Grand Elder Su Qian (4k)

The instant the black-robed elder discovered the Pill Lightning anomaly deep in the mountains, far away in the chaotic region on the other side of the range...

Inside a secluded pavilion, a man wearing a blue-green robe embroidered with a maple leaf raised his head slightly. The place he looked toward was none other than where the Pill Lightning had descended.

The blue-robed man was quite handsome, his long black hair falling to his shoulders. An unusual medicinal fragrance seemed to linger around him at all times, making others instinctively feel drawn to him.

"Pill Lightning! How is that possible? How could a seventh-grade pill appear in the Black-Corner Region?" A low, disbelieving murmur slowly escaped his lips. Never mind the Black-Corner Region—even in the Central Plains, the appearance of a seventh-grade pill would cause a sensation.

A moment later, the blue-robed man knitted his brows, his expression shifting uncertainly. "That mountain range should be within Jia Nan Academy. Old Man Huo? Impossible. He can't even refine a Sixth-Grade Pill. How could he refine a seventh-grade one?"

The blue-robed man slowly turned around. On his chest was an antique Medicine Cauldron badge, above which six strange, glittering golden ripples shimmered faintly.

In the alchemy world, only a Grade Six Alchemist was qualified to wear those six golden markings. The man before him looked only around thirty, yet he already wore them. In the Black-Corner Region, there was unmistakably only one such person!

The Medicine Emperor, Han Feng!

A Seventh-Grade Alchemist! If not for... A trace of venomous resentment flashed through Han Feng's eyes. He had been only a step away from becoming a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, yet that person had ruined everything! Now, he could only huddle miserably in the Black-Corner Region!

Han Feng took a deep breath, suppressing the savage fury in his heart. With a seventh-grade pill appearing inside Jia Nan Academy, he could hardly go investigate at will. If those old fellows discovered him, trouble would be inevitable. Besides, he did not know just who could have refined a seventh-grade pill.

As for that person belonging to Jia Nan Academy, Han Feng did not believe it at all. As an unusual presence within the Black-Corner Region, Jia Nan Academy was secretly watched by almost every force of any standing. If a Seventh-Grade Alchemist had been there before, there was no way not a whisper would have leaked out.

The winds are changing in the Black-Corner Region! First came the sudden rise of the Feather Pavilion, whose master was suspected to be a Dou Zong expert and which also had a Grade Six Alchemist. Now, a mysterious Seventh-Grade Alchemist had appeared. All of this foretold that the Black-Corner Region was about to plunge into true chaos!

Han Feng paced inside the pavilion, pondering how to deal with all this. Ever since that incident years ago, he had suffered from an extreme lack of security, so he had secretly courted quite a few powerful experts. Thus, even though the Feather Pavilion also had a Grade Six Alchemist, he had not paid too much attention to its sudden rise.

But things were different now. The influence and terrifying rallying power of a mysterious Seventh-Grade Alchemist were beyond anything a Grade Six Alchemist could match. To put it brutally, if a Seventh-Grade Alchemist was determined to destroy a faction or a country—such as the Black-Corner Region—all he had to do was promise a reward, and large numbers of Dou Zong experts would come sweep the Black-Corner Region clean for him. He would not even need to act himself.

That was what made high-level alchemists so terrifying. With a few words, they could decide the lives and deaths of countless people. As that person's former disciple, Han Feng understood their terror all the more keenly.

Above an endless forest sea amid the vast mountain range, a heaven-shaking blood-red sword light collided with silver lightning. The dazzling light divided the entire Heaven and Earth into two colors.

Above the silver lightning, silver radiance blazed across the world; below the sword gleam, boundless blood-red light spread.

Boom!

After the tremendous explosion, both the sword gleam and the lightning vanished. Terrifying ripples of blood-red energy spread outward, while countless tiny sparks flickered among them, packed densely together like silver snakes.

Standing nearby, Zi Yan saw Liu Yu shatter the silver lightning with a single sword strike and could not help cheering. That was her boss for you!

As though displeased that the silver lightning had been cut down so easily, the dense black clouds churned ever more violently. A moment later, another ripping crack rang out, and a bolt of silver lightning more than twice as thick as the previous one descended from the dark clouds!

Last time, when he refined the Transformation Pill, only one bolt of Pill Lightning had descended—a stroke of dumb luck. This time, there would be no such lucky escape.

Yet Liu Yu was utterly fearless. He even wanted to see whether he could shatter both the lightning and the dark clouds together!

At a thought from Liu Yu, ice-blue flames surged around him. An aura of destruction, both scorching and freezing, spread from him and drifted through Heaven and Earth, warping space and standing against the pressure of Heaven and Earth!

Blood-red Dou Qi rushed out of his body, boundless energy of Heaven and Earth gathered together, and all the eerie ice-blue flames converged above Liu Yu.

In an instant, an enormous finger interwoven with three colors, towering toward the heavens, appeared above the clearing.

Its very appearance made space tremble. Ice crystals, sparks, and bloody vapor blossomed endlessly between Heaven and Earth.

"Wind-Evolving Spirit-Slaying Finger!"

As Liu Yu pointed a finger, the enormous three-colored finger blotted out the sky, tore through space, and instantly met the silver lightning.

The moment the silver lightning touched the three-colored finger, it was annihilated by the flames swirling around it.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With Liu Yu destroying two bolts of silver lightning in succession, the dark clouds filling the sky seemed to grow even more furious. Countless silver lights flashed, and bolts of lightning broke free from the clouds like silver pythons, slamming into the enormous finger one after another.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Thunderous explosions roared as several more bolts of silver lightning were annihilated by the enormous finger. Yet it did not end there. Silver lightning continued pouring down from the sky, covering heaven and earth. The apocalyptic sight sent fear welling up from the depths of the soul.

Below, Zi Yan clenched her little hands. Although the boundless lightning frightened her, she silently prayed that the enormous finger her boss had formed would smash all those bolts apart—and preferably blast those dark clouds to pieces as well.

Endless bolts of lightning arrived in succession, continuously bombarding the three-colored finger. Despite its destructive power, after withstanding dozens of silver bolts, the enormous finger finally dissipated.

The dense black clouds likewise gradually stopped churning, their color slowly fading. Clearly, this bout of Pill Lightning was over.

As the dark clouds dispersed, the oppressive weight hanging over the boundless Forest Sea abruptly vanished. When the first ray of sunlight spilled down from the sky once more, Zi Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Under that heavenly might, the pressure had truly been suffocating.

Just then, a streak of green light suddenly flashed out of the Red Dragon Cauldron and fled toward the horizon. But an invisible giant hand formed from soul power caught it outright and delivered it back into Liu Yu's hand.

Toying with the green pill, Liu Yu raised his head toward the sky. The big fish is here!

At the distant horizon, a blurry black silhouette abruptly appeared in midair. Amid a faint ripple of space, the figure stopped above the clearing.

"Zi Yan, why are you here?" Upon revealing himself and seeing Zi Yan, the black-robed elder looked quite startled.

Seeing the Grand Elder suddenly appear, Zi Yan flapped her Purple Wings and flew up to him. She ignored his question and said whatever she pleased instead. "Old Man Su, why did you come? Look, these are all my pill pellets. They're delicious!"

Without waiting for Su Qian to reply, Zi Yan spoke again. "Hehe, Old Man Su, let me tell you—I've got someone backing me now!"

Someone backing her? Su Qian instinctively looked toward Liu Yu. A trace of surprise and gravity flashed through his seemingly calm, cloudy eyes. So young. I can't see through him.

On his way here, he had naturally sensed the collision between that terrifying three-colored finger and the boundless lightning. Its destructive aura had made even him tremble, and the "youth" before him, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen, seemed to be the one responsible.

Zi Yan flew straight back to Liu Yu's side and explained, "Boss, this is the Inner Academy's Grand Elder, Old Man Su."

"You must be the one who refined the pill, correct?" Su Qian approached Liu Yu and asked first.

"I did indeed refine that seventh-grade pill. I accidentally drew down Pill Lightning and disturbed your academy," Liu Yu replied softly.

"You are mistaken, Master. Having you come to our Inner Academy to refine pills is an honor for us." A smile appeared on Su Qian's aged face. He had no objection to Liu Yu's uninvited arrival. With its headmaster absent, Jia Nan Academy could not afford to offend a Seventh-Grade Alchemist.

Moreover, Zi Yan seemed to have a fairly good relationship with this master. Although he did not know how she had met a Seventh-Grade Alchemist, Su Qian did not think there was anything about her worth such an alchemist scheming for.

Zi Yan's greatest secret was that her true form was a mysterious magical beast, and that was clearly not enough to make a Seventh-Grade Alchemist go to such lengths to come to the Inner Academy. Thus, Su Qian figured that this alchemist had arrived at the Inner Academy by chance, then met Zi Yan stealing medicinal ingredients to eat in the rear mountains. Her "innocent and guileless" appearance had won his affection...

Without anyone needing to explain, Su Qian had already filled in the whole story himself.

"Elder Su, your Inner Academy should have a Heavenly Flame, one of those divine wonders of Heaven and Earth, shouldn't it?" Liu Yu said directly.

Hearing Liu Yu's words, Su Qian's smiling face stiffened. Had this Seventh-Grade Alchemist come for the Fallen Heart Flame? He could not help recalling its last upheaval. That disturbance had probably leaked the Heavenly Flame's aura and drawn this alchemist's attention.

Heavenly Flames held a fatal allure for alchemists, while the Fallen Heart Flame was vital to the Inner Academy. It could not possibly be handed over to someone else.

"Elder Su, don't worry. I don't want the entire Heavenly Flame, only a little of its origin."

Seeing Su Qian's expression suddenly grow grave, Liu Yu chuckled and explained mildly. Then his tone changed, sounding both like a reminder and a warning. "Relying on a spatial cage to imprison a Heavenly Flame, keeping it captive and constantly extracting benefits from it—that can only last so long. Heavenly Flames are extraordinary fires born between Heaven and Earth, possessing true destructive power. If one suddenly erupts, hehe..."

Su Qian fell silent. Naturally, he knew that keeping a Heavenly Flame captive was extremely dangerous. One careless mistake could destroy the entire Inner Academy in a single stroke. But there was no alternative. The Inner Academy owed its fame to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, and the foundation of that tower was the Fallen Heart Flame!

If the headmaster were present, the Inner Academy would be safe no matter how the Fallen Heart Flame acted up. But the headmaster had been gone for far too long, and Su Qian did not know where to look for him.

"May I ask what use you have for the heavenly flame origin, Master?" Su Qian asked cautiously. He feared that this alchemist might use taking a little origin as a pretext to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame outright. Then he would truly be caught between advancing and retreating.

"To feed it to my own Heavenly Flame, of course!" As Liu Yu's words fell, an ice-blue flame carrying an aura of destruction surged from his hand.

"A Heavenly Flame!" Su Qian was somewhat startled. As divine wonders of Heaven and Earth, Heavenly Flames were something most people would struggle to see even once in their lives, let alone subdue. Although Seventh-Grade Alchemists held an exalted status, Heavenly Flames were still difficult for them to obtain. He had never expected...

Moreover, judging by its aura alone, this Heavenly Flame felt more terrifying than the Fallen Heart Flame. Stranger still, this ice-blue flame contained two extremes that should not have been able to coexist: bitter cold and scorching heat!

"Elder Su, you should know that Heavenly Flames can devour one another. I came here only to obtain a little origin from your Inner Academy's Heavenly Flame for mine to consume. This will benefit your Inner Academy as well. At the very least, you won't have to worry about a Heavenly Flame uprising for a long time."

Liu Yu withdrew the Profound Lotus Ice Flame and spoke while looking at Su Qian.

"Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Master!" With matters having reached this point, Su Qian could only agree. After all, one person could not possess two Heavenly Flames at the same time. As for whether Liu Yu would devour the entire Fallen Heart Flame, he thought that unlikely.

If Liu Yu truly committed such a treacherous act, he would rally the entire academy's strength and make him understand that Jia Nan Academy was no soft persimmon anyone could squeeze at will!

Nearby, seeing her boss and Old Man Su reach an agreement, Zi Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The tense atmosphere, like drawn swords and taut bows, had nearly made her little heart stop.

At the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Liu Yu entered the Black Tower once again. This time, however, he walked in openly.

The entire Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was empty except for Liu Yu, Zi Yan, and Su Qian. Before Liu Yu entered the Black Tower, Su Qian had already announced that it would be temporarily closed for the day, and all the elders stationed on its various floors had withdrawn to guard outside.

Outside the tower, the spacious clearing was now packed with people, while the elders from the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower's various floors maintained order.

Although the Inner Academy's students were displeased at having their cultivation abruptly interrupted, they did not dare say much under the elders' imposing presence. They could only grumble a little before beginning to discuss Liu Yu and Zi Yan, who had appeared beside the Grand Elder.

"Master Liu, do you need me to open this spatial cage for you now?" Su Qian asked. Zi Yan had already told him some information about Liu Yu.

Although opening the spatial cage might allow the Fallen Heart Flame to escape its restraints, Su Qian was not overly worried. From what he sensed, Liu Yu's ice-blue flame was stronger than the Fallen Heart Flame, so there should not be any major problems. Even if something happened, he would immediately close the spatial cage.

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