Chapter 357 Many Strange Flames

In the center of the square, the silver-gray spatial channel began to tremble violently, its rotation speed increasing and emitting a low hum.

The next moment, figures emerged from the channel one after another.

There were Loose Cultivator Alchemists with gray robes and white hair, Prodigies from the Emperor Clans in brocade robes and jade crowns, stern-faced middle-aged men, and Elders with steady auras.

Shen Wen walked at the very front.

As he stepped out of the channel, his pace was leisurely and his expression calm; there wasn't a single wrinkle on his robes, as if he had merely gone for a stroll.

Xuan Yi's gaze fell upon him and lingered for a moment.

Shen Wen seemed to sense something, looking up at the high platform and nodding slightly to her.

Xuan Yi also nodded, withdrew her gaze, and lowered her eyes.

Yao Tian followed behind; dressed in a brocade robe, his handsome face was almost feminine, his pace leisurely and his expression calm.

Compared to when he entered the Pill World, there was an indescribable sense of gravity about him.

Yao Ling followed behind him, her azure long hair shimmering with a soft luster under the sunlight.

Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi followed closely behind.

Both of their expressions were somewhat unsightly, but their steps were steady.

When Xiao Yan stepped out of the channel, fine beads of sweat still clung to his forehead, and his face was slightly pale, but his eyes remained bright.

He silently walked to the edge of the square and found a spot with fewer people to stand.

Old Monster Lin emerged from behind the high platform.

Today he wore a gray cloth robe; his hair and beard were completely white, his face was square, and his eyes were piercingly bright.

Walking to the center of the high platform, his gaze swept across the contestants already in place on the square, then across the dense crowd of spectators.

"All contestants, take the stage."

His voice wasn't loud, but wrapped in powerful Dou Qi, it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"For the final competition, there are no rule restrictions. Give it your all and refine the Medicinal Pill you are best at."

After he spoke, the square fell silent for a moment.

The next moment, dozens of figures moved simultaneously.

Yao Tian took a step, his figure drifting onto the center of a stone platform like willow catkins, his posture composed, his robes fluttering without a hint of worldly dust.

Yao Ling followed closely, landing on the stone platform beside her Elder brother, her gaze calmly sweeping over her surrounding opponents.

Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi soared out side by side, their two fiery-red figures drawing graceful arcs in mid-air before landing steadily on a stone platform.

Huo Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, while Huo Zhi tilted her head slightly and glanced at Shen Wen.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, kicked off the ground, and his figure rose into the air, landing on the edge of a stone platform.

His position wasn't great, but he didn't care.

The other Alchemists also soared onto the stone platforms, each finding their own spot.

There were Elders with graying hair and beards, stern-faced middle-aged men, and a few young people who didn't look very old.

Shen Wen was the last to take the stage.

He stepped toward the stone platform, his pace neither fast nor slow, as if he were walking in his own courtyard.

He stopped at a forward position in the center of the stone platform, standing with his hands behind his back as his gaze swept around.

Old Monster Lin stood on the high platform and nodded slightly.

"Begin."

The moment he spoke, dozens of flames lit up simultaneously!

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple...

Flames of various colors intertwined on the stone platforms into a brilliant sea of fire, the scorching temperature causing the surrounding air to warp slightly.

From the spectator stands, exclamations of wonder rose and fell.

"Look! That's the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame of the Yan Clan!"

"And the Red Lotus Karma Fire! Ranked eighth on the strange fire ranking list!"

"The people of the Medicine Clan aren't weak either; that's the Turtle Spirit Earth Fire!"

"This Pill Gathering has truly been an eye-opener."

Huo Xuan raised his hand, and a deep golden flame suddenly ignited in his palm.

That flame was scorching and overbearing; the moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature soared.

As the flame flickered, a low rumble could be heard, like magma surging deep within the earth.

Eight Desolation Destruction Flame.

Ranked sixth on the strange fire ranking list.

Huo Zhi also moved.

A cluster of crimson flame appeared in her palm, its color like a blooming red lotus, eerie and brilliant.

Faint petal-like patterns flowed within the flame, emitting heart-palpitating fluctuations.

Red Lotus Karma Fire.

Ranked eighth on the strange fire ranking list.

The moment the two strange fires lit up, the Beast Fires and Dou Qi fires conjured by those Alchemists below Grade 7 on the square began to tremble violently.

Some were extinguished immediately, some curled into balls, and some emitted a sizzling sound like a mournful cry.

Ten thousand fires bowing their heads.

This was no exaggeration; it was a fact.

Strange fires are born of heaven and earth, possessing extreme pride.

Before a strange fire ranked in the top ten, ordinary flames could only submit.

Before the exclamations from the spectators could subside, Yao Tian also moved.

He raised his hand, and a cluster of greenish-gray flame emerged in his palm.

That flame wasn't scorching or overbearing; instead, it possessed a touch of gentleness. But the moment it appeared, Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi's strange fires flickered simultaneously, as if in response or confrontation.

Turtle Spirit Earth Fire.

Ranked thirteenth on the strange fire ranking list.

The corners of Yao Tian's mouth curled slightly, and the flame in his palm suddenly flared. The greenish-gray light spread in all directions, holding its own against the two top-ten strange fires.

The three strange fires intertwined and collided above the square, their light dyeing the entire world in shades of gold, crimson, and cyan.

Just when everyone thought this was the limit—

Xiao Yan took a deep breath.

He raised his hand, and a cluster of Fusion flame suddenly ignited in his palm.

The flame was deep cyan, possessing the violent nature of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, the gentleness of the Sea Heart Flame, and the chilling cold of the Bone Chilling Flame.

The power of the three strange fires was perfectly fused within his body by the Burning Technique, transforming into a brand new, unique flame.

The moment that flame lit up, all the strange fires on the square trembled.

Huo Xuan's Eight Desolation Destruction Flame dimmed slightly.

Huo Zhi's Red Lotus Karma Fire contracted slightly, the petal patterns within the flame distorting.

Yao Tian's Turtle Spirit Earth Fire throbbed violently, as if struggling.

Meanwhile, that cluster of deep cyan Fusion flame burned brighter and brighter, its light completely suppressing the other three strange fires.

The spectator stands fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone stared blankly at that deep cyan flame, watching as it looked down upon the other strange fires like a monarch.

The silence in the spectator stands lasted for three breaths.

Then, it erupted.

"What flame is that?!"

"The aura of three strange fires... no, it's a Fusion! He fused three strange fires!"

"How is that possible! Strange fires repel each other; that's an ironclad law! How could he possibly do it!"

Yao Tian stared at the deep cyan flame, his pupils contracting slightly.

The Turtle Spirit Earth Fire in his palm was throbbing violently; that wasn't confrontation, but wariness.

A flame that could make a strange fire feel wary.

His gaze moved from the flame to Xiao Yan's face, carefully scrutinizing this young man he had never taken seriously.

Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Fused strange fire.

The Yan Clan had a Legacy of thousands of years, yet only the Clan Chief could achieve this.

But this obscure kid—on what basis?

Huo Zhi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found she didn't know what to say.

Huo Xuan remained silent, the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame in his palm withdrawing slightly.

Xiao Yan seemed oblivious to these gazes.

He lowered his head, looking at the flame in his palm, while Yao Lao's voice sounded in his mind.

"Well done. With your current strange fire and the Burning Technique, breaking into the top ten won't be a problem."

"When the time comes, there might even be a chance for the Three Thousand Burning Flame."

Xiao Yan's heart settled, and he nodded slightly.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the shocked, wary, and incredulous faces around him. He didn't speak, merely holding the flame steadily in his palm.

Old Monster Lin stood on the high platform, his brow furrowing slightly.

His gaze bypassed Xiao Yan and fell upon Shen Wen.

He remembered Old Man Shennong saying that Shen Wen's strange fire had already been given to Dan Chen.

Without a strange fire to protect him, under the suppression of so many strange fires, his Alchemy would likely be greatly affected.

Xuan Yi also noticed.

Standing on the high platform, her fingers unconsciously tightened around her sleeves.

Xuan Kongzi glanced at her and said nothing.

Tian Leizi was more direct, muttering in a low voice: "Where's this kid's strange fire? Did he really give it to that girl?"

Before his voice could fade, everyone's gaze turned toward Shen Wen.

He was the last person who had yet to display his flame.

Shen Wen stood at a forward position in the center of the stone platform, hands behind his back.

He was in no hurry to act, merely watching the brilliant flames around him silently, his expression as calm as if he were watching a performance that had nothing to do with him.

"What about Shen Wen? Where is his Fallen Heart Flame?"

"I heard he gave it to Elder Dan Chen..."

"Gave it away? That's a strange fire! He just gave it away like that?"

"Exactly, blinded by beauty, I suppose."

"Tsk tsk, without a strange fire, how can he compete with these people?"

"Those are all strange fires ranked in the top ten; the pressure alone will be enough to give him a hard time."

The discussions grew louder; some shook their heads, some sneered, and some showed looks of pity.

Shen Wen was deaf to these voices.

He raised his hand.

In his palm, a wisp of flame emerged silently.

That flame was very ordinary.

Crimson with a hint of orange-yellow, it looked no different from the Dou Qi fire conjured by an ordinary fire-attribute Dou Practitioner.

It had no unique spiritual fluctuations, no overbearing power to incinerate all things, and no gentleness to nourish life.

It was just fire.

The most ordinary fire.

The discussions in the spectator stands grew even louder.

"That's it? Dou Qi fire?"

"Isn't he a Grade 8 Alchemist? He's relying on this?"

"Giving his strange fire to a woman and keeping a Dou Qi fire for himself—what do you call that? Neglecting the essentials for the trivial?"

Someone laughed even louder.

But soon, the laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Because the wisp of flame in Shen Wen's palm began to change.

It didn't change color, it didn't expand, and there were no violent changes.

But the surrounding strange fires all trembled at once.

The Eight Desolation Destruction Flame in Huo Xuan's palm—that overbearing strange fire ranked sixth—was now shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It wasn't withdrawing; it was recoiling.

The same was true for Huo Zhi's Red Lotus Karma Fire.

That eerie and brilliant flame curled into a ball, the petal patterns within it distorting violently, as if in fear.

Yao Tian's Turtle Spirit Earth Fire throbbed, emitting sizzling sounds as if it might extinguish at any moment.

Xiao Yan's Fusion flame, which had suppressed all other strange fires, also quieted down now.

Its deep cyan light dimmed slightly; the flame was no longer flamboyant but lay submissively in Xiao Yan's palm, motionless.

On the square, dozens of strange fires bowed their heads simultaneously.

Like subjects meeting their monarch.

In the spectator stands, there was a deathly silence.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene, their mouths open, yet unable to make a sound.