Pill Tower's Display of Might

Pill Tower's Display of Might

Holy Pill City.

The great city at the heart of the Central Plains remained as prosperous as ever.

Countless streaks of light crossed the sky. All manner of flying mounts and lavish flying boats constantly traveled above the city, while the dense fragrance of medicine lingered in the air, impossible to disperse. There was nowhere else like it on the entire continent.

Han Feng wore a long white robe as he slowly walked down the broad street without using any flying vessel.

The sight before him brought back memories of what had happened four years ago.

Back then, he was fourteen, still a boy following his teacher, Yao Chen, and it had been his first time seeing the holy land of alchemists on the continent.

He remembered clearly how his teacher had brought him straight into the Elders' Council at the very core of the Pill Tower, practically without obstruction.

The three giants of the Pill Tower—President Xuan Kongzi, Elder Tian Leizi, and Elder Xuan Yi—had all personally come out to receive them.

At the time, President Xuan Kongzi had stroked his beard as he looked at him, his eyes filled with admiration, and smiled as he said that his teacher had taken in an extraordinary disciple.

As for Elder Tian Leizi, who rarely smiled and possessed an imposing presence, he had only nodded in approval after Han Feng displayed his exceptional fire-control technique.

As for Elder Xuan Yi...

Han Feng's expression turned strange.

The famed cold and iron-fisted female magnate of the Central Plains had shown all sorts of emotions in her eyes when she saw his teacher, none of which escaped his notice.

Before they left, Xuan Yi had even pulled him aside and given him many precious medicinal ingredients. She had also unusually patted his head and told him to visit often in the future.

From then on, his teacher allowed him to privately address Elder Xuan Yi as "Aunt Xuan."

Thinking of this, Han Feng sighed inwardly.

"Teacher, oh teacher, your romantic debts from your younger days truly spread across the entire continent."

While lost in thought, he had already arrived beneath the Pill Tower's iconic giant tower.

The tower was tall and majestic, with an ancient exterior. Powerful soul auras emanated from within, making every alchemist who approached feel reverence.

Han Feng merely glanced up at it before continuing forward without stopping.

The first-floor hall bustled with people.

He bypassed the crowd and headed straight for the high-level certification counter.

Behind the counter sat an old man wearing the robes of a Pill Tower steward. His eyes were half-closed, and his aura was deep and steady. He was clearly a seventh-tier alchemist as well.

"What is it?"

The old man asked blandly without lifting his eyes.

"I wish to apply for the eighth-tier alchemist examination."

Han Feng spoke calmly, as if he were discussing something utterly ordinary.

The moment he spoke, the surroundings fell silent for an instant, followed by several snickers that could not be held back.

"Eighth tier? Has this kid gone mad? He looks about twenty, doesn't he?"

Young people these days were getting more and more reckless. Was eighth-tier alchemist the highest realm he could even imagine?

The old man behind the counter finally opened his eyes, a hint of displeasure and scrutiny appearing in his cloudy gaze.

When he saw Han Feng's age clearly, his brow furrowed even more deeply.

"Young man, this is the Pill Tower, not a place for you to seek attention. The eighth-tier examination process is extremely complicated. If you fail, not only will you waste the Pill Tower's precious medicinal ingredients, your soul will also suffer considerable damage. This old man advises you to begin with the sixth tier."

Han Feng did not get angry. He took a jade token from his Storage Ring and placed it on the counter.

The jade token was white, engraved with the ancient character for "medicine."

It was Yao Chen's token.

The old man's expression changed drastically upon seeing it.

As he rose to his feet, his body trembled slightly with excitement. The displeasure in his gaze toward Han Feng turned into shock and respect.

"Y-You are Lord Yao Chen's disciple?"

The old man asked in a trembling voice. In his youth, he had been fortunate enough to witness the bearing of the continent's number one alchemist from afar.

Han Feng nodded without confirming or denying it.

"Can I take the examination now?"

"Yes, of course! Esteemed guest, please follow me!"

The old man's attitude changed completely. He personally stepped out from behind the counter, made an inviting gesture to Han Feng, and led the way himself.

The alchemists in the hall who had been watching the show all shut their mouths and stared wide-eyed at what was unfolding, their hearts churning with turmoil.

For a seventh-tier alchemist steward to be so respectful, the owner of that jade token had to possess an immensely high status.

Led by the steward, Han Feng passed through layer after layer of checkpoints before arriving at an examination chamber in the upper levels of the Pill Tower.

The chamber was large. A bronze medicinal cauldron stood in its center, while intricate formations were carved into the surrounding walls to stabilize space and isolate auras.

Three old men wearing Pill Tower elder robes were already waiting inside.

Each of them possessed an unfathomably deep aura. They were likely genuine eighth-tier alchemists responsible for supervising the examination.

When they saw that the steward had truly brought such a young youth, surprise appeared in all three elders' eyes.

"Steward Huang, is this the alchemist taking the eighth-tier examination?" one of the hook-nosed elders asked with a frown, his tone clearly distrustful.

"Reporting to Elder Qiu, this is Lord Yao Chen's disciple," Steward Huang answered respectfully.

"Yao Chen's disciple?"

The expressions of the three elders changed upon hearing this.

If he was Yao Chen's disciple, then it was somewhat possible.

"In that case, let us begin." The white-haired elder stepped forward and said to Han Feng, "You should know the examination rules. The Pill Tower will provide three sets of medicinal ingredients. Refine any eighth-tier pill; as long as you succeed once, you will pass. The pill will belong to you, but you must provide the formula yourself."

"I understand." Han Feng nodded.

He walked to the medicinal ingredient shelves beside the room and looked them over. They were filled with all manner of precious herbs, each one enough to make Dou Ancestor experts outside fight over it.

Without hesitation, he selected more than thirty precious medicinal ingredients.

"Are these the ingredients for the Heavenly Fortune Pill?"

After Elder Qiu, the hook-nosed elder, saw the ingredients Han Feng had chosen, his eyes suddenly narrowed and he cried out in surprise.

The other two elders were shaken as well.

The Heavenly Fortune Pill was a mid-tier eighth-tier pill. Its main effect was to help Dou Venerable experts stabilize cultivation bottlenecks on the verge of collapse and increase the chance of successfully breaking through to the next star level.

For many Dou Venerable experts, if they could not break through to a higher star level, they could no longer advance. To them, this pill was a supreme treasure capable of defying fate.

However, the difficulty of refining it was extremely high, and the requirements for soul-force control were severe. The slightest mistake could cause the cauldron to explode. Even if the three of them refined it together, their success rate was only thirty to forty percent.

He had reached the eighth tier on his first examination, yet he dared to directly challenge a pill of this level?

Was he skilled enough to be fearless, or simply ignorant enough to know no fear?

Under the gazes of the three elders, Han Feng had already arrived before the bronze medicinal cauldron.

He did not act immediately, instead closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

When he opened his eyes again, his entire bearing had changed completely.

An incomparably vast soul force burst from within him, like an ancient colossal beast awakening!

Perfected Spirit Realm!

"What?!"

The three supervising elders' expressions became unsightly. They shot to their feet, their faces full of disbelief.

He had reached the Perfected Spirit Realm at such a young age? How had he done it?

What happened next shocked them even more.

Han Feng raised his right hand and flicked a finger.

"Puff!"

A brilliant red lotus bloomed in his palm, floating quietly above it.

The instant the lotus appeared, the temperature in the chamber rose sharply, as though even the air were about to burn. The searing sensation deep within their souls caused the three elders' soul forms to feel a stab of pain.

"Is this the Heavenly Flame they speak of?"

"What domineering flames! This old man has never seen Red Lotus Flame with such an eerie color!"

"Wait, the aura of this flame seems to place it within the top ten of the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"

The three elders grew agitated.

At eighteen, he possessed a Perfected Spirit Realm soul and terrifying flames suspected to rank within the top ten of the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Any one of those three traits appearing in a young person would have been enough to call them an unparalleled monster.

Yet all three had gathered in one person!

Han Feng ignored their shock.

He immersed himself completely in refining the pill.

With a flick of his fingers, one medicinal ingredient after another seemed to come alive, flying into the cauldron in an orderly fashion.

The crimson flames split into dozens of tiny tongues of fire, each accurately wrapping around a different medicinal ingredient.

Extraction, fusion.

The entire process was exceptionally smooth, without the slightest awkwardness. It looked less like refining an eighth-tier pill and more like an artistic performance.

The three elders were dumbfounded.

They knew that even if they gave it their all, they absolutely could not achieve such effortless grace.

Who had taught this boy such alchemy? Even if Yao Chen himself were here at this age, he could never have reached such a terrifying level!

Time passed second by second.

After the final main ingredient fused perfectly, a mysterious aura suddenly rose from within the medicinal cauldron.

Success!

Han Feng changed his hand seal and let out a low shout.

"Condense!"

"Rumble!"

Above the Pill Tower, the previously clear sky changed in an instant! Heavy, leaden clouds gathered from all directions, plunging the entire Holy Pill City into darkness. An oppressive heavenly might so heavy it made people suffocate descended upon everyone's hearts.

"Crackle!"

Within the dark clouds, red, azure, yellow, white, and black lightning intertwined like ancient thunder dragons awakening one after another, unleashing earth-shaking roars!

"Five-Colored Pill Lightning! Heavens, this is Five-Colored Pill Lightning that only appears when refining a supreme eighth-tier pill!"

Countless alchemists in the city looked up in panic at the world-destroying sight above the Pill Tower. Their voices trembled with awe and fervor.

Inside the chamber, the three supervising elders had turned pale as paper.

"Madman! This boy is a madman!" Elder Qiu cried out, his eyes filled with terror. "The power of Five-Colored Pill Lightning is enough to seriously injure a high-level Dou Venerable. H-He actually dares?!"

At the center of the storm, Han Feng showed no fear whatsoever.

He raised his head to look at the pill that had already formed above the cauldron. Five-colored divine light flickered around it, and it pulsed faintly as if alive. A calm smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Perfect timing."

Before his words had faded, a crimson pill lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel crashed down from the sky. Carrying the terrifying power to burn all things, it tore through the Pill Tower's layers of restrictions and viciously struck toward the Heavenly Fortune Pill!

"Watch out!" The three elders staggered back in panic, almost instinctively mobilizing their protective Dou Qi.

But Han Feng neither dodged nor evaded. He brought his fingers together like a sword and lightly slashed at the unstoppable crimson pill lightning.

"A Thousand Miles in One Day."

A streak of azure sword qi shot from between his fingers at astonishing speed. Like a flash of light piercing the night, it struck later yet arrived first, accurately slashing into the pill lightning!

"Boom!"

There was no earth-shattering explosion. The violent crimson pill lightning shattered upon touching the sword qi, as though it were a diamond cut with precision. It transformed into the purest essence of lightning, becoming a rain of crimson light that fell entirely upon the Heavenly Fortune Pill.

The pill flashed, absorbing all the lightning power into itself as its five-colored halo became even more solid!

Immediately afterward, azure, yellow, white, and black pill lightning bolts fell one after another, each more powerful than the last!

Yet Han Feng's figure never moved in the slightest.

He merely stood where he was, using his fingers as a sword. One seemingly casual yet profoundly exquisite sword qi after another shot forth, shattering each bolt of pill lightning feared even by Dou Venerable experts and transforming them into the purest nourishment, all of which poured into the pill!

When the final and thickest black pill lightning was completely absorbed, the dark clouds slowly dispersed and sunlight once again shone down.

Five faint lightning patterns appeared on the Heavenly Fortune Pill floating in the air. Its medicinal fragrance spread everywhere, and its spiritual aura was overwhelming!

After being tempered by the pill lightning, the pill's grade had actually risen another level, reaching the high-tier eighth-tier!

"T-This... this..."

The three elders were completely stunned. As they looked at Han Feng, it was as though they were seeing a monster walk out of myth. Not a single word could leave their mouths.

Yet Han Feng considered it utterly ordinary. With a flick of his finger, the divine pill fell steadily into the jade vial in his hand.

Only after finishing all this did he turn around and smile apologetically at the three elders, who had completely petrified.

"Three elders, the examination should count as passed, right?"

"P-Passed..." The white-haired elder's throat bobbed as he struggled to force out the words.

Facing the young man before him, he felt that everything he had learned about alchemy in his life had been utterly shattered today.

At that moment, the chamber door was gently pushed open.

A maid entered respectfully and bowed to Han Feng.

"Young Master Han Feng, Elder Xuan Yi requests your presence."

Han Feng understood what this meant, but his expression did not change. After bowing to the three elders, he followed the maid out.

He wanted to learn as soon as possible what had happened to his teacher.

The three Pill Tower elders remained in the chamber, staring at each other in bewilderment as their minds were still in chaos.

"A monster... a true monster!"

How had Yao Chen found such a monstrous disciple?