Each Showing Their Own Methods
Time slipped away quietly under the watchful eyes of the world.
In the sky, flames rose and the Medicinal Fragrance filled the air atop Thousand Stone Platforms. Every Alchemist was completely focused, pouring all their life's knowledge into the Medicinal Cauldron before them.
At the Central Stone Platform, Lin Ming's face remained calm and still, like an old monk in deep meditation.
However, the Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame he controlled was performing an exquisite fire dance within the Dark Red Medicinal Cauldron. The extraction of nearly a thousand auxiliary medicinal materials was nearing completion, and the various colored medicinal powders and liquids suspended within the cauldron were full of energy, flowing continuously, forming a vast and stable Basic Energy Matrix.
Next comes the most crucial step – the refining of the four main ingredients.
Lin Ming's eyes narrowed slightly, and his Soul Power, like the most precise instrument, locked onto the four jade Jade Box containing the main medicine.
Lin Ming first took the strange flower that resembled Fenghuang spreading its wings, its feathers burning with illusory flames—the "Phoenix Blood Crimson Flame Flower".
This flower contains extremely violent energy and possesses an inextinguishable fiery nature. If the heat is too intense, it will ignite the internal Fire Poison, causing the medicinal properties to be completely lost, and may even trigger an energy explosion.
Under Lin Ming's control, the Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame was no longer as domineering and blazing as before, but transformed into strands of slender, hair-like purple-red flames, gently entwining the Phoenix Blood Crimson Flame Flower like the most skillful embroiderer.
The fiery threads penetrated every tiny structure of the petals and stamens, carefully stripping away the violent fire-elemental energy to extract only the purest Nirvana Vitality Energy.
This process was extremely mentally and Soul Power taxing; fine beads of sweat even appeared on Lin Ming's forehead, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's.
It took several hours for the Phoenix Blood Crimson Flame Flower to completely dissipate. In its place was a ball of pure liquid about the size of a fist, as red as blood, with Phoenix Phantom seemingly swirling inside, exuding a powerful Life Aura and a hint of immortality.
Having successfully extracted the first main ingredient, Lin Ming didn't stop for a moment. With another wave of his hand, the "Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow Root," which was entirely ice-blue and had snowflakes condensed inside, flew into the Medicinal Cauldron.
In contrast to the extreme heat of the Phoenix Blood Crimson Flame Flower, this substance is extremely cold. Improper handling will not only damage its medicinal properties, but its coldness may also corrode the Heavenly Flames and interfere with the entire alchemy process.
With a thought, Lin Ming slightly altered the nature of the Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame. Its destructive high temperature was contained, and instead, it emitted an extreme chill capable of freezing the soul, echoing the ten -Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow Root.
The icy blue roots slowly melted in the flames, impurities were removed by the cold flames, and finally turned into a small pool of deep blue liquid, as dark as the night sky, exuding a chilling aura. It floated quietly in the cauldron, maintaining a delicate balance with the Phoenix Blood Crimson Flame Flower liquid.
The third main medicine is the dragon scale fruit that beats like a heart— the Dragon Heart Nirvana Fruit.
This fruit contains a trace of True Dragon Blood Qi energy, which is powerful, domineering, and extremely active, making it very difficult to tame.
Lin Ming manipulated the flames, sometimes transforming them into a furnace to envelop and burn the fruit, sometimes into a heavy hammer to forge it, and sometimes into a gentle, nourishing rain. His Soul Power transformed into countless tiny tentacles, penetrating deep into the fruit and guiding its unruly dragon Blood Qi nature to slowly return to peace.
Another day passed, Dragon Heart Nirvana Fruit was finally refined, turning into a viscous, golden-red liquid that faintly emitted a deep dragon's roar and exuded a bloodline pressure that made people's hearts tremble.
The final main ingredient is that strange soil sealed within the amber-colored crystal— the Breath Soil Divine Earth.
This substance is not a plant, but it contains the Earth Origin and the vitality of creation, and is the key to balancing the violent energy of the three main ingredients mentioned above.
Lin Ming slowly scorched the amber crystal with a gentle flame. The crystal melted, revealing a mass of soil inside that was constantly changing shape, dark yellow in color, yet possessing an inner spiritual light.
The Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame carefully enveloped it, not refining it, but gently stimulating its inherent vitality and stabilizing power, causing it to transform into specks of dark yellow light that permeated the cauldron and slowly blended with the other medicinal forces.
The four main ingredients, each with different and even conflicting properties, were tamed and refined one by one under Lin Ming's unparalleled skill in Soul Manipulation and controlling his flames. Their essential characteristics were perfectly preserved, laying a solid foundation for the final fusion.
Just as Lin Ming was making steady progress, Xiao Yan, who was at the edge of the stone platform, encountered a significant setback.
He had just successfully refined all the auxiliary medicines and was now moving on to the crucial step of fusing them with the three main medicinal herbs. At this moment, he needed to combine the liquid from a "Snow Bone Ginseng"—a plant that was entirely white, shaped like a human bone, and exuded an extremely cold aura—with the auxiliary medicinal liquid.
Snow Bone Ginseng is extremely cold in nature. Its medicinal liquid appears calm, but it contains extremely unstable ice-attribute energy. It needs to be guided with extremely delicate Soul Power to slowly release its coldness and achieve a dynamic balance with the auxiliary medicinal liquids. This process requires Soul Power to perceive and control the temperature of the flames and the energy fluctuations of the medicinal liquids to an extremely subtle level.
Xiao Yan held his breath and focused his mind, his Soul Power like the finest thread, winding around the ball of snow-white icy liquid, carefully guiding it towards the suspended medicinal liquid. The medicinal liquid slowly approached, and their energies began to probe and merge with each other.
At first, everything went smoothly. The release of the cold energy was controlled within a very small range, forming an initial balance with the gentle energy of the medicinal liquid. Xiao Yan was slightly pleased and was about to increase the fusion process.
However, at this crucial moment, perhaps due to prolonged high concentration causing a slight mental fatigue, or perhaps because his control over the icy attribute of the new Heavenly Flames that had incorporated the characteristics of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame was still not completely perfect.
In the instant the flames were adjusted in an attempt to further catalyze the fusion, the extreme cold contained within the flames enveloping the Snow Bone Ginseng liquid resonated almost imperceptibly with the coldness of the Snow Bone Ginseng itself—a very brief moment of perfect harmony!
The instant this resonance occurred, the extremely cold energy within the Snow Bone Ginseng liquid, which had been carefully restrained, suddenly lost control, like dynamite with its fuse ignited!
"Snap!"
A faint, yet clearly audible, crisp sound resonated deep within Xiao Yan's soul! The surface of the Snow Bone Ginseng liquid instantly became covered with countless ice-crack-like patterns. Its originally pure white color turned grayish and turbid, and the faint Spirit Qi it contained instantly dissipated. The pure medicinal power leaked out like a flood bursting its banks, violently clashing with the energy of the other medicinal liquids!
"Pfft!"
As a result of the chain reaction, all the medicinal liquids trembled violently at the same time, and then, in a chaotic energy fluctuation, they all turned into a gray mist mixed with ice crystals, which sprayed out from the fire outlet of the Medicinal Cauldron and quickly dissipated into the air.
The herbal fusion process failed! All extracted herbs are now completely ruined!
Xiao Yan's expression instantly turned somewhat grim, and his grip on the medicinal herbs tightened slightly. A strong sense of defeat welled up in his heart.
He subconsciously looked up, his gaze involuntarily sweeping over the crowd to the composed, fluid figure in a blue robe standing on the Central Stone Platform. The other's near-perfect control stood in stark contrast to his own earlier failure caused by a minor error.
"Call..."
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, the unwillingness and slight panic in his eyes had been forcibly suppressed, replaced by an even more stubborn tenacity.
"It was just a mistake, there's still enough time! And I have backups of the medicinal herbs! How could I, Xiao Yan, be defeated by this!"
Xiao Yan quickly composed himself, scanning his Storage Ring with his Soul Power to confirm the presence of the spare medicinal herbs. Without hesitation, he immediately cleaned the remaining failed medicinal power from the Medicinal Cauldron and then retrieved all the missing herbs.
This time, his gaze was more focused, and he was more cautious in mobilizing his Soul Power, carefully reviewing every detail of his previous failure, searching for the root cause of the resonance.
Although the process will be more mentally and physically demanding, this time, he will not allow himself to make the same mistake again!
The other stone platforms also present a myriad of scenes.
Cao Ying manipulated the Blood Demon Flame Fire, and the crimson figure within the flame seemed to come alive, assisting her in precisely removing impurities from the medicinal herbs. Her technique was elegant and efficient, drawing cheers from the audience. The pills she refined also seemed to be related to the soul, with a strange fluctuation of both mournful and peaceful energy emanating from the Medicinal Cauldron.
The purple flames before Dan Chen were as docile as lambs. Her refining process seemed calm and unhurried, but the extraction of each medicinal herb reached a near-perfect level. The fusion of medicinal properties carried a strange harmony and vitality, making it a force to be reckoned with.
Song Qing's expression was solemn. His Melting Gold Lion Flame roared as he refined the pills at an extremely fast speed, but occasionally his brows could be seen furrowing, clearly indicating that refining Tier 8 Medicinal Pill was a huge pressure for him.
Furthermore, some geniuses from reclusive families or ancient sects displayed various unique fire control techniques and alchemy skills, eliciting gasps of amazement from the audience. The entire sky resembled a giant exhibition hall of alchemy skills, where countless ingenious ideas and profound knowledge collided.
On the high platform, the Three Great Heads of Pill Tower and Yao Chen, their gazes like scanners, slowly swept across the Thousand Stone Platforms in the sky.
"This Lin Ming is truly remarkable." Tian Lei Zi stroked his beard, his eyes filled with amazement.
"His Soul Power is as vast as the sea, his Control Fire Technique has reached perfection, and what's even more remarkable is his calm and composed temperament. He has handled the four main ingredients, which have conflicting attributes, so perfectly. I can't even fathom the origins of the pill he's refining, but judging from the way the medicinal power is fusing, once it's Pill Formation, its grade will probably be no lower than the Tier 8, five colors, or even... higher."
Her Xuan Yi eyes gleamed with wonder as she softly said, "The Heavenly Flames he uses is also extremely peculiar. That purplish-red flame possesses both the aura of destruction and creation, domineering and unparalleled, yet he controls it with the gentleness of a cat. This fire is definitely not an ordinary Heavenly Flames, but it is also different from all the Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. I wonder where he found this brand-new Heavenly Flames. Such an opportunity and such courage are truly rare in the world."
Xuan Kongzi nodded slightly, his gaze profound. "This young man is indeed a genius I have never seen before. However, his pill formula seems to be not Ancient Prescription, but rather his own creation? The risks involved are self-evident. We'll see if he can handle this final step."
Their gazes immediately turned to Xiao Yan.
Yao Chen's face showed a hint of relief and concern. "Xiao Yan's mistake this time was due to a lack of mastery in controlling the resonance between the cold attribute of the Heavenly Flames and the energy of the extremely cold medicinal herbs. These subtle details are the ultimate test of Alchemist's foundation and experience. His ability to quickly regain his composure and start again is truly remarkable. Experiencing this setback will greatly benefit his future control over the Heavenly Flames."
Xuan Kongzi nodded in agreement. "Old Yao is right. Xiao Yan is also exceptionally talented, and he has inherited Heavenly Flames and advanced alchemy techniques. Given time, his achievements will be limitless. For him, the ranking at this Pill Gathering Xu Chong, but the experience and growth he will gain are even more important."
Their comments clearly reached the ears of several core elders of the Pill Tower, making their gazes towards Lin Ming and Xiao Yan even more solemn and complex. This Pill Gathering seemed to have gradually evolved into a stage for these two young men to showcase their monstrous talents.
The ultimate champion remains shrouded in mystery, captivating the hearts of countless viewers. Amidst the fierce competition in the sky, with thousands of cauldrons forging their own cauldrons, the real battle is only just beginning!