The grandest alchemy assembly in the entire Ancient Universe was in full swing, capturing the attention of the world and drawing countless gazes.
Simultaneously, the gates of the Dan Realm remained open, with powerful figures continuously entering from the outside world, arriving in Dan Tian City to observe closely.
After all, this was the most magnificent alchemy assembly held once every ten thousand years.
Many supreme prodigies and talents from the Ultimate Ancient Path had also arrived. Even some old-timers who had hidden from the world for many years made an appearance. Among them were super-powerful beings from other imperial clans, and even supremely powerful Ancient Monarchs had arrived.
The moment such supreme existences appeared, even the Dan Emperor Clan dared not be the slightest bit negligent.
The Ancient Monarch of the Dan Emperor Clan personally came forward to welcome the three visiting Ancient Monarchs.
Because too many powerful experts had arrived, the imperial formations within Dan Tian City had quietly activated partially. In critical moments, they could even be fully activated.
The supreme imperial weapons were ready to awaken at any moment. Should the most terrifying crisis strike, they would combine with the imperial formations within the imperial city, unleashing the invincible might of the Emperor-Sovereign and fully awakening.
However, all of this made Ye Chen feel somewhat strange. In such a situation, the Dan Emperor Clan shouldn't have closed the Dan Realm. With so many powerful experts arriving, if something went wrong, even the Dan Emperor Clan might find it difficult to suppress the situation, especially given the presence of Ancient Monarchs.
He always felt that these actions by the Dan Emperor Clan held a deeper meaning.
While refining pills, Ye Chen also directed some of his attention to the outside world, focusing particularly on the experts from the Soul-Binding Hall. Their behavior was far too quiet, giving him a sense of foreboding, like the calm before a storm.
Moreover, he noticed that Qin Jiuyou, in particular, occasionally cast a mysterious smile towards Grandmaster An Mu, Dan Chen, and the other ninth-level grandmasters.
He dared not be careless. The Heaven-Sundering Great Halberd hovered in the hands of his Chaos Saint Soul, ready to be awakened and unleashed at any moment to deal with the most terrifying unforeseen incidents.
The successive arrival of numerous external experts did not affect the pill refining of the top-tier alchemists on the Heaven-Suppressing Platform. After all, each of them was a true top-tier figure who had seen great scenes. At this moment, each was fully alert, meticulously refining their pills.
One after another, rare and precious medicinal ingredients, considered top-tier even in the outside world—including ten-thousand-year-old medicinal treasures and even priceless medicinal spirits—were continuously thrown into the Dan Cauldrons for refinement. Wisps of green smoke drifted out, discarding the dross and extracting the essence.
During this time, rumbling sounds echoed incessantly, emanating from those extraordinary, immortal Dan Cauldrons, drawing attention.
*Pfft—*
From the Chaos Great Cauldron, a few wisps of ash drifted out—the remnants of a failed pill.
Even with the assistance of one of the Nine Cauldrons, Ye Chen was unable to maintain his previous peak state. The pill refining failed, and all previous efforts were wasted.
What was more important was that just as the pill was about to successfully condense, the small Dan Cauldron, which emitted a mysterious power for refining, suddenly became unstable. The mysterious power became chaotic, disturbed by some unknown interference, causing the pill in the final stages of formation to become extremely unstable, ultimately leading to complete failure and explosion.
Ye Chen immediately understood and swept his gaze towards the other alchemy masters and grandmasters.
Clearly, among the alchemists participating in the assembly, there were definitely others who possessed one of the Nine Cauldrons. Competing in the same arena, they were interfering with each other, causing his pill refining to fail.
At the same time, Dan Chen was also like this. The grandmaster subtly and unintentionally swept his gaze towards the others. He naturally also knew about this and wanted to find out who among them possessed the other Dan Cauldrons.
However, Ye Chen concealed it very well, using the Chaos Great Cauldron to directly isolate the heavenly secrets. As a result, Dan Chen was unable to fully detect it and could only withdraw his gaze with some disappointment.
Yet, Ye Chen glanced around suspiciously because he sensed that more than one fluctuation had appeared. Among those present, it wasn't just him and Dan Chen who possessed one; at the very least, a third person also held one of the Nine Cauldrons.
This made things interesting.
*Boom—*
On the seventh day after the assembly began, someone successfully refined a pill.
It was an eighth-level alchemy master. Pill light erupted from his Dan Cauldron, even more dazzling than when Ye Chen refined the Divine King Pill. A light pillar shot into the sky, and powerful tribulation clouds rapidly gathered, spanning over a hundred thousand miles. Thick bolts of pill tribulation lightning continuously struck down, drawing the attention of all sides, while pill fragrance billowed forth.
An eighth-rank pill had been born, displaying far greater intelligence than seventh-rank treasure pills. The preciousness of such a treasure pill was enough to drive countless Great Powers into a frenzy of envy. Each type of eighth-rank divine pill possessed astonishing and unparalleled mystical effects.
It also made countless alchemists' eyes shine with desire. After all, for many alchemists, reaching the realm of an eighth-level master was a lifelong goal.
As time passed, other alchemy masters present also successively refined their respective divine pills. Each pillar of pill light was thick and dazzling, bright as the sun, like giant pillars supporting the heavens, continuously piercing through the firmament, drawing much attention.
*Rumble—*
Pill Tribulations descended one after another, each appearing larger than the last. One could clearly see that the sky was perpetually shrouded by dark tribulation clouds, filling the entire world with a sense of oppression.
Sometimes, several alchemy masters simultaneously refined eighth-rank pills. Multiple tribulation clouds appeared side by side, almost merging together, forming a vast and magnificent sight. Thick bolts of pill tribulation lightning flashed and descended incessantly, their rumbling sounds echoing without end.
Naturally, these alchemy masters were all well-prepared to deal with the tribulations. They successfully resisted them one by one. The pills were born, their light shining brilliantly across the heavens. Waves of pill fragrance continuously wafted out, spreading in all directions, igniting fiery gazes from many.
A single alchemy master refining a pill was enough to draw attention, let alone so many alchemy masters refining simultaneously and triggering Pill Tribulations. It was even more spectacular.
However, more people were focused on the few alchemy grandmasters, including Grandmaster An Mu and Dan Chen. The appearance of eighth-rank pills was already so eye-catching; if a ninth-rank pill were to be born, one could only imagine how astonishing it would be.
Many people would never have the chance to witness the birth of a ninth-rank pill in their lifetime. Not only were ninth-level grandmasters rare, numbering only a handful in the entire Ancient Universe, but more importantly, the medicinal ingredients required to refine some ninth-rank pills were extremely difficult to find. This contributed to the immeasurable rarity of ninth-rank pills. Each refinement could be considered a world-shaking grand event.
During this period, Ye Chen, with the help of the small Dan Cauldron, once again refined a Divine King Pill, no less than the previous one. It erupted with a soaring pillar of pill light, though compared to the pill light of other alchemy masters, it was somewhat inferior, disappointing many.
Even the Battle Saint King, champion of the younger generation, couldn't compare. He stood no chance of competing for the final championship.
Naturally, Ye Chen didn't pay too much attention to the gazes of outsiders.
Almost simultaneously, Dan Yang, the young leader of the Dan Emperor Clan in this generation, also successfully refined a pill. It was a mid-grade eighth-rank divine pill. The moment it was born, a dazzling pillar of pill light erupted skyward, even more brilliant and eye-catching than those refined by many alchemy masters, completely overshadowing Ye Chen's pill light and drawing the attention of many.
Many exclaimed in admiration, and even the older generation nodded frequently.
Truly worthy of being the prodigious leader of the Dan Emperor Clan in this generation. He was actually able to refine such an extraordinary pill. Among the younger generation, he could definitely be considered the number one alchemist.
Given time, barring any accidents, he would undoubtedly step into the realm of a ninth-level grandmaster in the future.
After successfully refining the mid-grade eighth-rank divine pill, Dan Yang wore a look of pride on his face, basking in the envious gazes from all sides. He even provocatively glanced at Ye Chen in the distant sky, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Even if you are the most monstrous Battle Saint King and became the clan's number one guest elder, so what? In the path of alchemy, aren't you still far inferior to me?
However, Ye Chen didn't even glance his way, his expression completely unmoved. This made Dan Yang, who had wanted to mock him, feel like he had punched cotton—no force behind it. He felt annoyed but helpless.
Thus, the final grand competition had been underway for a full half-month. On this day, several more alchemy masters successively completed their pills. Pill light shot into the sky, and during this time, Pill Tribulations continuously descended, the rumbling sounds echoing without end.
Just as these alchemy masters were preparing to face their Pill Tribulations, suddenly, Grandmaster An Mu, located in the center of the Heaven-Suppressing Platform, trembled. The giant Dan Cauldron before him shook, vibrating the void. The cauldron lid opened, and from within, a terrifying, unimaginable divine light shot straight into the sky. It was also pill light, but far more dazzling and majestic than any other pill light, like the thickest pillar supporting the heavens.
*Boom—*
With the appearance of this pillar of pill light, the other pillars immediately dimmed, appearing pale and lackluster, completely overshadowed.
The several eighth-rank pills now seemed to feel a certain pressure, actually beginning to tremble and hum.
In that instant, everyone's attention was forcefully drawn. They saw how incredibly thick that pillar of pill light was, as wide as a mountain range. The moment it shot skyward, everyone could feel that not only this area of heaven and earth, but the entire Dan Tian City was shaken. Boundless spiritual energy of heaven and earth rapidly swept in.
The tribulation clouds in the sky were scattered, vanishing into the vast starry river. The stars of the heavens trembled.
Then, streams of starlight converged from all directions, forming brilliant star rivers. Accompanied by shimmering stellar power, they descended from the sky and poured into Grandmaster An Mu's Dan Cauldron.
On the Heaven-Suppressing Platform, Grandmaster An Mu's expression was exceptionally solemn. He cast divine seals one after another towards all directions. It could be seen that vast amounts of spiritual energy of heaven and earth were rapidly swirling and gathering. He even opened several dimensional spatial rifts, extracting massive amounts of divine energy from them, then fully channeling it into the rapidly forming pill within the blazing pillar of pill light.
Witnessing this, everyone was shocked.
What astonishing absorption! It actually required such a massive amount of divine energy to fill it. Was this the terrifying aspect of a ninth-rank divine pill?
"Hmm?" At this moment, Ye Chen's expression changed slightly because he clearly felt the small Dan Cauldron trembling urgently. He looked towards Grandmaster An Mu in shock!