Chapter 352: Reckless Xiao Yan
A proud, phoenix-like arc lifted the corners of Cao Ying's lips. Her jade-like hand suddenly formed a series of hand seals, and with a light shout, she called, "Rise!"
"Boom!"
As her voice fell, a massive pillar of light burst out from within her cauldron, shooting straight into the sky!
As the light shot upwards, clouds rapidly condensed in the sky. Then, under countless astonished gazes, colors began to emerge—two at first. But those with keen eyes could faintly detect a tinge of pale red beneath the blue and silver!
"Another Tier Eight pill!!"
The entire square erupted completely at that moment. Countless bloodshot eyes stared at the dazzlingly colored thundercloud in the sky. Excitement surged in hearts, and blood boiled.
This—this was a true Pill Gathering!
Song Qing stared dumbfounded at the thundercloud above, a wave of defeat washing over him. Compared to monstrous talents like Cao Ying and Dan Chen, he truly fell far behind.
"That Xiao Yan…"
A bad premonition suddenly rose in his heart. Song Qing's gaze froze sharply—for he saw Xiao Yan, who had been sitting motionless like a statue on a distant platform, finally rise slowly to his feet.
Swish swish swish!
The moment Xiao Yan stood, countless burning gazes on the square instantly shifted, all locking onto his figure!
On the high platform, the hands of Xuan Kongzi and the other two clenched slightly at this moment, their eyes fixed on the slightly thin figure under the vast thundercloud.
Years ago, a man named Yao Chen had stood here and claimed the most dazzling glory in a shocking fashion.
Today, could the disciple of the once-brightest genius of the alchemy world carry on that legacy?
Under countless focused gazes, Xiao Yan slowly stood. Thunder rumbled in the heavens, and the lightning that occasionally tore across the sky illuminated his youthful face—calm and composed.
Seeing Xiao Yan rise, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the others shifted their gaze from the thunderclouds above and looked at him.
Cao Ying's gaze was complicated as she looked at his lean figure. She knew well—his talent in alchemy was no less than hers. In fact, he may have even surpassed her!
This was the first time in all her years that someone her age had earned such a high evaluation from her. It showed how highly she regarded Xiao Yan.
Dan Chen, pale-faced, also fixed her eyes on him. Though she hadn't interacted much with him, with her level of alchemy, it was easy to sense that the pill Xiao Yan was refining was anything but ordinary.
"I heard he's that old bastard Yao Chen's disciple... I wonder how much of his master's skill he inherited…"
The gray-haired elder referred to as Old Monster Qinghua by Xuan Kongzi and others also had his eyes on Xiao Yan, muttering to himself.
Under the attention of all those countless, varied gazes, Xiao Yan seemed utterly unmoved. His expression remained calm, eyes fixed on the cauldron before him. A moment later, he took a deep breath and suddenly swung his sleeve.
Clang!
With the wave of his sleeve, the lid of the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron flew off. An immense energy fluctuation surged from within and slammed against the cauldron's inner walls with an ear-splitting metallic ring.
Though the cauldron held back most of it, a portion of the energy still spread outward. The nearby stone platforms around Xiao Yan were immediately blasted apart with a bang, stones flying everywhere.
"Boom!"
Just as the tremendous energy spread, the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron began to tremble violently. Then, under countless shocked gazes, a massive pillar of bluish-green flame shot into the sky!
The flame soared upward, its blazing brilliance visible for a hundred miles. The energy fluctuations emanating from within made even powerful experts feel a chill in their hearts.
"This kind of fluctuation…"
On the high platform, Xuan Kongzi narrowed his eyes and said softly, "It's definitely a Tier Eight pill. The only question is—how many colors will its pill lightning have?"
Just as his words faded, the sky above where the flame reached began to gather strange mist, which rapidly condensed into thunderclouds.
The entire place fell silent, all eyes locked on the boiling clouds above.
Under their watch, the clouds roiled, and then gradually revealed two colors—blue and silver!
"Two colors… he also triggered two-colored thunderclouds!"
The square erupted in shocked exclamations.
"No—wait! The thunderclouds are still rolling… there's more color appearing!"
Before the astonishment had even died down, a new wave of gasps rang out.
Hearing the cries, many were jolted, and hurriedly focused their attention on the churning clouds. Sure enough—beneath the blue and silver, a hint of red slowly emerged. As time passed, the red became more vivid, eventually equal in depth to the other two!
And still—the thunderclouds continued to churn. Soon, golden and purple hues surfaced as well!
"My heavens! Five-colored thunderclouds!"
Someone in the crowd couldn't help but cry out.
"Who exactly is this Xiao Yan?! Even the Pill Tower enchantress, Cao Ying, was surpassed by him?!"
The massive square was in complete uproar. Previously, Xiao Yan's name had been far less known than Cao Ying's. But this moment changed everything. His performance now had thoroughly eclipsed hers—enough to make him the dark horse of the entire Pill Gathering!
"This guy… how is this possible?!"
Song Qing stared at the brilliant five-colored thunderclouds above, his mind reeling. He had thought he understood Xiao Yan's level—at best a high-level Tier Seven. How could he possibly refine a Tier Eight pill, and one that triggered five-colored thunderclouds?
Even most elders in the Pill Tower couldn't achieve such a feat!
"Has he been hiding his strength this whole time?!"
Cao Ying and Dan Chen, stunned by what they saw, both revealed signs of shock in their eyes. Clearly, this result had gone far beyond even their expectations.
"Huu…"
The shock slowly faded. Cao Ying's beautiful eyes locked onto the youth beneath the thunderclouds—his expression still calm. For the first time, a strange emotion flickered in her proud eyes.
Before, she had approached Xiao Yan with curiosity, mischief, and maybe even a hint of attraction.
But now—with the life-saving grace he had shown in the Pill Realm, and this brilliant display—any small affection she had now blossomed into true admiration.
For so many years, the enchantress who had driven countless men to obsession had finally given her heart—to this calm youth standing beneath thunderclouds.
"Five-colored pill lightning… Heh, Xuan Kongzi, looks like you lost again."
On the high platform, Xuan Yi looked at the five-colored thunderclouds and then at the lean figure below, smiling softly.
"Sigh… no wonder. As expected of Yao Chen. The disciples he raises are all so extraordinary."
Xuan Kongzi's eyes lingered on the sky before he sighed with a complex expression.
"Indeed, Xiao Yan's future will be limitless. He may even surpass his master someday."
Tian Leizi, normally stern, now wore an admiring smile.
Both Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi nodded lightly. Then, Xuan Kongzi turned his gaze toward the distant Old Monster Qinghua—the only participant yet to show his final result. His outcome would determine the champion of this year's Pill Gathering.
"I wonder… who will emerge victorious…"
As if hearing Xuan Kongzi's murmur, the distant Qinghua slowly rose just as Xiao Yan's thundercloud fully took form.
The old man stood, glanced at Xiao Yan, nodded slightly, and whispered, a soft voice reaching Xiao Yan's ears.
"Not bad, kid. You didn't embarrass that bastard of a master of yours."
Xiao Yan paused, surprised. Judging from the words, the old man seemed to have some connection to Yao Lao. He quickly returned a respectful salute from afar.
Qinghua smiled, and under countless gazes, waved his sleeve to knock off the lid of his cauldron.
As the lid flew off, a slightly weaker but still potent energy burst forth. A pillar of light soared into the sky.
All eyes followed the light. Minutes later, the space rippled. Mist gathered, eventually forming thunderclouds. After rolling for a while, three colors emerged and then stabilized.
"Three-colored pill lightning?!"
Surprised gasps rippled through the crowd.
Qinghua's result surpassed Cao Ying slightly. Though both produced three-colored thunderclouds, his had deeper hues, while Cao Ying's were technically closer to two-and-a-half.
"Three-colored pill lightning… this old guy's skills have improved too."
Xuan Kongzi nodded with a smile.
"Eh? That kid finally came back?"
He turned and looked toward Xiao Yuan. If he hadn't witnessed Xiao Yuan's abilities before, he wouldn't have noticed the subtle change.
"Hm? Such rich pill aura—it even stirs the soul!"
Tian Leizi looked surprised.
"You went to the Pill Realm to refine pills?" Xuan Yi asked, examining him.
"Mm. Barely made it in time," Xiao Yuan said with a smile.
"Made it for what?"
The trio looked confused.
"Look down."
Just as he spoke, a wave of commotion rose from below. The trio looked down—Xiao Yan had already taken the pill from the pillar of light!
The pill was dark red and extremely smooth. Most shocking of all was the faint mist coiling around it. The mist occasionally formed intelligent shapes, hovering around the pill in an arcane display.
Xiao Yan let go of the pill, then clenched his fist. A bluish-green Heavenly Flame wrapped around the mischievous pill.
"This guy's insane!"
"He's going to destroy the pill?!"
Uproar erupted across the square. Countless people stared at Xiao Yan in disbelief. Was he trying to ruin the pill?
"Hmm…"
Even the high platform elders were dumbfounded. Xuan Yi sighed helplessly and muttered while glancing at her black storage ring, "You sure raised disciples others would kill for…"
"He's going all out for me. I've never once regretted taking these two as disciples," Yao Chen's voice echoed in her heart with pride.
"I remember now—that's Yao Chen's Soul Ascension Method!"
Moments later, Xuan Kongzi turned to Xuan Yi with wide eyes.
Xuan Yi nodded slowly, her gaze falling on Xiao Yuan.
"No—it's more than a simple soul ascension. Whatever method I could imagine, Xiao Yan did too. This entire trip to the Pill Realm… it was for this moment."
Xiao Yuan smiled cryptically, leaving Xuan Kongzi and the others itching with curiosity.
Even Yao Lao fell silent. After hearing Xiao Yuan's words, he realized the seriousness of the matter.
It all went back to the Soul Ascension and Nourishment Pill.
That pill, based largely on soul ascension techniques—especially the Soul Ascension Ring—was Xiao Yuan's masterpiece, built upon the foundation Yao Lao had laid.
The ring allowed the user to burn their soul to fully unleash the effect of soul ascension—doubling its power.
Understanding this, Yao Lao grew worried for Xiao Yan. But seeing Xiao Yuan's calm confidence, he relaxed again.
After all, Xiao Yuan had prepared well. He had ventured to the Pill Realm specifically to create a pill that would negate the side effects of soul-burning: the Great Soul Restoration Pill.
This genuine high-grade Tier Eight pill could even rescue a soul fragment on the verge of vanishing. Once refined, it could summon six-colored pill lightning.
If not for the high-grade ingredients he'd scammed from Zi Yan, even Xiao Yuan wouldn't have had enough to attempt it twice.
Not that he planned to make two. His first try—despite his skills—had failed due to minor errors. Otherwise, the pill would've been ready long ago.
(END CHAPTER)
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