Ch. 1113 - Supreme-Primordial Cloud-Hands

“Who are these people from the Demon Faction? Why haven’t I heard of them before?”

“Progenitor Thousand-Slaughters just recruited them yesterday at the square. You didn’t come to watch?” someone laughed as they explained.

“Progenitor Thousand-Slaughters is just clutching at straws. Jiang Tu was poached by the other side, what else could he do?”

“Then how can they even compete? Isn’t the Demon Faction doomed to lose?”

“Of course. They’ll just go through the motions.”

The crowd around them laughed, as if from the very start there had never been any suspense in this match.

The Alchemy Sage scanned the six competitors with a sweeping gaze.

He was the most revered elder of the Alchemy God Tower, addressed as the Alchemy Sage. His title alone showed his status.

“You six will have half an hour. There are no restrictions on materials, no restrictions on the type of pill. Once you’ve formed your pills, the results will be judged based on three criteria, grade, Dao Runes, and time.”

The Alchemy Sage added, “You six must not interfere with one another. Materials are self-provided. Now, I announce, the contest officially begins.”

As his voice fell, the other competitors all raised their right hands, summoning their pill furnaces.

Some furnaces appeared as mighty dragons, others as floating clouds condensing into mist.

Some manifested like ancient tripods, with exotic flowers blooming around them.

Before the pills were even refined, the visions of their furnaces and the fragrance of pills spread for miles. Even ordinary cultivators who inhaled the scent felt refreshed in body and spirit.

Especially that of Green Cloud, his furnace manifested like a blazing sun.

The sun radiated across the world, transforming into a colossal golden crow soaring across the heavens.

Some said the golden crow itself was the sun.

Its burning solar flames scorched the void, turning it into blazing emptiness.

The golden crow flapped its wings and, after a sharp cry, transformed back into a blazing furnace, landing before Green Cloud.

The heat of the sun’s true fire made the other competitors pale, forcing them to distance themselves from him.

Only Xu Zimo remained unmoved, yawning lazily.

“Brother, are you still not taking out a furnace?” Green Cloud turned and asked.

Xu Zimo shook his head slightly.

Green Cloud’s gaze deepened. He waved his right hand, and a black fruit appeared in the air.

Inside the fruit, a grotesque ghost head roared ferociously.

Dense killing aura poured out as if from the Nine Netherworlds.

A single fruit, birthing a demon.

“That’s a Ghost Sovereign Fruit!” a nearby alchemist instantly recognized it.

“Pitch black, with a ferocious ghost head, at least a ten-thousand-year supreme Ghost Sovereign Fruit!”

“What kind of pill requires such a vicious material?

Ghost Sovereign Pill? Mistfiend Pill? Myriad Ghosts Blood-Dissolving Pill? None of those seem to match.”

As the ghost head roared, it lunged at Green Cloud, intent on devouring its master.

Green Cloud snorted coldly and flicked his right hand. Nine wisps of Hell-Spirit Essence scattered into the air.

This Hell-Spirit Essence was extremely rare.

In the Nine Heavens, there existed a Mirage Tides Heaven.

When people died, their souls split into yin and yang.

The yang soul went to the Mirage Tides Heaven to reincarnate.

The yin soul lingered with the corpse, guarding its grave.

Hell-Spirit Essence could only be obtained two ways. Either by venturing into the Mirage Tides Heaven itself, or by painstakingly collecting it over a very long time.

The latter method was slow, but far more practical, since the Mirage Tides Heaven lay unimaginably far away.

When the nine wisps of Hell-Spirit Essence appeared, the ghost head looked as if it had found food.

It abandoned Green Cloud and devoured them all, one by one.

As the Hell-Spirit Essence entered its body, the ghost head’s aura grew even stronger, roaring with increased ferocity.

The void cracked apart as endless evil qi gathered, nearly blotting out the sky.

Only then did Green Cloud act.

With a wave of his hand, the furnace before him transformed into the golden crow’s phantom and clashed with the ghost head.

The two colossal beings fought in the air like a grand play.

The sun’s true fire burned fiercely, while the ghost’s fiendish aura spread wildly.

Taking this chance, Green Cloud tossed hundreds of auxiliary herbs into the air.

Demonbane Vine, Blazing Fire Mycelium, Devilheart Grass, Autumn-Woe Dew, Earth-Burial Blossom, White Orchid Fruit…

Each one was extraordinary, any of them could serve as a main ingredient outside.

So many priceless herbs at once left the crowd stunned, speculating in hushed tones, what pill could this possibly be?

On the seats to the side, Ghost Buddha turned to the Alchemy Sage with a smile.

“Nephew Green Cloud’s alchemy has improved by leaps and bounds these past years. Even I cannot tell what pill he is making.”

“The Nine Ghosts Soul-Devouring Pill,” the Alchemy Sage replied with a faint smile.

Then he added, “A ninth-grade pill, capable of producing nine Dao Runes.”

At that, the entire arena fell silent.

Even Ghost Buddha was shaken.

A ninth-grade pill, this was no trivial matter.

Just beneath the level of Imperial Pills, it was the pinnacle of mortal alchemy.

And not just any ninth-grade, but one capable of nine full Dao Runes, something even he wouldn’t dare claim he could refine.

“Alchemy Sage, surely you jest?” Ghost Buddha said in disbelief.

“What’s there to jest about?” the Alchemy Sage shook his head.

“Green Cloud has that ability. Otherwise, how could he stand as the leading figure of our Alchemy God Tower’s younger generation?”

Beside Ghost Buddha, the silent young man simply watched the arena with great interest.

As the golden crow battled the Ghost Sovereign, the auxiliary herbs fused into the struggle.

The sun’s true fire grew ever stronger, while the Ghost Sovereign, after a long struggle, finally weakened.

It was devoured by the golden crow in a single gulp, after which the crow transformed into a vast pill cauldron.

The cauldron vibrated in the air, flames surging higher and higher.

Xu Zimo watched this scene and chuckled softly.

Green Cloud truly was a formidable opponent. Without the Primordial Alchemy God-Scripture, Zimo might not have been able to guarantee victory.

After all, he had rarely devoted time to studying alchemy.

But now, with the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures in hand, there was little he could not do.

He had no furnace, for his alchemy method was unique.

The Primordial Alchemy God-Scripture had taught him an ancient, long-lost method of pill refining.

Supreme-Primordial Cloud-Hands.

This method had later fallen into the possession of the Wang God-Clan, one of the Ten Primordial Bloodlines.

Outside of their clan, it was virtually extinct in the Nine Heavens.

Few had seen it, fewer still knew of it, most only heard vague legends.

Besides the Supreme-Primordial Cloud Hands, the scripture also recorded millions of pill recipes, of every grade and effect imaginable.

Xu Zimo raised his hands, and azure spiritforce burst forth.

The energy transformed into tens of thousands of thin threads in mid-air.

Each thread had to be controlled individually, and to manage tens of thousands at once spoke to the immense mental focus required.

As the countless threads danced through the air, Xu Zimo tossed all his herbs upward into the void.

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