58: Chapter 58 Fire Control Showdown and Activation of Hidden Mobs

The bell for the second round hung over every person's head.

As the long, dull bronze toll rang out, the lingering tension from the herb identification phase did not dissipate. Instead, as the fire Formations around the plaza fully activated, a scorching heat that pricked the skin rose up.

On the judges' dais, Master Chiyang's face was as dark as water; he did not show the slightest smile despite the bonus points awarded earlier.

His pupils, which seemed to contain sparks of fire, swept across the venue. With his voice reinforced by spiritual energy, it sounded like rolling thunder across the horizon: "The second round, fire control trial! There is only one rule: using the profound iron furnaces distributed by the association, simultaneously control three different basic flames—Earth Fire, Wood Fire, and Stone-Heart Fire—to complete melting, separation, and shaping. Those who take less time will be ranked first, and those with higher stability will be considered superior. Open the furnaces!"

As soon as the words fell, the hundreds of bronze pillars in the center of the plaza erupted with dark red Earth Fire.

Simultaneously, in the Formation slots beside each alchemist, the prepared Green Wood Crystals and Fluorite Ore ignited. Emerald Wood Fire and incandescent Stone-Heart Fire reflected off one another. Three flames of distinct colors danced wildly around the Medicine Cauldron, and the air crackled with faint, sharp explosions.

This was by no means an easy task.

The natures of the three flames were diametrically opposed: Earth Fire was as irritable and violent as a tiger, Wood Fire was gentle and lingering, and Stone-Heart Fire was heavy and restrained. A moment of carelessness would cause the three flames to devour and collide within the furnace, leading to extinguished fires and failure at best, or the shattering of the Medicine Cauldron at worst.

Lin Chen stood in the crowd, the speed of his right hand rubbing the stone ring increasing slightly.

He looked at Su Qingyao's slender back, a hint of gravity crossing his heart.

He knew this was not just a competition of fire control techniques, but a collision of foundations.

"Look, Young Lord Ge!" a low cry came from the crowd.

Ge Yuan stood before the golden furnace position, his expression arrogant.

He slapped his Storage Pouch, and a cyan stream of light shot into the sky, then slowly hovered over his palm.

It was a cyan lotus that looked almost corporeal. The petals were crystal clear, and in the center, a deep cyan flame pulsed rhythmically, emitting a pure and noble fire-attribute pressure.

"It's the Green Lotus Core Flame!"

"No, that's a replica of the Ge Family's ancestral flame. Although it's only a Rank 3 Magic Treasure, its suppression of basic flames is invincible!"

Ge Yuan felt the envious gazes coming from all directions, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cruel arc.

He slanted a glance at Su Qingyao not far away and pinched a complex fire-control seal with his left hand.

The cyan lotus bloomed violently, and a powerful force of integration swept out. The three-colored flames that were still struggling and dancing at the edge of the furnace seemed like subjects meeting their king, instantly lowering their tongues meekly, then lining up in three neat waves, flowing into the furnace under Ge Yuan's guidance.

Ge Yuan's technique was smooth as flowing water, fast enough to leave only a series of afterimages.

With the amplification of the flame replica, he hardly needed to spend much Divine Sense to balance the temperature difference; he only needed to continuously stack firepower to forcibly melt the metal Ore inside the furnace.

Compared to Ge Yuan's grand momentum, the corner where Su Qingyao was located seemed exceptionally cold and quiet.

Su Qingyao held her breath and focused, even closing her eyes.

She could feel the dry heat permeating the surrounding air gnawing at her physical strength.

She slowly extended her fair, white palm and took out a fist-sized, translucent, light blue crystal from her sleeve.

The moment this crystal appeared, the heat waves within a ten-foot radius miraculously retreated.

That was the "Ice Crystal Flame," a rare treasure born in extreme cold. It turned to ice upon touch, but once pure Wood-attribute spiritual energy was injected, a nearly transparent cold flame would ignite within it.

She gently placed the Ice Crystal Flame in the exact center of the Medicine Cauldron, her fingertips trembling slightly as she injected a stream of pure spiritual energy into it.

"Sizzle—"

A cluster of ghostly blue cold fire rose, forming a sharp contrast with the three basic flames on the periphery.

Master Chiyang's eyes flashed with brilliance, and his body leaned forward involuntarily.

He saw the trick: Su Qingyao was not trying to subdue the three flames, but was using the extreme cold properties of the Ice Crystal Flame to forcibly carve out subtle temperature gradients between the irritable flames.

It was like dripping precise cold spring water into a scorching wok, yet maintaining a delicate balance.

Su Qingyao's fingers moved as if plucking zither strings, nimbly guiding the three flames to weave and flow through the gaps of the cold flame.

The flames were no longer clashing chaotically; under her control, they turned into silky ribbons, winding circle by circle around the Ore Materials.

This technique consumed an astonishing amount of Divine Sense; any fluctuation of even a microsecond could lead to an imbalance between ice and fire.

Lin Chen watched her fingertips press against her lips again, leaving a white mark that made his heart ache, and thought to himself: "Steady, Qingyao. This understanding of the essence of flames is your greatest trump card."

Time passed second by second, and the atmosphere in the plaza became extremely oppressive due to the high temperature and high-intensity operation.

"Success!" Ge Yuan laughed loudly.

He slammed the furnace lid, and the three-colored flames instantly extinguished.

A mass of dark golden liquid metal, refined to the extreme, floated in mid-air. Through his "shaping" operation, the liquid metal quickly cooled and contracted, turning into a fingernail-sized, exquisitely carved Flying Sword.

From opening the furnace to completion, it took him less than two quarter-hours; the speed was astonishing.

The old men on the judges' seat whispered, nodding one after another.

The Ge Family's "Flame Integration Method," while somewhat reliant on external objects, was indeed dominant in efficiency for practical Alchemy.

Just three breaths later, a crisp hum also came from Su Qingyao's furnace position.

She slowly withdrew her spiritual energy, her forehead covered in fine sweat, and the hair sticking to her temples was damp, showing a heart-wrenching, fragile beauty.

As the Ice Crystal Flame was withdrawn, a mass of pale silver liquid droplets flew out of the furnace.

These droplets were not shaped into complex forms, but were merely a perfectly round bead.

But the moment the bead left the furnace, the luster, pure to the point of having zero Impurities, made many veteran alchemists gasp.

"This... this purity, it's at least over ninety-five percent!"

Master Chiyang walked down from his seat personally to inspect the results of both.

Ge Yuan's Flying Sword had an imposing Aura and perfect shaping; Su Qingyao's bead was extremely restrained, but its purity was a cut above.

"Ge Yuan, time taken: one quarter-hour and six minutes, purity: ninety-two percent. Su Qingyao, time taken: two full quarter-hours, purity: ninety-seven percent." Master Chiyang was silent for a moment before giving a compromise ruling: "Ge Yuan wins by a narrow margin in speed and stability. Su Qingyao displays excellent potential and micro-manipulation skills; the gap between the two is minimal. Totaling both rounds, Ge Yuan is currently ranked first, and Su Qingyao is second."

Ge Yuan snorted coldly. The look he gave Su Qingyao not only failed to soften, but was filled with even deeper malice.

He didn't care about potential; he just wanted this woman to disappear from Liuyun Market completely.

The competition paused, entering the halftime break.

Just as the alchemists were leaving the stage to rest and the guards in the plaza were busy cleaning up the residue, a sudden commotion broke the tranquility on the east side of the plaza.

"Oh my! Isn't this Brother Liu Ming?"

Wu Iron-Mouth's bellows-like voice instantly raised an octave, drawing many curious Cultivators to surround them.

At the corner of the corridor, Wu Iron-Mouth was fearfully supporting a man with a numb expression and tattered clothes.

The man's eyes were bloodshot, his eye sockets sunken, and dark blue meridians pulsed under his skin. The whole person emitted an unpleasant, decaying medicinal odor.

"Liu Ming? Are you talking about the Rank 2 Alchemist Liu Ming who disappeared inexplicably two months ago?" someone recognized the man's identity.

"That's him! Back then, he said he accepted a job from the Ge Family to collect herbs in the mountains. He disappeared after that. How did he become this ghost of a person?" Wu Iron-Mouth shouted while pretending to be flustered, taking some sundries out of his bosom to help him wipe his face.

Just then, a dark-colored Jade Slip "accidentally" slipped from Wu Iron-Mouth's bosom, rolling along the steps to the feet of Master Chiyang, who was about to leave the venue.

Master Chiyang frowned. He was someone who protected his own and despised the Evil Path. The herb incident in the first round had already filled him with anger.

He extended a finger and tapped lightly, and the Jade Slip fell into his palm.

As his Divine Sense sank in, Master Chiyang's face turned livid in an instant.

The Jade Slip not only recorded in detail the anatomical structure of a certain insidious Gu insect planted in Liu Ming's body, but also contained a deduction report on how this Gu insect could parasitize and control an alchemist's Divine Soul through herbs.

The forbidden Formation spreading like a spider web at the edge of the Sea of Consciousness was the greatest blasphemy against the word "Alchemy."

"Ge Family!" Master Chiyang turned his head abruptly, his gaze piercing toward Steward Yan Song, who had just arrived, like a sharp sword.

When Steward Yan Song saw Liu Ming appear, his heart almost skipped a beat.

Shouldn't that piece of trash be dead in Hermit Poison-Heart's manor?

How could he have escaped?

And happened to appear here?

"Senior Chiyang, don't listen to the ramblings of this street urchin!" Steward Yan Song reacted quickly. He took a deep breath and shouted sternly, "Wu Iron-Mouth, where did you find such a lunatic? This person clearly suffered Qi Deviation during training, and his sanity has long been deranged. How dare you fabricate false evidence here to shame the reputation of my Ge Family!"

Ge Yuan also followed quickly. The replica of his Green Lotus Core Flame spun wildly in his palm, murder in his eyes: "Wu Iron-Mouth, I think you're tired of living! Steward Yan, why not take down this lunatic and the provocateur immediately, so as not to disturb the President's presence!"

Before the words fell, a black shadow hidden on the periphery of the crowd swept up like a maggot on a bone.

It was Hermit Duxin, Mo San. He held a thin black needle as fine as cow hair between his fingertips. It was the "Bone-Melting Silk" that could instantly destroy Liu Ming's heart pulse and turn his corpse into blood.

Mo San's movements were extremely fast, and his Golden Core Stage Divine Sense pressure was quietly released, deterring the surrounding Loose Cultivators.

He wanted to erase this living evidence forever before Master Chiyang could fully launch an attack.

However, just as his black needle was only three inches away from Liu Ming's neck, a sudden change occurred.

The slab of blue steel rock under Liu Ming's feet lit up with a circle of dim runes without warning.

The runes were extremely simple, yet contained a miraculous fluctuation of space distortion.

"Hum—"

A visible ripple appeared in the air, and Liu Ming's figure became illusory at that moment.

Mo San's black needle pierced through the afterimage, stabbing directly into empty space. The feeling of falling through due to excessive force almost made him spit out a mouthful of old blood.

A teleportation Formation!

And it was a high-level, instant-cast, one-time micro-teleportation Formation!

Lin Chen stood dozens of feet away, his right hand hidden in his sleeve slightly opening, and a piece of talisman paper that had turned into ash was scattering in the wind.

This was his life-saving trump card, pieced together over the past few days using the System's logical deduction and the Formation fragments collected by Liu Yuan.

"Playing such murder-to-silence tricks in front of this old man, Steward Yan, do you take me for blind?"

Master Chiyang's angry shout, accompanied by the terrifying Spiritual Pressure of a Peak Golden Core Stage, directly pushed Mo San, who had rushed forward, back three steps.

He waved his large hand, and a wave of fiery red spiritual energy directly sealed the space where Liu Ming had disappeared, then tightly clamped the fallen Jade Slip in his palm.

His gaze wandered between Steward Yan Song, Ge Yuan, and the livid Mo San, finally resting on the gloomy Steward Yan Song. His voice was cold, without a hint of warmth: "Although this person has disappeared, the Jade Slip is here, and the aura is here. Before the matter is investigated, no core member of the Medicine King Pavilion is allowed to leave Liuyun Market. As for Liu Ming... the association will search for his whereabouts itself."

He looked deeply at the ordinary guard standing behind Su Qingyao, who had remained silent throughout.

Intuition told him that behind all of this, there was an invisible hand plucking the strings.

"The assembly continues. In one hour, the third round of the finals will begin as usual. Anyone who dares to cause trouble again, don't blame this seat's true fire for being ruthless!"

Steward Yan Song clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms, blood seeping out.

He knew the Ge Family had retreated to the edge of the cliff.

He glanced at Lin Chen, who was comforting Su Qingyao in a low voice nearby, the suspicion in his eyes already transformed into a near-tangible, violent murderous intent.

"Since you want to play, then let's completely smash this game of chess." Steward Yan Song whispered to the attendant beside him, then walked toward the Ge Family's backfield without looking back.

And in the shadows, Lin Chen touched the stone ring, looking at the setting sun with deep eyes.

He knew that the silence of the next hour was just the last breath before a bigger storm.