novelraw Chapter 701 701: The Puppet Once Again Caught Xiao Yan’s Attention
Chapter 701 701: The Puppet Once Again Caught Xiao Yan’s Attention
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However, thanks to Dan Chen's "good fortune," that two-colored thundercloud actually frightened away the tribulation thunders of the other competitors. As a result, the rest of them no longer had to worry about welcoming their own Pill Lightnings.
Perhaps this was what they called a blessing in disguise.
As for Dan Chen, standing atop the stone platform, she reached up to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips. Her pale cheeks lifted slightly as she looked at the two-colored thundercloud in the sky, a faint smile of joy curling at her lips.
Then, she slowly stood up, her slender and delicate body swaying lightly in the wind as if a single breeze could topple her over. Yet, it was precisely this fragile-looking figure that made even the strong experts of the Dou Zun level not dare to show a hint of contempt.
Today, whether or not she could withstand that two-colored Pill Lightning, the name Dan Chen of the Dan Clan would surely resound throughout the entire Central Plains!
"Giggle~ Dan Chen, little sister, it seems you've made quite a bit of progress during this time. But if you want your big sister here to admit defeat, that won't be so easy."
As the smile appeared on Dan Chen's face, a crisp and charming laugh suddenly echoed from afar.
Hearing that, Dan Chen turned her head and saw that on the distant stone platform, Cao Ying had slowly stood up. That enchanting and stunning face of hers, although looking much better than Dan Chen's, was still quite pale.
Even so, the smile on her beautiful face remained as captivating as ever, enough to mesmerize countless onlookers. As Dan Chen's longtime rival, Cao Ying naturally refused to fall behind. A proud arc, much like that of a phoenix, lifted on her lips.
Her jade-like hand suddenly formed seals in front of her chest, and with a sharp cry, she shouted, "Rise!"
Boom!
Following her shout, a blood-red light pillar — even larger than the one Dan Chen had summoned before — erupted from within Cao Ying's cauldron, shooting straight into the heavens!
As that light pillar burst forth, the clouds in the sky condensed rapidly. Soon after, under countless astonished gazes, two distinct colors appeared. However, compared to Dan Chen's thundercloud, Cao Ying's two-colored thundercloud was even more intense!
Moreover, the sharp-eyed among the crowd could faintly spot a trace of extremely light red mixed beneath the blue and silver hues.
"My god, it's another eighth-tier pill!"
The surging thundercloud rolling above instantly ignited the entire square into a roar of excitement.
Meanwhile, upon seeing that faint trace of a three-color in Cao Ying's thundercloud, Xiao Yan's expression darkened slightly.
By strength alone, he should have easily surpassed both of these women. Even if he couldn't take first place, he should've at least been among the top two or three.
But now… things looked uncertain.
At that thought, his gaze couldn't help but shift toward Old Mu Gu in the distance. Because the old man's cauldron was of excellent quality, it completely concealed the fluctuations of the pill within.
But Xiao Yan had heard from Xuan Kongzi and the others that this old fellow was at least a three-colored alchemist. Right now, Xiao Yan didn't have much confidence that he could defeat him unless he dared to risk using his master's ultimate alchemy technique.
But the moment he thought of the danger involved, Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. His gaze then swept toward another stone platform, where waves of soul power unique to a Spirit Realm soul emanated.
There, an old man in gray robes sat cross-legged, his wrinkled face like aged orange peel, yet filled with a kind and gentle smile. Hanging on his chest was a badge — an eighth-tier alchemist's Insignia.
Judging from his appearance, he was clearly one of the old-generation powerhouses.
"Damn it, I didn't expect this Pill Gathering to attract so many old monsters from the older generation!"
Although the old man's face bore a warm and gentle smile, in Xiao Yan's eyes, it looked like a smug taunt begging for a beating.
Because of Lin Feng's earlier interference in fate, Xiao Yan's current timeline was more pressing, and his hunger for strength had grown even fiercer. Thus, the usually composed Xiao Yan now found his heart slightly restless and impatient.
However, when he sensed that the pill inside his cauldron had already taken shape, he suppressed the agitation in his heart for the moment and turned toward his cauldron.
Boom!
The next moment, a massive light pillar nearly ten zhang tall erupted from within his cauldron. Instantly, the crowd gasped once more as two-colored thunderclouds began to form above his head.
Perhaps due to the amplification of his Heavenly Flame and his own strength, even though Xiao Yan, like Dan Chen, had only just barely stepped into the Spirit Realm Soul, his two-colored thundercloud was no less dazzling than Dan Chen's — who had relied on the Pill Embracing Art.
However, compared to Cao Ying's thundercloud, his still fell slightly short. In Xiao Yan's thundercloud, there wasn't even the faintest trace of a third color.
"Hehe, it seems this time, the championship belongs to me!"
Just as Xiao Yan's thundercloud appeared, an old, confident laugh resounded across the arena.
The next instant, under countless watching eyes, that Elder waved his sleeve lightly, blowing the lid off his cauldron. As the lid fell, a surge of energy even stronger than any before burst forth, shooting straight into the sky and transforming into a thundercloud!
After a moment of violent rolling, two colors emerged clearly within the stormy cloud. However, before long, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, a new color quietly emerged within that thundercloud.
"It's a three-colored thundercloud! Its colors are even deeper and richer than Cao Ying's Pill Lightning!"
"Who is this old man? How can even that demoness Cao Ying be inferior to him?"
As everyone stared at the Pill Lightning that had ultimately solidified into three distinct colors, the entire square erupted into an uproar.
Meanwhile, upon seeing that the old man had drawn out a three-colored Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan's expression darkened considerably. Each place he fell in rank meant he was one step further away from obtaining the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
For someone who craved strength as desperately as he did, this was something almost impossible to accept.
"Damn it. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just have to use... other means to get the Three Thousand Burning Flame!"
Xiao Yan clenched his teeth, muttering inwardly.
"Didn't expect that old fox Qing Hua to have the nerve to show up here too."
At the same time, on the high platform above, the upper echelon of the Pill Tower looked toward the gray-robed Elder standing on the stone platform below. Their expressions froze briefly before they exchanged helpless glances.
Seeing her old contemporary there, Xuan Yi frowned and sighed, "This old guy really has no shame."
Of course, more than annoyance, what worried her was that if he took first place and obtained the Three Thousand Burning Flame, Xiao Yan's efforts would all go to waste.
"You don't know how obsessed that old man is with Heavenly Flames," Tian Lei Zi said, glancing at Qing Hua below.
"Back in the day, he and Yao Chen spent years together in that cursed place, but in the end, it was Yao Chen who got the Bone Chilling Flame. Now that there's a chance to obtain the Three Thousand Burning Flame, it's only natural he'd come to try his luck."
Hearing this, Xuan Kong Zi could only shake his head helplessly.
Then, his gaze shifted toward another stone platform. There, Old Mu Gu, dressed in black robes, was fully focused on refining his pill.
"This person's aura has been deliberately concealed ever since he appeared, and even his face has been tampered with. Who could this old monster be?"
Xuan Kong Zi stroked his beard thoughtfully, his mind turning over possible identities.
Because Xiao Yan had failed to inform the Three Leaders after leaving the Pill Realm that Old Mu Gu had infiltrated the Pill Gathering, the three of them were still unaware of his true identity and could only make random guesses.
Rumble~
At that moment, the multicolored Pill Lightning conjured by Dan Chen, Cao Ying, Xiao Yan, and the others began to rage violently.
Judging by their momentum, they were about to descend.
Seeing this, Dan Chen quickly brushed her storage ring and summoned one of the many puppets Lin Feng had given her. This puppet was entirely silver in color and possessed the strength of a peak Dou Zong.
Lin Feng had once told her that if a puppet of this level could endure the baptism of an eighth-tier Pill Lightning, it might very well break through to the Dou Zun realm. Thus, she had chosen to follow Lin Feng's advice and used a peak Dou Zong-level puppet to resist the Pill Lightning.
As for Cao Ying, she too wiped her ring lightly and summoned a golden Sky Demon Puppet.
In contrast to the two women who relied on puppets to face the Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan and the old man named Qing Hua had no such option. They could only rely on their own strength to take the thunder head-on.
After all, one was Lin Feng's mortal enemy, and the other had nothing to do with Lin Feng whatsoever — there was no way either of them could have obtained one of his puppets.
However, as Xiao Yan looked up at the puppets soaring into the sky under the two women's commands to meet the descending Pill Lightning, a flicker of interest crossed his eyes.
"Perhaps... I should find a way to get a few of those puppets from Lin Feng. It's said they can even absorb Pill Lightning and evolve. When I find master and rescue him, I'll need plenty of fighting strength."
As his eyes lingered on the puppets, Xiao Yan silently made up his mind.
After this Pill Gathering was over, he would discuss with the Three Leaders and see if there was a way to obtain a few of those puppets from Lin Feng.
After all, during the two months he had spent battling the Hall of Souls, he had come to deeply understand just how terrifying the name "Hall of Souls" truly was. Most Dou Zun-level experts would immediately flee the moment they heard it was the Hall of Souls they were dealing with.
Even when Xiao Yan tried to lure them with high-tier pills, they didn't dare to stay for even a moment. Although part of that was because his current strength wasn't enough to give them confidence in victory, the experience still left a strong impression on him.
It made him yearn even more for those puppets — the unyielding constructs that followed orders without hesitation and never betrayed their master.
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