Chapter 249: Exposure

The two old men opened their eyes at the same time, and a faint red gleam flashed and vanished between their opening and closing, giving an eerie feeling.

“What’s going on?” Their faces showed some surprise. They exchanged a glance, and there was even a hint of shock. For them to feel this way, it was no ordinary thing.

Both old men were experts of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Their eyes now turned cold as they swept down from the palace and scanned the interior of Yang Tian’s cauldron.

“Is this?…” Sensing the violent thunder within the cauldron, a trace of astonishment appeared on their faces. This energy that made them uncomfortable came from the purple thunder!

“What a strange thunder tribulation—it actually contains destruction?!” One of them, an old man with gray hair, his expression shifting, muttered to himself: “Could this be the origin of thunder? If so… how could it be subdued by this little fellow?”

The origin of thunder was a rare treasure of heaven and earth, born only after long ages and in special blessed lands. Now it had been taken into the body of a young lad; these two simply could not believe it.

Yang Tian’s thunderous flames drew the attention of many old monsters, but they dared not be too presumptuous. After all, this was the territory of the Medicine Valley, and with the great upheaval that had occurred yesterday, they dared not investigate openly.

“A mutated flame seed, actually fusing lightning and fire together—such superb fire control!” The outer sect elder of the Medicine Valley murmured, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

At the very top of the palace, amidst the mist, a woman like an orchid in a secluded valley stood, ethereal and holy as snow, making most women feel ashamed of their own appearance.

At this moment, she slightly furrowed her delicate brows. Sensing the furnace fire in the cauldron, she curled her lips and said, “Really not afraid of death, coming here to court disaster. Daring to bring out something like the origin of thunder.”

The origin of thunder, a rare treasure of heaven and earth, was detected by a few knowledgeable people, and a flash of greed flickered in their eyes. Such a primal treasure was the law that allowed one to step into the realm of the supreme, with overwhelming power, and could even break free from the constraints of heaven and earth!

Sensing many gazes fixed on him, Yang Tian felt a headache coming on. He dawdled on the spot for a while, then gradually sank his mind into the cauldron.

The purple flame flickered, exuding a destructive aura. Yang Tian’s hand shook slightly, and instantly a dragon-shaped flame mouth condensed.

“Chi chi…” The dragon-shaped flame mouth breathed out a scorching flame with leaping thunderlight. The moment this thunderfire touched the ironwood, the ironwood could be seen melting with the naked eye.

By the time Yang Tian’s ironwood had melted halfway, half the time had already passed. Two people suddenly withdrew their techniques and lifted their cauldrons almost simultaneously, drawing many eyes.

“Look, that’s an expert from the Alchemy Dao Alliance. He finished refining in just half the time.”

“He seems to be called Dan Chen, a genius disciple of the younger generation from the Alchemy Dao Alliance.”

“That young one from the Heavenly Dao Alliance is also formidable. He’s called Tian Xin, a rival to Dan Chen. Both of them are fourth-rank alchemists!”

Dan Chen, in white robes as pure as snow, was very refined, and with his superb alchemy skills, he attracted much attention. Tian Xin had a stern face, exuding a cold aura that made people uncomfortable—a stark contrast between the two.

Just as these people were discussing, two young women lifted their cauldrons one after another. One was a graceful girl in purple robes—Dan Xueyi, also a disciple of the Alchemy Dao Alliance.

The other was a petite girl with a very cute appearance. When she smiled, two deep dimples appeared. Her big eyes blinked, very charming, and she had an air of spirituality. She was the little girl Yang Tian had sensed had something strange inside her.

“Look, that’s Dan Xiaoxiao, the most outstanding girl of the Medicine Valley! She can actually match Dan Xueyi from the Central Continent.”

“Their surnames are the same—is there some connection?”

“I heard the Medicine Valley is a branch of the Alchemy Dao Alliance. It’s just a rumor, don’t know if it’s true.”

The people around buzzed with discussion. Dan Xueyi’s beautiful eyes swept over the cute girl nearby, a hint of surprise in them. She hadn’t expected the other’s fire control to rival hers.

Dan Xiaoxiao seemed to sense her gaze, tilted her little head, and her big eyes sized up the beautiful woman before her. She smiled sweetly, revealing two deep dimples, looking very endearing.

Dong! Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap resounded through heaven and earth. In an instant, it seemed as if a green rain fell from the sky. Clusters of flames blazed everywhere, extremely dazzling. Yet beneath this splendor lay a scorching, terrifying sensation.

“Which family’s disciple is that? Such powerful flames!”

“Never seen him before. His cauldron is good, very high quality.”

He used a cyan cauldron, as if cast from green jade, emitting a precious light. The patterns on the cauldron were quite profound, giving a dizzying feeling.

The people around discussed, their eyes falling on the calm yellow-robed youth. Qin Shi swept his gaze around, and when he saw the few who had opened their cauldrons first, a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

“Come out!” At that moment, a wolf howl suddenly exploded. Those nearby who were still refining spiritual herbs nearly lost control of their minds and suffered backlash…

Murderous gazes converged on the fat man in the distance. Seeing his smug face, they had the urge to drag him out and give him a good beating.

Seeing this, Qin Shi frowned. The fat man before him gave him a vague sense of familiarity, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him.

“Stare all you want, I don’t believe you can recognize me?” Qin Zuying cast a furtive glance at Qin Shi, rubbed his fat hands, and snickered.

Bang! Just then, a white-robed youth lifted his cauldron. A sun and moon spun out chaotically, but the energy fluctuation was very faint, almost imperceptible.

“Shang Hao is pretty good, his alchemy skills are impressive.” At this moment, Shan Qu’s gaze swept over the cauldron in front of Shang Hao, clicking his tongue inwardly.

After they lifted their cauldrons, several more followed suit. In just two breaths, hundreds had lifted their cauldrons and handed the refined liquid to the attendant maidens.

A spectacular scene: nearly a thousand people refining ironwood at the same time. Flames shot into the sky, thousands of auspicious rays, multicolored flames reflecting off each other, dazzling beyond compare.

“This little guy, why isn’t he done yet?” Meng Yunxi looked down from above, and seeing Yang Tian sitting like an old monk in meditation, unmoved, she grew anxious.

A group of youths from the Meng family showed disdain. Although the mysterious youth’s combat strength was formidable, his alchemy skills were lacking.

Yang Ba, however, was calm, without a trace of worry. He had known Yang Tian’s alchemy rank all along. If the origin of thunder couldn’t even refine such a spiritual herb, how could it be called a rare treasure of heaven and earth?

Yang Tian’s spiritual power had been sweeping the surroundings. By now, the ironwood in the cauldron had long been refined, turning into a pool of black liquid. When he sensed that time was almost up, he slowly lifted the cauldron.

Having become the focus of many experts, Yang Tian didn’t want to draw their attention again.

Ten thousand red rays splashed. Yang Tian’s technique for collecting the liquid was very skilled. He poured the black liquid into a jade bottle and handed it to the somewhat anxious girl beside him.

“This guy always makes a fuss!” Seeing that Yang Tian had completed the second stage, Meng Yunxi pouted, looking displeased.

Beside her, Wan Teng noticed the change in Meng Yunxi’s expression, shifted his gaze to Yang Tian, and a hint of doubt flickered in his eyes. Although he didn’t know many people from the Meng family, he had met almost all the younger generation—but not Yang Tian.

“Alright, time’s up.” At this moment, the Grand Elder’s figure appeared in the arena. His gaze fell on those still desperately refining, and he said, “Eliminated ones, leave on your own. I’ll give you three breaths.”

As his words fell, the group still refining spiritual herbs instantly wore mournful faces, but they dared not linger. They shot out from below, afraid to be slow. They had seen the Grand Elder’s domineering nature.

Though old, his heart was not aged. He often held a divine spear in his hand, spouting the essence of the eight extremes, exuding an overbearing aura.

Of the original several thousand people in the arena, within three breaths, most had left, leaving about nine hundred.

“The next stage: refine a third-rank low-grade: Rejuvenation Pill. Each person gets two sets of spiritual herbs. Time limit: five hours.”