Chapter 21: An Unsolvable Dilemma

Chen Lin sighed inwardly; just as he had suspected, the other party had noticed him from the very beginning.

To have reached this point, it was because he had not been cautious enough in his dealings.

However, he calmed himself down at this moment and said, "I can attempt to refine it for you, but you must swear a Heart Demon Oath. Once I have refined the pill, you cannot act against me; furthermore, you must protect me and lead me away from here!"

Seeing that the other party did not answer immediately, he craned his neck and said forcefully, "If you disagree, then please, go ahead and strike. Either way, death is death; it makes no difference if it happens today or a few days from now."

The old man fell silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile. "Fine, have it your way. I hope you can give me a surprise."

With that, the old man pointed to the sky and swore the Heart Demon Oath.

Chen Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, even so, he could not truly entrust his safety to the other party. As long as he found an opportunity, he would still attempt to escape; everything happening now was merely a stalling tactic.

"Time is pressing, and I have prepared sufficient materials. Fellow Daoist Chen, let us begin!"

The old man patted his storage bag, and a pile of alchemy materials appeared on the table.

Chen Lin scanned them; there seemed to be enough to refine twenty or so batches.

It appeared the other party was telling the truth; he had indeed made ample preparations to obtain the Blood Demon Pill.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly spoke, "Fellow Daoist Yu, as an alchemist, you should know that the greatest taboo in alchemy is distraction. Therefore, I must return to my own room to refine it; otherwise, do not blame me if I fail."

His "ten consecutive successes" ability made the phenomenon of forced success too obvious; he had to conceal it as much as possible. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain.

Unexpectedly, the other party agreed quite readily.

"Very well, please make yourself at home, Fellow Daoist Chen. I only want the Blood Demon Pill; as for how you refine it, I will not interfere."

Having said that, he took out a bag, packed all the materials along with the cauldron, and made a gesturing motion for Chen Lin to proceed.

Chen Lin nodded, silently picked up the bag, and walked toward the door.

Suddenly, he felt a ripple of magical power behind him. It felt as if something had nipped his shoulder, causing a slight sting.

Just as he was about to demand an explanation, the other party's voice rang out.

"An honorable man does not do things in the dark. I have left a mark on you, but it will not cause you harm. Once you have finished refining the pill, I will remove it myself. Furthermore, do not leave this courtyard during this time, lest there be unpleasantness."

Chen Lin's expression shifted, but he said nothing and walked out silently.

Returning to his room, he gloomily slammed the bag onto the floor, his knuckles turning white as his veins bulged.

But gradually, he regained his composure.

Venting impotent rage was meaningless; to break this deadlock, he could only endure.

What he was currently struggling with was whether or not to actually refine the Blood Demon Pill.

If the other party used the Blood Demon Pill, he could practice the Blood Demon Art. Given the sinister nature of that technique, the probability of successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was extremely high.

Once the opponent became a Foundation Establishment expert, his hopes of escaping those demonic clutches would become even more slim.

Moreover, to keep the secrets of the Blood Demon Art, it was entirely possible the opponent would kill him to silence him.

The Heart Demon Oath was indeed binding, but he could not entrust his life solely to an oath.

However, if he failed to refine the pill, the opponent, in a state of immense disappointment, would surely kill him out of frustration.

After pondering for a long time without finding a good solution, Chen Lin could only begin the refining process slowly to stall for a few days.

The Blood Demon Pill required many types of materials, but there was only one primary ingredient: the essence blood of a demonic creature.

Neither the original owner of this body nor Chen Lin himself had ever seen a demonic creature; they had only heard of them.

According to the pill recipe, the essence blood required had to come from a creature of at least the second rank and had to be extracted from a living being.

There were no specific requirements regarding the species, but the effects of the resulting pill would vary depending on the type of demonic essence blood used.

According to his understanding, this pill was essentially a variant of a Foundation Establishment Pill. Once consumed and refined through the Blood Demon Art, it would effectively alter one's very nature, making it hard to say if one remained human.

It was precisely because of this that one could ignore bottlenecks and cultivate at incredible speeds.

Of course, the price was high; it was essentially trading lifespan for cultivation.

As for whether there were other side effects, it was beyond his knowledge. His understanding of these matters came from the original owner's memories, and the original owner did not know much either.

A night passed.

Chen Lin did not refine the pill; he simply processed the materials briefly and then rested.

Early the next morning, he first washed up and cooked a pot of spiritual rice porridge. Only after eating his fill did he set up the cauldron, added fuel, and prepared to light the fire.

During this time, he peered through the cracks in the window several times to check on Yu Yuehai's room. Each time, he saw the man standing before his door, staring toward him with a grim expression.

It seemed as though he hadn't slept all night.

This was also why Chen Lin did not dare to continue stalling.

Before lighting the fire, Chen Lin carefully inspected the cauldron.

This was a professional cauldron, inscribed with magical arrays. Not only did it maintain a stable temperature capable of refining high-level pills, but it also provided a certain bonus to the success rate.

Among magical tools, the alchemy cauldron was the most expensive.

Cauldrons were divided into grades, but even the poorest low-grade cauldron would likely be worth hundreds of mid-grade spiritual stones.

In a Foundation Establishment family, such a thing could be considered a family heirloom.

Feeling the array patterns engraved on the cauldron with his hands, Chen Lin felt a surge of greed. If he had such a cauldron, he could attempt to refine even higher-level pills.

Suppressing his greed, he looked out the window once more. Yu Yuehai was still standing there with a dark face, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

He took a breath, turned back to the cauldron, and ignited the fuel.

The Blood Demon Pill required many materials and involved tedious steps. Combined with the fact that this was his first time using a real alchemy cauldron, he failed to control the input of magical power correctly. As soon as the furnace opened, a loud *bang* echoed, and all the materials he had put in vanished into nothingness.

Chen Lin grimaced but did not care; instead, he calmly stood up to clean the cauldron.

He would stall for as long as he could.

Outside.

Standing by his door, Yu Yuehai's mouth twitched involuntarily upon hearing the sound coming from Chen Lin's room.

"Senior Brother, are you certain this man can refine the Blood Demon Pill?"

A woman's voice rang out from inside the room, and a figure emerged—it was the proprietress of the Water Moon Pavilion.

"I am not certain, but there is no other way. You know the characteristics of the Blood Demon Pill; the success rate is too low, relying entirely on luck. I have tried refining it dozens of times myself without a single success. I only have about twenty portions of the collected demonic essence blood left. Knowing I have no hope, I could only let him try."

Thinking of the materials he had wasted, even someone as wealthy as him could not help but frown.

"But from the looks of it, he has never even used a magical-tool grade cauldron. He wasted a batch of materials before even activating the cauldron's array. Can this man really refine the improved Primordial Pills and Enlightenment Pills you created?"

The woman's face was filled with deep suspicion.