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Above the sky, energy storms roared, eventually coalescing into four enormous tornadoes. Each tornado was connected to a fire cauldron at one end, while at the other end, it desperately absorbed the rich energy of heaven and earth, continuously pouring it into the fire cauldrons.

This strange phenomenon in the sky lasted for three days. During these three days, the people in the square had no idea how much energy in this world had been absorbed. The only thing they could feel was that the energy of heaven and earth circulating in the surrounding air had become countless times thinner. Even the medicinal herbs around the square showed signs of withering and turning yellow—their energy had already been forcibly absorbed to an excessive degree.

'Could it be... that the Medicine Clan really isn't planning to activate emergency measures? Do they really want to see four Grandmaster Alchemists fail? And perhaps one of those four is even an elder of their own clan!'

Gradually, such comments appeared more and more frequently, and the gazes of the onlookers in the square towards the Medicine Clan members became increasingly strange. Even the young people of the Medicine Clan began to have doubts about the clan elders.

The elders of the Medicine Clan did nothing more than urgently seal off some precious medicinal herb fields in Medicine Mountain!

Chapter 503 Gift of Elixir (Part 1)

The fire cauldron in front of Xiao Yan and the other three continued to devour the energy of heaven and earth as if without end.

But the atmosphere in the square gradually shifted from initial shock and anticipation to anxiety, and by this moment, it had completely transformed into an almost frozen silence.

Not to mention the numerous alchemists, even the low-level maids arranged by the Medicine Clan could clearly sense the thinning of energy in this world. The energy storm that could previously be appreciated as a spectacle was now visibly weakening. Clearly, the energy in this world was no longer sufficient to support the four of them in continuing to refine pills!

The first to encounter trouble was Yao Wanhuo.

Although his strength was no weaker than that of Shennong, after the energy storm gradually subsided, his fire cauldron, which was formed from the Nine Nether Wind Flame, was far less stable than that of Shennong. Almost the instant the energy storm subsided, the fire cauldron suddenly trembled, and the pill that was vaguely forming inside emitted a piercing buzzing sound, as if it would shatter at any moment.

If Yao Wanhuo hadn't possessed the strength of a six-star Dou Sheng and the soul power of a Great Perfection of the Heavenly Realm, allowing him to form hand seals the moment the fire cauldron trembled and forcibly maintain its stability, he might have already failed.

But this is only the beginning—

As Yao Wanhuo began to maintain the stability of the fire cauldron with his battle qi, the energy storm connected to the fire cauldron in front of Shennong Laoren and Hun Xuzi completely dissipated. Although the two of them tried their best to maintain the balance inside the cauldron, without the replenishment of the energy of heaven and earth, the violent medicinal power in the pill was completely unrestrained, and waves of heart-palpitating fluctuations came out from the cauldron.

Xiao Yan's situation is equally dire; in fact, it could be said that his situation is the most perilous, given that his goal is to refine a Golden Core.

Unlike the three members of Hun Xuzi whose medicinal herbs had largely fused together, the hundreds of portions of medicinal liquid in front of Xiao Yan's fire cauldron were still not fully fused. They floated around the nascent pill, quietly waiting for the infusion of the energy of heaven and earth.

Without the infusion of the energy of heaven and earth, the nascent pill had already shown signs of instability. Strands of visible energy were peeling off the surface of the pill embryo. If Xiao Yan hadn't used his powerful Dou Qi to forcefully control the fire cauldron and ensure that the energy of heaven and earth inside would not leak out in the slightest, this golden pill would have almost been declared a failure in its refining process.

Finally, someone in the square couldn't hold back any longer.

"What is the Medicine Clan doing?!" A white-haired alchemist stood up from his seat, his voice filled with disbelief. "The energy of heaven and earth has been exhausted. If we don't open a passage to the outside world soon, all four batches of pills will be destroyed! Those are Golden Cores, Golden Cores that haven't appeared on the Dou Qi Continent for thousands of years!"

His voice was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.

"That's right, let's open the Medicine Realm as soon as possible!"

"Does the Medicine Clan intend to watch all four batches of pills go to waste? There are elders of your Medicine Clan here!"

"Clan Chief Yaodan, give the order quickly!"

In an instant, the square was filled with noise, and countless eyes were cast toward the medicine pill on the stage. Among those eyes were urging, questioning, incomprehension, and even a hint of hidden anger.

Yao Dan did not speak. His gaze slowly swept over the Yao Clan elders sitting on the high platform. There was helplessness, disappointment, and a trace of weariness that even he himself did not realize.

The elders remained calm, as if they hadn't heard or seen anything. Some closed their eyes to rest, while others appeared indifferent. Some even had a slight upturn at the corners of their mouths, seemingly with a hint of mockery.

They certainly knew that the energy of heaven and earth was depleted.

But they also knew that in just a few more moments, all four batches of pills in the sky would be ruined. At that time, they could simply declare the pharmacopoeia over and that no one had taken the title of the continent's number one alchemist—after all, no one had successfully refined a single batch of pills.

Faced with the unmoved medicine pills and the many elders of the Medicine Clan, the commotion in the square grew louder and louder.

Above the sky, Shennong the Elder withdrew his gaze from Yaodan with some helplessness—he understood that if it were just Yaodan alone, he would have already opened the Medicine Realm, allowing the energy of heaven and earth from the outside world to enter the Medicine Realm. However, Yaodan, as the patriarch of the Medicine Clan, did not have the ability to turn the Medicine Clan into his own personal fiefdom.

"Ugh……"

Shennong sighed softly. Then, a resolute glint flashed in his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, a ball of light flew out from his medicine cauldron and shot towards Xiao Yan.

"Young friend Xiao Yan," Shennong's voice was soft, yet clearly reached the ears of everyone present, "This Xuan Dan embryo of mine, though far inferior to a Golden Core, still contains a considerable amount of energy. If we simply fuse the medicinal liquid into the embryo, it might still be sufficient!"

Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback, then smiled helplessly, "Senior, this..."

"Don't refuse," Shennong waved his hand, his voice carrying a transcendent magnanimity. "Before I started refining it, I had already foreseen that the Medicine Clan would not open the Medicine Realm and that you would still have to absorb the energy of heaven and earth from the outside world. That's why I specifically targeted the Profound Pill. Although it seized a lot of the energy of heaven and earth, the energy of heaven and earth after being filtered is still easier than absorbing it directly, right?"

"Moreover... the Golden Core, this old man has never seen what the legendary ninth-grade Golden Core looks like in his entire life. If you really fail because of the narrow-mindedness of the Medicine Clan, it won't just be me who will be disappointed!"

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to take the Xuan Dan embryo. At the same time, he summoned a ball of pink flame, sent the embryo into the center of the pink flame, and sent the pink flame into the fire cauldron.

In an instant, the previously motionless pill trembled violently and finally began to slowly rotate.

The words and actions of the Shennong Elder pushed the clamor in the square to a new peak. At this moment, everyone looked at the Medicine Clan Elder with no more urging, only endless contempt and disdain.

The elders of the Medicine Clan finally changed their expressions—while no one knew the truth, they could certainly fabricate lies at will, but as a renowned rogue cultivator on the Dou Qi Continent, if Elder Shennong were to testify, then the true situation of this Medicine Compendium would be revealed…

Hun Xuzi watched all this with a cold eye, a mocking smile playing on his lips. He turned around and exchanged a glance with Hun Tiandi in the distance, then waved his hand, sending a ball of light flying out of his medicine cauldron.

"My Soul Clan and the Medicine Clan have never had much of a relationship, but I am quite interested in the first Golden Core in thousands of years," Soul Void said indifferently. "If your Golden Core is successful, I will share in the credit; if it fails..."

"Then let the Medicine Clan take full responsibility!"

As Hun Xuzi's voice faded, the Xuan Dan embryo headed straight for Xiao Yan.

This time, Xiao Yan did not refuse. The fire cauldron opened its vortex and took in the Xuan Dan embryo given to him by Hun Xuzi.

Chapter 504 Gift of Pills (Part 2)

With the addition of another surge of energy, the Golden Core embryo's rotation speed noticeably increased, and the crisis of near collapse due to insufficient energy completely disappeared. At this moment, all that could be felt from the embryo was an increasingly powerful and profound force.

However, the spatial barrier of the pharmaceutical world remained completely unmoved.

On the high platform, Yao Dan frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the elders before he spoke, "Still..."

"Chieftain!"

An aged voice suddenly rang out. It was the Third Elder of the Medicine Clan. His expression was calm, and his voice was unhurried, “The Medicine Realm is the foundation of our Medicine Clan. If we rashly open a channel to interact with the energy of the outside world and it affects the foundation of the Medicine Clan, who will be responsible?”

“The Third Elder is right,” the Second Elder added, “Moreover, the outcome of these two matches is still undecided. If we introduce external energy, some people might think that our Medicine Clan is deliberately interfering with the competition!”

"Our Medicine Clan has always valued fairness..." The Third Elder wanted to say something more.

"fair?!"

Yao Wanhuo's voice suddenly rang out, like a thunderclap.

He turned his head sharply, his aged eyes burning with a long-suppressed rage. He stared intently at the elders on the platform, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "How far do you intend to pretend to be deaf and dumb? If you truly want fairness, you should have opened the channel for interaction with the energy of heaven and earth from the very beginning!"

"Let me put it more clearly..." Yao Wanhuo's voice echoed in the square, each word resounding, "Now that the energy of heaven and earth has been exhausted, if we don't open a passage, my furnace of Xuan Dan could collapse at any moment!"

If Xiao Yan manages to refine a golden core today, then it's because my skills are inferior, and I have nothing to say. But if neither of us can refine a pill due to the energy of heaven and earth…”

Before he finished speaking, his right hand suddenly plunged into the fire cauldron and forcefully pulled out a dark red, irregularly shaped pill. It was the Xuan Dan embryo that he had poured his heart and soul into refining over several days.

"Xiao Yan, take it!"

With a wave of his hand, Yao Wanhuo sent the dark red liquid transforming into a long rainbow that hurtled straight toward Xiao Yan.

At this moment, the elders of the Medicine Clan, who had always remained calm and believed they didn't need to care about anyone, could no longer sit still.

"Yao Wanhuo, have you gone mad?!" The Third Elder suddenly stood up, his voice filled with disbelief. "That was the Xuan Dan embryo that you painstakingly refined!"

Everyone in the Medicine Clan knows that only the clan leader, Yao Dan, can completely refine a Xuan Dan. Although Yao Wanhuo is the second best alchemist after Yao Dan, his probability of refining a Xuan Dan is definitely no more than 30%. The fact that a Xuan Dan embryo has already been refined almost proves that the success rate this time has exceeded 80%!

"So what if it is?" Yao Wanhuo looked at him coldly. "The painstaking efforts of several days have been destroyed in an instant. Compared with the birth of the first Golden Core in the medicine world in thousands of years, can't the Third Elder tell which is more important?"

The Third Elder was speechless for a moment.

Yao Wanhuo didn't give him another chance to speak. His gaze passed over the elders and landed directly on Yao Dan in the main seat. His voice became even more resolute: "Clan leader, as an elder of the Yao clan, I request the opening of the Medicine Realm!"

"Please, Clan Chief, open the Realm of Medicine!"

A young voice followed closely behind. It was Yao Tian, ​​the most outstanding alchemist among the younger generation of the Yao Clan. Having successfully refined an eighth-grade nine-colored pill, he was undoubtedly the next person with the potential to refine a Xuan Dan or even a Jin Dan!

"Please, Clan Chief, open the Realm of Medicine!"

Yao Ling also stepped forward. Known as the only member of the Yao Clan with the potential to achieve Emperor-level soul power, her status within the Yao Clan was even higher than Yao Tian's.

"Please, Clan Chief, open the Realm of Medicine!"

"Please, Clan Chief, open the Realm of Medicine!"

……

As Yao Tian and Yao Ling spoke one after another, one after another, the young disciples of the Yao Clan stood up. Their voices went from scattered to connected, and finally converged into an undeniable torrent that echoed throughout the land.

On the high platform, the elders' expressions grew increasingly grim.

They could ignore the accusations of outsiders, tolerate the actions of Shennong and Hunxuzi, and even ignore Yao Wanhuo's anger. However, when all the younger generation of the Yao clan stood up to oppose them, they finally realized what this first golden elixir in thousands of years truly meant to alchemists who were devoted to alchemy.

The Third Elder opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was stopped by the Second Elder beside him.

The Second Elder gently shook his head, a hint of helplessness appearing on his bark-like face, before slowly closing his eyes.

The Third Elder paused for a moment, then slumped down in dejection.

With the two most powerful elders falling silent, Yaodan slowly stood up.

His gaze swept over the disciples of the Medicine Clan who had stood up, over the pale-faced Yao Wanhuo, over the expressionless Hun Xuzi, over the Shennong Elder who was resting with his eyes closed, and finally paused slightly on the purple fire cauldron in the sky.

"Opening the world of medicine."

The medicine pill's voice wasn't loud, but it rang clearly in everyone's ears.

"Clan leader!" one of the elders finally spoke up, unwilling to give up.

"I said, let's open the world of medicine!"

Yao Dan's voice remained calm, but his weathered eyes were fixed on the elder who had just spoken. His fierce gaze made it clear that if the elder dared to open his mouth again, Yao Dan would surely slap him to death in his seat.

No one spoke again.

In the silence, several Medicine Clan Battle Saints, including Yao Dan, waved their hands, and dazzling light flew from their palms, shooting into the depths of the Medicine Realm space.

Rumbling--

A muffled rumble resounded from all directions, as if the entire world was trembling. Suddenly, a huge crack appeared in the azure sky above, growing larger and larger, like a giant eye slowly opening to reveal the outside world.

boom!

Outside, the vast energy of heaven and earth surged into the Medicine Realm, whose energy had long been depleted, like a flood bursting its banks. The sheer power of the energy was awe-inspiring. In fact, at the moment the energy surged in, countless small energy storms were formed. They invaded the Medicine Realm from the edge of the cracks, and wherever they passed, even space itself trembled slightly.

The refining of the Golden Elixir is finally no longer limited by the energy of heaven and earth!

Within the purple cauldron, as the immense energy of the three Xuan Dan embryos was injected, the unformed golden core suddenly accelerated its rotation, and the patterns on the cauldron's surface became even brighter. A wave that made everyone present palpitate emanated from it.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. He knew that the real test had only just begun!

Chapter 505 Golden Core (Part 1)