The Competition Begins, the First Glimpse of a Conspiracy
"The rules for this Pill Conference are as follows: Immortal Island will provide all the necessary medicinal materials for this Pill Refining Conference. The competition is divided into three stages. The first stage is Efficiency Competition: only those who can refine the specified pill within one incense stick's time can advance."
"The second stage is the Quality Competition: the alchemists who advance need to refine a higher quality pill within three incense sticks' time. Only the top one million after evaluation by the judges can advance."
"The next stage is the Free Creation Competition: the thousand alchemists who have advanced can freely create their own special or unique pills. Finally, five authoritative elders will evaluate the pills and select the champion based on their difficulty, innovation, and the results of the first two rounds."
The deputy host of the conference was an elderly man with a venerable and otherworldly air. He stood on the front stage and loudly announced all the rules of the conference.
Despite the large number of alchemists participating, everything proceeded smoothly under the clear rules.
The main venue for the competition is large enough to accommodate all alchemists refining pills together.
The participating alchemists are divided solely by their Bone Age: those with Bone Age of less than 1,000 years are in one round, and those with a bone age of more than 1,000 years are in another round.
The top 100 will receive awards from the conference, and the top 10,000 alchemists will also have the opportunity to be nominated. The chance to become famous in the Upper Three Dao Domains is today!
"Alright, the competition rules have been announced. Now, I, the host, hereby declare the Second Pill Refining Conference of Penglai Immortal Island officially open!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At the host's command, a unique stick of Immortal Spirit Incense was lit on the judging stage, and tens of millions of alchemists who were already prepared in the alchemy competition simultaneously lit the fire in their furnaces.
In an instant, all sorts of unique alchemical flames rose up, and the entire venue was enveloped in colorful light.
The intensely hot flames did not cause any discomfort to the participating alchemists.
This was also because a large array was set up in the venue; otherwise, those alchemists with lower cultivation levels would have been refined into pills before they even started refining them...
"I didn't expect that the pill I'm refining this time would be the Heavenly Spirit Immortal Pill. This is no challenge for this alchemist. Half an incense stick's time is enough. It's just a matter of practice!"
"Waaah! Thank you so much for our Mentor Mu's guidance! He said that the Heavenly Spirit Immortal Pill hadn't been refined in several conferences, and that this conference would definitely have it, whether you wanted to learn it or not. He was right! Luckily, I did learn it!"
The elite faction consists mostly of young, inexperienced talents. The Heavenly Spirit Immortal Pill isn't of a high grade, but it's a bit complicated to refine. As long as you understand the refining process and use it skillfully, advancing to the second stage isn't difficult.
On the other hand, the established faction faces a much more difficult situation. Most of the people here are masters who have been famous for a long time and are dressed in gorgeous alchemy robes. The pills they need to refine are seventh-order Aperture Opening Immortal Pill, which are not easy to refine without a certain level of skill.
"Holy crap! Get out of the way, I'm going to explode!"
Boom! Explosions echoed throughout the venue.
Those alchemists who failed in their attempts and were nearly blown to bits were carried out of the venue in an orderly fashion by the guards.
Time continued to pass, and one-tenth of the Immortal Spirit Incense had already burned.
"Open!"
In the area of the prodigy camp, Li Yanzhi calmed her mind. After sending the last burst of Alchemy Dao Power into the alchemy furnace, she let out a delicate shout, and the furnace slowly opened, filling the air with a rich medicinal fragrance.
The Heavenly Spirit Immortal Pill in the furnace was in perfect condition, with beautiful and lifelike patterns painted on it, a perfect grade!
"Li Yanzhi, the chief disciple of the Alchemy Hall of the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect, completed the task in half a quarter of an hour. The elixir is of perfect grade, ranking first."
The elder in charge of the selection in this area immediately announced her results.
No sooner had the words fallen than another voice came from not far away. "Fan Danxing Pill Pavilion Pill Child Shenyuan Dange, finished in half a quarter of an hour and three breaths. His pill is of perfect grade and ranks second."
These two announcements caused a great stir in the venue. One of the alchemists participating in the competition even lost his composure. As you can imagine, he came in full of vigor, but left with a dark face...
"Azure Cloud Immortal Sect! This Chief Li is incredibly powerful; he can actually outshine the Pill Pavilion Pill Child Master!"
"Yes, I really didn't expect it. It just goes to show that Azure Cloud Sect is truly full of talented people. They have quietly cultivated a top-notch genius in the art of alchemy!"
The cultivators from various factions in the audience were discussing the outcome, which was unexpected.
Some shrewd Lineage heads have already planned for the future, sending their Lineage's alchemy disciples to the Alchemy Hall of the Immortal Sect for training, depending on whether the sect wants them or not.
Li Yanzhi, who advanced first, and Fan Danxing were sent to another area to wait for the second round of the competition.
During this time, Fan Danxing gave Li Yanzhi a cold look, which made her frown slightly.
This person was strange; there was a hint of hatred in his gaze, though it was very subtle, I still noticed it.
"Could it be that I stole his thunder and he's holding a grudge? How petty," Li Yanzhi wondered to herself.
She didn't take it to heart, saying, "I'm not afraid of you in alchemy, nor am I afraid in martial arts."
Comparing backgrounds? Then Elder Long in the audience will have to come and have a word with your parents.
"Hmph!" Fan Danxing snorted coldly and withdrew his gaze. Although he hated the person in front of him immensely, he had to endure it for now!
Li Yanzhi, is it? That vile apprentice who murdered Xue Er! Just you wait!
Fan Danxing glanced at one of the authoritative elders on the judging panel, his anticipation growing stronger.
"You'd better keep the good things I've prepared for you!"
Shortly after the Immortal Spirit Incense burned out, the first round of the competition came to an end.
Five million alchemists from the Tianjiao camp advanced, while several million others advanced, bringing the total number of alchemists who advanced to the second round of the competition to over ten million.
"Elder Liu, as expected, all of our Azure Cloud Sect alchemists have successfully advanced. This first round was easier for them than eating or drinking."
Inside a magnificent pavilion in the audience area, Yao Ye, the Glory Hall Master, stroked his beard and smiled.
"Yes, Elder Liu's disciple was even more outstanding, taking first place. Rouge has truly brought honor to the Azure Cloud Sect! I've known this child for a long time!"
Mo Wen, the deputy hall master standing to the side, chimed in. What he said wasn't entirely unfounded. In fact, he had joined the sect earlier than Li Yanzhi, who was admitted later.
It can be said that he watched Li Yanzhi grow up step by step, from her naive and weak appearance when she first entered the sect to her current status as the top Pill Refining Conference master in the Upper Three Dao Domains the Immortal Realm. It's truly amazing!
Just as they were talking, the host of the conference God Lord Zi Yan, walked in.
"Greetings, Willow God, Old Long."
The God Lord Zi Yan adopted a very humble attitude, not to mention that a month ago, when her treasure was snatched by the Heavenly Radiance God Lord of the Saint Li Dynasty, it was the Immortal Sect that came to her rescue.
Just look at the prestige of the Immortal Sect and the strength of the two before me; even though I am a God Lord, I have to look up to them!