Chapter 147: Red Cloud Gold Sand

Xu Chen heard this and took the Jade Slip away from his brow, nodding slightly as he said, "Very well! However, this is my first time encountering the Seven Spirit Pill, so I still need to study the pill formula carefully. Additionally, I will need the Yuqing Hall to help prepare the materials."

At this moment, a short, thin old man with silver hair and beard, sitting in the center of the main hall entrance, spoke up: "Little Friend Xu, rest assured. Since this is a competition, the alchemy materials will naturally be provided by us. We will prepare three portions of Spirit Medicine for each of you, and the contest will continue until one of you succeeds in refining it first."

Xu Chen thought for a moment and asked, "If I succeed on my first furnace, can the remaining Spirit Medicine belong to me?"

A burst of laughter erupted all around, and the row of old Daoist proctors also had their faces twitching one by one. The short, thin old Daoist suppressed his mockery, nodded, and said, "If Little Friend Xu can truly manage to succeed on the first attempt, the remaining medicinal materials will naturally belong to you. This is also the rule of our Yuqing Hall."

Xu Chen immediately grinned from ear to ear, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "Then I thank you in advance, Senior. This Seven Spirit Pill has miraculous effects, and its Spirit Medicine is complex and rare; only the Yuqing Hall could collect so much."

Beside him, Yun Xi gently poked his back with her hand and whispered, "Don't blow your own horn too much. In our Yuqing Hall, apart from the Second Elder, the success rate for other top alchemists is barely fifty percent, and thirty percent is already considered very impressive."

Xu Chen nodded and said, "I know, I know. I'm just stating the ugly truth beforehand so that if I really do succeed in one furnace later, it won't be awkward to ask for them then."

Lan You was left between laughter and tears, but she did not speak.

Although she was not certain that Xu Chen could successfully refine the Seven Spirit Pill in one furnace, she trusted him without reservation and knew he would absolutely not lose.

The Seven Spirit Pill, a top-tier Second-Grade Spirit Pill, could be refined by no more than a handful of alchemists in the entire Yuqing Hall, and most of them were the old men sitting in the row before the hall, all of whom had been immersed in the field of alchemy for decades or even a century.

Although Han Qing was a Core Disciple of the Alchemy Hall with a cultivation at the True Essence Late Stage and was a top-notch alchemy expert among the fourth generation, he absolutely had no certainty that he could successfully refine the Seven Spirit Pill.

This was not just a technical issue; refining any pill related to Soul Power actually involved a hint of luck, because Soul Power was too elusive. Especially for cultivators at the stage of Refining Essence into Qi, it was nearly a dark domain, relying entirely on imitating the pill formula like drawing a gourd based on the pattern.

But Xu Chen was different. Lan You had spent a long time with him and had helped him guard the furnace while he refined many Spirit Pills infused with white Qi. She knew that Xu Chen's control over Spirit Fire and his refining of Spirit Medicine did not strictly follow the pill formulas, but rather had a somewhat casual flair.

And it was precisely this style that was even more effective for unfamiliar pills and the elusive Soul Power pills.

In immortal cultivation, one must absolutely reject rigidity at all times. A cultivator who only knows how to practice strictly according to cultivation manuals will certainly not have high growth potential. Only by constantly exploring, comprehending, and developing one's own insights based on one's own situation can one eventually step onto one's own unique path to longevity.

The foundation of comprehension is innovation—adapting to local conditions, adapting to the individual, and adapting to the time. One must never be too constrained by rules. It is just like the growth of all things: no two blades of grass will ever grow exactly the same, and no two leaves, no matter how similar, will ever be identical.

And this difference is the change brought about by the operation of the rules of the Heavenly Dao and nature—the same yet different, profoundly mysterious.

Ling Shuang and the other four female cultivators stood to the side with strange expressions, finding Xu Chen's near-ignorant proposal ridiculous, yet at the same time, they felt a hidden sense of anticipation.

They all wanted to see how the group from the Danyuan would react if Xu Chen really did succeed in one furnace.

The Alchemy Hall is the core and foundation of the Yuqing Hall, but it is also a place that all other inner and outer sect disciples both hate and love.

Every time they come to request pills, regardless of their status, there is always a feeling of being patronized and discriminated against. Even an Elder at the Danyuan Realm who wants a certain Spirit Pill must look at the mood and expression of the Second Elder.

Although everyone belongs to the same sect, in reality, they each hold their own ground, and they are not very harmonious with one another.

Yesterday, the Second Senior Brother was slapped in the face, and the group of Elders had ugly expressions. If the Alchemy Hall were to be slapped in the face today, then everyone would be even, and being equally ugly is the only way to be truly ugly; then there would be no need for mutual mockery and ridicule in the future.

Therefore, without realizing it, the four female cultivators' loyalties began to slowly shift.

Under the arrangement of several Alchemy Hall Elders, someone soon delivered a large amount of Spirit Medicine, piling it densely on the stone tables in front of Xu Chen and Han Qing.

Han Qing sat down cross-legged with a relaxed expression, and with a sweep of his vital energy, he suspended all the Spirit Medicine in the air. Soon, he finished organizing all the Spirit Medicine according to the pill formula, dividing them into three groups of dozens of ingredients each. Then, with a wave of his hand, he stored two groups into his Storage Bag, carefully inspected the remaining group once more, and finally placed them neatly and separately on the stone table.

The hundreds of Yuqing Hall disciples watching from the surroundings and the group of old Daoists sitting at the entrance of the main hall were all very satisfied, nodding with smiles and exchanging a few words with each other.

Han Qing's approach strictly followed the alchemy steps without a single flaw; just in the task of organizing the medicinal materials, one could find absolutely no faults.

In contrast, Xu Chen's movements were much slower. Facing so many Spirit Medicines and such a complex pill formula, he was still furrowing his brows with the Jade Slip pressed against his forehead, looking at the images of the Spirit Medicine in the pill formula while searching and comparing them among the large pile of materials. He would find one, set it aside, and then clumsily go back to look at the pill formula, searching slowly again.

Watching Xu Chen's clumsy, slow, and comical appearance, bursts of mockery erupted from the onlookers from time to time. Even when they occasionally saw Xu Chen misidentify a Spirit Medicine or place it in the wrong spot, a roar of laughter would break out.

The group of old Daoist proctors all had twitching faces and wore uncontrollable smiles.

Yun Xi, Ling Shuang, and the other female cultivators stood to the side, looking depressed and helpless.

It seemed they had been too rash; their judgment of Xu Chen's alchemy level was wrong, and their expectations had been too high.

At this rate, let alone winning, whether Xu Chen could even successfully refine a single furnace of pills was a complete question.

Looking at him, he didn't even recognize most of the Spirit Medicine.

Xu Chen was also feeling very depressed at this moment.

This Seven Spirit Pill was ranked as a top-tier Second-Grade pill, and it was indeed not like the ordinary Gathering Qi Pills he had refined at the Taiyuan Sect, which were the simplest Second-Grade pills. The number of Spirit Medicines used alone was more than double, totaling over forty messy varieties.

Moreover, whether it was intentional or just how it was, these Spirit Medicines had been dumped onto the stone table all at once, and there were many tiny Spirit Insects and crystals mixed in, jumbled together like clumps of dirt. He had to carefully identify and find them one by one to sort and place them, so that he wouldn't be flustered when it came time to refine them.

Soon, a quarter of an hour passed. Han Qing had already finished organizing all the Spirit Medicine and began to study the pill formula carefully.

Meanwhile, Xu Chen had only organized half of the medicinal materials, and they were placed in a messy, disorganized fashion that seemed to have no method at all.

Consequently, all the watching disciples and the group of old Daoists proctoring the competition became even more relaxed, and the sound of their chatter grew louder.

At this time, various Escape Lights arrived from all directions in the sky, all having heard about the alchemy bet between Xu Chen and Han Qing at the Danyuan and having rushed over to watch the excitement. Among them were many personal disciples and Core Disciples who had clashed with Xu Chen at the mountain gate hall yesterday.

And what surprised everyone was that the Second Senior Brother Yi Zhen, who had been defeated quite miserably yesterday, was also among them, accompanied by a large group of people with a very imposing aura.

As Yi Zhen and the others landed, the large number of inner and outer sect disciples watching from the surroundings hurriedly made way, one by one cautiously cupping their hands in greeting.

Yi Zhen's expression remained indifferent, however. He simply fixed his gaze on Xu Chen and Han Qing, then said loudly, "Han Qing, if you win this match for the Yuqing Hall, I will give you a piece of Red Cloud Gold Sand."

"Whoa—" A violent commotion and uproar broke out all around.

The group of proctoring Elders all changed color in surprise.

And Han Qing, who had been carefully studying the pill formula, also trembled, his face full of pleasant surprise as he looked at Yi Zhen and said, "Do you mean what you say?"

Yi Zhen snorted coldly, and with a wave of his hand, a fist-sized stone emitting golden-red spiritual light landed on an empty stone table in the arena.

"Wow, it really is Red Cloud Gold Sand! This is a top-grade material for refining Alchemist Furnaces and fire-attribute Magic Treasures."

A burst of exclamation immediately erupted from the crowd of onlookers. Countless people were biting their fingers and drooling, and some young female disciples even looked at Yi Zhen with eyes full of longing.

Red Cloud Gold Sand, a high-grade Third-Tier Spirit Material, is produced in the depths of the extremely harsh volcanic underground. For any Alchemist Furnace or fire-attribute Spirit Talisman Magic Treasure, one only needs to mix in a little to not only increase the success rate of the refining but also greatly improve the quality of the Magic Treasure. Especially for Alchemist Furnaces, a furnace mixed with Red Cloud Gold Sand is much easier and more relaxed to control with Spirit Fire, which can greatly save Spirit Stones and vital energy.

A piece this large was enough to forge a high-quality Third-Tier Alchemist Furnace.

Han Qing took a few deep breaths to control his excitement, cupped his hands slightly, and said, "Many thanks, Senior Brother Yi Zhen. I will definitely give it my all."

Xu Chen also looked up from the large pile of suspended Spirit Medicine at this moment. Looking at this lump of Red Cloud Gold Sand, he felt he couldn't quite contain the drool in his mouth, so he smiled slightly at Yi Zhen: "Senior Brother Yi, long time no see. Does this count as an additional stake for the competition? If I win, can I take it away too?"

The corners of Yi Zhen's mouth twitched slightly, and he snorted coldly with a dark face: "If Daoist Friend Xu can win, taking it away is fine."

Xu Chen immediately nodded with a face full of pleasant surprise: "A word once spoken is hard to take back; I'll take that as a promise!"

Yi Zhen originally wanted to agree immediately, but a young man in a black Daoist robe beside him curled his lip and said, "Senior Brother Yi Zhen, wait a moment. Since Daoist Friend Xu wants this piece of Spirit Material, he must naturally bring out an equivalent stake. Otherwise, how can one speak of fairness?"

Yi Zhen's thoughts shifted, and he understood. Therefore, he nodded along: "That is correct. Since it is a gambling match, it must be fair. If you can bring out something we are satisfied with, you can naturally take it if you win."

(End of chapter)