Chapter 777: Seven-Seven Sacred Maiden

"Brother, what did you sign up for?"

Wang Dun chuckled and sidled up to He Pingsheng.

Seeing Wang Dun approach, the Vermilion Bird Sacred Maiden Nan Qiqi also walked over willingly.

"Brother Wang… it's been a while…" Nan Qiqi greeted Wang Dun warmly.

He Pingsheng: …………

It's only been three days!

How can you say it's been a while!

"That's right…" Wang Dun's eyes lit up as he stared at Nan Qiqi: "Sacred Maiden Qiqi, as the saying goes, a day without seeing you feels like three autumns—I haven't seen you for nine autumns!"

Nan Qiqi's face flushed red.

Wang Dun added: "Sacred Maiden Qiqi, what project did you choose this time?"

Nan Qiqi said: "Both I and He Pingsheng chose Alchemy!"

"Alchemy!" Wang Dun shook his head: "Ah… what a pity, I can't do alchemy… I had to pick Artifact Forging instead!"

"Hehehe!"

Wang Dun chuckled, revealing his white teeth, then pulled out another black token.

There are three types of tokens!

Black means you're participating in Artifact Forging, green means Alchemy, yellow means Talisman Crafting.

Both He Pingsheng and Nan Qiqi chose green.

"Alright… let's go, brother. Do your best and get me a top ranking!" Wang Dun gave He Pingsheng two heavy slaps on the shoulder, then turned and left.

"Wait… Brother Wang!" Nan Qiqi said: "That…."

"What is it, Sacred Maiden Qiqi?" Wang Dun turned back to ask.

Nan Qiqi gathered her courage and said: "Brother Wang… after this Stone Platform Gathering ends, will you come back with us to the Vermilion Bird Imperial Domain?"

"I heard you're a lone cultivator—if you're willing to join our Vermilion Bird Imperial Domain, I can make you an Honorary Elder and give you the best cultivation resources!"

"No thanks!" Wang Dun waved his hand: "I like wandering outside. I'm off…"

This time, he really left.

Nan Qiqi took a deep breath, glancing at He Pingsheng with a hint of frustration: "Brother He, is your senior brother really this… reckless?"

He Pingsheng smiled bitterly: How the hell should I know?

"Let's go!" He Pingsheng said: "Our contest is about to begin… Sacred Maiden Qiqi!"

He Pingsheng imitated Wang Dun's tone and called out, "Sacred Maiden Qiqi," instantly making Nan Qiqi's cheeks burn red.

She bit her lip and whispered: "Don't call me that!"

After receiving the green token, it was time to choose seats.

Actually, all seats had numbers.

Just pick your seat according to the number on the back of your token.

Since He Pingsheng had registered together with Nan Qiqi, their seats, along with those of other Vermilion Bird Imperial Domain prodigies, were not far apart.

They were all adjacent.

The "seat" was simply a square wooden table.

Everyone had the same one.

He Pingsheng scanned the surroundings, and as Nan Qiqi had said, most had chosen Alchemy.

A quick glance revealed about eight or nine hundred people!

He Pingsheng spotted Feng Wanxi, the Empty King, Yuan Wuyou, Zhu Xuanlun, and others…

Alchemy imposes stricter limits on low-level cultivators.

It requires the cultivator to possess Gold, Wood, and Fire spiritual roots.

For high-level cultivators, the requirements are far less strict.

As long as one's spiritual sense is strong enough, even without the proper spiritual roots, one can use spiritual sense and Dao roots to capture the Gold, Wood, and Fire attributes and thus brew elixirs.

"Brother He…" Prince Golden Crow Zhu Xuanlun personally came over to greet He Pingsheng: "How are your preparations going?"

He Pingsheng replied: "Fine. How about you, Brother Zhu?"

Zhu Xuanlun said: "Since childhood, I've loved alchemy. Though I'm not human, I've achieved considerable skill in it—though brewing supreme-grade elixirs remains difficult!"

"Brother He, good luck!"

With that, Zhu Xuanlun left immediately.

He Pingsheng marveled: What a remarkable Golden Crow Prince, Zhu Xuanlun.

Truly impressive.

Didn't expect him to have skill in alchemy too.

"Difficult to brew supreme-grade elixirs"—what does that mean?

It means it's not impossible?

Impressive, impressive!

He Pingsheng couldn't help but feel respect.

Soon, everyone had arrived.

Then, the officials began distributing materials.

Each person was given a storage bag.

The host of this contest was still Golden Immortal Emperor.

But other Immortal Emperors were also watching from the sidelines.

"All of you!" After the materials were distributed, Golden Immortal Emperor said: "Now, open the storage bags before you and check your materials—see if anything is wrong."

"If there's an issue, you may still request a replacement now!"

"Once the contest begins, no replacements will be allowed!"

Everyone murmured and began checking.

He Pingsheng was no exception—he checked even more carefully, fearing sabotage in his materials.

The result: nothing amiss—all five sets of materials were flawless.

"Good!" Golden Immortal Emperor continued: "The contest rules have been distributed, but I'll still say a few things. First, scoring is based on elixir quality. If two competitors produce elixirs of identical quality, they must brew a second batch to determine ranking!"

"The top one hundred will be ranked from highest to lowest, with scores decreasing from a maximum of one hundred down to one."

"Also, anyone who brews a supreme-grade elixir will receive an additional one hundred points per elixir!"

"Remember—per elixir, one hundred points!"

"Alright, I now declare the Alchemy Contest begun!"

No sooner had Golden Immortal Emperor finished speaking than nearly everyone began alchemy.

He Pingsheng pulled out an elixir cauldron.

This time, it was no longer the supreme-grade magic treasure, the Ancient Xuan Cauldron with twelve seals.

Instead, it was a small three-legged furnace—this one was no ordinary item; it was a supreme-grade spiritual treasure with twenty-four seals, named: Void Heaven Furnace.

Previously, He Pingsheng had left five supreme-grade spirit stones with Mo Sang of the Sacred Fire Trading House, asking him to find a high-grade alchemy furnace.

Later, Mo Sang provided one.

A low-grade spiritual treasure.

He Pingsheng then used the Treasure Basin to reinforce it into a supreme-grade one—this one was the Void Heaven Furnace.

Of course, he had long since subjugated it.

The other one he sent to Solitary Pine Mountain for the elders there to share.

A good furnace can further enhance elixir quality during brewing.

Let's begin!

He Pingsheng took a deep breath, then exerted force and opened the Void Heaven Furnace.

A wisp of alchemy flame ignited before him in midair.

One of the Ten Primordial True Fires: Nine Heavens Mystic Flame!

No need to hide it—too many people already knew. He Pingsheng believed nearly everyone seeking his secrets already knew.

One by one, materials were tossed into the cauldron!

Simultaneously, some spirit liquids mixed with water were poured into the furnace.

Alchemy had officially begun.