novelraw 581. Last Time
581. Last Time
The Dan Conference has progressed to this point, and this massive wave of elimination was something that no one except the Spirit Race had anticipated.
Wei Jiangyuan's failed alchemy attempt was also extremely taxing; after the pills proved beyond saving, he collapsed to the ground. Without quickly rebuilding his alchemy furnace, Wei Jiangyuan's journey at the alchemy competition had effectively ended. Those unaware of Wei Jiangyuan's true identity would only think that reaching this level, surpassing even veteran eighth-grade alchemists, was already quite remarkable.
But those who truly knew Wei Jiangyuan's identity were deeply shocked!
This was Shennong's first disciple! The champion of this alchemy competition, who was truly favored by everyone, actually lost.
"Even if the pill refining fails, it will still affect Ling Zhuo. This heroic act of cutting off one's own arm is truly moving," Xuan Kongzi commented.
Even after hearing these words of comfort, Venerable Mingshui was still filled with regret. He couldn't believe that his junior brother had been defeated so easily.
In the end, only two remained in this alchemy competition: Xiao Yan and Ling Zhuo, the old rivals from the previously heated Heavenly Talent Ranking. The slight energy leaking from their cauldrons was enough to prove that the pills they refined were definitely stronger than the previous Rank 8 pills, and the champion would surely emerge from among them!
However, Ling Zhuo's situation is more urgent than Xiao Yan's.
It's true that the others lost control of their flames under Ling Zhuo's influence. But having to perform so many actions while refining medicine was also a huge burden for him. He was barely able to hold on, but Wei Jiangyuan's counterattack caused him to temporarily lose control of the flames as well.
Fortunately, his soul power had already advanced to the late stage of the Spirit Realm, and the pills in his medicine cauldron had entered the final stage of flame nurturing.
Ling Zhuo glanced at Xiao Yan, realizing that he could no longer influence Xiao Yan as planned, and that he would have to complete the core first.
Ling Zhuo had originally planned to put in his best effort to deal with Xiao Yan. Although Xiao Yan's strange fire was far more powerful than the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, as long as he could shake Xiao Yan's flames, he would definitely have an opportunity to strike. This time, he didn't need to win against Xiao Yan in the battle of strange fires; he only needed to weaken him.
He still felt a little regretful, after all, the reason he had instructed his subordinates to hurry up and refine the pills was to sweep the top five in the Pill Refining Competition. Now, Xiao Yan already looked quite extraordinary, and in order to pursue the speed of pill refining, the quality of the pills produced by Cao Ying and the others would be lower than their normal level. It seemed that it would be difficult to prevent Xiao Yan from entering the top five.
"You're still as lucky as ever..."
Xiao Yan remained focused on refining, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. However, his silence did not mean he was intimidated by the scene.
Venerable Mingshui, who had been carefully observing the changes in the arena, hesitated before asking, "Why is Xiao Yan's alchemy speed also increasing?"
"What does he want to do?" If the reason why Ling Zhuo and his group accelerated their progress has been fully exposed, then Xiao Yan's accelerated pill formation is a reason that is hard to guess.
"Could it be that Xiao Yan misjudged the situation? Could he not see that Ling Zhuo is no longer able to attack him after the changes just now, or is he worried that his flames will be affected...?"
No one present, including Xuan Yi, could understand Xiao Yan's current actions. They simply couldn't comprehend why he was accelerating at this crucial juncture. Ling Zhuo couldn't influence him; shouldn't he be focusing on improving the quality of his pills?
At this moment, Wei Jiangyuan was the most heartbroken. He frowned as he looked at Xiao Yan, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction: "Old Xiao, what's the rush? I risked my soul to defeat Ling Zhuo, why don't you cherish this opportunity?"
Indeed, even though Wei Jiangyuan had made considerable preparations before the final alchemy session began, he had completely lost the will and energy to continue refining pills. His earlier attempt to control Ling Zhuo's soul backlash was like walking a tightrope high in the air; while he succeeded in the end, it had also taken a heavy toll on him. His plan was to do everything in his power to create a safe and undisturbed environment for Xiao Yan to refine pills.
Even if most of the top ten are members of the Spirit Clan, Xiao Yan's ability to overcome numerous obstacles and win first place in the Pill Gathering will still prevent the Spirit Clan from achieving its goals.
Xiao Yan is now accelerating the process of pill formation. Even though his pills are in the final stages, it will still inevitably affect their quality. Whether Xiao Yan didn't understand his meaning or had other methods, reality didn't follow the script Wei Jiangyuan had designed.
But now he was powerless to do anything and could only watch Xiao Yan continue his performance...
……
"What do we do now?" An elder of the Pill Tower asked with a grim face, "If this continues, the quality of Xiao Yan's pills will not be as good as Ling Zhuo's."
Venerable Mingshui sighed softly upon hearing this: "Originally, my senior brother's pills were the best among the three, but now they have been destroyed, and Lingzhuo is about to complete his pill. This pill-making competition will probably be over soon!"
Venerable Mingshui was also subtly reminding everyone: regardless of what the Pill Tower is prepared to do, now is the last chance.
No matter what the elders of the Pill Tower on the stage said, they still had their eyes. There was still some consensus among the three of them, namely who was stronger and who was weaker. However, Wei Jiangyuan, who was now recognized by everyone as the strongest, had withdrawn from this highest level of competition.
Xuan Kongzi's expression changed several times as he observed the scene. As the true leader of the Pill Tower, the pressure he felt was unbearable.
"Given the current situation, Lingzhuo has a very high chance of winning the championship. Are we really going to sit idly by and watch the Ling race get what they want?" an elder from the Dan Tower asked anxiously.
Xuan Leizi still appeared extremely hesitant: "If we act now, how will the people of Zhongzhou view the Pill Tower and the Pill Gathering in the future?"
"The Spirit Race has now instigated an explosion that killed nearly a hundred people. Aren't their actions clear enough?"
Xuan Leizi said in a deep voice, "Once we make a move, the narrative will be completely out of control. When the news of the cauldron being affected and our attack on the Spirit Clan gets out, what will those who don't know the inside story think?"
Xuan Kongzi looked at Xuan Yi, who had remained silent beside him, and asked, "Xuan Yi, what do you think?"
Xuan Yi looked at the scene in the arena with a complicated expression in her eyes. The others were unsure of what she was thinking.
Xuan Yi did not directly answer whether or not Ling Zhuo had intervened, but simply replied, "Compared to what you say, I believe in Xiao Yan. His resilience is stronger than you think."