Chapter 332
Hundreds of pill furnaces appeared in the air, their alchemical fires raging, heating the furnaces red-hot, the surrounding air scorching, all with the imminent threat of explosion.
There were plenty of people present who could stop the pill furnaces from exploding, but no one did.
Dong Yao’s parting words still echoed in their ears.
If anyone helped Lin Feng now, they would be seen as complicit in his misdeeds!
Even Elder Zheng, the elder presiding over the Alchemy Conference, chose to close his eyes and pretend not to see after a brief hesitation.
This left Yu Shi and Lin Feng in utter despair.
“Master, I only need a moment to complete my pill! Can you hold on?” Lin Feng asked.
Yu Shi shook his head.
He really couldn’t hold on!
If he tried to withstand the explosion of these hundreds of pill furnaces with his physical body, he would surely perish!“Disciple, you…”
Yu Shi started to speak but stopped, finally saying, “Do your best!”
With that, Yu Shi leaped up and hurriedly left the pill platform.
This left Lin Feng speechless.
What happened to the unity between master and disciple, to the promise of protection no matter what difficulties he faced?
Now, Yu Shi had run away and was telling him to do his best!
In reality, Lin Feng also knew that leaving was the best choice.
Although the explosive power of hundreds of pill furnaces was great, as long as he left the center of the explosion on the pill platform, his cultivation was enough to deal with the aftermath.
But the problem was, he was not willing to give up!
Leaving meant forfeiting the competition.
Lin Feng felt that he was in a great state for refining pills this time and had a premonition that he could produce a perfect quality pill, definitely defeating Jiang Chen!
He just didn’t expect things to turn out this way…
“This goes against the Way of Laying Low!” Lin Feng sighed repeatedly.
In the end, he chose to face reality.
He quickly fled from the pill platform!
And just as he left the pill platform…
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“…”
The sounds of the pill furnaces exploding followed one after another, and in an instant, there was flying debris and smoke filling the sky.
Jiang Chen, not wanting to be an innocent victim, had already left the pill platform the moment the hundreds of pill furnaces were thrown.
After everything had settled down, glancing at Lin Feng, who was now outside the pill platform, Shi Ning took the opportunity to announce, “The Alchemy Conference is over, and the winner of this Alchemy Conference is Jiuyan Sect’s Ninth Peak Eldest Senior Brother, Jiang Chen!!” ℝ𝘈ℕȱβƐṡ
“Oh——!”
The people of Jiuyan Sect shouted loudly.
Sect Master Gu Changqing once again stood up and clasped his hands, saying, “Thank you all for your generosity! In front of our Jiuyan Sect’s prodigy Jiang Chen, you are indeed no match no matter how hard you try!”
The words of the two were not much different from before the start of the Alchemy Conference.
The various sects in the spectator seats could only shake their heads helplessly upon hearing this.
Elder Zheng’s mouth twitched, but he did not object.
In the third trial, aside from Jiang Chen successfully refining a pill, Lin Feng left the pill platform and forfeited, while the other pill refiner masters had their furnaces explode.
By the rules, Jiang Chen was indeed the winner of this Alchemy Conference.
But the problem was…
After glancing at Shi Ning and the other madmen, Elder Zheng’s mouth twitched again.
This Alchemy Conference was full of monsters and demons!
It had really opened his eyes!
The winners of previous Alchemy Conferences would receive attention from the Imperial Pavilion and be given certain benefits.
However, since the winner this time was Jiang Chen, Elder Zheng did not plan to show any recognition.
The reason was simple.
Given the current relationship between the Jiang family and the Imperial Dynasty, Jiang Chen was destined to be a person the Imperial Dynasty could not win over.
In fact, compared to Jiang Chen, Elder Zheng was more optimistic about Lin Feng, as the latter’s talent in the Way of the Pill was also excellent.
It’s just that he didn’t expect the character of this Son of Destiny to be so lacking.
“The Alchemy Conference is over!” Elder Zheng stood up and announced.
“Oh——!”
The people of Jiuyan Sect shouted again.
Shi Ning smiled satisfactorily and said, “I told you, with Jiang Chen’s talent, he was bound to be the winner of this Alchemy Conference, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Elder Zheng glared at her.
Anyone with clear eyes could see that this Alchemy Conference was not normal, right?
He just didn’t want to delve deeper and point it out.
Shi Ning was not convinced, and she tried hard to glared back in return.
This left Elder Zheng speechless again.
Then came the award ceremony.
Since only Jiang Chen successfully concocted a pill in the third trial, with all others failing, there was only a first place and no other rankings.
“Hurry up and bring out the Ancient Pill Scroll. Let Eldest Senior Brother have a look!” Zhang Hu bellowed, stretching his neck.
Hearing this, the eyes of the representatives from various sects lit up.
The Ancient Pill Scroll, as the treasure that anchored the Ancient Pill Tower, contained pill recipes, techniques, and experiences that countless people coveted.
Although the crowd could not read it at this moment, if they could catch a glimpse of its true appearance, their trip would not have been in vain.
“Indeed, it is only right,” Elder Zheng also expressed his agreement.
But under the watchful eyes of everyone, Yu Shi, struggling to maintain his composure, refused, “No! This pill conference is full of anomalies. It doesn’t count!”
His words caused an uproar.
No one expected Yu Shi to be so shameless!
Even Elder Zheng frowned, “I personally oversaw this pill conference. Are you questioning me?”
“…Of course not,” Yu Shi’s forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat.
“Since it’s not the case, then why don’t you hurry up and bring the Ancient Pill Scroll?” Elder Zheng pressed on.
“This…”
Yu Shi was at a loss for words.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring it out, but that he couldn’t!
The Ancient Pill Scroll had been stolen, and if the sects present learned of this, the Ancient Pill Tower’s reputation would be utterly ruined!
Just as Yu Shi was at a loss for what to do, Shi Ning suddenly stood up and sighed, “To tell the truth, the Ancient Pill Scroll has been stolen!”
Whoosh—
The crowd was instantly in an uproar.
If it had been anyone else who said this, naturally no one would believe it.
But Shi Ning was the Tower Master of the Ancient Pill Tower!
Although she didn’t seem normal and showed signs of madness, she wouldn’t be spouting nonsense about such an important matter.
This development was also unexpected for Elder Zheng, who then looked at Yu Shi with an inquiring gaze.
Yu Shi had no choice but to nod his head.
Even their own Tower Master didn’t care about the face of the Ancient Pill Tower, so why should he, a Great Elder, bother?
“How audacious!”
Once confirmed, Elder Zheng was furious, “The Ancient Pill Scroll is a treasure of the Ancient Pill Tower! Its theft at this time must be someone defying the Empress’s decree, causing trouble, and must be severely punished!”
“Exactly! There must be severe punishment!”
Jiang Chen was the first to express support, angrily denouncing, “This thief is utterly shameless, a disgrace to all of us!”
After speaking, he added in his heart: Anyway, it’s the dog system’s doing, it has nothing to do with me.
“Elder, I know who the thief is!” Shi Ning suddenly said.
This made Jiang Chen’s heart skip a beat.
“Oh? Who is it?” Elder Zheng narrowed his eyes.
“This person is…”
Shi Ning suddenly turned his head and said coldly, “The Great Elder of the Ancient Pill Tower, Yu Shi!!”
A single stone caused a thousand ripples.
After a brief shock, the faces of the spectators were filled with disbelief.
But upon further thought, it seemed very possible to everyone.
After all, they knew that as a treasure of the Ancient Pill Tower, the Ancient Pill Scroll would be heavily guarded, and ordinary cultivators could not possibly steal it.
But Yu Shi was different.
As a Great Elder of the Ancient Pill Tower, with high status and power, he indeed had the opportunity to steal from his own charge!
Furthermore, his character was not that great…
“Slander! Pure slander!”
Yu Shi, stomping his feet in anger, immediately retorted, “Elder, the Tower Master has gone mad! The words of a madwoman cannot be trusted!”
Elder Zheng nodded, thinking there was some sense to that.
But just then, Xu An, the fourth elder of the Ancient Pill Tower, stood up and said, “I can testify that the Ancient Pill Scroll was indeed stolen by Yu Shi!”
“I can also testify!”
Xu Ping, his brother, supported him with a reminiscent look in his eyes, “It was on a dark and windy night when he…”
This again?
Yu Shi wanted to curse.