Chapter 152: The Monster

The sun rose and set; in the blink of an eye, the sun shifted west again, and then dusk descended.

The medicinal fragrance within the Alchemy Hall grew increasingly rich, stimulating all the young cultivators until their souls were spellbound and their mouths watered uncontrollably.

Xu Chen's progress in combining the pill was already more than halfway through; all the Spirit Medicine had been slowly fused together under the rotation of the Combining Pill Array, forming a lump of medicinal paste totaling less than the size of a pigeon egg.

The higher the grade of a Spirit Pill, the lower the yield, because the more waste is produced during refining, and what remains at the end is the absolute, true essence.

According to the pill formula's introduction, the maximum yield for one furnace of Seven Spirit Pill is three pills; normally, producing one pill counts as a success, and two pills is definitely considered a high yield.

Yet at this moment, Xu Chen judged that this furnace of pills would ultimately form two pills; if he were to force it to be cut into three, the quality would likely be greatly compromised, ultimately resulting in what is called a waste pill.

Of course, refining one pill is also fine, but the consequences after consuming it might be the one-time exhaustion of all soul power, ultimately causing permanent soul weakness due to overexertion.

The effect is the same as a patron overdosing on aphrodisiacs.

The reason why the "Great Strength Pills" at street stalls have such miraculous effects is that they use this method; taking too many might make one so fierce that they explode on the spot, becoming completely crippled or even losing their life later on.

Han Qing also entered the state of combining the pill.

Pill mist rose from the two pill furnaces as if they were two large steamers; inside the whistling, rotating pill furnaces, Spirit Fire sprayed and Spirit Light flashed, crackling with faint flashes of lightning and thunder, and the pill furnaces trembled slightly without pause.

Xu Chen's mindset became increasingly relaxed because, as the Spirit Medicine slowly fused, the vibration of the pill furnace became more and more stable; he could fully suppress the temperature of the Spirit Fire without needing to consider other matters.

But Han Qing was completely different; under the imbalance of his mindset, he barely finished refining the last three Spirit Medicines. Not only was the loss of medicinal properties quite large, but he had also fallen two hours behind Xu Chen. Yet, at the beginning of the Combining Pill Array, one must fuse all forty-plus Spirit Medicines one by one according to the order in the pill formula to complete the preliminary combining step. This step is extremely critical and tests one's control over the array, which requires the Divine Sense to be very clear and meticulous; one cannot be sloppy in the slightest.

Furthermore, his soul strength and reserve of vital energy were far inferior to Xu Chen's to begin with. Under the anxious pursuit, the pill combining naturally had errors everywhere. If it weren't for Biyunzi having completely abandoned his old face to continuously remind him and help control the Spirit Fire, this furnace of pills would have been wasted long ago.

But even so, Biyunzi could not personally step in to refine the pills and could only assist from the side; the one primarily responsible for combining the pills and controlling the array was still Han Qing. Therefore, in the state where Han Qing's Dao heart was lost, a large amount of Spirit Medicine that had already been refined was once again scorched to ash by the Spirit Fire during the combining process, causing a massive loss of medicinal efficacy. Ultimately, after barely completing the preliminary combining, only a lump of medicinal paste the size of a little finger remained in the furnace.

Looking at this lump of medicinal paste, Danyunzi was completely disappointed.

Even if this pill were refined, it would likely be in a semi-waste state; having thirty percent of its medicinal efficacy would be the absolute limit.

But regardless, refining one second-grade top-tier Spirit Pill at once, even if it is a waste pill, does not count as a complete failure.

Biyunzi could be considered to have completely given up.

As for the row of Pill Hall Deacon Elders sitting upright at the entrance of the great hall, although they could not see the state of the pills inside Han Qing's and Xu Chen's furnaces, their faces twitched slightly and turned dark upon sensing the pill vapor rising and the pill fragrance released from the two furnaces.

By now, the outcome was decided; there was simply no need to continue the competition.

The other hundreds of inner and outer sect disciples of Yuqing Hall who had watched for two days also understood that in this competition, Yuqing Hall had lost, and lost very thoroughly.

Therefore, those disciples who had placed heavy bets hoping to win Xu Chen's Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill had extremely ugly expressions; many of them had already left midway, and since nightfall, Escape Lights had been leaving the Alchemy Hall one after another.

And as the news spread outside, more onlookers also began to curse and spit as they left.

They had originally had high expectations for the Alchemy Hall, but they hadn't expected the loss to be so swift.

The group of cultivators in the Alchemy Hall were usually high and mighty in front of their peers from other halls in Yuqing Hall, but today they were completely trampled into the dirt by a small outer sect cultivator.

Although this slap to the face stung a bit.

Many people actually felt an inexplicable excitement, a kind of perverse pleasure.

The number of onlookers grew smaller, but the pill fragrance grew thicker.

The competition entered its final stage. By the time dawn broke again, Xu Chen had already finished dividing the pills; two golden-yellow pellets floated in the furnace, thumb-sized, emitting a dense aura and Spirit Light.

At this point, Xu Chen's victory was basically set. However, to prevent Biyunzi, that old coffin-board, from causing trouble, he still dared not relax in the slightest; his vital energy formed two barriers inside and outside the pill furnace, and his Divine Sense protected the medicinal pills tightly like a net.

A pale golden medicinal pill had also taken shape in Han Qing's pill furnace; because the medicinal power was insufficient, the pill formation speed was faster, and the pill vapor had actually begun to subside early.

"Alright, now you only need to stabilize the Spirit Fire to nourish the pill until it is mature, then you can take it out of the furnace; there is no need to think more about the outcome!"

Seeing that the Spirit Pill was formed, Biyunzi did not want to continue helping, so after reminding Han Qing, he completely withdrew his Divine Sense and sat upright in the great hall, his old face twitching slightly.

At this moment, he could feel that the Divine Senses of several Danyuan Realm Elders who had been watching the Alchemy Hall had retreated one after another, and he could even hear a few soft sighs.

Xu Chen felt something in his heart, looked up toward the direction of Cuihua Mountain, and soon withdrew his Divine Sense to continue nourishing the pill.

The sun rose to the zenith, then began to slowly tilt west again.

In the blink of an eye, it was around the You hour on the third afternoon.

Xu Chen sensed that the pill fragrance had completely subsided, and the two golden Spirit Pills were fully mature under the baking of the Spirit Fire. Therefore, he slapped the pill furnace with both hands; accompanied by dense pill vapor and the spraying of Spirit Fire, two brilliant golden Spirit Pills flew out of the furnace, and he swept them into his hand with his vital energy.

"Wow, he actually formed two pills!"

At this time, only the Alchemy Hall disciples remained, numbering less than two hundred. Seeing Xu Chen take out the pills, many could not help but stand up to watch in a stir of exclamation.

Although Han Qing's time for combining and forming the pill was several hours later than Xu Chen's, because it had already become a waste pill, he also prepared to take the pill out quickly; because if he didn't take it out now and continued to wait, he would still end up with one waste pill, and his face would be lost all the same.

At this moment, Xu Chen turned his head to show him the Spirit Pills in his hand and smiled slightly: "Senior Brother Han, I concede, I will take my pills out first!"

Han Qing's face turned pale instantly. With his mind in chaos, the Spirit Fire in the pill furnace lost control again, suddenly surging up several feet and swallowing the already-formed Spirit Pill. Only a crackling sound like muffled thunder was heard, accompanied by the violent shaking of the pill furnace, and a plume of thick smoke rose into the air, instantly filling the square with a scorched smell.

"Sigh~"

The group of old Daoists sitting at the entrance of the great hall shook their heads and sighed collectively.

Biyunzi in the great hall had an even darker old face, nearly falling to the ground in a tumble.

The many Alchemy Hall disciples watching were all silent, each one dejected.

This round of the competition was a crushing defeat for Yuqing Hall, with no excuses whatsoever.

Because the Seven Spirit Pill was originally a secret recipe of Yuqing Hall that Xu Chen had never been exposed to at all.

Xu Chen took out a Jade Bottle to store the medicinal pills, raised his hand to toss it in front of the short, thin old man in the center of the great hall's entrance, and bowed: "This junior has fortunately not failed the mission, having refined the Seven Spirit Pill; I ask the senior to inspect whether it is a success."

The short, thin old man did not open the pill bottle at all, but flicked his finger to push the pill bottle back to Xu Chen, stood up, and nodded: "Young Friend Xu's pill refining skills are exquisite; this round has won my Alchemy Hall's heartfelt admiration. Young friend, keep these two Spirit Pills; consider it a token of my Alchemy Hall's sincerity. Please also keep these bets, young friend."

Xu Chen's mouth curled into a grin instantly; with a sweep of his vital energy, he gathered all the Spirit Medicine, Spirit Material, and Spirit Stone piled on several stone tables into his Profound Gold Bracelet, leaving only the six bottles of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill, and then bowed to the great hall again:

"Many thanks to Senior Biyunzi for your generosity. This junior will accept these bets; these six bottles of pills shall be a token of gratitude for the Seven Spirit Pill formula and the two Spirit Pills bestowed by you, Senior. If there is nothing else, this junior would like to go to the Alchemy Hall's Scripture Pavilion to observe."

A moment later, Biyunzi's voice came from the great hall: "Qin'er, take Young Friend Xu to the Scripture Pavilion."

"Yes, this disciple obeys!" Murong Qin stood out, bowed, and led Xu Chen toward the back courtyard of the Alchemy Hall.

Yun Xi excitedly pulled Lan You along to follow, and Ling Shuang and the other three women also looked at each other and quickly followed.

The Elder group had ordered the four of them to accompany him in eating, playing, and refining pills; wherever Xu Chen went, they were to accompany him.

Previously, the four of them had been very dismissive or even disdainful of Xu Chen, this small cultivator who was only in the Kaiyuan Realm.

But now, that feeling in everyone's heart had vanished completely.

With the cultivation of the Kaiyuan Realm, successfully refining two Seven Spirit Pills in one go is already a legendary existence within the entire Yuqing Hall; in the three thousand years since the sect was founded, it seems such a thing has never happened before.

"Simply a monster!"

Watching Xu Chen leave surrounded by a group of female Disciples, an old Daoist with silver hair and beard could not help but let out a long sigh, his face full of emotion.

Yet the short and thin old man among them looked at the six bottles of pills placed on the stone table, his face twitching as he turned to cup his hands toward the main hall and asked, "Master, these Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills..."

"Collect them first, and send them to the Sect Leader for disposal later?" The voice of Biyunzi came from the main hall.

The short and thin old man was stunned and said, "Master, send them all? Shouldn't we keep two bottles?"

"Hmph, do you have the face to take them?" Biyunzi let out a cold snort, his face twitching as he stood up, took a single step, and instantly vanished from the main hall without a trace.

(End of this chapter)