88: Establishing authority through killing, the first test of Danhui.

Pill City's western district, a deserted Alchemist workshop area.

Broken walls, overgrown weeds, shattered Pill Furnaces, and charred beams told tales of past failures and desolation. The Spiritual Qi here was thin, and remnants of violent fire poison lingered, making it a rarely visited place.

Li Ao stood with his hands behind his back in the center of a relatively open ruin, his blue robes gently swaying in the breeze, his expression indifferent, as if waiting for something.

“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

Sounds of rushing air rang out consecutively, and seven figures, like ghosts, shot out from different directions, forming a encirclement that trapped Li Ao in the center. The leader was none other than Xue Lian, the Young Master of the Blood River Sect, with whom Li Ao had clashed earlier at Wan Yao Pharmacy! Beside him, in addition to the several Dou Huang attendants seen before, there were two more old men dressed in dark red robes, their auras cold and heavy. These two old men had eyes as sharp as eagles, and the blood-soaked Qi around them was almost solidified. Their strength had actually reached the Peak of an Eight-Star Dou Huang!

To deal with Li Ao, Xue Lian had clearly mobilized the hidden power of the Blood River Sect in Pill City, sending out Elders from within the sect.

“Kid, I didn’t expect you’d actually dare to come to a place like this. It saves this Young Sect Leader a lot of trouble!” Xue Lian’s face held a cruel and smug smile, his eyes looking at Li Ao as if he were already dead. “In Pill City, this Young Sect Leader still had some scruples, but here… killing you is like crushing an ant!”

The two Eight-Star Dou Huang Elders locked their gazes coldly on Li Ao, one of them speaking hoarsely: “Young man, you don’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. Offending my Blood River Sect can only be cleansed with blood. Hand over all the treasures on your person and cripple your Cultivation, and perhaps we can leave you a complete corpse.”

The other Elder was even more direct, his killing intent chilling: “Why waste words with him? Take him down directly, search his Soul, and seize his treasures!”

Li Ao’s gaze calmly swept over the seven people, finally resting on Xue Lian, his tone utterly devoid of emotion: “Are everyone here? Good, it saves me the trouble of finding you one by one.”

His calm demeanor made Xue Lian and the others slightly startled, then furious.

“You dare to be arrogant even on the verge of death! Two Elders, attack! Cripple him for me!” Xue Lian roared sharply.

“Take him down!” The two Eight-Star Dou Huang Elders roared in unison, their figures shooting out! One pointed his fingers like claws, five streams of condensed bloody energy shooting from his fingertips, like venomous pythons emerging from a cave, coiling towards Li Ao’s limbs and neck. A fishy wind assaulted the nose, containing highly corrosive Dou Qi and Soul poison! The other punched out, his fist wind transforming into a gigantic bloody skull, letting out a mournful shriek, opening its mouth to bite!

The two cooperated tacitly, one seizing and one attacking, their offensives ruthless and sharp, clearly intending a quick victory.

Facing the combined attack of two Eight-Star Dou Huangs, Li Ao finally moved.

He didn’t use any flashy movement techniques, simply taking a single step forward.

With one step, the situation changed!

Dark golden Qi and blood erupted like a sleeping volcano, and a brutal, domineering pressure filled with destructive aura, like a tangible mountain, descended upon this ruin!

The five coiling bloody streams, the moment they touched this dark golden Qi and blood Domain, melted and disintegrated rapidly with a “hissing” sound, like ice and snow meeting scorching sun! And the gigantic bloody skull was directly distorted and deformed by this immense Qi and blood pressure, exploding with a mournful cry before it even got within ten zhang of Li Ao!

“What?!”

“This Qi and blood… are you a Body Cultivator?! No! What kind of power is this?!”

The faces of the two Eight-Star Dou Huang Elders changed drastically, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief! They felt their Dou Qi being extremely suppressed in this dark golden Qi and blood Domain, operating sluggishly, as if they were not facing a person, but an awakened ancient Vicious Beast!

However, before they could react further, Li Ao’s figure had already appeared like a ghost in front of the first Elder who attacked.

Fast! So fast it surpassed the limits of their Soul perception!

“Hegemon Fist — Suppressing Mountain!”

It was still a simple and direct punch, not utilizing the Annihilation Rule, but solely relying on the pure Physical Body strength of the Black Iron Hegemon Body’s second stage Peak, fused with immense Qi and blood and Dou Qi, smashing down!

Wherever the fist passed, space emitted a strained hum, as if an invisible mountain truly descended to suppress with it!

The Elder’s pupils constricted, and in a hurry, he condensed all his bloody Dou Qi into his arms, crossing them to block!

“Boom—!!!”

Fist and arm collided, emitting an extremely dull roar!

Immediately after, came the bone-chilling sound of bones cracking!

“Crack… Pfft!”

The Elder’s arms instantly snapped and shattered like fragile branches! The unstoppable fist imprinted itself on his chest! The protective blood light on his body shattered like paper, his entire chest visibly caved in, and a fist-shaped bulge violently protruded from his back!

The shock in his eyes solidified, and his body flew backward like a broken sack, successively crashing through several ruined walls, finally embedding itself in a pile of rubble, completely devoid of life!

One punch! Instantly killing an Eight-Star Dou Huang!

Silence!

Dead silence!

The remaining Eight-Star Dou Huang Elder, as well as Xue Lian and his other attendants, all froze in place, as if frozen by ice, the cruel smiles and killing intent on their faces completely replaced by boundless fear!

This… what kind of monster is this?! Killing an Eight-Star Dou Huang with one punch?! Dou Zong?! He is definitely a Dou Zong!

“Escape!” The other Eight-Star Dou Huang Elder was scared out of his wits, only this thought remained in his mind. He no longer cared about Xue Lian and the others, turning around to burn his essence blood, transforming into a streak of bloody light to flee.

“I said, since you’ve come, then stay.”

Li Ao’s cold voice, like a death knell, rang in his ears.

Li Ao pointed his fingers like a blade, and with a gentle slash in the air towards the fleeing bloody light.

“Nirvana Slash.”

A silvery-gray thread flashed again, silently sweeping across the Void Realm.

The bloody light that had fled several hundred zhang suddenly paused, then, like a sand sculpture scattered by the wind, along with the Eight-Star Dou Huang Elder within it, annihilated into the finest dust, dissipating between heaven and earth.

In the blink of an eye, two Eight-Star Dou Huang Elders, fallen!

Xue Lian and the remaining attendants completely collapsed. They slumped to the ground, their pants soaked, their faces as pale as paper, looking at the blue-robed youth who slowly turned around like a demon god, too scared to even beg for mercy.

“No… don’t kill me! I am the Young Master of the Blood River Sect! My father is a Dou Zong! If you kill me, the Blood River Sect will not let you go!” Xue Lian cried, snot and tears flowing, screaming incoherently.

Li Ao’s eyes were cold, without the slightest waver. Mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself. Since a mortal feud had been formed, there was no possibility of holding back.

He flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending out several gusts of finger wind imbued with the intent of Annihilation.

“Pfft pfft pfft…”

Including Xue Lian, the remaining few people simultaneously developed a tiny red dot between their eyebrows, the light in their eyes instantly dimmed, and their vitality and Soul were instantly erased.

With a wave of his hand, the Blood River Sect’s seven strong practitioners, including the Young Sect Leader, were completely wiped out!

Li Ao was expressionless, waving his hand to collect the storage rings of the several people, then flicked out a wisp of dark golden flame, incinerating all the corpses on the ground into nothingness, erasing all traces.

Having done all this, he, as if having done a trivial matter, tidied his clothes and walked away from the ruins.

The news could not be kept secret.

Especially the news of a suspected young Dou Zong, who, with a wave of his hand near Pill City, annihilated the Blood River Sect’s elite team, including two Eight-Star Dou Huang Elders, and the Young Master of the Blood River Sect, Xue Lian!

When this news quietly spread through various channels in certain circles of Pill City, it immediately caused no small stir.

Although the Blood River Sect was not a top-tier force in the Pill Domain, it was infamous in the Northern Domain, and its Sect Master was a genuine One-Star Dou Zong. Now, with their Young Sect Leader and two core Elders killed in Pill City territory, this was tantamount to a harsh slap to the Blood River Sect’s face!

Countless gazes began to secretly turn towards the mysterious blue-robed youth named “Li Ao.” Curiosity, apprehension, attempts at recruitment, hostility… various emotions intertwined.

And Li Ao, after this display of power, found his days much calmer. At least, openly, no foolish small fries dared to easily provoke him anymore.

Several days passed in a flash.

The Pill Tower’s triennial Pill Gathering, the day of registration, finally arrived!

On this day, the entire Pill City completely boiled over. People flowed like a hundred rivers converging into the sea, surging from all directions towards the massive square in front of the towering giant tower in the city center, the Pill Tower, which symbolized the Alchemist’s highest Holy Land.

On the square, there was a sea of people, the clamor shaking the heavens. Young Alchemists from all over the continent, their eyes burning with fervor, full of vigor, carrying their pursuit of alchemy and dreams of achieving fame, gathered here.

Li Ao, in his blue robes, stood among the crowd, not particularly conspicuous. But his Soul perception, like an invisible radar, swept across the entire square.

“Oh? A little fellow whose Soul power has reached the Spirit Realm Mid Stage, with a bone age not exceeding thirty, not bad.”

“That purple-haired girl seems to have a not-so-weak Beast Fire hidden within her body… Hmm? And a trace of Dragon Clan Bloodline?”

“The black-robed kid has a cold aura, and the Cultivation Technique he Cultivates seems to lean towards Soul attacks. His alchemy methods are probably also on the treacherous side.”

“And those few… they should be the Prodigies cultivated by the Pill Tower itself, their auras stable, Soul power condensed, and foundations extremely solid.”

Above the square, dozens of transparent crystal assessment platforms floated. The preliminary round of the Pill Gathering was about to take place on these platforms.

The content of the preliminary round was very simple — simultaneously refine the designated fifth-grade Peak Medicinal Pill, the “soul spirit pill,” in front of all contestants! Time limit: one stick of incense! Those who succeed advance! Those who fail are eliminated!

The soul spirit pill, a fifth-grade Peak Medicinal Pill, has the effect of nourishing the Soul. Its refining difficulty is considered top-tier among fifth-grade Medicinal Pills, extremely testing the Alchemist’s control over heat and precise manipulation of Soul power. This round alone was enough to weed out over eighty percent of the imposters!

As a Pill Tower Elder announced the start of the preliminary round, tens of thousands of flames of various colors instantly rose from the massive square! High temperatures permeated the air, distorting it, making for a spectacular sight!

Li Ao casually chose an empty assessment platform and stood still. He did not rush to act, but instead scanned the three sets of Materials prepared on the platform.

“Only three sets of Materials, one chance to fail…” He understood in his heart.

Around him, many Alchemists had already begun to activate their flames, preheating their Medicine Cauldrons, and processing the Medicinal Materials. Various flames competed for brilliance; Beast Fire, strange fires, and even some lower-ranked Heavenly Flames appeared one after another, eliciting gasps of surprise.

Li Ao took a deep breath, and under countless gazes (including some secretly observing him), slowly raised his palm.

He did not summon a Medicine Cauldron.

Only to see a wisp of deep, dark flame, so profound it seemed to devour light, silently leap out from his palm!

The moment the flame appeared, within a hundred zhang radius, all the flames in the palms of the surrounding Alchemists, whether Beast Fire or strange fires, and even two Heavenly Flames ranked outside the top twenty, all became weak, even violently flickering, as if they were subjects encountering their king, wanting to break free from their masters’ control and bow down to that wisp of dark flame!

All fires bowed in reverence!

The entire square instantly fell into a strange, deathly silence!

All Alchemists who felt this pressure originating from the Origin of flames were terrified, their gazes simultaneously focused on that blue-robed figure and the eerie and terrifying dark flame in his palm!

“What… what kind of fire is that?!”

“My Sea Heart Flame… is trembling?!”

“Heavenly Flame?! It’s definitely a Heavenly Flame! And its ranking… is extremely high!”

On the high platform, several Pill Tower Elders responsible for supervising the examination suddenly stood up, their eyes bursting with unprecedented brilliance, staring fixedly at the dark flame in Li Ao’s palm.

“This color, this pressure… could it be… the legendary… Void Swallowing Flame?! No, no, the aura is somewhat different, but the level… is definitely not low!”

Li Ao ignored the shocked gazes of the entire audience, his Soul power surged out, enveloping one set of Medicinal Materials on the platform.

Using his palm as a Cauldron, his Soul as a guide, Void Swallowing Flame Child Fire — appear!

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(End of Chapter 54)

Preview: The preliminary round shocks the entire audience, the Void Swallowing Flame Child Fire intimidates all! What kind of astonishing alchemy will Li Ao display? The Pill Gathering officially begins, Prodigies from all sides contend, and what kind of powerful enemies await? Please look forward to the next chapter: The Pill Gathering's Winds of Change Begin!