Chapter 646: Gu He, a Mystic Pill Master?
On the Medicine Clan's square, countless alchemists stared at the sky, mesmerized by the graceful pill refining techniques of the continent's top alchemists. Their eyes shone with fervor.
After a full day and night, Phantom Soul finally opened his eyes, placing the refined medicinal liquids into his fire cauldron. Then, his hands formed a seal as he shouted:
"Heaven and Earth's energy, heed my command!"
As his voice echoed, a sudden violent gust of wind swept across the area. The immense energy of the heavens and earth surged toward his fire cauldron, drawn in by a massive suction force.
This terrifying spectacle grew even more intense, until the energy formed a chaotic storm above the sky, roaring wildly before being sucked entirely into the cauldron.
The shocking scene caused many onlookers to gulp nervously. Most of them had never heard of anyone needing to absorb heaven and earth's energy while refining pills, as this could disturb the balance of medicinal properties and lead to failure.
But these concerns were held only by ordinary people. The elders of the Medicine Clan and some expert alchemists had expressions of shock on their faces.
"Using the power of heaven and earth to refine a pill? He's actually trying to create a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill!" Even Yao Dan, sitting at the head of the gathering, became serious as he spoke.
"A Nine-Tier Mystic Pill… Phantom Soul has reached the level of a Mystic Pill Master," Yao Lao muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Mo Yu wasn't surprised. He knew that on the stage, Phantom Soul wasn't the only one capable of refining a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill.
As if on cue, Elder Wanhuo snorted and formed a hand seal, shouting, "Heaven and Earth's energy, condense!"
Not far away, Shennong Elder also waved his sleeve, and the surrounding energy of heaven and earth became chaotic. Waves of immense energy were pulled into his cauldron.
"Well, since the three of you are so eager, I guess I'll join in too," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile, noticing that Gu He remained silent and still. In the next moment, Xiao Yan formed a hand seal, and a terrifying suction force erupted from his cauldron, fiercely drawing in the energy of heaven and earth.
On the square, countless alchemists watched in awe as storms of energy rumbled and roared across the sky. Their hearts were filled with shock—each of the four was refining a legendary Nine-Tier Mystic Pill! Such a scene was something that could only be witnessed once in a century!
"Four of them are refining Nine-Tier Mystic Pills…"
At the head of the gathering, Mo Yu stroked his chin as he observed the phenomena in the sky. He shook his head slightly, aware that this was a contest of strength among the four.
At the very least, he knew that Elder Wanhuo's chances of successfully refining a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill were less than 20 percent.
Moreover, refining a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill required an immense amount of heaven and earth's energy. Although the energy surrounding Medicine Mountain was extremely abundant, it was doubtful that it could support the formation of four Nine-Tier Mystic Pills simultaneously.
In Mo Yu's estimation, even if the energy within a thousand miles of Medicine Mountain was fully absorbed, it would still be difficult to create one Nine-Tier Mystic Pill, let alone four.
"If it were that easy to refine a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill, they wouldn't be so rare," Yao Dan commented with a slight shake of his head, evidently sharing Mo Yu's thoughts.
After expressing his thoughts, Yao Dan's gaze shifted toward Gu He, who remained motionless. A look of confusion flashed in his eyes.
Since the competition had begun, Gu He had done nothing but carefully observe the techniques of the other four. Then, he had fallen into a state of quiet contemplation. Could it be that he had some kind of revelation?
Yet, becoming a Nine-Tier Alchemist was not something that could be achieved so easily. Even in the Medicine Clan, there were only a few Nine-Tier Alchemists.
"Master Mo, what is Chief Gu planning? Why hasn't he begun refining yet?" Yao Dan asked, puzzled, turning to Mo Yu.
Mo Yu chuckled and shook his head. "To be honest, Chief Gu is Genfu's top alchemist, and I don't interfere with his decisions. I'm not sure what he's up to."
"I see..." Yao Dan didn't press the issue, turning his attention back to the square.
In the center of the arena, powerful storms of energy continued to swirl above the cauldrons, eventually forming four massive whirlwinds.
Each whirlwind connected to a fire cauldron, greedily absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, which was then funneled into the cauldrons.
The relentless pull of energy was so intense that many onlookers began to feel their own Dou Qi being drawn out of their bodies. Alarmed, they quickly retreated.
The phenomena in the sky continued for three days. During this time, the energy in the area was being consumed at an astonishing rate. The air was noticeably thinner, and even the herbs around the square had begun to wither, their energy drained.
A Nine-Tier Mystic Pill was considered an artificial divine object, and the amount of energy required to form it was enough to astonish even Dou Saint experts.
This endless absorption of energy continued for three days. By midday on the third day, the crowd suddenly sensed that the howling in the sky had quieted significantly.
Looking up, they saw that the four massive whirlwinds had disappeared, leaving the four cauldrons—each hundreds of meters wide—floating in the sky. Tremendous waves of energy radiated from the cauldrons.
Even Mo Yu's expression became more serious at this moment. If those cauldrons were to explode, even a Dou Saint could be gravely injured.
"The energy within a thousand miles has been completely drained," Mo Yu murmured as he grasped the air in front of him.
Hearing this, Yao Dan couldn't help but twitch his lips.
The energy in the atmosphere had become frighteningly scarce. It would take at least several months for Medicine Mountain to recover its former richness.
The fact that a simple competition had nearly drained the entire Medicine Mountain of its energy was something no one could have anticipated.
"There isn't enough energy left. It seems they're all going to fail," one of the Medicine Clan elders said with a helpless smile.
Inside the four cauldrons, the pills were only halfway formed, but now there was no energy left within a thousand miles to continue the process.
Even with their souls at the Heavenly Great Perfection level, the alchemists could only manipulate energy within a certain range.
Of course, if their souls had reached the legendary Emperor Tier, it would be a different story. At that level, they could control all the energy within the reach of their soul perception, even across vast distances.
It was said that in ancient times, there was a supreme expert with an Emperor Tier soul who could manipulate the energy of half of Central Plains with just a thought. The mere thought of such power was terrifying.
"Could it end in a tie?" Yao Lao frowned.
"If there's not enough energy, they might start fighting for it," Mo Yu said with a smile, as if anticipating what would happen next.
Sure enough, as soon as Mo Yu finished speaking, Phantom Soul's face twisted into a strange smile.
He quickly changed his hand seal, and with a loud slap on his cauldron, three black flame pillars shot out, heading toward the cauldrons of Xiao Yan, Shennong Elder, and Elder Wanhuo.
The three black flame pillars turned into three spinning black holes, unleashing a terrifying suction force. Instantly, the immense energy gathered in the three cauldrons was forcefully drawn into the black holes.
"Phantom Soul, how dare you!"
Xiao Yan, Shennong Elder, and Elder Wanhuo's expressions darkened in unison. They hadn't expected Phantom Soul to be so audacious as to target them directly.
Shennong Elder and Elder Wanhuo both roared in anger, and their respective flames—the Life Flame and Nine Nether Wind Flame—surged out to strike at the black holes.
However, the black holes only spun faster under the onslaught, and their suction force grew even stronger. The flames of Shennong Elder and Elder Wanhuo were even partially devoured by the black holes.
Seeing their attacks fail, Shennong Elder and Elder Wanhuo's faces turned grim.
Although the Life Flame was ranked high, it was better suited for support rather than combat. It couldn't compete with the Devouring Void Flame. As for the Nine Nether Wind Flame, ranked tenth, the gap between it and the Devouring Void Flame was insurmountable.
"Hehe, with flames like yours, trying to stop my Devouring Void Flame is nothing but a dream!" Phantom Soul laughed arrogantly. But his laughter was cut short when he noticed something strange happening above Xiao Yan's cauldron.
A streak of fire shot out from the cauldron, transforming into a tiny flame figure. The flame figure waved its hand, and pink flames enveloped the black hole, purifying and dissolving its suction force.
The flame spirit, Little Yi, had no trouble handling a mere child flame of the Devouring Void Flame.
With such abundant energy absorbed, the light from Xiao Yan's cauldron grew even brighter, and the pill within it began to take shape.
"This brat…"
Phantom Soul's face darkened. Not only had he failed to steal energy from Xiao Yan, but he had also lost part of his child flame.
With a cold snort, Phantom Soul shifted his focus. His hand seal changed, and the black holes over Shennong Elder's and Elder Wanhuo's cauldrons grew even more powerful, pulling in more energy.
With the increased energy, the pill in Phantom Soul's cauldron began to shine brilliantly, as if it were on the verge of completion.
Just as Phantom Soul was starting to feel pleased, a pink flash of fire shot over to his cauldron, transforming into a flame spirit that stood on top of it.
Little Yi glanced at Phantom Soul with disdain, then reached out and slapped the cauldron lid off. Before Phantom Soul could react, the flame spirit grabbed the unformed pill and darted away.
"You're courting death!"
Phantom Soul's furious roar echoed through the sky.
In the audience, Yao Dan and the Medicine Clan elders were all dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed. After a brief moment, their faces twitched, trying to suppress laughter at the absurdity of the scene.
No one had expected Xiao Yan's flame spirit to barge into Phantom Soul's cauldron and steal the unfinished pill.
Mo Yu also raised an eyebrow, rubbing his chin with a faint smile.
He could tell that Little Yi's actions were likely not under Xiao Yan's orders, but a spontaneous decision. This flame spirit certainly had remarkable intelligence.
"Xiao Yan, I'll tear you apart!"
Thunderous roars shook the square as Phantom Soul, consumed by rage, unleashed a torrent of black flames from his cauldron, forming a massive black dragon that charged toward Xiao Yan.
The black dragon's maw emitted an overwhelming suction force, intending to devour everything in its path.
But just as the black flame dragon lunged forward, a sudden gust of wind swept in from below. Within the wind appeared a dragon-like figure that wrapped itself around the black dragon.
"This is… the Wind Fury Dragon Flame. Does an eighth-tier alchemist really dare oppose me?"
Startled by the unexpected attack, Phantom Soul turned his gaze toward Gu He, who had just opened his eyes, his expression growing darker.
But despite the threat, Gu He remained calm. His gaze swept across Xiao Yan and the others before settling on Phantom Soul, and he smiled.
"Sorry, but I need that energy too!"
As Gu He's words fell, his hand seal changed, and a terrifying suction force erupted from the wind dragon. It bound the black dragon tightly and began absorbing its energy without restraint.
At this moment, everyone, including Xiao Yan, Elder Wanhuo, Shennong Elder, and the entire audience, was left stunned.
What? Could it be… that Gu He is also a Nine-Tier Mystic Pill Master?
(End of Chapter)
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