The remaining seven alchemists no longer held back, unleashing their true strength.
Yang Hao glared venomously at Mu Qingqing, his eyes filled with hatred.
To complete Lord Xuanqi's mission, he was determined to win first place in the alchemy competition.
"It seems I have no choice but to use my trump card."
With that thought, a ball of black flame appeared in Yang Hao's palm, emitting a dense and chilling aura.
Immediately, a black alchemical cauldron materialized before him.
He intended to refine a six-star pill: the Purple Nether Pill!
Yang Hao refused to believe that Mu Qingqing's pill would be superior to his Purple Nether Pill.
Meanwhile, Mu Qingqing encountered trouble.
Her Undying Phoenix Flame was too hot, and the ordinary medicinal cauldron provided for the alchemy competition could not withstand it.
"Alas, little girl, if you're competing on behalf of Xin Ci, you should at least have prepared a better cauldron," Elder Han said helplessly, shaking his head as he witnessed this.
Mu Qingqing offered an embarrassed smile.
She had indeed been careless this time.
However, a sly look flickered in her eyes, and she said, "Elder Han, this is where you can help me."
"Help you with what?"
"Elder Han, don't play coy. I know the alchemy technique of the Northern Cold Sacred Land—the Void Shadow Hand."
Upon hearing this, Elder Han's eyes widened, nearly popping out of his head.
He was astonished that Mu Qingqing knew of this mysterious alchemy art.
"Little girl, how do you know about my Void Shadow Hand?"
Mu Qingqing smiled coyly, "Elder Han, you don't need to worry about that. There's a lot I know."
Xin Ci's second personality always surprised him, and the degree of surprise varied each time.
"Since you, little girl, know about the Northern Cold Sacred Land, you must have known my identity long ago."
Elder Han sighed.
Mu Qingqing smiled without a word, implicitly confirming his suspicion.
Elder Han shook his head. "Very well. Since you are Xin Ci's second personality, you are also my disciple. The Void Shadow Hand will eventually be passed down to you, so it might as well be now."
Elder Han didn't mind Mu Qingqing knowing his true identity.
He knew that this secret couldn't be kept hidden forever.
Moreover, given Mu Qingqing's strength, it was acceptable for her to know.
"Alright, close your eyes. I will now teach you the Void Shadow Hand."
Mu Qingqing immediately closed her eyes.
The next second, Elder Han appeared before Mu Qingqing and placed a hand on her forehead.
Elder Han infused the contents of the Void Shadow Hand into Mu Qingqing's mind.
Mu Qingqing felt a warm current surge into her consciousness.
Elder Han's Void Shadow Hand was an extremely special alchemy technique. Once cultivated to a certain level, it could even be used to refine pills without a cauldron.
With the aid of her Myriad Manifestation Star Wheel Eyes and her powerful soul force, Mu Qingqing grasped the profound principles of the technique within the time it took for one incense stick to burn.
During this time, the others had nearly finished refining their pills.
Only Mu Qingqing had made no progress.
"What's going on?"
"Why has Xin Ci stopped again?"
Seeing this, the audience below began to whisper amongst themselves.
Mu Qingqing stopping at this point was akin to forfeiting the competition, which naturally caused some dissatisfaction.
Yang Hao sneered triumphantly.
"You won first place in the first two rounds through underhanded tactics. Now, in the final alchemy competition, your true skill is exposed. What can you possibly use to contend with me now? Hahaha!"
With that, his Purple Nether Pill was successfully refined.
"Hahaha! My pill is a success!"
Yang Hao burst into arrogant laughter.
The sky suddenly shimmered with five-colored auspicious clouds, and a purple pill appeared before everyone's eyes.
Li Xuanmo, Su Mu, and Lu Nanxing stood up in unison.
A flicker of excitement appeared on their faces.
"Five-colored auspicious clouds, this is the sign of a six-star pill being refined."
"Yang Hao is truly formidable, managing to refine a six-star pill consecutively. No wonder he was so confident."
The audience below buzzed with discussion, their gaze towards Yang Hao changing.
"Six-star pills, only Masters Li Xuanmo and the other two can refine them at this competition."
"The first place in this alchemy competition belongs to Yang Hao, no, to Master Yang now."
After the refinement of the six-star pill, the address used by everyone present for Yang Hao shifted, no longer directly calling him by name as before.
Hearing the crowd's praise, Yang Hao felt even more triumphant, as if victory were already his.
The appearance of the six-star pill shocked everyone else.
How could they possibly compete?
Yan Hongde, in particular, though he had refined a five-star top-grade Ascension King Pill, it paled in comparison and was utterly insignificant next to the six-star pill.
"With Yang Hao, and the two senior six-star alchemists in the sect, the Fire Feather Sect..."
"Perhaps in ten years, the Four Symbols Academy's alchemy level still cannot match the Fire Feather Sect, which now has three six-star alchemists."
This filled Yan Hongde with despair.
"Yan Hongde, do you see? This is the strength of the Fire Feather Sect. Now, what right does your Four Symbols Academy have to challenge the Fire Feather Sect?" Han Xuewen said with a cold laugh from the side.
Yan Hongde was unwilling, but Han Xuewen's words were indeed factual.
Just as everyone was marveling at Yang Hao's six-star pill, Mu Qingqing began her refinement.
Her movements were not fast, but her technique was exceptionally skilled, flowing like water, a pleasure to behold.
Even more remarkably, Mu Qingqing did not use an alchemical cauldron. Instead, she utilized the Void Shadow Hand to condense her Undying Phoenix Flame into a flame lotus.
Then, various ingredients flew out from her spatial ring, hovering above Mu Qingqing's head.
These ingredients, obtained with Xuan Kong's help, had cost her a considerable amount of spirit stones.
Mu Qingqing placed these ingredients into the Void Flame Lotus. As the lotus spun, the ingredients gradually melted.
Slowly, the lotus began to spin faster, and its diameter shrunk.
At some point, the Void Flame Lotus stopped spinning.
A five-colored radiance shot up into the sky.
"Five-colored auspicious clouds again! Xin Ci actually refined a six-star pill too!"
"No way, are six-star pills this easy to refine?!"
Everyone was utterly shocked.
Yan Hongde and Han Xuewen were equally stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.
Yan Hongde, especially, had been continuously surprised by Mu Qingqing since the alchemy competition began.
Now, she had refined a six-star pill.
After the surprise, his heart was filled with irrepressible joy.
He believed that as long as Xin Ci was present, it wasn't impossible for the Four Symbols Academy's alchemy level to surpass the Fire Feather Sect.
The Void Flame Lotus slowly descended.
Mu Qingqing gently raised her hand, and the lotus settled steadily into her palm.
A pill, pure white and adorned with distinct golden pill patterns, rested in her palm, exuding a rich aroma.
"A six-star peak-grade pill, the Life and Death Restoration Pill!"