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As soon as she picked up the medicinal ingredients she needed, Xiao Yixian couldn't help but sigh,
"We might just be the few who've completed our tasks the smoothest in all the past Alchemist Meets."
"This… actually sounds about right."
Hearing her words, the other three women were briefly stunned, then smiled helplessly.
As they chatted, the three continued browsing through the dazzling variety of herbs, searching for the ones they needed. Meanwhile, Lin Feng, while waiting for them, casually glanced toward the direction Zi Yan had left.
That little girl had originally planned to show off her figure in front of Xiao Yixian. But when she noticed Cao Ying and Dan Chen following along, she chose to leave first. Most likely, she didn't want the people from the Pill Tower to know she'd been here.
While the girls happily picked through the herbs, the relaxed group led by Xiao Yan midway up the mountain suddenly ran into a massive horde of magic beasts. The sudden large-scale ambush left everyone stunned.
Although experts like Song Qing and Xiao Yan quickly sensed the danger and dodged the first wave of attacks—the team Song Qing had painstakingly assembled instantly fell into chaos.
"Damn! Over a hundred Rank 7 beasts? I'm just a Three-Star Dou Zong! How the hell are we supposed to fight that many? They must be here for revenge after we took their herbs! Run!"
Several contestants who had already collected all the required materials didn't hesitate for even a moment—they turned and bolted.
At that moment, the weakness of a temporary alliance was fully exposed. After all, these participants had already met the requirements to advance to the finals. They had only stayed with the group out of their earlier agreements and mutual help along the way.
But now, facing such a terrifying beast tide, staying to fight seemed far too risky. So naturally, they chose the classic "better them than me," greasing their heels and sprinting away.
"Bastards! Have you all forgotten our agreement? Get back here! Don't scatter! You'll get surrounded and torn apart by the beasts!"
Seeing people fleeing in droves, Song Qing roared furiously.
Though he sometimes lost his temper when it came to Cao Ying, he was no fool—after all, the Pill Tower's Grand Elder had personally chosen him. He swept his gaze around quickly and realized that his group's Dou Zong experts actually outnumbered the Rank 7 beasts by several dozen.
If they stayed together, their combined strength would surpass the beasts. But now, everyone was panicking, running around like headless flies. If these beasts had even a bit of intelligence, they could easily split and surround them—turning it into a massacre.
Worse still, if he couldn't stop the panic, the flight could spread like wildfire—one person's escape triggering another's, until the entire formation collapsed. At that point, there'd be no saving anyone.
Unfortunately, Song Qing's efforts were doomed from the start. Though many knew he was right—that united they'd be stronger than the beasts—few were willing to risk their lives for honor in such a crisis.
Almost everyone chose self-preservation and bolted. Once the first wave fled, even more followed—those who hadn't completed their tasks panicking that they'd be left behind as cannon fodder.
Some, completely terrified, even crushed their space stones on the spot, escaping the realm altogether. They were safe—but they also lost their qualification to continue in the competition.
Though Song Qing's shouts managed to gather a few contestants who hadn't yet finished their missions and refused to give up, of the hundred-plus people in the original group, barely twenty remained—including Xiao Yan and Song Qing.
"You cowardly bastards! When I get out of the Pill Tower, you'll all pay for this!"
Watching the dark silhouettes disappearing into the sky, Song Qing cursed furiously.
Xiao Yan frowned deeply at the scene. He'd known a temporary alliance couldn't be relied upon but he hadn't expected them to collapse this fast. Just the sight of that massive beast horde had sent them running before the first blow even landed.
Still, his eyes soon shifted toward the beasts raging across the field.
"Why would so many Rank 7 beasts suddenly gather to attack us? Could it be… because of what we did earlier, ganging up on them for their herbs? Did we force them to unite to protect what's theirs?"
The thought flashed across Xiao Yan's mind, confusion flickering in his eyes.
Even so, as one of the strongest in the team, he'd already gathered all the required herbs. Seeing the enormous number of beasts ahead, Xiao Yan began to feel a trace of hesitation. One-on-one, he feared no Rank 7 beast.
Even those few peak Rank 7 ones—he had confidence he could kill them. But this time… the sheer number was overwhelming.
Even he, Xiao Yan, didn't dare to provoke such a scene recklessly. After all, while he could handle one or two of these beasts alone, facing more than a hundred Rank 7 magic beasts at once meant he'd simply be dragged to death.
"There are too many beasts here. Let's fall back for now. As for your tasks, we can figure something out later. We still have five days before the deadline anyway."
Sweeping his gaze over the remaining group and seeing that most of them had already lost the will to fight, Xiao Yan made the suggestion.
"This…"
Those who had already completed their tasks were all in full agreement—but those who hadn't were clearly hesitant. After all, if these beasts didn't disperse in the next few days, wouldn't they be eliminated by default?
"There's only about twenty of us here, and over a hundred of them—all Rank 7 beasts. We can't possibly win. It's better to withdraw and plan later. If we lose our lives here, then what's the point of herbs or rankings?"
Seeing their hesitation, several contestants who had already finished their collection quickly tried to persuade them. After all, they had already secured their qualifications for the finals—why risk it all here?
Now that they had a chance to escape safely, of course they were very eager to convince the others to retreat.
"Fine…"
After a moment of internal struggle, those who hadn't finished could only sigh and nod helplessly.
They had seen the situation clearly—none of the others wanted to stay and take the risk. If they tried to force everyone to remain, the others would probably just walk off anyway.
So the only choice left was to retreat and wait until the beasts dispersed before trying again—maybe then, they could call these people back to help them enter the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range once more.
"Since everyone agrees, let's move out quickly!"
Seeing the group finally come to a consensus, Song Qing immediately shouted.
After all, he was an extremely cowardly man by nature. In the original story, he'd even used Cao Ying—the woman he adored—as a human shield just to buy himself an extra second of escape.
The only reason he hadn't fled immediately this time was because he'd thought their combined strength exceeded that of the beasts. Unfortunately, thanks to his useless teammates, that advantage had completely evaporated.
Now that they were clearly outmatched, of course Song Qing's first thought was to run. With the decision made, he immediately led the remaining people to retreat at full speed toward the edge of the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range.
As for Xiao Yan, he wasn't as panicked as the others. Before leaving, he glanced back at the swarming magic beasts, a deep frown crossing his face.
"Is it just my imagination… or do these beasts not look like they're here for revenge, but rather trying to scatter us on purpose?"
The doubt lingered in his mind, but after a brief pause, Xiao Yan turned around and left with the rest, a stomach full of confusion. After all, even he didn't dare linger alone in the midst of hundreds of Rank 7 beasts.
"Jie jie… these beasts showing up and scattering Xiao Yan's group—how considerate of them. Saved me quite a bit of trouble."
Not long after everyone had left, a dark silhouette suddenly appeared above the beast horde, his eerie laughter echoing through the mountains.
It was none other than Old Mu Gu.
At first, seeing Xiao Yan surrounded by such a large team, he had been troubled—how to kill him and claim the Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames amidst so many people?
He had been considering risking a sneak attack when, unexpectedly, this massive beast tide had erupted within the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range—conveniently scattering Xiao Yan's allies.
Of course, those contestants had fled in panic after being startled, mostly because their minds were focused on handing in their tasks, not on fighting.
Had he cornered them with no escape, the backlash from their desperation might have become a real problem even for him. After all, many of them were heirs to major factions and carried powerful life-saving treasures.
If all of them had joined forces, even he—a Three-Star Dou Zun—would've been forced to retreat. If he had slaughtered them all, he would've brought endless trouble on himself. Not to mention, this entire operation was off the books—he hadn't told anyone in the Hall of Souls about it.
This was purely his own attempt to seize the Flame Mantra and the Heavenly Flame. If it led to major repercussions, the Hall of Souls would never forgive him. But now—this "trouble" had solved itself. A feral grin spread across Mu Gu's face.
"Heh… Heaven's will, truly! Xiao Yan, you'll rest forever in this blessed land of the Pill Realm!"
With a crazed laugh, Mu Gu didn't spare another glance at the beasts below. The space beside him suddenly rippled violently.
He stepped into the spatial distortion and vanished heading straight after Xiao Yan. However, just before entering, he summoned a jade talisman into his palm and crushed it.
Though confident in his own strength against Xiao Yan's small group of twenty, he preferred to call for reinforcements—just to be safe. But what he didn't notice…among the beast horde below, a single peak Rank 7 magic beast lifted its head.
As soon as Mu Gu vanished, that beast took off at high speed toward the towering peak at the center of the Ten Thousand Medicinal Mountain Range. The rest of the beasts, their task apparently complete, scattered one after another—returning to their rallying point to claim their share of pills.
As for casualties among the beasts? Zero.
After all, none of the contestants had actually fought them head-on. Aside from a few who had injured several with quick reflexes, the rest of the beasts hadn't even exchanged a single blow with the alchemists.
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