Murong Xuan looked at Chen Chuan’s eager eyes and then glanced at the fuming Ye Linger beside him, who clearly refused to admit defeat.
He felt both helpless and a faint sense of anticipation that even shocked himself.
Perhaps this Chen Chuan really could create a miracle again?
"Fine," Murong Xuan sighed softly and waved his sleeve.
"Since you are full of confidence and Linger has made a bet with you, I shall demonstrate for you once more."
"This time, I will be refining the Grade Two Medicinal Pill, the Spirit Gathering Pill. Its difficulty is far beyond that of the Green Spirit Pill."
"Refining the Spirit Gathering Pill raises the requirements for Divine Soul power, spiritual energy control, and heat management by several levels. Watch closely!"
Chen Chuan nodded solemnly.
Murong Xuan said no more and approached the Pill Furnace.
His expression was solemn, and the Earth Fire he summoned was no longer a gentle crimson.
Instead, it carried a hint of deep blue, and the furnace temperature rose abruptly.
One by one, medicinal herbs emitting dense Spiritual Qi were methodically tossed into the furnace.
Every step was filled with a mysterious rhythm, and spiritual energy fluctuations rose and fell like tides within the Pill Hall.
Chen Chuan held his breath and concentrated, paying attention to every detail of Alchemist Murong Xuan’s process.
After a moment, the Pill Furnace vibrated slightly, the lid opened, and three longan-sized Medicinal Pills flew out, landing in a jade bottle.
The pills were formed—Advanced quality!
"Did you see clearly?"
Murong Xuan looked at Chen Chuan.
Chen Chuan nodded. "This Disciple understands."
He walked to the Pill Furnace but did not start immediately.
He felt that although his cultivation at the First Level of the Burning Lamp Realm was enough to support the refinement...
To ensure nothing went wrong and for the smooth execution of his subsequent plans, he made a decision with a thought.
"System, spend 400,000 gold tickets to increase my cultivation!"
[Ding! 400,000 gold tickets consumed. Increasing cultivation.]
A surge of majestic and pure energy instantly flooded Chen Chuan’s limbs and bones, flowing into the Spirit Lamp within his Dantian.
The aura around him climbed at a visible speed; the fire of the Spirit Lamp suddenly blazed, shining brightly.
Second Level of the Burning Lamp Realm!
Third Level of the Burning Lamp Realm!
In almost the blink of an eye, his cultivation stabilized at the Third Level of the Burning Lamp Realm.
His total spiritual energy and its purity had increased more than several times over.
This scene seemed silent, but Murong Xuan still keenly sensed the instantaneous transformation of the aura on Chen Chuan.
His pupils shrank slightly, and he was horrified. "This boy was actually hiding his strength?"
He increasingly felt that Chen Chuan was unfathomable.
Anyone who could be recommended to come here was not simple.
Ye Linger also felt the change in Chen Chuan’s aura.
But at this moment, she was more concerned about the Alchemy result. Her small mouth pouted even higher as she whispered a curse:
"Hmph, so what if you hid your cultivation?"
"Grade Two Medicinal Pills aren’t something you can make with just spiritual energy."
"Explode, explode, the furnace must explode."
Feeling the surging power within him, Chen Chuan’s lips curled up slightly, and he no longer hesitated.
Ignite the fire!
Warm the furnace!
Add the herbs!
His movements were still as smooth as flowing water.
He was even more calm and confident than when he refined the Green Spirit Pill before.
His cultivation at the Third Level of the Burning Lamp Realm allowed his control over the pill fire to reach an astonishing precision.
His Divine Soul power also rose accordingly, and his timing for the Fusion of the medicinal liquids was perfect to the extreme.
The more Murong Xuan watched, the more shocked he became. Chen Chuan’s actions almost perfectly replicated his demonstration from just now.
He even used a gentler and more ingenious Fusion method when dealing with several herbs with conflicting properties, avoiding even a hint of potential loss in medicinal power.
Time passed bit by bit, and a medicinal fragrance several times denser than before filled the Pill Hall, refreshing the soul.
Ye Linger’s cursing grew quieter and quieter. The expression on her face shifted from waiting to see a joke, to tension, and finally to disbelief.
Finally, accompanied by a hum even clearer than when refining the Green Spirit Pill, Chen Chuan slapped the furnace lid.
Buzz!
Three streaks of light soared into the sky, each carrying dense spiritual mist and a faint Daoist charm.
The Medicinal Pills fell into the jade bottle in Chen Chuan’s hand.
Looking closely, the three Spirit Gathering Pills were as translucent as jade, with what seemed like spiritual liquid flowing inside.
On the surface of the pills, a clear cloud pattern circled, emitting a pure Spiritual Qi that was refreshing to the mind and body.
"Pill... Pill-borne cloud patterns. Top-grade again. Grade Two top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills."
Murong Xuan’s voice carried a tremble that was hard to hide.
He flashed forward, snatched the jade bottle to examine it closely, and after repeated confirmation, he let out a long breath of turbid air.
His gaze toward Chen Chuan was filled with immense complexity and amazement.
"A freak... truly a freak."
"Chen Chuan, with your talent, given time, you will surely become a Grandmaster Alchemist."
"In the future, there will surely be a place for you in the Alchemy world of the entire Sacred Martial Continent."
Ye Linger was completely stunned.
She looked at the three top-grade Spirit Gathering Pills, then at Chen Chuan, who looked calm and indifferent.
Then she thought about the hardships and countless failures she had endured back then just to successfully refine Advanced Spirit Gathering Pills.
A huge sense of frustration welled up in her heart.
She felt that the Dao of Alchemy she had painstakingly cultivated for years was practically a joke in front of a Prodigy like Chen Chuan.
Comparing oneself to others is truly maddening.
Chen Chuan adjusted his expression, trying to make himself look less punchable, and then turned to the despondent Ye Linger.
He reached out his hand and smiled. "Senior Sister Ye, that will be 500,000 gold tickets, please."
Ye Linger suddenly snapped back to her senses. Looking at Chen Chuan’s hypocritical smile, her teeth itched with anger, and her chest heaved violently.
But under the watchful eyes of everyone, she, Ye Linger, could not afford the shame of reneging on a debt.
She stomped her foot resentfully, pulled out a stack of gold tickets from her Storage Ring again, counted out 500,000, and practically slammed them into Chen Chuan’s hand.
"Here! Take them! You monster!"
Chen Chuan accepted the 500,000 with a clear conscience.
He was in a great mood.
Suddenly, he remembered that he still had two sets of medicinal herbs for refining Green Spirit Pills.
Since he wanted to earn gold tickets, he might as well strike while the iron was hot.
He turned to Murong Xuan and said respectfully:
"Elder, this Disciple still has two sets of herbs for Green Spirit Pills. I would like to take this Opportunity to become more familiar with the refining process. Would that be alright?"
Murong Xuan was already numb by now and waved his hand. "As you wish."
Having received permission, Chen Chuan immediately went into action.
With the experience of his first success, he was even more adept at refining Green Spirit Pills. His techniques were skilled and fluid, as if he were an Alchemist who had been immersed in this Dao for many years.
In just over the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, six top-grade Green Spirit Pills were refined.
Seeing Chen Chuan continuously refine two batches of top-grade Green Spirit Pills with such ease, Ye Linger suddenly realized something.
She pointed at Chen Chuan, her small face flushing red with anger.
"You liar!"
"You carry Green Spirit Pill herbs with you at all times. How could today possibly be your first time performing Alchemy?"
"You must have learned it long ago and intentionally set a trap to swindle my gold tickets."
Chen Chuan looked innocent and spread his hands. "Senior Sister Ye, I’m being wrongly accused. This Junior Brother really is performing Alchemy for the first time. I speak no lies."
"The devil would believe you!" Ye Linger didn’t believe him at all.
How could someone performing Alchemy for the first time continuously refine top-grade Medicinal Pills?
And of different grades at that.
She was convinced that Chen Chuan was a bad guy who hid himself deeply just to tease her.
Looking at Chen Chuan’s punchable face, Ye Linger secretly swore:
"Just you wait, Chen Chuan. I will definitely get back at you for this. I’ll make sure you taste what it’s like to be swindled too."
...
In the evening, Chen Chuan returned to the small courtyard where the Outer Sect Disciples lived.
Zhao Tie, Li Qing, and Wang Hao were in the courtyard sparring and exchanging insights on their cultivation. Seeing Chen Chuan return, they all enthusiastically gathered around him.
"Senior Brother Chen, how did it feel studying at the Pill Hall today? Is the Dao of Alchemy incredibly profound?"
The youngest, Wang Hao, asked curiously.
Chen Chuan smiled casually and said in a flat tone, "It was okay, not too difficult. I tried refining the Green Spirit Pill today and luckily succeeded."
"You succeeded?" A look of surprise appeared on Zhao Tie’s rugged face. "Senior Brother Chen is indeed amazing. To succeed the first time you touch a Pill Furnace, even if it’s just a basic pill, is extremely rare."
Li Qing also nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I heard that many Alchemy apprentices start out by refining semi-finished products or dregs."
Chen Chuan rubbed his nose and added, "Well, I refined a few top-grade ones. It felt alright."
"Oh, top-grade! Wait, what? Top-grade Green Spirit Pills?"
Wang Hao didn’t react at first, but after repeating it, he suddenly jumped up, his voice changing pitch.
Zhao Tie and Li Qing also froze instantly, staring at Chen Chuan with wide eyes as if they were looking at some prehistoric Vicious Beast.
"Are you joking? You refined top-grade Green Spirit Pills on your first try?" Li Qing’s voice trembled with disbelief.
Chen Chuan didn’t explain much; he simply took out a jade bottle and poured out a top-grade Green Spirit Pill surrounded by cloud patterns and glowing with green light.
The moment the Medicinal Pill appeared, the pure medicinal fluctuation immediately made the three of them shut their mouths, leaving only the sound of them gasping.
It’s true!
It’s actually true!
The three looked at each other, all seeing the shock and horror in each other’s eyes.
This Chen Chuan, who came with a recommendation Token, just who on earth was he?
After a long while, the three of them finally recovered from their shock.
Chen Chuan looked at them and threw out a temptation:
"These Green Spirit Pills are of no great use to me. If you need them, I can sell them to you for only 100,000 gold tickets each."
"100,000 gold tickets?" Wang Hao thought he had misheard.
Inside the Holy Land, a Green Spirit Pill requires at least several dozen contribution points to exchange, and the quality isn’t even guaranteed.
Outside, 100,000 gold tickets might buy a common-quality Green Spirit Pill.
But within the Holy Land, gold tickets were practically waste paper!
Could waste paper be exchanged for top-grade Medicinal Pills?
"Senior Brother Chen, are you... are you serious?" Zhao Tie’s breathing was a bit hurried.
"Of course it’s true," Chen Chuan nodded affirmatively.
"As long as you have gold tickets, I can sell them to you right now."
"Furthermore, any other Medicinal Pills I refine in the future can also be sold to you first."
"You can introduce people with needs to me, as long as they can provide enough gold tickets."
Hearing this, a burning light instantly erupted in the eyes of the three.
Medicinal Pills!
Especially top-grade Medicinal Pills; they were hard currency in the Holy Land.
They could be exchanged for gold tickets that were nearly useless in the outside world?
This was simply a massive Opportunity.
"I’ll buy! I’ll buy two!"
Wang Hao was the first to react, unhesitatingly pulling out the 200,000 gold tickets his Family had given him.
Zhao Tie and Li Qing also immediately took action, each bringing out 200,000 gold tickets to buy two.
In the blink of an eye, Chen Chuan had earned 600,000 gold tickets, and the six Green Spirit Pills in his hand were handed over to the three.
Holding the top-grade Medicinal Pills in their hands, Zhao Tie and the others were incredibly excited and thanked Chen Chuan repeatedly.
And they said they would definitely keep an eye out for wealthy patrons who needed Medicinal Pills.
Looking at the three’s excited appearance, the same thought rose in their minds simultaneously.
Quickly write a letter back to the Family and have them raise as many gold tickets as possible at all costs to send over.
With Chen Chuan, gold tickets were tangible Cultivation resources.
The next day, Chen Chuan arrived at the Pill Hall on time again.
As soon as he stepped into the hall, Ye Linger, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly jumped out and blocked his way.
Ye Linger stood with her hands on her hips, her small face tilted up, looking like she had been waiting for him for a long time.
"Junior Brother, you’re here."
Ye Linger’s dark, round eyes flickered with cunning and ill intent.
Chen Chuan took one look at her posture and knew the girl was up to no good.
He immediately showed a look of surprise, then put on a depressed and helpless expression.
"Senior Sister Ye, what’s this? Are you going to bet again?"
"You are a noble Rank 3 Alchemist, but competing against a Junior Brother like me who just started... isn’t that a bit like bullying?"
Ye Linger’s face turned red at his words; it really was a bit like the big bullying the small.
But she was desperate for revenge and immediately threw out the prepared bait: "Cut the crap! Just say if you’ll compete or not! If you win, this Senior Sister will give you a thousand contribution points."
"A thousand contribution points?" Chen Chuan’s eyes lit up instantly.
He knew the value of contribution points in the Holy Land all too well.
These thousand contribution points were enough to exchange for many precious herbs, which could then be refined into pills and sold for a massive amount of gold tickets.
He could not refuse this temptation.
The bit of depression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a sincere smile that looked like he was blinded by money.
"Since Senior Sister is so generous and there are contribution points as a prize, then this Junior Brother shall respectfully comply."
Seeing Chen Chuan agree so readily, Ye Linger was secretly delighted, feeling that the trap she had dug was finally going to be put to use.
She raised her chin proudly:
"Hmph, at least you know what’s good for you!"
"This time, I will definitely let you know that there is always someone better than you."
Murong Xuan watched this pair of rivals from not far away, pressing his hand to his forehead and sighing helplessly.
However, even he felt a faint sense of anticipation for this unfair competition.