67: Chapter 67 The Grand Ceremony of the Medicine Clan, Begins!

Medicine World, Wan Yao Mountain Range.

The official venue for the Yao Clan Ceremony was set on the Yao Emperor Platform on the main peak of the Wan Yao Mountain Range. It was a completely leveled mountaintop, nearly a thousand zhang in circumference, with the ground paved in green jade from the myriad medicines; every green jade brick was carved with the totem of a different medicinal herb. Directly north of the platform was a nine-story high dais, atop which sat a bronze statue of the Medicine Clan's ancestor, the Medicine Emperor. The statue held an eternally burning pill furnace in its hands, the fire having burned continuously for thousands of years without ever extinguishing. Hundreds of alchemy stations were fanned out around the platform, each equipped with its own dedicated earth-fire intake and herb rack.

As the sky just brightened, the Yao Emperor Platform was already bustling with noise. The patterns on the various Alchemist robes merged into a flowing tapestry in the morning light—the green robes of the Medicine Clan, the white robes of the Pill Tower, the plain-colored tight-fitting outfits of the Flower Sect, and the peculiar attire of various rogue cultivators. Amidst the buzzing sounds of mutual greetings and probing, bursts of laughter would occasionally erupt, and sometimes low disputes would arise because a certain alchemy station was positioned too close to another faction's camp, though these were quickly drowned out by even louder clamor.

Hun Feng's seat was arranged in a forward position on the left side of the VIP section. Three rosewood chairs were placed side by side, and on the low table beside them sat the Medicine Clan's specialty, Green Spirit Tea, and several plates of pastries made with medicinal herbs. Yao Yao lounged in her chair, picked up a piece of translucent herbal pastry, and took a bite. After chewing twice, her brows knitted together, and she shoved the remaining half into Hun Feng's hand, grumbling in a low voice that this stuff was bitter and not nearly as tasty as the honey cakes of the Soul Realm. Hun Feng casually tossed the half-piece of pastry into his mouth and swallowed it without changing his expression, his gaze constantly scanning the venue.

He was looking for Xiao Yan. Soon, he spotted that familiar black-robed figure in the alchemy station area towards the back on the right. Xiao Yan was bending over to check his pill furnace, his xuan heavy ruler leaning against the leg of the station. Although he had not yet released his four types of Heavenly Flames, Hun Feng could sense that familiar fire-attribute energy fluctuation. Yao Chen stood beside him, whispering something, and Xiao Yan nodded from time to time, his expression focused.

"He really did come." Yao Yao looked over in the direction of Hun Feng's gaze, a hint of mischief flashing in her peach-blossom eyes. "And looking at his posture, he really intends to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill. Husband, are you nervous?"

"Why would I be nervous?" Hun Feng picked up the Green Spirit Tea and took a sip. As the bitter tea slid down his throat, he suddenly recalled—in the original story, when Xiao Yan was refining the Grade 9 Profound Pill at the Medicine Ceremony, Hun Xuzi had used a secret technique to snatch the pill energy, only to be backlashed and stripped away by the Fire Spirit inside Xiao Yan, ultimately falling short of success. But now, the Fire Spirit had not been born at all. Xiao Yan only had four types of Heavenly Flames in his hands. Without the Fire Spirit to help him strip away Hun Xuzi's pill energy, if Hun Xuzi were to make a move again, what would Xiao Yan use to block it? But on second thought, Xiao Yan was, after all, the Child of Destiny; every seemingly desperate situation could be turned around. Who knew what new tricks would emerge this time.

His fingers tapped lightly on the chair's armrest, and he soon reached a decision—regardless of whether Xiao Yan could refine it or not, he could not let him consume the Grade 9 Profound Pill. As for whether Hun Xuzi's pill energy plunder would succeed, that was just icing on the cake, and not worth distracting himself over.

Medusa sat to his right, not participating in any discussion from beginning to end, just quietly holding her teacup. Her gaze occasionally swept past Xiao Yan's direction, never lingering for more than a breath each time, and no ripples could be seen on her face.

Just at this moment, three long, resonant bell tolls echoed from the nine-story high dais. In front of the Medicine Emperor statue, a green figure slowly stood up—Yao Dan, the contemporary patriarch of the Medicine Clan, a Seven-Star Dou Sheng. His beard and hair were all white, his face was gaunt, but his eyes were still bright and spirited. He wore a washed-out green robe, the hem fluttering slightly in the morning breeze. The man did not look like the head of a clan at all, but rather more like an old Alchemist who had lived in the mountains for a long time.

"It is a great honor for the Medicine Clan that all of you have come from afar." Yao Dan's voice was old and peaceful, without deliberate majesty, yet the entire Yao Emperor Platform quieted down. His gaze slowly swept over the hundreds of alchemy stations below the dais, stopping for a moment on the Hun Clan's VIP section—Hun Feng bowed his head slightly to him in greeting, and Yao Dan also nodded, then moved his gaze away, continuing to read the procedures of the Medicine Ceremony according to ancient rites.

The procedures were simple: The Medicine Ceremony would last for seven days. The first five days were the preliminary selection, during which any Alchemist capable of refining pills above Grade 8 could take the stage. The sixth day was the secondary selection, where the top ten would be evaluated by the Medicine Clan's Elder Council. The seventh day was the final selection, where the four strongest Alchemists would compete on the same stage to vie for the title of champion. The champion could make one request of the Medicine Clan that did not violate morality, and the Medicine Clan would fulfill it with the strength of the entire clan.

Hun Feng's brows lifted slightly when he heard "one request." In the original story, Xiao Yan used this request to clear the names of Yao Chen's parents, but in this life—he turned his head to look at Medusa and whispered a few words in a low voice.

After listening, Medusa swept a faint glance at him with her purple eyes: "You really know how to pave the way for Hun Xuzi."

"If he can win the Medicine Ceremony, asking for a Heavenly Flame is only logical; it's much better than tearing off the mask." Hun Feng's tone was casual, as if he were saying the tea and pastries today were quite good.

The preliminary selection lasted for five days, and the pill fire on the Yao Emperor Platform burned day and night without stopping. Hun Feng would come to sit for an hour or two every day, sometimes bringing Yao Yao, sometimes alone. He did not go to disturb Hun Xuzi, who was preparing for the battle, nor did he deliberately make contact with anyone. He only watched—watching the flames on every alchemy station, watching the techniques of every Alchemist, and watching the sky above the Yao Emperor Platform that had been dyed seven colors by the pill energy.

Yao Yao asked him why he wasn't bored, and he said that watching others refine pills was more interesting than reading war reports. Yao Yao rolled her eyes and said he was just waiting to see Xiao Yan make a fool of himself. Hun Feng smiled and did not deny it.

Xiao Yan's preliminary selection only took two days. By the evening of the second day, he had refined a peak Grade 8 pill. When the pill was formed, it attracted seven-colored Pill Lightning, shaking the entire Yao Emperor Platform until it buzzed. Yao Chen stood by his side, blocking a shockwave of the Pill Lightning for him; he was blasted until his face was covered in soot, yet he laughed happier than anyone else. Xiao Yan put away the pill and turned around from the alchemy station, his gaze meeting Hun Feng's unexpectedly in the crowd. Neither of them made any unnecessary movements; they just locked eyes across the distance for a moment before each withdrew their gaze.

On the sixth day, the secondary selection concluded, and the list of the top ten was carved onto the green jade stele in the center of the Yao Emperor Platform. Hun Xuzi was ranked first, Xiao Yan followed closely behind, Old Man Shennong was third, and Yao Wanhuo was fourth. The four of them would compete on the same stage in tomorrow's final selection to vie for the title of Medicine Ceremony champion.

That night, Hun Feng set out a small table of midnight snacks in the guest courtyard arranged by the Medicine Clan. Yao Yao lay on the table, poking at the glutinous rice balls in her bowl, while Medusa held a cup of Green Spirit Tea, sipping it slowly. Hun Feng leaned against the back of his chair, gazing at the night sky above the Wan Yao Mountain Range outside the window, which was dyed slightly red by the pill fires, a confident smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.

"For tomorrow's final selection, aren't you going to show support for Hun Xuzi?" Yao Yao had poked the rice ball into a sieve, finally gave up, and switched to using chopsticks to pick it up and stuff the whole thing into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster.

"I'm not going. He can refine his pills, and I'll watch my show." Hun Feng turned around, picked up his wine cup, and swirled it. "However, if Xiao Yan really manages to refine a Grade 9 Profound Pill—I must collect that pill for him."

"Aren't you afraid he'll swallow it on the spot?" Medusa asked indifferently.

"He won't be able to swallow it." Hun Feng placed the wine cup on the table, the leaping pill fires outside the window reflected in his eyes. "From the moment a Grade 9 Profound Pill is released from the furnace until it stabilizes, it takes at least a short half hour. In this short half hour, many things can happen."

Yao Yao and Medusa exchanged a glance, neither of them asking any further questions. They knew what he had laid out on the periphery of the Medicine World, and they also knew how many spatial array patterns Hun Xuzi had carved deep within the Wan Yao Mountain Range over the past few days. The final selection of the Medicine Ceremony had not yet begun, but the countdown for another contest had already reached its final moments in Hun Feng's heart.