Free Web NovelChapter 1777 - Pill Fluid
Blazing innate flame surged forth and swallowed the entire alchemy cauldron, forcing the purified herbs to condense at a speed visible to the naked eye.
While refining his pills, Wen Yi kept a strand of his divine sense trained on Xiao Qian. The moment her innate flame appeared, a grave look flashed across his face.
Many alchemy mentors got closer at once, eager to witness the innate flame more clearly.
"What terrifying refining speed!"
"Pill seals! There are so many pill seals!" Xiao Qian's hands began moving through the air, and her right hand in particular carried astonishing power. With a single sweep, pill seals manifested in midair one after another.
Those pill seals darted like fish in water, diving into the cauldron in swift succession.
Wen Qi staggered and nearly pitched forward on the spot. Artifact seals, talisman seals, and now pill seals—what kind of monsters had Liu Wuxie raised?
The moment the pill seals poured into the cauldron, the pills spun even faster, streaking through the flames like meteors.
A large number of students shot to their feet, lured by the aroma, "What fragrance!" The medicinal fragrance emanating from Xiao Qian's side had completely masked the scent coming from Wen Yi's cauldron.
Wen Yi's expression darkened instantly. The mentors and students who had gathered around him earlier abandoned his side and drifted toward Xiao Qian instead.
Only moments ago, crowds had packed his side so tightly that not even water could pass through; in the blink of an eye, the area became deserted. Only a few Wen Clan disciples remained beside him.
By contrast, Xiao Qian's side became crowded beyond measure.
"With innate flame tempering them, the pills' purity will multiply severalfold!"
Many alchemy mentors could only sigh. Even as mentors, they now discovered that their skills were inferior to those of a mere student.
Xiao Qian had fallen behind at the beginning, but under the fierce refinement of the innate flame, the pill had already become full, smooth, and perfectly rounded.
"Come!" Xiao Qian withdrew the innate flame, and the pills were finally complete. The entire process flowed as smoothly as water from beginning to end.
She had been somewhat awkward at first, but after gradually adjusting to the rhythm, she relaxed and grew increasingly proficient.
Not long after Xiao Qian finished, Wen Yi also completed his refinement. Next came the appraisal phase, and whoever produced pills of higher quality would claim victory.
A table stood in the center, and the pills from both sides rested upon it for everyone to judge.
Wen Yi's cauldron produced three pills, while Xiao Qian's cauldron produced five. However, quantity alone could never decide an alchemy battle; quality also had to surpass the competition. Only when both sides produced pills of equal quality would quantity determine the winner.
Everyone first examined Wen Yi's pills, and even Wen Qi leaned forward to study them carefully.
Several alchemists quickly gave their evaluations. "Wen Yi's pills are quite good. Each one bears pill runes, so they can be considered high-tier pills."
Immortal pills fell into four tiers: low, intermediate, high, and supreme. Producing high-tier pills was already impressive. As for supreme-tier pills, one could only rely on luck, and producing even a few supreme-tier pills out of several hundred refinements was already considered heaven-defying.
After hearing that judgment, a devilish smile curled across Wen Yi's lips.
The crowd then turned its attention to Xiao Qian's pills. Since she had only just completed the refinement, a trace of warmth still lingered on the cauldron's surface.
Several alchemists stared at Xiao Qian's pills in confusion.
"How strange. Why do her pills look so ordinary?"
Even those who had supported Xiao Qian earlier were baffled. They could no longer understand what they were seeing. Since Xiao Qian had refined the pills with innate flame, their quality should have been extraordinarily high.
From the outside, the pills indeed looked ordinary. However, someone released their divine sense and probed at the pills' interior.
"Look inside!"
Countless strands of divine sense plunged into the depths of the five pills.
In the next instant, everyone drew in a sharp breath, shocked.
"It's pill fluid!"
An alchemy mentor staggered backward, and a student behind him hurriedly supported him before he fell.
Wen Qi and Wen Yi also sent their divine senses into Xiao Qian's pills. When they saw the flowing liquid within, terror flashed through both their eyes.
Many students cheered in excitement. "I actually witnessed the legendary pill fluid! This is a supreme honor!" Pill fluid had only existed in legends, yet now it had appeared right before their eyes.
Pills containing pill fluid appeared ordinary on the outside, but their interiors resembled flowing liquid. In truth, that was not actual liquid, but a form of energy. It only appeared to flow because the pill's essence had been refined to its absolute limit, giving rise to this extraordinary phenomenon.
In terms of grade, the pills refined by Wen Yi were not even qualified to be compared with Xiao Qian's pills, for they no longer belonged on the same level.
Once Xiao Qian's pills cooled, the pill runes gradually appeared across their surfaces. Those runes were far more refined and distinct, unlike the pill runes on Wen Yi's pills, which remained somewhat blurry and could only be considered high-tier.
"It's a supreme-tier pill!" Even without the pill fluid, the pill runes that had formed on the surface of Xiao Qian's pills alone were enough to crush Wen Yi's pills. At that point, the winner of the alchemy contest stood plainly before everyone's eyes.
"This is impossible! It must be fake!" Wen Yi looked as though he had gone mad, completely unable to accept the result.
The surrounding crowd immediately backed away, for this match had been a wager of life. That meant whoever lost had to die.
Realization struck Wen Yi, and he clutched Wen Qi's arm. "Elder, save me!"
At that moment, Liu Wuxie and Ye Linghan walked over.
"Do you want to do it yourself, or should I do the honors?" Liu Wuxie asked, his gaze turning cold. Since the Wen Clan had come after him without cause, he might as well strike first.
Murderous intent began spreading outward, yet not a single person stepped forward to stop Liu Wuxie. After all, Wen Yi had been the one to issue the challenge, and who could have predicted such an ending?
"Liu Wuxie, try touching me if you dare! The Wen Clan won't let you off!" Wen Yi glared fiercely while hiding behind Wen Qi, wanting to see how Liu Wuxie planned to kill him.
"No one can stop me from killing someone I want dead," Liu Wuxie said before charging toward Wen Yi.
Wen Yi was a sixth-level True Immortal, and in terms of cultivation, he far surpassed Liu Wuxie. Moreover, Wen Qi stood right beside him, so how could he possibly watch Liu Wuxie kill Wen Yi?
"You're courting death!"
Wen Qi flew into a rage when he saw Liu Wuxie attack Wen Yi in front of him. Without hesitation, he struck out with his palm, unleashing the aura of an Origin Immortal as it swept outward.
Ye Linghan also made her move, dissolving Wen Qi's attack before clashing with him.
"Do you think you can lay hands on my assistant?"
Not a single mentor stepped forward to stop them, not even Zuo Yang.
With Ye Linghan holding Wen Qi back, Liu Wuxie advanced without obstruction and appeared before Wen Yi.
"Liu Wuxie, I was worried you wouldn't come over. Today will be the day you die!" Wen Yi let out a sinister laugh and released the aura of a True Immortal, pressing down toward Liu Wuxie.
In everyone's eyes, Liu Wuxie trying to kill Wen Yi by himself was nothing more than a fantasy, given the enormous difference in their cultivation.
Many mentors and students exchanged glances, all feeling that Liu Wuxie had greatly overestimated himself.
"Where did Liu Wuxie get the confidence to think he can defeat a sixth-level True Immortal when he's only a fifth-level High Immortal?"
Even the other Wen Clan disciples burst into laughter.
The Wen Clan disciples clamored. "Brother Wen Yi, kill him!"
Various discussions filled the plaza as the battlefield gradually expanded.
Wen Qi chose to fight cautiously, maintaining his mobility with a clear goal of holding Ye Linghan back and giving Wen Yi the chance to kill Liu Wuxie.
Liu Wuxie charged forward, and the Bloodthirst Blade appeared in his hand. He knew his odds of defeating a sixth-level True Immortal were not high, but if he could catch Wen Yi off guard, his chances would rise sharply.
He raised his blade and assumed the stance of Instant Flash.
"Divine Mystic Yin Needle!" Liu Wuxie had to catch Wen Yi by surprise, which meant breaking through his defense first before delivering the killing blow. If he failed to break Wen Yi's defenses, the Bloodthirst Blade would struggle to injure him.
The Divine Mystic Yin Needle had no physical form, and even Origin Immortals couldn't detect it until it appeared before Wen Yi. When his defenses shattered without warning, terror seized him.
"This is bad!" Wen Yi cried inwardly. He had been far too careless. Then again, who could have expected Liu Wuxie's attack to be so fast? He swung his sword out, forming a powerful gust in an attempt to stop Liu Wuxie.
"You are still too slow," Liu Wuxie said, a cold smirk hanging from the corner of his lips. The moment the Divine Mystic Yin Needle pierced through Wen Yi's defense, the Bloodthirst Blade had already descended from above. The blade flashed like a meteor, for Instant Flash was a technique that pursued speed above all else.
Over the past few days, Liu Wuxie had constantly used Xiang Rulong and the other students to temper his blade technique, allowing Instant Flash to reach an extraordinary level.
Wen Yi felt a chill spread across his neck, and his body froze where he stood.
Liu Wuxie vanished as though he had never appeared there at all. The battle had ended the instant it began.
Wen Qi and Ye Linghan both stopped fighting and turned to look over.
Ye Linghan had long known that Liu Wuxie possessed the ability to kill True Immortals, which was why she had never been especially worried about his safety.
The surrounding crowd stared blankly at Wen Yi and Liu Wuxie.
"What happened? The battle is already over?"
Neither of them spoke. Liu Wuxie placed the Bloodthirst Blade back into his interspatial ring, while Wen Yi remained motionless, as though some spell had locked him in place.
Several Wen Clan disciples called out. "Brother Wen Yi?"
Wen Yi said nothing and remained rooted where he stood, while the vitality within his body gradually faded away. That sensation of waiting for death nearly drove him insane, as it was an unbearable torture. It was not that he didn't want to answer, but that he didn't dare. The moment he opened his mouth, the wound on his neck would tear apart.
Time passed slowly like that, and after ten breaths, a drop of blood finally seeped from Wen Yi's neck. Only then did everyone see the faint, nearly invisible line across his throat.
"Slain with one slash," someone murmured.
The ordinary students all felt chills crawl down their spines, especially those who had mocked Liu Wuxie before. In the past, they had never believed Liu Wuxie was qualified to become a mentor while his cultivation remained only at the High Immortal Realm.
But at this very moment, as they looked at Liu Wuxie, fear crept into their hearts and sent cold chills racing down their backs.
"I refuse to accept this!" Wen Yi roared as his consciousness faded, causing the wound on his neck to tear fully open.
Blood gushed from his throat and splattered over those standing around him.
