Chapter 1452 - Heavenly Spirit Diagram

The clash between the two sects had truly begun. Until now, they had fought in the shadows, but their conflict had finally erupted into the open.

The moment the Grand Unity Sect stepped forward, it was as good as admitting they stood behind the Divine Alchemy Sect and the Giant Spirit Hall's provocations against the Heavenly Dao Society.

Zhuge Ming moved up with several elders of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and took his place behind Liu Wuxie. From that instant on, the confrontation no longer involved only the Heavenly Dao Society and the Grand Unity Sect; it had escalated into a standoff between the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Grand Unity Sect.

"Liu Wuxie, what Elder Yan said isn't entirely wrong. Sixth-grade spiritual pills only target the low-end market, and they're not suitable in Nightmare City," said those who supported the Grand Unity Sect, convinced his reasoning held weight.

"What a joke! Who made up the rule that sixth-grade spiritual pills aren't allowed in Nightmare City?" others retorted from the crowd, siding with the Heavenly Dao Society. Low-end products had their own market, and the Grand Unity Sect had no right to meddle in that.

Arguments collided back and forth across the plaza, both factions insisting their stance made sense.

"Since Elder Yan claimed that pills produced by the Heavenly Dao Society are garbage, shouldn't you be the one to give the Heavenly Dao Society an explanation?" Liu Wuxie countered. Since the Grand Unity Sect had taken the initiative to step forward and let others slap them, he had no intention of letting them walk away with their dignity intact.

They called sixth-grade spiritual pills garbage only because this was Nightmare City. Across the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, sixth-grade spiritual pills still commanded an enormous market.

"Since ancient times, there's been a silent agreement between the various forces that sixth-grade spiritual pills aren't allowed in Nightmare City's exhibition phase. Since the Heavenly Dao Society has broken that rule, you naturally have to be punished for it," Elder Yan declared, cloaking himself in righteousness.

This so-called agreement had always been silent and never formally enforced; at best, it was a tacit understanding among the various forces.

Liu Wuxie turned to Zhuge Ming for confirmation, and Zhuge Ming gave a slight nod. There was indeed such an unspoken rule: pills beneath seventh-grade spiritual pills were not to be displayed during the exhibition segment.

After all, seventh-grade spiritual pills were the leading sellers in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. In contrast, eighth-grade spiritual pills, though more coveted, existed in too small a quantity to support the mass market.

"Since that's the case, I have a question for Elder Yan. What if the medicinal effects of seventh-grade spiritual pills refined by some people don't even measure up to my sixth-grade spiritual pills?" Liu Wuxie asked, turning the argument back on him.

What mattered most was the medicinal effect, not the grade. Buyers understood that better than anyone. Spending a fortune on a useless eighth-grade spiritual pill brought no benefit at all. The worth of a pill lay in its efficacy, not the label attached to it.

Liu Wuxie's words immediately stirred the crowd. Many began to suspect that the sixth-grade spiritual pills produced by the Heavenly Dao Society might truly surpass seventh-grade spiritual pills in medicinal effect, judging from his tone.

"What arrogance. If you can prove that your sixth-grade spiritual pills are superior compared to seventh-grade spiritual pills, I'll admit my mistake for calling your pills garbage," Elder Yan sneered, as if he had just heard the most absurd claim in history.

Since ancient times, pills and weapons had adhered to strict grading systems, and leaping a grade was incredibly difficult due to the laws of heaven and earth. Trying to break that framework was no different from defying the heavens themselves.

"Liu Wuxie, since you claim that seventh-grade spiritual pills are inferior to your sixth-grade spiritual pills, the Divine Alchemy Sect is willing to use our Profound Spirit Pills to compete with yours. If the effects of our pills turn out weaker than yours, we will withdraw the Profound Spirit Pill from the alchemy market and never sell it again. But if your pill is proven inferior, the Heavenly Dao Society must never step into the alchemy market."

The Divine Alchemy Sect laid out the gamble with the explicit intention of driving the Heavenly Dao Society altogether out of the alchemy market. The Spirit Martial Astral Domain's alchemy market had already fallen into the Heavenly Dao Society's hands. If they also seized the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain's market, the Divine Alchemy Sect would be doomed.

It was evident that the Divine Alchemy Sect had finally realized the looming threat. The stakes they put on the table were enormous, far heavier than merely kneeling and barking like dogs. The Profound Spirit Pill was their core product, and forcing it off the market would strike directly at the sect's lifeline.

Even so, the Profound Spirit Pill represented the finest pill the Divine Alchemy Sect could refine. If they chose an ordinary pill, they might lose to Liu Wuxie outright, so they could only bring out their best to boost their chances of victory.

Elder Yan frowned, feeling that Feng He had pushed things too far and left them with no way out. If Liu Wuxie happened to win, Elder Yan would only need to apologize, but the Divine Alchemy Sect would suffer a fatal blow to its foundation.

Yet since Feng He dared to propose such a wager, he clearly felt confident. There had never been a recorded case of a sixth-grade spiritual pill outperforming a seventh-grade spiritual pill in all of history.

They threw down the challenge, and everyone waited to see if the Heavenly Dao Society would accept. The cultivators who had come to watch were only eager for more spectacle, and they loudly urged the Heavenly Dao Society to take the bet.

As every gaze settled on Liu Wuxie, the Heavenly Dao Society's fate seemed to hang in the balance of his answer.

"I just said yesterday that I'll destroy your Divine Alchemy Sect. Since you people are so impatient to be destroyed, let us start now, then," Liu Wuxie said, waving his hand as he accepted Feng He's challenge.

If he could topple the Divine Alchemy Sect, it would be the same as crippling one of the Grand Unity Sect's arms. With his current strength, he still couldn't raze the Divine Alchemy Sect by force, but he could certainly push them over a cliff using the market itself.

Once the Divine Alchemy Sect lost its alchemy market, the sect would collapse within a few short years without him ever needing to draw his blade.

"Go bring the Profound Spirit Pill over," Feng He ordered, and Zhang Li hurried back to their booth to fetch one.

In the sunlight, the pill glowed with a vivid sheen, while a faint fragrance drifted gently through the air. A single breath left everyone feeling soothed, and they subconsciously relaxed.

No one could deny that the Profound Spirit Pill was excellent, and its popularity needed no further explanation.

"But how are we going to test their effects? If we get someone from the Heavenly Dragon Sect to try them, they will surely side with the Heavenly Dao Society. Likewise, if someone from the Grand Unity Sect tested the pill, they would surely side with the Divine Alchemy Sect," the crowd murmured among themselves, realizing that even the testing method posed a complex problem.

Even if they chose a random cultivator from among the spectators, that person's judgment might not carry enough weight.

"Our Spirit Martial Astral Domain has a secret technique to test the pill's ingredients and effects without consuming them," said a cultivator from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain as he stepped out from the crowd, volunteering to conduct the test.

His words immediately made everyone's eyes brighten. The Spirit Martial Astral Domain had no direct stakes in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, so he would not lean toward either the Heavenly Dao Society or the Divine Alchemy Sect.

An old man walked out behind him and began forming seals with both hands, conjuring a shimmering light screen in the air that flickered with countless runes.

Everyone watched with keen interest. They didn't understand what technique he used, but Liu Wuxie's gaze flickered with a strange light. He hadn't expected someone from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain to be proficient in the Heavenly Spirit Diagram.

"Both parties, send your pills now. The more runes that appear, the higher the pill's quality and the stronger its effects," the old man said.

Feng He hesitated for a brief moment, then sent the Profound Spirit Pill into the diagram. He himself did not recognize the Heavenly Spirit Diagram, but Elder Yan did.

Moments earlier, Elder Yan had sent a voice transmission to Feng He, telling him to stay calm and place the pill inside. The Heavenly Spirit Diagram communicated directly with the heavens, and no one could tamper with its results.

Liu Wuxie flicked his wrist, summoned a pill from the Heavenly Dao Society's booth, and sent it into the diagram with a light tap of his finger.

The Divine Alchemy Sect's pill hovered on the left, while Liu Wuxie's pill hung quietly on the right.

On the other side, the old man stopped forming seals once both pills entered the Heavenly Spirit Diagram. He let them float there in silence as threads of light inside the diagram began to coil around the two pills.

"Runes are starting to appear!" The cultivators pressed closer, staring without blinking at the Heavenly Spirit Diagram. The Profound Spirit Pill produced its runes first.

Seeing the thickness of the runes, Feng He could not hold back a smug smile. The runes spread outward in a flash, increasing to thirty in number, each extending more than a meter in length.

"The Divine Alchemy Sect's Profound Spirit Pills are pretty decent," said the old man from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain. Everyone knew him as Shang Yi, an elder from a powerful force in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain who came to Nightmare City nearly every year.

With Shang Yi's praise, the Divine Alchemy Sect's elders looked even more complacent.

The thirty runes finally stopped extending and stabilized at just over a meter long.

At that moment, the pill sent by Liu Wuxie began to spin, and runes as thick as a human arm surged out, intertwining across the Heavenly Spirit Diagram like coiled dragon tendons.

"This..." Shang Yi staggered backward. He had tested countless pills over the years, and this was the first time he had seen pill runes so thick.

Everyone's hearts from the Divine Alchemy Sect sank at the sight of those runes. Their own pill runes were only as thick as an adult's finger, yet the Heavenly Dao Society's pill runes had swelled to the width of an arm, crushing them outright. There was no comparison at all.

The cultivators standing around the diagram were equally stunned, unable to accept what they were seeing. Some even rubbed their eyes, ensuring they weren't hallucinating.

"Ten pill runes now." Voices rose from the crowd as the pill continued to release rune after rune.

The number of runes climbed higher and continued to spread outward at a steady pace.

"Elder, this doesn't look good!" Zhang Li's voice trembled as his heart pounded.

"Fifteen pill runes!" another exclamation rang out as each new rune appeared.

The steady increase of pill runes alone proved how powerful the pill's lingering effects were.

In contrast, the Profound Spirit Pill had erupted with thirty pill runes right from the start, but its momentum lacked endurance and quickly flattened out.

"Twenty pill runes," another shout rippled through the crowd.

Even more striking, the length of the runes had already surpassed one meter. Now everything came down to quantity. As long as the final count exceeded the Divine Alchemy Sect's runes, the Heavenly Dao Society would win this challenge.

The hearts of everyone from the Heavenly Dao Society lifted with growing excitement, and even the Grand Unity Sect's elders grew visibly tense. It would be unprecedented for a sixth-grade spiritual pill to surpass a seventh-grade spiritual pill.

"Twenty-five pill runes!" someone cried as the count continued to rise, the longest rune already stretching three meters. Even if the Heavenly Dao Society's pill somehow failed to surpass the Profound Spirit Pill in total number, its quality had already overtaken the Divine Alchemy Sect's pill.

"That's impossible! How is it possible for a sixth-grade spiritual pill to have twenty-five pill runes?!" The startled cry came not from a cultivator of the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, but from someone of the Spirit Martial Astral Domain.

The Heavenly Spirit Diagram was no secret in the Spirit Martial Astral Domain, and most sects used it to test the effectiveness of their pills. They had examined countless sixth-grade spiritual pills, and the strongest they had ever seen possessed only twenty pill runes.

Even cultivators from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain struggled to accept what was unfolding before them, let alone the local cultivators of the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain.

When everyone turned their eyes back to Liu Wuxie, an instinctive fear surfaced in their gaze. No one had expected the Divine Alchemy Sect to stumble twice at the very same point.

Their first defeat had not been too surprising, since the Soul Pills looked unimpressive from the outside. But this time, with the Grand Unity Sect backing them, many had believed they would finally reverse their fortunes; yet it seemed they were about to lose again.

The pill runes continued to appear until only one remained before they reached thirty.

When the final pill rune emerged, even a dignified Earth Immortal like Feng He could no longer steady himself and collapsed to the ground.