The gazes around, now turned with astonishment toward Xiao Yan, clearly also unsurprised that he would utter such words. "Younger fellow, here you are displaying your eloquence, yet it brings you no advantage at all," the elder sage said, smiling coldly. As he spoke, his eyes swept once more toward the flame cauldron before Xiao Yan, but still he detected no ripple of medicinal essence—only a faint, dismissive smile flickered across his face. Hearing this, the other six elders also displayed a look of astonishment—though even with their prowess, none had felt any resonance. Yet they fully believed the Grand Elder's words, and thus, their eyes turned with a sense of wonder toward Xiao Yan. "Another show of elaborate pretense!" remarked the elderly oddity, slightly startled by the scene. But he immediately furrowed his brow. Unheeding his words, Xiao Yan slowly raised his hand and, with a steady gaze, pointed it toward the fire cauldron, then clenched it firmly. "Roar!" As Xiao Yan pressed his palm down, the coiled fire dragon within the cauldron suddenly erupted into a resonant roar. Under the watchful eyes of all present, the dragon's body swiftly expanded in size. "Boom!" "As the dragon expanded, the fire cauldron could no longer withstand the pressure, bursting with a tremendous roar and exploding open. A wave of scorching heat surged forth, flooding the surrounding area and instantly raising the temperature of the heavens and earth. Several nearby alchemists, who had been close to the cauldron, hastily stepped back, their faces showing signs of concern. 'Roar!' The dragon, having shattered the cauldron, had grown to hundreds of zhang in size within mere moments, then spiraled into the sky, radiating an overwhelming presence so powerful that even the nine-colored elixir thunder clouds high above began to contract. 'Younger one, what are you attempting now?!' Seeing the nine-colored thunder clouds visibly contracting, the elder sage's expression grew serious, and he roared in urgency. 'Silence!' Xiao Yan's face grew cold as his gaze suddenly sharpened on Hou, the ancient elder. A cold, commanding voice, radiating immense pressure, exploded in Hou's ears—so powerful it sent his internal qi surging, forcing him to take three staggered steps backward. Without even mentioning the art of medicine, with his current strength, Xiao Yan could easily have killed Hou with a single palm strike. "You!" Stunned and furious, Hou stammered, only now realizing that Xiao Yan's strength far surpassed his own. After momentarily impressing Hou, Xiao Yan did not press further. Here, within the Xiaodian Tower, the elders would not welcome a direct confrontation with Hou. Thus, he composed himself, turned his attention to the colossal fire dragon soaring above, and swiftly manipulated his hand seals, forming a series of fleeting images... "Fire Dragon Coalescing into a Pearl!" "As Xiao Yin continuously changed his hand seals, the fire dragon in the sky roared with thunderous, earth-shaking dragon cries. At the same time, an astonishing surge of energy suddenly spread out from within the dragon's body... 'Wait—this is... the pulse of a medicine pill?' Feeling this surge, many alchemists on the ground were visibly stunned. They had completely failed to notice such a phenomenon just a few days ago! 'By condensing fire into objects and housing pills within them—how remarkable! The method of encapsulating pills within substances—this skill, even you, Master Yao, haven't mastered it, have you? How did Xiao Yin acquire such mastery?' Master Xuankong exclaimed, gazing at the medicine-pulse radiating from within the fire dragon. "This... " Old Yao opened his mouth, only to shake his head with a wry smile. The technique of condensing essence into pills—known as Ningwu Yun Dan—demanded an exceptionally refined mastery of flame control and spiritual strength. Even at present, he rarely employed this method in his regular alchemical work, yet he had never anticipated that Xiao Yan would have naturally mastered it without any formal training. As the disciples of Xuan Kong Zi were astounded by this display, other senior alchemists in the room also observed Xiao Yan's unique method, their voices of admiration rising one after another. In the entire gathering, it was unlikely that more than five individuals possessed such skill in pill-making. "This disciple, Yao Chen, truly shows remarkable potential," the elders on the stone platform exchanged glances and softly remarked. "Boom!" As the fluctuations emanating from the fire dragon grew increasingly intense, a sudden, resonant roar erupted in the sky, and instantly, the entire realm seemed to plunge into darkness. Clouds rapidly gathered from all directions. This time, the clouds were not dark gray but an exceptionally deep, profound black. The black clouds spread across the sky, silent in their presence—yet when one gazed upon them, their depth so profound that it seemed to absorb even the sight itself, a subtle tremor in the soul could be felt. Amidst this gathering darkness, the nine-colored thunder clouds hovering above the old sage swiftly contracted, as though encountering something terrifying. "What kind of thunder cloud is this? It's even causing the nine-colored thunder clouds to fear it so greatly..." Many observers narrowed their eyes, a wave of astonishment sweeping through them. In this world, any medicinal pill stronger than the eighth-rank pill capable of summoning the nine-colored thunder pills must necessarily be of a higher rank—beyond eighth rank, there lies the legendary ninth-rank pill. "Xiao Yan is actually crafting a ninth-rank pill?" Even these seasoned master alchemists, with their vast experience, now display visibly astonished expressions. "Black Magic Thunder... it's been years since I last saw it." The senior elder dressed in plain hemp now lifts his gaze toward the sky, where the strangely eerie black clouds loom, murmuring softly. On that plaza, Xiao Yan gazed intently at the constantly shifting black clouds, sensing an exceptionally potent force of destruction emanating from within—far more powerful than the Nine-Color Dan Thunder, by no means less than several times over. In the distant sky, the black cloud layers continued to ripple and move, and throughout the entire realm, absolute stillness prevailed, with not a single sound of thunder breaking the silence. It was precisely this profound stillness that made the atmosphere all the more terrifying. As the black clouds continued to shift and flow, after roughly ten minutes, a circular opening suddenly appeared at the center of the cloud mass. Within this opening, the darkness remained unbroken, resembling the most profound black hole. Yet, as the circular void formed, Xiao Yan's entire body bristled with cold, and a surging, overwhelming aura poured forth from within him without reservation. "Shh—" As Xiao Yan's aura surged, an unusual sound finally echoed within the hollow space, and then a massive black lightning bolt—roughly as thick as a human arm—burst forth, silently streaking downward toward the fiery dragon. "After the first Heavenly Demon Puppet was destroyed, the subsequent four showed almost no resistance at all. As soon as they came into contact with that black lightning, their incredibly solid bodies shattered instantly into powder—an occurrence that Xiang Yan had never witnessed before. With five Heavenly Demon Puppets lost in succession, Xiang Yan's expression grew increasingly serious. He decided not to retrieve any more puppets, for clearly, these puppets were incapable of absorbing the destructive power within the black lightning. At this point, he had to step in personally. "Hmm…" Xiang Yan exhaled gently. With a simple step, he materialized above the fire dragon, lifting his gaze to see the black lightning surging forth from his dark, piercing eyes. Gazing at the approaching black lightning, Xiao Yan gradually tightened his grip on his hands. As his palms clenched, the energy throughout the realm seemed to be subtly drawn and surged, gathering in overwhelming abundance upon his clenched fist. As a Battle Saint, one could command the energy of an entire realm; at this level, even without any internal Qi, they could still unleash attacks capable of annihilating heaven and earth—this was the true marvel of Battle Saints! The two collided, and an appalling storm of destruction instantly surged outward, centered on one person and one thunderbolt, sweeping across the heavens like shattering glass—cracking and exploding in all directions. At a distance, the seven-colored dan-thunder hovering above the old候's head was directly torn apart by this devastating storm, reduced to mere nothingness in an instant.