Somewhere on the floating platform, a pale-faced middle-aged man was controlling a ball of grayish-white flame in his palm with a cold look in his eyes. He blew lightly on it, and the flame flickered, emitting a chilling sound like the wailing of a ghost.
The moment the alchemists present saw this Heavenly Flames, all of them, all Tier Seven Alchemist, felt a sudden surge of fear welling up from the depths of their souls, as if the flame were about to devour and chew their souls, making them shudder at the mere sight of it.
Some Tier Seven Alchemist couldn't even withstand the oppressive and suffocating feeling brought by the Heavenly Flames. In a moment of panic, the flames in their cauldrons suddenly flared up, causing the medicinal herbs that had just been put into the cauldrons to turn into ashes in an instant.
Even the people in the stands, who had nothing to do with this, became much quieter because of the appearance of this gray-white flame.
In response, the Fu Kui, disguised as a pale-faced middle-aged man, revealed a mocking smile. His sharp, knife-like gaze swept quickly across everyone present. Then, with a sudden wave of his hand, the gray-white flames instantly surged, burning fiercely in the void before him. As the flames gradually contracted, a strange medicine cauldron, resembling a coiled giant python and forged from white bones, appeared. The eerie light of the gray-white flames emanated from the python's eye sockets, further exuding a strong sense of gloom.
Although such a scene was repulsive, those present were not ordinary people after all. After regaining their senses, they all revealed their own flames and medicine cauldrons, causing a commotion in the stands. At the same time, the scorching atmosphere dispelled the cold aura brought by the Fu Kui's attack.
"Old Chen, what do you think? The sinister aura of those grayish-white flames is even making me uneasy. I've never seen any similar flames recorded in any ancient books. It can't possibly be something from heaven and earth."
On the platform, Wu Changfu stared intently at the grayish-white flames within the Fu Kui Cauldron, and asked Chen Xuanling in a rather solemn tone.
Upon hearing this, the latter exchanged glances with the other two beside him, both seeing a look of bewilderment in each other's eyes. Clearly, even with their experience, they couldn't discern the true origin of the grayish-white flame. They shook their heads and sighed.
"The world is vast, and nature selects all things. It's normal to find strange things we've never seen before. Even with the renowned Heavenly Flames, we've only heard of it; how have we ever personally experienced its true power? However, this thing is indeed strange from beginning to end. It seems we need to pay more attention to it."
Chen Xuanling still harbored curiosity about Xiao Yan, but at the end of his sentence, he glanced at the Fu Kui's location with considerable concern, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.
The three people standing nearby nodded in agreement, and then silently observed the situation on the field.
As the alchemists present began refining pills, countless medicinal herbs were thrown into the cauldrons. The atmosphere in Fallen Immortal City gradually calmed down. Apart from the occasional sigh caused by an alchemist accidentally destroying a pill, the only sound in the entire arena was the crackling of the flames in the cauldrons on the floating platform.
After all, the process of refining pills is only slightly attractive to alchemists, and to outsiders it is nothing more than an extremely boring ordeal. The so-called observation is pure nonsense. The only moment that can truly excite everyone is the final moment when the pill is completed.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this process, several figures on the floating platform also attracted the attention of the people on the dais.
Fu Kui remained calm and focused on the medicine cauldron in front of him throughout, looking quite attentive. Although Yuwen Zong and the others were somewhat suspicious, they did not find anything amiss. Moreover, judging from the occasional energy fluctuations in the medicine cauldron, it was clear that an eighth-grade pill was being refined.
Xu Qinghe, who controls the Heavenly Flames, needs no introduction. His status as Tier Eight Alchemist is known to almost everyone present. He was already able to successfully refine eighth-order pills before the Pill Gathering began, and now, in the official Pill Gathering competition, the quality of his pills will surely be even more astonishing.
The white-robed elder, Elder Zhong, and another elderly man in fine clothes attracted even more attention.
The pill in the silver cauldron in front of him was clearly close to forming a Nascent Pill. Strangely, he was gently exhaling, and streams of rich Pill Qi were flowing out of his mouth and continuously into the cauldron. With the refining and guiding effect of the flames, the energy gradually merged into the pill, making the surface of the soon-to-be-formed pill become more and more rounded and crystal clear.
The other elder was even more striking. Around the medicine cauldron in front of him, four mysterious talismans swirled and floated, each with a Supreme-Grade Spirit Stone suspended beside it. An astonishing suction force emanated from the four talismans, guiding all the Origin Qi within the Spirit Stone into the medicine cauldron. And through some unknown means, he had actually incorporated the Origin Qi from the Spirit Stone into the pills. Such heaven-defying alchemy techniques left even those on the platform in awe.
That person seems to be... from the Qi Clan.
Xiao Yan, who was also surprised by the old man's actions, immediately recalled the Qi Clan member from the Southern Territory that he had encountered in the testing hall after seeing the old man's robes. At that time, this person seemed to be accompanying the Qi Clan's young lady Qi Wanqing. However, he did not expect that this person was also Tier Eight Alchemist with such remarkable skills.
With the alchemy process nearly halfway complete, the atmosphere on the field gradually became more lively due to the various methods employed by the alchemists. However, Chen Xuanling, who was on the main platform, remained extremely cautious, observing a certain person on the floating platform.
The woman in the purple robe hadn't started refining pills yet; instead, she had remained seated quietly on the floating platform, seemingly waiting for something.
What exactly does this person want to do?
The woman's inaction, on the contrary, made Chen Xuanling feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
At a certain moment, a faint fragrance of pills suddenly wafted out from the field where the pill fire was rising. Everyone who smelled it was invigorated. The dissipation of the Pill Qi indicated that the pill was about to enter its final stage. Once the Nascent Pill was formed, the Formed Pill would be just around the corner!
At this moment, several pairs of eyes that had been suppressed for a long time finally lifted slightly. One of them, filled with killing intent, pierced through the medicine cauldron in front and landed on Xiao Yan behind the Luo Heavenly Cauldron in the distance.
On the spot, the white-robed youth controlled the medicine cauldron in front of him with one hand, while forming a hand seal with the other. A surge of Spiritual Strength swept out, bypassing the other alchemists around him, and quickly enveloped Xiao Yan's head, transforming into an invisible hand. With a single grab, it controlled all the energy of heaven and earth in this space.