Having collected three Nascent Pill in a row, the woman in purple robes showed no sign of stopping.
Her gaze swept over the remaining alchemists below, her simple and composed demeanor making it seem as if she were selecting jewelry. Every alchemist whose gaze fell upon her, even those who were powerful Yuan Zun, couldn't help but feel a tremor in their hearts.
This feeling of being helpless and waiting to die is truly unpleasant.
The purple-robed woman's gaze only paused slightly when it landed on the medicine cauldron in front of Xiao Yan. Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she stared intently at the Heavenly Flames enveloping the cauldron, seemingly deep in thought.
This caused Xiao Yan's heart to sink suddenly, and an immense sense of crisis surged into his mind.
Even someone as powerful as Yuan Zun couldn't protect his Nascent Pill from this woman's Dragon Beckoning Technique. The only reason he's been able to hold on until now is because the Heavenly Flames has relieved all the erosion of the dark yin energy, giving him extra strength to resist the Dragon Beckoning Technique. But once the purple-robed woman personally attacks him, the outcome is predictable.
Fortunately, the woman in purple robes did not seem to take Xiao Yan seriously. Her hesitation was only because she sensed the ferocity of the Heavenly Flames. After all, what others saw as just a troublesome black aura was something she had specifically extracted from the snake tomb of the Nine Netherworld Python Clan before her trip.
The Yin energy of this Serpent Tomb had accumulated over countless Suiyue, making it extremely cold and gloomy. Even she, a member of the Nine Netherworld Python Clan, dared not easily come into contact with it. In order to successfully extract the Yin energy from the Serpent Tomb, the woman in purple robes paid a great price. Unexpectedly, even so, she still appeared so clumsy when facing the Heavenly Flames.
But it was precisely because of this that the woman in the purple robe became even more curious about the Heavenly Flames, and she couldn't help but want to know just how much Yin energy from the Serpent Tomb would be needed to suppress this most ferocious power in the world.
As soon as this thought flashed through her mind, the woman in purple robes extended a jade finger. As it slowly swirled, the black energy within the dark barrier above began to stir. Then, she gently touched Xiao Yan below with her jade finger, and an even denser and thicker stream of black energy shot out from within the barrier, instantly enveloping Xiao Yan and the medicine cauldron.
As the black mist shot out, the other alchemists present also felt the black mist clinging to their cauldrons fade considerably. They all breathed a sigh of relief, and when they glanced at Xiao Yan's location, their eyebrows twitched.
They were well aware of the power of that eerie black energy. Just a thin layer clinging to the cauldron had nearly caused their Nascent Pill to slip out of their control. Now, Xiao Yan was completely swallowed up by the black energy and disappeared without a trace. If it were them, although they had some ways to deal with it, the result would undoubtedly be a great depletion of their Origin Qi, making it impossible for them to continue refining pills.
Even Xu Qinghe, who also possessed Heavenly Flames, felt a pang of regret for Xiao Yan upon seeing his condition.
At that moment, an aged voice suddenly rang in the ears of several alchemists in the arena.
"Gentlemen, the situation has changed, and I'm sure you're all unwilling to continue this stalemate. It's clear that young Brother Xiao Yan won't last much longer. Once his Nascent Pill is taken, we'll be next. If this woman defeats us one by one, our fate is predictable. I have a plan that might resolve this predicament, and it depends on whether you're willing to cooperate."
The sudden telepathic transmission startled the group of people present, but since they were all Yuan Zun Venerables, they quickly regained their senses and began to scan the area out of the corner of their eyes, eventually focusing on one person.
The man was dressed in a blue and white robe and had a handsome figure. However, his face was covered by a gray mask, making it impossible to see his true appearance. But from his voice, it was not difficult to tell that he was quite confident.
"What you say sounds very plausible. Why don't you tell us what your method is? If it's feasible, we might as well join forces."
A pale-faced, plump old man, as if grasping at a lifeline, hesitated only for a moment before quickly replying telepathically. The masked old man nodded slightly in affirmation and transmitted his message:
"As you all have probably noticed, the poisonous woman relied on this barrier above our heads to steal our Nascent Pill. Once the barrier is broken and the black aura dissipates, even if she has many tricks up her sleeve, she will not be able to easily take the pills from us again. It is obviously impossible to break the barrier directly right now, but I have a secret technique that can detonate one of the three Nascent Pill that the poisonous woman just stole. However, you all need to find a way to restrain her for a moment. As long as she cannot concentrate on controlling the snake head in her hand, I can take the opportunity to use my methods."
Upon hearing this, the fat old man's eyes lit up, but before he could agree, the Qi Clan elder holding the talisman suddenly asked:
"Since you're so confident, why didn't you take advantage of the situation when that woman was attracted to Xiao Yan? Why insist that we all accompany you? Isn't that redundant?"
" Xiao Yan is merely a member of the Yuan Zong. If that poisonous woman were to truly make a move, how could he possibly withstand it? Do you think I would intervene without a sufficient opportunity?"
The voice beneath the mask replied with a slightly indifferent tone.
Upon seeing this, the fat old man in front quickly offered his flattery. Among the Yuan Zun experts on the field, he was the one who had suffered the most. The black aura of the purple-robed woman was causing him great distress. If this dragged on, even if he defeated the purple-robed woman, he probably wouldn't be able to survive until the final stage of Formed Pill with the little Origin Qi he had left. Therefore, he naturally gave strong support to the masked man's suggestion.
After a brief moment of hesitation, the others also made their own decisions. However, when the old man from the Qi Clan wanted to ask a few more questions cautiously, his gaze suddenly turned to Xu Qinghe. He made eye contact with him for a few moments, then glanced at the masked man a few more times. After a moment's thought, he nodded to himself and said no more.
The exchange between the group lasted only a few breaths, so when the woman in purple robes turned her gaze back to them, the fat old man from before took out three pills from his Storage Ring first. After a moment's hesitation, he decisively swallowed them.
These three pills were originally his ultimate trump card for winning the Pill Gathering, but now, in order to break the deadlock, he had no choice but to use them ahead of schedule.
After taking three pills in succession, the fat old man's aura and Spiritual Strength rapidly improved in a short time as the medicinal effects spread. His face, which had turned pale due to the depletion of his Origin Qi, regained its rosy color in an instant, and his eyes shone brightly.
Immediately afterwards, he summoned the Power of the Great Dao, which quickly condensed into a stone door above the medicine cauldron in front of him. With a low shout, the stone door slowly opened, and at the same time, a rather domineering suction force surged out from it. Instantly, the black mist covering the medicine cauldron and surrounding it was torn apart and swallowed into it by this suction force.
In a short while, the Nascent Pill in the fat old man's cauldron was completely brought back under control.
The others around her followed suit, each employing their own methods to forcefully dispel the black mist surrounding the medicine cauldron. This scene caused the purple-robed woman's expression to darken, and she laughed in a low voice:
"Very well, it seems you intend to join forces. In that case, I won't beat around the bush any longer. I'll take all your Nascent Pill!"