Devouring Soul Emperor

Zhou Ling was a bit confused.

However, she followed Chu Qingyun's instructions and withdrew half of the Martial Soul Fire from that area.

Then, just as he'd implied, she barely managed to overcome that step.

'This guy…'

Zhou Ling was suddenly even more astonished.

When she turned to look at him again, she saw that Chu Qingyun had already focused his full attention on his own alchemy.

So, she said nothing more and focused all her attention on her own Pill Cauldron.

About half an hour later, a muffled BANG echoed from Zhou Ling's Pill Cauldron. It had exploded again.

She had been too affected by the previous three attempts and hadn't managed to accumulate any real experience. This fourth attempt was also fraught with difficulties. The accumulated mistakes finally led to another explosion.

However, compared to the last three times, her eyes now held far more confidence.

She only had one chance left, but she was confident she could succeed.

Of course, she knew full well that this was all thanks to the casual tip Chu Qingyun had given her earlier.

Otherwise, she never would have understood that most difficult step without failing at least once or twice.

Just then, however, Chu Qingyun shook his head. He waved a hand, extinguishing the Martial Soul Fire in his Pill Cauldron. He then tossed out the half-fused Essence of Spiritual Medicine, voluntarily giving up on this attempt.

He had tried for half an hour, but it was unsalvageable.

By Chu Qingyun's estimation, this batch would be Middle Grade at best, failing to meet his expectations.

Besides, not much time was left. He didn't want to waste any more of it; it was better to start the next attempt sooner.

Just as Chu Qingyun finished cleaning his Pill Cauldron and was preparing to start over…

On the other side of the high platform, the lid on Wu Xinghai of the Talisman Puppet Sect's cauldron suddenly shot up. An elixir flew out, and he snatched it from the air.

A smile appeared on Wu Xinghai's face as he glanced at the elixir in his hand.

However, after stowing the elixir, he didn't stop. Instead, he cleaned his Pill Cauldron and began his next attempt.

So, someone had finally succeeded.

Wu Xinghai was clearly the first to successfully refine a Youthful Appearance Pill.

But with over two hours remaining, he wanted to try again to see if he could produce an elixir of even higher quality.

Wu Xinghai's success placed considerable pressure on the remaining contestants, and everyone's expressions grew more serious.

Chu Qingyun and Zhou Ling quickly refocused as well.

Zhu Tianyun and Li Ruoguang finally snapped out of it, retrieved their cauldron lids, and began their final attempt at alchemy.

Only a little over two hours remained.

Since Chu Qingyun and the other three had all just begun anew, this was effectively their last chance.

Success or failure—it all came down to this one attempt.

Zhu Tianyun and Li Ruoguang had just been taught a harsh lesson by Chu Qingyun.

For this final attempt, neither of them dared to try any more tricks. They both chose to focus quietly on their own alchemy.

However, after placing the Spiritual Medicine into their Pill Cauldrons, they were stunned to find they couldn't focus their minds.

Every time they tried to concentrate and properly control their Martial Soul Fire, the image of Chu Qingyun's Soul Power crushing them would involuntarily surface in their minds.

That earlier overwhelming display had been far too shocking!

They were all in the Martial Spirit Realm and were all Spirit Level Alchemists, yet Chu Qingyun's Soul Power was on a completely different level from theirs!

That absolute, one-sided domination had left an insurmountable shadow in their hearts.

It was the kind of shadow that couldn't simply be forgotten or overcome on command.

The memory of being overwhelmed flashed through their minds time and again.

This made their process of refining the Youthful Appearance Pill extremely arduous and difficult.

Fortunately, the two were, after all, the most talented Alchemists of the younger generation from the Tianya Sect and the Purple Cloud Sect. So, despite a very rough process, they eventually managed to produce something from their Pill Cauldrons.

However, one look at their expressions was enough to guess that the result was far from satisfactory.

As for Zhou Ling.

Although her first three attempts were essentially wasted, yielding no experience, her inherent skill in alchemy was quite strong.

That, combined with the experience from her fourth try and Chu Qingyun's crucial guidance, allowed her to finally succeed in refining a Youthful Appearance Pill on her last attempt.

Holding the still-warm elixir, Zhou Ling pouted slightly. She felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

Then, she turned to look at Chu Qingyun.

She found that he still hadn't finished. His palms were pressed against the Pill Cauldron, and he was controlling the Martial Soul Fire within, his expression serene.

As a fellow Alchemist, Zhou Ling knew he was performing the third step of elixir refinement: Nourishing the Elixir with Martial Soul Fire.

This time, to refine an Upper Grade Youthful Appearance Pill, Chu Qingyun had been extremely meticulous with every step.

He was spending an exceptionally long time on this third step, Nourishing the Elixir.

The seconds and minutes ticked by.

At this point, more alchemists on the high platform began to give up, extinguishing the Martial Soul Fire in their Pill Cauldrons before leaping down in resignation.

So little time remained that even if they persisted until the very end, they wouldn't be able to finish.

An elixir that wasn't successfully refined meant no score.

Therefore, persisting for those last few minutes was meaningless.

Every minute, more people gave up and voluntarily leaped from the high platform.

People had been leaving the platform since the afternoon, but those who failed back then were the ones with poor mental fortitude who had already used up all five sets of ingredients.

Those leaving now, however, were simply admitting that their skill was insufficient to refine a brand-new Spirit Level elixir within five attempts.

Many left in failure, but there were also a few who succeeded under pressure in the final moments.

Most of those who successfully refined the Youthful Appearance Pill did so in the last hour or two. Even among the successful, nearly every one of them had failed three or four times beforehand.

With only ten minutes remaining, Chu Qingyun gave his Pill Cauldron a light tap. The lid flew open, and a perfectly round elixir shot out, which he snatched from the air.

The Youthful Appearance Pill was complete!

A satisfied smile spread across Chu Qingyun's face as he glanced at the elixir in his hand.

"You did it?"

Zhou Ling, who had been watching Chu Qingyun ever since finishing her own refinement, asked.

Chu Qingyun smiled and nodded at her.

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