"Spiritual Source Essence? And only star-order cultivators are allowed to participate... The True Monarch’s move is indeed most clever." Master Xiongshan said with an expression full of admiration. Immortal Technique cultivators, especially those at the Divine Realm Level, almost all aspired to continue breaking through and become Golden Core Realm True Monarchs. But the difficulty of achieving a Golden Core was akin to ascending to the heavens. Thus, treasures like the spiritual source essence, which could increase the chance of breaking through to the Golden Core Realm by ten percent, were extremely precious and of high value, even surpassing many Great Divine Techniques. The most critical point was that it was priceless and unavailable in the market. Once acquired by any Immortal Technique Influence, they would often reserve it as a foundation for the potential disciples of their sect. Even within the Nine-Star Daoist Palace, such treasures appeared only occasionally, and with many restrictions, requiring at least a cultivator holding the Nine-Star Divine Order to redeem it, with a very high value. If this spiritual source essence were released, he estimated that even the top true disciples of the Four Great Immortal Sects would not let it go. Masters Giant Axe, Evil Moon, Great Sun, and others would be driven mad upon seeing it. However, the task required the killing of a Golden Core Realm demon cultivator, and it had to be executed by a star-level powerhouse, excluding almost all sect powerhouses immediately. Yet among the star-level powerhouses in Cloud-Piercing City, only Master Beiming at the Divine Realm Level could be sure to accomplish the task of slaying a Golden Core Realm demon cultivator. The adversary was bound to be intrigued by this. "As long as he leaves the city, everything will be fine." True Monarch Qianyuan smiled lightly, revealing a look of expectation. To lure Bai Ziyue out of the city, he had indeed been thoroughly scheming. The Cloud-Piercing Dharma Assembly officially began. The location was right at the center of Cloud-Piercing City, the Cloud-Piercing Plaza. A large area was divided as the venue, allocating space for alchemy, artifact refining, array formation, talisman creation, Dao discussion, and competitions, among other divisions, covering a vast area comparable to a small town. Numerous cultivators from various sects came and went, with the lowest power level being the Enlightenment Realm, numerous Divine Realm cultivators, and even several Golden Core Realm powerhouses overseeing, whose mere presence inspired awe. With the assembly beginning, Bai Ziyue naturally attended the scene. However, compared to the bustling competition area, the alchemy assembly area where Bai Ziyue was located had a significantly lesser crowd. Moreover, due to the relatively enclosed nature of alchemy, the entire site only had alchemists from various sects and a few well-known independent alchemists appearing. "I’ve long heard there’s a legendary alchemy genius in Qingxu Sect’s Pill Treasure Hall, someone who, at merely the mid-stage Divine Realm, already possesses the skills of a Fourth-Grade Initial Stage Alchemist. Indeed, upon meeting now, the reputation isn’t exaggerated." Just as he settled in, an elderly monk with a scar on his head smiled warmly at him, showing an expression of surprise. "This is True Buddha Kuchan from the Great Buddha Sect, and one of the few Fourth-Grade Initial Stage Alchemists in the Great Buddha Sect. Even though he is smiling now, two previous assemblies before he became a Fourth-Grade Initial Stage Alchemist, he mocked our Qingxu Sect quite a lot. Also, next to him is True Buddha Shini, who rose to fame at the last assembly and now has reached the level of a High-tier Third-Grade Alchemist." Beside Bai Ziyue, Dongfang Ming hurriedly introduced through voice transmission. "Before the master, I dare not claim the title of genius!" Bai Ziyue, hearing this, maintained his smile and said. "Indeed, who among those who’ve become Third-Grade Alchemists isn’t an alchemy genius? Moreover, the reputation of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist that your Qingxu Sect claims, we do not acknowledge. If you’re a mule or a horse, let’s bring it out for a spin. Let’s not have the situation where one isn’t truly a Fourth-Grade Alchemist yet pretends to be to save face for the Four Great Immortal Sects. At that time, it would not only be embarrassing for Qingxu Sect but also lead to disgrace for all the other three sects." At this moment, an elderly alchemist with somewhat yellowish skin smirked as he spoke. "This is Alchemist Wan Zhen from the Thunder Sect, boasting high-tier Third-Grade Alchemist skills. The Thunder Sect is also the only sect among the Four Great Immortal Sects that does not have a Fourth-Grade Alchemist. In the past few assemblies, because Hall Master Dan Chen did not participate in the Cloud-Piercing Assembly, and coupled with the declining Third-Grade Alchemist count from our Qingxu Sect’s Pill Treasure Hall, our performance has been lacking, placing us always at the bottom among the Four Great Immortal Sects, even inferior to the Thunder Sect. In previous assemblies, Alchemist Wan Zhen from the Thunder Sect has been the one who most humiliates our Pill Treasure Hall. Alchemist Wan Zhen’s alchemy skills are indeed formidable, strong even among High-tier Third-Grade Alchemists, so his scolding and humiliation were endured by us." Dongfang Ming’s voice transmission came swiftly, carrying some rare emotions—clearly indicating the unpleasant experiences from previous assemblies. "We need not trouble Alchemist Wan Zhen with this concern, for the methods of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist are beyond your comprehension as a Third-Grade Alchemist, whether my alchemy skills have truly reached Fourth-Grade is not for you to judge." Listening to the voice transmission, Bai Ziyue retorted unceremoniously. Alchemist Wan Zhen’s face changed, his old face instantly blushing red. Third-Grade High Tier and Fourth-Grade Initial Stage, although it seemed like just a difference of one grade, the disparity was immense. No matter how skillful he was among Third-Grade High Tier alchemists, he would be far from matching a true Fourth-Grade Initial Stage alchemist. *Given this disparity, until it was proven that Bai Ziyue was not a Fourth-Grade alchemist, he could only endure quietly.* "Alright, the conference exchange was meant for us to discuss alchemy experience and witness the alchemy skills of alchemists across the sects**,* disputes are meaningless. Ultimately, let’s find the truth with our skills."* At this moment, Alchemist Feique of the Taiyi Immortal Sect smoothed things over. Alchemist Feique was the only Golden Core Realm True Monarch present, a Fourth-Grade Initial Stage alchemist, with very old qualifications. His alchemy skills were on par with Qingxu Sect’s True Monarch Dan Chen, so he presided over this Alchemy Conference. We’ll start with the Second-grade Alchemists. Let’s see how many outstanding cultivators and potential alchemists have emerged over the past thirty years. Soon, some of these may have the potential to become Third-Grade Alchemists." True Buddha Kuchan smiled and then started speaking. "Alright, let’s begin!" Alchemist Feique responded. With a command, the entire scene suddenly set out three hundred standardized alchemy furnaces. Second-grade level alchemists from the various immortal sects, loose cultivators, and immortal cultivation clans then entered one after another, each standing beside an alchemy furnace. "The rules are simple. Everyone will uniformly refine the Second-grade spiritual pill, the Awakening Pill. This Awakening Pill is considered a medium difficulty within Second-grade spiritual pills. I’m sure everyone standing here participating in alchemy is not unfamiliar with it. Next, what you need to do is refine the spiritual pill within an hour. Each person only has one opportunity to perform alchemy. In the end, we will judge based on the pill success rate, the quantity of pills formed, and the quality of the pills. The first place winner will directly receive a Divine Pill and receive alchemy insights from Fourth-Grade Alchemist True Monarch Feique as a reward. Those ranking from second to tenth will receive varying amounts of Wisdom Heart Pills and insights from Third-Grade alchemists as rewards... Well, let’s not say more, set the time, start!" As soon as an elderly alchemist finished speaking, nearly three hundred alchemists below began to move. They all ran to the side of the material repository, selecting various alchemy materials. The essential skill an alchemist must possess is the ability to judge material quality. If any material is of poor grade, has dim spiritual qi, or is deficient in some way... it will affect the pill success rate and the pill grade. This material selection is also considered one of the tests. For this conference, Cloud-piercing City naturally had many preparations. A wide variety of materials were prepared very adequately. Soon, some people finished selecting the necessary materials and returned to the pill furnace’s side to begin preparations. "Kunlun Alchemist, from the looks of it, the situation that your Qingxu Sect alchemists are lacking behind hasn’t improved yet. There’s still a Second-grade Middle-tier Alchemist participating in alchemy? Can’t even gather ten Second-grade High-tier Alchemists in your Pill Treasure Hall?" Looking at the alchemists below, Alchemist Wan Zhen smiled and spoke again. In the Alchemy Conference, the participants naturally had quota limitations. The Four Great Immortal Sects each had ten participants, while other sects, according to their size and previous alchemy rankings, had varying amounts of participants below ten. Some sects even had only one alchemist participating. But the Four Great Immortal Sects had profound foundations, Second-grade Alchemists were in abundance, and not being able to gather ten Second-grade High-tier Alchemists was quite rare. "Let’s watch and see." Bai Ziyue smiled faintly. The Second-grade Middle-tier Alchemist was also his disciple from Fire Spirit Peak, named Wu Qingfeng. The reason he could participate in this conference despite being a Second-grade Middle-tier Alchemist was naturally because his alchemy techniques and skills far surpassed the average Second-grade High-tier Alchemist. His only shortcoming was in flame control. After a period of practice, his shortcomings had long been remedied. Now, he already possessed the skills of a Second-grade High-tier alchemist, although he hadn’t had the chance to participate in the assessment yet. Importantly, he had mastered a technique to purify spiritual pills, able to refine the pill grade to a certain extent. So, even if he wasn’t previously a Second-grade High-tier alchemist, he was qualified to participate in this Alchemy Conference. Currently, he would not fall short compared to any Second-grade High-tier Alchemist and would surely become a dark horse, standing out impressively. Soon, the alchemists orderly processed the materials. Some moved quickly and had already ignited the spirit fire, starting the formal alchemy process. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥 On the high platform, countless third-grade and even fourth-grade alchemists watched indifferently, occasionally chatting a few words, commenting on the techniques and skills of certain alchemists below, looking relaxed and comfortable. At the same time, many alchemists were concerned about the alchemy conditions of their sect’s disciples, their brows deeply furrowing when they saw disciples making mistakes.