Translator: AnubisTL
After leaving the Wind and Cloud Platform, Gu Feng and Yan Xixi headed straight to the Outer Sect Trading Hall.
"Senior Brother Gu, are you here to buy medicinal ingredients?"
"Yes!"
"Keep it up, Senior Brother Gu! If you can make another batch of those 'Diarrhea Pills,' I'll definitely be your first customer."
"I really miss the feeling of diarrhea. Back then, my cultivation soared, and I felt full of energy every day. But Senior Brother Gu, you stopped selling them."
"When will you refine some more Modified Bone Cleansing Pills? The Outer Sect is still short on Bone Cleansing Pills. The Elders in the Outer Sect Alchemy Hall can't produce as much as you, Senior Brother Gu."
"Sigh—if only there were more Modified Bone Cleansing Pills, I might have a chance to break through to the Qi Refining Realm before the Outer Sect competition!"
"..."
Gu Feng was a well-known figure in the Outer Sect of the Sunset Glow Sect. Everyone supported his participation in the Cloud Prefecture Alchemy Competition.
Of course, no one expected him to win first place. They just hoped that Gu Feng would create another type of 'Diarrhea Pill' that could benefit the Outer Sect, allowing them to experience the exhilarating feeling of rapid cultivation advancement once more.
Amidst the praise, Gu Feng gradually lost himself. Throughout the entire process of purchasing medicinal ingredients, he puffed out his chest and grinned from ear to ear.
Originally, he had some concerns, but now he was brimming with confidence.
"Don't worry, Xixi. I'm already a powerhouse in the Postnatal Realm. My physical attributes are at least ten times stronger than before, and my alchemy skills must have improved by leaps and bounds," Gu Feng said proudly to Yan Xixi.
"You're an alchemy genius. When you were in the Qi Refining Realm, you developed the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, which made waves in the Outer Sect of the Sunset Glow Sect. Even the Elders in the Outer Sect Alchemy Hall couldn't stop praising you..." Yan Xixi said with a smile, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
"That's right. I've just been focusing all my energy on cultivation and making money. Alchemy is such a small matter—it only takes a little effort to master!" Gu Feng was completely carried away, having already forgotten the embarrassing incident when he was kicked out of the Alchemy Hall by Elder Shen, the chief Elder of the Outer Sect Alchemy Hall.
The two of them headed straight to the Alchemy Room.
"Xixi, tell me about the main process of this alchemy competition."
"There's not much to it. It's just a gathering of Qi Refining Realm alchemists from various sects, families, and even merchant guilds to compete in alchemy skills. As for the process..."
Yan Xixi briefly explained the process of the alchemy competition.
Gu Feng understood everything after just the beginning.
The content of the alchemy competition was the same every year. As the host, the Sunset Glow Sect prepared the necessary medicinal ingredients, and the alchemists were tasked with refining a pill called the 'Qi Gathering Pill.'
This pill had similarities to the Bone Cleansing Pill—both were the best, most difficult to refine, and most scarce pills within their respective realms. However, while the Bone Cleansing Pill was only popular in the Sunset Glow Sect, the Qi Gathering Pill was widely recognized as the top Qi Refining Realm pill in the entire Chu Kingdom.
Its price was also exorbitant—a bottle of nine pills could sell for an astonishing 200,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones, and it was still in short supply.
The purpose of refining this pill in the alchemy competition was to discover talent in refining the 'Qi Gathering Pill.' More importantly, it was to see if any genius alchemist could break through the technical barriers of alchemy and improve the pill formula to benefit the masses.
Due to the extreme difficulty of refining the 'Qi Gathering Pill,' there had been instances where the entire competition ended in a series of failed attempts, with all the cauldrons exploding. Since then, the competition had changed its format, allowing participating alchemists to invite one alchemist with a cultivation level no higher than the Postnatal Realm to compete together. The final ranking would be based on the combined results of the two.
"So, if a particularly weak Qi Refining Realm alchemist invites a powerful Postnatal Realm alchemist, wouldn't they have a high chance of winning?" Gu Feng raised the question.
Yan Xixi, as if she had anticipated this question, smiled and said, "That situation basically never happens. Alchemists are divided into Mortal Grade, Spirit Grade, and Mystic Grade.
No matter how difficult the Qi Gathering Pill is to refine, it still falls within the Mortal Grade category. Spirit Grade alchemists wouldn't find it interesting to win, and losing would be a joke, so they wouldn't bother participating. If all the participants are Mortal Grade alchemists, the difference in cultivation levels becomes meaningless—it's not a battle of strength!"
"Oh!"
With that explanation, Gu Feng understood, and he felt more confident about participating in the alchemy competition. Since everyone was a Mortal Grade alchemist, he didn't think he would be inferior to anyone.
In reality, Gu Feng was overestimating himself. Mortal Grade alchemists still needed to pass assessments at the Outer Sect Alchemy Hall or the Alchemist Guild, where they had to refine specific pills to a certain standard to qualify.
Given Gu Feng's tendency to produce counterfeit and substandard products, he would likely fail the assessment.
The 'Qi Gathering Pill' truly lived up to its reputation as the top Qi Refining Realm pill in the Chu Kingdom. The refining process required over thirty different medicinal ingredients and extremely precise control of fire. Even with Gu Feng's knowledge, he felt a headache coming on just thinking about it. The refining time wasn't too long—the shortest was five hours, and the longest was eight hours.
At this point, it's worth mentioning another major characteristic of the Qi Gathering Pill: the refining time was directly proportional to the quality of the pill. Experienced alchemists could often judge the quality of the pill and the skill of the alchemist based on the refining time.
"Xixi, can you refine the 'Qi Gathering Pill'?"
"I can succeed three out of ten times. The success rate isn't high," Yan Xixi said softly.
"A thirty percent success rate? Where does that place you among the Mortal Grade alchemists in the Outer Sect?" Gu Feng carefully chose his words, afraid of hurting Yan Xixi's pride.
"It should be at an unparalleled level!" As she spoke, Yan Xixi's eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Pfft—"
Gu Feng was left speechless by her response and lightly tapped her head. This girl was teasing him.
"Let me give it a try!"
Gu Feng was eager to try. A thirty percent success rate was considered top-tier among the Mortal Grade alchemists in the Sunset Glow Sect, which gave him a huge boost of confidence.
After all, when he refined the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, his success rate was an astonishing one hundred percent—he had never experienced a cauldron explosion!
"Boom—"
"Boom—"
From that moment on, the Alchemy Room was filled with the sound of explosions for several days, with flames and thick smoke billowing out. Gu Feng and Yan Xixi were soon covered in soot, looking like two blackened children.
"It's too hard! I can't even get to the stage of pill condensation!"
Gu Feng lay on the ground, wailing in despair. Over the past few days, he had attempted over two hundred refinings, and every single one ended in a cauldron explosion. His state of mind affected Yan Xixi as well—whenever the two of them refined together, they never succeeded.
"Didn't you say you had a thirty percent success rate?"
"I don't know what's going on. It's just one explosion after another!" Yan Xixi was also at a loss for words. She had wanted to show off in front of Gu Feng, but this was the result. Fortunately, she was now covered in soot, so the blush of shame on her face wasn't visible.
"Let me study the 'Qi Gathering Pill' formula first and see if I can improve it. You keep refining!"
Gu Feng leaned against the wall, sitting cross-legged on the ground, and began to study the Qi Gathering Pill.
Refining the standard pill was out of the question. With Yan Xixi's skill level, the chances of her winning first place on her own were too slim. The only way forward was to take a different approach—just like with the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, they needed to create a simplified version of the Qi Gathering Pill. At least then there would be a chance of success, and they wouldn't lose too embarrassingly.
Unconsciously, five hours passed. Gu Feng felt a dazzling light before his eyes. When he looked up, he was immediately stunned.
"Xixi? Did you succeed?"
"Yes! I succeeded!" This time, Yan Xixi had refined three Qi Gathering Pills, each with seven runes.
"Is this a top-grade Mortal Pill?" Gu Feng exclaimed in surprise.
The classification of pills was the same as that of weapons—Mortal Grade pills had a maximum of nine runes. The Qi Gathering Pill with seven runes had already entered the realm of top-grade Mortal Pills.
"Great, we finally succeeded." After the initial excitement, Gu Feng raised a sharp question, "But the current situation is still bad. Your success rate isn't high, and mine is zero. We're probably going to end up at the bottom!"
"It's fine. The important thing is participation. We're not aiming for a high ranking!" Yan Xixi said with a bright gaze, seemingly unconcerned.
"No, we have to win first place. I don't want your sister to say again: 'That guy who only knows how to make Diarrhea Pills!'" Gu Feng suddenly stood up, his expression serious. "I've done an in-depth study of the Qi Gathering Pill. The improved formula has a shorter refining time, and although the efficacy is slightly reduced, as long as we can refine nine pills in one batch with no side effects, I believe the score won't be low!"
(End of the Chapter)
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