129: Step aside, I'm about to start showing off!

Among the Alchemy prodigies from the other side, the Demon Domain...

Ghost Hand, the Alchemy Prodigy from the Demon Domain's Heavenly Fiend Hall, let out a sinister, cackling laugh as a gray-black flame surged from his palm.

The flame carried a corrosive aura. He directly tossed the medicinal herbs into the fire, allowing the flames to erode and separate the Impurities—his technique was bizarre yet highly efficient.

This flame was no ordinary fire either; it was an exotic flame that had reached the Earth-grade, named 'Gloomy Water Black Flame'!

Among the younger generation, being able to obtain an exotic flame of the Earth-grade placed one at the very top of their peers.

The vast majority of heavenly grade exotic flames belonged to those powerful Alchemy Cultivators.

The reason Yan Linger possessed that heavenly grade exotic flame was also due to her status as the Saintess of the Fentian Sacred Valley.

Over in the Myriad Demon Domain, both the Azure Luan Clan and the Fire Fox Clan had their own unique characteristics. The Azure Luan Clan's flame was a lush, verdant green, brimming with vitality.

The Fire Fox Clan's flame was a bewitching pink, carrying an illusory aura, and their own Alchemy skills were equally superb.

On the Heavenly Evolution Immortal Sect's side, Lin Xiaoyou's movements seemed somewhat unhurried, yet exceptionally meticulous.

First, she carefully rubbed the jade box with her fingers, then leaned in to 'sniff' it, before finally opening it. Using a small brush, she meticulously cleaned the surface of the herb, and only then did she summon a faint, gentle, and pure white flame to begin the purification. Her technique was ancient, solid, and unbelievably steady.

Yet, the processing proceeded swiftly amidst this unhurried pace, not falling behind the other prodigies in the slightest—in fact, it was even a bit faster!

However, the most eye-catching figure was one that almost no one had favored before the competition: Lu Yu.

He wasn't in a hurry to start. Instead, after the incense was lit, he casually picked up each of the ten jade boxes one by one, weighing them in his hand and even holding them to his ear to listen.

What kind of operation was this? It left many people utterly bewildered. Was this guy here to be funny?

Lu Yu even held a jade box up to the light to examine its grain patterns.

He looked less like someone here to compete and more like someone browsing a medicinal herb market.

On the viewing platform, Li Miaoer watched with great confusion, "What is Junior Martial Brother doing?! Others are almost done with one already!"

Liu Yunshu also tightly clutched her handkerchief, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.

Luo Qingxue pursed her lips slightly, her ice-blue eyes fixed intently on Lu Yu. She believed Lu Yu wouldn't act without purpose.

A flicker of amusement passed through Yan Lingluo's crimson pupils. She was rather curious about what tricks this enigmatic young man could pull off in the Dao of Alchemy.

Just as the incense stick had burned nearly a quarter down, and many had already completed the identification and purification of two or three herbs, Lu Yu finally moved.

Lu Yu: Step aside, it's time for me to show off!

He casually picked up the first jade box, and without even looking at it, flicked his finger. The lid flew open with a snap.

Inside was a section of dried, twisted, grayish root, emitting a faint earthy smell—utterly unremarkable.

Lu Yu merely gave it a glance, not even touching it with his hand, and his Divine Thought was already engraved onto the jade token:

"earth dragon withered vine, approximately one hundred and seventy years old. There is a hidden crack three inches from the main root. It has been eroded by Yin Qi, resulting in a thirty percent loss of medicinal potency. Requires careful scorching with Yang fire at the hidden crack for three breaths to expel the Yin Qi before purification can proceed."

Simultaneously, he lifted his left palm, facing upward.

There was no blazing flare of light, no astonishing heat.

A flame lotus, only palm-sized, entirely cyan-blue, crystal clear as if carved from the purest sapphire, quietly bloomed in his palm.

The lotus slowly rotated, its petal edges flowing with faint golden-red and crimson halos. Its interior seemed to contain a miniature starry sky, emanating a profound aura of purifying all things and returning to the origin.

The Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire! Revealed in its complete form for the first time before the world!

"What... what kind of fire is that?!"

On the high platform, Yan Mo, who had been sitting calmly, suddenly straightened up, his eyes erupting with an incredulous, sharp light!

With the knowledge of an eighth-grade Grandmaster, he had actually never seen such a pure, such a peculiar flame before!

The flame's level was so high it made even his heart palpitate!

And at this moment, the Pill Valley's Deputy Valley Master, Nangong Yun, beside Yan Mo, practically shot up from her seat!

Her gaze, filled with shock, was fixed on the Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire in Lu Yu's hand. Her fists were clenched, her red lips pressed tightly together, and a trace of anger flickered in her eyes!

So it was Lu Yu who had secretly snatched the Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire a few days ago!

This infuriated her!

She had known of the Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire's existence decades ago. After waiting for dozens of years, the fire seed had finally matured to a stage where it could be extracted and refined.

She had gone to extract it with her subordinates, full of anticipation, only to be outmaneuvered!

It was one thing if someone was competing with her for it, but at the critical moment, the Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire was actually stolen!

The Immortal Fire seed she had waited decades for had now become another's possession. How could this not enrage Nangong Yun?!

Over at the Pill Tower, that gaunt old man even lost his voice in a low exclamation, "An Immortal Fire aura?! How is that possible?!"

The entire arena fell silent in an instant!

Countless gazes locked onto the breathtakingly beautiful yet Soul-trembling flame lotus in Lu Yu's palm!

Lu Yu seemed oblivious to the shock around him. With a gentle flick of his wrist...

That cyan-blue fire lotus drifted out, hovering in mid-air, its lotus heart aimed at that section of earth dragon withered vine.

A thread of cyan fire, fine as a hair, descended, accurately coiling around a hidden crack on the withered vine and giving it a gentle scorch.

Sizzle!

An extremely faint trace of black Qi was instantly vaporized.

Immediately after, the fire thread dispersed, transforming into a soft curtain of light that gently enveloped the entire section of withered vine.

Within a few breaths, the grayish hue on the vine's surface faded, turning into a warm, earthy yellow. Its size also slightly shrank, becoming more condensed, and a stream of pure earth-attribute Spiritual Qi wafted out.

Purification, complete!

Lu Yu casually tossed the purified withered vine into the jade bowl beside the detection crystal stele. The crystal stele flashed with light, displaying the information: earth dragon withered vine, Identification: Completely Correct, Purification Purity: Ninety-eight percent!

Near perfection!

The entire arena erupted in an uproar!

Such speed! Such precision! Such purity!

And that unheard-of, miraculous flame!

Xiao Yan, focused on the purification in his own hands, sensed that strange flame fluctuation and the surrounding exclamations. He abruptly looked up.

When he saw the cyan-blue fire lotus in Lu Yu's palm and felt the aura within—an aura that made even the Purple Fire inside him feel a sense of submission and longing—his pupils constricted sharply, and a storm of shock surged in his heart!

The sub-flame resonance on his body grew even hotter and flickered continuously!

"This flame... this feeling... could it be...?!"

The black ring on his finger also grew slightly warm, as if the slumbering remnant Soul within had been startled awake.

Yan Linger also halted her movements. For the first time, an extremely grave expression appeared on her exquisitely beautiful face as she stared intently at Lu Yu and the flame in his hand.

Only then did Lu Yu seem to have just finished warming up. He winked at the worried Liu Yunshu and others on the viewing platform, and at the dumbfounded Li Miaoer not far away, flashing a smile that said, "See? I told you I'd put on a show for you."

Then, his fingers flicked in rapid succession, and the lids of the remaining nine jade boxes flew open one after another.

His movements suddenly accelerated. His gaze was sharp as lightning, sweeping over the herbs in the boxes, his Divine Thoughts engraving onto the jade token like a sudden storm.

Simultaneously, the petals of the Pure Lotus Heavenly Clear Fire lotus in his palm trembled lightly, splitting into several slender threads of fire. Like intelligent tendrils, they simultaneously coiled towards five of the medicinal herbs!

Multi-tasking, simultaneous identification, simultaneous purification!

The real performance had only just begun!