Pef blinked towards the Cauldron to check the pills inside, finding a trio of normal blue-violet pills, a couple with three lines on them and even one covered in a lightning cloud.

'Take a three-line pill. We will need the extra energy.' the glove urged him for some reason.

Pef didn't hesitate. The glove calculated a thousand moves in advance, so there should be a good reason it asked for that.

He swiped the pills inside the glove pocket and ingested the three-line pill, before flying up towards the incoming lightning bolt.

His Void Shield extended out, while the Tier 7 Royal Armor covered his body. The Ruler flew out and struck the tip of the incoming tribulation, just as Pef began to Ascend as well.

Then pain. Blinding, agonizing and excruciating pain as the lightning bolt flung him aside and struck Rejin's smiling face. However the first bolt simply faded away when encountering the Alchemist's own Void Shield and then the Blue Jade crystal.

"My turn!" the Blade Fairy demanded as she climbed gracefully in the sky and blocked the next tribulation, barely burning her crystal-like wings before flying away and vanishing into a white cloud.

A tiny current splashed over the Alchemist with no damage, and Rejin smiled even wider.

Yue glanced at the Taotie, but the beast signaled her to wait.

Three more lighting bolts fell onto Rejin, wiping out his smile and his skin as well, leaving mostly a scorched and blackened carcass instead.

"Now Yue." the beast urged his apprentice, and Yue Blinked in front of the final tribulation.

An indigo shield covered the woman as the tribulation struck, and crackles of energy fought to pierce it with immense energy.

After a few tense seconds, the lightning vanished and Yue landed next to her husband. But before she could touch him, another tribulation struck the burnt body of her husband, exploding the damaged armor and leaving only a human heart in place, barely beating and covered in a green glow.

In a second, flesh and bones grew back again, showing Pef's body asleep and covered by a golden aura. He finally made it into Tier 7 as well.

"Husband? You blocked a Tier 8 lightning with a mere Elder God cultivation?" Yue asked in surprise wonder.

"You'll get used to it, one day." Lia spoke in a calm yet disappointed voice while she dressed Pef into a new robe. She hadn't got used to it, yet, and probably never will. Pef would always find new ways to hurt himself, it was in his nature.

Beside them, the Alchemist resumed his dignified stance, wearing new robes and a new body, and nodded towards the Taotie. "I could have died, without your help."

"Mhm. I couldn't care less about you, pill maker. You're only needed to carry that fishbowl back home. But, you can make a weapon for my apprentice now. Something like that Ruler." the spirit beast muttered with a glance towards the Jade Emperor's former weapon.

Unnoticed by everyone else, the glove began to Ascend as well, borrowing from the extra energy of the three-line pill that Pef has ingested earlier. In a minute, the artifact had vanished from everyone's mind, and felt safe once more. Finally, it could continue its plans without getting detected by random godlings passing by.

Even the murder aura had been cloaked, hiding its presence from Entities of Tier 8 or 9.

'Wake up, Soldier! We need to breach the Gap as soon as possible.' the glove send into the user's mind.

'Uh. I feel like a train hit me. And then a nuke blew up on top.' Pef muttered groggily.

'Those things can't even hurt a Tyrant. Make sure to hide my presence from now on.' the glove added with a pained voice. The user was still an idiot, but he will have to do.

Pef scratched at his cheek while he rose and looked around with new eyes.

The Alchemist seemed to have a string of mirror bodies attached to his back, each doing different things, while his wife Yue also had a second mirrored body standing beside the violet-glowing badger and whispering things.

Out of curiosity, Pef looked behind him, checking for an extra body, but there was only air.

"Hey Rejin, I don't have a mirror body?" he asked with a confused voice.

"You'll have to cultivate the new selves, just like you did with your inner universes as Elder God. Be patient, young Soldier. You are now immortal, so you have all the time in the world to cultivate..." the Alchemist replied diplomatically. Pef was still his employer, of sorts.

"Right. I should make some proper Godwine. Where is my damn apprentice?" Pef muttered to himself, then blinked as his vision elongated to locate Wong still Ascending back in the Mausoleum Station, a couple of universes away.

"Heh, I see you already found him..." Rejin spoke with a bit of irony, before resuming his composure.

Pef ignored the jab and turned towards the spirit beast. "Old badger. Would Yue be safe enough to collect some blood from that tiger-wolf thing?"

The Taotie just blinked lazily, then glanced at his Tier 7 apprentice. "Hmm. We have to try." he spoke in a measured voice as a violet portal appeared beside Yue. She waved cheerfully and stepped inside the portal to confront the Desolate Beast by herself.

A helix of golden light hit Pef in the face just then, reminding him of Lia and her presence. "Moron! Where is my pill, eh?"

With a shrug and a smile, Pef retrieved a normal Dian Ascension Pill and offered it to his Oracle wife. "Here, my love."

Lia took the Tier 7 pill and scowled a little. "This better work..." she muttered as she sat down and ate the immortality pill.

Pef glanced at Rejin who simply shrugged carelessly. They just waited in silence as time passed and Lia still didn't Ascend.

"Is it broken? I have a few more..." Pef commented idly as nothing seemed to happen.

Rejin began to get red in the face, as his skill began to be questioned.

"Not everyone is a cultivation idiot like you, kid. Even little Yue took five hours to Ascend, and she had the prerequisite Daos completed." The Taotie intervened with a gruff tone.

Pef blinked confused and turned towards Rejin. "What prerequisite, did I need something else?"

The old Alchemist sighed in despair. "I don't know about you, Soldier. Most people need to complete a Supreme Dao in order to qualify for the Dian Ascension."

"Uh. 'one could immediately produce both fire and water' . I remember this. I could also do this at Tier 6." Pef mused to himself as his memories began to complete from his former life. As he spoke, a ball of fire and water filled his hands.

The Taotie and the Alchemist exchanged a pained glance. "The Supreme Polarity in activity generates yang; yet at the limit of activity it is still. In stillness it generates yin; yet at the limit of stillness it is also active. Activity and stillness alternate; each is the basis of the other. In distinguishing yin and yang, the Two Modes are thereby established. The alternation and combination of yang and yin generate water, fire, wood, metal, and earth." the Alchemist spoke in a profound voice that resonated with the entire universe.

Pef felt his head spin and had to sit down, as his conscience trembled under the impact of the Alchemist's words.

'You have your Heart of the Sword. It is also a Supreme Dao.' the glove whispered in his mind and calming his soul.

However, the words also reached the Ascending Lia, and she began to glow brighter and brighter.

"Now she remembers. Unlike you, Goddess Lia has already been a Legion Captain before. Her soul was simply asleep after she woke up again." Rejin said gently while his eyes measured the effect of his pill expertly.

"It seems your normal pills only work on returners, pill maker. What if they don't have a life to remember?" the Taotie asked in curious tone.

"...It was my first and only time I ever refined such pills. And they still do work. Also, there had been a couple three-lines pills too and even a cloud pill. Which is why I did receive the final Dao." the Alchemist answered in a firm and proud tone.

"Final Dao my hairy ass. It's only one step towards the Dao of Creation. You still have much to learn, pill maker." the Taotie muttered with faint displeasure, just as Yue jumped out from a violet portal.

"I got the blood! The beast was surprisingly cooperative. It even gave me his claw!" Yue exclaimed happily as she brandished a giant claw sparkling with an ice-aura and a strong smell of blood.

"...I'll make you a nice weapon from it." the Alchemist spoke in a reserved tone, and took hold of the claw with careful hands.

Pef grinned at the news. He could make a great Godwine now.