Chapter 149 The Alchemy Begins

After everyone entered the pitch-black rift, they arrived at a vast plaza, which was already surrounded by tens of thousands of spectators.

It was a sea of people, resembling an orderly wave of clouds.

Everyone gazed at the stone platform, and when the space gate finally opened and several Alchemists flew onto the stone platform, the atmosphere reached its Peak.

The cheers were deafening.

On the high platform, which was the focus of everyone's attention, a beautiful woman asked Xuan Kongzi, "Have the people from the Hall of Souls been dealt with cleanly?"

Xuan Kongzi nodded.

The beautiful woman continued to ask, "Who do you think can win the championship?"

Xuan Kongzi replied, "Originally, I thought Cao Ying could take first place, at least her competitiveness was certain, after all, she has a Soul that has reached the Spirit Realm, but now I have changed my mind..."

"Oh?" The beautiful woman blinked her pretty eyes, a bit interested, her lips parted slightly, still retaining her charm.

"Who do you think is the most likely?"

Xuan Kongzi looked toward an inconspicuous direction, "Gu He from the Jia Ma Empire in the northern part of the continent."

"I heard he is an Elder of the Cloud Mist Sect, which was once glorious for a period of time. Truly..."

Xuan Kongzi's eyes were extremely complex, "Perhaps, the Reincarnation of the Fighting Qi Continent has arrived...!"

Watching the contestants find their positions and stand still, he cleared his throat and announced,

"First, congratulations on passing the second round and arriving here—now, it is time for our most important round: Alchemy."

"Only those who pass this round will be able to stand until the end!"

"All contestants, please take the stage! This is the final round of the competition, there are no rules or restrictions; do your best to refine the Medicinal Pill you are most skilled at!!"

Hearing Xuan Kongzi's voice that resounded through the sky, the blood of the many contestants in the plaza began to boil.

Figures flew up rapidly, and the sunlight seemed to freeze.

Gu He encouraged his disciple Xiao Yi Xian, "Compete well, you know, don't take it lightly. Whatever Rank you get is fine, but don't waste the effort your Master put into teaching you."

"Got it, got it~ Nags Master, bleh~"

Xiao Yi Xian used Dou Qi Wings; the beautiful purple wings almost covered her, and she also flew up rapidly.

Gu He nodded to Cao Ying, and the two found stone platforms adjacent to each other and stood still.

"The competition officially begins—!" Xuan Kongzi announced loudly.

Flames ignited in the hands of the Alchemist contestants, both old and young, and they successively summoned their own Cauldrons to begin Alchemy.

"Swish!" Cao Ying summoned her Blood Demon Flame. The beautiful flame looked like blood, but this was not a natural fire, but a man-made flame.

It was a flame that could only be condensed by fusing fire-attribute blood filled with various auras together.

And the flame in Cao Ying's hand had a very complete tiny silhouette, which also illustrated the power of the flame.

On the other side, Dan Chen from the Dan Family summoned a pure white, flawless, holy flame. Gu He glanced at it and recognized it as the Heart Clearing Fire.

This flame could only be obtained from a Glazed Treasure Beast.

Using the Heart Clearing Fire required the user's heart to be like a bright moon, pure and flawless, otherwise, it would cause the user to burn themselves.

Dan Chen noticed Gu He's gaze, turned her head, smiled slightly, and nodded politely to Gu He.

It's no wonder Dan Chen could obtain it. This thought flashed through Gu He's mind.

He regained his focus, stopped observing the surrounding contestants, took out his Cauldron, and summoned his strange fire.

As soon as the cyan flame appeared, the surrounding temperature rose by three parts instantly—and this was still the result after Gu He slightly suppressed it.

The beautiful flame formed a small Azure Dragon on its own, leaping in the air, causing other Alchemist contestants to look back frequently.

"Damn! This person, his... his flame is so strong!"

"Is this the legendary strange fire?"

"When will I also be able to have such an encounter and obtain a wisp of such a beautiful flame—"

Everyone was discussing it.

Gu He also noticed that these contestants did not have any strange fire.

And the strange fire in his hand, which fused all his flames, could almost squeeze into the top six of the strange fire ranking list in terms of power and characteristics alone!

On the other side, Xuan Kongzi and the beautiful woman also started talking in low voices: "It's actually a strange fire?!"

"But this strange fire looks... the color seems a bit unusual?"

"There doesn't seem to be this color of strange fire on the strange fire ranking list, right?"

"I don't know, it's really strange..."

"But its awesomeness is unquestionable!"

After the flame display segment ended, everyone quickly controlled their own flames to avoid being interfered with by Gu He's strange fire.

Subsequently, they officially began Alchemy.

The Medicinal Pill each person was refining was different, but they were all the highest Rank Medicinal Pill they were capable of.

This was a challenge.

But this was at the Pill Gathering, and merely playing it safe was not enough. Most people wanted to take a risk and try to refine a more Advanced Medicinal Pill to sprint for a better ranking.

After all, even if they failed, it was just a failed attempt, but if they succeeded, it would be a huge, unimaginable Breakthrough!

The gasps and exclamations of the crowd did not affect Gu He's contemplation; he was thinking about what kind of Medicinal Pill would be better to refine.

In the Dark Nether Golden Bear Immortal Cave in the Ten Thousand Medicine Mountain Range, he had obtained many medicinal ingredients, and some were very precious, which he had never possessed before.

Now there were many types of Eighth Grade Pill he could refine, so there was no need to worry about medicinal ingredients at all.

But he had another consideration: if the Rank of the refined Medicinal Pill was too excellent, it would attract the covetousness of others. If a tree stands taller than the forest, the wind will surely destroy it; he also hated that kind of covetous gaze from others.

Hmm... then let's just refine a Dou Zun Pill!

It could both win the championship and not be too conspicuous.

The Dou Zun Pill, an Eighth Grade Pill, could allow a Dou Zong at the Peak to have a 100% Breakthrough to Dou Zun after consumption, or allow a Dou Zun to increase by one to two stars. The effect was Heaven-Defying, comparable to a life-saving medicine.

This Medicinal Pill that could directly increase a Dou Zun by one or two stars was not common in the Central Plains, and once it hit the market, it would also cause competition.

"Then that's it!" Gu He's thought flashed by.

It just so happened that he had refined this Medicinal Pill before; practice makes perfect.

With the idea settled, Gu He injected flame into the Cauldron's fire port and began the process of Alchemy.

Extraction, Fusion...

One day, two days, three days.

Time passed in a hurry. The process of Alchemy was an extreme test of an Alchemist's patience and concentration. Gu He was like an old monk entering meditation; he calmly watched others fail in their refining, while slowly adding another wisp of strange fire himself.

A few days later. The scene did not cool down, and the number of onlookers did not decrease in the slightest. This rare grand event did not lack spectators.

A Sixth-Grade Pill appeared, and no one celebrated. A Seventh Rank Medicinal Pill appeared, attracting gazes to watch. From low to Advanced Seventh Rank, the changes in Rank also made the competition more lively.

This scene did not completely cease until—a bolt of Pill Lightning like a thunderbolt struck down.

"Rumble!" The vivid colors and the huge energy fluctuations shook the heavens and the earth. Everyone looked back and saw that black-robed figure, boundless and magnificent!