“Swish!” Retrieving the Bodhi seed, Xiao Yan’s palm swept through the air, and a continuous stream of medicinal ingredients flew out from his storage ring. In no time, they densely covered the sky above his head. At a rough glance, there were probably no less than a thousand varieties. Such an alarming quantity, even the surrounding alchemists, found it slightly startling. Ignoring their astonishment, Xiao Yan lightly touched the void, and amidst the torrent of herbs, he sorted out many, swiftly tossing them into the medicinal cauldron. The fire dragon within instantly swallowed them whole. In the sky, a continuous line of tightly packed medicinal ingredients, under Xiao Yan’s control, endlessly streamed into the medicinal cauldron. Within a few minutes, a terrifying energy fluctuation spread from the cauldron, causing the surrounding space to slowly undulate. “So many medicinal ingredients, far exceeding what is needed for the Bodhi Pill. Is he not preparing the Bodhi Pill? But why do most of the materials resemble the ones used for the Bodhi Pill?” Mysterial Void wrinkled his brows, muttering. For his question, the trio of Pharmacist Elder and others also shook their heads. They, too, had no clue what Xiao Yan was aiming for. “Now we can only await the final outcome.” Letting out a soft sigh, suppressing their doubts, they began to fully focus on the competition before them. Although Xiao Yan’s pill refining caused quite a stir, it did not completely divert everyone’s attention. This place was the Lesser Pill Pagoda, gathering renowned alchemical masters from across Central State. Their eyesight was extremely keen, and the alchemists competing with Xiao Yan were by no means pushovers. During the refining process, each was accompanied by the rumble of wind and thunder, the commotion equally formidable. If this competition were held in Central State, an innumerable number of alchemists would be entranced. Amongst the many locations of pill refining, besides Xiao Yan, the most captivating was Old Weirdo Huo’s area. Regardless of how unlikable he was, his skill in alchemy was undeniable. Almost taking Danhui away from the position as top alchemist, that alone was enough to prove his talents in alchemy. And the Old Weirdo Huo of now was no longer the young man he once was. Years of cultivation had undoubtedly skyrocketed his skills; even amongst the Lesser Pill Pagoda, there were few who could best him. Speaking of which, Old Weirdo Huo should be one with the highest chances of winning in this election for elders. At this moment, Old Weirdo Huo was focused intently on the medicinal cauldron. Around him, circles of medicinal currents continuously rotated. Every now and then, several potent ingredients would be thrown in, refined, and solidified. The process was exceptionally proficient, every movement exuding the bearing of a grandmaster. On the stone platform, the seven elders’ gazes swept over the scene, finally nodding faintly. “It seems Huoqing has a high chance of victory this time,” one elder said, smiling at the sight of Old Weirdo Huo’s impressive momentum. Hearing his words, the surrounding elders nodded. In terms of alchemy, Old Weirdo Huo was none to trifle with.
Amongst them, the Great Elder, clad in linen, remained silent. His hands tucked into his sleeves, his plain gaze turned towards Xiao Yan. Over the years, very few people puzzled him, but the young man named Xiao Yan, for some reason, managed to invoke that feeling once again. This sensation made him feel a slight premonition: this selection might produce an unbelievably dark horse. Refining pills, especially high-tier ones, required a considerable amount of time. For alchemists of Xiao Yan’s caliber, refining for ten days to half a month was nothing unusual. The surrounding alchemists were acutely aware of this, thus they didn’t show impatience, but rather, watched with interest. The saying, “outsiders watch for the spectacle, insiders see the essence,” holds true. While others might grow impatient, for these alchemists, it was a feast of knowledge and experience. As time passed, five days had gone by. During this period, many medicinal cauldrons showed erratic energy fluctuations, eventually leading to energy explosions, utterly destroying the ingredients within. However, no one felt dejected by these failures. Failing in pill refining was something that frequently occurred, and no one, not even Xiao Yan, could guarantee a hundred percent success rate. In these five days, he had failed multiple times, ruining three batches of materials. Each failure had its own reasons, but the bright side was, after three failures, Xiao Yan’s refining speed became increasingly skillful, clearly learning much from his mistakes. After these five days, the alchemists gradually entered a more stable state, and the frequency of failures slowly decreased. Therefore, when another five days passed, some cauldrons already hinted at the preliminary formation of a pill. Moreover, the ambient fluctuations became increasingly intense. As time progressed, the atmosphere on the square became increasingly tense, and everyone sensed that the climax was approaching. “Boom!” Dark clouds suddenly filled the sky, and lightning zigzagged like silver snakes, weaving through the cloud layers. After a while, the clouds began to take on various colors, stopping only after reaching the seventh color. Seven-colored Pill Lightning! Had this happened in Central State, it would have attracted countless stunned gazes, but here, many shook their heads upon seeing the seven-colored Pill Lightning. This result was far from a victorious end, as they had seen five instances of seven-colored Pill Lightning in the past three days.
“Another seven-colored Pill Lightning,” laughed Mysterial Void, gazing at the Pill Lightning in the sky. “Old Lin seems a bit down,” chuckled the Pharmacist Elder, glancing at the elderly figure responsible for summoning the seven-colored Pill Lightning, who was shaking his head, clearly unsatisfied with his result. Mysterial Black Robe also grinned, her gaze turning toward Xiao Yan, softly remarking, “He seems to be the calmest one among all.”
Hearing this, the Pharmacist Elder also smiled helplessly, agreeing. Others had already summoned Pill Lightning, while slower ones showed signs of forming pills. Xiao Yan’s cauldron, however, showed no signs of progress, and his face was not rushed, appearing either composed or indifferent.
“Huo Old Weird should be able to successfully condense a pill within three days. If I’m not mistaken, he is attempting to refine the ‘Infernal Demon Clear Profound Pill’. If successful, it will definitely summon a nine-colored Pill Lightning,” said Mysterial Void.
“Indeed, his alchemical skills have improved significantly over the years,” the Pharmacist Elder agreed, nodding slightly.
“If Xiao Yan wants to beat him, he must refine a ninth-grade pill. But the Bodhi Pill, no matter how improved, cannot break through to ninth grade,” said Mysterial Black Robe. Although Xiao Yan once used external means to enhance the quality of his pills at a previous competition, such methods were not feasible now. Ninth and eighth grades were entirely different concepts.
“He must have his reasons,” the Pharmacist Elder hesitated, concluding. However, even he was growing a bit nervous. The herbs Xiao Yan was refining were not any of the formulas he had passed on to Xiao Yan. This meant that if Xiao Yan didn’t have other ninth-grade formulas, then… this boy was just randomly messing around.
Three days passed in a flash. Now, only a handful of competitors were still refining, while the rest had either successfully summoned Pill Lightning or retreated.
The majority of the audience’s attention was on two figures: Huo Old Weird and Xiao Yan. It was clear to everyone that if the former’s pill was successful, it would summon a nine-colored Pill Lightning, the strongest known so far. As for the latter, his strange behavior drew curiosity, as his cauldron had shown no signs of a forming pill. Only the fiery dragon inside kept swirling.
“Boom!” As the audience puzzled over the situation, a low, thunderous roar echoed through the heavens, followed by a powerful energy wave spreading out. The sky rapidly gathered clouds.
“Is Huo Old Weird about to successfully refine his pill?” someone exclaimed, witnessing the scene.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Huo Old Weird stood up with high spirits. A forced smile appeared on his ghastly face. He sneered in the direction of Xiao Yan, crossed his arms behind his back, and gazed at the cloud of lightning above. After a few tumultuous surges, it unsurprisingly erupted with nine colors.
“Indeed, it is a nine-colored Pill Lightning!” The spectators couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.
“Hahaha, Yao Chen, it seems that this old man has won this time,” Huo Old Weird sneered, looking at the Pharma Elder.
At these words, Pharma Elder furrowed his brows, just about to speak, when a light laugh echoed.
“That may not be the case.”
Upon hearing this, Huo Old Weird’s expression darkened, following the voice to see Xiao Yan, who had kept his eyes closed, slowly opening his eyes.
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