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**
As he looked down at the boiling excitement of the crowd gathered on the square below, Xuan Kongzi couldn't help but smile. Those passionate new contestants — how much they reminded him of himself back when he had first participated in the Pill Gathering.
"All participants who have passed the second round, step forward! The final test has no restrictions — unleash your full strength and refine the best pill you can produce!"
Xuan Kongzi's old yet powerful voice thundered across the heavens, making the blood of the thousands of contestants below surge with excitement.
After exchanging brief looks, the participants erupted into motion with a loud whoosh!
In an instant, countless figures shot upward like meteors. The number of soaring silhouettes was so overwhelming that even the sunlight cascading down seemed to dim beneath their shadows.
Fortunately, the square was enormous, with countless stone platforms floating above it — more than enough to accommodate several thousand alchemists at once.
"Go on," Lin Feng smiled as he turned toward the four women before him. "Let's see how far your alchemy has come."
"Husband, you too," said Ye Xin Lan softly as she stepped forward. Her pink lips brushed against Lin Feng's briefly before she smiled.
With a light tremor of her fragrant shoulders, a pair of faint blue Dou Qi wings spread from her back, and her graceful figure shot into the air toward one of the floating stone platforms.
Seeing that, Xiao Yixian did the same — she gave Lin Feng a quick peck at the corner of his lips, and in the next second, her beautiful figure vanished from sight, reappearing atop a distant platform.
"Lin Feng big brother, do your best!"
After a moment of hesitation, Dan Chen stepped up shyly. She lightly kissed his cheek, then, blushing furiously, stepped into the air and flew toward another stone platform.
"This little girl," Lin Feng said with a smile, shaking his head as he watched her flee in embarrassment. Then he turned his gaze toward Cao Ying.
Seeing his eyes on her, the charming Cao Ying curved her lips into a playful smile and said teasingly, "What's this? Want a kiss for luck too?"
"Mhm, mhm," Lin Feng nodded quickly, eyes gleaming with mock seriousness.
"Oh, really? Then… keep dreaming, you flirt."
With a mischievous grin, Cao Ying's expression changed in an instant, and she turned to leave.
"I knew it, this little temptress would never be that obedient," Lin Feng muttered helplessly.
But the moment she moved to take off, Lin Feng suddenly reached out, grabbed her soft jade-like hand, and gave it a pull. The next moment, her delicate, fragrant body fell right into his embrace.
"Mmph!"
Lin Feng leaned down and stole a deep kiss from her soft, pink lips before soaring upward toward the platforms. As he turned in midair, he smiled back and said, "You wouldn't give it to me, so I gave it myself."
With that, his figure streaked through the air and landed on one of the outer platforms, deliberately avoiding the crowded center. After all, the pill he planned to refine this time was of extreme difficulty — it required absolute concentration.
The central area was packed; nearly every platform there was already taken. If someone nearby caused an explosion during their refinement and affected him, he'd have no time to cry over it.
After all, the Bodhisattva Pill he intended to make required the Bodhisattva Seed as its core ingredient — an unimaginably rare treasure. He had to succeed in one go; wasting even a single seed would be heartbreaking.
"Lin Feng, you bastard!"
After a long stunned pause, Cao Ying finally came back to her senses — and immediately shouted in anger, her cheeks flushed scarlet.
However, as her beautiful eyes swept across the square and she saw that everyone's attention was fixed on the contestants above, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, the little "incident" hadn't drawn attention. If anyone had seen her getting kissed like that, she'd never have the face to stay here, let alone compete. Still cursing Lin Feng under her breath for his sneak attack, Cao Ying flapped her wings and flew toward her own platform.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng carefully inspected the platform he'd chosen. It wasn't very large — maybe two or three zhang wide — but more than enough for one person.
Satisfied, he sat cross-legged and swept his gaze toward the distance, glancing briefly at Cao Ying, Dan Chen, Xiao Yixian, and Ye Xin Lan.
The four women had also chosen to stay apart from the crowd, each finding their own quiet platforms along the edge, avoiding the bustling central area — just like him.
As his gaze passed over them, Lin Feng's eyes suddenly stopped at a particular platform several spots away. There sat Xiao Yan, cross-legged and meditating quietly. Lin Feng wasn't surprised.
That guy never liked drawing attention to himself.
At the same time, Xiao Yan's gaze was locked firmly on a disguised old man across from him — Old Mu Gu.
"This old Mu Gu, according to Elder Xuan, is an eighth-tier alchemist. Among all the participants here, there are very few who could surpass him," Xiao Yan thought, his expression cold.
"Pill Tower promised that anyone who enters the top ten will get a chance to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame. But judging from that old bastard's greed for Heavenly Flames and his ruthless methods, he definitely won't let anyone get ahead of him when that time comes."
Thinking of how Mu Gu also knew about the Flame Mantra's ability to absorb multiple Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yan's expression darkened.
Fortunately, during the chaos he'd stirred up earlier — leading a group of Dou Zun powerhouses to hunt down the Hall of Souls' Protectors — he had captured many of their bodies and souls.
Thanks to that, before the start of the Pill Gathering, his soul power had finally advanced into the Spirit Realm. But after all, Xiao Yan had only recently stepped into the Spirit Realm, and compared to an old monster like Old Mu Gu, there was still quite a gap between them.
"The Hall of Souls… you not only captured my family, but have stood against me time and again. You'd better pray I never grow strong enough — or I'll erase you completely from the Dou Qi Continent!"
Thinking about all the trouble the Hall of Souls had caused him, Xiao Yan gritted his teeth in anger.
"Still, even if this Pill Gathering's championship ends up in Old Mu Gu's hands, I'm not afraid. With my current strength, once I call on Elder Feng, the two of us together could easily kill him.
When that time comes, even if he's subdued the Three Thousand Burning Flame, he'll just be doing the hard work for me."
Having thought out his plan, Xiao Yan curved his lips into a faint grin and continued to rest quietly with eyes closed.
"Hmph, Xiao Yan, you can enjoy your little moment of glory now. Once we reach the Star Region, I'll see how you escape from the hands of the Ninth Tian Zun!"
Old Mu Gu's eyes flashed with a sinister gleam.
He recalled how, not long ago, the Ninth Tian Zun — Mo Yu had suddenly come to him. With an unusually friendly attitude, Mo Yu had proposed cooperation and even handed him a space jade slip, instructing him to summon him once they entered the Star Region.
At that time, Mo Yu had promised that in the Star Region, he would personally help kill Xiao Yan — and even allow Mu Gu to take his soul and all his belongings.
Just thinking of the Flame Mantra and the multiple Heavenly Flames Xiao Yan possessed made Old Mu Gu's heart surge with greedy excitement. Soon, all those treasures would belong to him.
Unfortunately, the Three Thousand Burning Flame itself was not his to claim — it was to be offered up to the Hall of Souls's Hall Master as tribute to Mo Yu.
Of course, if that Hall Master were to find out these two were plotting to kill Xiao Yan just to seize his treasures, when they hadn't even located the Tuo She Ancient God Jade of the Xiao Clan yet. He would probably slap them both senseless on the spot.
What were they thinking? Killing the Xiao Clan's young master before finding the key — were they trying to make the Hall Master's life more difficult?
Boom!
While the two of them each hid their own schemes, Xuan Kongzi's gaze slowly swept across the countless stone platforms floating in midair. Then, with a wave of his wide sleeve, a deep, resonant bell toll suddenly echoed through the heavens and earth.
"The time has come. All contestants — raise your cauldrons and begin refining!"
The instant those words fell, the noisy square instantly turned silent.
Moments later, nearly ten thousand alchemists simultaneously activated their storage rings — and with a thunderous whoosh, an endless sea of medicinal cauldrons appeared in midair and slammed down heavily onto their respective stone platforms.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The deep metallic reverberations rolled through the skies without pause.
Around the square, countless spectators erupted in low murmurs of astonishment. To see so many high-quality cauldrons appearing at once — for most, this was an once-in-a-lifetime sight. Then, as the alchemists began their work, the air was soon filled with muffled bursts of sound.
Poof, poof, poof!
In an instant, flames of every color flared to life across the sky. From afar, it looked as if a sea of burning clouds had risen above the square. Even the warm sunlight cascading down from the heavens was completely drowned out by the brilliance of those thousands of flames.
However, among them, Lin Feng did not summon his fire immediately. Instead, he calmly wiped his storage ring and drew out a rectangular block of pure white jade — about half a zhang tall and an arm's length long.
"The Core Mother Jade!"
The moment that white jade stone appeared, several well-informed contestants nearby gasped in shock.
Bang!
But in the next instant, one of them, too excited by what he saw, lost control of his emotions — and consequently, the flame within his cauldron flared wildly out of control.
A surge of fiery energy burst forth, instantly reducing all the precious medicinal ingredients inside the cauldron to ash. The sudden outburst drew countless glances from nearby contestants.
When those who recognized the Core Mother Jade laid eyes on Lin Feng's treasure, many couldn't help but feel their hearts tremble.
As a result, several more alchemists also lost focus — and one after another, their own cauldron fires erupted violently, consuming their ingredients in black smoke.
When they looked back at Lin Feng, their gazes were full of helpless resentment. If it hadn't been for him suddenly producing such a rare and priceless treasure, how could their refinements have failed?
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