighting isn't my specialty—"
"But when it comes to spiritual power? Even Di Tian can't compare to me!"
Its antennae suddenly began wiggling rapidly with excitement.
"This kid is a treasure!"
"His spiritual power increased again—almost at Titled Douluo level!"
"Eh? Why is he consuming spiritual power so fast…?"
"Oh! He's refining God's Blood! What kind of little monster is this?!"
"To merge three spiritual items with such force… he's still a bit short!"
"Watch my move!"
—
The sun rose and fell.
In the blink of an eye, two and a half days had passed.
The auras of the three spiritual items were already nearly merged—
only the God's Blood still resisted.
"The divine power's level is too high."
"With my current strength, I still cannot shake it."
Li Zhexian's face had gone pale, his body swaying slightly.
Above his head, the Clear Spring Wine Gourd suddenly tipped, and its fragrant liquor transformed into flowing light, pouring into his mouth.
Some color returned to his cheeks.
But when he looked at the sun sinking toward the west—
anxious urgency flickered in his eyes.
"Three days for the auras to merge, yet the God's Blood still…"
Just then—
The shadow of the graceful woman carved on the wine gourd seemed to move, her sleeve brushing lightly.
A mysterious, profound force fell upon the God's Blood.
Buzz—
At the very moment the final ray of sunlight disappeared—
The God's blood finally merged with the auras of the other two spiritual items.
"Thank you for your assistance, Senior…"
Li Zhexian whispered.
He raised both hands—
as though cradling an invisible cauldron.
Within it, the three spiritual items revolved endlessly in a triangular formation.
His arms suddenly closed together.
"—Condense!"
Boom—
Boom—
In an instant,
Othershore Flowers bloomed around him, his vital energy rising like mist.
The true fusion had begun.
...
Another three days passed.
A blotched, multicolored spiritual liquid gradually condensed, a faint strange fragrance drifting from it.
"Only the final step remains."
Li Zhexian's aura was withering; the light in his eyes had dimmed.
Six consecutive days—
of continuously pouring out spiritual power.
He was already at his limit.
Only sheer willpower held him up.
On the treetop canopy,
the Spirit Master's writing hand trembled.
Da Ming, Er Ming, and the watchers in the sky—Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, and the others—
all clenched their fists, holding their breaths.
Xiao Wu cried out urgently:
"Da Ming! Er Ming! Hurry and help Li Zhexian!"
"Sister Xiao Wu, we're not skilled in spiritual power. Even Brother Zhexian's seniors can only watch."
No one knew—
How Li Zhexian, whose lamp-oil had already burned nearly dry, managed to endure these final three days.
When only as much time as a single stick of incense remained before the nine-day brew completed—
Li Zhexian faintly heard a sigh from beyond consciousness.
"Alas, I've never yielded to anyone."
"I only said 'I yield' to Di Tian nine hundred and sixty-two times."
"But you, kid—your willpower is terrifying."
"I wanted to step in at the final moment so you'd owe me a favor."
"But at this rate, if I don't act now, you won't be able to repay anything."
As the voice faded—
A vast, overwhelming spiritual power erupted from between Li Zhexian's brows.
In that instant—
The great forest of Star Dou surged like waves.
Divine light burst into Li Zhexian's eyes.
Before the sky fully darkened—
The final trace of blotch within the spiritual liquid was purified.
BOOM—!!!
A pillar of light shot from earth to heavens.
A rich wine fragrance instantly swept across the entire Star Dou Forest.
Heart-Blood Tears · Life-Restoring Nectar — successfully brewed!
Just the drifting aroma alone made the forest's grass and trees grow wildly;
Spirit Beasts inhaled greedily, trembling with excitement as if blessed by heavenly dew.
Countless Spirit Beasts could not help but rush toward the Lake of Life.
ROAR—! ROAR—!
But then—
Two earth-shaking roars froze almost every Spirit Beasts in their tracks.
Still, a few rare divine-touched beasts, or Spirit beasts nearing one hundred thousand years, continued pushing forward.
"Hmph."
Sword cries, thunderclaps, and venomous hisses erupted across the surroundings.
Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, Dugu Bo, and the others guarded the outside of the Lake of Life, coldly watching the covetous beasts.
At this moment, Li Zhexian had no attention to spare for anything else.
His trembling hands lifted the crystal-clear liquid—condensed as though from the essence of a soul itself.
He leaned down and brought it to the lips of the girl lying upon the lotus leaf.