Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Gu Dan, the beast-skin youth, and Duan Xu all began their alchemy at the same time.

The beast-skin youth’s alchemy methods were the most bizarre, a unique Witchcraft and Gu Technique alchemy from the Southern Border. He sat cross-legged on the ground.

In front of him were rows of various jars and pots.

Before these jars and pots lay several grotesque human skulls. As the beast-skin youth lit a strange red block of wood, wisps of green smoke swirled out and drifted into the skulls.

The human skulls began to vibrate violently.

From their hollow eye sockets, streams of red insects crawled out. These insects were incredibly peculiar.

Some resembled spiders, some looked like maggots, others scorpions, and there were centipedes as well...

A bizarre and motley collection!

It was as if the skulls were their nests, but the sheer number of insects was unimaginable. They were packed so densely that they covered the entire arena stage beneath him.

They formed a dark, sprawling carpet of insects.

SKITTER SKITTER!

”Concoct!”

The beast-skin youth formed a profound Seal Technique with his hands, his voice raspy as he spoke. He then thrust his palm forward.

The green smoke immediately began to spin, coalescing into what looked like a large, smoky hand.

It swept up the nine human skulls, arranged them in a circle, and spun them continuously before finally setting them down in front of him.

They were piled up into a small mountain of skulls!

The beast-skin youth immediately began tossing various Spirit Medicines into the skull mountain. The insects then frantically swarmed toward it.

Hundreds of thousands of insects crawled into the skull mountain, which stood only half a meter tall.

Before long...

A rich medicinal aroma began to drift from it.

On the high platform, Jiang Chen marveled to himself, ’This Witchcraft and Gu Technique alchemy from the Southern Border is truly incredible!’

”I once heard my ancestor mention that the Southern Border has an Emperor Realm master. This person is a virtuoso of the Witchcraft and Gu Technique, with almost godlike and unfathomably strange abilities!” Gai Shi stared at the beast-skin youth for a moment before turning to Wei Lihuang. ”Master Wei, your Celestial Secret Pavilion claims to know everything under the heavens. Do you know the identity of that beast-skin youth?”

Wei Lihuang gave a mysterious smile, pointed to the sky, and said in a voice only the three of them could hear, ”According to the intelligence gathered by our Celestial Secret Pavilion, this beast-skin youth is named Tuoba Yan. He is the youngest disciple of *that* person from the Southern Border!”

Gai Shi’s expression showed he had expected as much.

Jiang Chen also looked over at the beast-skin youth, Tuoba Yan, with great interest.

They all knew who Wei Lihuang was referring to.

Tuoba Yan was actually the disciple of that Emperor Realm master from the Southern Border. This alone was enough to prove how powerful his talent was.

「Meanwhile...」

Master Gu Dan had also summoned his Medicine Cauldron and was refining the Spirit Medicines.

His technique was conventional and extremely steady!

Jiang Chen nodded. ’Gu Dan is using traditional alchemy techniques. Seeing that he’s using Starfall Grass and Yellow Springs Flower... he must be refining the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill, known as one of the ten most difficult Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pills to create!’

”You even know about the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill?” Gai Shi was stunned. He looked Jiang Chen up and down as if staring at a monster. ”Many Fifth-Grade High-Level Alchemists don’t even know of this pill; its Pill Formula was a gift from my ancestor. Jiang Chen, be honest, can you also refine Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pills?”

Beside them, the dignified Wei Lihuang also looked at Jiang Chen with astonishment.

A prodigy with such heaven-defying talent in the Martial Dao.

Could his talent in alchemy be just as terrifying?

Jiang Chen smiled faintly. ”Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pills? I suppose I can refine them.”

HISS!

Gai Shi and Wei Lihuang both gasped in unison.

Jiang Chen could actually refine Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pills?

Not yet twenty years old, yet he already possessed the power to slay a Human Emperor, was the youngest Spirit King in the history of the Eastern Continent, and could also refine Fifth-Grade Spirit Pills?

He was an absolute monster!

Gai Shi stared at Jiang Chen with a strange expression and muttered, ”Damn it, I’m even getting a little jealous of your talent!”

Jiang Chen grinned. ”Take me as your master, and I’ll teach you how to become a genius like me!”

Gai Shi rolled his eyes. ”Get lost!”

Jiang Chen just chuckled, unconcerned. As he was about to speak again, his brow twitched, and he looked down toward the stages below.

His gaze landed squarely on Duan Xu’s stage.

「At that moment...」

Before Duan Xu stood a large, black tripod.

Several draconic silhouettes were coiled around this Great Tripod. As Duan Xu urged his Pill Fire to burn within it and temper the Spirit Medicines,

the dragon engravings on the Pill Cauldron grew brighter and brighter, seeming to come alive and roam across its surface.

Jiang Chen’s pupils constricted slightly. ’The Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron?’

The Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron.

It was a Medicine Cauldron that could upgrade itself. Through Jiang Chen’s years of use, the one he possessed had already advanced to the level of a Fourth-grade Medicine Cauldron. However, it was still some way from reaching the Fifth-grade, a feat that couldn’t be accomplished overnight.

But if he could obtain another Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron, one that could also upgrade itself, and smelt it into his own, he could raise his cauldron’s grade much faster.

Jiang Chen frowned. ’No, this isn’t a complete Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron. It must be a semi-finished product. Even so, if I could refine it and merge it with my own, my cauldron should be able to advance to the Fifth Grade!’

’A Fifth-grade Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron!’

’There wouldn’t be a second one like it in the entire Eastern Continent!’

A glint in his eye, Jiang Chen began to ponder how he could get his hands on this semi-finished Eight Trigrams Roaming Dragon Cauldron.

Time flew by. On the stages, the alchemists were in the heat of their work, entering the final phase.

Beads of sweat covered the foreheads of every alchemist.

The Alchemy Conference had already gone on for a full ten double-hours. It was now late into the night. After maintaining such a high intensity of alchemy for so long, even Fifth-Grade Alchemists like Gu Dan and the beast-skin youth felt utterly exhausted!

Duan Xu, on the other hand, was still full of vigor!

This prompted exclamations of amazement from the crowd: ”As expected of the genius most likely to become the Eastern Continent’s youngest Sixth-Grade Alchemist! This Duan Xu is truly incredible!”

”He’s got some real skill!”

Amidst the crowd’s cries of shock,

BANG...

the sound of a Pill Cauldron exploding rang out.

An alchemist, having lost focus for a moment and lost control of his Pill Fire, had caused an entire batch of pills to be destroyed.

The alchemist, charred black from head to toe, fell stiffly to the ground and was carried off the stage by experts from the Celestial Secret Pavilion.

Duan Xu’s face was filled with contempt. ”Overestimating his own abilities. How dare he participate in the Alchemy Conference with such meager skills? He’s simply a fool who doesn’t know his own limits!”

Just then!

Two brilliant rays of pill luminescence shot into the sky. They came from the beast-skin youth and Gu Dan, before whom a single pill had simultaneously materialized.

The dazzling light was emanating from the pills themselves.

Two Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pills!

They were the Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pill, the Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill, and the Fifth-grade High-level Spirit Pill refined by the beast-skin youth, the Five Elements Spirit Pill.

Both were among the ten greatest Fifth-Grade Spirit Pills!

Both were extremely difficult to refine!

Their success drew gasps of astonishment from the crowd.

”The Yellow Spring Rebirth Pill and the Five Elements Spirit Pill? Those two certainly have some skill, but...”

A solemn look appeared in Duan Xu’s eyes. He took a deep breath, gazed at the black Great Tripod before him with intense confidence, and declared, ”Before my Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill, you are all nothing but trash! Solidifying Pill... now!”

BUZZ! BUZZ!

His palms struck out in rapid succession.

The Pill Cauldron vibrated violently. Suddenly, a ray of pill luminescence even more brilliant than Gu Dan’s and the youth’s shot toward the heavens. A golden dragon’s silhouette flew out from the light, soared through the sky for several loops, and then dove back down into the Pill Cauldron.

Afterward...

A golden pill, covered in draconic patterns, appeared in Duan Xu’s hand.

And with the completion of this pill, the Alchemy Conference entered its final stage...