Chapter 80: The Peerless Pill Venerable (8) |
Su Chen entered Pill Hall.
Although Prison-Suppressing Sacred Land had only risen to prominence in the last thousand years, its foundations ran deep. The legacy left behind by Fang Bubai, combined with a millennium of accumulated pill formulas gathered from across the lands, ensured that the sect possessed no shortage of rare recipes.
Su Chen studied alchemy under Myriad Forms Pill Venerable. True disciples and ranked sequence disciples from the sacred land frequently visited. They brewed tea, shared fine wine, and discussed the heroes and prodigies of the world.
"Brother Su, when exactly are you going to refine that Yin-Yang Harmonizing Pill you promised me?"
Li Yichen rubbed his hands together, staring at Su Chen with eager, puppy-like eyes.
Su Chen's face darkened with black lines. He vaguely regretted ever experimenting with such bizarre formulas. Now he could forget about peace and quiet.
"Same rules as always—help me with one task."
Li Yichen nodded frantically. "No problem at all! Whatever Brother Su commands, your little brother will handle it immediately. If I can't manage it alone, I still have the eight hundred sword cultivators of Sword-Hiding Peak behind me!"
Su Chen seriously doubted whether this man truly carried the bloodline of the Li Clan. He spoke in a low, meaningful tone. "Rumors say a Heavenly Fire is about to be born in the Void Seclusion Valley…"
Compete for a Heavenly Fire? Was he joking? That was a fight that could cost his life.
Seeing Li Yichen about to leave, Su Chen narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly. "Two chances for me to personally refine pills for you."
Li Yichen paused mid-step, then took a few more paces forward.
Su Chen lifted his teacup unhurriedly, took a slow sip, and continued in a leisurely drawl. "Three chances. Plus, I'll wipe out all the contribution points you owe Pill Hall."
Li Yichen immediately backtracked and sat down again.
"I swear to follow Brother Su to the death! A mere Heavenly Fire—whoever dares compete with Brother Su, I'll chop them to pieces!"
Li Yichen declared with heroic fervor.
Su Chen had complete confidence in Li Yichen's strength. After all, this was the face of Sword-Hiding Peak and one of Prison-Suppressing Sacred Land's sequence disciples.
With Li Yichen on board, Su Chen repeated the tactic and rallied several other powerful true disciples. With a single call to arms, plenty of prodigies in the sacred land were willing to follow him in the hunt for the Heavenly Fire.
A Heavenly Fire! The dream treasure every alchemist longed for. In the entire sacred land, only a handful of alchemists possessed one.
In this life, Su Chen had devoted himself wholeheartedly to the art of alchemy. Naturally, he would never let such an opportunity slip away.
…
Void Seclusion Valley.
Already, numerous powers had arrived. Alchemists clad in luxurious white robes, their chests adorned with gleaming badges, hurried to the scene. Each was accompanied by the prodigies they had invited along.
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Li Yichen walked beside Su Chen and whispered, "I didn't expect people from Azure Jade Sacred Land and Primordial Origin Sacred Land to show up too. Those two fellows are sequence true disciples of their respective sacred lands—their strength is on par with mine."
Su Chen had also noticed.
Both Azure Jade Sacred Land and Primordial Origin Sacred Land had sent young alchemists to lead their groups, each followed by young kings. Among them, two auras stood out as exceptionally powerful—undoubtedly the cream of the younger generation.
Beyond those two sacred lands, the Eastern Wasteland's Alchemy Assembly had also dispatched a young alchemy prodigy, who had gathered martial prodigies of his own in pursuit of the Heavenly Fire. These three major forces were the ones Su Chen needed to watch most closely.
The three forces had also taken notice of Su Chen. All of them coveted the Heavenly Fire.
Soon, high above Void Seclusion Valley, a faint aurora of deep blue appeared, breathtakingly beautiful.
A shower of icy blue snow began to fall over the deathly silent valley. Wherever the snowflakes touched the ground, ghostly flames sprang to life. The entire world seemed to transform into the Nine Nether Hells.
Someone could not resist stepping into the valley ahead of time. But after only a few steps, eerie blue flames erupted across his body. A blood-curdling scream echoed as the man was reduced to ashes in an instant.
Su Chen's expression grew slightly grave. The power of this Heavenly Fire exceeded even his expectations. A half-step Profound Connection Realm expert had died just like that—without warning or resistance.
He distributed fire-avoiding pills to the accompanying disciples from the sacred land, then took out a special bead. This was a fire-warding treasure he had specifically requested from Myriad Forms Pill Venerable; it could significantly weaken the influence of Heavenly Fires.
The other three major powers each employed their own methods and protective measures before stepping into Void Seclusion Valley.
Inside the valley, the atmosphere felt eerie and oppressive. Scattered bones lay here and there—remnants that had endured such conditions must have belonged to extraordinarily powerful beings in life.
As they ventured deeper, Su Chen sensed that the air itself carried a corrosive force capable of eroding the soul.
"This Heavenly Fire that has appeared in Void Seclusion Valley must be the Nine Nether Profound Flame."
The alchemy prodigies from the other three forces recognized it as well. The genius from the Alchemy Assembly and the one from Primordial Origin Sacred Land turned without a word and led their groups away.
With the sword-path alchemists and Primordial Origin Sacred Land retreating, Li Yichen turned to Su Chen and asked, "Brother Su, this is the Nine Nether Profound Flame. It's infamous for devouring its master. Are we still going to fight for it?"
Every owner of the Nine Nether Profound Flame had, without exception, been devoured and killed by it in the end.
Su Chen nodded firmly. "We fight."
Heavenly Fires were opportunities that came once in a lifetime. To give up now meant who knew how many years—or centuries—would pass before another chance appeared. Besides, even if another appeared, securing it was never guaranteed. Right now, with only Azure Jade Sacred Land as competition, their odds of claiming the flame were excellent.
At the deepest part of the valley, a dancing cluster of deep blue flame hovered in midair. Countless fire spirits lurked around it. Though troublesome, the fire spirits were no match for the combined might of Prison-Suppressing Sacred Land and Azure Jade Sacred Land. Under the relentless assault of both groups' prodigies, the spirits were quickly driven back until they vanished entirely.
With the fire spirits cleared, the prodigies of Prison-Suppressing Sacred Land and Azure Jade Sacred Land turned to face each other without hesitation. They clashed once more, each side blocking the other in perfect unison—leaving only Su Chen and the alchemy genius from Azure Jade Sacred Land.
Su Chen smiled at the young man. "Will you withdraw from the contest yourself, or should I help you decide?"
Bai Qingyu's expression turned solemn. "Su Chen, I've heard of your reputation. We are both alchemists. Let us settle this the alchemist's way!"
Su Chen replied, "Fine."
Then he threw a punch.
Bai Qingyu had no time to defend. The fist smashed squarely into his face, shattering several teeth. Clutching his bleeding mouth, he stammered, "You… you have no alchemist's honor! We are alchemists! How can you be so crude?!"
Su Chen paused to consider, then nodded. "You're right. But…"
Under Bai Qingyu's stunned gaze, Su Chen shrugged off his alchemist's robe and grinned widely. "Now I'm just a martial brute."
Bai Qingyu stared in disbelief. He had never imagined an alchemist could be so shameless.
"Su Chen! You are unworthy to call yourself an alchemist!"
Bai Qingyu cried out in misery. With only Spirit Soul Realm third layer cultivation, how could he possibly match Su Chen? In just a few exchanges, he was beaten black and blue, nose swollen, and face bruised.
"Retreat! It's only a master-devouring flame!"
Bai Qingyu scrambled to his feet and fled without looking back, his group following close behind. There was simply no dealing with someone so utterly lacking in decorum.
With Azure Jade Sacred Land gone, the Nine Nether Profound Flame fell easily into Su Chen's hands.