Chapter 411: Advancing to Alchemy Master
Chapter 411: Chapter 411: Advancing to Alchemy Master
Fu Rong watched with covetous eyes as Ning Xuan stored the single Nine Revolutions Holy Healing Pill in her Space Button. She desperately wanted that Elixir Pill. ’I wonder if Ning Xuan would be willing to sell it?’
"All those precious ingredients, including a Thousand-year-old Snow Ganoderma, just to refine a single Elixir Pill? What a waste of materials," Lan Shuiyu said, glaring jealously at Ning Xuan’s Pill Furnace. "No matter how miraculous that pill is, it can’t possibly match the value of the Thousand-year-old Snow Ganoderma."
"Of course it wasn’t just one," Ning Xuan said. She reached into the Pill Furnace and pulled out a handful of shimmering golden Elixir Pills. When she placed them into a Glazed Bottle, they filled it to the brim.
Fu Rong was completely dumbfounded. When she snapped out of it, she immediately clamored, "Ning Xuan, you have to sell me a few of those, no matter what!"
Afterward, Ning Xuan continued refining Elixir Pills. At first, the other Alchemists worked on Elixir Pills from relatively simple recipes, so there were occasional successes. But as time went on, exploding furnaces and failed refinements became more and more common. After successfully refining two batches of Elixir Pills, Fu Rong failed repeatedly. Following her third failure, she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Seeing that there was only half an hour left, she simply extinguished her flame and went over to watch Ning Xuan’s Alchemy.
Like Fu Rong, quite a few people had gathered around Ning Xuan. They watched in amazement as she used a dozen or so vines to methodically process the ingredients, refine them, and add them to the Pill Furnace in perfect sequence for further tempering.
They were, after all, Alchemists who had been immersed in Alchemy for decades, even centuries. They could naturally sense that the spiritual power flowing through the vines shared the same origin as Ning Xuan’s—in other words, all dozen-plus vines were under her complete control.
Controlling over a dozen vines at once—while her primary focus remained on the inside of the Pill Furnace—was astounding. Each vine performed a different task, adding ingredients in a specific, predetermined order. This meant Ning Xuan had to divide her consciousness over a dozen different points simultaneously, ensuring not a single one made a mistake. The mere thought of it seemed utterly impossible.
’Ning Xuan is only twenty years old. Even if she’s exceptionally talented with immense spiritual power, she shouldn’t possess such an unnaturally precise level of control over it.’
Ning Xuan was wholly focused on refining Elixir Pills, paying no mind to the crowd of onlookers. She wanted to refine as many pills as possible within the allotted time. Naturally, she wasn’t choosing the easier, basic recipes, but rather Elixir Recipes that featured rare and precious ingredients as their primary components.
In addition to the Nine Revolutions Holy Healing Pill, Ning Xuan also refined the Evil Exorcism Fire Spirit Pill and the Golden Lotus Antitoxic Pill.
The final batch of Elixir Pills Ning Xuan refined was the Golden Lotus Antitoxic Pill. Its refinement process was incredibly complex. After such a long period of high-intensity work, Ning Xuan could feel her fingertips begin to tremble, and fine beads of sweat formed at her temples.
Continuously refining High-level Elixir Pills had taken a toll on both her spiritual power and her stamina.
Her internal Fire Element Energy was nearly depleted, and her mind was exhausted from the intense concentration. Yet her gaze remained resolute. In the reflection of the furnace fire, an unquenchable flame seemed to burn deep within her pupils.
The surrounding crowd stared intently at Ning Xuan. They wanted to get a clear look at the techniques she was using. After all, her ability to refine an Elixir Pill from such a complex recipe in so little time was reason enough for them to study her methods.
Under the crowd’s rapt attention, Ning Xuan formed a complex hand seal. She pressed the seal against the wall of the Pill Furnace. Inside, the Spiritual Fire abruptly changed color; the crimson flames gradually shifted to a pale gold. A lotus pattern materialized above the Pill Furnace, slowly blooming as if it were alive.
"Is that... the Golden Lotus Antitoxic Pill?" one of the examiners watching the surveillance feed exclaimed, his eyes wide and his voice cracking.
"Is she insane? That’s one of the most difficult Elixir Pills to refine. I’ve heard that no one has ever successfully created one."
Ning Xuan paid no mind to the gasps around her. Her hands formed seals, and wisps of Spiritual Power seeped from her fingertips into the Pill Furnace, precisely harmonizing every ounce of medicinal essence. Her movements were still fluid and graceful, but a closer look would reveal that her breathing had become uneven and her face had turned pale.
’Almost there...’ Ning Xuan gritted her teeth, forcibly wringing out the last dregs of energy from her body.
A crisp lotus fragrance drifted from within Ning Xuan’s Pill Furnace. The scent was so pure it felt as though it could wash away all the world’s impurities.
Anyone who smelled the fragrance felt instantly refreshed, and even the toxins built up in their bodies seemed to show faint signs of being purged.
"Dan Qi Transformed into Lotus... it’s actually real? I’ve lived for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve ever witnessed such a scene in person," the white-haired proctor said, his voice filled with excitement.
However, just as everyone was lost in shock, Ning Xuan’s body swayed. Her vision began to swim with black spots, and her fingers trembled uncontrollably. To refine this batch, she had exhausted the very last of her energy. ’All I want to do now is rest.’
Ning Xuan placed the newly refined Golden Lotus Antitoxic Pills into a Glazed Bottle, then stored it in her Space Button.
These three hours were merely a pre-exam practice session; most people were just familiarizing themselves with the Pill Furnaces. But for Ning Xuan, who wanted to acquire those incredibly precious and rare ingredients that were difficult to buy on the market, she was willing to exhaust every bit of her stamina to refine those batches of Elixir Pills.
’I don’t even have to take the Alchemy Grandmaster exam,’ Ning Xuan thought, ’but I’m definitely taking these ingredients with me.’
Seeing Ning Xuan show signs of exhaustion after refining her final batch of Elixir Pills, the Alchemy Grandmaster examination committee unanimously decided to postpone the start of the official competition by one hour.
When Ning Xuan, Fu Rong, and the others officially entered the examination for the rank of Alchemy Grandmaster, Ning Xuan was met with enthusiastic and fawning gazes wherever she went. Only Master Lan Shuiyu continued to make a few passive-aggressive remarks.
The official examination consisted of three steps: first, selecting an Elixir Recipe by drawing lots; second, refining the elixir; and third, announcing the results.
While there were many more details involved, that was the general process.
In the Alchemy Grandmaster examination, Ning Xuan, without a doubt, successfully created the Elixir Pill according to the requirements and became an Alchemy Grandmaster.
Fu Rong was lucky this time and also successfully refined her Elixir Pill, earning her promotion to the rank of Alchemy Grandmaster.
Among the nearly 20 Alchemy Masters participating in this examination, both Ning Xuan and Fu Rong passed. In addition to them, three others also passed and were awarded the Alchemy Grandmaster’s medal.
As Ning Xuan was about to leave, Fu Rong hesitantly told her that she wanted to trade money or other items for a Nine Revolutions Holy Healing Pill.