The Pill Dao examination at Nine Ruins Mountain differed from the examination Qin Fengming had taken at the Pill Alliance on Red Carp Island. During the Red Carp Island Pill Alliance examination, no barrier separated the cultivators while they refined pills, leaving everything fully exposed before the assembled spectators.
Every movement made by the cultivators taking the examination, every technique they used—even the offering of a single rune—was displayed with crystal clarity before the crowd.
The Pill Cauldron examination here at Nine Ruins Mountain was different. Every pill platform was guarded by restrictions. Although those restrictions did not block the spectators' view, they could shield cultivators' spiritual sense from probing within.
The spectators could see only a general outline and could not clearly observe what was happening inside, much less probe the minute details of the alchemists' techniques.
The reason for this was related to the flames used in alchemy here.
The spectators could not see the contestants' techniques, but the six mighty cultivators from Nine Ruins Mountain presiding over the Pill Dao examination could clearly probe every alchemist's techniques. Precisely because of this, whenever the Pill Cauldron examination was held, late Profound Tier and peak cultivators from Nine Ruins Mountain would fight to seize the six spots as its presiding observers.
As the saying went, "The stone from another mountain can polish jade." One could draw certain benefits from observing another person's refining techniques.
Once a cultivator's Pill Dao reached a certain height, breaking through again became extraordinarily difficult. Yet by borrowing from another person's alchemical techniques and skills, they might gain an insight and thereby comprehend the key to a breakthrough during future pill refining.
As time slowly passed, the refining taking place atop the pill platforms in the Pill Cauldron Hall grew increasingly critical and perilous. One