stonecrandall 517. Danhui Space
517. Danhui Space
Just after Xiao Yan left, another figure quietly appeared.
"Miss Cao Ying, you saw Xiao Yan but didn't make a move. Aren't you afraid of Young Master Ling's wrath?" The speaker was a young man dressed in white robes. He had a warm smile on his face, but the smile seemed to have a hint of effeminacy about it.
Cao Ying also remembered his identity: Chen Xian, the young master of the Xuanming Sect, an affiliated sect of the Tianming Sect. The Spirit Clan had made ample preparations for this Pill Gathering, recruiting many powerful experts in addition to the six top-ranked eighth-grade alchemists on the surface.
The Tianming Sect had already stated its position, and the Xuanming Sect, which was an affiliated sect, naturally gave its full support. Chen Xian was one of the contestants from the Tianming Sect who came to participate in the competition.
"Young Master Chen Xian, Xiao Yan is a Dou Zun expert. Young Master Ling also said that if we encounter Xiao Yan, we should try our best to stop him. I am weak and alone, and I dare not go up directly and throw my life away."
Cao Ying covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her eyes filled with encouragement: "However, I am really looking forward to hearing the news that Xiao Yan will die at the hands of Young Master Chen Xian. When that happens, Ying'er will definitely cheer for you."
Cao Ying then ignored Chen Xian's reaction and went into the spatial passage.
"Cao Ying, she is truly a rare beauty." Chen Xian looked at the disappearing Cao Ying, his nostrils twitching slightly as he savored the lingering fragrance she left behind, a hint of desire in his eyes.
"If Xiao Yan really dies by my hand, the first thing I'll ask Ling Shao for is you as my plaything, to hear your moans beneath me!" Chen Xian clenched his fists behind his back. Xiao Yan wasn't an easy opponent, but Xiao Yan hadn't noticed him yet. If he could seize the opportunity, he might be able to make a name for himself. After all, Ling Zhuo had paid a heavy price to win the Pill Gathering.
Chen Xian then entered the spatial passage...
……
This is a desolate plain, the earth mostly yellowish-brown, occasionally dotted with a few patches of green, releasing a little bit of life and vitality.
Occasionally, small magical beasts would burst out from the plains, kicking up a wisp of yellow smoke before disappearing into the distance.
The desolate plain remained silent for a while, then the void suddenly rippled, and a figure flashed out from within.
The figure that emerged from the space was naturally Xiao Yan, who had entered the spatial passage. When the desolate plain in front of him came into view, he was slightly taken aback. With a thought, his body floated in the sky instead of recklessly falling to the ground.
Then, the space in front of Xiao Yan rippled slightly, and a stone emerged from it, which Xiao Yan grasped in his hand. With Xiao Yan's strength, he naturally and easily sensed the spatial fluctuations within it—a spatial stone.
Inside the space stone was a small note: "Crushing the space stone will eliminate you, and you will then automatically detach."
Ultimately, the Pill Gathering is a competition for alchemists. A few injuries or fatalities are acceptable, but if it escalates into a large-scale bloodbath, it will ultimately damage the reputation of the Pill Gathering. Therefore, the Pill Tower has distributed these space stones to every alchemist, which can at least guarantee the lives of the vast majority of participants in the Pill Gathering.
Xiao Yan carefully put it away. Although there weren't many people in the Pill Gathering who could threaten him, it was always better to be safe than sorry, and having such a trump card for escape was always a good thing.
Xiao Yan then made a grabbing motion in the air, and with a flick of his soul perception, he gained a general understanding of the space: "Abundant and plentiful Dou Qi, but unfortunately it's somewhat violent. It's fine for short-term cultivation. But if you stay here for too long, the Dou Qi within your body will also cause problems."
"However," Xiao Yan noticed something amiss with his keen spiritual senses, "if spatial fluctuations are normal in a small space, the energy fluctuations in this space are abnormal. Clearly, there have been significant modifications recently. Is this the work of a Dou Sheng expert?"
A Dou Zun level expert can manipulate spatial power, but only a Dou Sheng level expert can directly create a space. The fact that Dan Hui has such a large space must mean that the person behind it is extremely powerful.
While Xiao Yan was carefully analyzing and perceiving, people kept entering from the outside.
However, when they realized that the figure floating in mid-air was Xiao Yan, they were all secretly alarmed. Many people left the moment they saw Xiao Yan. Staying here with a master like Xiao Yan wouldn't bring any benefits, and if they found out that all the good stuff was someone else's, they might as well go elsewhere and try their luck.
However, a few bolder individuals remained, for a simple reason: they could see more than a dozen medicinal herbs within sight. The third stage of this alchemy competition required participants to search for medicinal herbs within their spatial storage. The amount of medicinal materials needed to refine pills after reaching the fifth rank was considerable, so they naturally wanted to seize the opportunity to obtain them now.
Xiao Yan, however, made no move, because with such medicinal herbs here, there would naturally be magical beasts guarding the place, and he had already sensed it in advance.
The mud and sand stirred, swirling like a vortex, instantly trapping the people underground. Then, a colossal sand serpent, over ten zhang long, silently emerged from the sand, its gaping maw lunging at the three.
However, the alchemists who could enter this place were no ordinary people. One of them held two fingers together, condensed his fighting spirit into a blade, and the blade light shot out in all directions. He actually blasted the head of the giant python to pieces, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.
The man sneered, "He's courting death."
He then took out the demonic core of the magical beast, glanced at Xiao Yan, and seeing that Xiao Yan still hadn't moved, he continued to pick the scattered herbs on the ground with peace of mind.
Seeing the changes in everyone's expressions, Xiao Yan was finally able to confirm that there was no danger here. He moved swiftly, arriving beside a medicinal herb. With a light tap of his finger, the not-so-high-grade herb, Sand-Scarred Sunflower, floated before Xiao Yan, its layers then being peeled away layer by layer.
"As expected," Xiao Yan carefully sensed it and discovered the mystery within.
There was an extremely subtle and barely perceptible trace of Dou Qi within this herb. Even Xiao Yan couldn't affect this Dou Qi without peeling it open. This was another method of the Pill Tower: clearly marking every medicinal herb within the space. If someone tried to sneak in their own prepared herbs, they would likely be discovered on the spot.
Xiao Yan was once again awestruck by the power of a Dou Sheng expert. The quantity of medicinal herbs in such a region was unimaginable, and he had to mark them all. The difficulty of that task was terrifying to even contemplate.