Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 141 - Pill Cloud

Just like that, Jiang Yue and Liu Wuxie looked at each other and could see the murderous intent in each other’s eyes. In the final round of the alchemy competition, Liu Wuxie had relied on Ghost Eye to win, not to mention that he had nearly died due to Shangguan Cai’s scheme. Jiang Yue was the one who had leaked the answers.

“Someone like you wants to kill me?” Liu Wuxie sneered. If he wanted to leave, no one here could stop him.

“No one can stop me from killing the person I want to kill!” Jiang Yue stepped forward, releasing a powerful aura that formed into a tidal wave, nearly causing the entire room to collapse from the shock.

The two parties stood in a deadlock, refusing to give in. Lan Ruoyu’s mouth twisted from smiling. She didn’t expect her master to have a grudge against Liu Wuxie.

“Master Jiang, the assessment isn’t over yet! Please restrain yourself!” Sang Yan stood between the two, preventing the situation from escalating further.

“Brat, you’re doomed!” Jiang Yue withdrew his aura and stood aside for the assessment to end. Regardless of whether Liu Wuxie could become an alchemist or not, he was determined to kill him.

Tang Yan and Bai Lin failed the second stage but didn’t leave as they wanted to watch the third stage. As for the third stage, Cao Qingli chose to refine the first-grade pill, the Energy Condensing Pill. It was the easiest; he could become a one-star alchemist if he succeeded.

“Wuxie, what pill do you plan on refining?” Sang Yan asked.

“Let’s go with the Soul Converging Pill, but change Blue Lily to Leaf Vine,” Liu Wuxie said after pondering briefly.

“Wuxie, you must consider that properly because you only have one chance,” Sang Yan warned. If Liu Wuxie failed, he wouldn’t be able to become an official alchemist that day, and Jiang Yue wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.

“That brat must be insane. The Soul Converging Pill is a fourth-grade pill, not to mention that he modified the formula. I’ll kneel and kowtow to him if he succeeds,” Bai Lin sneered, thinking that Liu Wuxie must’ve gone insane to challenge such a difficult pill.

Everyone stared at Liu Wuxie like they were looking at a monster, and Jiang Yue also gave a contemptuous chuckle. Even a four-star alchemist wouldn’t dare to do that, not to mention a mere apprentice attempting a modified formula. Replacing a fourth-grade herb with a first-grade herb was simply unimaginable.

Lan Ruoyu also sneered, thinking that Liu Wuxie was simply courting death.

“Thanks for the reminder, Senior Sang. But I have already made up my mind!” Liu Wuxie knew Sang Yan meant well, but he wanted to refine a fourth-grade pill to become a four-star alchemist. This was the only way he would receive respect from the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

He had to restructure the formula to refine a fourth-grade pill. He had only mastered the refining method for the Heavenly Spirit Pill, Golden Spirit Pill, and Origin Yang Pill.

The Golden Spirit Pill had the highest grade among the three, but it was still a third-grade pill. He had many formulas in his mind, but the effects were too great. He had to sort them out slowly, and he didn’t have that much time present to find a suitable formula.

The Soul Converging Pill was a readily available formula; the other herbs weren’t lacking. The only thing they lacked was Blue Lily, which meant that Liu Wuxie had to change the formula if he wanted to refine it.

Sang Yan said nothing else and started to prepare the herbs. Everyone only had one chance as earthly flame ignited. Cao Qingli was the first to start refining, and anyone could tell he wasn’t familiar with his technique.

Liu Wuxie took his time, using Ghost Eye to run through simulations more than a dozen times before approaching the cauldron, confident in his accuracy. Sang Yan held his breath and clasped his hands, his eyes riveted on Liu Wuxie, afraid of missing any detail that could help him learn from Liu’s techniques.

That was the same for Sheng Lian as well. He had long heard that Liu Wuxie had summoned a phenomenon when refining the Golden Spirit Pills in the competition. Thus, his eyes were fixated on Liu Wuxie without blinking.

When Liu Wuxie tossed the first herb into the cauldron, his technique was skilled. His movements, in contrast to Cao Qingli’s, appeared as though they had been honed through endless repetition, exuding an air of grace and fluidity. Each step of the Seven Dipper Steps was executed artistically as he tossed the herbs into the cauldron one by one. Each time a herb landed in the cauldron, a ripple of fluctuation emanated from it.

The cauldron was locked with invisible spiritual runes to prevent the spiritual energy from leaking. This made Jiang Yue frown as he was a four-star alchemist. At a glance, he could tell that Liu Wuxie’s refining techniques were profound; this was the first time he had seen it.

Everyone’s faces transformed as they watched Liu Wuxie, completely captivated by his refining techniques.

“What’s the use of having fancy techniques? Does he think it’s easy to become a four-star alchemist?” Bai Lin sneered.

“Silence!” Sang Yan roared, releasing a powerful shockwave that sent Bai Lin flying away and coughing up a mouthful of blood as he hit the ground. Seeing this, Tang Yan was too terrified to utter a word.

Time slowly passed as Cao Qingli refined a first-grade pill. After fifteen minutes, a strong pill fragrance drifted out from the cauldron. He increased the intensity of the flames, and the pills were ready after five minutes. Three pills were successfully refined, while five were ruined, barely qualifying him as a one-star alchemist.

“What technique is this? Why haven’t I seen it before?” Sheng Lian couldn’t comprehend Liu Wuxie’s technique, and he turned to Sang Yan.

“This is also my first time seeing it. Each of his movements seemed natural.” Sang Yan was a three-star alchemist who couldn’t comprehend Liu Wuxie’s refining technique. It differed from the last time Liu Wuxie had refined the Golden Spirit Pill.

Most alchemists could only grasp one or two refining techniques. Liu Wuxie, on the other hand, changed his refining technique each time he refined a pill.

“No technique can save him. The Blue Lily is the main ingredient of the Soul Converging Pill, and he can’t succeed without it.” Jiang Yue had the most say in this matter as he was a four-star alchemist. He had also tried refining the Soul Converging Pills five times and only succeeded once. The difficulty of refining the Soul Converging Pill was unimaginable.

The problem had remained unsolved for centuries, leading him to dismiss the idea that a young upstart could answer a question that had stumped the alchemy world for so long.

Fifteen minutes later, a faint mist appeared on Liu Wuxie’s head and grew thicker, gathering from the surroundings and forming a cloud.

“Pill cloud!” Sheng Liang exclaimed, looking at the mist gathering to form a cloud with disbelief.

Jiang Yue, who had been ridiculing Liu Wuxie and declaring his efforts futile, was taken aback as the pill cloud materialized in an instant. It was as if he had been slapped in the face.

On the ninth floor of the Treasure Pill Pavilion, there was a bizarre cauldron emitting a buzzing noise that sounded with rhythm.

Mu Yueying, who was in seclusion, suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the cauldron.

“Who’s refining pills that managed to alarm the Myriad Beast Cauldron?!” Mu Yueying stood up with a hint of doubt in her eyes. Only those who managed to manifest the pill cloud phenomenon could attract the resonance of the Myriad Beast Cauldron.

“Servants!” Mu Yueying yelled as two maids entered the room. She continued, “Go and check who is refining pills now!”

The maids departed to carry out her orders. The refining area, located on the fourth floor and divided into numerous alchemy chambers, was quickly inspected. They returned in less than fifteen minutes to report, “Missus, everyone has retired for the day. There’s no one refining pills at the moment.”

It was almost dusk, and everyone had gone back to rest. All the alchemy chambers that they went to check were empty.

Mu Yueying, however, looked puzzled. “Are you certain there’s no one refining pills?” she asked. The resonance from the Myriad Beast Cauldron was intensifying, a clear sign that someone was refining pills. Such a resonance couldn’t be mistaken.

“We have checked the alchemy chambers, and there’s no one. If there’s someone refining pills at this time, it would only be the assessment area,” the two maids said with uncertainty. The Treasure Pill Pavilion wasn’t that big, and the alchemy chambers were fixed. Thus, it was easy to check if there was someone refining pills at this moment.

“I need to freshen up. I’ll step out for a bit,” Mu Yueying announced, prompting the maids to prepare her bath immediately.

As the pill cloud grew thicker, Sang Yan couldn’t describe his feelings at this moment as he felt excited like a child.

Sheng Lian also exclaimed as he was completely intoxicated by it, unable to extricate himself from watching. After all, it would shock the entire Great Yan Dynasty if news of Liu Wuxie refining the Soul Converging Pills without using Blue Lily spread out.

When the pill cloud phenomenon appeared, Bai Lin and Tang Yan were dumbfounded, staring at it blankly.

On the other hand, the murderous intent in Jiang Yue’s eyes grew denser. The pill cloud phenomenon was a reminder to him that the Soul Converging Pill was already in the forming stage, and the refining would be done in five minutes at most.

Everyone’s gazes changed when they looked at Liu Wuxie. Lan Ruoyu had a hint of panic flashing across her face because she realized she had offended an alchemy prodigy.

Liu Wuxie’s technique underwent another transformation, his hands moving at a speed that left afterimages in their wake as he circled the cauldron. The precision required in refining the Soul Converging Pill left no room for error, a challenge made even more daunting by the fact that this was his first attempt.

Sang Yan, completely engrossed in the process, rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “It’s almost done!” he exclaimed, having lost all sense of his surroundings.

Suddenly, a biting chill filled the room, emanating from Liu Wuxie’s hands and enveloping the cauldron. The flame was instantly snuffed out, replaced by a layer of frost that covered the cauldron. This was a refining technique that was unheard of.

Sheng Lian couldn’t help but exclaim, “What an exquisite refining technique! Using ice to seal the pill’s energy, ensuring the effects are contained within the pills. This further guarantees that no energy will leak out!”

Indeed, during the formation of pills, a portion of the effect would typically leak out. However, Liu Wuxie ingeniously circumvented this issue by using the chill to seal the entire cauldron, effectively preventing any leakage of effects.

Once Liu Wuxie had completed his process, he approached the cauldron. With a gentle tap, the lid of the cauldron lifted, releasing a rich fragrance that filled the room.

In the next second, all the herbs in the room began to bloom. Even the herbs grown in the courtyard began to grow violently with pill spirit born.

Sheng Lian, waving his hands in excitement, exclaimed, “What a fragrance! My soul energy seems to have grown stronger!”

The primary effect of the Soul Converging Pill was to enhance one’s soul energy, and Sheng Lian could feel a significant increase in his soul energy with just a single inhalation. This indicated that the effect of the Soul Converging Pill, refined by Liu Wuxie, had exceeded his expectations!

Everyone in the room was drawn towards the cauldron, eager to get a glimpse of the Soul Converging Pills.

Right then, a group of uninvited guests arrived outside the Treasure Pill Pavilion. The scout guarding outside immediately knelt before Xue Chunyu. “Milord, you have finally arrived!”

“Where’s that brat?” Xue Chunyu’s face was terrifyingly dark, with a strong murderous intent sweeping through the first floor of the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

“He’s currently taking his assessment to become an alchemist, and he’s right inside!”

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