In the dark and cramped space, the weakness emanating from all parts of his body nearly made Xiao Yan faint. He had repeatedly exhausted his own strength, leaving his body in an extremely weak state.
All the muscles in his body became extremely sore, and waves of numbness and weakness swept through his body. The stinging pain, like being pricked by needles, kept Xiao Yan in a semi-conscious state. His nearly depleted Spiritual Strength made Xiao Yan feel extremely empty, both in body and soul.
At this moment, even Xiao Yan's most basic breathing seemed so weak; his feeble breath was as intermittent as a wisp of smoke...
"Is this really... all there is to it..."
A sigh of unwillingness echoed from the depths of his soul. The last vestige of struggle within Xiao Yan's Xiao Yan slowly dissipated. His face, as pale as paper, was devoid of color. A single, glistening tear slid slowly down his cold cheek from the corner of his eye...
Just as Xiao Yan was emanating a faint, icy aura, a palm-sized, pale white flame appeared within his internal energy vortex, instantly erasing the chilling aura emanating from Xiao Yan.
"You brat, I didn't expect I'd have to step in. But then again, with your current strength and composure, it's really hard for you to put up any psychological resistance. However, it seems he's quite wary of you, otherwise he wouldn't have just intimidated you..."
As the chilling aura within Xiao Yan's body rapidly dissipated, Gu You's slightly hoarse, aged voice slowly emanated from within Xiao Yan.
Within the dim space, the dark green vine roots emitted faint fluorescent light, bringing a touch of brightness to the otherwise pitch-black space. And within it, a huge vine ball stood out conspicuously.
Suddenly, the previously flat space began to distort, and ripples spread out like waves on water, revealing the figure of an elderly man dressed in plain clothes...
It is precisely the Gu You
Gu You glanced casually at the enormous vine ball in front of him, his old eyes slowly sweeping over the dark green vines, a flash of eerie white flame flickering in his eyes.
With a soft hum, Gu You's thoughts stirred, and suddenly, a chilling white flame appeared in the space before him. The terrifying temperature caused the void to explode at that moment, revealing an Endless Void.
As the pale white flames appeared, the enormous vine ball also exploded into nothingness the instant it appeared, and Xiao Yan, inside, went limp and was about to fall.
"Ugh, that brat, he's such a nuisance..."
Gu You pursed her lips slightly, and with a flick of her sleeve, an invisible, gentle force rose from nowhere, steadily supporting Xiao Yan's body.
Then, Gu You sighed helplessly again, lightly touched Xiao Yan's brow with a finger, and with a thought, the Heavenly Flames in Xiao Yan's body quietly began to circulate. Judging from the path of its circulation, it was the same as the cultivation path of the Flame Mantra.
Given Gu You's shrewdness, he naturally wouldn't do something foolish like replenishing Xiao Yan's power with his own Dou Qi. While that method was quick, it wasn't based on power personally refined and absorbed, and would inevitably cause some damage to his body...
Moreover, Xiao Yan has already undergone that kind of forced recovery method twice. If it were to happen again, given Xiao Yan current state, it would likely leave him with long-term effects. This is something that neither Xiao Yan nor anyone else could accept.
With the slow operation of the Burning Technique in the body, in this slightly narrow space, tiny bits of heaven and earth energy slowly gathered from the void. In a flash, they entered Xiao Yan's body. Along with the operation of the Burning Technique, they were refined by the alien fire into wisps of pure fighting energy and merged into the cyclone.
At this moment, a faint rosy hue gradually returned to Xiao Yan's pale face, and his almost lifeless breath gradually returned to normal...
As the first rays of sunlight shone upon the walls of this Old Gu city, the pent-up excitement of countless people, suppressed all night, finally erupted like wild horses...
A variety of figures flew swiftly toward the Void Plaza in the city, which had been divided in two, in an attempt to secure a good enough position.
After all, today's match is no ordinary event; the fierce and domineering scenes from yesterday are still vividly etched in everyone's minds...
Now, with the Void Plaza split in two, everyone is even more convinced of the terrifying strength of that black-robed youth.
Of course, while everyone was shocked by the black-robed youth's strength, they also never forgot that this terrifyingly powerful young Half-Emperor's alchemy skills were in no way inferior to those alchemy masters who specialized in alchemy.
Today's competition is less about watching these two High-Level Alchemist compete in alchemy and more about watching Xiao Yan's performance.
Xiao Yan's imposing presence had completely overwhelmed everyone present. Even the renowned Mo Zhai was now met with cold laughter from the crowd.
"Heh heh, this old codger is really shameless. He's practically half-buried, yet he still thinks he can bully Senior Yan Xiao by being old. Senior Yan Xiao's Yao Tian is far beyond your reach."
"Tch, he dedicated his entire life to alchemy, only reaching the Second-Tier Alchemist in his old age. Compared to Senior Yan Xiao, who Second-Tier Alchemist at such a young age, he was miles behind. What a waste."
Hearing the increasingly heated sneers and disdainful words from the surrounding stands, Mo Zhai, standing in the void, had his wrinkled skin trembling violently on his aged and withered face. The veins on his hands under his sleeves bulged, and his Dou Qi began to circulate within him, constantly extending and retracting at his fingertips like the tongue of a snake.
His eyes, brimming with murderous intent, slowly swept across the entire scene. The subtle danger emanating from him was like a series of cold steel blades pressed against everyone's throats, causing the mocking expressions on their faces to quickly vanish.
Perhaps Mo Zhai is indeed far inferior to Xiao Yan, but for ordinary experts like them, he is still a terrifying existence that they cannot contend with. After feeling Mo Zhai's cold gaze, everyone present couldn't help but shudder and quickly shut their mouths.
In the blink of an eye, the mockery and disdain of the previous moment were quickly covered up on this vast square, and the bustling square gradually became quiet.
At that moment, in the center of the square, a ripple-like pattern suddenly spread out from the calm void, immediately attracting the attention of many people.
As the spatial fluctuations intensified, a massive floating stone platform tore through the void and appeared in everyone's sight.
The sheer size of the stone platform meant that nearly a third of the vast Void Plaza was now covered by it.
The crowd on the platform looked at this small Void Plaza with amazement on their faces. The next moment, a familiar, aged voice slowly echoed from the stone platform.
"Hehe, I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. Due to some minor incidents yesterday, I had to deal with a few things. But please rest assured, today's Alchemist Grand Meeting will definitely not disappoint you!"
The old man speaking was none other than Gu Li, the president of the Alchemist Guild.
As soon as Gu Li spoke, the square, which had just quieted down, erupted into a frenzy once more. As for Mo Zhai's gloomy, murderous expression, everyone simply ignored it. After all, with Gu Li, an even more terrifying powerhouse, present, Mo Zhai didn't dare to cause any more trouble.
Seeing the plaza erupt in excitement once more, Gu Li smiled with satisfaction. Mo Zhai glanced at Gu Li a cold laugh before turning his gaze back to the entire Void Plaza.
A withered yet large hand pressed lightly against the void in front of him, and a faint pressure spread out, causing countless people in the arena to involuntarily turn their gazes toward Gu Li.
Feeling the gazes directed at him, Gu Li laughed heartily, then swept his gaze across the entire room. Under the intense scrutiny of the many eyes, he slowly opened his mouth and smiled:
"Ladies and gentlemen, today is the final of this year's Alchemist Grand Meeting, and of course, the most exciting competition in the history of our Alchemist Guild. This is because the two alchemists competing today are both High-Level Alchemist, and this will be a true showdown of the best!"
"Whoosh!"
As soon as Gu Li finished speaking, the entire Void Plaza erupted in chaos. A cacophony of shouts filled the vast plaza, echoing through the heavens and causing the entire area to tremble slightly.
Feeling the increasingly enthusiastic atmosphere around him, Gu Li's aged face beamed with an even brighter smile, and then his gaze casually swept across the entire room...
After a moment of intense gaze lingering on Mo Zhai, Gu Li seemed to remember something. The newly appointed chief alchemist of the Alchemist Guild had not yet shown up.
With a mix of inexplicable emotions in his heart, Gu Li narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze slowly sweeping across the entire arena before finally settling on the empty referee's bench.
Gu Li's pupils suddenly contracted, and the expression on his aged face gradually froze. A sense of unease slowly surfaced within him...
"Why isn't he here again...?"
After a long moment of stunned silence, Gu Li's lips twitched, and he gave a wry smile to himself. However, unlike last time, deep down, he felt extremely uneasy...
At this moment, another strange event occurred on the vast Void Plaza...
In the vast void, a huge spatial vortex appeared out of nowhere. The terrifying spatial power instantly made everyone present look extremely terrified. The aura within it was enough to swallow the entire Ancient Wilderness City in one gulp. Even Eight-Star Half-Emperor like Gu Li would be absolutely unable to contend with it.
Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, the terrifying vortex split open into a huge doorway, exposing the endless, dark Endless Void before them. Then, amidst a violent fluctuation in space, an aged figure slowly stepped out from within.
At this moment, all the Half-Emperor present suddenly changed their expressions, and their gazes toward the old man were filled with astonishment.