togophonebook Chapter 90 Alchemy Competition
Chapter 90 Alchemy Competition
"clang--"
The bronze bell tolled on its own, its sound resounding throughout the entire venue.
On the high platform to the north of the platform, Du Zhong stood up and announced in a loud voice: "The Cuiping Peak Small Competition begins today. The first event is alchemy."
With a wave of his sleeve, he simultaneously lit the fires on ten alchemy furnaces. Three brocade boxes were already prepared on the furnaces, containing the three medicinal ingredients for the Nourishing Essence Pill.
"There are sixty disciples participating, divided into six batches of ten. The first batch will go on stage."
Zhang Lin glanced down at the lot number in his hand: C3.
The third batch is more than enough.
The first group of ten people took to the stage, each occupying a furnace platform.
One of them had a fair complexion, wore a blue brocade robe, and had a jade pendant of excellent quality hanging from his waist; it was Zhou Mingyuan.
When he went on stage, his gaze deliberately swept across the waiting area, lingering on Zhang Lin for a moment. A smile appeared on his lips, a smile that carried a hint of provocation and smugness.
Zhang Lin's expression remained unchanged as he looked past him and landed on the alchemy furnace platform.
Ten alchemy furnaces were lit simultaneously, the flames turning the area a fiery red.
Zhang Lin used his Qi Observation Technique to take in the entire situation on the field.
Zhou Mingyuan's fire control technique was indeed excellent; the flames were stable and not chaotic, and he also grasped the timing of adding the fire-making agent precisely.
However, Zhang Lin noticed that his alchemy furnace was also a top-grade magic artifact. Although there were many runes on the furnace body, it lacked the natural and simple charm of the hundred-refined bronze furnace.
After an incense stick had burned for a while, the first batch of disciples started their furnaces one after another.
The furnace lid was lifted, and the aroma of medicine filled the air. The steward stepped forward to examine the pills and record them one by one.
Zhou Mingyuan successfully produced twelve pills, all of the highest grade, with a success rate of 100%.
As he stepped off the stage, he deliberately walked over and brushed past Zhang Lin, lowering his voice to say, "Junior Brother Zhang, don't disappoint me."
Zhang Lin didn't look at him.
Yu Youwei sat in the spectator area on the sidelines, dressed in a blue shirt and cotton skirt.
She watched Zhou Mingyuan walk back to the waiting area with an air of arrogance, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
The second group of disciples took the stage.
Chen Boyuan was among them. Before going on stage, he cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Lin.
Chen Boyuan took out a high-grade alchemy furnace and started it.
An hour later, eleven first-grade pills were produced, with a success rate of 92%.
As he stepped down from the stage, he wore a wry smile and shook his head, saying, "The furnace was a bit lacking; the heat was off by three breaths, ruining one pill."
Zhang Lin comforted him, saying, "It's already excellent."
"clang--"
The bell rang again.
"The third batch, take the stage."
Zhang Lin stood up, straightened his sleeves, and walked up the steps to the alchemy furnace platform.
His position was on the third furnace platform, in the center, with a wide view.
On the stove, three brocade boxes were neatly arranged. Inside the boxes were thirty-year-old Linglan grass, Qi-gathering grass, dew-condensing flower, and three-leaf green grass, all of which were twenty years old and of average quality.
He reached out and opened the brocade box, his fingertips touching the leaves of the spirit orchid. They were slightly cool to the touch, and their spiritual energy was decent.
Just as he was about to put the medicine into the furnace, he suddenly stopped.
wrong.
Between the veins of this orchid's leaves, there is a very faint dark red line, as fine as a hair, which cannot be noticed at all unless you look closely.
Bloodline grass.
This is a herb that is very similar to the orchid, with almost no difference in appearance, except that there are dark red lines between the veins of the leaves.
Bloodline grass itself is not poisonous, but when exposed to high temperatures, it releases a pungent odor that contaminates the entire batch of medicinal liquid. At best, the quality of the liquid will plummet; at worst, the entire batch will be ruined.
Zhang Lin's eyes closed slightly.
This person went to great lengths, mixing blood-thread grass into the medicinal herbs. If he hadn't developed spiritual awareness to aid him and his ability to identify herbs far surpassed that of a first-grade herb, he might have truly fallen for the trap.
Without showing any emotion, he closed the three brocade boxes again and said calmly, "Steward."
Sun Mao came over upon hearing this: "What is it?"
"A foreign object has been mixed into the disciple's medicinal herbs. Please request a replacement."
Sun Mao frowned and picked up the brocade box to examine each item.
When he took out the orchid and examined it closely, his expression suddenly darkened.
"Bloodline Grass." His face was extremely grim. "What kind of work are the people at the pharmacy doing?"
With a wave of his sleeve, a servant disciple quickly stepped forward and brought three more brocade boxes.
Sun Mao personally checked it and found no errors before handing it back to Zhang Lin.
"Zhang Lin, it was my oversight. This matter will be thoroughly investigated."
Zhang Lin cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your trouble, sir."
Below the stage, Zhou Mingyuan's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal, though the knuckles of his fingers gripping the folding fan turned slightly white.
On the high platform to the north, Du Zhong frowned and said, "The spirit material room is under the management of Steward Wang, this matter..."
Qian Tong sneered: "Manager Wang was recommended by the Zhou family. How many problems has he caused over the years? And every time, it's been left unresolved?"
Du Zhong remained silent.
In the room, Zhang Lin had already put the medicinal herbs into the furnace.
The hundred-refined bronze furnace hummed, and its body gleamed with a pale golden light.
A ball of true purple fire was thrown in, the flames licking the bottom of the furnace, unhurried and unperturbed.
The principles of fire control that Elder He Chuan had spoken of came to mind, emphasizing the importance of fire first.
The flames moved with the ease of an arm or fingers, sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle.
The medicinal liquid in the furnace churned and gradually transformed into a ball of emerald green essence.
After half an incense stick's time, the medicinal liquid began to differentiate.
Zhang Lin's ten fingers flew, unleashing a burst of true energy, and the flames in the furnace suddenly turned into a gentle fire.
The twelve clumps of liquid medicine spun slowly at the bottom of the furnace, gradually solidifying.
Below the stage, the disciples who had finished their competitions gathered around the edge of the arena, discussing the matter animatedly.
"Zhang Lin's alchemy furnace is quite something. I've never seen a flame of this color before. Could it be some kind of secret technique?"
"It's not just the color; look at his control over fire—it's even more stable than many veteran alchemists I've ever met."
"I heard he's only been practicing for less than six months. How did he learn so much?"
Luo Yuan stood in the crowd, his expression slightly serious.
He was in the second batch, producing twelve pills, all of the highest grade, with the medicinal effects preserved to the fullest extent. He thought he was a shoo-in for first place, but seeing Zhang Lin's fire control technique, he suddenly felt a little uncertain.
Others might not recognize the purple flame, but he had seen it before; it was the Danxia True Fire of the Danxia Sect.
Time passed amidst the discussions.
Zhang Lin began to extinguish the fire. The flames slowly receded, the temperature of the furnace gradually decreased, and the medicinal liquid inside the furnace completely solidified, turning into twelve round pills.
"Open the furnace."
He made no fancy moves, but simply and calmly lifted the stove lid.
A rich medicinal fragrance, like clouds and mist, gushed out from the furnace mouth, condensing into a pale green medicinal cloud above the discussion platform, lingering for a long time.
The elixir was formed, and extraordinary phenomena appeared.
The entire room fell silent.
Twelve Qi-Nourishing Pills lay at the bottom of the furnace, their bodies a vibrant green, round and smooth as pearls, with a subtle luster flowing across their surfaces, like beautiful jade.
Sunlight shone on the pill, refracting a soft halo, and faintly visible inside were extremely fine golden lines, crisscrossing like meridians.
Sun Mao strode forward and bent down to look into the furnace.
He waved his hand and took out a pill, examined it closely in his palm, then brought it closer to his nose and sniffed it, his expression changing repeatedly.
His voice held a hint of disbelief: "First-...first-grade, top-grade?"
These words caused an uproar in the room.
"A top-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill? This year's Spirit Orchid Grass is only thirty years old; wasn't it supposed to be at most a superior grade?"
"Twelve top-grade pills, a 100% success rate—is this even possible for a human to refine?"
Luo Yuan's pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at the pills in the furnace, his expression shifting constantly.
After a long pause, he sighed, "Indeed, there are always heavens beyond heavens and people beyond people."
Zhou Mingyuan's face turned ashen, and the veins on his hand gripping the folding fan bulged as the fan snapped in two with a "crack".
On the sidelines, a faint smile appeared on Yu Youwei's cool face, then disappeared.
Chen Boyuan clapped his hands and laughed loudly, saying, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, you are truly remarkable!"
On the high platform, the elders looked at each other in bewilderment.
He Chuan stroked his beard, nodded, and smiled, "This young man has an extraordinary aptitude for alchemy; his future is limitless."