Volume One: The Misty Immortal Palace Chapter 109: Artifact Spirit

"Who... who is speaking?" Huo Huo was startled, as if she had seen a ghost.

Inside the sealed pill cauldron, Zhou Hao and Huo Huo were floating in a vortex of shimmering light where white motes converged. They had assumed they were alone, but this sudden voice filled them with shock and put them instantly on high alert.

Zhou Hao scanned his surroundings, his nerves taut. He had never imagined that there would be a living entity inside this cauldron. At that moment, the Great Sun behind him erupted with brilliant radiance, blinding gold light spilling forth as he unleashed the full power of his Golden Immortal cultivation.

Though his vigilance was at its peak, Zhou Hao remained composed. He asked into the void with a tentative tone: "May I ask which master is cultivating here? Please forgive our intrusion."

"Hehe, you two little ones are too cautious. Do not be afraid; I will not harm you. I am no master, merely the humble artifact spirit of this Yin-Yang Cauldron," the voice replied, revealing its identity.

"An artifact spirit?" Zhou Hao and Huo Huo exclaimed in unison, feeling a sense of relief wash over them.

An artifact spirit is the soul of an immortal vessel. When an item is nurtured by its master over a long period, it develops sapience, effectively gaining a soul. However, the birth of such a spirit is not always a blessing. Throughout history, there have been many cases where spirits consumed their masters, leading to the vessel controlling the immortal and causing boundless catastrophe.

For instance, three thousand years ago, the legendary Human Immortal King Long Aotian was betrayed by the spirit of his own sword, the Dragon-Slaying Sword. The spirit shattered Long Aotian’s physical body and devoured his primordial spirit before flying off into the heavens, defecting from the Sun-Moon Immortal Domain to the Fallen Immortal Domain. Since then, the sword has roamed without a master, harvesting the lives of countless experts and causing such upheaval that no one has managed to subdue it to this day.

However, the mention of an artifact spirit does not always conjure thoughts of betrayal. On the contrary, the birth of a spirit elevates an immortal vessel by many tiers, marking it as a treasure of the highest order. Furthermore, not every vessel develops a spirit; many remain dormant for tens of thousands of years, as it depends on the compatibility between the master and the vessel, as well as the quality of the vessel itself.

In short, once a vessel becomes sentient and births a spirit, it becomes infinitely precious, enough to drive gods and immortals to madness.

"This Yin-Yang Cauldron is truly extraordinary. I haven't been in the Immortal Domain for long, and while I’ve read about artifact spirits in books, I’ve never seen a vessel that is truly sentient. I’ve gained some real insight today," Zhou Hao mused to himself.

"So it is you, Mr. Artifact Spirit. I have long admired your legend; your name is known throughout the entire Immortal Domain. To finally meet you today is truly my great honor," Zhou Hao said, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture of flattery.

"Uh... exactly what are you trying to say?" the artifact spirit replied, sounding speechless and entirely unmoved by Zhou Hao’s nonsense.

"What I mean is, what did you mean by your words earlier? Why help me?" Zhou Hao asked, getting straight to the point without changing his expression.

"The Great Sun," the spirit answered.

"Does the Great Sun have some connection to this Yin-Yang Cauldron?" Zhou Hao wondered.

"Indeed. The Great Sun is the mark of success in cultivating the solar path. You are young and possess one sun; if you temper yourself within this Yin-Yang Cauldron, the benefits will be immense. I help you simply out of appreciation for your talent—it is rare indeed for someone of your age to have opened a sun. However, remember this: while this cauldron appears as one, it is divided into two internal chambers—Yin and Yang. The bottom of the cauldron is the focal point of thermal balance. You must occupy the Yang zone and use the primordial fire of immortals and demons as an auxiliary to accelerate your cultivation," the spirit explained.

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Artifact Spirit," Zhou Hao nodded. He was convinced; he truly wanted to test the bottom of the cauldron.

"You really believe him? How could the bottom be a balance point when it’s so hot? I’m afraid he might be tricking you, and who knows if he’s even a real artifact spirit," Huo Huo warned.

"Danger and opportunity coexist. Your worries are valid, but do we have any other path? Besides, my intuition tells me his words are trustworthy. I believe he is an artifact spirit," Zhou Hao smiled at Huo Huo.

"Fine. Since you say so, I don't care anymore. The worst that happens is we die together," Huo Huo said, her large eyes rolling, suddenly looking quite heroic.

"Hey, you don't have to act like you're heading to your execution. Even if there is danger, we won't die. Don't forget, this yellow gourd hanging above your head has a massive origin; it’s more than enough to keep us safe," Zhou Hao said, pointing to the yellow-skinned gourd hovering over her head.

"Is that so? Then I’ll make sure to keep this gourd close. If there’s any danger, I’ll use it to protect us and get us out of here immediately," Huo Huo said with a giggle, as if she had grabbed a lifeline.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The pair flew straight toward the bottom of the cauldron. As they arrived, they discovered the unique structure of the Yin-Yang Cauldron: just as the spirit said, the interior was divided into two distinct chambers.

The bottom of the cauldron featured a giant Yin-Yang fish pattern. The Yin fish corresponded to the Yin chamber, and the Yang fish to the Yang chamber. The two eyes of the fish were holes that could connect, while the dividing line between them was actually a partition. Usually, this partition did not rise to separate the chambers, which was why Zhou Hao hadn't noticed anything unusual when he first entered. But once the cauldron began the pill-refining process, the partition would rapidly rise to the top, sealing the cauldron into two distinct zones, connected only by the fish eyes. This allowed the primordial fire of immortals and demons to be refined into pure energy, accelerating the human-pill cultivation.

At this moment, Zhou Hao and Huo Huo sat cross-legged in the Yang zone—the former because he practiced the Great Dazzling Sun Palm, and the latter because she possessed fire-attribute affinity.

Zhou Hao did not need to drive the Yin-Yang primordial fire from the two fire ports; the black and white streams of light flowed naturally into the eyes of the Yin-Yang fish. The partition rose from the ground to the top, dividing the cauldron into two zones. The entire vessel began to rumble, and the massive Yin-Yang fish pattern started to rotate slowly.

All of this was, naturally, the work of the artifact spirit. This was another reason why people cherished such spirits: they could operate the vessel autonomously, without needing the master to drive it.

Outside, Yu Nan, Xiao Shanshan, the Turtle, and the Green Snake watched with smiles, knowing that Zhou Hao had taken the first step in refining the human-pill.

"Zhou Hao, go for it! I believe you will definitely succeed!" Yu Nan was as happy as a child, shouting toward the cauldron regardless of whether Zhou Hao could hear her.

"A girl in love is truly terrifying; her intelligence has completely evaporated," the Turtle sighed, breaking into a sweat.

"What are you muttering about?" the Green Snake asked, coiled on the Turtle's back.

"N-nothing. Just saying the weather is nice today, hehe."

"What weather? We are underground! Even if we wanted to check the weather, we'd have to wait until we get out. Hmph, you must be thinking about how to ditch me and run off on your own, right?"

"I am wronged, my dear wife! I wouldn't dare even if I had a hundred guts! I was just complaining about Zhou Hao's girlfriend, Fairy Yu Nan!"

"Oh, so that's it? A friend's wife is not to be trifled with, you black-hearted ghost! You have the guts of a turtle, but you aren't honest even in front of me, looking at other women? See how I squeeze you!"

Following this, the Green Snake used her slender, supple body to wrap several times around the Turtle's neck. As he was choked, the Turtle shed tears of sorrow.

"See that? This is why Grandpa Turtle wanted to abandon her and fly away alone. Who could stand such a violent tomboy?"

Unfortunately, he couldn't even speak; he could only curse silently in his heart.

Time ticked by, and the interior of the cauldron had undergone a massive transformation. The Yin and Yang chambers generated a spiral of fire, with the black and white streams flowing like roaring rivers into the eyes of the Yin-Yang fish at the base. The pattern rotated incessantly, and Zhou Hao and Huo Huo were enveloped in a cocoon of milky white light, gathering the energy of the immortal-demon primordial fire to undergo their metamorphosis.

The human-pill uses the human body as the primary ingredient, supplemented by various heavenly treasures and spiritual items, refined through the furnace fire to extract the most essential medicinal properties. The auxiliary ingredients merge into the body, activating its latent potential, tempering it over and over to forge a human-immortal pill—the person becomes the pill!

This was destined not to be a short process. However, because they were using the primordial fire of immortals and demons as the auxiliary ingredient—a form of energy that was already highly pure—the effect was doubled with half the effort, and the process would not take too long.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Nangong Immortal Palace had grown heavy. Nangong Xun and the Night Envoy had worked together to kill the escaped immortal and demon prisoners. Corpses lay across many mountain peaks, and the disciples of the Immortal Palace were terrified; they had never seen so many demon corpses in their lives, feeling as if the entire palace had turned into a graveyard.

After dealing with the escaped prisoners, Nangong Xun pondered and felt something was wrong. Who had released these prisoners? Who had the capability to do so? Regardless, he decided he must personally inspect the pill prison; then, the truth would naturally reveal itself.

"Could it be that Zhou Hao? What is the origin of that yellow gourd in his hand? Even I cannot see through it. Could he really have used that gourd to open the prison doors?" Nangong Xun pondered as he walked toward the deep tunnel, closing in on the pill prison step by step.