74: Chapter 74 The Dao's Natural Charm

On the viewing platform, everyone was stunned by this sudden change.

"Such dense Spiritual Qi!"

Huo Lingzi stood up abruptly, his pupils constricting.

"This... this is not the Spiritual Qi fluctuation that a Profound Rank Medicinal Pill should have!"

Daoist Xuandan was no longer calm either; he widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the Alchemy platform shrouded in purple-gold light.

His voice trembled: "The phenomena accompanying the production of a Profound Rank Medicinal Pill are at most the diffusion of medicinal fragrance and flickering spiritual light, but this is a spiritual tide!"

Yun Yin stood up abruptly, a rare look of shock appearing on her cold, detached face.

She thought of something, but dared not believe it.

Dan Qingzi's cloudy eyes were exceptionally clear at this moment; he stared intently at the qiankun furnace, his withered hands gripping the back of his chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

The next moment, the lid of the qiankun furnace shot into the sky.

The purple-gold light within the furnace flared brilliantly, erupting into the sky like a volcanic eruption, exploding above the Hundred Herbs Altar and transforming into visible ripples of spiritual light that spread in all directions.

Wherever the spiritual light passed, the towering ancient medicinal trees within the Hundred Herbs Altar swayed in unison, and the spiritual flowers and exotic fruits among their branches suddenly lit up, as if responding to something.

Immediately after, a medicinal fragrance so dense it was nearly tangible surged from the furnace; this medicinal fragrance was different from the subtle scent of ordinary Medicinal Pills.

Instead, it carried an indescribable sense of weight.

As the medicinal fragrance permeated the air, the Cultivators on the viewing platform only needed to take a light sniff to feel their spirits lifted and the circulation of their internal Spiritual Qi become much smoother.

"This medicinal fragrance?" Huo Lingzi took a deep breath, his expression changing drastically, "This is absolutely not the medicinal potency a Profound Rank Medicinal Pill could possess!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind and clouds above the Hundred Herbs Altar suddenly changed color.

The originally clear sky suddenly gathered a layer of pale golden spiritual clouds, which churned like a tide, with faint sounds of thunder rumbling within.

"A manifestation from Heaven!"

Dan Qingzi finally couldn't help but speak, his voice hoarse but filled with irrepressible excitement.

"This is the manifestation from Heaven that only occurs when an Earth Rank Medicinal Pill is produced!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

An Earth Rank Medicinal Pill!

That was refined by a young Alchemist in the Early Nascent Soul Stage?

How is this possible!

Huo Lingzi's face turned from green to white; he had just called Zhou Tianchen greedy, and now this Medicinal Pill had directly slapped him in the face.

Daoist Xuandan's expression was complex as he looked at Zhou Tianchen, as if he were looking at a monster.

To refine an Earth Rank Medicinal Pill in the Early Nascent Soul Stage—let alone having seen it, he had never even heard of such a thing.

Yun Yin took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in her heart, and her gaze fell upon Zhou Tianchen, a rare hint of admiration appearing on her cold, detached face.

This young man had a limitless future in Alchemy.

Yang Danzi was unusually silent; he watched the pale golden spiritual clouds in the sky and muttered to himself: "This year's Alchemy competition has truly opened my eyes."

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu sat on the viewing platform, his gaze fixed on the figure shrouded in purple-gold light, an indescribable sense of pride welling up in his heart.

Tianchen was truly worthy of being a descendant of his Zhou Imperial Clan.

He looked at Jiang Changge beside him, only to see that Jiang Changge's expression remained indifferent, as if all of this were within his expectations.

The shock in Ancestor Zhou Huaixu's heart deepened; the methods used by this Senior to Cultivate his Disciple were truly unfathomable.

Shen Cihui stood beside his own Alchemy platform, looking up at the pale golden spiritual clouds in the sky, and gave a wry smile; there was no need to compare anymore.

The spiritual clouds churned for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before slowly dissipating.

The natural light returned above the Hundred Herbs Altar.

The purple-gold light within the qiankun furnace also gradually faded, and a Medicinal Pill slowly rose from the furnace.

The Medicinal Pill was entirely purple-gold, with fine, intricate patterns flowing across its surface; these were not ordinary pill patterns, but a kind of indescribable Dao Rhyme, as if the Medicinal Pill itself were speaking of some supreme truth of Heaven and Earth.

The Medicinal Pill hovered in mid-air, emitting a gentle yet vast aura, and that aura spread out in all directions like a tide.

Wherever it passed, all the Profound Rank Alchemists felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

It was as if ants were looking up at a vast Dragon, or mortals were looking up at a god.

Zhou Tianchen raised his hand, and the Medicinal Pill slowly landed in his palm.

His face was as pale as paper, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body was even trembling slightly.

Refining this Medicinal Pill had nearly exhausted all his Spiritual Qi and Divine Sense; if it weren't for the profundity of the Scripture of Alchemy and the power of the qiankun furnace, he would never have been able to hold on until the end.

But at this moment, his eyes were filled with irrepressible joy.

The Xuanyuan Barrier-Breaking Pill, under the transformation of the Nine-Turn Recovery, had leaped across that chasm from Profound Rank Advanced to reach Earth Rank Low Stage.

This Medicinal Pill, even placed in the entire Alchemy world of the Southern Wilderness, was enough to drive those old monsters of the Body Integration Stage crazy.

Zhou Tianchen took a deep breath, cradling the Medicinal Pill, and turned to walk toward the judging panel.

His steps were a bit unsteady, but his back was held straight.

On the judging panel, Dan Qingzi, Huo Lingzi, Daoist Xuandan, Yun Yin, Yang Danzi, and Yao Li—the six top Alchemists of the Southern Wilderness—all stood up in unison, their gazes fixed on that purple-gold Medicinal Pill.

No one spoke, no one made a sound.

The Hundred Herbs Altar was so quiet that the dropping of a needle could be heard.

Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the final result.

Dan Qingzi reached out his hand; those withered hands, like old tree bark, were trembling slightly at this moment.

He had lived for tens of thousands of years; what kind of Medicinal Pill had he not seen?

He had personally refined more than one furnace of Heaven Rank Medicinal Pills, yet at this moment, facing this purple-gold Medicinal Pill, a sense of indescribable solemnity arose in his heart.

This was not just an Earth Rank Low Stage Medicinal Pill.

This was an Earth Rank Low Stage Medicinal Pill refined by an Early Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

In the entire history of Alchemy in the Xuanhuang World, there had never been such a record.

Dan Qingzi took the Medicinal Pill, and the moment it touched his hand, his pupils suddenly constricted.

The texture was warm and moist like jade, yet it felt heavy, as if he were holding a small mountain; the medicinal potency contained within was far greater than that of an ordinary Earth Rank Low Stage Medicinal Pill.

He did not rush to speak, but instead raised the Medicinal Pill to his eyes; his cloudy eyes were exceptionally clear now, carefully examining every pattern on the surface of the Medicinal Pill.

Those patterns were not ordinary pill patterns.

Ordinary pill patterns were traces left by the condensation of medicinal potency when the Medicinal Pill formed; although they followed a pattern, they were ultimately dead.

But the patterns on the surface of this Medicinal Pill seemed alive, slowly flowing across the purple-gold pill body, and with every rotation, the aura of the Medicinal Pill became a fraction more profound.

"Natural Dao Rhyme."

Dan Qingzi finally spoke, his voice hoarse but filled with irrepressible shock.

Upon hearing this, Huo Lingzi's expression changed drastically; he lunged forward, staring fixedly at that Medicinal Pill.

Natural Dao Rhyme—that was a legendary Realm in Alchemy.

Legend had it that when an Alchemist's skill reached a certain extreme, and their Alchemy connected with the Heavenly Dao, the refined Medicinal Pill was no longer a simple Medicinal Pill, but a vessel for the Dao Rhyme of Heaven and Earth.

Such a Medicinal Pill had effects far exceeding those of the same rank, and could even surpass ranks.

But that was only a legend.