Chapter Eighty-Six: Do You Dare to Forge Heavenly Thunder?

"Kill him! He’s fallen in!" Shi Hao, seeing Su Ye tumble into the alchemical cauldron, shouted out in delighted surprise.

If Su Ye had remained outside, even with their superior numbers, they might not have been able to stop him. Now, with Su Ye trapped inside—a cauldron some seven or eight meters tall—he was like a fish in a barrel. Where could Su Ye possibly escape to now? This was nothing short of waiting for death.

Immediately, several martial artists leaped onto the high platform, clutching long awls, ready to seize the opportunity to surround and kill him.

"This cauldron is unbearably hot!"

Falling into the cauldron, Su Ye felt an extraordinary heat envelop him; even reaching out a hand to touch the surface, he could not endure it for more than a few seconds. His clothes and the soles of his shoes began to sizzle and smoke.

He hadn’t expected the cauldron to maintain such a terrifying temperature even after being open for so long. Looking around at the inner walls, he became even more astounded—the totems here were intricate and interwoven. From the outside, the cauldron resembled a gourd seven or eight meters tall, but inside, the space was surprisingly vast. The furnace walls were charred black, as if scorched by countless years of fire.

He had no time to dwell on this. Instantly, he leapt upward, intent on escaping.

Swish!

Just as Su Ye reached the cauldron’s opening, cold gleams flashed around him—several long awls thrust toward him, each aiming for a vital spot.

"Thunder Surge—!"

In that split second, Su Ye released arcs of lightning from his body in all directions with a powerful slap. Pain shot through his body—he could no longer force his way out and fell back into the cauldron.

The martial artists who struck at him screamed in agony, tumbling from the cauldron’s rim. Some clutched their chests, bones clearly shattered.

"Careful! This little bastard is dangerous! Bring some medicinal powder—scatter it inside and melt him down!" From afar, Ouyang Man shouted, certain that Su Ye was doomed.

"Don’t use poison! The cauldron must not be ruined! Seal the lid and burn him alive—refine his thunder veins into pills!" Chen Yu’s face twisted with sorrow. The First Cauldron was the greatest treasure of the entire Alchemist’s Abode. If any foreign substance contaminated it, the cauldron would be ruined, and future pills would surely turn toxic.

Ouyang Man grew frantic. "What’s more important, our plan or the cauldron? If Su Ye lives, neither of us will sleep easy!"

"I don’t care—it’s just one boy! Hurry, seal the lid and burn him alive! And you—go kill Ouyang Yunfeng; his men are almost here!" Chen Yu shouted angrily.

"Hmph! You’d better make sure he doesn’t escape! The rest, come with me—let’s kill Ouyang Yunfeng first!" Ouyang Man spat back, forced to comply. For her, killing Ouyang Yunfeng was the top priority.

Meanwhile, Su Ye crashed heavily back into the cauldron. This time, pain split his shoulders and back, blood flowing freely—who knew how many awls had pierced him?

He pressed a hand to the cauldron’s floor and forced himself upright, leaping again toward the opening.

But before he could rise, darkness fell overhead—the cauldron lid slammed shut.

Boom!

Su Ye pounded the lid with a fierce punch. His knuckles cracked, pain shot through his hand, but the lid was as heavy as a mountain; he could not move it an inch.

A chill swept through his heart. "Am I really trapped in here? Damn it! Open—!"

Boom! Boom!

Su Ye sprang and punched the lid repeatedly, but it would not budge. He recalled how Chen Jiayi had opened the lid before—it required activating the rune mechanism and the combined strength of eight martial artists.

What now? No matter how many skills he possessed, he could not use them here.

"Hmm? What’s happening?" Su Ye frowned. Suddenly, he noticed the cauldron walls were changing.

When he first entered, they were charred black, as if burned by countless fires. But now, with the lid sealed, they had turned a deep azure, like the sky itself.

Standing inside the cauldron, he felt as if he were suspended in the void, able to gaze into infinity.

"In the family’s alchemical texts, it’s said the interior of the cauldron contains countless wonders, a world of its own. Could it be true?"

Su Ye remembered the alchemical classics he’d read. Such visions typically appeared during the refining process—was the cauldron about to begin refining him?

As this thought struck, he realized his shoes were already smoldering—the soles melting from the heat.

This meant the alchemical fire had been ignited. They meant to burn him alive!

Panic gripped Su Ye. If he were a legendary warrior like the Victorious Fighting Buddha, he might not fear even the alchemical fires of the Supreme Lord Laozi—yet he had no such divine powers.

Trapped in such a terrifying cauldron, he feared he truly would be reduced to ashes.

Bang!

Su Ye summoned waves of energy, creating a whirlwind that swirled around him, making his robes billow. For the moment, he could resist some of the heat.

But this was only temporary. The fire had just begun; once the cauldron reached its full heat, flames would fill the chamber. How could he withstand it then? Even without the flames, mere confinement would eventually starve him to death.

At that moment, the cauldron walls emitted strange, grinding sounds, as if the entire chamber were spinning. The deep azure walls shifted again, splitting into streaks of lightning—

The lightning resembled that of a thunderstorm, yet it seemed frozen along the walls.

"Is this the cauldron’s material appraisal? Is it assessing me as an ingredient?"

Su Ye shuddered. In truth, no ordinary alchemist could forge a cauldron such as this. Even at the Alchemist’s Abode, with generations of inheritance and master alchemists nearing a hundred years old, they could not replicate such a vessel.

Especially not the First Cauldron, a colossal artifact passed down through the ages, powerful enough to burn for over a year without pause.

Could such a cauldron be anything but extraordinary?

Moreover, there was a saying that cauldrons possessed their own spirits, even cauldron souls, especially after refining countless high-grade pills. Eventually, the cauldron could discern the nature of the ingredients placed inside.

Now, this vast cauldron had identified him as "Heavenly Thunder"!

Fury surged through Su Ye. He stood tall and shouted with wrath:

"You dare refine Heavenly Thunder?!"

His roar echoed with unstoppable force, like thunderclaps in spring, reverberating within the cauldron.

On the cauldron walls, the lightning seemed momentarily subdued, quivering and shifting direction.

Boom—

The muffled sound of thunder resounded, carrying through to the outside.

The alchemists standing guard around the cauldron were startled, gaze fixed in horror as the First Cauldron began to tremble.

In all their years of refining, they had never encountered such a phenomenon. The last time the cauldron had made a sound, it was when a rare beast had been placed inside—but this time it was a living person!

If the Alchemy Guild discovered the Alchemist’s Abode was refining a living human, they would be hunted across all of China.

"What should we do? He’s still alive!" Some of the alchemists were already panicking, at a loss.

Shi Hao and Yin Chao were also present, shouting:

"Quick, he can’t hold out much longer! Increase the flames—burn him alive!"

"Why are you hesitating? Kill Su Ye, cut down Ouyang Yunfeng, and the position of Young Alliance Leader will belong to our Sister Man. The Alchemist’s Abode will be the greatest hero! From now on, only you will have the right to refine and sell pills in all of Yangcheng!"

The other alchemists, hearing this, were incited. They had always followed Master Chen Yu, his most trusted disciples—but now, the most famous figure in the Abode was Chen Jiayi.

How could a teenage girl overshadow their master? If she married out, would the Abode fall into someone else’s hands?

No! They had to protect the Abode at all costs!

"Very well—increase the flames, refine Su Ye into a pill—"

Boom!

Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the sky. A bolt of lightning flashed, dark clouds gathering overhead.

And rain began to fall…