Word Count: 3,186 Words
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Emerald mountains swathed in jade-green hues stretched before Xiao Yan's eyes while majestic peaks rose and fell in the distance. Looking out across the landscape, the world appeared as pristine as a forest untouched by human presence.
After the second stage began, the Pill Realm once again teemed with human visitors following many years of isolation.
In this realm, mountain ranges crisscrossed and undulated like enormous dragons recumbent upon the earth. Since the Pill Tower had always kept this domain sealed, preventing human cultivators from intruding, vegetation flourished abundantly. Ancient vines coiled like dragons, and giant trees spread their crowns like colossal umbrellas.
If one wasn't particular about quality, various medicinal ingredients and natural treasures could be found with a simple glance downward.
From the three circled areas on the map, the faint sounds of tigers roaring and dragons chanting could be heard, each cry heart-shaking and soul-stirring.
Those three locations were naturally the territories of the Pill Realm's three powerful magical beasts, and also the finest spots in the realm, places where even tier 9 medicinal ingredients might be found.
"What a wonderful place!"
Many alchemists entering the Pill Realm couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of this small world. Though unmaintained for a long time, the Pill Realm had originally cost its Dou Saint founders from the Pill Tower countless efforts, and the natural energy here was incredibly abundant.
The ambient energy surpassed that of many secret realms. In the mountains and forests, it was so concentrated by special formations that it resembled mist.
With such plentiful natural energy, baptized by time, the birth of any manner of natural treasure was hardly surprising.
"Hurry! I heard the stone platforms for the third stage are limited. We can't waste time."
"Right, finding the medicinal ingredients on our lists is what matters."
Countless alchemists were being transported in, batch after batch. Though randomly sent to different locations, all alchemists, as if by common consent, rushed toward areas dense with natural energy—toward the three treasured lands marked on their maps.
"The three circled places are the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range, the Thousand Longevity Medicinal Forest, and the Earth Treasure Spiritual Mountain. I've inquired before; these three places in the Pill Realm were once the primary locations for cultivating medicinal ingredients due to their particularly abundant natural energy."
After being in the Pill Realm for a while, alchemists naturally began to encounter one another. Some registered with the Pill Tower possessed prior understanding of the realm.
They knew the three circled areas held specific significances. For example, the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range, the most vast, teemed with medicinal ingredients. Rare herbs needed for refining pills to strengthen power and improve cultivation were best sought there.
The Thousand Longevity Medicinal Forest was rich in healing ingredients, while the Earth Treasure Spiritual Mountain abounded in special natural treasures, spiritual fruits, flower nectar, and the like.
The task for the second stage was not entirely without hints. First, alchemists had to determine which category the three medicinal ingredients on their list belonged to, then proceed to the corresponding treasured land and search according to the ingredients' characteristics.
Someone like Xiao Yan, whose three medicinal ingredients all originated from the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range, would best complete his task by going there. Venturing to the other two locations would be a complete waste of time.
However, not all alchemists entered the Pill Realm intending to pass the stage. Some whose alchemy skills were only tier 6, unable to reach tier 7, essentially gave up on the third stage. Instead, they chose to spend their ten days directly searching for medicinal ingredients in the Pill Realm to pocket for themselves.
This explained why so many alchemists participated in each Pill Gathering, even knowing they couldn't win the championship. For all alchemists, entering the Pill Realm in the second stage was essentially a benefit provided by the Pill Tower to the alchemists of the Dou Qi Continent!
After all, the Pill Tower had always been dedicated to developing the continent's alchemy standards, similar to Jia Nan Academy in its focus on nurturing talent.
"Golden Maple Flower, Emperor Pill Grass, Turtle Spiritual Grass..."
"Great! These are all tier 4 medicinal ingredients, and there are so many here!"
"Let's dig some to take back."
Many alchemists from small factions came solely to gather medicinal ingredients.
Suddenly, one such 6th-tier alchemist's eyes focused. Beneath the shade of a tree, he spotted a plant with small, delicate branches, bearing several tiny, fingernail-sized red fruits.
"Fire Blood Fruit!" The alchemist's breathing grew somewhat ragged, his eyes turning crimson. This was the main ingredient for refining the Fire Blood Spirit Pill, a high-grade tier 7 pill! And there were several of them here!
The quantity was enough to exchange for a Mighty Huang Pill!
"Oh, Fire Blood Fruit, eh? That's not bad." A voice suddenly came from behind him. The alchemist abruptly spun around, only to see a person cloaked in a black robe who had appeared behind him at some unknown moment!
The alchemist was instantly alarmed. Just as he was about to counterattack, he found his entire body restrained by a terrifying Spatial Strength, rendering him unable even to speak!
He could only watch helplessly as the black-robed figure took the precious Fire Blood Fruit.
Then, another black-robed figure appeared, this one notably shorter.
"All the storage rings are here." The smaller black-robed figure produced several storage rings. Only then did the first alchemist realize that all his companions had their bodies restrained by a strange purple light.
One by one, the storage rings were picked up. Although each was protected by its owner's soul lock, preventing access without their specific Spiritual Strength, a ball of black flame suddenly materialized. Before the terrified eyes of all the alchemists, the soul locks on the storage rings were broken.
"This one's no good, all tier 5 and tier 6 medicinal ingredients... this one's no good either... this one's even worse..." The taller black-robed figure tossed storage rings to the ground one by one. To him, medicinal ingredients below tier 7 were garbage.
"Eh? Joy Fragrance Fruit? Not bad. Harvesting Joy Fragrance Fruit and Fire Blood Fruit counts as some gain." A number of storage rings lay scattered on the ground.
"Let's go, don't waste any more time. There are at least several hundred alchemists who entered the second stage this time, and we only have ten days."
"Mm."
After the two black-robed figures, one large and one small, departed, the strange purple spatial force slowly dissipated.
The controlled alchemists retrieved their storage rings. Those whose ingredients hadn't been stolen breathed sighs of relief, while the two who had lost their most precious spiritual fruits and herbs wanted to cry but had no tears.
"Ah! Who on earth were those two!"
What they didn't know was that along this path, dozens had already fallen victim to this pair!
Naturally, these two black-robed bandits were none other than Xiao Yan and Zi Yan. Xiao Yan, the reincarnator, had finally and thoroughly integrated into this world where the strong reign supreme.
Searching for medicinal ingredients alone? How could that be as satisfying as taking what a group had already found!
"Sense anything? We should be approaching the Earth Treasure Spiritual Mountain's range." Xiao Yan knew the ingredients on his list primarily came from the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range, but right now, he was more interested in acquiring more natural treasures.
To step into the tier 9 ranks, his first prerequisite was to elevate his alchemy to the peak of tier 8, and he currently lacked the medicinal ingredients to practice and improve.
The Pill Realm might not produce many tier 9 medicinal ingredients, but tier 8 ones were surely plentiful.
He intended to engage in a wanton harvest this time!
"Yes, over there. I sense a decent energy source in that direction," Zi Yan pointed in a direction and said with a sweet smile.
She had agreed with Xiao Yan that he could have all the medicinal ingredients, but in exchange, he would refine a high-grade tier 8 pill for her to help her break through to Rank 8.
Looking in the direction she indicated, Xiao Yan frowned. "There are quite a few people in that place..."
"Hehe, then isn't it perfect to catch them all in one go?" Zi Yan bumped her small, pink fists together, looking like a little villain eager to stir up trouble.
Xiao Yan hadn't realized Zi Yan possessed such Hall of Souls potential.
By the time Xiao Yan and Zi Yan arrived, they happened to see a burly man with a fierce-looking face and a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes. A pool of blood stained the ground. Clearly, a battle had already taken place.
The burly man's eyes flashed with wild joy as he looked at the large piece of Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa in the pit. He grabbed it and forcefully pulled it out. Grinning, his gaze swept over the surrounding people with their burning stares, his face darkened, and he shouted coldly, "Scram if you don't want to die!"
A powerful Dou Ancestor aura erupted from him. He was actually a 3-star Dou Ancestor!
Several alchemists present grimaced upon feeling this aura. In the outside world, they were revered alchemists to whom even Dou Ancestors had to show respect, but here, such status meant nothing.
After a moment's hesitation, the other alchemists finally chose to retreat.
"What? You two black-robed weirdos want to die?" The burly man snarled at Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, baring his teeth. Blood still dripped from the wolf-tooth club on his shoulder.
Xiao Yan nodded to Zi Yan, who immediately understood and transformed into a streak of purple light, departing from the scene.
"Hehehe, looks like your companion is smart. What about you? Want to die?" The burly man's grin widened when he saw Zi Yan leave, assuming she had fled in fear.
Xiao Yan slowly shook his head, his tone calm. "Leave? You misunderstand. She's just gone to chase down those fleeing alchemists."
Venerable Yan had always been frugal and disliked waste.
He truly was very frugal. So frugal it could make one cry.
"I'll give you a chance. Put down the Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa and your storage ring." Xiao Yan's gaze swept indifferently over the burly man, showing no courtesy whatsoever. When natural treasures were discovered, they naturally belonged to the strongest.
"Hahaha! Die!" The burly man roared, gripping his wolf-tooth club as he leapt skyward, bringing down a terrifyingly powerful strike.
Clang!
The wolf-tooth club was deflected, the terrible recoil tearing the skin on the burly man's right hand. A headless puppet, its body entirely silver-white, appeared before Xiao Yan.
The burly man's expression changed drastically when he sensed the puppet's terrifying power. Just as he attempted to flee, Xing Tian slapped him across the face, sending his head flying. His soul body was immediately collected into Xiao Yan's Soul Command Token.
Xing Tian, already evolving toward a Sky Demon Puppet, possessed absolutely astonishing strength. A mere 3-star Dou Ancestor couldn't withstand even a single one of its slaps.
"Sigh, on the Dou Qi Continent, speaking nicely so often falls on deaf ears." Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. This really couldn't be blamed on him. He didn't even care for the soul body of a high-grade 6th-tier alchemist.
But alas, some people insisted on delivering themselves to him.
With a flick of his finger, Xiao Yan examined what he recognized as Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa that had reached a thousand years in potency.
This didn't mean it had grown for a thousand years, but rather that the energy it contained was equivalent to a Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa that had grown normally for that duration. A place like the Pill Realm could naturally accelerate growth by tens, or even hundreds, of times.
After storing the Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa in his storage ring, Xiao Yan didn't leave. He knew what Zi Yan had sensed was definitely not this.
Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa was merely a low-grade tier 7 medicinal ingredient; such a level couldn't possibly catch Zi Yan's attention. And for it to have been cultivated to the thousand-year level, growth alone wasn't enough; it would have required nourishment from other natural treasures.
In other words, the land where the Ground Rehmannia Glutinosa grew concealed other, more precious natural treasures that had allowed it to mature to such a degree.
With a thought, Xiao Yan directed Xing Tian to strike the ground with a single punch.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Instantly, the entire earth trembled, and huge cracks appeared as if an earth dragon was turning over beneath.
A humming sound arose as wisps of crystal-clear, translucent mist slowly drifted out from the fissures.
!!! "This is!"
Xiao Yan's expression grew solemn. He walked to where the mist was emanating, used both hands to pry, and with terrifying strength, tore open a gap in the earth.
"Core Mother Jade!" Xiao Yan's face lit up with pleasant surprise. Core Mother Jade was similar to the Core Quenching Body Milk he had found at Jia Nan Academy; both were used for body tempering.
However, Core Mother Jade was far more precious, suitable for Dou Ancestors or even half-step Dou Venerates.
"No, that's not quite right… this Core Mother Jade..." Xiao Yan took out a jade box and carefully placed the Core Mother Jade inside. He then noticed a sticky substance on the surface of this jade-like treasure.
"This Core Mother Jade has actually produced Core Soul Marrow!! I've struck it rich!!"
Xiao Yan was ecstatic. He hurriedly took out a jade bottle and meticulously collected every bit, not letting even the traces on the soil go to waste.
While Core Mother Jade could temper the body, Core Soul Marrow could temper the soul! Moreover, Core Soul Marrow was even more precious; it could refine even Soul State souls!
Xiao Yan had long heard of Core Soul Marrow's reputation. After breaking through to the Soul State, his spiritual power had stagnated, leading him to research many ancient texts. He had learned of natural treasures that could refine Soul State souls, Core Soul Marrow being one of them. He had searched for a long time without success, and now, he had finally encountered this great stroke of fortune in this Pill Realm.
Soon, Zi Yan returned with several precious medicinal ingredients. How could mere storage ring soul locks possibly block the strength of an Ancient Void Dragon? And Zi Yan was a natural treasure appraiser. Even without recognizing medicinal ingredients, she could judge their value through her special sensing ability.
Seeing the Core Mother Jade in Xiao Yan's hand, her eyes gleamed with golden light. Xiao Yan cleared his throat and said, "You did say that I'll refine a tier 8 pill for you, and everything we find belongs to me, right?"
Zi Yan pouted, snorted coldly, and turned away. How stingy! But then, her eyes darted, as if a mischievous plan had sparked in her mind, and a hint of smugness touched the corners of her lips again.
On the third day, as Xiao Yan and Zi Yan headed toward the Thousand Longevity Medicinal Forest to continue their treasure hunting, Xiao Yan finally encountered that person.
Xiao Yan looked down from midair at the white-robed figure waving the nauseating purple fan. His eyes narrowed instantly, and a cold smile crept across his lips.
'I've been looking for you for three days… and I've finally found you.'
Chen Xian, Young Sect Master of the Profound Xuan Sect!
Xiao Yan had two objectives for entering the Pill Realm. One was to seize fortuitous opportunities and natural treasures. The other was to ensure the Sect Master of the Profound Xuan Sect would have no heir!
Although he, Xiao Yan, was not a bloodthirsty person, once reconciliation between two parties became impossible, he was not merely decisive in killing; he would cut the weeds and dig up the roots, showing not a shred of mercy.
And clearly, this Chen Xian was exceptionally fortunate to have become such a person. A mere middle-grade 7th-tier alchemist had managed to provoke Xiao Yan to this extent; he truly was 'remarkably gifted.'
Two elderly men followed behind that Chen Xian. Xiao Yan recognized them as Chen Xian's guards, whom he had seen at the Alchemist Trade Fair. One was a 9-star Dou Ancestor and the other was an 8-star Dou Ancestor.
Their strength should be comparable to the Second and Third Elders of the Burning Flame Valley.
Of course, the current Xiao Yan was no longer the Xiao Yan of that time!
Seeing how well protected Chen Xian was made him feel a cruel surge in his heart. If Chen Xian was so precious to the Profound Xuan Sect, then his death would surely deliver a devastating blow to them!
"Zi Yan, those two old codgers are yours," Xiao Yan said softly, turning his head.
"Dead or alive?" Beneath her hood, Zi Yan's eyes flashed with ferocity.
All along their journey, they had only robbed, not killed, unless someone actively attacked them or tried to steal their discovered treasures.
But Zi Yan could tell that this time, robbing wasn't Xiao Yan's intention.
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth curved upward in an icy smile, "Life or death doesn't matter."
"Hehehe, understood."
After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan descended alone and removed his Soul Robe to reveal his face. wanted Chen Xian to know at whose hands he was about to die!
The moment he took off his Soul Robe, Chen Xian and the two elders behind him immediately sensed his aura and abruptly turned around.
"Xiao Yan? Hahaha, seems your luck isn't so good after all, to actually run into me!" Chen Xian laughed heartily, not even considering the possibility that they had been tracked down by Xiao Yan.
This wasn't surprising, given that Xiao Yan was a 6-star Dou Ancestor while the two Profound Xuan Sect elders were 9-star and 8-star Dou Ancestors, each far surpassing him.
Xiao Yan gazed calmly at the sneering Chen Xian, then glanced at the two elders following closely behind him. He smiled faintly and said, "Are these two old codgers what you're relying on?"
"Hahaha, as expected of you, Xiao Yan. Such big talk!" Chen Xian gently waved the purple iron fan in his hand and chuckled. "Outside, your reputation as an 8th-tier alchemist might make even my Profound Xuan Sect hesitate without the Hall of Souls' backing, but here in the Pill Realm, an alchemist's influence means nothing!"
"You're nothing but a 6-star Dou Ancestor!"
Xiao Yan nodded slowly. "Indeed, I'm just a 6-star Dou Ancestor, but that should be enough to kill you."
"Hehe, then you can just go die!" Chen Xian's face suddenly turned cold. The two elders behind him flashed sinister grins as they stepped forward, their overwhelming auras surging forth.
Suddenly, space distorted. Purple light flashed as Zi Yan threw a powerful punch. Terrifying Spatial Strength instantly blasted the two men backward.
"An 8-star Dou Ancestor!!"