Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Nearby, Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi reeled from Han Yuan’s disruption. The Five Yang Ghost Flame under their control suddenly grew volatile, and they hurriedly drew on their own flame power to contain it for the moment.

The awkward part was that even the three of them combined couldn’t match the Five Yang Ghost Flame’s intensity. If any one of them let it go partway through, their combined fire-element spirit qi alone wouldn’t come close to meeting the flame’s demands.

Meng Jiangchu sat cross-legged in midair with his eyes tightly shut. His face was pale, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Three people were fiercely vying for control of his heavenly flame, disturbing the five ghost spirits. The spirits struggled madly to return to Meng Jiangchu’s body, and flames burst from the pill cauldron.

Gu Changsheng had no time to spare a thought for anyone else. With a grim expression, he shouted in a deep voice, “Get the flames under control! Keep them steady, or all our work will have been for nothing!”

Xiang Huaizhi frowned as the flames raged out of control inside the cauldron. All he could do was pour every ounce of strength into controlling the Crimson Sun Flame and protecting the spirit elixir already extracted.

The surrounding alchemists erupted into an uproar.

“I heard this batch is so difficult that it requires five tier-eight alchemists because the ancient pill formula can repair a damaged divine soul. It’s been lost for ages!”

“What a shame. No one has ever refined it before. Even five alchemists working together can’t manage without someone leading them.”

“I don’t think leadership is the problem. Senior Huaizhi is more than capable of directing the others. The Five Yang Ghost Flame is simply too powerful. It’s no surprise Elder Guo and the others can’t suppress it.”

As the onlookers murmured among themselves, a white-browed elder in a luxurious alchemist’s robe spoke, his expression grave. “No, the three of them are capable of suppressing it. They practiced working together over a thousand times without a single problem. If something’s gone wrong on their first real attempt, it must be because Senior Huaizhi’s Crimson Sun Flame is too powerful. The three controlling the Five Yang Ghost Flame don’t possess heavenly flames of their own, so of course they’re affected.”The surrounding alchemists nodded in agreement, and the white-browed elder sighed. “Given the circumstances, the situation inside the cauldron must be even worse. I’m afraid the incomparably precious spirit herbs in this batch are done for. Fortunately, they haven’t added the legendary Seven-Colored Glass Flower or the Qilin soul yet, so perhaps they can get it right on their next attempt.”

Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi gritted their teeth as they desperately suppressed the rampaging Five Yang Ghost Flame. Meng Jiangchu opened his eyes with a guilty look. “What if I withdraw my flame? You can use your own instead.”

“Absolutely not!” Guo Feng barked. “Our beast flames can’t reach the temperature of a heavenly fire. If you withdraw yours now, all the spirit elixir the three of us have refined will be destroyed. We only have one portion of many of these ingredients!”

The gaunt Jiang Qizhi clenched his jaw so tightly that he couldn’t utter a single word. Veins bulged across his forehead, and his face had turned dark red from the strain. Hushed discussions filled the air. Anyone could see that the situation inside the cauldron was on the verge of spiraling out of control.

As if confirming the spectators’ fears, black powder streamed from the fire vents beneath the cauldron. It was clearly ash from spirit elixir that had already been destroyed.

Li Guanqi remained relatively calm. Just as he was about to speak, Xiang Huaizhi’s eyes widened, and he called out solemnly, “Han Yuan! Open your mind to me, then withdraw your mind power!”

Han Yuan froze for a moment, but he had clearly guessed Xiang Huaizhi’s plan. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his mind power out of the cauldron.

Boom!

The Five Yang Ghost Flame instantly went berserk, nearly destroying all the spirit elixir Han Yuan had refined. At that same moment, the Crimson Sun Flame split into hundreds of tiny flames that enveloped every last drop.

The white-browed elder stared in shock. “What? He precisely controlled the temperature of hundreds of individual flames in a single instant! That’s unbelievable. Is that even humanly possible? Xiang Huaizhi truly lives up to his reputation as one of the most enigmatic 8th-tier alchemists. His mind power is absolutely terrifying!”

Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He could sense that Xiang Huaizhi was doing more than protecting the spirit elixir. He was also diverting some of his strength to suppress Han Yuan’s rampaging Five Yang Ghost Flame.

Gu Changsheng breathed a small sigh of relief when Xiang Huaizhi took over for Han Yuan, but the aftermath of Han Yuan losing control had left Guo Feng and Jiang Qizhi barely hanging on. Meng Jiangchu could only watch with growing anxiety. The best thing he could do was step back, refraining from interfering with the Five Yang Ghost Flame to leave full control to the other two.

Xiang Huaizhi’s expression changed. “If those two can’t keep it under control, this batch of spirit elixir is done for. We’ll have to find another way!”

Just as everyone thought the whole batch was doomed, two young voices called out, “Use our flames!”

Li Guanqi recognized the voices and snapped his head up. At some point, Gu Li had returned with Cao Yan and Xiao Chen.

Without anyone noticing, Gu Li had returned, bringing Cao Yan and Xiao Chen with him.

Boom! Boom!

The surrounding alchemists burst into an uproar.

“That’s the Lightning Dragon Flame, ranked sixteenth among the heavenly flames! And the Brilliant Sunset Flame, ranked twenty-seventh!”

“The Lightning Dragon Flame? Didn’t that originally belong to Li Guanqi?”

“The Brilliant Sunset Flame! Who’s that young man who looks like a girl?”

The crowd chattered incessantly. Cao Yan and Xiao Chen looked at Li Guanqi and nodded. Their expressions were no longer as gloomy as before.

A sharp gleam flashed through Xiang Huaizhi’s eyes when he saw them. “Guo Feng is stronger, so give him the Brilliant Sunset Flame. Old Jiang, you take the Lightning Dragon Flame. Begin the handoff!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Huaizhi’s mind power surged outward like a tidal wave. Cao Yan instantly grasped the situation inside the cauldron, and his expression turned serious. He turned to Xiao Chen. “Fourth Brother, open your mind and let me guide you!”

There was a flicker of admiration in Xiang Huaizhi’s eyes. Cao Yan and Xiao Chen coordinated with him, Guo Feng, Jiang Qizhi, and Meng Jiangchu, making the transfer of flame transfer nearly seamless.

Once Meng Jiangchu withdrew his flame, he sat cross-legged in midair and gasped for breath. His face was as white as paper, and he was drenched in cold sweat as though he had just been pulled from a river. He hadn’t expected refining this batch of pills to consume so much energy.

With a wave of his hand, he set up a Spirit-Gathering Array beside Cao Yan and Xiao Chen, then flew back to Li Guanqi’s side. “I’m sorry. This was all my fault…”

Li Guanqi smiled. “How could this possibly be your fault? Besides, haven’t we already solved the problem?”

Xiang Huaizhi then displayed the full extent of his extraordinary alchemy skills. With Han Yuan no longer involved, he took on the work of two people, yet still handled it with ease.

Jiang Qizhi and Cao Yan worked together as if they shared a single mind, their coordination flawless. Xiao Chen and Guo Feng struggled more, but they adapted quickly. Xiao Chen had opened his mind completely, allowing Guo Feng to guide his divine consciousness while Xiao Chen focused solely on supplying the flame.

The refinement soon returned to a calm, steady rhythm. One precious spirit herb after another entered the cauldron. Before long, they had refined the Seven-Colored Glass Flower and the Qilin soul as well. With Xiang Huaizhi leading them, everyone else merely had to follow his instructions step by step.

After an unknown length of time, dense pill-tribulation storm clouds gathered above the Gu clan’s domain, covering a radius of a thousand zhang.

Li Guanqi’s eyes lit up with excitement. The batch was a success.