Zhulan stared in sheer disbelief at the unfolding scene before him. “That’s the Stellar Cauldron belonging to the founding patriarch! It was bound directly to the patriarch through a soul pact, meaning logically, only the patriarch himself could ever wield it. Why is he able to use it?”
The First Elder pointed an accusing finger at Yan Mingqiu, his face twisted with fury. “Audacious wretch! How dare he steal the founding patriarch’s Stellar Cauldron! This is a grave offense and must be dealt with strictly according to sect rules uproot his spiritual roots, shatter his meridians…”
Before he could finish, Yun Feng cut him off with a bark, “Shut your trap, you old fossil! When Master assigned Yucang Peak to me back then, he made it explicitly clear: everything inside Yucang Peak belonged to me to dispose of however I pleased. I gifted this Stellar Cauldron to my disciple, so how on earth does it become stolen property?”
At this reminder, Zhulan and the three elders were consumed by a suffocating wave of bitter frustration. Why? Yucang Peak was the former residence of the previous sect leader, brimming with countless treasures.
Before ascending, the former sect leader had designated Yucang Peak specifically for Yun Feng, leading everyone to assume he intended to pass the position of sect leader down to him. To this day, the three elders still couldn’t wrap their heads around why he had ultimately bestowed the sect leader’s throne upon Zhulan instead.
The three elders exchanged bleak, bewildered glances.
Meanwhile, inside the Duel Stage, the barrier rendered the two competitors completely oblivious to the commotion outside. Lin Pu eyed the Stellar Cauldron which kept shifting in size and glowing with increasingly stunning radiance with growing dissatisfaction.
“That’s a demonic artifact! That is definitely a demonic artifact! How dare you bring demonic contraband onto the Duel Stage?”
Stretching out a hand toward the VIP platform, he shouted, “Elder! I’m reporting him, he’s using a demonic object to refine pills!”
The First Elder desperately wished he could march right inside, slap Lin Pu across the face, and tell him to shut his trap. Calling the founding patriarch’s personal relic a demonic object? What did that make the entire Medicine Spirit Sect?!
With a frigid tone, the First Elder projected his voice straight into the barrier: “Report dismissed. The duel continues.”
Though unwilling to let it go, Lin Pu figured that since the First Elder had spoken, there must be no mistake.
The two alchemists began preheating their cauldrons, drawing upon the core subterranean flame of Qiwang Mountain. This fire originated deep within the mountain’s heart, burning uninterrupted for over a millennium without ever extinguishing.
The renown of the Medicine Spirit Sect’s pills was owed in large part to this subterranean fire. Exceptionally pure, it not only accelerated the pill-refining process allowing every batch to emerge in record time—but also meticulously cleansed impurities from the medicinal herbs, elevating the final quality of the pills to extraordinary heights.
Upon entering the Medicine Spirit Sect, every disciple was required to journey to the mountain’s heart to tame and bind a stream of this fire for their own alchemy work.
Evidently well-practiced in refining Return-Origin Pills, Lin Pu proceeded methodically, tossing his spiritual herbs into the Purple-Gold Cauldron with practiced ease.
Stroke his long beard, the Second Elder observed, “Judging by the quantity of spiritual plants Lin Pu is using, he’s attempting to refine five pills in a single furnace. For someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment to produce that many at once is truly remarkable. Sect Leader, you’ve trained this disciple brilliantly his future is boundless.”
Zhulan took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and feigned humility. “Oh, nonsense, nonsense! This is all thanks to you esteemed elders! It’s because you cultivated such high-grade spiritual plants that he’s even capable of refining five pills at once in a single batch.”
Yun Feng rolled his eyes. “High-grade spiritual plants? Are they higher quality than the ones in my Yucang Peak’s herb garden?”
As Yan Mingqiu continuously channeled his spiritual energy to command the flames, those in the audience who had previously disdained bothering to check his realm were suddenly, involuntarily struck by the realization of his true cultivation.
The buzzing spectator stands instantly shifted their topic of conversation.
“Early Foundation Establishment! Yan Mingqiu’s cultivation has actually reached the early Foundation Establishment stage! Wasn’t he just at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation last month?!”
“What’s there to be excited about? He obviously ingested a mountain of pills to artificially force his breakthrough. Immortal Yunshang has endless caches of elixirs jumping two realms isn’t completely out of the question.”
“Ah, makes sense. You’ve hit the nail on the head.”
“Just wait and watch. We might actually have the rare privilege of seeing Yan Mingqiu suffer a fiery backlash and go berserk right here on stage.”
Cultivation demanded a steady, step-by-step ascent; boosting one’s realm through medicinal pills left a practitioner dangerously vulnerable to qi deviation and demonic obsession.
Up on the high platform, Zhulan wore a mask of deep concern as he turned to Yun Feng. “Peak Master Yun, if Mingqiu genuinely lacks the capability to defeat Lin Pu, you can simply tell me. I can pull executive rank and call off this match. Trying to force a promising youngster down a dead-end path just by stuffing him full of shortcut pills is practically driving him to his grave!”
Yun Feng cast a sideways glare at him. “Who told you he took shortcut pills? Stop projecting your own filthy, scheming mindset onto my disciple.”
Putting on an air of aggrieved magnanimity, Zhulan sighed. “I’m speaking to you out of genuine concern, so how can you respond with such hostility?”
The Third Elder poured Zhulan a fresh cup of tea. “Sect Leader, don’t lower yourself to arguing with him. We tried to do them a favor, but they take it as malicious intent. Just wait until he ruins his own disciple with his arrogance—let’s see who regrets it then.”
Unable to stomach another second of their hypocritical drivel, Yun Feng leaped down from the high platform and seated himself directly among the regular disciples.
The moment he sat down, however, the surrounding disciples scrambled backward in a panic, leaving a clear five-meter radius completely empty around him.
To these ordinary disciples who rarely caught a glimpse of Yun Feng, the enduring impression left by Immortal Yunshang was terrifyingly singular: the man who beat Lin Pu so badly he was bedridden for half a year.
Naturally, everyone kept their distance in terror everyone, that is, except for Chenhan, who sauntered over from afar and quietly took a seat right by his side.
“Immortal, your spot is a bit too far away from the tunnel entrance we dug.”
“It’s fine. Sitting here draws their attention, which will make your actions later much easier.”
Up on the Duel Stage, Lin Pu had already finished adding his herbs and auxiliary ingredients, whereas Yan Mingqiu was still adding more items to his cauldron.
The spectators’ attention snapped right back to Yan Mingqiu.
“No way… Is Mingqiu adding that many? That volume looks like double Senior Brother Lin’s portion!”
“I’m telling you, he’s totally lost his mind. Is he delusional enough to think he can pull off ten pills in a single furnace?”
“I bet ten medium-grade spirit stones that Yan Mingqiu is going to explode his cauldron any second now. If we didn’t have the protective barrier, I’d be looking for an exit right about now.”
Having finished adding his materials, Lin Pu carefully coaxed his subterranean flame.
Glancing across the stage at Yan Mingqiu, he sneered, “What a fool. I’ve already figured out what move I’m going to use on you next. If I don’t beat you until you can’t even stand, I’ll change my last name!”
Yan Mingqiu offered a crooked, playful smirk. “I heard every word. You better not go back on your promise, or you’ll find yourself dragged straight into the Tongue-Ripping Hell.”
Lin Pu scoffed. “Just a joke. You wait right there.”
Down in the audience, Chenhan stared transfixed, completely entranced. “So captivating.”
Yun Feng: “What?”
Lowering his gaze, Chenhan murmured to himself, “The way he looks when he’s confident… so captivating.”
Yun Feng: “……”
Three sticks of incense later, Yan Mingqiu finally dropped all his herbs and auxiliary materials into the cauldron. By this point, Lin Pu had already entered the final pill-consolidation phase.
Immediately following that, nine distinct streams of subterranean flame suddenly materialized in Yan Mingqiu’s right hand. He fed all nine streams directly beneath the cauldron, combining them with the single stream he had used earlier to preheat the vessel, bringing the total to ten streams of fire.
“He’s completely insane! That’s a guaranteed cauldron explosion!”
The stability of an alchemy flame directly dictates the quality of the finished pills. Normally, a single alchemist could only handle one stream of fire at most and even then, they had to manipulate it with extreme, delicate caution, much like Lin Pu. Channeling ten streams simultaneously meant that the slightest imbalance in firepower would trigger an immediate explosion.
“No one has ever managed to control ten streams of subterranean flame at the same time. It’s utterly impossible!”
Yun Feng spun around, glaring irritably at the disciple who had spoken. “Who said it’s impossible? The founding patriarch could do it.”
A disciple blurted out, “That’s because the patriarch possessed a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root! Not a single person has been born with a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root in over a thousand years since the patriarch’s time.”
Every single disciple had these historical facts drilled into their heads from day one.
Yun Feng snapped, “Well, one has appeared now. My brilliant disciple possesses a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root.”
“What?! Yan Mingqiu has a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root?!”
“Good grief! Good grief! What did I just hear? Weren’t his spiritual roots never tested when he entered the sect?”
“Nope! Back then, Immortal Yunshang scouted him outside and brought him straight back without any tests.”
Up on the VIP pavilion, Zhulan and the three elders looked as though they might slip right out of their chairs.
Muttering under his breath, Zhulan repeated in horror, “That’s impossible… That’s impossible…”