[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-really-am-a-villain":3,"chapter-i-really-am-a-villain-i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-1109":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Really Am A Villain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1433784,1885,"Chapter 1109 - Pill Tribulation, Ancient Phoenix Furnace","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-1109",1109,"\u003Cp>“I’ll just watch how you refine without a cauldron,” Progenitor Thousand-Slaughters said as he stepped back, leaving space for the contestants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ten alchemists all bore solemn expressions. Though a sixth-grade pill wasn’t overly difficult for them, in alchemy, the grade came first, and the time taken came second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A true master could even take first-grade ingredients and refine them to their absolute peak, achieving the perfect fusion those herbs could sustain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around the plaza, spectators whispered among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Myriad Alchemy Gathering had been building momentum for a month already. Dao Courts and Imperial Clans had scoured the land in search of alchemists, and enthusiasts from all directions had flocked here just to witness this grand event.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The main event hadn’t even started yet, and already this preliminary spectacle was drawing a crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the Buddha Faction’s side, a disciple brought over a chair for Ghost Buddha, who sat down slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord, do you think any of these people pose a threat?” a disciple whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s watch first. I doubt it, but sometimes hidden talents surface among common folk,” Ghost Buddha said coolly.This content belongs to NoveI~Fire.net\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He and Progenitor Thousand-Slaughters had long been at odds, not just from clashing personalities, but because of the ongoing rivalry between the Demon Faction and Buddha Faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they constantly clashed, Ghost Buddha never truly underestimated Thousand-Slaughters. By nature, he was cautious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, look! Someone’s refining pills up ahead. So many people are watching!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young girl shouted, holding a stick of candied hawthorn, her mouth sticky with syrup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was about thirteen or fourteen, with two lamb-fat braids tied neatly. When she smiled, a dimple appeared on her left cheek. Her skin was soft and pink, like porcelain, a picture of innocence and charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind her stood a young man, indulgently carrying her on his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Higher, higher, I can’t see!” the girl cried, waving her candied fruit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youth smiled helplessly, weaving swiftly through the dense crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just a few breaths, he had brought her right to the front of the plaza.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clear enough now?” he asked with a grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” she nodded eagerly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s the point of watching alchemy contests? You’d be better off reading more pill manuals,” the young man said with a sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! I want to watch,” the girl pouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the center of the plaza, the contest had begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo didn’t rush. Instead, he glanced at the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six of them were utterly ordinary, nothing worth noticing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But three stood out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was a white-haired youth, his hair like snow, features chiseled, and eyes deep, strikingly handsome. His cauldron gleamed pure white. With a slap, it hummed to life. Flames like snow blazed forth, not cold, but searing hot. Snowflakes seemed to swirl under spring sunlight, condensing within the cauldron, crackling as they melted into fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second was a close-cropped youth, stern-faced, dressed in black robes. His cauldron was shaped like a lion. The lion’s mouth gaped open, spewing flame as if roaring. Around him, fire shaped like lions coiled and danced, as though spirit beasts had fused with his cauldron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third was a woman in Confucian robes. Her black hair, tied with a butterfly ribbon, fell straight down her back. Her features were plain, but she had a quiet grace, beauty that grew the longer one looked. Before her stood a most unusual cauldron. From it came faint phoenix cries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its form was that of a phoenix spreading its wings. The wings burned red, the four legs blue, the head green, the eyes black, and the body golden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five flames of different colors merged into the shape of a phoenix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the fire blazed, the void around it trembled, the sheer heat awe-inspiring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s the Ancient Phoenix Furnace!” someone exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They say it was once the national cauldron of the Ancient Phoenix God-Empire. After that kingdom was destroyed, the cauldron vanished. Who would have thought it would surface here, in this woman’s hands?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is she? She doesn’t look familiar. Could she be a survivor of the Ancient Phoenix God-Empire?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speculation rippled through the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The candied-fruit girl’s eyes widened. “Such beautiful flames!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pretty flames, yes, but her alchemy skills are clumsy. A pity, with such a furnace,” the youth beside her remarked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother, you’re comparing everyone to yourself again,” the girl teased with a giggle. “Even in the Nine Heavens, few would dare claim certain victory against you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the plaza, the nine others worked carefully, skillfully tossing herbs into their cauldrons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The quality of an alchemist’s fire was crucial. The right flame not only melted ingredients faster but preserved their essence, raising the pill’s final grade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Zimo, meanwhile, yawned. He looked bored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he slowly raised his right hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Up until now, his stillness had left many spectators curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, as he finally moved, countless eyes locked onto him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A green flame burned on his palm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a wave, Xu Zimo tossed out all the herbs Progenitor Thousand-Slaughters had given him, every last one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Water Grass, Green Wood Root, Fire Phoenix Blood, White Gold Vine, and Purple Wisteria.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five-element herbs as the core, with others as auxiliaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But instead of carefully sequencing them, Xu Zimo simply ignited them all at once in his green flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Reckless fool!” someone shouted angrily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s wasting precious herbs. Doesn’t he know anything about alchemy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, herbs often had conflicting properties. One needed to follow the cycles of the Five Elements, mutual growth and restraint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Xu Zimo had dumped them all together like a stew, and without even using a cauldron!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such crude behavior was worse than that of a novice. It was outrageous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before the critic’s voice even faded, a rich pill fragrance spread across the plaza.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whose pill is that? Already?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such a strong aroma, far too strong for an ordinary sixth-grade pill!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… this is top-grade among top-grade!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd buzzed in astonishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then gasps erupted as Xu Zimo’s green flames vanished, revealing a single pill floating in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pill shimmered with all five elemental colors, rotating gently in the void.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As it formed, glowing dao runes lit up across its surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that instant, the clear sky darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunder rumbled. Clouds gathered overhead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This… this is a Heavenly Tribulation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pill Tribulation? But sixth-grade pills don’t cause this kind of lightning!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shock rippled through the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew. From sixth grade onward, pills summoned lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But normally, sixth-grade pill lightning was mere spectacle, harmless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This… was something entirely different.\u003C\u002Fp>",1085,"2026-06-06T01:07:10.116Z",1,"novelbin.me","767be07390f31ff6b40f648c1043ac0435a6692965aa213aa74311caee2f07d1","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-1110","i-really-am-a-villain-chapter-1108",1822,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-really-am-a-villain-cover.jpg"]