Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 606 - Cauldron’s Explosion

The disciple's question hit the mark, highlighting the inconsistency in the Azure Crimson Gate's claim. If the formulas truly belonged to them, why hadn’t they released the pills already?

“That’s because we had just recently developed them,” Li Hongda replied, his expression dark with feigned pain. “But the formulas were stolen before we could bring them to market.”

The crowd murmured, recalling Liu Wuxie’s recent return from Serene Sea City, where he had clashed with the Azure Crimson Gate and killed many of their disciples. It wasn’t hard to imagine the formulas might have been taken during that time.

The situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion because there was no concrete proof that it had created the formulas.

With the revelation of the formulas and refining method, everyone present knew how to refine the four pills. Thus, it was troublesome that the Azure Crimson Gate accused the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion of stealing their formulas.

All eyes turned to Liu Wuxie, waiting for his explanation. Even if the Green Python Gang’s leader wanted to speak in Liu Wuxie’s defense, he didn’t know where to start. After all, no one knew for sure where the formulas came from.

“Li Hongda, is this the best sabotaging attempt you can muster? So, it turns out you’re nothing more than bumbling fools,” Liu Wuxie said calmly, his gaze unwavering as it bore into Li Hongda.

The crowd was already accustomed to Liu Wuxie’s sharp tongue, especially when ridiculing the Azure Crimson Gate for their perceived incompetence.

“Liu Wuxie, if you can’t explain the source of these formulas, I’ll publicly announce that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion stole them from us, tarnishing its reputation beyond repair,” Li Hongda declared with a sinister smile. His plan was clear—to cement the accusation and drag the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s name through the mud.

For the ten major sects, reputation was everything, valued even more than life itself. It would be impossible for them to regain their honor if they lost it.

If it became known that the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion stole the formulas from the Azure Crimson Gate, their reputation would plummet, and the crisis might be even greater than the incident of the toxin in their pills.

“You claim that these formulas belong to your Azure Crimson Gate?! Since that’s the case, I believe the Azure Crimson Gate knows how to refine them, right?” Liu Wuxie smiled as he looked at Li Hongda.

Everyone was baffled by Liu Wuxie’s response. They had expected a fierce rebuttal, not such a seemingly simple question. After all, the formulas had already been publicly revealed by the Heavenly Pill Pavilion, with detailed descriptions that any skilled alchemist could study and replicate.

To add to the situation, Wan Xingwen’s group of three had personally verified the authenticity of the formulas. The Heavenly Pill Pavilion’s shopkeeper had even sworn to the heavens about their legitimacy, vowing to smash the shop’s sign if the formulas were proven fake.

Confident in this assurance, Wan Xingwen had immediately sent a message using a Communication Talisman to inform Li Hongda, who then arrived with another alchemy elder in tow. While Li Hongda’s own alchemy skills were mediocre at best, the elder accompanying him radiated a strong blend of wood and fire attribute energy, marking him as a grandmaster alchemist.

At that moment, two figures appeared silently beside Liu Wuxie, even catching him off guard. One was Elder He, a familiar figure, while the other was an unknown but imposing presence. The newcomer’s aura exuded immense strength, leaving no doubt that he was a high-ranking member of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

“Wuxie, be careful. His name is Yan Shan, a nine-star alchemist. He’s only one of the top ten alchemists in the Azure Crimson Gate,” Elder He whispered to Liu Wuxie. They had come to ensure Liu Wuxie’s safety in case of a sudden assault from Li Hongda.

Li Hongda was an expert in the Nascent Transformation Realm, and it would be tough to defend Liu Wuxie if he launched a sudden assault, so they had to show themselves.

Elder He knew the four formulas didn’t come from the Azure Crimson Gate, but the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion couldn’t prove themselves without concrete proof.

Liu Wuxie nodded as he had already recognized Yan Shan as a formidable alchemist. However, Liu Wuxie remained confident that his alchemy skills were unmatched, and not even those in the True Profound Realm could mimic him, let alone someone in the Nascent Transformation Realm.

The atmosphere grew tense, and the tide shifted against the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. Li Hongda’s constant taunts had already planted doubts in everyone’s mind, and some people began to believe that Liu Wuxie had stolen the formulas from the Azure Crimson Gate during his time in Serene Sea City.

“Elder Yan, can you verify the authenticity of the formulas?” Li Hongda whispered to Yan Shan. They had already copied down the four formulas and prepared the required ingredients.

“The formula is genuine,” Yan Shan said. He had been silent throughout the time, analyzing the pills dozens of times in his mind.

Shortly after they arrived, Wan Xingwen had even bought two pills for Yan Shan to analyze. The colors and fragrances perfectly matched the descriptions of the formulas.

“And what are the odds of refining it?” Li Hongda asked.

Liu Wuxie’s challenge still hung in the air, and they should be able to refine it if the formulas truly belonged to the Azure Crimson Gate.

“Forty percent!” Yan Shan said modestly. Even so, this was already a high rate of success.

“Since you claim that these formulas belong to the Azure Crimson Gate, why don’t you refine one?” demanded one of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s disciples.

Many disciples remembered how the Spirit Restoration Pill was unveiled. No one could reproduce the pill even when Liu Wuxie had shared the formula with everyone and even got Bi Gongyu to refine it on the spot. They believed that this would be no different.

“Agreed! Show us proof since you claim it belongs to the Azure Crimson Gate!” It would slander the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion without proof that the Azure Crimson Gate owned the formulas.

“Since the formulas originate from the Azure Crimson Gate, we naturally know how to refine them,” Li Hongda said as he swept his gaze around.

If the Azure Crimson Gate could recreate the pills, it would be a disaster for the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and all their plans would crumble.

“Since Elder Li is so confident, please refine them. If you can refine them, the Heavenly Pill Pavilion will withdraw the pills from our market forever. But if you fail, don’t even think about leaving Treasure City!” Liu Wuxie finally bared his fangs with a fierce aura sweeping out from him, enveloping the entire Heavenly Pill Pavilion.

He was originally planning to prove the pill’s worth through gentler means. But Li Hongda had now given him a perfect opportunity to showcase the pills’ true value before everyone.

A space was quickly cleared for Yan Shan to refine pills. If they failed, Elder He and the other elder would kill these five from the Azure Crimson Gate, who were simply courting death to cause trouble in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

“Elder Yan, it’s up to you now,” Li Hongda said.

The appearance of the four pills was a heavy blow to the Azure Crimson Gate’s market, and the sect would soon be reduced to a second-rate sect.

Li Hongda’s status in the sect made it impossible for him to invite someone like Yan Shan. Yan Shan had come because of an agreement among the upper echelon of the Azure Crimson Gate.

Yan Shan nodded and retrieved an alchemy cauldron from his interspatial ring. The cauldron was two meters tall, and such a large cauldron was rare.

Yan Shan was a natural-born alchemist, possessing both wood and fire attribute energy. He summoned Blue flames with a flick of his hand, and the temperature in the Heavenly Pill Pavilion surged.

“Is that Scarlet-Blue Flame? It’s one of the rarest heavenly flames!” gasped someone in the crowd, astonished that Yan Shan had grasped such a heaven-defying flame.

Possessing fire and wood attribute elements and the Scarlet-Blue Flame placed his alchemy skills above someone like Qing Mu. Thus, one could imagine how seriously the Azure Crimson Gate had taken this challenge to send someone like him over. After all, Yan Shan was the Azure Crimson Gate’s chief alchemist and held a high status in the sect.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion’s disciples were nervous, and only Liu Wuxie remained at ease with no sign of anxiety on his face.

Elder He kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings, preparing to kill everyone if Yan Shan really managed to refine the pills.

Liu Wuxie glanced at Elder He, surprised by the murderous intent coming from the latter. Then again, this was because the sect’s interest was above anything for Elder He.

Yan Shan began refining the pills as he threw the ingredients into the cauldron and tried to refine the Demon Purging Pill, which was the easiest and cheapest of the four pills.

Everyone’s attention fell on the cauldron, not wanting to miss any detail. After all, it was a rare privilege to witness a nine-star alchemist refining pill, and there were many alchemists in the surroundings, hoping to learn something.

He took out a thousand-year Snow Lotus and threw it into the cauldron, which was the main ingredient for the Demon Purging Pill. It was only a seventh-grade pill and an easy task for a nine-star alchemist.

A faint aroma wafted from the cauldron, and a faint smile appeared on Liu Wuxie’s face.

“It’s almost complete!” Many people gathered in the surroundings, scanning the interior of the cauldron with their divine senses. The fragrance revealed the stages of refinement.

Wan Xingwen’s group of three laughed. They didn’t expect the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to be so foolish as to reveal their formulas to everyone. It probably wouldn’t take long before the four formulas spread across the Southern Province.

As Yan Shan approached the final steps, he became increasingly careful. Although he had rehearsed each step in his mind, putting it into action was different.

“The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion is in danger now!”

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion faced the looming threat of a new crisis if the Demon Purging Pill were successfully refined. Many among the crowd sighed inwardly, lamenting how the Azure Crimson Gate had appeared just as the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion seemed to be recovering from their previous troubles.

The tension was so thick that time seemed to have stopped, with everyone’s attention on the cauldron as the fragrance grew denser. It was already reaching the pill-forming stage.

Elder He clenched his fists, and murderous intent exuded from him. Cracks began to spread on the ground. The other elder beside Liu Wuxie was also prepared to act at any moment.

Right then, the cauldron exploded from within, causing the entire cauldron to tremble violently like an earthquake.

“What happened? Why did the cauldron explode?”

If the cauldron had been smaller, it would’ve been blasted into fragments, and the explosion caught everyone by surprise, including Yan Shan.