A disciple of Changle Immortal Island had his tongue cut out and his arm severed by Ling Xiao.
Yet the Changle Ancestor merely snorted coldly, then declared loudly, “Even if he loses the final round, Ling Xiao is still our hero. If anyone dares insult him again, they need not trouble him to act. This old man will clean up the trash in his stead! Changle Immortal Island has no need for morally corrupt fools.”
“Heh, Elder Changle, you are actually not protecting your own?”
Pill King Sun Ran asked with a smile.
“This old man is the organiser of this Pill Refinement Conference. I uphold only justice and reason, not favouritism. Moreover, trash like that brings no benefit to Changle Immortal Island and only drags it down. He deserved to die!”
The Changle Ancestor replied faintly.
The first part might have been said casually, but the second part was heartfelt.
Changle Immortal Island needed no fools!
With him saying this, naturally no one in the spectator stands dared speak against Ling Xiao any longer. Even if they grumbled inwardly, they absolutely dared not voice it.
Otherwise, they might lose their tongue or have an arm chopped off. Few would willingly accept such consequences.
“He is actually going to do it!”
At that moment, Ji Qing’s face revealed a fanatical expression. He was so excited that his body trembled.
“Impossible. Has he gone mad? That method has less than a thirty percent success rate. He has only one chance left now. Does he dare?”
Pill King Sun Ran seemed to have guessed what Ling Xiao intended to do. He too felt some excitement, his face even flushing red.
“How is it impossible? The first pill he refined was the Heavenly Essence Body Pill, the second was the Heavenly Essence Soul Pill, and this third one is the Heavenly Essence Inner Force Pill!
Taken separately, these three pills might not be surprising. They can respectively enhance a martial artist’s body, soul, and inner force.
But if fused together, they could produce a pill infinitely close to profound-rank — the ‘Cave Heaven Realm · Threefold Return to Origin Pill’!”
Ji Qing said excitedly, “This kid, I truly did not misjudge him. He really has guts! If he succeeds, he will definitely surpass that Tianhai Pearl.”
“Hmph, you speak of success. If he fails, all his previous efforts will be wasted. With his ability, he could have avoided such a risk. This approach can only be called foolish!”
Pill King Sun Ran snorted coldly, expressing considerable dissatisfaction.
“Perhaps, but with this courage, he has a chance of success. I do not believe he would do something without any confidence.”
Ji Qing smiled.
“Then let us wait and see.”
The reason Pill King Sun Ran refused to believe Ling Xiao could refine the Threefold Return to Origin Pill, which was infinitely close to profound-rank.
“Is it failure, falling into the abyss with no recovery? Or success, seizing the championship and claiming the title of Pill Refinement Conference champion? What kind of answer will you ultimately give us?”
Ji Qing looked towards Ling Xiao, now viewing this youth with exceptionally high regard.
Of course, Pill King Sun Ran’s words were not wrong either. Ling Xiao’s choice was a gamble.
Heaven and hell were separated by only a thin line.
Which side it would tip towards depended entirely on Ling Xiao’s own decision.
At this moment, Ling Xiao had successfully refined the third pill.
With the three pills placed together, Ling Xiao suddenly closed his eyes.
“Your Highness Moon Maiden, what do you think of Senior Ji Qing’s words?”
Yun Ya looked towards the Moon Maiden. She felt that among everyone present, only the Moon Maiden truly understood Ling Xiao’s depths.
“I do not know either.”
The Moon Maiden smiled and shook her head. “That fellow is someone who loves challenges. Refining a true yellow-rank pill holds no challenge for him, so he chose the harder path — fusing them into a ‘Threefold Return to Origin Pill’ infinitely close to profound-rank.”
“So you also do not know if he can succeed?”
Yun Ya asked in surprise.
“Correct, I do not know, but I believe he will succeed.”
If pressed for a reason, the Moon Maiden would certainly say it was because she liked Ling Xiao.
But clearly, that was not the reason Yun Ya sought.
“I also believe in Master.”
Leng Mei’s attitude was equally firm.
“Leng Mei, this is blind faith.”
Yun Ya smiled bitterly.
“You are wrong. My faith is not blind. It never has been. Master has this ability, so I believe in him. Princess Yun Ya, you still understand Master far too little. If he wants to win, in the matter of pill refinement, even that Pill King Sun Ran may not be his match!”
Leng Mei said faintly.
“How is that possible!”
Yun Ya naturally did not believe it. Pill King Sun Ran was a profound-rank alchemist, far beyond comparison with yellow-rank alchemists.
“I knew you would say that, so I do not wish to explain. When the result comes out later, you will know. Your Heavenly Dragon Trading Company’s desire to approach Master and cooperate with him is correct, but never harbour any crooked thoughts, or the consequences will be severe.”
Leng Mei said faintly. On the surface, her regard for Ling Xiao appeared as blind worship and trust, but in reality it was anything but.
Though Leng Mei rarely expressed her thoughts, her mind was clear as a mirror.
Those who had been mocking Ling Xiao inwardly now fell silent, because they discovered that what Ling Xiao was doing was not quite what they had imagined.
A mass of crimson flames ignited.
Every flame across the entire square trembled because of it.
Tianhai Pearl angrily glanced at Ling Xiao.
Once flames lost control, they could very easily cause refinement failure.
And unfortunately, she was affected!
Her first refinement, already near completion, ended in failure.
Dan Qing was also depressed. He too was affected, his pill refinement failing.
“This cannot be blamed on me. It was not intentional.”
Ling Xiao shrugged. Who could blame him when divine fire was the ancestor of all flames?
Every flame in the world had been born and derived from the twelve divine fires.
“Damn it!”
At that moment, neither Tianhai Pearl nor Dan Qing had time to blame Ling Xiao. They quickly had the assistant alchemists gather materials and began another refinement.
Ji Luoyu was luckier. She had not yet ignited her fire, having only just finished purifying her ingredients.
Thus, she was now actually ahead of both Tianhai Pearl and Dan Qing.
Yet her face showed no trace of ease. Even without interference from others, her success rate for true yellow-rank pills was not high.
Boom!
At that instant, a loud explosion suddenly rang out from Tianhai Pearl’s side.
Behind her, a humanoid phantom emerged.
At this point, Tianhai Pearl had no choice but to go all out.
She would use her full strength to ensure the second pill succeeded.
The moment this phantom appeared, Tianhai Pearl’s eyes went blank for a brief instant, but soon returned to normal.
Only, her originally somewhat clear gaze now turned sinister and cunning.
Complete possession.
Ling Xiao sensed Tianhai Pearl’s current formidable power.
He could not help feeling some alarm.
“It really is her!”
Pill King Sun Ran abruptly stood up.
