Yang Cheng wasn't the least bit worried that the refining method of the Earth Spirit Heart Pill would leak out.
Although Lu Jingshu also knew of the pill, she wasn't an alchemist and had no idea of the true secrets behind its refinement.
The only person who understood its mysteries—was Yang Cheng himself.
The two great formations met and instantly fused together, forming the Heavenly Gang and Earth Fiend Pure Yang Spirit-Heart Grand Formation.
The Pure Yang energy and the Earth's spiritual power intertwined in an extraordinary way, merging in midair and slowly condensing into a crimson pill.
A rich, refreshing fragrance spread through the air, a scent so potent that merely breathing it in made one's pores relax.
"This scent..."
"My heavens, that's really a divine pill!"
"No spiritual herbs, no pill furnace, no pill fire—just a few begonia blossoms—and he's refined a divine pill out of thin air!"
Shock.
Everyone present was utterly shaken.
Every alchemist in the hall rose to their feet, staring in disbelief at what they were witnessing.
"An illusion! This must be an illusion!"
"That can't be a divine pill. Just wait—soon enough, it'll reveal its true form!"
Even now, many still refused to believe, their minds grasping for denial as they questioned Yang Cheng.
"This… this really is a divine pill."
Master Hu stood frozen, his mouth agape. "And its aura… it's even richer than my Heavenly Profound Spirit Pill!"
Buzz!
The void trembled.
Dark clouds gathered across the sky.
The Earth Spirit Heart Pill floated upward, and in the next instant, tribulation lightning fell upon it.
Anything ascending to the divine grade must endure heavenly tribulation—pills were no exception.
But this time, the divine pill's tribulation required no aid from Yang Cheng.
Its quality was so high that it could face the thunder on its own.
"Heavenly tribulation..."
"Lightning striking a pill—that's a true divine pill!"
"It's not an illusion. If it were, lightning would never descend!"
At that moment, all doubt was obliterated.
No matter how unwilling they were to believe it, the appearance of tribulation lightning shattered every argument.
A divine pill's tribulation was easier than a living being's—it only required three bolts of lightning.
Half an incense stick's time later, the pill had successfully transcended its tribulation.
"A supreme divine pill! Its value surpasses any other divine-grade medicine I've ever seen. Our Pill Treasure Chamber of Commerce will stop at nothing to form an alliance with Master Yang!"
The beautiful woman from the Horn Constellation Realm couldn't restrain her excitement.
A divine pill refined at almost zero cost—she could hardly imagine the profits.
And indeed, this pill's potential was terrifying.
In his past life, Zuo Qiuming had relied on this very pill to become the richest man in the Wasteland Realm—and one of the wealthiest across all heavens.
But she wasn't the only one with such thoughts.
At that moment, every powerful outsider in the hall had their eyes fixed on the pill, their gazes gleaming with greed.
Seeing their reactions, Yang Cheng knew his lecture had achieved its purpose.
There was no need to humiliate Master Qin further. He simply smiled faintly and stepped down from the platform.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A thunderous round of applause erupted behind him.
"Old man, I am convinced."
Master Qin didn't resort to excuses. He dropped to his knees, bowing deeply toward Yang Cheng's back.
"A miracle..."
"This is the most earth-shattering event in the alchemy world in a thousand years!"
"Myriad Phenomena Alchemy Canon! From today onward, our Alchemy Hall of the Great River Academy will also begin studying it!"
Even after Yang Cheng had left, the lecture hall was still buzzing with fervent discussion.
"Master Hu, this… this isn't an illusion, right?"
Zheng Qiu stood stiff, as if struck by lightning.
If this was real, then his jealousy toward Yang Cheng was nothing but a pathetic joke.
Jealousy only made sense between equals.
But if a frog envied a dragon soaring in the heavens—was that jealousy, or just ignorance of its own insignificance?
"Heh, Zheng Qiu," Master Hu sneered. "Take my advice—frogs in the mud have no business envying dragons in the sky."
With that, he turned away, unwilling to speak another word.
He had already decided to sever ties with Zheng Qiu.
This Zheng Qiu had been around Master Yang for so long, yet he still couldn't grasp even a bit of the man's depth. Instead, he wasted his time being jealous.
Staying close to such a fool could bring nothing but trouble.
That very day, news of what had happened spread across the entire Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy, setting it ablaze with excitement and shock.
Even those who had once been hostile toward Yang Cheng had no choice but to admit their respect for him in their hearts.
Ding!
[Host has successfully refined the Earth Spirit Heart Pill. This pill was originally created two hundred years ago by Zuo Qiuming, and a hundred years ago, many alchemists within the Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy were still capable of refining it.]
[However, for reasons unknown, everyone seems extraordinarily shocked and excited. Furthermore, the entire Myriad Phenomena Dao Academy has now been subdued by the host. It is possible that the Earth Spirit Heart Pill refined by the host possesses special properties undetectable by the system.]
[Host has once again achieved a monumental feat—subduing a gathering of gods and monsters despite not yet reaching the cultivation level of a Martial Sovereign.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Top-Grade Spirit Spring.]
The system prompts appeared, and Yang Cheng couldn't help but feel delighted.
Soon after, representatives from every major power came seeking him, hoping to negotiate cooperation for the Earth Spirit Divine Pill.
Naturally, Yang Cheng had no intention of binding himself to any single faction. Instead, he proposed a plan—Great Zhou would handle production, while those forces would act as the distributors.
Though dissatisfied, the various factions had no choice but to agree.
After all, there was only one person in all the realms capable of refining the Earth Spirit Divine Pill—Yang Cheng himself. His advantage was absolute.
No matter how many of them there were, the supply was limited. The meat was scarce, but the monks were plenty.
During the negotiations, Yang Cheng didn't bother with the tedious details.
He handled only the overall structure and left the rest to Wang Rou.
After three full days, the negotiations finally concluded.
Inside the study, Wang Rou was so exhausted she could barely move.
"This session's over. I'll allow you a day off tomorrow," Yang Cheng said with a faint smile.
"Master Yang is truly wise."
Wang Rou's tired eyes lit up instantly.
Knock, knock, knock…
A series of knocks came from outside the door.
"Master, I don't want to move," Wang Rou said pitifully, slumping in her chair.
Yang Cheng chuckled and shook his head. With a wave of his hand, the door opened on its own.
Outside stood three people—one of them was none other than Zheng Qiu.
As soon as they entered, Zheng Qiu's gaze fell upon Wang Rou, limp and smiling contentedly in her chair.
Her expression and posture made it very hard for him not to think something indecent had just happened.
It looked exactly like the aftermath of an intimate act.
Zheng Qiu's face turned pale, then darkened. Rage surged within him, almost driving him mad.
He had long admired Wang Rou, but she had always treated him with cold indifference.
Now, seeing her like this—it felt like the goddess he had pursued for so long, the one who had always rejected him, had been claimed by another man right before his eyes.
And that man was none other than Yang Cheng.
Standing behind him was Master Hu, who smiled faintly. "Master Yang truly lives as he pleases."
Then he brushed past Zheng Qiu and took a seat across from Yang Cheng. His tone was confident and composed as he said, "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Hu Yang, Master of the Tianjiang Dao Academy, and also a member of the Eternal Society."
"And then?" Yang Cheng replied flatly.
"Don't misunderstand," Hu Yang said. "I bear you no ill will. In fact, I've come here to invite you to join the Eternal Society. You're more than qualified."
"Sorry. I'm not interested," Yang Cheng said coolly.
He knew exactly what kind of people filled the Eternal Society—corrupt to the core.
"Master Yang, don't be so quick to refuse."
Hu Yang smiled knowingly. "Let me tell you something. You think those forces that came to negotiate with you these past few days are all honest merchants?"
He shook his head. "No. The profits tied to the Earth Spirit Divine Pill are far too great. They will never allow you to monopolize such enormous wealth, nor will they tolerate you remaining free of their control."
He leaned forward slightly, his smile sharp. "Which means, in the days to come, you will face all kinds of secret plots. They'll stop at nothing to control you—or to force the method of refining the Earth Spirit Divine Pill out of you."