Chapter 317: Fire Control Furnace

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Fire Control Furnace

All eyes were on Mo River. After all, for the Pill King to perform Alchemy in front of so many people was an unprecedented, once-in-a-lifetime event. They absolutely could not miss it.

As for Yi Xiaoyao, only a few scattered gazes were occasionally thrown his way, and they were all filled with mockery.

In their eyes, competing against the Pill King in Alchemy Skill was simply asking for humiliation. The fact that Yi Xiaoyao wasn’t even taking it seriously and was instead acting so recklessly made the crowd scorn him even more.

Meanwhile, Mo River had already placed the Spirit Medicine into his Pill Furnace and officially begun the Alchemy.

Everyone’s eyes burned with intense excitement. They stared, unblinking, at Mo River’s every move, afraid of missing even a single detail.

Under their watchful gaze, Mo River formed several profound Alchemy Hand Formulas, then shot two incomparably tyrannical streams of purple Flame toward the Pill Furnace.

The Flame emanated a dense Demon Beast Qi. From time to time, it would let out roars like a furious Demon Beast as it swiftly enveloped the Pill Furnace.

"Is that the Pill King’s Purple Flame Beast Fire?"

"Such a powerful Flame! No wonder he can refine a Four-Stripe Elixir!"

But just then, they noticed Mo River’s Purple Flame Beast Fire suddenly let out a mournful cry. The Flame flickered and trembled, as if it were afraid of something.

"What’s going on?"

"Look, Yi Xiaoyao has started too! He actually is an Alchemist and has his own Pill Fire!"

"Why do I get the feeling that Yi Xiaoyao’s Pill Fire is far more terrifying than the Pill King’s Purple Flame Beast Fire?"

The crowd turned to look at Yi Xiaoyao. They saw a vast expanse of crimson Flame engulfing the massive Pill Furnace. The Flame danced like a coiling fire phoenix, and the Qi it emanated was utterly terrifying.

The moment Mo River’s Purple Flame Beast Fire had shown fear was precisely when Yi Xiaoyao had unleashed his Nirvana Phoenix Fire.

"That guy’s Flame is certainly terrifying, but it’s probably just a reflection of his power level!"

"Yi Xiaoyao’s Pill Fire may be impressive, but this is a competition of Alchemy Skill. He just threw all the Elixir Materials into the Pill Furnace at once. There’s no way he can refine any Elixirs like that."

"If you ask me, he’s not refining Elixirs, he’s making a dish called ’Everything Stew’!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Amidst the crowd’s chatter and observation, the two Alchemists remained completely focused, not uttering a single word.

This was especially true for Mo River. His expression was grave, as if he were facing a formidable enemy, and he meticulously controlled his Pill Fire, allowing for not even the slightest error.

After all, his life was on the line. Even though he was certain of victory, he had to perform at his absolute peak and refine a peak-quality Elixir.

And for the Pill King, who was immersed in the Alchemy Dao daily and could even refine fifth-tier Elixirs, a fourth-tier Elixir was a piece of cake.

Half an hour later, a crisp sound rang out. The lid of the Pill Furnace in front of Mo River flew open, releasing a refreshing Pill Fragrance.

The Elixirs were formed!

Mo River waved his hand, and the Pill Fire dissipated. With another beckoning gesture, three crystal-clear Elixirs shot out from the Pill Furnace and landed in his palm.

Looking at the quality of the three Nascent Soul Pills, a satisfied smile broke through his serious expression.

Each of the three Elixirs bore four Pill Patterns, with a fifth one faintly emerging!

’Even on a normal day, I’d struggle to refine Elixirs of this quality. Victory is assured!’

The tension in Mo River’s heart finally eased, and he let out a breath of relief.

’It seems the pressure really brought out my potential, allowing me to surpass my usual abilities.’

The crowd, which had been watching Mo River’s every move, erupted into an uproar.

They were all Cultivators, with eyesight that could span for miles, so they could clearly see the three Elixirs in Mo River’s hand.

"Those Elixirs... four Pill Patterns with a hint of a fifth!"

"Even if I spent my whole life, I could never refine an Elixir of that level!"

"As expected of the Pill King!"

"Such a peerless Alchemy Skill! We can only bow in admiration!"

Everyone gasped, their mouths filled with praise.

But at that moment.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

A strange sound drew the crowd’s attention. All eyes turned toward Yi Xiaoyao with peculiar expressions.

The cracking sound continued, coming from the Pill Furnace in front of Yi Xiaoyao.

At that moment, Yi Xiaoyao’s brows were tightly furrowed. Within his Nirvana Phoenix Fire, the Pill Furnace was rapidly cracking and melting.

’It seems this Pill Furnace can’t withstand the power of the Nirvana Phoenix Fire.’

Yi Xiaoyao sighed inwardly. He had overlooked the fact that after his Heaven and Earth Fire Essence’s Flame evolved into the Nirvana Phoenix Fire, its power was on a completely different level. How could an ordinary Pill Furnace possibly withstand it?

BANG!

The Pill Furnace finally exploded, scattering red-hot fragments all over the ground.

"The furnace exploded?"

"Haha! His furnace exploded while trying to refine a fourth-tier Elixir? With that level of skill, how dare he challenge the Pill King’s Alchemy Skill?"

"Plus, Yi Xiaoyao threw all his Elixir Materials in at once. He has nothing left to work with now."

"This means he’s already lost!"

The crowd gloated, but they gradually fell silent.

Because even though Yi Xiaoyao’s Pill Furnace was destroyed, his Alchemy continued.

Yi Xiaoyao let out a soft chuckle. A Pill Furnace’s purpose was to help an Alchemist control their Flame. But when it came to Fire Control Technique, for someone like Yi Xiaoyao who possessed the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, if he claimed to be second best in the Great Xia, who would dare claim to be first?

The Pill Furnace was destroyed, but as long as the heat remained constant, the Elixirs could still be formed.

The next moment, as Yi Xiaoyao waved his hand, the vast crimson Flame swirled and condensed, forming a giant Fire Control Furnace.

Mo River’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at the Fire Control Furnace.

He recalled his master telling him years ago that, according to legend, some immensely powerful Alchemists could perform Alchemy without a Pill Furnace.

But without exception, those people had all reached a terrifying Realm in their Fire Control Power.

’This kid... his control over Flame is this powerful?’ Mo River thought, his eyes narrowing.

Even for Mo River, the renowned Pill King, this was the first time he had ever witnessed a Fire Control Furnace with his own eyes.

But his surprise was just that—surprise. Mo River remained completely confident about the outcome of the competition.

The surrounding crowd shared Mo River’s thoughts.

"This Yi Xiaoyao has such amazing Fire Control Power. If he had focused on refining a single Elixir, he might have actually been able to compete with the Pill King!"

"It’s a shame. He’s too arrogant, trying to refine a thousand sets of Elixir Materials at once. Even if he manages to form the Elixirs, there’s no way they’ll be high quality."

"Quantity without quality is useless."

"That’s right. With this refinement method, the Elixirs he produces probably won’t even have a single Pill Pattern!"

As the crowd was talking, Yi Xiaoyao waved his hand. The Flame, carrying the Elixirs within, transformed into a fiery dragon and soared into the sky.

Finally, the fire dragon exploded high in the air, sending down a rain of Elixirs that filled the sky.

"My Elixirs are complete!"

Yi Xiaoyao laughed coldly and declared, "Mo River, don’t you forget what you said in front of everyone earlier!"

Mo River snorted, his voice full of arrogance and disdain. "Junior, I’m the one who should be reminding *you*."

As he spoke, he flicked out the three Elixirs he had just refined.

"These three are top-grade Four-Stripe Elixirs, each one showing signs of a fifth pattern. Open your eyes and look closely!"

"Now, go ahead and pick the highest quality Elixir from your batch of a thousand to compare with mine."

As Mo River finished speaking, the rain of Elixirs descended from the sky, hovering just above everyone’s heads.

"Compare with you? There’s no need to pick one. You can choose any of them."

Yi Xiaoyao’s indifferent voice rang out, causing Mo River to sneer. He casually caught one of the Elixirs from above and glanced at it.

In the next instant, the pride, disdain, and derision on Mo River’s face froze, then vanished, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

"This is impossible!!"

Staring at the Elixir in his hand, Mo River let out a horrified roar. He staggered backward in a panic before finally falling limply into the deep crater he himself had created earlier.

Seeing Mo River’s reaction, the crowd was stunned for a moment. Then, they all reached up to catch the Elixirs floating above their heads.

A brief silence was followed by an earth-shattering explosion of voices.

"What!!"

"How is this possible!!"

"These... all one thousand of them... they’re all genuine Five-Stripe Perfect Elixirs!!"

Amidst the uproar, Yi Xiaoyao’s figure flashed, and he appeared in the air above the Pill King. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked down indifferently at Mo River, who sat slumped in the crater.

"In my presence, what gives you the right to call yourself the Pill King?"

...