712: Chapter 712 The alchemy furnace explodes, and waste becomes pills.

Yao Tian's gaze was as cold as ice; he naturally saw the trickery within.

On the Yao Mountain Square, the spectators looked on with shocked expressions at the four pillars of energy pouring down from the sky, a scene that shook the heavens.

This phenomenon of Alchemy was rare in the world.

From the seats, Liu Ling's brow furrowed slightly as he watched the four great Alchemy Grandmasters compete in their Alchemy skills, his heart filled with excitement.

In the Lingxiao Heavenly Court, Liu Ling often consulted Elder Dan on Alchemy techniques, so he naturally understood the ranks of Ninth Grade Pills.

Treasure Pills, Profound Pills, and Golden Cores.

Each level required more repetitive refining techniques and increased in difficulty by a hundredfold; his own Alchemy skills had also broken through the high-tier Seventh Grade and entered the Eighth Grade level.

However, he had not expected that during this visit to the Medicine Clan to observe the Medicine Ceremony, he would witness four Alchemists borrowing the power of heaven and earth to refine Grade 9 Profound Pills.

Although there was only a one-word difference between a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill and a Grade 9 Profound Pill, they were as different as clouds and mud.

On the continent, Alchemists capable of refining Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills were rare but not non-existent, whereas those who could refine Grade 9 Profound Pills could be counted on one hand.

Once, Liu Ling had also consumed a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill; when refining the Sun True Fire, Elder Dan and Liu Ling had joined forces to refine an ice spirit cold pill, which was at the level of a Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill.

"Liu Ling, observing these four, who do you think can successfully refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill?"

Wang Ku spoke indifferently.

"The most likely ones are Gu Jiyu and Ruan Xing..." Liu Ling pondered for a moment before speaking in a heavy voice.

Just how difficult was the refining of a Grade 9 Profound Pill?

At the head seat, Yao Tian's gaze fell upon Yao Ling, and he frowned: "A Grade 9 Profound Pill? Although Yao Ling's Soul Power has reached the Heaven Realm Great Perfection, her success rate for refining a Profound Pill is only about twenty percent."

Looking at the distant sky, the energy of heaven and earth whistled wildly as it was torn down, eventually converging into four massive energy storms.

One end was connected to a fire cauldron, the other to heaven and earth, devouring the energy of heaven and earth as it poured down continuously.

Watching the four of them tear at the energy desperately, even the Dou Qi within the spectators' bodies showed signs of bursting out.

This scene alarmed everyone, and they circulated their Cultivation Techniques to calm the rampaging Dou Qi within them.

Once Dou Qi spiraled out of control, one's entire cultivation would be ruined; in that case, the loss would outweigh the gain.

This phenomenon of energy storms lasted for three days, devouring an unknown amount of energy from heaven and earth; the only sensation was that the energy of heaven and earth on Yao Mountain had become thin.

Even the medicinal herbs in the surrounding area were affected, showing signs of withering as their energy was forcibly absorbed.

Hun Tiandi's gaze was indifferent as he watched this scene of energy snatching, feeling surprised in his heart; they were indeed capable Alchemists.

He turned his head to look at Yao Ling; crystal-like beads of sweat had appeared on her fair forehead.

Anxiety flickered in her beautiful eyes; this was her first time refining a Grade 9 Profound Pill, though she had refined Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills several times with a seventy percent success rate.

Although her progress was rapid, there was still some gap compared to veteran Alchemy Grandmasters like Gu Jiyu, Ruan Xing, and Old Man Shennong.

"Jie jie jie, since that's the case, then this venerable one should take action and add some spice for you all!"

A wicked smile played on the corners of Hun Tiandi's mouth. With a thought, the nether demonic zither within him vibrated slightly, and suddenly, the colorless Qi of Myriad Desires in the world was drawn in.

It poured down along the four energy storms, sinking into the four massive fire cauldrons.

It was done very skillfully: thirty percent fell into Gu Jiyu's fire cauldron, thirty percent into Ruan Xing's, thirty percent into Old Man Shennong's, and ten percent into Yao Ling's.

Hun Tiandi had his reasons for such an arrangement, with the four of them refining Grade 9 Profound Pills simultaneously.

If only three of them suffered furnace explosions while Yao Ling remained fine, people would suspect the Medicine Clan of foul play to preserve the title of the continent's number one Alchemist.

The Qi of Myriad Desires entered the four fire cauldrons and, after being refined by the Heavenly Flames, turned into pure Qi of Myriad Desires energy, merging into the Medicinal Pills being refined.

Originally, the four of them were gathering the energy of heaven and earth to merge into the Grade 9 Profound Pills, enhancing the pill's energy while maintaining balance.

However, the integration of the Qi of Myriad Desires disrupted the balance of medicinal properties within the pills.

Rumble...

A massive explosion echoed from the fire cauldron in front of Gu Jiyu. Numerous cracks spread across the golden fire cauldron, and with a shake, a plume of black smoke rose from the Medicine Cauldron.

"What happened?"

Gu Jiyu was furious, his eyes flashing red like lightning. He had clearly refined it according to the Grade 9 Profound Pill's Pill Formula; how could the furnace explode and lead to failure?

A furnace explosion? The energy of heaven and earth gathered earlier was too fierce; even a fire cauldron condensed from Heavenly Flames could hardly withstand it.

With a helpless sigh, it was too late to start over. With a wave of his sleeve, he dispersed the golden fire cauldron, and the golden flames retreated into his body.

His figure flashed, and he landed back in the seats.

"An Alchemy furnace explosion?" Yao Tian said in surprise.

Liu Ling's eyes also widened suddenly, revealing a look of disbelief.

"Hahaha! Gu Jiyu failed due to a furnace explosion. The title of the continent's number one Alchemist belongs to my Taixu Holy Land!" Ruan Xing said arrogantly.

Changing his hand seals, he increased the devouring of heaven and earth energy. With Gu Jiyu's failure, the four tornadoes became three.

"In your dreams!" Old Man Shennong snorted coldly.

He also increased the gathering of the power of heaven and earth.

Boom...

The next moment, a roar also came from the fire cauldron in front of Ruan Xing. The energy pillar above the fire cauldron dissipated, and a burst of black smoke emerged.

A furnace explosion? How was that possible?

But the burnt smell could not lie. He had originally wanted to compete for the title of the continent's number one Alchemist, but he never expected the furnace explosion to happen to him.

His gaze turned cold as he scanned the surroundings: "Who on earth tampered with this?"

Helplessly, he dispersed the fire cauldron and returned to the seats with an unwilling expression.

"This is impossible, how could this be?" Liu Ling was unwilling to believe it, but the truth was right before his eyes.

"Hahaha! The title of the number one Alchemist belongs to this old man!"

Old Man Shennong laughed loudly, snatching the energy of heaven and earth once more. His excitement was hard to suppress, as if he could see the title of the continent's number one Alchemist beckoning to him.

"Jie jie jie, you're dreaming! You're next..." Hun Tiandi sneered in his heart.

Boom...

As soon as he finished speaking, another roar came from Old Man Shennong's fire cauldron, and billowing black smoke emerged. A cauldron's worth of Grade 9 Profound Pill medicinal liquid had turned to ashes.

"No..." Old Man Shennong could not accept it and let out a mournful wail.

"Who is it? Get out here..."

The aura on his body became violent, causing the sky and earth to change color.

One furnace explosion after another, Alchemy failures—was it a natural disaster or a man-made calamity?

"Something's not right. Grade 9 Profound Pills are essentially man-made divine objects; the energy required is too immense, so failure is within reason..."

"Indeed. Sigh, I wanted to witness the peerless scene of four Grade 9 Profound Pills being born..."

A Grade 9 Profound Pill required so much energy that it could parch the land for a thousand miles; all the energy in this world was being merged into the pill.

Because of this, when a Grade 9 Profound Pill was born, it possessed extremely strong intelligence.

It could even reach the level of the Ancestor of the Little Pill Tower, taking on human form through Destiny.

After thousands of years of cultivation, it could reach a state of being unrivaled in the world.

Clang...

The next moment, a sharp sound came from Yao Ling's Pill Furnace; it seemed the pill's energy was showing signs of losing balance.

"Condense for me!" Yao Ling formed hand seals with both hands, sweat streaming down.

Immediately after, a faint wisp of green smoke emerged, unlike Gu Jiyu, Ruan Xing, and Old Man Shennong, whose entire cauldrons of medicinal liquid were destroyed.

With a flip of her palm, the top of the fire cauldron opened, and a clump of grayish-green waste scraps emerged.

Inside the fire cauldron, only half of the medicinal liquid remained intact, crystal clear and radiating dense energy fluctuations.

Yao Ling had separated the waste scraps and the medicinal liquid in time, and since the Qi of Myriad Desires merged into it was very little, the impact wasn't significant and could still be remedied.

But for an Alchemist, this was a massive test.

"Hmph, waste scraps or not, if Yao Ling fails, no one will be able to take the title of the continent's number one Alchemist..."

Gu Jiyu sneered.

Ruan Xing spoke indifferently: "I'm afraid the medicinal liquid will also turn into a pile of waste..." A cold light in his eyes was mixed with a hint of relief.

Old Man Shennong's face was unsightly; he had lost to Xiao Yan back then, and today he had failed again.

The people on the periphery looked on in bewilderment, seeing that Yao Ling still refused to give up. With the medicinal liquid turning into waste, it was simply impossible to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill.

It was absolutely impossible to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill anymore!

What was she doing?

Yao Ling did not give up. She drew a line across her forehead with her right index finger, and a drop of emerald-green Soul Blood emerged, emitting a unique aura.

With a flick of her finger, the Soul Blood sank into the fire cauldron.

With a movement of her hand seals, the Azure Glazed Flame rose, and the fire cauldron began to operate once more.

Everyone present was paying attention to Yao Ling. What was she trying to do? Even using Soul Blood as a medicinal primer wouldn't be enough.

What was going on? Alchemy?

They saw Yao Ling wave her hand, and the waste scraps on the jade tray beside her were thrown into the fire cauldron for refining.

This move left all the Alchemists present dumbfounded. What was she doing? Refining a pill using waste scraps?

No way? She wants to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill from waste scraps?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Even the Flame Emperor Xiao Yan of back then would never have been able to successfully refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill using waste scraps.