Chapter Twenty-Six: The Stone of Reincarnation

After settling the matter with the Nine Dragons Pavilion, Chu Han comforted the villagers. To be honest, he felt a twinge of guilt toward them. After all, these troubles were mostly brought on by him. If he hadn’t killed those disciples from the Nine Dragons Pavilion, none of this would have happened. But since things had come to this, he knew he had to take responsibility for the people here.

Afterward, Chu Han returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and carefully examined the contents of his spatial ring. It was truly worthy of belonging to an elder—the ring contained many valuable herbs and some pills. Though the pills themselves weren’t particularly exceptional, they could still fetch a good price. There was also a countless array of martial techniques.

Chu Han looked through them for a while but found they were mostly mediocre and useless techniques. Still, he decided to keep them. Perhaps one day he could exchange them for something he needed.

Soon, he discovered something remarkable—a blue stone emitting a dark, cold glow, lying quietly in a corner of the spatial ring. Chu Han could hardly believe his eyes. He rubbed them to be sure, but the stone was real. He hurriedly took it out.

The moment it touched his hand, a chilling aura emanated from the stone. Chu Han had to use the power of thunder and lightning within him to resist it, preventing his hand from being injured.

“My goodness, even a Samsara Stone… Where on earth did he get this?” Chu Han muttered to himself, gazing in delight at the stone before him.

This was the legendary Samsara Stone, said to be a relic from the ancient Valley of Reincarnation. After the valley’s destruction, the stones scattered across the world, and there were only eighty-one in existence.

Chu Han had always thought it was just a myth, but now, holding one in his hand, he realized the legend was true. It was said that whoever obtained a Samsara Stone could sense the power of reincarnation, transcend the three realms, and ascend to godhood.

However, Chu Han felt none of this supposed power. He shook his head; perhaps it was all just exaggerated rumors.

But he had another use for the Samsara Stone. In his previous life, he’d acquired a recipe for a powerful body-tempering elixir, and the key ingredient was the Samsara Stone. Now that he possessed it, he could finally begin refining the pill.

This was the perfect time to temper his body. If he could obtain the strength granted by this pill, his physical form would truly reach a new level.

Without further delay, Chu Han hurried out and returned to Jingyuan City, fetching his medicine cauldron from home without alerting anyone. He had too many enemies at present—if he wasn't careful, he might bring disaster upon the Tang family.

He then went to the herb shop, purchasing a large quantity of medicinal ingredients. With his spatial ring, all of this was much easier; he could carry as much as he liked.

Once everything was prepared, Chu Han quietly slipped into a desolate mountain range, finding a secluded cave where he would not be disturbed.

This time, he was going to refine a top-grade Harmonious Elixir—the Samsara Body-Tempering Pill, which could strengthen and temper the body. However, the pain during the process was more than most could endure.

Within the Thunder Emperor’s Codex was a unique body-forging method called the Infernal Golden Body. Only with the Samsara Body-Tempering Pill could one achieve it, and this was precisely his goal.

Though the pill was top-tier among its grade, due to its special nature, it contained violent energies. When the pill was formed, there would be strange phenomena—hence his need for a remote place to work. If any such phenomena occurred, the many experts in the area would surely be drawn here, and he might be forced to fight.

Chu Han set up his cauldron, placed his right hand upon it, and released a surge of thunderfire, instantly igniting the vessel. Once the temperature was right, he began adding the herbs, refining them slowly.

The method for refining this pill wasn’t particularly complex; the difficulty lay in dissolving the Samsara Stone, which required a long time and risked a vicious backlash. If one’s strength was insufficient, injury or even death could result.

As time passed, Chu Han refined each herb in turn, distilling their essences into pure medicinal power. The cauldron’s interior brimmed with swirling, multicolored energies.

When all the herbs had been refined, only the Samsara Stone remained. Chu Han had never seen one in his previous life, only heard of it, so he wasn’t sure whether he would succeed.

But fortune favors the bold. No matter the risk, he had to try. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tossed the Samsara Stone into the cauldron, increasing the fire to begin the refining process.

The moment fire touched the stone, it began to struggle violently, darting wildly within the cauldron, crashing against the sides with thunderous bangs.

The force was so great that cracks began to spread across the cauldron itself. Alarmed, Chu Han hurriedly used his soul power to reinforce the fissures, preventing the vessel from shattering.

Gritting his teeth, he shaped the fire within the cauldron into a giant hand, grasping the Samsara Stone and holding it still, then poured on even more heat.

Time ticked by. In the blink of an eye, two hours passed. The Samsara Stone ceased its struggles, fissures appeared along its surface, and black light began to seep out. Yet Chu Han’s expression only grew grimmer.

He recalled reading in an ancient text that this was the most dangerous moment when refining the Samsara Stone—the time when its backlash would begin.

As cracks spread across the stone, black light filled the cauldron, causing the temperature inside to plummet. The previously refined medicinal powers now began to writhe and struggle.

Seeing this, Chu Han’s heart pounded with alarm. He concentrated, raising the fire’s intensity, but the black light continued to suppress the heat, locking the two in a deadly standoff.

And so, the backlash of the Samsara Stone truly began. Despite Chu Han’s soul power shoring up the cauldron, more cracks appeared, and black light escaped through each gap, lashing against his body.

Unable to move while so focused on the pill, Chu Han could only endure the assault. Each blast of black light tore fresh wounds across his skin, blood streaming down and painting a ghastly sight. The searing pain sharpened his focus beyond anything he’d ever experienced.

When a particularly fierce burst struck his chest, Chu Han screamed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Still, he did not collapse, forcing himself to sit upright and continue refining the Samsara Stone.

“You think this is enough to make me quit? Don’t make me laugh! I’ve been through much worse than this. Come on, let’s see what else you can do!” Chu Han bellowed, pouring every last trace of thunderfire into the cauldron, determined to see this through to the end.

Another two hours slipped by. By now, Chu Han’s flesh was a bloody ruin, his whole body drenched in blood so thick that his skin was unrecognizable. His eyes were dull, and if not for a sliver of willpower keeping him upright, he would have collapsed long ago.