Translator: AnubisTL
The sound of splattering continued incessantly, and the entire floor of the alchemy room was covered with a pale yellow floating liquid, emitting a foul stench. Even with Gu Feng's composure, he couldn't help but cover his nose and gag.
"Gu... Gu Feng, quickly open the stone door, let me go wash... ugh—"
"I'll take you. A low-grade Thunder Spirit Grass running around like this, what kind of sight is that!"
With that, Gu Feng tore off a piece of his sleeve, wrapped it around his hand, grabbed Zhu Qingyan, and bolted out as if his life depended on it.
"Ugh—what is this? Why does it smell so bad?"
"A Spirit Grass fell into the latrine, and Gu Feng is running around holding a Spirit Grass covered in feces!"
"Ugh—so disgusting. A Spirit Grass isn't that precious, just throw it away."
"Is Gu Feng making diarrhea pills again?"
"..."
Gu Feng ran wildly, causing chaos wherever he passed. "What are you looking at? Haven't you seen someone running with feces before!"
Arriving at a small stream in the Outer Sect, Gu Feng threw Zhu Qingyan into the water with a splash.
The calm surface of the stream immediately had yellow floating particles drifting out. The smell was so foul that a few small fish nearby, after inhaling a few breaths, turned belly up, looking as if they were done for.
Huffing and puffing—
After taking a few breaths of fresh air, Gu Feng finally recovered. Looking at Zhu Qingyan splashing in the stream, Gu Feng crossed his arms, his expression proud.
"Senior Zhu, your alchemy skills are truly remarkable. The smell of diarrhea far surpasses mine. I'm impressed!"
"You don't understand a thing!" The Thunder Spirit Grass emerged from the water, splashing water towards Gu Feng. "My pill is definitely fine. The reason the test mouse had diarrhea is because it previously ate your pill, and the residue in its body hadn't been fully expelled. When mixed together, it caused a special reaction, resulting in diarrhea!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng's expression turned strange, but he didn't believe it at all.
"If you don't believe me, let's find another test mouse and try again!"
"Try it then!"
Normally, Gu Feng wouldn't spend Spirit Stones to buy a test mouse, but at this moment, a suspicion arose in his heart. If this suspicion was confirmed, he would definitely win first place at the alchemy competition!
Soon, the man and the grass brought another test mouse to the alchemy room.
The moment the door opened, the overwhelming stench almost knocked Gu Feng out.
Wrapping a cloth around his nose and mouth, he walked in and was immediately stunned.
The test mouse lay collapsed in the filth, lifeless.
"Ah—what can I say? I told you not to eat Senior Zhu's pill, but you didn't listen. Now you're done for, directly kicked the bucket!
Choices are the most important. One misstep leads to eternal regret! What a pity!" Gu Feng shook his head, while Zhu Qingyan in his hand couldn't utter a word.
"Senior Zhu, do you still think your pill is fine?"
"Of... of course!" From Zhu Qingyan's tone, Gu Feng could hear her stubbornness, but he didn't mind. Truth can't be faked, and fakes can't be true. Whether his suspicion was correct would be revealed with a test.
Gu Feng found an Outer Sect disciple working at the Alchemy Hall, gave him a few dozen Spirit Stones to clean up the alchemy room, and then took Zhu Qingyan and the test mouse to the place where the Jade Maiden Sect had built a toilet cultivation room in the Outer Sect.
Since the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill was banned, business here had been slow, but occasionally, cultivators still came to rent.
"Short-term or long-term rental?"
"I'm Gu Feng, a partner of this toilet cultivation room!"
"Because you're Gu Feng, the price is doubled. One day's rent is 100 Spirit Stones!" The female cultivator guarding the door said expressionlessly.
Hearing this, Gu Feng was amused. This must be Chu Youhuan's doing. It seems this woman holds a deep grudge against him!
Not bothering to argue, he directly threw out 100 Spirit Stones and entered.
"I'm feeding it now! If it has diarrhea again, you can't blame it on me, right?"
"Hmph... you think I'm as shameless as you... my pill is definitely fine!" Zhu Qingyan stubbornly said.
No matter how much the test mouse struggled, it couldn't escape its fate of being a test subject.
Sure enough, after swallowing the Qi Gathering Pill Zhu Qingyan had refined, the test mouse started having uncontrollable diarrhea.
The scene was beyond spectacular. The foul smell even reached the female guards at the Outer Sect, who were bent over, gagging.
Zhu Qingyan's three green leaves seemed to blush, clearly indicating her extreme embarrassment and anger.
"How about it? Convinced now?
The Qi Gathering Pill I refined, although its efficacy is only one-third of the genuine pill and has the side effect of diarrhea, it won't kill. It's still a useful pill.
As for the Qi Gathering Pill you refined, tsk tsk tsk... need I say more?"
Zhu Qingyan was left speechless, recalling every step of her previous alchemy process. The more she thought, the more confused she became. Every step, from controlling the fire to refining and condensing the pill, was flawless. Why did it cause diarrhea?
She couldn't figure it out, really couldn't.
Back in the alchemy room, seeing Zhu Qingyan with drooping leaves, deep in thought, Gu Feng walked over and softly asked.
"Want to try again?"
"Let's do it. I didn't perform well last time. This time, I definitely won't make a mistake!"
Gu Feng looked at the confident Zhu Qingyan, his eyes thoughtful. Was it really just a mistake?
For the next period, Gu Feng had Zhu Qingyan refine the Qi Gathering Pill twice and another type of pill once.
While she was refining, Gu Feng wasn't idle. When Zhu Qingyan refined the Qi Gathering Pill for the first time, he also refined a castrated version of the Qi Gathering Pill.
When Zhu Qingyan refined the Qi Gathering Pill for the second time, he just watched. When Zhu Qingyan refined another type of pill for the third time, Gu Feng started refining the castrated version of the Qi Gathering Pill again.
This way, he obtained three samples.
"Senior Zhu, feel free to use the Spirit Herbs here. I'm going out for a bit."
Taking the pills Zhu Qingyan had refined at three different times, Gu Feng went to the Alchemy Hall, bought three test mice at once, and then rushed to the toilet cultivation room.
"Rent for one day!"
"1000 Spirit Stones!"
"Why the price hike? It hasn't been that long, has it?"
"You have the nerve to ask! You turned the cultivation room into a mess and left a dead test mouse... rent or not, up to you!"
"Fine!"
Gu Feng threw out a bag of Spirit Stones and walked straight into the cultivation room.
"If my guess is correct, only one of these three pills will cause diarrhea!" Gu Feng thought, placing a test mouse that didn't look too good on the toilet.
The test mouse looked delighted, thinking Gu Feng was giving it special treatment.
He fed the three pills to the test mouse one by one.
A few hours later, the conclusion made Gu Feng extremely excited.
"Who would have thought? I actually have this kind of attribute. This time, I can't help but win!"
Gu Feng laughed heartily, strode out of the cultivation room, and even gave the female guards some tips on his way out, surprising and shaming them. They all felt that their previous hostility was indeed unfriendly.
"Senior Zhu, there's a phenomenon I need your vast knowledge to help me explain!"
Without waiting for Zhu Qingyan's response, Gu Feng began to explain in detail...
"What? You're saying that the reason my Qi Gathering Pill caused diarrhea wasn't my fault, but because you were refining a castrated version of the Qi Gathering Pill at the same time, affecting my pill?" Zhu Qingyan stopped refining her pill, her face filled with shock.
"Exactly. My hypothesis is that when I refine the Qi Gathering Pill, I generate a peculiar magnetic field around me that affects other alchemists refining the same pill, causing their pills to also have a diarrhea effect, and their diarrhea is worse than mine.
The key point is that within a certain distance, refining the same pill at the same time, the castrated version and the genuine version count as the same pill!" Gu Feng affirmed.
Thinking back, when refining the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, Yan Xixi was just an assistant, so she didn't notice the mystery.
Perhaps at the same time, someone in the alchemy room was refining the Bone Cleansing Pill, but those alchemists had their pride. If they refined a pill that caused diarrhea, they would hide it. How could they speak of it?
If it weren't for this argument with Zhu Qingyan, this secret might have remained hidden for a long time.
"This... this—" Zhu Qingyan stammered, unable to say a word. Clearly, this bizarre phenomenon was beyond her knowledge.
It was like singing without a score—utterly ridiculous.
Just then, Yan Xixi returned.
"Xixi, how did it go? Did you learn any amazing skills from your sister and Elder Shen?" Gu Feng asked with a smile.
Yan Xixi's expression was strange, looking at Gu Feng, sometimes shaking her head, sometimes nodding.
"The Qi Gathering Pill, my sister and Elder Shen don't seem to be very proficient either. They can't succeed every time, but it's still good. I learned a lot!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng's spirits lifted, and a thought flashed in his mind. He quickly said:
"Tell me more!"
"I can't quite explain it, but a few batches of the Qi Gathering Pill they refined also had anomalies. They didn't say anything, but I could tell from their expressions."
"Really? Around what time did the Qi Gathering Pill they refined have anomalies?"
"Last night at You hour, this morning..."
"Hahaha, perfect, perfect. So diarrhea really is contagious. Even Elder Shen and your sister couldn't escape it. How could other Mortal Grade alchemists resist my heaven-defying magnetic field!" Gu Feng suddenly laughed heartily, leaving Yan Xixi utterly confused.
"At the alchemy competition the day after tomorrow, we're definitely taking first place!"
Gu Feng declared boldly. The pills he refined only caused diarrhea but didn't kill, while others' pills caused both diarrhea and death. The title of first place was undoubtedly his!
"You troublemaker, maybe you should stop alchemy from now on!" Zhu Qingyan transmitted her voice, laughing and scolding!
(End of the Chapter)
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