Wutan City Erupts!

Inside Lu Heng's exclusive alchemy room at the Miteer Auction House, the temperature was terrifyingly high.

A burst of rapid energy fluctuations came from the medicine cauldron. The next moment, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the alchemy room.

With a flick of his right finger, Lu Heng sent a streak of crimson Dou Qi instantly wrapping around the medicine cauldron. The lid trembled slightly before being pushed open by the Dou Qi.

Amid the lingering firelight inside the cauldron, two round, pale-green pills floated out. With precise control over his Dou Qi, Lu Heng accurately collected them into a jade bottle he had prepared beforehand.

"Done. The fifth batch."

Lu Heng exhaled a breath of hot air, shook his slightly numb and aching wrist, then turned to look at the neatly stacked jade bottles beside him.

Such refining speed and success rates were enough to leave any alchemist stunned.

He sat cross-legged and swiftly circulated the Five Spirits Chaos Art.

A cool stream of Dou Qi immediately nourished his sea of consciousness, rapidly restoring the soul power he had expended earlier.

As long as I have enough medicinal ingredients and soul power, pills of this level are practically assembly-line work, Lu Heng thought.

Although the refining process had been easy, Lu Heng remained vigilant. He needed to finish this quickly.

Nine portions of Spirit-Nurturing Powder, nine Yuan-Gathering Pills.

Over the past two days, he had refined batch after batch. Aside from meditating to recover and swallowing a few Qi Recovery Pills, he had completed a huge amount of refining work.

This was not only thanks to soul strength comparable to that of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist, but also to the recovery speed granted by the Five Spirits Chaos Art.

Lu Heng picked up a bottle of freshly refined Yuan-Gathering Pills and held it up to the light. The pills were round and smooth, with a rich medicinal fragrance.

Every one of these pills was worth a fortune.

At that moment, someone gently knocked on the alchemy room door.

"Little brother, are you all right?"

Ya Fei's worried voice came from outside.

Lu Heng quickly straightened his collar and put away the jade bottles.

"I'm fine, Sister Ya Fei."

Lu Heng opened the door, his expression calm. Other than the lingering sweat on his body, there was no sign that he had just undergone such intense alchemy work.

Ya Fei looked at the upright young man before her. Though he was drenched in sweat, his aura remained steady. His relaxed composure made her heart tremble slightly.

"Two days without a single sound. I thought something had happened to you."

Ya Fei chided him, though her gaze involuntarily swept over the alchemy room behind him.

"Sister Ya Fei, don't you have faith in my abilities?" Lu Heng handed her a Storage Ring.

"The Spirit-Nurturing Powder and Yuan-Gathering Pills are all inside. Nine portions of each."

Ya Fei opened the wooden box, where jade bottles containing Spirit-Nurturing Powder and Yuan-Gathering Pills were neatly arranged.

Her usually shrewd, seductive eyes instantly lit up.

"Perfect."

Ya Fei picked up one of the jade bottles. Although she had not witnessed the refining process herself, just by looking at the quality of the pills, she knew Lu Heng's alchemy skills had already far surpassed Gu Ni's.

She knew it was time to discuss business.

"The publicity has already been released."

Ya Fei closed the wooden box, her tone turning serious and confident.

"The entire Wutan City is in an uproar.

Xiao Zhan, Jia Lie Bi, and the Aoba Clan are all frantically gathering funds. Over in Black Rock City, Frank and Otto from the Alchemist Guild have also sent word that they want to come and see for themselves."

"Frank and Otto?" Lu Heng raised an eyebrow slightly.

In the original story, those two were genuine Fourth-Grade Alchemists.

"They came for the Yuan-Coagulating Pill." A sly smile appeared on Ya Fei's face. "They think its effects are too outrageous. They don't believe Wutan City could possibly have an alchemist capable of making it."

"Then let them see." Lu Heng smiled.

After handing the pills over to Ya Fei, Lu Heng headed back toward the alchemy room.

"Sister Ya Fei, for the final Yuan-Coagulating Pill, I'll need to enter seclusion for around three days."

Ya Fei immediately put away her teasing attitude, her tone becoming solemn.

"I know what's at stake. Refine your pills in peace inside. Your sister has everything covered outside."

With that, Ya Fei turned and walked away.

Wutan City's morning had never been as noisy as it was today.

In the streets, alleyways, tea houses, and taverns, almost everyone was discussing the same matter.

Flyers bearing the Mite'er Family crest were scattered throughout the city like snowflakes.

"Have you heard? The Miteer Auction House is auctioning off miracle medicine!"

"What miracle medicine? Another one of those aphrodisiacs?"

"Bah! How vulgar! This time, they're proper pills for cultivation! I heard there's one called the Yuan-Gathering Pill that gives a Nine-Star Dou Zhe a fifty-percent chance of breaking through directly to Dou Master!"

"I heard it too! There's also something called the Yuan-Coagulating Pill, for Dou Master experts. After taking it, even a Nine-Star Dou Master has a fifty-percent chance of breaking through to Da Dou Shi!

Good heavens, a Da Dou Shi! Aside from the heads of the three great families, how many Da Dou Shi are there in Wutan City?"

Such discussions spread like a plague.

Xiao Family Hall.

The atmosphere was so heavy it seemed as though water could be wrung from it.

Bang!

An exquisite blue-and-white porcelain teacup was smashed viciously onto the floor, shards flying everywhere.

Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Family patriarch, was red-faced as he slammed his palm onto the table, making even the nearby teapot jump.

"Buy them! We have to buy them! No matter the cost, the Xiao Family must secure one portion of the Yuan-Gathering Pills and Yuan-Coagulating Pills!"

The three elders seated below exchanged glances.

The Great Elder frowned, stroking his beard as he spoke.

"Patriarch, calm down. This news came too suddenly. Who knows whether the effects are real? What if the Miteer Auction House is just creating hype..."

"Hype?" Xiao Zhan sneered.

"The Mite'er Family's reputation is on the line. Ya Fei may be shrewd, but she would never gamble with her family's credibility! Besides..."

Xiao Zhan's gaze softened slightly, carrying the pride he felt whenever his son was mentioned.

"Yan'er only broke through to Dou Zhe yesterday. An eleven-year-old Dou Zhe!

As long as we can obtain the Yuan-Gathering Pill!

Within three years, Yan'er will definitely become a Dou Master!

When that time comes, our Xiao Family will be able to completely crush those old dogs from the Jia Lie Family and the Aoba Clan!"

At the mention of family competition, the expressions of the three elders changed as well.

That was right.

The three-way standoff in Wutan City had lasted for far too long.

The appearance of these three kinds of pills might well be the key bargaining chips that would shatter the balance.

Whoever obtained them would seize the initiative in the coming years.

"Go raise money!"

The Great Elder finally relented, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"Liquidate all those Magic Cores and medicinal ingredients from the market district that we've been keeping in reserve! Even if we have to borrow, we must gather enough gold!"

At the same time, the Jia Lie Family and the Aoba Clan were putting on the same show.

Jia Lie Bi sat with a gloomy expression, listening to his steward's report.

"A fifty-percent chance of breaking through to Dou Master... a fifty-percent chance of breaking through to Da Dou Shi..."

Jia Lie Bi's fingers dug several deep grooves into the armrest.

"Damn it! Where did the Miteer Auction House get these cursed things? Could some high-level alchemist have passed through Wutan City?"