Chapter 426 - 432: Battle for the Top Spot

With monsters like Song Wanning and the Young Master of the Demon Clan around, who would even pay attention to him?

His system was on the verge of shutting down.

The man and his system couldn’t help but question their existence.

Meanwhile, Song Wanning and the Young Master of the Demon Clan were both completely focused on their alchemy attempts.

To secure victory, Song Wanning had chosen to use a method of her own creation.

It was risky, but if she succeeded, her chances of winning would be extremely high.

Besides, she had already crushed the Medicine King Sect’s pride. It wouldn’t matter much if she didn’t take first place.

So, with the mindset of taking a gamble, she sealed her Pill Furnace right from the start.

The crowd’s spirits lifted at the sight. The last time Song Wanning had done this, she had refined a special Breaking Rank Pill.

Seeing her do it again, everyone was filled with anticipation.

Inside the Immortal Furnace, the Elixir Liquid was gradually compressed, solidifying...

Song Wanning didn’t dare let her focus waver for an instant. The Demonic Qi and Spiritual Power within her body surged toward the Elixir Liquid, carefully taming one another.

However, just as it was about to congeal, the Elixir Liquid suddenly dispersed. If she hadn’t been prepared, it might have exploded outright.

The pill fusion had failed, which meant her alchemy had failed.

Song Wanning furrowed her brow. It was her first time attempting to refine a Tenth-grade Spiritual Pill, so failure was to be expected.

But as she looked at the puddle of Elixir Liquid, a bold idea suddenly formed in her mind.

’In my Dantian, besides Spiritual Energy and Demonic Qi, there’s also Chaos Qi and the Divine Thunder Seed...’

’Since I’ve already failed, why not give it a try?’

Song Wanning no longer cared about the result. Her interest was genuinely piqued; she was eager to see if combining all these elements could produce a unique effect.

With that thought, she began to guide the four-colored aura from her body, carefully controlling it as it entered the Immortal Furnace.

A normal Pill Furnace would have already exploded just from trying to contain these different energies.

But the Immortal Furnace was different. Even as the energies darted about wildly inside, it remained perfectly stable.

From the very beginning, the four energies began to suppress and contend with one another.

Song Wanning directed them toward the Elixir Liquid. The previously ruined liquid began to churn once more, actually attempting to fuse again.

But before the fusion, she first began to expel the impurities from within, bit by bit.

The failed fusion attempt had already created waste liquid.

Removing the impurities required extreme care. If she removed too much, the Elixir Pill’s efficacy would diminish, potentially leaving less than a tenth of its original potency.

It could even become a completely useless pill.

Song Wanning held her breath, and her movements became exceedingly slow.

The spectators grew tense along with her. Among the tens of thousands of people, not a single person spoke.

Everyone wanted to see if the two of them could create a miracle.

BANG!

The Immortal Furnace suddenly shook with a loud noise, and its lid looked as if it was about to fly off.

Everyone was shocked. ’Did she fail?’

But Song Wanning’s expression remained unchanged. She slammed one hand down on the lid, forcing it shut.

Her other hand continued to channel her power without a moment’s pause.

"Hmph, a Tenth-grade Spiritual Pill? There’s no way she can successfully refine it!"

Wu Qingfeng snorted, his eyes filled with cold disdain.

He himself had been over two hundred years old when he refined his first Tenth-grade Spiritual Pill. Because of that achievement, his status in the Medicine King Sect had risen steadily, bringing him to his current position.

And how old was Song Wanning?

No matter how much of a genius she was, she couldn’t possibly succeed!

Absolutely impossible!

"Don’t worry, Elder. She’s just stubbornly holding on!"

"That’s right, she’s about to fail any second!"

The disciples behind him were filled with malice, wishing the furnace would just explode and kill Song Wanning.

That would save them the trouble of doing it themselves.

The people from the other Sects didn’t have high hopes for Song Wanning either. It was obvious she had already failed and was just refusing to give up.

The Fourth Elder’s expression also grew stern, but she was already immensely satisfied. Whether Song Wanning succeeded or not, she was proud of her!

’Wu Qingfeng is just suffering from a case of sour grapes!’

HUMMM—

The furnace lid vibrated relentlessly, causing the very air around it to ripple.

Many people in the audience had already begun to sigh.

Song Wanning remained completely unaffected. She continued her efforts to fuse the pill, even as the Elixir Liquid darted wildly inside the Pill Furnace, on the verge of spiraling out of control.

She showed no intention of stopping and once again began to clear away the impurities.

Looking over at the Young Master of the Demon Clan, although it was also his first time attempting Alchemy, his talent was so outstanding that the entire process went smoothly.

"It seems... that boy from the Demon Clan is going to win this time!"

The City Lord sighed. As a member of the Human Clan, she naturally hoped a human would take the top spot.

Huo Jinchuan said lightly, "The result isn’t set in stone. There’s no need for the City Lord to jump to conclusions."

His gaze remained fixed on Song Wanning, causing the woman behind him to have an incredibly dark look in her eyes.

"Song Wanning has already lost control. The odds of her succeeding are less than one in ten thousand..."

The City Lord herself was a Dan Dao Master, so she naturally understood the problem Song Wanning was facing.

But seeing how confident Huo Jinchuan seemed, she couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’Huo Jinchuan isn’t an Alchemy Cultivator. Could it be that he has some kind of special ability?’

...

Another hour passed. Just as the crowd was growing bored, the Young Master of the Demon Clan suddenly stopped his alchemy.

The lid of his furnace opened, revealing a perfectly round Elixir Pill. It was the Tenth-grade Spiritual Pill, a Spirit Tempering Pill.

Its quality was low-grade.

WHOOSH—

The crowd was instantly stunned, looking at him in disbelief.

"What kind of monster is he?!!!"

"He actually succeeded! Even if it’s low-grade, that’s still heaven-defying!"

Forgetting all about their inter-clan prejudices, the crowd looked at the Young Master of the Demon Clan with adoration.

Xiao Heyun instantly froze. He practically closed his eyes in despair as he heard the system notification for a decrease in favorability.

"Fuck!"

A thousand emotions were finally distilled into that single word.

The Young Master of the Demon Clan glanced at his Pill Furnace, his expression clearly dissatisfied. But the result was set, so he could only withdraw his power and step to the side.

He couldn’t help but look toward Song Wanning, only to see her furnace lid, which had been humming nonstop, still struggling violently. He was stunned for a moment.

’What’s going on here?’

He furrowed his brow. With his Demonic Qi nearly depleted, he simply sat down on the spot and stared intently at Song Wanning.

"The result is already decided. There’s nothing Song Wanning can do to salvage this. Sigh, and I was rooting for her the most."

"I know, right? So many of us from the Human Clan entered, but the top prize was taken by the Demon Clan. It’s so frustrating just thinking about it!"

"Nothing to be done. The City Lord’s challenge was too difficult this time. A Tenth Grade Elixir... who here can actually refine one?"

"..."

Everyone felt it was a pity, having already accepted that the Young Master of the Demon Clan was the champion.

But just as the words left their mouths, the furnace lid suddenly flew off, blasted into the air.

But everyone’s eyes widened in unison, their pointing fingers trembling.

Because after the lid flew off, a radiant, colorful light rose from within the furnace.

Looking closely, it seemed to be a series of colorful clouds, chasing one another before dispersing.

"Th-that’s... an Alchemy Dao phenomenon?!!!"

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Or am I so tired I’m just seeing things..."

"Quick, slap me awake! I think I’m hallucinating!!"