Chapter 1096: The Top Scorer Again

Boom! Bang! Boom!

While Ye Chen and Yan Tian Dao Ren exchanged glances in a silent contest, the vast Wang Tian Ge was far from peaceful.

Looking out, the alchemy platforms were filled with scenes of exploding furnaces, one after another, with many alchemists suffering bloody injuries and flying through the air, leaving onlookers gasping in shock. Numerous furnaces burst, yet no one had successfully refined any pills.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze from Yan Tian Dao Ren.

This time, as they faced each other from afar, it was only a brief sparring match, with no clear winner. Ye Chen hadn't used his full strength, and Yan Tian Dao Ren had held back as well.

"Sheng Zhu, how is Yan Tian Dao Ren's cultivation?" Nian Wei glanced below before turning her eyes back to Ye Chen.

"Very strong." Ye Chen replied casually with just two words.

"It seems we'll have to close the gambling house for a few days, Sister Mu." Nian Wei frowned.

"What's coming will come eventually." Ye Chen said with a lighthearted smile. "Yan Tian is powerful, but your Sheng Zhu isn't one to be underestimated either."

"I naturally believe that." Nian Wei smiled charmingly.

"The pills are about to emerge." Ye Chen remarked leisurely, his gaze fixed on the woman in purple on the alchemy platform.

Sure enough, as soon as Ye Chen spoke, the young man in white tapped his alchemy furnace, and a pill flew out, which he caught in his hand. He was the first to refine a pill after Ye Chen.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Following the woman in purple, many alchemy furnaces emitted buzzing sounds, with only about ten seconds between them, as over a dozen people successfully refined pills.

Next, beams of light shot up from the alchemy platform, and one round, luminous pill after another was produced.

Naturally, many alchemists had already given up, dejectedly stepping down from the platform. It wasn't that their alchemy skills were lacking, but they were relying on earth fire or beast fire, which made it impossible for them to refine five-pattern pills.

Stop!

As soon as the three hours were up, Yue Zhen stood up, his voice laced with gloom.

At that moment, the alchemists still diligently refining on the platform all sighed inwardly.

In the end, only nine hundred alchemists had advanced.

Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh at this. After all, any one of these nine hundred would be a top figure in Da Chu.

Those who advanced, come forward and take your places!

Yue Zhen's voice rang out again, and he couldn't help but glance toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen stood up, completely ignoring Yue Zhen's gaze, left the private room, and strode onto the platform.

As before, on the alchemy stone platform, there was a pill manual laid out.

Ye Chen waved his hand to open it and glanced at the pill's name—it was a type of pill for refining the soul and strengthening the body, one he had never refined before. From Da Chu until now, he had only participated in refining Tian Ji Dan.

Thinking of Tian Ji Dan, Ye Chen's mind wandered.

A hundred years ago, he had worked with the elders of Dan City to refine Tian Ji Dan, but it ended in failure.

At that time, it wasn't that their alchemy skills were inadequate; it was because none of them had formed a Yuan Shen. Without a Yuan Shen, they couldn't refine Tian Ji Dan. To make up for that shortcoming, they had even sacrificed the lives of Xuan Nu and Luo Xi.

Suddenly, Ye Chen gently clutched his chest, feeling a faint pain. The Tian Ji Dan he had swallowed contained the spirit of the pills from Xuan Nu and Luo Xi—it was because of them that his Sheng Ti had reached completion.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

While Ye Chen was lost in thought, the other alchemists on the platform had already begun refining their pills.

Ye Chen collected himself and focused on the pill formula. This was the first six-pattern pill formula he had seen besides Tian Ji Dan. It wasn't as exceptional as Tian Ji Dan; though both were six-pattern pills, they were on completely different levels.

There are still issues!

After quickly reviewing the formula, Ye Chen couldn't help but sneer.

Without changing his expression, Ye Chen calmly summoned his Xian Huo and directed it into the alchemy furnace, showing no sign of pressure.

From all sides, the eyes of the cultivators were mostly fixed on him. They all wanted to see if this exceptionally talented alchemist could surprise them again by being the first to refine a pill.

Like the spectators, Yue Zhen and his group were also watching Ye Chen closely.

Although they had already tampered with things, they still felt uneasy because Ye Chen was just too unpredictable.

Wang Tian Ge fell into a long silence.

At some point, a person entered from outside Wang Tian Ge—it was Mu Wan Qing.

After arriving, Mu Wan Qing headed straight to the third floor and entered the private room where Nian Wei was. Without a word, she fixed her gaze on the reincarnated Xie Yun, her eyes full of worry at his pale face.

"Sister Mu, don't worry. Sheng Zhu will save your imperial brother." Nian Wei said with a gentle smile.

"You seem to have a lot of confidence in him." Mu Wan Qing withdrew her gaze and looked toward Ye Chen, who was refining pills.

"He's someone born to write legends." Nian Wei smiled radiantly.

"A legend?" Mu Wan Qing exclaimed in surprise and couldn't help but size up Nian Wei. "This is the first time I've heard you speak so highly of someone. Who on earth is he?"

"His identity is something your ninth imperial brother will explain to you in detail." Nian Wei said with a mysterious expression.

"Does Xuan Yu know him too?" Mu Wan Qing was stunned.

"More than know him." Nian Wei took a deep breath. "In a certain era in the past, they were brothers who trusted each other with their lives, willing to turn their backs to one another without hesitation."

"The more you say, the more mysterious it gets." Mu Wan Qing was utterly confused.

"What the hell." While Mu Wan Qing was baffled, a thunderous cry of shock erupted from below.

"How is that possible?" Yue Zhen and the others all stood up, their expressions full of disbelief.

"This..." In the private room, Mu Wan Qing's mouth fell open and stayed that way for a long time. Although she didn't know much about alchemy, she understood how difficult it was to refine a six-pattern pill, which could take anywhere from three to five days, or even ten days to half a month. But refining one in less than half an hour was something she'd never heard of—even Ku Yue in his prime hadn't been this extraordinary.

"I told you, he's someone born to write legends." Nian Wei was quite composed; after all, the title of Dan Sheng wasn't given lightly.

"What a surprise, truly a surprise." On the high seat, the reincarnated Xie Yun sat up straighter. Though weak from illness, he now seemed full of energy, his dim eyes shining with sharp light. From Ye Chen, he saw endless potential—he would surely surpass Ku Yue one day.

"Imperial brother, surprised?" Nian Wei blinked at the reincarnated Xie Yun.

"Surprised, indeed surprised."

"There's even more to surprise you."

"Even more?" The reincarnated Xie Yun was taken aback. "What is it?"

"Ninth imperial brother, let's leave it as a suspense!" Nian Wei giggled playfully.

"Damn, my brother is awesome—refining a six-pattern pill in less than half an hour." The shocked voices from below continued like crashing waves, with everyone staring in astonishment at Ye Chen on the alchemy platform.

"Does he have to be this incredible?" Someone exclaimed in admiration.

"He's broken the legend of Ku Yue's alchemy from back in the day." An elder cultivator murmured, his old eyes full of awe.

"I feel like hugging his leg right now." In the crowd, Fan Tong glanced left at Hu Xian Er and right at the eight quasi-emperors, but no one paid any attention to him.

"What a misjudgment, a total misjudgment." The white-haired elder who had scolded Ye Chen twice before rubbed his brow in frustration.

"How is this possible? How could this be?" The other alchemists on the platform were equally stunned. As fellow alchemists, they knew all too well!

"I underestimated him." Nearby, Yan Tian Dao Ren furrowed his brow, his fingers in his sleeve constantly calculating, as if divining something.

"Half an hour, just half an hour." Yue Zhen and his group stood frozen in place, the beam of light shooting into the sky from the pill glaring in their eyes—it was the phenomenon of a six-pattern pill emerging.

They knew better than anyone that there was a problem with Ye Chen's pill formula, and a major one at that.

Yet, Ye Chen had taken a flawed formula and refined a six-pattern pill in less than half an hour. Such skill and talent had already surpassed their master.

Verify the pill!

While they were shocked, Ye Chen casually flicked the six-pattern pill over to them.

Yue Shan hurriedly caught it in his hand and examined it with narrowed eyes, trying to convince himself otherwise. But after seeing the seven striking pill patterns on it, he fell silent for a long time—this was too shocking.

On the other side, Ye Chen glanced at Yue Zhen and the others with a provocative look, then swaggered off the platform.

Ye Chen had never imagined that refining pills in his Yuan Shen state would be so straightforward, far beyond what his soul state could achieve. In just a few moments, he even felt an impulse to try refining a seven-pattern pill.

Bang!

Amid the waves of shock, someone's furnace exploded on the platform, sending the unfortunate alchemist flying out of Wang Tian Ge.

Boom! Bang!

The explosions continued, with two more people failing. Perhaps it was the pressure from Ye Chen that made them lose focus for a moment, leading to disaster midway through.

After the explosions, the remaining alchemists on the platform steadied their minds and continued refining diligently.

Ye Chen refining a six-pattern pill didn't extinguish their hopes—they still had a chance to produce one themselves. Once they did, they would definitely be selected, opening up a bright future.

Ye Chen entered the private room and immediately met Mu Wan Qing's shocked gaze, as if she were looking at a monster.

"Big sister-in-law, don't stare at me like that." Ye Chen tossed out the remark, found a comfortable seat, and sat down. Since Xie Yun was his brother, Mu Wan Qing was naturally his big sister-in-law.

"Big sister-in-law?" Mu Wan Qing snapped back to reality, her expression strange.

"Well, isn't she?" Nian Wei covered her mouth and laughed, still not revealing the secret.

"You two, are you hiding something from me?" Mu Wan Qing, full of questions, looked at Ye Chen and then at Nian Wei. From last night until now, these two had been acting so mysterious.

"Of course there is." Ye Chen smiled. "Someday, let Xie Yun chat with you about it properly."

"And who is Xie Yun?"

"A shameless guy."