Chapter 698: Failure

The red sun set, night fell, and from the myriad mountains and valleys, roars of beasts rose and fell, exploding in the air; chaos reigned outside.

Yet in the central area of the Alchemy City, it was even brighter than day; strands of dazzling light streaked across the sky, a magnificent scene.

A day had already passed, and during this stage, many people had their furnaces explode; looking at the entire scene, most were covered in dust and soot, and a few unlucky ones were severely injured by the blasts.

Every time a furnace exploded, the onlookers sighed in regret, for the precious herbs inside the alchemy furnace were all extremely rare.

In the arena, Yang Tian's fingers continuously formed hand seals; within the Li Fire Alchemy Furnace, the sound of the Dao rumbled, and at the furnace mouth, blazing thunder flames leaped.

These thunder flames startled many people; thunder represents destruction, yet this person could use thunder tribulation to refine pills—truly miraculous.

"How strange. His lightning flame contains a powerful origin, and when it forms pill fire, the furnace doesn't explode during alchemy." The older generation murmured, utterly puzzled.

Ming Ye's cold eyes stared at the lightning flame, then he glanced at the youth and snorted, "Showing off. Even if the lightning flame is special, the competition is not a place where you can gain a ranking by showing off."

Clearly, he hadn't recognized that this was the same young man, and he kept sneering inwardly.

"This kid is not simple. The fusion of lightning and fire origins—this alchemy technique resembles the Thunder Dragon Fire Control Art created by the ancient Dan Xuanzi." Dan Xuan's eyes fixed on the Li Fire Furnace as he murmured.

"Could this person be little brother..." Xiaoxiao blinked her big eyes, wondering inwardly. She knew about Yang Tian's lightning flame from before.

Not only her, but Dan Xueyi was even more certain that he was Yang Tian. Her bright red lips pouted, faintly revealing some resentment.

"Chirp!" Just as many were watching, a phoenix cry resounded, echoing continuously in the arena, startling many of the older generation.

"An alchemy phenomenon—could it be an eighth-grade divine pill!" Dan Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged in the void, suddenly narrowed his eyes and exclaimed in astonishment.

The mysterious woman, clad in white, her black hair lightly dancing, possessed an ethereal aura with a worldly breath blooming. At this moment, the scorching heat emanating from her made many onlookers click their tongues in amazement.

Before her stood a cyan alchemy furnace, within which faint phoenix cries could be heard vibrating. As her jade-like fingers danced, the melodious phoenix calls sounded like celestial music, stirring the soul.

Inside the cyan furnace, vigorous life force was faintly manifesting, giving rise to extraordinary phenomena—a truly astonishing sight.

Countless gazes converged upon her, clicking tongues in disbelief. From within the cyan furnace, phoenix cries exploded forth—a terrifying phenomenon.

"What kind of pill is this woman refining, that phoenix cries emerge? Truly fearsome."

"According to ancient legends, anyone who produces phenomena while refining pills is in the state of crafting an eighth-grade pill!" Some elders were shocked. This alchemy convention had come so suddenly, yet an eighth-grade divine pill was appearing!

"As expected of the woman I've set my sights on, truly extraordinary..." Ming Ye shamelessly chuckled to himself, a powerful possessiveness surging in his eyes.

"A fearsome woman..." Yang Tian's gaze swept over, and he couldn't help but say, "Phoenix cries resound—this should be some kind of eighth-grade divine pill. I wonder if she can refine it?"

This phenomenon of cries within the furnace truly shocked many. Even some proud prodigies had their arrogance dampened; an eighth-grade pill was incomparable to a seventh-grade one.

Rumor had it that when a ninth-grade divine pill was completed, heavenly tribulation would descend. If one survived it, overwhelming phenomena would also be born.

Under the attention of so many gazes, the mysterious woman breathed like orchid, ethereal and sacred, without any emotional fluctuation.

"Zhang Ying of the Immortal Mortal Path!" In the hazy void, a black-clad youth stepped through the air. When he noticed the woman who seemed like a banished immortal, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"Why would she come here?" The black-clad youth's face showed uncertainty. The Immortal Mortal Path was a supreme sect from beyond the domain, with terrifying foundations and an extremely ancient heritage. It was said to be a supreme sect that had survived the Great Destruction and been passed down!

And this woman was hailed as the most outstanding disciple of the Immortal Mortal Path through the ages. No one had seen her appearance, and no one knew her depth.

"A mere trick!" The demon woman sneered, casting a cold glance at the mysterious woman's furnace. She still bore a grudge over yesterday's events—this woman had ruined her plans.

At this moment, her hand seal suddenly shifted, an abstruse aura emanating, as strands of yin fluctuations surged into the furnace.

The pitch-black furnace suddenly trembled violently, and demonic sounds rang out from within, gripping the soul!

The young alchemists nearby were startled, their astonished gazes fixed on the furnace—the sound came from inside it.

Another eighth-grade pill! Unbelievable! an old man roared inwardly, his eyes turning bloodshot. Today, two eighth-grade pills had manifested anomalies in succession, a rarity in the history of the Alchemy Convention.

The entire venue erupted, all eyes falling on the demonic woman—she too was an eighth-grade alchemist!

What pill is that black-robed woman refining? Divine sounds are ringing from her furnace, making my heart race! someone else pointed at the demonic woman, exclaiming in shock.

It was a pitch-black furnace, spewing dark light continuously, with demonic vibrations inside, extremely terrifying, as if something living was being nurtured.

Hearing the commotion around her, a hint of smugness flashed in the demonic woman's eyes.

Two women have refined eighth-grade divine pills. It seems the title of this convention will be decided among eighth-grade pills.

I hear eighth-grade pills are extremely hard to refine. It's still uncertain whether they can succeed.

Being able to trigger anomalies is already remarkable. They are both young now, and will surely become great figures in the alchemy path in the future.

There are few eighth-grade alchemists in the entire Central Region. Alchemists of this level are extremely rare; some old monsters spend their whole lives struggling to reach it. Unexpectedly, two of the younger generation have achieved it at this convention.

Many alchemy grandmasters went wild. They had spent half their lives without ever refining an eighth-grade pill, yet these two juniors were so terrifyingly skilled!

The surrounding murmurs made the demonic woman's expression sour. She was no junior—this was merely a clone that had evaded the Alchemy Dao Alliance's detection.

A flicker of surprise passed through the mysterious woman's hazy eyes. She slowly turned her head to glance at the pitch-black furnace, then withdrew her gaze and focused on refining her pill.

Old Cao, you were right. Both of them have prepared eighth-grade pills. This Alchemy Convention has exceeded our expectations. But that woman is somewhat strange, Dan Xuan murmured in the void.

Indeed, she is strange. Her body is hazy, and I cannot see through her clearly, Old Cao nodded slightly, his tone suspicious.

Neither of these women is simple. One is from outside this realm, and the other is unfathomable, Dan Xuan said with a shrug.

His eyes occasionally swept the scene. When he noticed the demonic woman's furnace, he sneered, An Undying Realm cultivator attending such a junior alchemy convention—how shameless.

Some opportunists often join conventions, but they are invariably killed. However, for an Undying Realm figure to attend a junior alchemy convention was truly beyond reason.

Figures of their level would not care about the convention's rewards, so Yang Tian concluded that the demonic woman was after the Divine Flame!

Her concealment technique is quite mysterious, even fooling the old monsters of the Alchemy Dao Alliance, Yang Tian said, rubbing his nose and shaking his head.

At that moment, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He murmured inwardly, I must not let her succeed. If she breaks through to Undying, she'll be even harder to deal with!

Yang Tian had undergone the fusion of Extreme Yin and Extreme Yang, greatly enhancing his strength, which was a terrifying boost for breaking through realms.

If the demonic woman broke through to the Undying Realm, Yang Tian would find it even harder to deal with her, let alone reclaim Yun'er's primal divine power.

The tiny speck he had secretly placed on her hair that day had gone unnoticed by the demonic woman. Yang Tian now had her whereabouts under control.

Inside the furnace, a mass of green medicinal liquid had coalesced into a ball, nearly forming a pill. He carefully urged the liquid to converge.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Li Fire Furnace trembled, and the Dao sound rumbled. The pill that had just formed suddenly became turbulent, with abundant soul energy leaking from within.

What's happening? Yang Tian's expression darkened. A terrifying surge of soul power erupted, enveloping the entire pill, compressing it continuously to prevent the soul energy from leaking.

But his action was a beat too slow. Much soul energy had already leaked, and the pill was now incomplete, beginning to stir violently inside the furnace.

The violent fluctuations made the surrounding alchemists shrink back—this was a sign of an impending furnace explosion.

Haha... that show-off is reaping the consequences now! Ming Ye sneered, his gaze mocking Yang Tian.

Why him? The black-robed youth's eyes fell on Yang Tian, a flash of anger appearing. Back then, the mysterious treasure he had obtained from the Divine Mountain in the Eastern Sea had been snatched away by him.