Bai Shengyi opened her eyes and lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace.
A soft white light bloomed from within the furnace, followed by a pill, pure white as snow, flying out. Around it, flowers bloomed, orioles sang, and ancient trees stood tall.
In a daze, Bai Shengyi felt as though she were no longer in her room but deep within a vast, flourishing forest!
An anomaly!
This pill had triggered a celestial pill phenomenon!
If the Sect Master of Dongyang Mountain were here, he would have desperately wanted to snatch Bai Shengyi away to Dongyang Mountain!
It was known that a celestial pill phenomenon meant the alchemist had stimulated the medicinal properties of each ingredient to the extreme, and the pill formation process was flawless, resulting in a natural, transcendent spiritual pill.
Alchemists capable of triggering such phenomena were rare, encountered once in a century. In the current world of Shenqi, those who reached this level were all eighth-grade or above, numbering fewer than could be counted on two hands.
"Why is it white?" Sui Xing Shenghuo grumbled with dissatisfaction. "Did you not listen to me and add some flame essence?"
This was the first time the little fire spirit had refined a pill. While finding it incredibly interesting, it also wanted to leave some proof that it, the majestic Shenghuo, had refined the pill.
Therefore, it strongly suggested Bai Shengyi add a wisp of flame essence to the pill.
Flame essence was equivalent to a brand of flame, a special way for divine fires to mark their creations.
Bai Shengyi said unhurriedly, "Your flame essence would clash with the medicinal properties and affect the pill's efficacy."
As she spoke, she extended her hand, and the small, delicate white pill landed in her palm. It was no bigger than a fingernail, yet it contained extremely pure life force.
"Let's call it the Spirit Restoration Pill."
She had modified the original formula. This pill possessed the effects of the Spring Return Pill, which healed and coagulated blood, as well as the Spirit Gathering Pill, which gathered spiritual energy and replenished Qi. It was, in essence, a dual-purpose pill.
Bai Shengyi put away the Spirit Restoration Pill, the alchemy furnace, and other items, then crouched down.
"Bai Shengyi, when are you going to explore outside the Divine Temple? It's too boring in here." Sui Xing Shenghuo circled Bai Shengyi repeatedly, bored out of its mind.
Bai Shengyi rested her chin on her hand, her gaze fixed on something in the distance, not responding to it.
Sui Xing Shenghuo couldn't help but ask again, "What are you thinking about so intently?"
Bai Shengyi was startled awake but didn't get angry. She clapped her hands and stood up.
"I'm observing my Dantian."
After all, she was a cultivator who had only recently entered the path. Although she had now adapted and integrated into the cultivation world and was continuously learning about it, there were still many things she didn't understand or know.
One such thing was the expanse of stars formed by her Nascent Soul.
Bai Shengyi had never seen the Dantian of any other Mahayana cultivator, but she knew that after breaking their core and forming a Nascent Soul, the Nascent Soul would not disappear as their cultivation advanced. Instead, it would become increasingly solid and more representative of the cultivator themselves.
There was even a saying that the Nascent Soul of a Mahayana cultivator was another form of their avatar, equivalent to a cultivator's second life. As long as the Nascent Soul remained unbroken, the cultivator would not die. Indeed, three thousand years ago, many Mahayana cultivators would let their Nascent Souls endure lightning tribulations during ascension to seek a sliver of hope.
However, even though Bai Shengyi found her Dantian to be different from others, she didn't feel like an anomaly because of it.
In any case, there were many strange things happening to her.
What was most important now was to figure out if this expanse of stars had any effect on her.
"Although my alchemy consumed a large amount of spiritual energy, the spiritual energy contained within that expanse of stars seemed unaffected. On the contrary, as I was refining the pill, more green stars appeared within it."
Bai Shengyi murmured to herself, "And its aggressiveness and destructive power are not as strong as before. Could it be due to the neutralization of wood-elemental spiritual energy?"
"Moreover, I vaguely felt that the two spiritual energies this time resonated with the spiritual energy fluctuations on Little Sui. This never happened when I used Shi Fang to refine pills..."
Bai Shengyi didn't realize that in the short time she had stopped refining, a river of stars resembling jade had formed within her Dantian.
The river of stars was radiant and dazzling, incredibly magnificent, but it rapidly flowed out of the Dantian at an astonishing speed, entering her blood and meridians, and finally disappearing into her spine.
In a daze, her spine flashed.
In her Sea of Consciousness, the black mist suddenly surged outward, but it quickly stopped, acting like a puppy sniffing around, looking bewildered.
"Bai Shengyi! Someone is calling you from outside!" Sui Xing Shenghuo suddenly interrupted Bai Shengyi's thoughts loudly.
Bai Shengyi, still in a daze, got up and pushed open the door. She saw Li Ya anxiously pacing back and forth.
Upon seeing Bai Shengyi, her eyes lit up as if ignited. "Great! Goddess, you've finally come out of seclusion!"
"What's wrong?"
"Have you forgotten? Today is the start of the Winter Moon Battle," Li Ya said quickly. "The Moon Goddess from the West Divine Temple is waiting for you outside. She came yesterday."
Bai Shengyi finally understood the source of the "thump, thump, thump" sound she had heard upon coming out.
She strode out and immediately pulled open the door.
"Bai Goddess? Bai Goddess! Bai Goddess—" Yue Jun had already shouted with growing impatience when he saw a white figure emerge from the door as it creaked open.
"I thought you had gone mad from your cultivation!" he said irritably, making no effort to hide his frustration and dissatisfaction.
Yue Jun felt that if the person named Bai were to honestly apologize to him at this moment, he would let it slide. Little did he know that the white figure walked out without a word and headed outside.
"Bai Goddess, shouldn't you—"
Seeing that the other party had stopped, he thought she had finally remembered to apologize to him, and the anger on his face subsided.
Yue Jun even took a deep breath, silently telling himself not to get agitated, to remain calm, and to haughtily inform her that he forgave her.
Just as he finished imagining this, he saw Bai Shengyi looking at him with confusion.
"Why aren't you moving? Wasn't it said that the Winter Moon Battle was about to begin?"
So, she was annoyed that he hadn't followed her!
Yue Jun's anger flared instantly, his expression twisting for a moment.
Seeing that he was completely unreliable, Bai Shengyi turned to Li Ya and said, "Do you know where the Winter Moon Battle will be held? Take me there."
She had no idea what that divine envoy named Cui was up to. Ever since arriving at the Central Domain Divine Temple, Bai Shengyi hadn't seen him anywhere, not even informing her of the location of the Winter Moon Battle.
Bai Shengyi completely forgot that she herself had been in seclusion since arriving at the Divine Temple. Even if Divine Envoy Cui had wanted to contact her, he couldn't!
Divine Envoy Cui was in the main hall, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Cui Jiu, where is your East Divine Temple's Goddess?" the man in the green robe standing at the very top of the Divine Invocation Pavilion asked.
Divine Envoy Cui bowed ninety degrees, as if his chin were about to touch his toes.
The previous West Divine Temple Master, who had been questioned by Divine Envoy Ming, was now covered in bloody whip marks.
A scoff came from the side.
It was the North Divine Temple Master. He said, "I heard the East Divine Temple's Goddess has been in seclusion. Perhaps she was mesmerized by the spiritual energy of the Central Domain Divine Temple and lost track of time."
Divine Envoy Cui lowered his head. Although he dared not retort verbally, he grumbled in his heart, "With Lord Bai's unfathomable cultivation, it's more believable that she's secretly doing something else in seclusion than being mesmerized by spiritual energy!"
Divine Envoy Ming's gaze darkened, and he said coldly, "Since the Goddesses of the East and West Divine Temples are absent, they shall be considered to have forfeited automatically—"
Light footsteps echoed from outside the hall.
"Huh? Wasn't it said that it would start at the first quarter of the afternoon?"
Bai Shengyi stepped into the hall bathed in light, her gaze sweeping over everyone present, finally landing on Divine Envoy Ming, who wore a playfully cold smile.