Xiao Yan, who was in the audience at the moment, was naturally unaware of the conversation between Chen Xuanling and the others on the platform.
After giving Mu Leng a pill, and seeing his condition improve slightly, Xiao Yan and Xiao Siyu had a brief conversation to comfort him. They watched him return to the stage before turning back to the arena. In a secluded spot, they waited quietly, slowly recovering their own strength.
Of the three trials and two tests that Chen Xuanling mentioned at the Pill Gathering, the first three trials have now been passed, leaving only the two tests remaining.
"This fourth level is said to be a secret realm within the Pill Tower, containing countless rare and wondrous artifacts collected from the continent by the Pill Tower's experts. Even the Giant Rock Horned Rhino Beast you searched for some time ago could very well exist within this secret realm."
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yuwen Zong reappeared in the sky, and Xiao Siyu told Xiao Yan what she knew and had heard with great interest. Upon hearing about the Pill Tower Secret Realm again, Xiao Yan also became very interested.
At that moment, Yuwen Zong in the sky calmed his mind and slowly spoke.
"After this period of rest, the effects you all suffered in the Pill Sea Illusion Realm should have subsided by now..."
As soon as these words were spoken, a murmur arose among the crowd on the platform below. Many people had uncertain expressions on their faces as they recalled their experiences in the illusion. Even Huo Huoxun Mingcheng frowned, as if he were recalling something unpleasant.
Seeing this, Yuwen Zong coughed lightly, calming everyone down. His gaze involuntarily drifted to where Xiao Yan was, whose calmness was immediately apparent, which made Yuwen Zong's eyes show a hint of surprise.
After calming himself down, he continued:
"The purpose of the first three trials is twofold: firstly, to select outstanding alchemists; secondly... as you all should have noticed before, formidable strength is also an indispensable factor in the selection process of the Pill Gathering. After all, compared to the first three trials, this fourth trial is much more severe. A slight misstep, and even with your cultivation levels, it is not impossible for you to perish here."
These words immediately caused the faces of the alchemists on the platform to change drastically. Although many still harbored suspicions, recalling the dangers of the illusion in the previous level, they could roughly guess that Yuwen Zong's words were probably not far off.
Xiao Yan frowned slightly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the crowd, lost in thought.
Before he could finish his thought, Yuwen Zong in the sky stretched out a hand, flipped it over, and flicked two fingers upwards. Instantly, fierce flames rose from the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron surrounding the platform, just like the sea of fire that had appeared earlier.
This scene caused the expressions of those present to turn slightly serious. Immediately afterward, the raging fire in the cauldron erupted from the fire holes on the side of the cauldron, transforming into towering pillars of fire that shot towards the center of the platform. Everyone was startled and then quickly soared into the sky, their fearful gazes fixed on Yuwen Zong in the heavens. Of course, some who knew the inside story looked down at the flames with cold smiles, their eyes seemingly anticipating something.
A moment later, everyone present was astonished to see that the platform below melted into nothingness under the burning flames. The original huge platform gradually transformed into a massive vortex of fire. As the flames at the center of the vortex gradually intensified and turned into a bluish-white color, a mysterious spatial passage quietly appeared before everyone's eyes.
Immediately afterwards, Yuwen Zong rolled up his sleeves, and a burst of light flashed in the sky. At the same time, his cold voice slowly rang out.
"This stage will determine the final outcome of the Pill Gathering. Everyone can choose one of the given pill formulas, or choose their own formula and submit their results. They will then search for the necessary medicinal herbs in the Cang Ridge Secret Realm for one month."
As soon as he finished speaking, the light in the sky condensed and transformed into dozens of different pill formula scrolls. At a glance, pill formulas ranging from the seventh to the eighth rank were listed among them, which made the hearts of all the alchemists present burn with excitement. They even forgot about what Yuwen Zong had just said.
To this, Yuwen Zong merely chuckled lightly, and then said:
"Everyone, this is a rather special challenge. You can choose whether to enter or not. Those who choose to enter can pass by collecting twenty Fragrance-Nurturing Pill within the secret realm. Otherwise, you can leave now. Our Pill Tower will not interfere much in matters within the secret realm. Therefore, we hope you will consider this carefully."
As soon as he finished speaking, the alchemists present glanced back and forth between the pill formulas in the sky and the vortex of flames below, each of them struggling with a dilemma and hesitating between the two options.
As for the few Yuan Zun experts, they didn't care about those pill formulas at all. With their strength, since they had participated in the Pill Gathering, they had naturally prepared the pill formulas to be refined in advance. Therefore, they ignored the pill formulas in the sky. After exchanging glances, they all jumped down towards the vortex of flames. When they approached the center of the vortex, their bodies shone brightly, easily blocking the oncoming flames. Then they disappeared into the vortex.
On the other side, Xiao Yan was looking up at the pill formulas floating in the air with great interest. Many of them made his heart flutter. It was a pity that Yuwen Zong's words just now seemed to imply that he could only choose one between the pill formulas from Pill Tower and his own. If he hadn't already decided to refine the Creation Pill, Xiao Yan might have really chosen one of them.
With a helpless wry smile, Xiao Yan exchanged a glance with Xiao Siyu beside him, then nodded with a smile, seemingly understanding each other's thoughts.
Their goal for this trip was undoubtedly to win the Pill Gathering, so even with Yuan Zun expert ahead of them, they were determined to conquer the Cang Ridge Secret Realm.
Without hesitation, Xiao Yan and his companion leaped into the air, transforming into two streaks of light as they hurtled towards the vortex. As they landed, Huoxun Mingcheng and another group of people shot towards them from the void to the side.
After greeting Huoxun Mingcheng was coming towards him, Xiao Yan had a thought, and a raging Heavenly Flames immediately appeared on his body, enveloping his body and instantly dispersing the raging flames below.
Just as Xiao Yan's figure was about to disappear into the vortex, a chilling gaze made him instantly raise his eyes. In that instant, a white-robed youth with a cold smile appeared in the crowd not far away, reflected in his fiery eyes.
The next moment, after a wave of fire subsided, all the alchemists who had rushed into the vortex vanished without a trace.