bdsm-fiction 578. Flame out of control
578. Flame out of control
Everyone could see that something was wrong, but there was nothing they could do; the Pill Gathering was, after all, a competition. And competitions have rules. Even though everyone under the Spirit Clan was pushing themselves to the limit, the Pill Tower couldn't say much. Should they disqualify someone just because they were faster?
At the same time, everyone was well aware that the core of everything, all the problems, would ultimately erupt completely in Ling Zhuo's hands. After all, his achievements were the most crucial element of the Spirit Clan's operation, so crucial that they were even willing to create a Heavenly Talent Ranking to promote Ling Zhuo. Therefore, while Ling Zhuo was diligently refining pills, everyone in the Pill Tower, including the three giants, was worried and filled with unease.
Ling Zhuo's sudden surge in power is reassuring, as only by seeing the opponent's moves can one have a chance to respond.
Ling Zhuo immediately stood up from the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips. He was more attentive to the changes in the arena than anyone else. The other four members of the Ling Clan had all completed the refining of the pills, and now it was Ling Zhuo's turn to perform.
Even Ling Haonan, whose eyes had been as calm as still water, showed a slight ripple as he followed Ling Zhuo's movements, and murmured, "They've arrived."
Originally, Ling Zhuo was channeling flames into the medicine cauldron with one hand, but now the power of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame in his hands was becoming increasingly immense, and his hands were completely covered by flames. The already extraordinary medicine cauldron was now showing signs of being unable to withstand the burning flames, and a terrifying hidden power was being nurtured within it.
The majority of those present were alchemists. On the high platform, Venerable Mingshui frowned as he watched Ling Zhuo's actions. Driven by the instinct ingrained in an alchemist's bones, he instinctively said, "Nonsense! With this level of fire input, do they even want his pills? Even if they want to buy time, this isn't how you do it!"
Several elders of the Pill Tower shared the same judgment as Venerable Mingshui: the power of the flames released by Lingzhuo was too great, and this would affect the pills if it continued.
It should be noted that alchemy is not simply about making the flames as strong as possible; the control of flames is a crucial aspect of what an alchemist must learn. What Ling Zhuo is doing now is clearly violating this golden rule.
Xuan Kongzi immediately stared at Ling Zhuo's movements, but ultimately shook his head. His experience was still much deeper than that of Venerable Mingshui and the others.
"His flames are not out of control. Ling Zhuo is the person with the highest soul realm in this year's Pill Gathering, having truly entered the late stage of the Spirit Realm. He can still control flames of this level!"
Xuan Kongzi's words left the others with no doubt. However, a new question arose, and Xuan Yi proactively asked, "Then why did he do this?"
Xuan Yi's question was quickly answered, not because any of the alchemists in the Pill Tower had exceptional eyesight, but because the undeniable commotion at the competition center told everyone the answer.
Someone set the pot on fire!
This person was not Ling Zhuo, who was forcibly enhancing his flame power; nor Lei Jingxiao, who had failed several times in trying to make fourth-grade pills; nor Xiao Yan; nor Wei Jiangyuan. Instead, it was a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and beard, a genuine seventh-grade advanced alchemist, and a master alchemist who had already begun to explore the path to the Spirit Realm.
At his age, he was no longer as impulsive as a young man, and the high-grade seventh-rank pills in his cauldron were being refined in a very good manner. Even when a series of eighth-rank pills appeared, obscuring the sky with pill lightning, he didn't spare much attention, focusing instead on his cauldron.
Just when he felt certain of success, the flames within the cauldron suddenly went out of control. This was a crucial moment in the alchemy process, where even the slightest fluctuation could be fatal. Not to mention losing control of one's own natal flame. This man was no different from Wei Jiangyuan that day; after struggling to maintain control, he lost it, and the cauldron exploded with a deafening roar.
He stared blankly at the scene before him. As a high-level seventh-grade alchemist, he wasn't incapable of accepting failure. Years of experience had long taught him that there was always a chance of failure in refining any elixir. At his age, he wasn't easily discouraged by a single setback; his bewilderment stemmed from a complete lack of understanding of where he had gone wrong!
The direct cause of the explosion was his loss of control over the flames, but his flames had been completely absorbed by him more than 20 years ago, and the situation just now had been quite stable without any problems, so he had no clue what to do at the moment.
After he broke free from his feelings of defeat, he was surprised to find that he wasn't the only one whose cauldron had suddenly exploded!
With each series of sounds, either the fire was too intense, completely ruining the ingredients in the cauldron, or the fire was too weak, causing flaws in the normally condensed pills...
This alarming situation spread rapidly within a very short time. People's flames kept getting out of control, and they could only watch in despair as the lifeblood within their medicine cauldrons was destroyed in an instant.
Those who remained on the stone platform at this moment were mostly individuals who truly had a chance to break into the top ten of the Pill Gathering. Such a large-scale failure naturally attracted everyone's attention.
After all, they were alchemists with powerful soul strength, and soon some of them noticed that the flame energy in the air seemed to be too regular.
With so many alchemists refining medicine together, the flame energy would naturally be chaotic and disordered. However, the flames now seemed to be under some kind of influence, exhibiting remarkable regularity and order. Furthermore, a kind of oppressive force that only the flames could sense was also subtly present in the arena.
"Who's affecting the flames!" A tall alchemist, noticing this, exclaimed in surprise, his straightforward nature leading him to exclaim as well.
After realizing what was happening, many people immediately went to find the two people on the stone platform. This alchemy competition was of an unusually large scale, so even the strange flames had already appeared. Now, only two people on the competition stage possessed strange flames: Xiao Yan and Ling Zhuo!
The two of them were also the most likely to trigger this series of explosions, after all, the difference between the strange fire and other flames was too great.
These people looked around but couldn't identify who it was, since Xiao Yan and Ling Zhuo seemed to be just quietly completing the final work of refining the medicine.
During that short period of time, only ten people were able to control the flames on the stone platform to keep the alchemy process uninterrupted.