Chapter 2644: Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly

"What is this?" Ye Yuan asked.

The others shook their heads, clearly not knowing what it was.

Ye Yuan examined it closely for a moment but also had no clue.

This conch gave him a mysterious aura, but he couldn't pinpoint where the mystery lay.

In the end, he had to give up.

Ye Yuan tossed the conch back and said indifferently, "Well, I can't make heads or tails of it either. Since your families are all quite powerful, go back and have your fathers take a look—maybe they can figure something out."

Huang Haoyan looked at Ye Yuan with some surprise; he had thought Ye Yuan wanted to see the treasure to extort something.

But Ye Yuan didn't even give it a second glance.

How could he know that Ye Yuan, as an elder of the Wuding Heavenly Sect, had seen countless good things and wouldn't care for such a trifle?

This merman tribe was just a small tribe, far inferior to the Wuding Heavenly Sect.

Of course, even if there were good items, Ye Yuan disdained to seize them by such means.

The group sailed for nearly a month before finally returning to the shore.

After another ten-plus days of travel, they arrived at Dingnan City.

Dingnan City was extremely grand, and the city walls were reinforced with a very powerful formation.

By Ye Yuan's estimate, it had probably reached the level of a third-order celestial formation.

This formation was a defensive great formation; even dozens of Boundless Heaven experts attacking together likely couldn't break it.

"You all go home to your families, and I'll wander around on my own," Ye Yuan said to them upon entering the city.

Huang Haoyan felt relieved upon hearing this and was about to speak when Su Peiyun said, "Senior Ye, you're new here and unfamiliar with the place. How about I be your guide?"

Seeing that Ye Yuan seemed about to refuse, she quickly added, "Senior, if I calculate the time, our Dingnan City is currently hosting the Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly. The renowned alchemy masters from the nine cities of Jinan have all gathered here."

Huang Haoyan, seeing Su Peiyun so eager toward Ye Yuan, felt bitter.

But he had to admit, her words had piqued his interest.

Being new here, it was only fitting to learn about the alchemy strength of the Tiannan region.

As for Su Peiyun's intentions, Ye Yuan had a rough idea.

This girl was probably trying to win him over.

He wasn't narcissistic enough to think he was universally liked.

Her fear of him was likely greater.

After all, the scene of him slaughtering thousands of mermen had left a profound impression on them.

Huang Haoyan was probably overthinking things.

However, Ye Yuan didn't care about Huang Haoyan's thoughts; as long as he didn't provoke him, everything was fine.

If he did provoke him, Ye Yuan wouldn't hesitate to send him off.

He had hitched a ride on their ship, given them celestial pills, and repelled the merman army—that was more than enough repayment.

In fact, the value far exceeded it!

They were now even.

"The Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, how interesting! Let's go!" Ye Yuan said.

He knew that along the coast of the Jinan Sea stood nine great cities, built to resist invasions from the True Spirit Sea Clan.

The formation of Dingnan City was probably not something ordinary people could set up.

Behind the nine cities, there was clearly a greater backing.

"Um... the Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, our Huang family is also participating, and I was just about to go take a look. How about we go together?" Huang Haoyan said sheepishly.

Ye Yuan nodded slightly, unconcerned.

Su Peiyun was overjoyed that Ye Yuan agreed.

Such a terrifying existence, once he broke through to Boundless Heaven, would surely become a powerhouse!

Even her father might not be able to do anything to him.

As for the Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, she didn't really expect anything from Ye Yuan.

She knew Ye Yuan must come from an alchemy force, but he was a Transcendent and not high in cultivation—no matter how strong, he couldn't be that impressive.

More likely, Ye Yuan was a top disciple being groomed by some powerful force, out on a training journey.

So it was no surprise he carried so many powerful celestial pills.

...

"Thirty thousand celestial crystals, once!"

"Thirty thousand celestial crystals, twice!"

"Thirty thousand celestial crystals, three times! Sold! Congratulations to City Lord Qin of Tianyou City for acquiring the sixth-grade Heart-Melting Life-Saving Pill! And congratulations to Master Zuo Fang of Shuilan City for once again taking the crown!"

"Shuilan City again! Shuilan City has won three in a row, firmly holding the top spot!"

"Master Zuo Fang is amazing! He could actually refine the Heart-Melting Life-Saving Pill to the sixth grade—truly remarkable!"

"Poor host Dingnan City, still with zero wins! In this Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, they're probably going to end up at the bottom again!"

...

As soon as Ye Yuan and the others entered the venue, they felt the atmosphere had reached a climax.

The Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly had been going on for five days, and the competition among the parties had reached a fever pitch.

The celestial pharmacists from the nine cities had competed in fifteen rounds, and Shuilan City now firmly held first place with five first-place finishes.

As for the host Dingnan City, they had been completely shut out, which was quite embarrassing.

On the way there, Su Peiyun had explained the rules of the Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, and Ye Yuan now understood them thoroughly.

In each round, each of the nine cities sends one celestial pharmacist to refine a type of celestial pill.

The types of celestial pills can differ, but after refining, the judges evaluate them comprehensively based on difficulty, quality, practicality, and other factors to determine the winning city.

After the judgment, the winning city's celestial pill is auctioned on the spot.

The other celestial pills are destroyed on the spot.

Seeing the auction scene, Ye Yuan was slightly surprised.

He had thought that this remote southern land would have very backward celestial alchemy.

But unexpectedly, these celestial pharmacists were quite skilled.

The Heart-Melting Life-Saving Pill is a very difficult third-grade celestial pill, not far from a Heavenly Emperor Pill!

That Zuo Fang could refine it to the sixth grade showed his extraordinary skill.

At least, Zuo Fang's skill was no weaker than those alliance masters Ye Yuan had challenged.

"Haha, Su Yi, your Dingnan City's celestial pharmacists really haven't improved at all! Last Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, you at least got one first place; this time it looks like you'll be completely shut out!"

In the VIP area, the city lord of Shuilan City was mocking Su Yi, the city lord of Dingnan City and Su Peiyun's father.

Su Yi's face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

Behind Su Yi, several celestial pharmacists blushed with shame but found no words to refute.

This Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly, they had truly lost face.

"Sun Yunjing, don't be so arrogant! This Nine-City Heavenly Pill Assembly is only half over!" Su Yi snorted coldly.

Sun Yunjing, the city lord of Shuilan City, was unconcerned and laughed loudly, "Oh? It's only half over, but as far as I know, Ge Ling is already your strongest third-grade celestial pharmacist, isn't he? Who do you plan to send next?"

Su Yi was momentarily speechless; he realized Dingnan City had no one left to send!

Even their strongest had been outdone—what could they use to compete?

The host being completely shut out—that was a disgrace to the extreme!