Chapter 1454 - Battle

The Divine Alchemy Sect quickly shook off the setback. Even though they had just lost the rights to sell the Profound Spirit Pills, they immediately relied on the new pills they had invented to steady themselves.

No matter what, they resolved to obstruct the Heavenly Dao Society's rise. They absolutely could not allow the Heavenly Dao Society to secure a foothold in the alchemy market.

"Are there other pills left to appraise?" The five grandmaster alchemists rose to their feet as one. If no other sect stepped forward to submit pills for appraisal, they were ready to declare the testing phase over.

The exhibition segment would continue for half a month, and pills were only one category among many. There were still numerous other products waiting to be displayed.

"Wait a moment!" Bi Gongyu stepped forward, holding a porcelain bottle.

"The Heavenly Dao Society has pills for appraisal, too?" The crowd, already beginning to disperse, halted and quickly streamed back, their curiosity sharpening.

"They're not going to appraise more sixth-grade spiritual pills, are they?" Many people exchanged strange looks, their expressions turning odd.

They all already knew the effects of the Origin Union Pill, so there was no need to test it again. Having that pill appraised a second time was completely redundant.

The five grandmaster alchemists sat down once more, interested to see what new trick the Heavenly Dao Society intended to pull. More people gathered in anticipation, convinced that the Heavenly Dao Society must have a reason for drawing attention once more.

When they saw the Heavenly Dao Society step into the spotlight again so soon after their own show, everyone from the Divine Alchemy Sect revealed foul expressions.

Just hearing the name "Heavenly Dao Society" made them feel ill, as if an inner demon had lodged itself in their hearts.

"Damn it all!" Feng He clenched his fist and could only force himself to turn around, determined to witness the entire appraisal process firsthand.

The crowd pressed in even closer, eager to get a clear view of the results. This year's event in Nightmare City had effectively become a one-man show for the Heavenly Dao Society, with every other force reduced to mere backdrop.

Attendants placed small porcelain dishes before the five grandmaster alchemists, and Bi Gongyu uncorked the bottle, carefully pouring a single pill into each dish.

"This is..." The five grandmaster alchemists narrowed their eyes, and then they shot to their feet when they saw the pill. Two of them instantly recognized it, as they had attended Liu Wuxie's apprenticeship ceremony.

"It's the Golden Cicada Pill!" The five words detonated like thunder, instantly setting off an uproar in the crowd.

Rumors of the Golden Cicada Pill had already spread throughout the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, especially the tale of how Liu Wuxie used a pile of ingredients deemed trash to refine a seventh-grade spiritual pill.

Even among seventh-grade spiritual pills, the Golden Cicada Pill ranked among the very best, and even the Divine Alchemy Sect's Profound Spirit Pill could not compare to it.

After losing to it previously, the Divine Alchemy Sect had spent a long time studying the Golden Cicada Pill, but they still could not replicate it. None of them had expected Liu Wuxie to bring the Golden Cicada Pill out again at Nightmare City's exhibition.

"Damn it!" Feng He ground his teeth. The Golden Cicada Pill's appearance instantly made the Divine Alchemy Sect's newly appraised pills seem like garbage in comparison.

Since the Golden Cicada Pill had far stronger effects at the same price, who wouldn't choose the superior pill?

Feng He felt on the verge of tears. He had the overwhelming urge to crawl into a corner and cry his heart out. Ever since they crossed paths with Liu Wuxie, the Divine Alchemy Sect had been suffering setback after setback, and he even began to suspect that Liu Wuxie really would destroy the Divine Alchemy Sect someday.

The Divine Alchemy Sect had just managed a comeback with their new pills, only for this new reversal to erase all their gains again. In truth, the Golden Cicada Pill's name alone was enough to render further appraisal meaningless.

Even so, for the sake of procedure, the five grandmaster alchemists still used the appraisal crystal to examine the pills. The result showed that the Golden Cicada Pill was twice as potent as the Divine Alchemy Sect's pills, and even the cultivators from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain could not hold back their praise.

Most importantly, refining the Golden Cicada Pill did not require any additional pills, which gave it a natural pricing advantage.

"Elder Yan, the Divine Alchemy Sect has lost." This time, the Grand Unity Sect did not step forward to defend them, merely watching from the sidelines. Yet the Divine Alchemy Sect's collapse dealt an equally heavy blow to the Grand Unity Sect.

"Excellent! From now on, I'm only buying Golden Cicada Pills!" Void Realm and Earth Immortal Realm cultivators alike had excitement written all over their faces. Many of them had long heard about the Golden Cicada Pill's effects.

With the Heavenly Dao Society's pill entering the market, the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain's overall strength would see a tremendous leap. Countless cultivators would be able to break through to higher realms because of it.

The surge in breakthroughs would elevate Liu Wuxie's status, draw even more people to his side, and bring him an endless stream of faith energy.

This meant that the Heavenly Dao Society would gain not only resources but also a rapidly expanding web of connections.

When the testing phase concluded, the Heavenly Dao Society once again emerged as the biggest winner.

Everyone returned to their respective areas, and the pill section quickly began to feel dull by comparison. The organizers devoted the remaining time to a free exhibition featuring all manner of strange items and artifacts. Many sects even revealed treasured items purely for others to admire.

"Time for you guys to take the stage," Liu Wuxie said, turning to look at Lan Yu, Hu She, Song Ling, Mu Yueying, and the others.

They had been impatiently waiting for this moment, as the past few days had focused entirely on pills. Now, at last, it was their turn to shine.

War drums thundered from the Heavenly Dao Society's side, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Aside from pills, the Divine Alchemy Sect had nothing left to present, and they had already begun packing up their booth.

The Nine Dragon Palace showcased a rare spiritual herb they had cultivated for tens of thousands of years, the White Mist Villa displayed a mighty sword, and the Comet Temple unveiled a chunk of meteor iron from the outer worlds, engraved with dao runes.

"What's the Heavenly Dao Society trying to do?" Many people were bewildered. The Heavenly Dao Society had already stolen the spotlight with their pills, and they couldn't imagine what more they were aiming for.

The war drums alone drew thousands of spectators. A massive platform rose into view, with Lan Yu, Hu Shi, and Song Ling each occupying a separate side, while Mu Yueying stood at the center with Xu Lingxue by her side.

Even Zhuge Ming and the other elders felt their curiosity stir, and they made their way over to see what the Heavenly Dao Society planned to unveil this time.

After all, artifacts and profound talismans didn't attract much attention in the astral domain.

Earth Immortal Realm experts rarely bought weapons, and most inscribed their own profound talismans. As for spiritual arrays, those remained even rarer.

Once a large crowd had gathered, Lan Yu stepped forward as the eldest among them and introduced himself. "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Lan Yu, and what I'm about to show has never before appeared in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, and I guarantee that it will be an eye-opening experience for everyone."

When they heard that the Heavenly Dao Society intended to demonstrate something unprecedented in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, even cultivators from the Spirit Martial Astral Domain looked over with interest.

The other sects' booths were left nearly deserted, and many closed them and joined the throng around the Heavenly Dao Society.

"Enough talk and show us already!" Impatience rippled through the crowd as people shouted for Lan Yu to continue, feeling that there was no need to waste time on more explanation.

"As everyone knows, once we set up a spiritual array, it's hard to increase its power. What I'm about to demonstrate today is an array rune that can enhance a spiritual array's power once it fuses into an existing one," Lan Yu said, drawing his finger across the air to manifest a rune.

The array rune shifted continuously, morphing into a longsword, then a spear, then a tree. The changes flowed smoothly and endlessly, following no fixed pattern.

"That's impossible! How can it possibly increase a spiritual array's power?" Doubt colored every expression as no one believed Lan Yu's claim.

Each major force maintained its own defensive spiritual array and poured tremendous manpower and resources into it every year. If array runes could replace those costs and efforts while simultaneously strengthening the arrays, they would save unimaginable time and resources.

Beyond the main defensive arrays guarding their sects, they also set up spiritual arrays to protect mines, shops, and estates.

"Bullshit! We form a spiritual array with countless array cores, and no single rune can handle that kind of complexity." Many people sneered openly, convinced the Heavenly Dao Society had gone mad for thinking they could fool the crowd.

Even Zhuge Ming revealed a skeptical face.

"

Hahaha!

What a joke! Do you really think that this array rune can overturn the system built in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain for over millions of years?" A Divine Alchemy Sect elder laughed loudly.

Array augmentation runes were so rare that no one in the entire Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain knew how to inscribe them. All they knew was how to construct spiritual arrays by drawing spiritual runes.

Lan Yu cast a cold glance toward the Divine Alchemy Sect. A chilling gleam flashed through his eyes.

"So, is the Divine Alchemy Sect questioning the effects of the array runes?" Lan Yu suddenly asked, looking at the Divine Alchemy Sect elders with a harmless smile.

Confronted with his question, the Divine Alchemy Sect fell into an uncomfortable silence. They had already been slapped in the face enough during this gathering and no longer dared to stand up against the Heavenly Dao Society.

"A bunch of trash, and you still dare to jump out to yap?" Lan Yu mocked when he saw they didn't dare respond.

"You!" The Divine Alchemy Sect elders flushed with fury. They were Earth Immortal Realm experts, yet someone at the Primal Origin Realm like Lan Yu had just insulted them openly. How could they not be enraged?

Since entering Nightmare City, everyone's mental state had loosened, allowing their cultivations to rise. In fact, many of them had broken through to the Primal Origin Realm.

"You're mocking something you don't understand. If you're not trash, what are you?" Lan Yu pressed relentlessly.

Since his master intended to destroy the Divine Alchemy Sect, Lan Yu naturally would not let this chance slip by. They could begin dismantling the Grand Unity Sect by first crushing the Divine Alchemy Sect.

Repeatedly hearing him call them "trash," Feng He and the others seethed with anger, almost coughing up blood.

No one had expected the Heavenly Dao Society to act so aggressively when they had only just risen to prominence, especially toward a sect like the Divine Alchemy Sect that stood at the peak among second-tier powers.

"Damn it! I want to kill that brat!" Zhang Li spat out a mouthful of blood and sprang to his feet, feeling that only Lan Yu's death could vent his rage.

The moment he moved, a sword aura locked onto him. If he dared to take another step, that sword aura would claim his life in an instant.

Everyone recognized the Undying Sword Intent, as Liu Wuxie had comprehended it with the help of the Undying Chessboard.

"Everyone, calm down. Let him explain how the array rune works." Several people quickly intervened to stop the conflict from escalating further.

The Grand Unity Sect remained conspicuously silent this time. They neither spoke up nor stepped out on the Divine Alchemy Sect's behalf, having learned their lesson after being repeatedly slapped in the face by Liu Wuxie.

"Elder, let's start a war. I would rather die in battle than suffocate to death like this," Zhang Li said through gritted teeth. In the worst case, they could perish together with the Heavenly Dao Society.

With the Grand Unity Sect obstructing the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Divine Alchemy Sect, and the Giant Spirit Hall felt confident they could annihilate the Heavenly Dao Society.

The Grand Unity Sect also grew increasingly restless as they realized they could not let Liu Wuxie continue growing unchecked.

They could already foresee the Heavenly Dao Society's meteoric rise once the Nightmare City gathering ended, and the gap between them would only widen at a frightening pace.

Many in the crowd could already sense the thick tension in the air. Even Zhuge Ming exchanged a look with Elder Jian, and both could see the solemnity in each other's eyes.