Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Chapter 819: Chapter 337: The Pill Refinement Competition, Luo Chen Under the Spotlight!_2

It’s named Guiyuan Cicada Shell.

It is the shed skin of a Second Order Demon Beast known as Cicada Shell, which in fact is not the remnant of a cicada bird, but only resembles one.

To handle this kind of material is quite simple, and there are at least three pill techniques that can process it individually.

But to meet the standard set by the Elder of Tai Dan Court, “clear as the azure sky and preserving the Yuan Qi,” is not possible.

At the very least, it requires two additional First Order medicinal materials to neutralize it in order to achieve such an effect.

Luo Chen’s brows furrowed slightly.

Qingdan Valley didn’t provide the corresponding auxiliary medicinal materials, did they?

But then again, why would they set a task that couldn’t be completed?

His gaze swept over the other four medicinal ingredients.

Each herb’s properties emerged in his mind one after another.

Zhan Star Grass is poisonous.

Sky Blue Aloe has a mild nature and is effective in healing wounds.

Red Flame Ganoderma has an overbearing medicinal power, often burning the rest with its fiery nature.

The Blue Smoke Jade contains jade smoke and is one of the main ingredients for refining Jade Dew Pills, with an extremely cold nature.

“If I were to use Red Flame as a base, burn away the poison of Zhan Star, supplement it with Extremely Cold Jade Smoke, and then use the Sky Blue Aloe to neutralize it, would the resulting Spirit Liquid be equivalent to the two auxiliary materials needed to process the Guiyuan Cicada Shell?”

“No!”

“That way, there would be a conflict, albeit superficially plausible.”

“What if I process them simultaneously?”

Vaguely, Luo Chen believed he had found the solution.

As his gaze scanned the crowd, three of the six who had not yet started were already in action.

Only Luo Chen, Dan Yangzi, and Xuan Yunzi were left pondering.

But soon, Dan Yangzi made his move!

His first action was to decoct the Red Flame Ganoderma with Earth Fire and process it with the Cloud Transformation Hand.

Seeing this, Luo Chen finally confirmed his own ideas.

Indeed!

This first round was not purely a competition of pill techniques.

It also included a test of pharmacology.

Sometimes, it’s possible to draw parallels and use other techniques to assist in solving the problem!

However, the order in which Dan Yangzi added the ingredients did not seem to be the optimal one?

…

As a Pill Refinement Great Sect.

The atmosphere of pill refinement in Qingdan Valley is very intense.

Even some disciples without the talent for pill refinement usually start learning some relevant Dao of Alchemy knowledge during the Qi Refinement Stage.

Even if not for the sake of pill refinement, they need to prepare for the many tasks related to the Dao of Alchemy in Qingdan Valley.

Therefore.

For this second round, though there is no dazzling, earth-shattering battle,

many disciples are still eager to watch, unwilling to miss any match.

This is the first match.

Everyone has an idea in their minds and knows it’s about processing materials.

This kind of task is not difficult.

Some well-to-do Qi Refinement Stage disciples often practice privately.

Seeing the medicinal materials given by the Elder of Tai Dan Court, they began discussing subconsciously.

“Hiss!”

Someone hissed in admiration first!

Then came various discussions.

“The exam questions given this time are all so difficult!”

“Indeed, three types of First Order medicinal materials, Zhan Star Grass is extremely toxic, Sky Blue Aloe has an incredibly hard exterior, and Red Flame Ganoderma has a domineering medicinal nature, any one needs to be processed with great care and takes a very long time!”

“These three are fine, just takes a bit more time. But look at those two Second Order materials, one mineral and one from demon beasts, although both can be used in medicine, they are very complicated to process.”

“I know about Blue Smoke Jade, they say it requires the Breaking Jade Hand to extract the essence within, right?”

“At the very least, it takes a very skilled Breaking Jade Hand to bring out a wisp of the jade smoke.”

“Strange, doesn’t the processing of Guiyuan Cicada Shell require two more auxiliary materials? Did the Elder forget to provide them?”

In the midst of these bustling discussions.

Three of the nine pill refiners on stage immediately sprang into action.

Their practiced movements proved their confidence in handling the limited materials.

“From easy to difficult, this is the experience summed up from multiple Pill Refinement Competitions, an undeniable truth!”

“These three seniors seem to have researched the records of past competitions.”

“Eh, why haven’t the other six started yet?”

On the high platform, six pill refiners remained motionless.

This scene.

Instantly attracted the attention of the crowd.

The Elder of Tai Dan Court stood at the center of the high platform, his gaze sweeping across the nine participants.

Watching the three who acted first, he cursed inwardly, “Idiotic things!”

His gaze scanned the remaining six and he nodded to himself.

“At least they have some insight and weren’t misled by the so-called experiences of previous competitions. In our Dao of Alchemy, there’s no such thing as progressing from easy to difficult; it’s merely about following the principles of medicinal properties.”

“I wonder, among these six, who will be the first to come up with a solution for the Guiyuan Cicada Shell?”

“Dan Yangzi has an incredibly high talent for pill refinement, following his intuition; he will definitely not be stumped.”

“Huang Hezi is old enough, with broad experience and knowledge, he should be able to think of a reasonable method as well.”

“Although I didn’t provide any auxiliary materials for the Guiyuan Cicada Shell, these four medicinal herbs can at least form three different solutions to address its properties. It remains to be seen which solution you all will realize.”

His eyes then swept past Luo Chen.

Observing that besides pondering, he even had the time to look at others.

“After all, he’s a Rogue Pill Refiner; his fundamentals are unreliable, his understanding of medicinal principles vague, and his Daoist title is merely due to luck.”

“At such a critical moment, he can’t come up with anything and tries to look at others’ methods?”

“He’s not just an idiot; this behavior is even worse than an idiot’s, pretending to understand and stealing others’ achievements… Does someone like him even deserve to participate in the Pill Refinement Competition of Qingdan Valley?”

Internally, the Elder of Tai Dan Court held a great disdain for Luo Chen.

Consequently, he had also become displeased with Tao Wen, who had invited Luo Chen.

With a distant glance, cold and loathing!

Tao Wen did not notice this look.

At the moment, all her attention was on Luo Chen.

Watching among the nine, when three made their move first, she remained unfazed.

Because, like Luo Chen, several others had not taken any action either.

Seeing Dan Yangzi as the first to act among the six, her heart still remained calm.

Senior Brother possessed an unbelievably terrifying gift for the Dao of Alchemy and ranked first among the Qingdan Seven Sons.

If it weren’t for holding the Seed Cultivator Position, he would have been recruited by the Tai Dan Court long ago to become an Elder of the Tai Dan Court.

However.

When she saw Xuan Yunzi, Huang Hezi, and the other two start to take action one after another, initiating the Earth Fire to refine the medicinal herbs,

she began to grow restless.

The cultivators of the Tao Family behind her also finally could not suppress the dissatisfaction in their hearts.

“What exactly is Pill Master Dan Chenzi doing up there?”

“Does he even know how to do pill refinement, or is he just making a fool of himself up there?”

“If it’s not going well, why not just deal with one kind of herb!”

“Family Head, didn’t you tell him before about the various experiences and tricks of the Pill Refinement Competition?”

Tao Yisheng’s face turned red.

Ignoring everyone’s emotions, he turned his head back and bellowed.

“Shut up!”

“You can’t even begin to imagine Brother Luo’s prowess in pill refinement, just watch attentively.”

In the end, he added another sentence.

“Noisy!”

Perhaps having the support of Tao Wen and the Clan Chief helped, in this period, Tao Yisheng’s authority as the Family Head was beginning to take shape.

Under his rebuke, even those Foundation Establishment True Cultivators older than him could only glare angrily and shut their mouths.

Tao Wen, hearing the discussions behind her, was indeed uneasy before.

She even felt a bit resentful towards Luo Chen that if things were not going well, he should have just processed a few common herbs first.

However, her brother’s inexplicably strong confidence in Luo Chen seemed to have infected her.

Looking at Luo Chen’s figure, her long fingers instinctively clenched into fists.

“You’re confident, right?”

…

At this moment, upon the high platform.

The Earth Fire erupted from its cave, blazing fiercely.

Various herbs were being processed, emitting a strange, enticing fragrance that made one’s nostrils quiver.

Of the nine Second Order Pill Refiners, eight had already started their work.

The only one who hadn’t yet moved, Luo Chen, had become the focal point of everyone’s attention.

Not a hero, but seemingly the fool!

Under the watchful eyes of all, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled up.

Amid the exclamations, he directly tossed the Guiyuan Cicada Shell into the Glass Sky Mini Tripod.

“What is he doing!”

“Has he gone mad? That’s the most difficult herb to deal with, shouldn’t he leave it for last?”

“It’s not about the sequence; without auxiliary materials, is he planning to ruin the Guiyuan Cicada Shell?”

And it was at this moment.

The Elder of Tai Dan Court, who had been looking down on Luo Chen, suddenly widened his eyes in shock.

“Could it be?”