Word Count: 2,022 Words
At this moment, everyone suddenly remembered that Xiao Yan was the real ace of this competition!
Everyone had been drawn to the potential displayed by Liu Ling and the Little Princess, causing them to momentarily forget that Xiao Yan was already a 4th-tier alchemist!
All eyes turned toward Xiao Yan's medicinal cauldron. Inside, two snow-white medicinal pills had already formed. It could be said that the pill condensation was complete.
"This brat, such a crucial time and still wants to refine two pills in one batch! If anything goes wrong, both pills will be ruined."
Hai Bodong was exasperated with Xiao Yan. At a time , wouldn't it be better to focus on refining a single pill properly?
Fa Ma's eyelids twitched violently. Due to the unique nature of the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill, refining two pills in one batch wasn't merely a matter of saving medicinal ingredients; it effectively doubled the difficulty.
"Has he completed the refinement?"
"But why is there no medicinal fragrance? Could it be just a tier 3 pill?!"
Just as everyone was puzzled by the lack of any phenomena despite Xiao Yan's pills having taken shape, Fa Ma said with a solemn expression, "The true challenge of the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill isn't in the refinement of ingredients or the pill condensation."
"The real difficulty lies in forming the pill lines with flames after the pill has taken shape!" Xiao Yan even had the leisure to turn his head and look in Yan Li's direction. Yan Li, who had been laughing maniacally just moments ago, now had bloodshot eyes as he stared intently at his medicinal cauldron.
Because he had realized what kind of pill Xiao Yan was refining!
"Impossible! The 'Three-Lined' Green Spirit Pill requires three kinds of flames, and the level of fire control needed surpasses that of a 5th-tier alchemist. Refining two pills simultaneously is even more impossible! You can't possibly produce a genuine Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill!!" Yan Li roared hoarsely. He couldn't and refused to believe it.
If the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill was hailed as the most renowned tier 4 pill of the Chu Yun Empire, then the Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill was undoubtedly the most legendary pill of the Jia Ma Empire.
It was precisely with the recipe for the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill that Fa Ma became the Chairman of the Alchemist Association.
The Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill, a peak tier 4 medicinal pill, was similar to the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill in that they could both directly increase one's strength. However, its effect was limited to those at the Dou Grandmaster realm. If someone of that realm consumed a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill, they could not only increase their strength by one star but, most importantly, they could consume two of these pills in succession.
In other words, as long as one could obtain two Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pills, one could steadily increase one's strength by two stars in one fell swoop.
"Then open your eyes wide and watch carefully!"
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, his Dou Qi circulating frantically within his body. His eyes sharpened as he suddenly slammed both palms onto the medicinal cauldron.
Whoooosh!!!!! The next second, terrifying flames gushed out from the medicinal cauldron!
Three differently colored flames uncontrollably erupted from the cauldron's opening, spreading in all directions!
"Three kinds of flames?!!"
"Oh my heavens, he really has three kinds of flames!!"
"Controlling three kinds of flames simultaneously!!" Fa Ma's eyes widened in shock, because this was not the method used to refine the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill.
The 'Three-Lined' Green Spirit Pill required three kinds of flames, with the switching between flames being particularly critical. If the switch was too slow, the pill's temperature would drop, causing the lines to fail to form; if too fast, the pill would be directly scorched into charcoal. The control over the flames had to reach an exceedingly stringent level.
As for Xiao Yan's method of simultaneously using three kinds of flames to form the lines, Fa Ma had considered it before, but only in theory.
Because it was simply impossible to achieve in practice.
Using three kinds of flames in succession and controlling three kinds of flames simultaneously were entirely different concepts. Fa Ma could generate ordinary Dou Qi flames with his own Dou Qi, then produce another flame from the fire seed within his body, and finally use other methods to pre-place a flame into the medicinal cauldron, a process known as 'borrowing fire.'
Only in this way could he possess three kinds of flames to refine the Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill.
Now, the fact that Xiao Yan was controlling three kinds of flames simultaneously meant that he had three kinds of flames coexisting within his body!! How was that even possible? It should have caused his body to explode!!!
But Flame Mantra had turned the impossible into reality!
Last night, after obtaining the recipe for the Three Lines Green Spirit Pill, Xiao Yan immediately discovered that Fa Ma's creation had flaws.
Switching between flames was extremely prone to errors, so he modified the method.
Boom boom boom boom boom!!! The three kinds of flames wildly expanded outward, their searing heat giving rise to a towering fire tornado that swept across the entire plaza.
"Holy hell! Are you refining pills or trying to kill us!"
The terrifying fire tornado forced everyone nearby to retreat; even Fa Ma had no choice but to
In the VIP seats, Ya Fei stood up nervously, her delicate face pale, her captivating eyes brimming with worry.
"Don't worry. With his strength, this scene can't harm him," Nalan Yanran said calmly, her beautiful eyes watching the terrifying flaming tornado in the arena.
At this moment, inside the medicinal cauldron, the snow-white pills seemed like a vast ocean with three dragons swimming across their surface. Black, red, and green-the three pill lines were like three dragons competing for the 'dragon pearl.'
When the three lines fully appeared, a smile tugged at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth as he retracted all the flames. The moment all the flames vanished, an incomparably dense medicinal mist emerged from the cauldron.
The white, smoke-like medicinal mist was imbued with three distinct colors!
"Colored medicinal mist as well!!"
Fa Ma nearly leapt up in unbridled excitement when he saw the two dragon-eye-sized Three- Lined Green Spirit Pills floating within the cauldron.
"It's a peak Tier 4 Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill!! He refined it entirely on his own!"
"Hahaha, well done, Xiao Yan, excellent!" Fa Ma finally couldn't contain his excitement and
"Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill?!" The words echoed in Yan Li's ears like thunder, exploding violently within his mind. His once smug and complacent expression instantly turned ashen. "Impossible! How can an eighteen-year-old brat possibly refine a peak tier 4 pill! You must have cheated; this was prepared in advance!" Yan Li roared with bloodshot eyes.
Fa Ma sneered coldly, "Hmph, you're also a 4th-tier alchemist. Don't you know whether Xiao Yan refined this on the spot or not?"
Seeing the surrounding gazes filled with cold ridicule and disdain, Yan Li knew he absolutely couldn't admit defeat. The moment he acknowledged his loss, his life would be forfeit in the
"Hmph, so what if he managed to refine the Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill? Both the Three- Lined Green Spirit Pill and the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill are peak tier 4 pills. Although the Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill can indeed increase one's strength by three stars, it's ultimately a risky gamble. If it fails, one's cultivation may even regress by two stars. In contrast, the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill is guaranteed to increase strength by one star and can be used twice! The Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill may not necessarily be superior to the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill." Yan Li's voice, infused with Dou Qi, echoed throughout the entire plaza.
A buzz of heated discussion rose from the spectator stands upon hearing his words. "He does have a point. If it were me, I would not necessarily gamble on those three stars. It would be a huge loss if the refinement failed and my cultivation regressed. With two Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pills, I could steadily increase my strength by two stars without any
"That's not necessarily the case. I would definitely take the risk. While the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill can indeed be used twice, you might not be able to obtain two of them. And two pills are bound to be more expensive than a single one."
The plaza was instantly abuzz with discussions.
Fa Ma's eyes turned cold. He wanted nothing more than to kill this imbecile right then and
"Don't forget, Xiao Yan refined two pills in one batch," even Liu Ling couldn't stand it
anymore and spoke up for Xiao Yan.
"Exactly! He refined two pills in one go, doubling the difficulty compared to yours," the Little Princess sneered. How did this guy still have the gall to argue?
"Hmph, you never mentioned anything about refining two pills in one batch at the beginning
of the competition. Your rules only stated that refining a single pill was required, with the winner determined by the pill's quality and grade." Yan Li stubbornly refused to admit defeat. He knew that if he lost, his life would be unceremoniously snuffed out.
Fa Ma narrowed his eyes and said, "Very well, since you're so unwilling to accept defeat, let's have someone verify the quality of the pills."
Just as Yan Li was about to question the fairness of the judges and indefinitely delay things, Xiao Yan, who had been quietly observing the drama unfold beside his medicinal cauldron, rubbed his cheek and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Um, sorry to interrupt."
At the sound of Xiao Yan's voice, all the alchemists snapped out of their heated argument and
turned to look at him.
"What's the matter, Xiao Yan?"
Xiao Yan extended a single finger and pointed toward the sky.
Seeing his gesture, everyone instinctively raised their heads to gaze upward.
A slight smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face, his calm voice echoing throughout the plaza: "I
don't like winning by just a little in competitions. If I'm going to win, I want it to be an absolute, undisputed triumph."
The extraordinarily dense, three-colored medicinal fragrance emanating from the 'Three- Lined Green Spirit Pill' lingered in the sky, coalescing into a cloud of mist that refused to dissipate! It was even producing tangible energy ripples in the air!!
"Colored medicinal fragrance forming clouds!! Could this be... a tier 5 medicinal pill??!!!"
Xiao Yan took out a wooden box and placed the pills inside. He looked at Yan Li, whose face
had drastically changed, and said, "Who told you I was refining the Three-Lined Green Spirit
Pill?" "The reason it's called the 'Green Spirit Pill' is because the base color of the pill is green. Now, tell me, is the base color of my pill green?"
Only then did Fa Ma suddenly realize that the base color of Xiao Yan's pill was white!! "Do yourself a favor and look carefully with those old, blurry eyes of yours. See how many
lines are actually on this pill." Xiao Yan pointed to the topmost white layer of the pill. Only then did everyone notice that the arrangement of the three visible pill lines was unusual. All three lines curved downward and weren't evenly distributed across the pill's surface. With Xiao Yan pointing it out, everyone used their Spiritual Strength to examine the pill. Only
then did they abruptly discover that upon the white base was actually another faint, almost imperceptible white pill line!!!!
It was just extremely difficult to discern with the naked eye because the base color was also
Xiao Yan's lips twisted into a cruel smile as he fixed his gaze upon Yan Li and chuckled, "This
is the Four Lines White Spirit Pill, a tier 5 medicinal pill, you dumbass."