On the ninth floor of the Medicine King's Hall, purple qi coiled and swirled around the Purple Void Cauldron. The cauldron's lid was sealed tight, and no one could discern what transformations were taking place inside — not even a single sound escaped.
The five hundred-plus Alchemists gradually withdrew their gazes.
They couldn't glean anything from Yang Kai's side, so they had no choice but to redirect their attention to Zuo De.
An opportunity to observe a Void King-grade Grandmaster Alchemist refining pills at such close range was exceedingly rare. If they didn't seize this chance, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.
Moreover, it was well known that Grandmaster Zuo De had always been rather high and mighty. Under normal circumstances, even if these Alchemists showed up at his door in person, they probably wouldn't get so much as a glimpse of the man. Being able to watch him work here was all thanks to Yang Kai.
With that thought, quite a few of them felt a faint sense of gratitude toward Yang Kai — though they also sympathized with him.
Because even if he possessed Divine Sense Fire, there was simply no way he could beat a veteran Void King-grade Alchemist in a pill-refining contest.
Time trickled by, and the atmosphere on the ninth floor of the Medicine King's Hall grew increasingly solemn.
At first, the Alchemists had frequently gasped in admiration at Zuo De's dazzling techniques, chattering amongst themselves. But as time wore on, one by one they fell silent. Every last person had focused all their attention and mental energy on the furnace before Zuo De — on Zuo De himself.
Several Alchemists seemed to experience moments of sudden insight, clearly having gained something of value, but they had no time to carefully contemplate their epiphanies. They could only suppress the flood of thoughts and ideas, planning to revisit them at leisure in the days to come.
A medicinal fragrance gradually began to drift outward — born from Zuo De's furnace.
The scent was light and clean, pleasant to breathe in. It was as though an invisible hand gently caressed every Alchemist present, drawing expressions of blissful contentment across their faces.
Zhan Yuan was the most excited of them all. He watched the activity inside Zuo De's furnace with rapt attention, casting occasional glances toward Yang Kai's side, a mocking sneer playing at the corner of his lips. His expression screamed total confidence in victory.
He had noticed that ever since Yang Kai had activated his Divine Sense Fire, nothing of note had happened over there. It was as though no pill refining was taking place at all.
This only made him more smug.
If Yang Kai lost, he would become Zuo De's servant. And as Zuo De's disciple, Zhan Yuan's status would naturally rank above that of a servant. Living together with Yang Kai in the future — wouldn't that mean he could order the man around at will?
Well, the guy was a two-layered Void King realm cultivator, so Zhan Yuan supposed he ought to give him a little face. Wouldn't want to push him into a rage — he probably couldn't win a fight against him.
He'd just have Yang Kai clean his room every day. Besides, the man seemed to have some foundation in alchemy, so he could serve as an assistant too.
Decision happily made! Zhan Yuan thought of the wonderful life that awaited him and felt happier than if he'd just married a breathtakingly beautiful woman. He was practically itching to dance with joy just to vent his excitement.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye — two full days passed.
Zuo De looked utterly disheveled. Copious amounts of sweat had seeped from his body, only to be evaporated by the scorching heat of the chamber, leaving his appearance looking thoroughly bedraggled.
But no one looked down on him for it.
Zuo De was merely a Return Void Stage martial artist, and an aging one at that. Two consecutive days of non-stop pill refining would take a toll on anyone.
His appearance, however, was one thing — his spirit was another entirely. His eyes blazed with sharp, brilliant light, and his energy was electric with excitement.
In stark contrast, Yang Kai's side had remained utterly unremarkable throughout. Nothing of note had occurred — only the purple qi within the Purple Void Cauldron continued to steam and swirl in lazy clouds.
Then, at some point, Zuo De's body jolted. His hands began moving with startling speed, weaving intricate and profound seals.
The crowd let out a collective gasp.
"The Grandmaster's self-created Pill-Gathering Art!"
"So this is the legendary Red Lotus Wondrous Hand Art? It truly lives up to its reputation — it's at least on par with the Pill-Gathering Arts of past generations, if not superior!"
"I've studied this particular technique myself. But compared to the Grandmaster's execution, mine doesn't even amount to one-ten-thousandth!"
"This Pill-Gathering Art was created by the Grandmaster alone — how could you possibly compare yourself to him?"
The group of Alchemists instantly perked up. Every pair of eyes locked onto Zuo De's movements, refusing to miss a single detail. If they could catch even a glimpse of the profound mysteries behind this Pill-Gathering Art by watching Zuo De gather his pills, it would be an enormous windfall.
They watched as Zuo De's hands danced like butterflies, shifting and transforming with fluid grace. Palm after palm struck toward the furnace before him, and each time, a lotus imprint bloomed from his palm in a burst of crimson light. The lotus then shattered and sank into the furnace, interacting with the spirit pill that was about to take shape within.
This was precisely the Red Lotus Wondrous Hand Art — Zuo De's own creation!
He struck out eight-one palms in rapid succession — eighty-one crimson lotus imprints hammered into the furnace.
After the final palm landed, a crisp, whirring sound suddenly rang out from inside the cauldron. At the same time, the medicinal fragrance that had been drifting about thickened sharply.
"Pill complete!" someone cried out involuntarily, eyes burning with fervor.
Every Alchemist present recognized this scene all too well — it was the unmistakable sign of a completed pill. And judging by the sound emanating from the furnace and the rich fragrance now flooding the air, Grandmaster Zuo De's refinement had absolutely concluded in perfection!
As expected of the Grandmaster — a Void King-grade, mid-tier spirit pill, refined in only two days. Across the entire Star Domain, among all Void King-grade Alchemists, Zuo De was truly without peer!
Then, without warning, Zuo De's expression turned grave. He delivered a thunderous slap to his own furnace. The lid shot into the air, and in the same instant, a streak of pale blue light burst from the cauldron at blinding speed.