Chapter 486: Rapid Advancement
Fully activating the Soul-Refining Cauldron, Yang Haoran's Spirit Power was rapidly depleting within him. However, he wasn't worried, for he had made thorough preparations.
If his Spirit Power was completely exhausted before the refining process was complete, he would not hesitate to take out a Soul Pill to quickly replenish his consumed Spirit Power.
He paid no mind to his rapidly depleting Spirit Power. At this moment, he focused all his attention on refining Soul Pills, completely absorbed, not daring to let his concentration waver even slightly.
He knew not how much time had passed, but the Soul-Refining Cauldron, suspended in mid-air, suddenly began to tremble faintly.
Yang Haoran's expression was serious, his brow furrowed slightly, but he did not open his eyes. He still carefully urged the Soul-Refining Cauldron.
A moment later, the faint trembling of the Soul-Refining Cauldron ceased. The instant it stopped trembling, Yang Haoran's eyes snapped open, and he beckoned to the hovering Soul-Refining Cauldron.
Responding to his summons, the Soul-Refining Cauldron descended to the ground before Yang Haoran. He then directed his gaze into the cauldron's interior.
A dense layer of Yin Qi obscured its contents, making it impossible to clearly see what was inside. Yang Haoran merely blew a gentle breath into the cauldron, and the Yin Qi shrouding it immediately dispersed.
At the bottom of the Soul-Refining Cauldron, a thumb-sized black pill lay quietly. Pure Yin Qi continuously emanated from it.
Gazing at the pill, a smile involuntarily spread across Yang Haoran's face. This thumb-sized black pill was precisely the Soul Pill Yang Haoran needed most right now.
He had never harbored any extravagant hope of refining a Soul Crystal. Moreover, this was his first attempt at refining; how could he possibly refine a Soul Crystal so easily? Simply being able to successfully refine a Soul Pill already left him deeply satisfied.
Filled with joy, Yang Haoran gently beckoned to the Soul Pill at the bottom of the Soul-Refining Cauldron. The Soul Pill floated up, hovering above his palm.
Through Yang Haoran's careful observation, he confirmed that this Soul Pill was identical to the ones he had obtained in the Underworld. Whether in size, the Pure Yin Qi it emitted, or even every minute detail, there was no difference whatsoever.
This was the first Soul Pill Yang Haoran had refined himself, so he admired it meticulously for a long time, as if appreciating a work of art he had created. Finally, with a look of contentment, he sealed the Soul Pill and stored it in his independent space.
In the Underworld, ten thousand Spirits were required to exchange for a single Soul Pill. However, the Soul Pill he had just obtained was successfully refined using only one thousand Spirits. Such a vast difference left him feeling somewhat astonished.
With the previous experience, the subsequent refining process became much easier.
He currently had over three thousand Spirits remaining that he intended to use for refining Soul Pills. He did not refine these three thousand-plus Spirits all at once, but rather according to a set standard.
How much black liquid was needed to refine one Soul Pill, or two Soul Pills—all of this had a standard.
Each Spirit possessed different strengths, thus, the amount of Pure Yin Qi that could be filtered from their Spirit Body also varied. The Pure Yin Qi Yang Haoran had filtered from the thousand Spirits he used earlier had, in fact, already exceeded the standard required to refine a single Soul Pill.
Yet, he had not extracted the excess black liquid. This was a precautionary measure to prevent refining failure. After all, it was his first attempt, and Yang Haoran wasn't entirely confident, which was why he had made extra preparations beyond the original requirements.
However, he didn't know if this approach truly increased the success rate, as the cloth he had obtained contained no relevant instructions. His method simply offered a bit of psychological comfort.
Having successfully refined one Soul Pill, he had gained some experience. Therefore, in his subsequent refining attempts, he planned to try controlling the amount of black liquid to the exact standard, neither more nor less.
With over three thousand Spirits, Yang Haoran refined a total of four times, succeeding three times and failing once.
Once the Spirits were processed, Yang Haoran obtained a total of four Soul Pills. While his experience wasn't yet extensive, having refined a total of five times, he had certainly gained some insights.
With no more Spirits to provide for his refining, Yang Haoran's next target naturally shifted to Evil Spirits. He had acquired a considerable number of Evil Spirits from Deng Feng, only a small portion of which were set aside to be sent to the Underworld. The majority of the rest were materials he intended to use for refining Soul Pills. Thus, even if he ran out of Spirits, he wasn't lacking in materials for the time being.
Further, even if he ran out of Spirits, he still had the Evil Spirit (evil Spirit) he had captured earlier.
Days passed, one after another. Yang Haoran became increasingly proficient at refining Soul Pills. From initially failing once every two or three attempts, he eventually reached a point where he rarely failed at all. His boldness also gradually grew. He no longer strictly adhered to the standard for refining a single Soul Pill, but instead refined multiple Soul Pills at once.
This way, he could significantly reduce the time spent refining Soul Pills.
The number of Soul Pills in Yang Haoran's possession accumulated at an astonishing rate. However, the number of souls he held diminished accordingly.
For two consecutive months, Yang Haoran did not leave his study. Two months later, when he emerged from his study, there was no exhaustion as one might imagine; instead, he was radiant with energy. The smile on his face had become even more confident than two months prior.
The confident smile on his face radiated from within. This confidence not only made him appear more unfathomable but also strengthened his unique aura.
During these two months, he not only refined all the souls in his possession into Soul Pills but also consumed a considerable number himself.
As for why he consumed Soul Pills, the reason was simple: refining Soul Pills heavily depleted the Spirit Power within him. If he didn't consume Soul Pills, then each time his Spirit Power was completely exhausted, he would have to spend a significant amount of time recovering. Only after his Spirit Power had recovered to a certain extent could he continue refining, or even dare to continue refining.
To avoid wasting this time, Yang Haoran made a bold decision, which was to consume Soul Pills while refining them. This way, his consumed Spirit Power could not only be replenished at any time, without needing to spend time specifically recovering his depleted Spirit Power, but his strength was also constantly increasing at a terrifying pace, killing two birds with one stone.
His actions were akin to treating priceless Soul Pills as cheap candy. In just two short months, he consumed a total of thirty Soul Pills. This meant that, on average, he devoured one Soul Pill every two days.
If other Underworld Officials knew that Yang Haoran had consumed thirty Soul Pills in just two months, they would surely be too shocked to speak for a long time.
What did thirty Soul Pills signify?
It meant ten years' worth of a regular Emissary of Death's fixed salary!
Ten years of fixed salary Yang Haoran had consumed like candy in just two short months. It was terrifying to imagine just how shocking this was.
Of course, if they knew that Yang Haoran possessed the Soul-Refining Cauldron and could refine Soul Pills as long as he had enough materials, then the shock in their hearts would far surpass the former.
Although each Emissary of Death could obtain more than three Soul Pills from the Underworld annually, compared to ordinary Emissaries of Death, thirty Soul Pills were equivalent to their total income over several years.
In other words, Yang Haoran had, in just two short months, closed a gap of several years in terms of strength with other Emissaries of Death.
Naturally, the Emissaries of Death referred to here were merely ordinary ones, not the highly capable Emissaries of Death. After all, highly capable Emissaries of Death had access to Soul Pills through channels far beyond just the small amount the Underworld granted them annually.
After consuming thirty Soul Pills, twenty-eight remained. This time, he had refined a total of fifty-eight Soul Pills, but all the souls he had prepared for refining Soul Pills were also completely exhausted.
In truth, refining these Soul Pills hadn't taken him two months. The reason he hadn't left his study was because he had remained inside to consume Soul Pills and boost his strength.
After all, with so many Soul Pills in hand, it would be a terrible waste not to use them to enhance his strength. As for the funds he would need to open a shop in the Underworld later, he planned to prepare them only after his strength had reached a certain level.
To have wealth without strength would easily attract unwanted attention from ambitious individuals, and could even invite deadly disaster. Yang Haoran understood this principle, which was why he had to prioritize increasing his strength.
As for why he wasn't currently staying in his study to continue consuming Soul Pills and enhancing his strength, but had instead emerged, it was because he had received a phone call from one of the 'four-person group'.
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