The Alchemy Convention: Twin Flames Break the Stalemate and the System Template Collapses

The Heaven Pill Assembly of the Jia Ma Empire kicked off as scheduled at the foot of the Sunset Mountain Range. On the plaza, a hundred bronze pill furnaces were arranged in neat rows, the "System Certified" runes carved into their bodies glowing with a ghostly blue light. Xiao Feng, dressed in the dark-patterned attire of the Xiao Clan, stood beside Xiao Yan. The Emperor Scale patterns beneath his sleeves rose and fell with his breathing as he keenly caught the scent of Soul-Devouring Insects seeping from the gaps in the furnaces: "Xiao Yanzi, these furnaces have been modified into insect nests; ten alchemist skeletons are buried beneath each one."

Xiao Yan's pupils constricted upon hearing this. He crushed a "Basic Pill Recipe Jade Slip" issued by the system between his fingertips. The moment the slip shattered, half a Soul-Devouring Insect pupa coated in code indeed tumbled out, its surface still sticky with the unique curse-runes of the Soul Clan. He swept his gaze over the green-robed alchemists on the plaza, whose movements were perfectly synchronized. The "System Alchemy Badges" at their waists were emitting faint mental fluctuations, and like marionettes, they bowed to the furnaces in unison: "Even the angle of their kowtows is identical. The Soul Clan has turned this entire assembly into a puppet farm."

At the opening ceremony, the Heaven Pill Pavilion Master, Thunder Venerable, ascended the high platform. His gait was as stiff and mechanical as a machine, and code patterns were vaguely visible beneath the skin exposed at his cuffs. He held the "System Certified Pill Flag" high, his voice carrying the stuttering quality of electronic synthesis: "This year's assembly... shall strictly follow the Heavenly Dao Pill Recipes. Any deviation in alchemy steps... shall be deemed blasphemy against the Heavenly Dao and executed without mercy!" Before his voice had even faded, a transparent barrier of code rose around the west side of the plaza, trapping all the alchemists within. The words "Plot Locked: Alchemy Standardized" floated across the barrier.

First Round Trial: Basic Flame Control!

As the bell tolled, a hundred pill furnaces were ignited simultaneously. Xiao Yan's gaze swept across the field, only to see every alchemist summon beast fire in unison and execute the "Three-Fold Wave" flame control technique. The height of their flames was precise to the third inch, and even the frequency at which they fanned their sleeves was identical. A cold sneer curled his lips, yet two clusters of flame quietly leapt into his palms—one the crimson red of the Flame Emperor Fire, the other the chaotic hue of the Emperor Flame. The dual flames merged in his palm, transforming into the pale golden "Dual Flame Heart Fire."

Ding! Host Xiao Yan detected using non-system flames. "Violation Warning" triggered!

Protagonist Halo reduced by 200 points. Alchemy success rate forcibly lowered by 50%!

As the system prompt exploded in his sea of consciousness, the bronze badge at Xiao Yan's waist sparked, but he casually crushed it into powder: "A halo? It's nothing more than a placebo the Soul Clan gives its puppets." He grabbed a "Blood Lotus Essence Leaf" and, defying the sequence of the system's pill recipe, threw in the high-heat medicinal materials first before melting the gentle, nourishing spirit herbs. A roar like that of a dragon and a tiger suddenly erupted from the furnace, startling the neighboring alchemists into turning their heads, yet all that could be seen in their eyes was mechanical blue light, devoid of any shock.

"Audacious! How dare you tamper with the Heavenly Dao Pill Recipe!" Thunder Venerable roared, lashing out with a chain condensed from code. The words "Violators Die" flickered in red light upon the links. "Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you have the Xiao Clan backing you?"

Xiao Feng stepped forward, the Emperor Flame transforming into a heaven-burning net in his palm, easily melting the chain: "The Heavenly Dao? The Heavenly Dao you speak of is nothing but a pigsty the Soul Clan uses to pen in mortals. Xiao Yanzi, show them how the true path of alchemy breaks the game."

Xiao Yan understood, and the Dual Flame Heart Fire transformed into a Taiji fish shape within the furnace. The Emperor Flame acted as the Yang, burning away the impurities of the medicinal materials; the Flame Emperor Fire acted as the Yin, nourishing the essence meridians. This "Yin-Yang Mutual Aid" technique was originally created by Yao Lao in combination with the Burning Mantra. Now, unleashed under the suppression of the system, it actually drew the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to surge into the furnace like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. A vortex of spiritual energy condensed above Xiao Yan's head, within which the faint phantom of an ancient alchemy grandmaster could be seen sitting in meditation.

Ding! Host Xiao Yan triggered the hidden plot "Heaven-Defying Pill Formation"!

Alchemy technique exceeding the template detected. System initiating "Pill Destruction Program"!

Seeing this, Thunder Venerable grinned hideously and took out a "System Pill-Destroying Talisman." Dense swarms of Soul-Devouring Insects crawled out from the runes, the insect swarm turning into a black tide that lunged toward Xiao Yan's furnace. Xiao Feng had long been prepared; his Emperor Flame domain expanded with a boom. The orange-red flames descended like a canopy, and the insect swarm let out ear-piercing shrieks in the high heat. Before turning to ash, they actually spelled out the character "Soul" in the void, confirming Xiao Feng's conjecture—the Heaven Pill Pavilion had long since been infiltrated by the Soul Clan.

"Is that all you've got?" Xiao Feng flicked his sleeves, scattering ten thousand Emperor Flame seeds. The seeds landed precisely into the furnaces of the other alchemists, helping them burn through the shackles of the system code: "Open your eyes and look! The pill recipes you worship as the Heavenly Dao are merely parasitic insects the Soul Clan uses to extract your spiritual power!"

The alchemists touched by the flame seeds shuddered violently, the blue light in their eyes gradually fading. Some touched their furnaces and wept bitterly: "I... I actually used my master's bones to refine a Soul-Devouring Insect nest..." "My pill recipe... was code exchanged for my daughter's soul..."

When Xiao Yan's furnace exploded with a boom, a gasp of shock echoed across the plaza—a pill swirling with seven-colored radiance soared into the sky, and the pill clouds gathered into the phantoms of nine giant dragons. It was the "Nine Dragons Pulling the Cauldron" phenomenon, a miracle legendary only to Grade Nine pills! Thunder Venerable's face turned as pale as paper. The Soul-Devouring Insect nest beneath his system robes lost control, crawling out from his cuffs and exposing his identity as a Soul Clan lackey in full view of everyone.

"A... Grade Nine pill!" He trembled all over. "The system pill recipes only go up to Grade Six at most. How could you possibly..."

Xiao Yan walked over, clutching the pill, the Dual Flame Heart Fire dancing at his fingertips. The Burning Silence power mixed into the pill's fragrance burned holes through Thunder Venerable's robes, revealing a back covered in insect nests: "Because the true path of alchemy was never something that could be framed by code." He turned his head to look at the corner of the plaza, where several black shadows were dragging a green-clad figure toward an alleyway—it was Xiao Yi Xian! Her Woeful Poison Body had been modified into a blue-purple color by the system, and she was clearly already in a coma.