Pill Gathering Begins, Myriad Flames Paying Homage

Over the next few days, the flow of people into Sacred Pill City reached its peak. Alchemists, medicine seekers, and representatives of various factions from all corners of the continent packed this colossal city to the brim. The medicinal fragrance and fervent atmosphere in the air seemed almost tangible.

The Alchemist Tower's once-in-five-years Pill Gathering was finally about to officially begin today!

The venue was not inside the Alchemist Tower, but at Sacred Pill City Center—the enormous plaza capable of holding a million people: Myriad Medicine Plaza!

As the first ray of morning sunlight fell, Myriad Medicine Plaza was already packed with a sea of people, their cries soaring into the sky. Countless floating stone platforms stood around the plaza for distinguished factions to observe the event. To the north stood the tallest and grandest Main Platform, where the Alchemist Tower's elders and the heads of the Five Great Families were gathered. Cao Xiu was among them as well.

Xiao Chen and Han Yue took their seats on an observation platform arranged by the Han Family. Given Xiao Chen's current reputation among Sacred Pill City's alchemists, there was naturally no need for him to squeeze into the plaza below with tens of thousands of contestants.

His gaze swept over the ocean-like crowd below. With a slight movement of his Soul Power, he sensed quite a few formidable individuals with considerable soul strength hidden among them. There were even several auras that required him to pay close attention.

"The Alchemist Tower truly deserves to be the holy land of alchemists. Such a grand occasion is indeed rare," Han Yue softly sighed as she looked below.

Xiao Chen nodded slightly. More of his attention was focused on sensing those cold, sinister auras concealed in the shadows. As expected, people from Soul Hall had also mingled among the crowd, like venomous snakes lurking in the darkness.

"Dong—!"

A bell toll that seemed to come from ancient times suddenly resounded through heaven and earth, suppressing all the clamor.

As the bell echoed, several vast and majestic auras shot into the sky from deep within the Alchemist Tower. Like awakened dragons, they instantly enveloped the entire Myriad Medicine Plaza! Even Dou Zong experts felt their hearts tremble beneath that pressure.

Immediately after, space on the Main Platform rippled slightly, and three figures silently appeared.

At the center stood an old man dressed in plain hemp robes, his face ancient and weathered. His eyes were clouded, as though he could fall asleep at any moment, yet when his gaze swept over the crowd below, everyone felt as if their souls had been thoroughly seen through! One of the Alchemist Tower's giants, Xuan Kongzi!

To his left was an incomparably beautiful woman in palace attire. She possessed a dignified, noble bearing, and a soothing aura of life radiated from her body. One of the Alchemist Tower's giants, Xuan Yi!

To the right stood a tall, stern-faced middle-aged man. His gaze was like lightning, and he exuded authority without anger. One of the Alchemist Tower's giants, Tian Lei Zi!

The three giants of the Alchemist Tower had appeared together! Such a sight was rare even in a hundred years! Deafening cheers immediately erupted from the plaza.

Xuan Kongzi slowly raised his withered hand and pressed it lightly downward. All sound instantly fell silent.

"The Pill Gathering begins."

His aged, calm voice seemed to contain the supreme truths of heaven and earth, yet it clearly entered every person's ears.

"The rules remain the same. The first round: 'Myriad Flames Paying Homage'!"

As his words fell, countless complex runes suddenly lit up across the ground of Myriad Medicine Plaza! A strange suction force erupted from the center of the plaza!

"Buzz!" "Buzz!" "Buzz!"...

The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded!

From the bodies, palms, or above the heads of the tens of thousands of contestants in the plaza, flames of all shapes and colors suddenly burst forth!

Beast Flames, Earth Fire, unusual flames... Tens of thousands of flames rose at once, casting the entire plaza in bizarre, dazzling colors! The searing heat swept outward, and even space began to distort.

Myriad Flames Paying Homage! Only those who possessed flames were qualified to participate in this grand gathering of alchemists!

This magnificent sight drew cries of amazement from countless spectators.

However, this was only the beginning.

The moment the myriad flames rose, terrifying flame pressure far beyond the ordinary suddenly erupted from several locations!

In one place, black flames resembling those from the Nine Nether radiated an eerie aura capable of devouring everything, causing the surrounding flames to dim. That was Cao Ying's Nine Nether Wind Flame!

Elsewhere, pale white flames were icy to the bone, as though they could freeze one's soul. It was Yao Lao's unique Bone Spirit Cold Flame, now being wielded by Xiao Yan!

In another spot, blue-brown flames rose, carrying the heaviness and vitality of the earth. It was another Heavenly Flame of considerable power.

The appearance of one Heavenly Flame after another drew waves of astonished cries. Every Heavenly Flame represented an enormous opportunity and immense strength!

On the Main Platform, the three giants also swept their gazes over those Heavenly Flames and nodded slightly.

However, just when everyone thought all the Heavenly Flames had been revealed—

On the observation platform where Xiao Chen stood, he had not released any flame. Yet Han Yue, standing beside him, suddenly felt the surrounding space ripple slightly. An indescribable Chaos Aura, seemingly born at the Beginning of Heaven and Earth, faintly spread out from Xiao Chen as its center.

This aura was extremely subtle. If Han Yue had not been standing so close, she would not have noticed it at all. Yet this trace of aura caused the several Heavenly Flames below that had been flaunting their might to suddenly falter!

Cao Ying's Nine Nether Wind Flame swayed, as though it had encountered some existence worthy of its reverence.

Xiao Yan's Bone Spirit Cold Flame also trembled slightly, conveying a hint of unease.

The other Heavenly Flames dimmed even further, their might greatly reduced!

It was as though ministers had encountered an emperor ruling over all beneath heaven!

This sudden change made the faces of the Heavenly Flame owners shift. They looked around in uncertainty, but could not find the source.

On the Main Platform, a faint glint of sharp light suddenly flashed deep within Xuan Kongzi's originally clouded eyes. His gaze seemed to casually sweep toward Xiao Chen's direction, carrying a trace of imperceptible scrutiny.

"Hmm?" Xuan Yi and Tian Lei Zi seemed to sense something as well. They exchanged a glance and both saw the surprise in the other's eyes.

Xiao Chen's expression remained unchanged, as though none of this had anything to do with him. He merely withdrew the faint trace of Chaos Flame source aura that had inadvertently leaked out.

The anomaly in the plaza below soon subsided, and those Heavenly Flames returned to normal. Yet a huge question had been left in the hearts of their owners.

When the Myriad Flames Paying Homage stage ended, those unable to summon flames were eliminated. Even so, nearly ten thousand alchemists remained in the arena!

Xuan Kongzi's aged voice rang out once more. "The first round: soul testing."

"Soul Power is the foundation of an alchemist. At the center of the plaza stand nine Soul Testing Steles, each marked with nine colors corresponding to the nine grades of the Earthly Realm. Only those whose soul strength has reached the fifth grade or above, the middle stage of the Earthly Realm, may proceed to the next round."

As soon as he finished speaking, nine enormous black steles, each a hundred zhang tall and marked with nine differently colored circular patterns, slowly rose from the center of the plaza, radiating strange soul pressure.

Nearly ten thousand alchemists began stepping forward one by one, pouring their Soul Power into the Soul Testing Steles.

"Earthly Realm Fourth Grade, eliminated!"

"Earthly Realm Fifth Grade, passed!"

"Earthly Realm Sixth Grade, not bad!"

Accompanied by the judges' voices, rays of light, some dim and some bright, lit up on the Soul Testing Steles, corresponding to different soul grades. Most alchemists remained at the Earthly Realm Fifth or Sixth Grade. Those who reached the Seventh Grade were already few, while Eighth Grade practitioners were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Soon, it was the turn of the highly anticipated geniuses.

A Ye Family genius pressed his palm against a stele, and the light shot straight to the eighth ring: Earthly Realm Eighth Grade!

It drew a wave of praise.

Dan Xuan stepped forward, and the light stabilized at the peak of the eighth ring, only a hair away from the Ninth Grade!

The cheers grew even louder.

Next, Cao Ying gracefully stepped forward and lightly pressed her jade-like hand against the stele.

"Buzz—!"

The Soul Testing Stele suddenly shook. The light surged forward with unstoppable force, instantly breaking through the eighth ring and steadily stopping at the ninth! The radiant glow was dazzling and eye-catching!

"Earthly Realm Ninth Grade! Miss Cao Ying truly is a peerless genius!"

The entire plaza erupted! Earthly Realm Ninth Grade was the strongest level below the Spirit Realm, representing the potential to challenge the ranks of seventh- or even eighth-tier alchemist!

Cao Ying withdrew her hand, a confident smile on her alluring face. Yet her gaze seemed to drift toward Xiao Chen's direction.

Afterward, Xiao Yan stepped forward. He did not exert his full strength, controlling his Soul Power perfectly. The light ultimately stopped between the eighth and ninth rings, counting as Peak of Earthly Realm Eighth Grade. It did not cause too great a stir, but it was enough for him to advance.

However, just as everyone thought the climax had passed, the delicate and frail young woman of the Dan Family, Dan Chen, timidly walked up to the Soul Testing Stele.

She extended her fair little hand and gently pressed it against the stele.

The next moment—

"Boom!!!"

The Soul Testing Stele emitted a roar completely unlike before, like the ringing of a great bell! The black stele shook violently, while the nine-colored rings upon it lit up all at once like ignited fireworks, erupting with incomparably blinding light! The light even broke free of the stele's confines and shot into the sky, illuminating the air above the plaza in dazzling color!

The entire plaza fell into Dead Silence!

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the radiant Soul Testing Stele and the frail figure before it.

All nine rings were lit, its light soaring into the heavens!

This was... the sign of Soul Power reaching Mortal Realm Grand Perfection, perhaps even... touching the edge of the Spirit Realm?!

"A... Spirit Realm Soul?! How is that possible?! How old is she?!"

After the brief Dead Silence came an uproar like a landslide and tsunami! Dan Chen's performance was even more shocking than Cao Ying's!

On the Main Platform, the three giants' expressions turned completely grave as they stared intently at Dan Chen.

The confident smile on Cao Ying's face stiffened slightly. As she looked at Dan Chen, an unprecedented seriousness appeared in her eyes.

Xiao Yan's pupils also contracted as he inwardly sighed, What terrifying soul talent!

As for Xiao Chen, he looked at the glowing Soul Testing Stele and at Dan Chen, whose face had turned even paler from what seemed to be excessive exhaustion. A trace of understanding flashed through his eyes. As expected, this girl's soul talent was extraordinary; it was simply that her constitution could not bear it.

His gaze grew profound. This Pill Gathering was indeed becoming more and more interesting.

The very first soul-testing round had already been filled with twists and turns. It was easy to foresee that the matches ahead would surely become even more intense and spectacular!