423: Second round

Dead silence!

Absolute silence enveloped the inside and outside of the Hundred Herbs Pill Stage!

Everyone stared with wide eyes and open mouths, looking in disbelief at the area that had been cleared in an instant, at the plain white figure standing alone in the center of the glazed ground, with a Chaos Fire Lotus slowly rotating above her head.

One incense stick? She only used a single breath!

On the high platform, the jade cup in the hand of Medicine King Valley's Grand Elder, Dan Chen,

shattered with a "crack." He didn't even notice the tea flowing through his fingers as he stared fixedly at the empty glazed ground, his aged face twitching slightly.

Immortal Master Qingmu of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion sucked in a cold breath, his eyes full of horror.

Li Yuanhong's face turned ashen, his fingers digging deep into his palms.

"This... what kind of Divine Soul is this?"

"A thousand roots... all... all gone?"

"She... how on earth did she do it?!"

After the silence came an uproar like a landslide or a tsunami!

The waves of sound almost overturned the clouds above the Pill Stage!

The Medicine King Valley deacon responsible for recording was trembling so much he could hardly hold the recording jade plate. He watched the numbers jumping wildly on the plate until they finally settled on a symbol that took everyone's breath away—one thousand!

It represented the limit value of a thousand vines!

His throat was dry, and he used all his strength to hoarsely shout the earth-shattering result:

"Di Clan, Di Qingge... one thousand!!"

"Whaaa—!!!"

The sound waves completely exploded!

Countless gazes focused on Di Qingge. This young Alchemist had announced her presence to the entire Eastern Region Alchemy world with an absolutely crushing posture!

Li Danxi bit her red lip tightly, and huge waves rose in the depths of Gu Ling's eyes.

Mo Han stood with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed.

In the shadows of the corner, the naturally blind Ye Weiyang gazed in Di Qingge's direction with empty eyes. Deep within his unfocused pupils, it was as if galaxies were swirling. He tilted his head slightly and whispered to the deep-auraed elder beside him: "Revered Master, pure plant Origin..."

Dan Chen suppressed the huge waves in his heart, his voice spreading throughout the venue:

"The first round is over! Those whose Divine Souls meet the standard, enter the second round!" His gaze swept across the empty glazed ground and finally landed on Di Qingge, his expression complex and unreadable.

In the first round of the Hundred Herbs Pill Stage, Di Qingge burned a thousand vines with the Chaos Pure Flame, her Divine Soul power surpassing everyone!

The name Qingge had begun to show its brilliance! The winds and clouds of the Alchemy Dao changed abruptly from this moment!

In the center of Medicine King City, the Hundred Herbs Pill Stage was divided into a hundred independent areas, like a neat chessboard.

The hundred Alchemy Prodigies screened out by yesterday's Divine Soul test were now standing solemnly in their respective positions.

The air was filled with the unique freshness of Spirit Medicine and an imperceptible hint of tension.

On the high platform, the heads of the five major forces, including the Grand Elder of Medicine King Valley and the Pavilion Revered Master of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion, sat upright, their eyes like torches, scrutinizing every young Alchemist below.

"The second round, begin!"

Medicine King Valley's Grand Elder Dan Chen's voice was like a resonant bell, spreading throughout the venue.

"Pill Formula: Heaven-Grade Low Grade 'Nine Revolutions Essence Condensing Pill'! Three sets of Materials, uniform Pill Furnaces! Ultimately, the twenty-five people with the best overall Alchemy speed and pill quality will advance to the final round!"

As he finished speaking, a hundred identical bronze Pill Furnaces were quickly delivered to each Alchemist.

The furnace bodies were simple and ancient, carved with basic Spirit Gathering runes, clearly mass-produced common goods.

At the same time, three sets of more than ten types of spiritual Materials required to refine the Nine Revolutions Essence Condensing Pill were neatly placed nearby.

"An ordinary Pill Furnace... the time to test true skill has come."

Di Qingge was dressed in a pale green dress, her figure graceful. She stood in her area with a calm expression.

Her fingertips lightly brushed the cold bronze furnace wall. Her Myriad Medicine Saint Body was already operating quietly, instantly analyzing the furnace's material, heat conduction characteristics, and subtle flaws.

The Myriad Fire Sacred Body allowed her control over fire to reach the Transcendent level. Even using a mundane furnace, she could turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The white-clothed youth transformed from the Howling Moon Heavenly Wolf had his aura restrained like an ordinary person, hidden among the spectators at the edge of the square. However, his cold gaze never left Di Qingge's figure.

"Begin!"

With one command, a hundred flames of varying strengths and colors rose almost simultaneously, igniting the bronze Pill Furnaces!

In an instant, the temperature in the square soared, the air distorted, and various firelights reflected the focused faces of the young Alchemists.

Fire shone throughout the venue!

The most eye-catching ones were undoubtedly those Prodigies with unique flames.

Fairy Gu Ling of Medicine King Valley raised her slender hand, and a sliver of silver-white flame jumped into the bottom of the furnace.

The flame was pure and flawless. The runes on the furnace wall were instantly lit up, and the furnace temperature climbed at an extremely stable and rapid speed.

A knowledgeable elder exclaimed, "A Saint-Grade flame! The foundation of Medicine King Valley is indeed profound!"

Gu Ling's expression was cold, her movements smooth and flowing. Her technique for processing medicinal Materials was as precise as if measured by a ruler. The power of the Saint Fire gave her an advantage in the fire control phase.

Beside her, Mo Han released a mass of deep purple flame. As the flame jumped, there were faint flickers of lightning, making a low "crackling" sound.

"Purple Heavens Thunder Flame!" Another wave of exclamation.

Mo Han's personality seemed more flamboyant. With a confident smile on his face, he controlled the Thunder Flame. The flame was sometimes violent and sometimes gentle, showing extremely deep control.

Ye Xiaoqing of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion had an emerald green flame rising before her, shaped like intertwining vines and full of vitality. It was clearly a powerful wood-attribute spiritual flame, which had a miraculous effect on extracting plant essence.

She was focused, striving for perfection in every step.

Li Danxi of the Li Family was in a slightly offset position, but she caught Di Qingge's attention.

This woman had a gorgeous appearance, but her eyes carried an imperceptible sharpness.

She formed hand seals, actually controlling two masses of fire at the same time!

One was a blazing red spiritual flame called the Red Heart Flame, and the other was a deep blue beast fire called the Cold Crystal Lion Heart Flame.

Under her exquisite Divine Soul control, the two flames with completely different attributes actually formed a strange balance. One focused on refining violent yang-attribute spiritual Materials, while the other focused on extracting cold-natured essence, making her extremely efficient.

"Multi-tasking, simultaneous refining with dual flames... This woman's Alchemy attainment is not ordinary, and she hides it deep."

Di Qingge thought to herself. Her Myriad Medicine Saint Body instinctively sensed the faint, deliberately suppressed spirit body fluctuations on Li Danxi.

Li Danxi seemed to feel something and glanced toward Di Qingge.

The Alchemy maniac Mu Shixin from Dragon Locking Prefecture was a man with messy hair and simple clothes.

The flame he released was actually an unremarkable earthy yellow fire, a top-tier spiritual flame called the Earth Core Origin Fire.

However, his fire control technique had returned to simplicity, the flame acting like an extension of his limbs.

He was fully concentrated, with only the Pill Furnace in his eyes, as if the surrounding noise had nothing to do with him.

The mysterious girl Ye Weiyang, in a plain white dress, had her eyes closed.

The flame before her was a pure milky white. This was a Saint Fire—the World-Cleansing Saint Flame!

The World-Cleansing Saint Flame emitted a holy and gentle aura.

Her way of refining pills was extremely peculiar. Her slender fingers moved quickly in the void, as if plucking invisible zither strings.

With her movements, strands of pure Divine Soul power, like tangible sound waves, precisely guided the Saint Fire, enveloping the medicinal liquid suspended in the Pill Furnace, carrying out a silent tempering and Fusion.

Her movements carried an ethereal beauty, as if she were not refining pills but performing a musical movement of fire and Spirit Medicine.

That focused tranquility created a world of its own.

Man Ling'er from the Boundary-Breaking Prefecture was full of a sense of wild power.

She gave a low shout, and her blood qi surged. A dark red beast fire with a desolate aura roared out, transforming into a miniature Great Ape phantom. It beat its chest and violently charged into the bottom of the furnace. This was a beast fire—the Earth Fire Great Ape Flame!

The flame temperature was extremely high, carrying a burst that could incinerate everything.

Her technique for processing medicinal Materials was also bold and unconstrained. Relying on her powerful Physical Body and innate affinity for fire, she forcefully harnessed this violent power to extract and fuse the essence of the medicinal Materials. Her speed was not slow either.

Fine sweat broke out on her forehead, but her eyes were as bright as fire, full of fighting spirit.

The Loose Cultivator Jiang Yan was a boy who looked unremarkable.

He used a pale green ordinary spiritual flame called the Green Wood Flame.

However, when the light of Gu Ling and Mo Han's Saint Fires shone brightly, the unremarkable Green Wood Flame before him actually flickered strangely, as if echoing the aura of higher-grade flames. Its efficiency in extracting medicinal power also quietly improved slightly.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes for a moment, and he remained slow and lukewarm.