Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 634 - Blessing

A rich pill fragrance wafted through the skies, filling the surroundings with its intoxicating aroma.

Countless onlookers stretched their necks and inhaled as deeply as they could. Though the Indigo Spirit Pill was a ninth-grade pill commonly refined by many sects, one of such exceptional quality was an extraordinary rarity.

Holding onto the three pristine Indigo Spirit Pills, Liu Wuxie stepped toward the crystal orb. Like before, the pills were all supreme-grade pills.

The crowd had become numb from sheer amazement, their astonishment dulled by the frequency of Liu Wuxie’s extraordinary achievements. Even the chatter in the surrounding area had quieted, leaving an air of silent awe.

The Heavenly Origin Sect had designed the final level, and the formula was clearly tailored to favor Bai Yuan. However, when Liu Wuxie ascended to the tenth floor, he appeared calm and composed, his confidence unshaken.

"The Profound Nether Pill!" Liu Wuxie sneered after glancing at the ingredients laid out before him. The Heavenly Origin Sect had no intentions for anyone to succeed on this floor. Even if someone managed to reach the tenth level, they would fail without a doubt.

To refine the Profound Nether Pill, the alchemist had to master fire and ice attributes—a nearly impossible feat for most alchemists. Most alchemists were adept at wood and fire elements, not to mention fire and ice were opposing forces, making it incredibly difficult for anyone to balance the two attributes. Only a few could hope to achieve such mastery.

While the Profound Nether Pill was incredibly challenging to refine, Bai Yuan had likely mastered the ice attributes in conjunction with the Indigo Thunderflame. As a result, the Profound Nether Pill posed no difficulty for him.

Meng Qi also likely had the capability to refine it.

"Liu Wuxie is finally going to fail now. In the entire Southern Province, only a handful of younger generation alchemists can refine the Profound Nether Pill," the Heavenly Origin Sect disciples declared with confidence. Earlier, they had held their tongues, unwilling to risk humiliation.

Even now, most of the spectators chose to remain silent, wary of making bold claims. The Grand Banner Gate’s public embarrassment served as a stark reminder of the consequences of underestimating Liu Wuxie. It was safer to observe quietly than risk ridicule.

Most of the people present were older than Liu Wuxie, and they were too ashamed to speak after being embarrassed repeatedly by Liu Wuxie's success.

When Liu Wuxie took out the cauldron and allowed it to fall, the entire Alchemy Tower began to tremble. If the cauldron was used to attack, the sheer power alone could blow people apart.

After a brief pondering, Liu Wuxie went straight into refining without any preparations.

"Frost Ray Seal!" A terrifying chill enveloped the entire alchemy chamber.

The Heavenly Origin Sect’s disciples, who were mocking Liu Wuxie, fell silent as though they had been choked. One needed to grasp the ice attribute to refine the Profound Nether Pill.

The ice dao technique that Liu Wuxie used was so advanced that even some cultivators in the Nascent Transformation Realm would struggle to match it, and the surrounding people gasped in admiration.

Before everyone could come to their senses, demonic flame merged with the ice attribute and formed a Yin-Yang Diagram.

"T-This..." The Sky Rift Valley's sect master, Quan Zhong, stood up and was too overwhelmed to complete his sentence.

"He comprehended Yin and Yang and managed to fuse them perfectly. How is that even possible?" Dugu Shan of the Dugu Clan stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how someone in the Astral River Realm could achieve such a remarkable feat.

Everyone from the ten major sects rose to their feet, including Mu Tianli. He also hadn't expected Liu Wuxie to fuse Yin and Yang perfectly, something only those with great wisdom could comprehend.

The Yin and Yang were like two fishes chasing after each other's tails, forming a Yin-Yang Diagram. The diagram even drew the surrounding spiritual energy over.

"Sect Master Mu, your Heavenly Treasure Pavilion took in an exceptional disciple," Quan Zhong said wryly, looking at Mu Tianli with envy. Such a gifted disciple was bound to reach the True Profound Realm in a century.

"The Sky Rift Valley also has a lot of prodigies," Mu Tianli laughed, unable to conceal his excitement.

The Yin and Yang energies encased the cauldron, half burning hot and the other coated in a thick layer of frost. Liu Wuxie began to add the herbs into the cauldron to refine the pill.

Refining the Profound Nether Pill wasn't inherently difficult, but balancing the two opposing elements posed the true challenge. Once that balance was achieved, the rest of the process became straightforward.

In less than fifteen minutes, three pills had appeared in Liu Wuxie's hand, which he brought to the crystal orb.

The audience lost interest in the result as the results had always been the same, and it made no difference to watch.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from the tower and returned to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's territory, cheers erupted from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion disciples, celebrating Liu Wuxie's victory on this trial.

"Well done!" Elder He approached and gave Liu Wuxie a big hug. The triumph had undoubtedly placed the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion in the spotlight. If Liu Wuxie could maintain this pace, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion would have a chance to return to the top three.

"Excellent work. Take a good rest now," Mu Tianli patted Liu Wuxie's shoulder with approval.

"I'm simply doing my duty as a disciple," Liu Wuxie replied humbly. His true objective was the Ascension Pills. If he could obtain the first rank in five trials, his rewards would double, granting him ten Ascension Pills.

Mu Tianli gestured to his tent, letting Liu Wuxie use the cultivation chamber to consolidate his cultivation.

Liu Wuxie didn’t hesitate since there was still ample time left in the trial. Meanwhile, the other participants continued their efforts, but the audience had largely lost interest after Liu Wuxie secured first place.

While Meng Qi’s achievements in alchemy were exceptional—reaching the eighth level and refining three types of supreme-grade pills along with four high-grade ones—they paled in comparison to Liu Wuxie’s. In any previous Ten Grand Ceremonies, Meng Qi’s performance would have been considered extraordinary, but next to Liu Wuxie, it seemed overshadowed.

The inevitable comparisons made Liu Wuxie’s overwhelming victory even more apparent. As for Bai Yuan, he fell short of Meng Qi, trailing by one level.

Murong Yi, however, was steadily closing the gap with Bai Yuan, showing impressive determination. Xu Lingxue, while still on the sixth level, delivered a solid performance. Though not as spectacular as some, her efforts were consistent and skillful, leaving little doubt she would secure a spot in the top ten.

After all, alchemy had never been the strong suit of most women, as it was rare for them to comprehend the fire attribute.

Time passed, and Meng Qi had made it to the tenth level.

"Frost Spiritual Bead!"

Meng Qi took out a Frost Spiritual Bead from his interspatial ring and placed it in the alchemy chamber. He might not have comprehended the ice attribute, but it wouldn't make much difference with the Frost Spiritual Bead, though it couldn't be compared to Liu Wuxie's ice dao technique.

Not far behind, Bai Yuan reached the tenth level, only fifteen minutes apart.

Meng Qi completed his refinement within an hour, producing three high-grade Profound Nether Pills. Bai Yuan matched his timing, also crafting three high-grade pills. With that, the top three rankings were solidified: Liu Wuxie claimed first with an unshakable lead, followed by Meng Qi and Bai Yuan.

However, the Heavenly Origin Sect couldn't rejoice at Bai Yuaan's result because Liu Wuxie had crushed everyone.

The subsequent rankings were obtained by Deng Yong, Murong Yi, Wei Xiu, and Xu Lingxue.

If Liu Wuxie had been present, he would have been shocked to see Jia Fengmao securing the eighth spot. The latter was talented in alchemy and participated in this Ten Grand Ceremony. But he seemed to have used some mysterious power to help him reach the Astral River Realm.

The Alchemy Tower was officially closed at dusk. Less than twenty participants had reached the tenth floor, and only ten people had succeeded in refining the Profound Nether Pill. Most contestants had stopped between the fifth and seventh levels, and anyone who could reach the eighth level could be considered a prodigy in alchemy.

Many contestants were in disbelief when the results were announced, with Liu Wuxie securing first place. Liu Wuxie had only used less than four hours to complete the trial, but most people spent an entire day without reaching the summit.

Next up was the reward ceremony, and Liu Wuxie received an Ascension Pill as his reward.

"Wuxie, I'm sorry I couldn’t get an Ascension Pill for you," Xu Lingxue said, her tone tinged with guilt. Alchemy wasn't her forte, and it was already an impressive feat for her to make it this far.

"You don't have to feel bad about it. You have already outdone yourself today," Liu Wuxie said, caressing Xu Lingxue's head.

When everyone returned to their tents to rest in the evening, someone called out to Liu Wuxie.

"Liu Wuxie, can I discuss something with you?" Qin Dao's tone was polite, almost deferential, but Liu Wuxie showed no intention of stopping.

An Ascension Pill wasn't enough for Liu Wuxie to make a breakthrough in his level, so he had no intentions of consuming them.

"No," Liu Wuxie replied. He didn't even turn back.

Qin Dao was stumped because he had approached Liu Wuxie with great humility, only to be met with such indifference.

"I'm willing to offer a hundred million spirit stones for that Ascension Pill," Qin Dao said, taking a deep breath to suppress the anger in his chest as the Ascension Pill was too critical. He was talented in the martial path but lagged in spiritual arrays, alchemy, spiritual talismans, and blacksmithing. It was practically impossible for him to make it into the top three.

"Not for sale," Liu Wuxie rejected flatly and entered his tent, ignoring Qin Dao.

"I can't believe he refused Senior Brother Qin's request. This is outrageous!" Sun Shangxiang muttered as he came from the other side.

He had initially approached Liu Wuxie to request an Ascension Pill on Qin Dao's behalf, only to be refused outright. Now, even when Qin Dao personally came forward with a substantial offer to buy the pill, the outcome remained the same.

Qin Dao glared at Liu Wuxie's tent furiously before he left.

Once inside his tent, Liu Wuxie composed himself and immersed himself in cultivation. Time was precious to him, and every moment was important.

......

When everyone exited their tents at dawn, the Heavenly Origin Sect disciples injured on the first trial had completely recovered. The Heavenly Origin Sect had spared no expense to help them recover, refining large quantities of healing pills.

Wang Ba had worked tirelessly to refine pills to atone for his mistakes. The Azure Crimson Gate had also sent one of their elders to assist the Heavenly Origin Sect.

......

The third day's trial was blacksmithing. The tower was similar to the Alchemy Tower, equipped with individual blacksmithing chambers visible from outside.

No one knew Liu Wuxie's blacksmithing skills, and everyone thought he was only versed in spiritual talismans and alchemy.

A total of 1,500 disciples would participate in today's trial, which meant that all the chambers would be occupied.

"Wuxie, don't worry too much. Perform as best as possible to obtain the title of the Southern Province's strongest prodigy," Mu Tianli encouraged.

"Why?" Liu Wuxie asked. Everyone seemed concerned with that title, but it didn't mean anything to him.

"The Southern Province's strongest prodigy will receive a blessing from the entire Southern Province, and there will be immeasurable benefits for you."

Since heaven and earth were alive, so was the Southern Province. If one could obtain the title of the Southern Province's strongest prodigy, they would receive the province's acknowledgment and be blessed by it, which would aid in their cultivation.

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