Atop the high stage, flames surged as over a thousand alchemists stood in dense formation. Gathering their energy and focus, each was immersed in their own world of alchemy, filling the arena with a tense and intense atmosphere.
Among the three most eye-catching figures, Yin Wenzhou led the pack. His movements were deft and practiced, his fingers weaving like agile serpents between various spiritual plants. He cast one pill seal after another, controlling the heat with absolute precision. Inside his pill furnace, clusters of medicinal liquid gradually grew crystal clear, releasing a potent, enticing fragrance.
“The Purple Cloud Wildfire Furnace pairs wonderfully with that Thunder-Struck Wood Heartwood Fire. Seeing Yin Wenzhou’s smooth, effortless execution, he must be completely guaranteed to succeed.”
“Not necessarily. Miss Qin’s performance over there is equally astonishing.”
Before Qin Qingmu, the Jade Lotus Fragrance-Seeking Furnace shimmered with a soft glow, like moonlight scattered across a lake. As the flames flickered within, patterns of blue lotus blossoms bloomed across the furnace body, radiating a heavenly scent that made the surroundings feel like a fairyland. Her slender fingers wove pill seals with an easy, fluid grace that rivaled Yin Wenzhou’s own skill.
Meanwhile, the evil cultivator Pei Yanji—feared and disliked by all—did not draw unnecessary attention to himself. His movements were slow and unhurried. Yet a bloody, gloomy aura gradually emanated from his pill furnace, accompanied by a strangely rich fragrance wafting out in waves.
A smirk played on his lips, and he even had enough leeway to glance around at the crowd with contempt and scrutiny.
...
Thousands of alchemy fires burned across the high stage. Various spiritual plants gave off potent aromas and surges of energy, their subtle flickers intertwining with the lustrous glows reflected off colorful medicinal liquids to form a fantastical tapestry.
Amidst this grand display, only Shi Yu slept soundly and peacefully. Strands of her hair spilled softly past her ears, her breathing gentle as if lost in a sweet dream.
Her depleted divine sense slowly recovered as she slept. Before lying down, she had taken not only pills like Qi-Restoring Pills, but also a drop of Life Spring water. Even as she slept, the Life Spring water and the pills worked their magic, releasing their medicinal properties to be absorbed into every corner of her body.
...
“Just how long does Little Yu plan to sleep?” As the hourglass marking the final three hours of the second trial was brought out, Master Ji grew restless with anxiety.
On the stage, alchemists began executing pill-gathering seals one after another. Their aura condensed as they entered the final stage of pill formation. Yet Shi Yu remained fast asleep, showing no signs of waking.
“There are only three hours left. If she doesn’t wake up soon, it’ll be too late!”
Over on the other side, Pei Yanji had condensed the medicinal energy to its absolute peak. The pill furnace before him grew hotter and hotter, warping the surrounding air with intense heat. Suddenly, the Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad inhaled sharply, sucking the flames inside the furnace directly into its mouth. In a single instant, the burning heat vanished, and the glowing red furnace reverted to its original dull black color.
With a kick of its hind legs, the Fire-Absorbing Blood Toad leaped back into Pei Yanji’s sleeve.
Swishing his wide sleeves, Pei Yanji sat cross-legged before his furnace, regulating his breath while waiting for the second trial to be declared over.
Seeing this, everyone knew he had finished refining his Mind-Soothing Pill. However, because he did not lift the furnace lid, no one could tell the quality of the finished pill.
Curious gazes fell upon the furnace one after another, the spectators wishing they could stick their heads inside to take a look.
“Why the mystery...”
“Judging by how composed that evil cultivator looks, the quality of his pill is probably quite high.”
“Let’s wait. The second trial is almost over.”
Yin Shixiu, President of the Hengze Prefecture Alchemist Association, was also unsure about Pei Yanji’s performance. The evil cultivator's refining techniques ran counter to orthodox alchemical traditions, making it difficult to discern any details.
Thus, even as a Tier-5 alchemist, Yin Shixiu could not accurately judge the quality of Pei Yanji’s finished pill.
After Pei Yanji, Yin Wenzhou and Qin Qingmu completed their pills in turn. Both wore confident expressions, clearly satisfied with their refining process. Even without lifting their lids, they possessed a good sense of their pills' quality.
Like Pei Yanji, neither opened their furnace lids immediately. Instead, they chose to sit in meditation, using the opportunity to recover their strength in preparation for the upcoming third trial.
Taking in their performances, Yin Shixiu thought to himself, That girl Qin Qingmu is indeed formidable... Wenzhou will have to exert quite an effort if he wants to claim top spot this time.
As he sat cross-legged, Yin Wenzhou cast a glance at Shi Yu. Seeing that she was still sleeping, he let out a disdainful chuckle.
Qin Qingmu also looked over, her eyes flickering as she thought, She likely lacks the strength and feigned sleep to avoid embarrassing herself in front of everyone.
Retreating without even trying is truly a coward's move. Shaking her head slightly, Qin Qingmu found it somewhat amusing that she had been so wary of her earlier.
Apart from those three, very few alchemists wore composed expressions. Most were frowning deeply, sweat beading on their foreheads as they prayed for their pills to succeed.
Their hands continuously shifted through hand seals, attempting to control the heat and medicinal power within their furnaces. However, most of their reconstructed recipes contained significant errors, and since this was their first attempt at refining them, the medicinal properties inside were chaotic and wild, proving extremely difficult to tame.
Before long, a series of muffled thuds echoed across the stage as medicinal liquids turned to dross and exploded, signaling immediate failure.
Having already depleted much of their spiritual energy and divine sense with time running short, most of the failed alchemists dejectedly left the stage, knowing they could not complete the trial.
Suddenly, hundreds of spots cleared out on the high stage, leaving it feeling noticeably sparser. Less than half of the original contestants remained on stage now.
Yet many alchemists refused to accept defeat. Stuffed with a few Qi-Restoring Pills, they gritted their teeth, reheated their furnaces, and began refining spiritual plants once more.
Below the stage, President Song frowned slightly as he looked at Shi Yu, silently pleading in his heart, Little Yu, don't let your journey end here.
...
When the sand in the massive hourglass piled high at the bottom, leaving only two hours remaining in the trial, Shi Yu finally woke up.
Under the gaze of countless spectators, she slowly opened her eyes. They were as clear as a deep pool, free of any drowsiness.
Having slept for so long, both her divine sense and spiritual energy had restored to their peak condition.
President Song and the others felt the anxiety in their chests vanish as they breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s finally awake.”
Still... with so little time left, would Shi Yu make it?
“Little Seven,” Shi Yu gently stroked the Seven-Color Luan beside her.
The Seven-Color Luan flew up from her side, letting out a sharp, clear cry toward the sky. After circling several times in midair, it abruptly dived down and landed steadily in front of the pill furnace, spitting a burst of scorching, brilliant Seven-Color Glazed Fire into the furnace chamber.
Standing before her furnace, Shi Yu closed her eyes under the astonished gazes of the audience, yet her hands unerringly plucked one spiritual plant after another and tossed them into the furnace.
Yin Wenzhou glanced over and sneered at the sight. “Hmph, grandstanding.”
When one of the five senses was blocked, divine sense perception became all the more acute.
President Yin Shixiu was the first to realize something was amiss, his brows furrowing as he watched Shi Yu’s movements. “This girl...”
Every move she made flowed like natural rivers and mountains, as if she and the spiritual plants shared a seamless tacit understanding.
It could no longer be described merely as smooth and fluid; rather, it was as if the spiritual plants were liquefying and purifying themselves, everything unfolding in perfect harmony with nature.
Shi Yu threw all three main ingredients—Seven-Star Wind-Welcoming Grass, Clear Wind Leaf, and Luo'e Grass—into the pill furnace simultaneously. Enveloped and calcined by the Seven-Color Glazed Fire, they quickly transformed into three distinctly colored clusters of liquid, holding their form amidst the flames without scattering.
With little time remaining, Shi Yu refined the impurities out of the three clusters of liquid while simultaneously tossing the other ten secondary ingredients into the furnace without missing a beat.
Yin Shixiu was deeply shocked, muttering with a heavy frown, “She intends to refine so many spiritual plants at once? While that saves time, even the slightest clash in medicinal properties will ruin everything. It requires immense control...”
President Song and the others felt their hearts leap into their throats once more.
Shi Yu’s expression remained serene. Every movement carried a rhythmic elegance, less like concocting pills and more like creating a masterwork of art.
Under her precise control, all thirteen clusters of liquid took shape, separated with flawless spatial balance and without a hint of chaos. As the Seven-Color Glazed Fire continuously burnt away impurities, grayish-black dust precipitated out of the thirteen liquid spheres, floating in the furnace chamber before slowly settling at the bottom.
The clusters of liquid shrank until each reached the size of a fingernail, displaying various colors—deep, clear, and exceptionally pure, gleaming like fine jewels gracing a beauty.
Executing a pill seal, Shi Yu guided the separated spheres of medicinal liquid toward one another.
The thirteen medicinal liquids of differing properties collided—attracting or repelling one another—yet under the force of Shi Yu’s divine sense, they had no choice but to fuse together.
Hissing sounds erupted instantly as wisps of vapor rose, obscuring the interior from outside view and rendering the situation inside impossible to see.
Yin Shixiu pulled back his gaze, muttering in deep thought, “Her technique is remarkably seasoned, but...”
He turned his head to look at the hourglass.
Time was running out. The hourglass was relentlessly draining its remaining sand.
Below the stage, President Song shifted his gaze back and forth between Shi Yu and the hourglass, asking anxiously, “Will she make it? Will Little Yu make it in time?”
No one dared answer. No one could be sure whether Shi Yu could successfully complete the trial in the limited time left.
She had awakened far too late, and time was simply too tight.
On the other side, Qin Qingmu also noticed the dwindling sand in the hourglass, a subtle smirk rising at the corner of her lips.
...
Finally, the last grain of sand in the massive hourglass was about to fall, and the chime signaling the end of the trial was on the verge of ringing.
Before many in the audience could even put on expressions of pity or gloating satisfaction, they saw her suddenly pull back her hands.
The Seven-Color Luan withdrew its fire as well, alighting affectionately on her shoulder.
The last grain of sand fell, the bell tolled, and the second trial came to an end.
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