Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 162 Pill Tribulation

Of course, they didn't know that Du Fan was now truly refining pills, but the spiritual herbs he threw into the alchemy furnace were not the materials needed for Qi Refining Pills and Ginseng Qi Pills, but ordinary herbs that had been disguised and had no spiritual power whatsoever.

Du Fan was nervous because he was afraid that his scheme would be exposed. He had no doubt that if he made a mistake at the last moment, Xiao Yan would definitely kick him while he was down in public, and she probably wouldn't let him off easily afterward.

What Du Fan is doing now is actually an extremely simple matter for an ordinary alchemist: simply condensing herbs without any attributes into pills through the high temperature of the alchemy furnace.

Even with something as simple as this, which could be considered boring, Du Fan's success rate in alchemy practice at the Flame Palace was not 100%. Therefore, his current anxiety is quite justified.

In the short time it takes to drink a cup of tea, all the alchemists had finished refining their pills, except for Du Fan, who was sweating profusely, looking strange, and seemed to be struggling.

Just then, the alchemy furnace at Du Fan's place suddenly made a loud noise.

No one present was shocked or surprised; they all remained extremely calm, and a knowing look appeared on their faces.

"As expected, the oven exploded again!"

"Huh? This time the alchemy furnace didn't collapse..."

"There was no smoke either..."

Inside the blue light screen where Du Fan was, after the roar of the alchemy furnace, only the lid was lifted open, and a few wisps of wispy green smoke rose from it, like incense.

The alchemy furnace itself shook slightly a few times before settling down peacefully without any abnormalities, showing absolutely no signs of flying pills or billowing smoke.

This scene caused the onlookers to pause slightly, and the more than one hundred alchemists were stunned, creating an eerie atmosphere throughout the venue.

If there were any two thousand or so cultivators present who looked different from the others, it would only be Du Fan, who had a gloomy expression, and Xiao Yan, whose face was ashen.

"Useless!" Xiao Yan cursed inwardly, furious.

Du Fan's body jolted, his expression blank.

"Could my luck be this bad? Is this karma? This time... the furnace really exploded..."

Du Fan revealed a smile that was more like a grimace, and subconsciously glanced at Xiao Yan. Upon seeing the woman's extremely gloomy expression, he immediately shuddered.

Just as everyone's eyes were on Du Fan, who was at a loss, Xiao Yan gave a light snort of annoyance, and then her lips moved slightly.

"I knew you were useless! I tampered with this alchemy furnace beforehand. There is a hidden layer on the inner wall containing two attribute-less pills. You can sense them with a little divine sense."

"You brat, if you cause me any more trouble, just kill yourself right now! I'll write a suicide note for that little girl Chen Ru!"

Suddenly, Du Fan recalled Xiao Yan's cold words, her tone filled with exasperation.

Upon hearing this, Du Fan initially shrank back, but then his spirits lifted, his eyes flashed, his back straightened instantly, his chin raised, and his arrogance was once again on full display, his aura suddenly surging.

He took a deep breath, glanced around disdainfully, and then, to everyone's astonishment, raised his arm and plunged it directly into the alchemy furnace...

"What is he doing?"

"It should be... taking the elixir..."

"Do I really need to use my hands to get the elixir...?"

Du Fan didn't want to do this either, but all eyes were on him. He couldn't very well drip medicinal oil onto the pills in front of more than two thousand cultivators...

Du Fan was somewhat annoyed. This was something he hadn't considered beforehand. If he had prepared a pill with the medicinal oil infused in advance, there wouldn't have been so much trouble...

Not long after, Du Fan took out two pills from the alchemy furnace. The moment he took out the pills, more than two thousand pairs of eyes swept over him, including more than a hundred alchemists.

They were now extremely interested in the pills that Du Fan had refined, even if they were just two low-grade pills.

However, to their slight surprise, the two pills in Du Fan's hand were not as fragrant, crystal clear, and dazzling as they had expected.

Instead, it was... completely unremarkable, without any luster, not even a halo, and not even round in shape. If these two items hadn't been in Du Fan's hands, no one would have associated this thing with a pill.

Du Fan's eyes twitched when he saw the pill. It didn't look like a pill at all; it looked more like bird droppings...

He was speechless. As for the color, aroma, and taste, that was to be expected. But the shape, which resembled poop, was still somewhat off-putting. He guessed it was probably caused by the airflow from the explosion earlier.

But no matter what, at least it wasn't destroyed, which is enough. Moreover, Du Fan had successfully added two drops of essential oil to these two pills, making them incredibly potent.

At this moment, Du Fan was full of confidence. To him, these two pills were as good as gold, which could withstand any test.

"Cloud and Rain Technique!"

Just as Du Fan took a deep breath and was about to speak proudly, Xiao Yan's voice transmission came to his mind again.

Du Fan's heart stirred, and he instantly understood. Without saying a word, he secretly made hand seals with his fingers hidden in his sleeve while silently chanting a spell. Before long, patches of dark clouds appeared out of thin air ten feet above his light screen.

"Huh? What's that...?"

This sudden phenomenon instantly drew everyone's attention, and they all looked over in confusion.

Suddenly, a gust of wind appeared in the sky, instantly condensing the rolling dark clouds. In an instant, the wind and clouds surged, and there were even wisps of electricity surging within, as if they were about to erupt at any moment. It was none other than Du Fan's Level 2 Cloud and Rain Technique.

"Oh no, a pill tribulation!"

Just as the dark clouds contracted, electric currents crisscrossed, and a heavy rain was about to fall, Xiao Yan suddenly let out a delicate shout.

At the same time, the woman's figure swayed, and a slender yellow figure instantly tore through the void, appearing beside the dark cloud in an instant. The light faded, revealing it to be Vice Alliance Leader Xiao.

The goddess's expression was solemn. She raised her jade hand, and her ten fingers moved in a rapid, wheel-like motion, forming hundreds of hand seals in a single breath. The sight was dazzling and overwhelming, and even cultivators with lower cultivation levels felt dizzy at first glance.

Just as everyone was stunned, Xiao Yan suddenly let out a low shout, raised her jade-like fingers, and pointed solemnly towards the dark clouds.

The next moment, a tiny yellow whirlwind, no bigger than an inch, flashed from the woman's fingertip. In an instant, it transformed into a hundred-foot-long hurricane under a devastating force.

The hurricane rose up in an instant, roaring and shaking the heavens, stirring up spatial ripples. With an unparalleled power filled with destruction, it swept up the dark cloud and swept it high into the sky, disappearing in an instant.

Just as everyone in the audience held their breath and their expressions changed drastically, a deafening roar came from the end of the sky, echoing in all directions like a landslide or a tsunami, shaking everyone to their core.

In an instant, the wind and clouds surged, the sky and earth changed color, and the ground trembled. On everyone's face, there was an undisguised shock and horror.

It wasn't until the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea that this place returned to its usual tranquility.

"Senior Xiao's cultivation is indeed unfathomable, and his supernatural abilities are astonishing!"

"I'm more concerned about the pill tribulation that just happened..."

"The pills refined by Consort Du could actually attract a pill tribulation! Just what kind of pills did he refine?!"

"Why did those tribulation clouds look so familiar? It's like I've seen them somewhere before, it gives me a sense of déjà vu..."

After a brief silence, everyone in the room began to speak, their voices filled with shock and disbelief.

Even the members of the Seven Star Merchant Alliance were greatly shocked. They raised their heads and stared blankly at Xiao Yan in the sky, speechless.

"Vice Alliance Leader Xiao... she actually sacrificed so much for this boy, for the alchemy lineage of the Seven Star Merchant Alliance..."

Master Lu's expression was complicated. He sighed inwardly, then slightly circulated his internal energy, generating a force that quietly crushed the two pills in his hand that were faintly glowing with six rings of light.

Other alchemists were not as complex as Master Lu; their minds were buzzing and almost blank. These people were different from others; they were the pinnacle of alchemy in this era, and their knowledge of the secrets of alchemy was beyond the reach of ordinary people.

It is precisely because of this that the shock in their hearts is even stronger. The Pill Tribulation may seem somewhat elusive to others, but these alchemists present know very well that the Pill Tribulation truly exists, having been passed down from ancient alchemy classics.

The moment a pill that breaks through to the sixth grade is refined, it will anger the heavens, arouse their jealousy, and be intolerable to the laws of the universe. The Heavenly Dao will then send down a pill tribulation to destroy it...

"Since ancient times, there has actually been a pill tribulation..." A master of alchemy was pale and listless.

"To witness the Tribulation of Pills in my lifetime is enough for me..." A master of alchemy trembled, his expression excited, and a strange light suddenly burst forth from his cloudy, lifeless eyes.

"We...maybe we really were wrong. The path of alchemy in this world has never stopped at the Grandmaster level. What has stopped is...our heart in the path of alchemy..." A Grandmaster of alchemy muttered to himself, his eyes blank.

The Nascent Soul cultivators from the sects and aristocratic families all had uncertain expressions and furrowed brows.

Those who came to witness the ceremony were not like those alchemists who seemed like pedantic scholars. They were not fools. Not to mention these Nascent Soul experts, even the disciples of the sects and families behind them had doubts about the previous three alchemy competitions.