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**
After all, the reason the Hall of Souls and the Pill Tower became mortal enemies wasn't just because of that small group related to the first Tower Master.
For most people, it was simply because members of the Hall of Souls loved to hunt down alchemists from the Pill Tower, harvesting their souls. That was why the Pill Tower held such deep hatred toward the Hall of Souls.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, a sharp sound of wind suddenly came from the distant sky. Soon after, a black-robed man with a gloomy face descended onto the plaza.
"Old Mu Gu."
Xiao Yan's gaze locked onto the black-robed figure who had just arrived. For an instant, a surge of killing intent so intense it almost took form flashed across his face. He clenched his teeth and cursed in his heart.
That old bastard—not only did he know about Flame Mantra, the technique Xiao Yan regarded as his very life, but he also coveted both the technique and his Heavenly Flames! In Xiao Yan's eyes, the threat Mu Gu posed even surpassed that of Lin Feng!
After all, no matter how dangerous Lin Feng was, it was only temporary. Once Xiao Yan successfully absorbed both the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame and the Three Thousand Burning Flame, he could wipe Lin Feng out in minutes.
But Old Mu Gu, protected by the Hall of Souls, was extremely difficult to find, let alone kill.Most importantly, that old bastard knew about Flame Mantra.
If Xiao Yan didn't kill him in one strike and Mu Gu managed to leak the information to the Hall of Souls, then he'd be in serious trouble.
"Hmph!"
The moment Xiao Yan's eyes turned toward him, Mu Gu instantly sensed it. His chilling gaze swept across the crowd before stopping on Xiao Yan. His brows furrowed slightly, and a cold snort escaped from his nose.
"Lucky brat, next time you won't be so fortunate."
Muttering to himself, Old Mu Gu slowly withdrew his gaze. After suffering a loss once, he no longer dared to hunt Xiao Yan alone.
"Judging by the look of it, Old Mu Gu seems to have his eyes on Xiao Yan. Guess that guy won't have time to bother me for a while."
Seeing the tension rising between the two, Lin Feng couldn't help but let a faint smile curve his lips. He then turned to the four women beside him and quietly waited for the task submission time to arrive.
As time passed, the number of participants who arrived at the plaza grew sparse—fewer than a thousand in total. Seeing this, the expressions of the other contestants around them turned rather grim.
Although this Pill Gathering was known to be fiercely competitive, the number of people who managed to make it this far was far too few.
"Whoosh~"
While everyone waited, the space at the center of the plaza suddenly began to distort slightly. Then, an old man in Pill Tower robes appeared, stepping out of the void with a cane in hand.
"Swish~"
As soon as the old man appeared, everyone on the plaza turned to look. They saw an elder whose skin was as rough and dimpled as orange peel. On his chest hung a badge—the symbol of the Pill Tower. The badge shone with a brilliant purple-gold hue.
"One of the Eight Grand Elders of the Pill Tower!"
Upon recognizing the special badge, some people in the plaza couldn't help but exclaim softly in shock. However, the elder with the cane ignored the murmurs around him.
His eyelids twitched slightly as his gaze swept slowly across the field. Then he said indifferently, "Time's up. Each of you, hand over your list and ingredients. Once verified, you may leave through here to participate in the final Pill Gathering competition."
As his words fell, the elder lightly tapped the air beside him with his cane.
With that gentle motion, a dark spatial rift gradually appeared before everyone's eyes. Hearing the elder's words, the many contestants in the plaza began to stir restlessly. Among them, quite a few showed expressions of frustration and despair.
Clearly, many had failed to complete their tasks for various reasons.
"Whoosh~"
Not long after the elder finished speaking, a cold-faced middle-aged man from the crowd was the first to step forward.
Landing before the elder, he brushed his storage ring, taking out the prescription and the medicinal ingredients, handing them all over. After a brief inspection, the elder nodded slightly, signaling for him to proceed.
The man immediately leaped into the dark rift ahead, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye. With the first person taking the lead, the others followed one after another, submitting their lists and ingredients before stepping into the spatial rift.
Of course, among these people, there were also some who hadn't completed their missions and tried to pass off similar ingredients in hopes of deceiving the elder. However, those petty tricks of theirs could never escape the sharp eyes of an eighth-tier alchemist.
The moment they took their items out, the old man swung his cane with a flick, sending them flying a great distance before they crashed into the ground, lying there in disgrace, unable to get up.
"Let's go hand in ours too."
Watching the continuous stream of contestants step forward to submit their tasks, Lin Feng turned and spoke to the four women beside him.
"Mm."
Hearing that, the four nodded lightly, standing up and straightening their robes.
Under countless envious gazes from around them, Lin Feng led the four women—each with her own unique charm—toward the old man. He then took out the prescription and medicinal ingredients from his storage ring and handed them over.
The elder accepted them and gave a casual glance, then nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Lin Feng cupped his fists politely, turned toward the pitch-black spatial rift ahead, and stepped inside. The four women followed closely behind, each submitting their items before entering the rift as well.
——
They emerged into a vast bluestone plaza so enormous it left one in awe. Around it, a sea of people stretched as far as the eye could see. The deafening roar of countless voices was like the bellow of a colossal dragon, echoing endlessly across the entire plaza.
Under such terrifying sound waves, even the clouds in the sky were shattered into scattered fragments.
Floating in midair above the plaza were numerous bluestone platforms. These platforms would soon become the focal point of the entire crowd's attention—because the final competition of the Pill Gathering would be held upon them.
Perhaps because everyone knew that today was the day the Pill Realm would open, the excitement within the plaza had reached an absolute peak.
Countless gazes were fixed on the center of the plaza. There stood a gigantic gate built from pitch-black rock. Within that gate, the space was so twisted that it distorted visibly—the exit of the Pill Realm!
Soon, those contestants who had successfully cleared the second stage would emerge from there.
——
On a raised platform near the plaza, Ye Zhong's eyes were locked tightly onto that massive spatial gate. A faint trace of tension flickered across his aged face. After all, his granddaughter was merely a Dou Huang, competing inside against numerous Dou Zong-level experts.
Although Lin Feng was there to protect her, he still couldn't help but worry.
"Hehe, Ye Zhong, you don't have to be too anxious," Tian Huo Zun Zhe chuckled beside him, offering comfort. "Over the past few days, plenty of contestants have already crushed their Spatial Stones and withdrawn on their own. If Xin Lan encounters danger, she'll surely come out to find us."
But as he said that, he remembered how just a few days earlier, a group of Pill Tower's elite disciples had fled out of the Pill Realm in disgrace.
They had accused Xiao Yan of ambushing them inside to take revenge on the Pill Tower for exiling him, causing them heavy losses.
Tian Huo Zun Zhe then smiled faintly and said, "With Lin Feng and Xiao Yixian's strength, even if Xiao Yan uses the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change to gain temporary Dou Zun power, they wouldn't fear him in the least."
Ye Zhong could only nod helplessly at the reassurance.
After all, he had no way of entering the Pill Realm to see for himself—waiting here was the only option. Still, when he thought of those furious elders of the Pill Tower who had lost their disciples and heirs, he couldn't help but shake his head, sighing at Xiao Yan's audacity.
He hadn't even left Holy Pill City yet, and he already dared to slaughter the Pill Tower's younger generation so wantonly. In that one incident alone, more than ten descendants or direct disciples of the Pill Tower's upper echelon had died within the Pill Realm.
According to the few survivors, even the Grand Elder's personal disciple—Song Qing—had been among the attacked group. Since he hadn't appeared until now, it was highly likely he had already met a tragic end.
Ye Zhong couldn't help but think that once the Pill Gathering concluded, Xiao Yan would undoubtedly face the furious retaliation of the Pill Tower's high-ranking members.
Yet when he recalled how those terrified survivors were immediately taken away by the Three Leaders for detailed questioning right after they emerged and accused Xiao Yan, Ye Zhong again shook his head in silence.
"Many of the Pill Tower's elders lost their most promising juniors to Xiao Yan. They're burning with fury now. That kid is definitely going to suffer later."
Muttering to himself, Ye Zhong shifted his attention back toward the plaza below.
"Rumble!"
Just as his words faded, the massive spatial gate at the center of the plaza began to ripple violently. The surrounding space trembled intensely.
"The spatial gate has opened—it seems the second trial has ended!"
The moment the spatial fluctuation appeared, Feng Qing'er, who had been closely observing the scene below, parted her lips slightly and spoke.
Hearing this, both Tian Huo Zun Zhe and Ye Zhong turned their eyes toward the plaza, their gazes locking firmly on the massive gate below.
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