Chapter 150: The Mindset of the Strong (Bonus Chapter 6 for Alliance Leader Xiaoliyame)

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, half a day had passed; the sun hung directly overhead, and it was already noon.

Yet, whether it was the two people refining pills or the onlookers, no one felt any impatience.

For all cultivators, sitting in meditation to practice Qi is a daily routine; it is not at all strange to sit for a whole day and night, or even several days and nights.

And for alchemists, being able to endure loneliness is the most basic requirement.

A first-grade Spirit Pill requires at least two hours, an ordinary second-grade Spirit Pill requires at least a day, and for a high-level second-grade Spirit Pill like the Seven Spirit Pill, the refining process alone takes at least a day, and the subsequent pill refining and pill nourishing are equally time-consuming; it is estimated that refining this batch of pills will take at least three days.

Therefore, no one was in a hurry at all.

At this moment, Han Qing had already refined the eighteenth Spirit Medicine, and the refining time for each Spirit Medicine had extended to nearly two quarters of an hour.

Xu Chen had also finished refining five batches of Spirit Medicines and was clearly about to catch up to Han Qing's progress.

However, by this time, Xu Chen also began to feel some pressure; more than two hours of high-intensity, precise control and doubled Qi output had left him somewhat fatigued, so he decided to slow down his speed to relax a bit, and thus he only threw in one Spirit Medicine for the sixth time.

The onlookers collectively breathed a sigh of relief, and countless people began to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads.

Han Qing, in particular, secretly let out a long breath, and the pressure in his heart suddenly diminished by more than half.

But it was during this moment of his relaxation that the Spirit Fire inside the pill furnace suddenly became restless, and the pill furnace also shook violently a few times.

"Focus your mind, why are you distracted?" Biyunzi's cold snort of warning came to his ears.

Han Qing was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he hurriedly input Qi to suppress the restless Spirit Fire; the pill furnace slowly quieted down, and the onlookers naturally quieted down slowly after a burst of commotion.

"Do the various halls of the mountain gate have nothing to do? Why are you all crowding here?"

Suddenly, Biyunzi's voice appeared in the ears of all the cultivators watching outside the Alchemy Hall's array.

The large number of cultivators standing outside watching were in a panic, and none dared to stay and watch the excitement any longer, so they all bowed to the Alchemy Hall and flew away on their swords, their Escape Lights scattering like an exploding furnace, and soon the sky and rooftops became empty.

Xu Chen also breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Growing up, this was the first time he had been watched by so many people; even though he had the Blue Light Treasure Bottle to stabilize his Soul, he still felt immense pressure.

Time continued to pass, and before anyone knew it, the sun had slanted to the west, and faint bell sounds came from the distance; it was already the time for the mountain gate disciples to finish their daily work, eat, and rest.

However, at this time, the pill refining in the Alchemy Hall had entered a relatively deadlocked state.

Han Qing had already refined to the thirtieth Spirit Medicine.

Xu Chen had only refined to the twentieth Spirit Medicine, and it seemed the gap in their progress had widened further.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the entire Alchemy Hall became relaxed again; many people began to send out Sound Transmission Jade Slips to report the competition situation to their fellow senior and junior brothers and sisters outside, and in the sky outside the Alchemy Hall, hundreds of Yuqing Hall cultivators began to slowly gather again, with hundreds of pairs of eyes staring straight at the movements of the two.

"Senior Sister, is Daoist Friend Xu actually capable or not?" Yun Xi sat on the periphery and poked Lan You's back with her small hand, asking in a low voice.

Lan You frowned slightly and said, "It is still early. Although Daoist Friend Xu is lagging behind, his progress is not slow. The real test is still to come. If you don't want to watch, you can go back first!"

"I'm not going back, but if Daoist Friend Xu doesn't speed up his progress, I'm afraid he will lose!" Yun Xi shook her head like a rattle-drum and muttered.

And Yun Xi's words seemed to remind Xu Chen, as he soon seemed to change his strategy and threw three Spirit Medicines into the pill furnace again.

This action of his caused the onlookers, who had been quiet for most of the day, to become restless again in an instant; Han Qing, who had been very calm and focused on the side, couldn't help but have his heart tremble, and he turned his head to look over again.

And it was this slight moment of negligence that caused the Spirit Fire in the pill furnace to lose control and become restless again; a Spirit Medicine that was almost finished refining instantly began to collapse, and a burnt smell wafted from the pill furnace.

"What are you doing?"

Biyunzi's angry voice suddenly sounded in his ears; when Han Qing realized it and hurriedly went to suppress the Spirit Fire, it was already too late; one Spirit Medicine had been completely incinerated, and the array within the entire pill furnace began to flicker violently under the restlessness of the Spirit Fire, causing the entire pill furnace to start emitting thumping, muffled-thunder-like vibrations.

Just as Han Qing felt despair, suddenly a very thick Divine Sense and Qi poured into the pill furnace, forcibly suppressing the Spirit Fire, and all the arrays instantly stabilized.

This aura came and went quickly, in the blink of an eye.

But Xu Chen's powerful Divine Sense keenly sensed this change, and he couldn't help but look up in the direction of the Alchemy Hall, a silly smile actually appearing on his face.

Above the main hall, Biyunzi's old face flushed slightly, but he snorted coldly via Divine Sense Transmission to Han Qing: "What are you still waiting for? Continue refining the pill."

Han Qing was instantly red-faced and embarrassed, but he dared not show anything; he could only forcibly stabilize his emotions, then take a same Spirit Medicine from his Storage Bag and throw it into the pill furnace.

Around the square outside the hall, the other watching disciples did not know what had happened.

They only saw a thick smoke and a burnt smell emerge from Han Qing's pill furnace, and amidst the violent commotion and exclamations, they saw the pill furnace quickly return to calm; while feeling slightly relieved, they saw that Han Qing had actually used a second set of Spirit Medicines, so they became surprised and restless again.

Yi Zhen, who had been sitting in meditation with his eyes closed but was actually extremely nervous, suddenly opened his eyes and glanced at Han Qing, then turned his head to look in the direction of the main hall.

With his strength, he could naturally sense the change in Han Qing's pill furnace just now and that fleeting aura.

The Second Elder had actually intervened!

His heart was suddenly filled with mixed feelings, but it was not joy, but a deep sense of shame.

His pride would not allow others to humiliate him; not defeating Xu Chen was the greatest stain of his life, but as a cultivator dedicated to the Dao, he could ask his peers to help him, to challenge Xu Chen openly and honestly, but he could not accept this kind of unfair, secret intervention.

He believed that Xu Chen could also sense the aura from just now.

Therefore, even if Han Qing won this round and won these Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills, he was afraid that the image of Yuqing Hall in Xu Chen's heart would only collapse even more severely in the future.

He was angry and ashamed that he hadn't defeated Xu Chen, but this way of winning made him feel he had no face to see anyone; therefore, after a brief silence, Yi Zhen suddenly stood up, rose into the air, left the Alchemy Hall, and turned into an Escape Light that sped away.

All the young cultivators watching were once again in a state of inexplicable commotion and exclamation.

Inside the Alchemy Hall, Biyunzi, with a face full of anger, snorted coldly and closed his eyes to continue meditating.

The row of old Daoists sitting at the entrance of the main hall all lowered their heads, looking ashamed and pretending they knew nothing.

Just now, when Han Qing's pill furnace went out of control, it must have been the Second Elder intervening in secret.

Yi Zhen leaving must also have been for this reason.

Yi Zhen was of the Chixia Zhenjun faction and held a transcendent status in Yuqing Hall; his disciples were all arrogant and conceited, especially these few Core Disciples who had already begun to attempt Golden Core, who usually did not even hold some Elders in high regard; therefore, Yuqing Hall, which seemed to have strict rules and harmony, actually had such complex internal relationships that even these old fellows were terrified.

They could not afford to offend the Second Elder, but they also could not afford to offend Core Disciples like Yi Zhen.

Yi Zhen was only in his thirties, and Golden Core was a certainty; these old fellows who were half-buried in the ground did not need to cause trouble for themselves.

Xu Chen was also very surprised.

Because when Yi Zhen left, he also left him a Divine Sense Transmission: "The Alchemy Hall's victory is not honorable; I concede this round."

Therefore, for the guy who had tried to give him a hard time and fight him to the death the moment they met yesterday, Xu Chen felt a bit more respect in his heart.

This is the true mindset of a strong person.

One can lose with dignity, but one cannot win without shame.

Relatively speaking, Biyunzi, that old coffin-rotter, has a much worse temperament.

It is no wonder that even though he is already at the Danyuan Realm Great Perfection, he still cannot achieve Spirit Transformation; it is mainly this inability to accept defeat that is at work.

After this small incident, the alchemy competition continued.

After Han Qing steadied his mind, he quickly refined the same Spirit Medicine again, maintaining his halfway advantage and continuing to lead.

Xu Chen also composed himself and focused intently on tending to the Pill Furnace; it took him nearly three incense sticks of time to slowly refine the three Spirit Medicines, and then, with a pull of his Divine Sense, he only tossed in one more Spirit Medicine this time.

Sunset, dusk.

Escape Lights came and went above the Danyuan, all belonging to cultivators from Yuqing Hall who were blocked outside by the Array to watch the competition; the colorful glow of Magic Treasures was as brilliant as fireworks, rendering the two mountain peaks of the Alchemy Hall exceptionally beautiful.

It seems Yuqing Hall has not been this lively in decades.

As for the cultivators watching from the Alchemy Hall plaza, apart from Yi Zhen, no one else left midway from start to finish; the atmosphere fluctuated between tense and relaxed, and everyone was in high spirits, without the slightest bit of fatigue or impatience.

After all, many of them had placed heavy bets and still wanted to see Xu Chen fail so they could collect the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill.

And the other Disciples also wanted to see Han Qing defeat Xu Chen to win the competition and regain face for Yuqing Hall.

(End of this chapter)