Devouring Soul Emperor

While Zhou Ling was sizing up Chu Qingyun, he also looked over at her.

Zhou Ling wasn’t tall; she had a petite and delicate figure. Her facial features were extremely refined, and her large eyes, in particular, radiated a lively spirit.

Averting his gaze, Chu Qingyun turned his attention to the items before him.

At each station, there was a sealed Scroll and a brocade box bound by a sealing strip. There was nothing else.

The conference hadn’t prepared Pill Cauldrons for the contestants, which meant Chu Qingyun and the others would have to use their own.

This was reasonable.

A Pill Cauldron was like an Alchemist’s weapon. Only by using the cauldron they were most familiar with, the one they had used the longest, could they fully exert their abilities.

Besides, every Alchemist had a different height, build, and set of habits, so the Pill Cauldrons they used were bound to be different as well.

Some particularly discerning Alchemists even had Pill Cauldrons custom-made to perfectly suit them.

Soon, everyone had found their designated spots and taken their places.

Just then, Yu Liyuan walked out, standing front and center before the crowd. He announced in a clear voice, "This Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference will test your alchemy proficiency in the simplest and most direct way possible: by having you refine an Elixir!"

"The Scroll before you contains the Pill Formula for a Spirit Level elixir, the Youthful Appearance Pill, which is quite obscure."

"Consider these hundred-plus Pill Formulas a reward for your participation. I can personally guarantee on my reputation that this Pill Formula has never been leaked before."

At this, many in the crowd nodded silently.

Yu Liyuan was a formidable high-level alchemist and the Pill Institute Master of the Talisman Puppet Sect.

After all, the Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference was just a competition for the younger generation. It wasn’t worth it for him to risk his reputation by helping someone cheat.

The reason the Pill Formula was a reward was that for an Alchemist to follow it to refine an Elixir, they first had to use their Soul Power to commit the formula to memory.

Thus, whether they succeeded in the refinement or not, once the Pill Formula was memorized, it would never be forgotten.

Yu Liyuan paused for a moment. Seeing that no one had any questions, he continued to explain the rules.

"Each of the five brocade boxes before you contains one set of the Spiritual Medicine needed to refine the Youthful Appearance Pill. In other words, every person has five attempts."

"If you fail all five times, you will receive no score and be eliminated immediately."

"Once the conference officially begins, you will have ten hours."

"After ten hours, regardless of what stage you are at or how many sets of materials you have left, the Pill Battle Conference will conclude, and we will begin judging the results."

"Are there any questions?"

Having spoken, Yu Liyuan scanned the more than one hundred contestants before him.

The rules were simple: five sets of materials, ten hours. Naturally, no one had any questions.

"Very well. Since there are no questions, I declare..."

"The Celestial Martial City Pill Battle Conference officially begins!"

As soon as Yu Liyuan finished, the hundred-plus young Alchemists on the high platform moved almost in unison, reaching for the sealed Scrolls in front of them.

Chu Qingyun was naturally no exception.

And this Youthful Appearance Pill was indeed quite obscure.

Upon hearing the name, Chu Qingyun quickly searched the Alchemy Dao legacy that his predecessor had given him, but he found no mention of the Youthful Appearance Pill.

This just went to show how truly vast the variety of Elixirs in the world was.

Even an expert as powerful as his predecessor couldn’t possibly know of every Elixir in existence.

With only ten hours to refine an Elixir they had never even heard of, no one dared to waste a moment.

However, after picking up the Scroll, Chu Qingyun paused to think. Then, he picked up one of the brocade boxes, tore open its seal, and inspected all the Spiritual Medicine inside.

Only then did Chu Qingyun unroll the Scroll containing the Pill Formula and begin to interpret it.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time Chu Qingyun had ever encountered a Pill Formula recorded on a Scroll.

However, the Alchemy Dao legacy from his predecessor contained extremely detailed records and explanations on how to use them.

When the Scroll was unrolled, to the naked eye it looked like a blank sheet of paper with a hazy, multi-colored light slowly swirling across its surface. It was impossible to make out anything.

However, Alchemists who had awakened their Soul Power possessed a unique method for reading such a Pill Formula.

Holding the Scroll with both hands, Chu Qingyun closed his eyes slightly. He focused a wisp of Soul Power and slowly permeated it into the Scroll.

As his Soul Power entered the Scroll, Chu Qingyun’s mind was instantly flooded with a massive amount of information.

Deciphering a Pill Formula with Soul Power was vastly faster than reading it with one’s eyes.

The effects of the Youthful Appearance Pill, the required Spiritual Medicines, the sequence for combining them, the necessary heat control—a deluge of complex, professional information surged into Chu Qingyun’s mind through his Soul Power.

As an Alchemist, he not only had to receive this information but also understand and comprehend it, even visualizing it as a moving picture of the refinement process, simulating each step in his mind.

Undoubtedly, this was a very difficult thing.

An ordinary Martial Artist was utterly incapable of such a feat. Only Alchemists who had awakened their Soul Power—and possessed a powerful one at that—could manage it.

Furthermore, even in this initial step of interpreting the Pill Formula, there was a huge gap between Alchemists.

An Alchemist with powerful Soul Power, extensive experience in Alchemy, and exposure to many Pill Formulas would have a significant advantage in this stage, finishing much faster than others.

About fifteen minutes later, Wu Xinghai of the Talisman Puppet Sect was the first to lower the Scroll in his hands and stand up.

A calm and collected smile graced his face. With a wave of his hand, a dark red Pill Cauldron materialized before him. He then picked up a brocade box, took out the Spiritual Medicine, and began Refining the Elixir.

Less than thirty seconds later, Zhou Ling, who was to Chu Qingyun’s right, also put down her Scroll.

She glanced first at Wu Xinghai, then wrinkled her nose, apparently displeased at being slightly slower. She too then summoned a Pill Cauldron and began her Alchemy.

Then, two minutes later,

Li Ruoguang of the Tianya Sect and Zhu Tianyun of the Purple Cloud Sect also put down their Scrolls and began to prepare for Alchemy.

After those four, other Alchemists began finishing their study of the Pill Formula one by one. They each brought out their own Pill Cauldrons and, racing against the clock, began to light their fires and refine the Elixir.