Translator: AnubisTL
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a giant torch being lit and thrown into the air, instantly boiling the already heated atmosphere.
"Brother Gu, you're so domineering and mighty!"
"Hahaha, Brother Gu has already declared victory, are you all scared now?"
"Brother Gu smiled slightly, already seeing the first place as his for the taking."
"Brother Gu, we love your blind confidence, just go for it!"
"..."
The disciples of the Sunset Glow Sect were the first to stir up the excitement. Gu Feng was a prominent figure in the outer sect of the Sunset Glow Sect. In just one year, he had caused countless earth-shattering events, making the once calm sect turbulent.
"Big brother, go for it, we all support you!!"
"Defeat them all, become the only contestant, and you'll be the first place!"
As if a loudspeaker was turned on in his throat, A Fei's honest voice spread throughout the martial arts arena, making everyone turn their heads.
Today, A Fei's appearance was particularly amusing, especially the cloth wrapped around his forehead with the words "Must Win" written on it. Behind him, Wu Qi and others were dressed similarly, their heads lowered, faces red, and listlessly waving a few flags.
This bizarre sight made everyone's mouths twitch and burst into laughter.
On the stage, Elder Shen's face turned green. He wished he could rush down, beat up the mischievous A Fei, drag him out of the venue, and throw him into the lake.
It was so damn embarrassing, the entire Sunset Glow Sect's face was lost.
"Hahaha, your Sunset Glow Sect's Gu Feng has quite the tone..." The elder from the Unwavering Sect took the opportunity to mock Elder Shen, leaving the latter speechless.
"Hmph, this kid is definitely saying the toughest words and will receive the heaviest beating. Let's see how he gets off the stage later!" Gu Santong snorted and said in a low voice.
"Regardless of whether Gu Feng can win or not, at least for now, he has already won in terms of momentum!" Su Qiu said with a smile, her eyes brightening as she looked at Gu Feng with increasing favor.
"Stubborn as a dead duck, let Xi Xi find an excuse to give up the competition, so as not to be embarrassed together later!" Yan Yexue said coldly from the audience seats, her irritation with Gu Feng growing.
"Hehe, the alchemy competition is all about the atmosphere, just have fun, who cares about the result!" Chu Youhuan said with a laugh, occasionally blowing a few teasing whistles towards Gu Feng.
"Gu Feng, you have the guts to say that again!"
"If it's about the last place, indeed no one can compare to you, an alchemist who only knows how to make diarrhea pills!"
"Alchemist? Someone who hasn't even passed the Mortal Grade assessment can be called an alchemist?"
"..."
The group of alchemists on the martial arts stage, including those who had been coldly watching earlier, all joined the ranks of denouncing Gu Feng.
They glared angrily, their bodies glowing with spiritual radiance, clearly wanting to kick Gu Feng off the stage with force.
Gu Feng scanned the surroundings, snorted disdainfully, then turned to the stands and said loudly, "Seniors, I think these alchemists have no real skills, unstable emotions, and a serious tendency towards violence. I suggest assigning an Innate Realm expert behind each of them to prevent them from killing someone after losing in alchemy!
Of course, I don't need it!
Because, in my eyes, these people's alchemy skills are trash, and their combat power is even worse!
I alone can sweep them all!"
As soon as Gu Feng's words fell, the scene erupted with a noise that could lift the sky.
"Before the alchemy competition, let's have a martial arts fight first, otherwise everyone will be holding grudges while alchemy, and it's easy to blow up the furnace!"
"Fight, start the fight, I want to see the alchemists fight in a group!"
"Hahaha, Gu Feng is so arrogant, can you alchemists tolerate it?"
"Brother Gu's martial arts are unparalleled, who can match him?"
"..."
The crowd was clearly going crazy, and the big shots on the high platform all had strange expressions. After attending so many alchemy competitions, this was the first time they saw people not wanting to watch alchemy but wanting to watch a martial arts fight.
It must be said, Gu Feng was really good at stirring up hatred, making some of the big shots furious. If it weren't for President Tong of the Alchemist Association being present, they would have really wanted to facilitate this martial arts fight.
President Tong, located in the center of the high platform, twitched his eyelids a few times, looked at Gu Feng, and shook his head with a bitter smile:
"Everyone, hurry up and adjust your mindset. After the alchemy competition ends, if you want to spar, it's not impossible!"
President Tong was highly respected, and his words carried weight. The alchemists suppressed their erupting anger and began to urgently adjust their state.
Dang——
With a melodious bell sound, the alchemy competition officially began!
More than a hundred participants, totaling over eighty groups, simultaneously communicated with the array formation, activating the spirit fire from the ground.
Roar——
Crimson flames erupted, and the temperature of the entire martial arts arena instantly soared!
Among this group, Gu Feng stood out as particularly different.
He stood tall and straight, not communicating with the array formation or warming the furnace, just constantly turning his head to observe everyone.
"Shall I help you with the alchemy?" Feeling the familiar pill fire aura and the heated scene, Zhu Qingyan, hanging around Gu Feng's neck, couldn't help but speak up.
"Many people here can refine nine-patterned supreme pills, your level might not be enough!"
Gu Feng said without hesitation. Zhu Qingyan was experienced and knowledgeable in martial arts, but in alchemy, to put it bluntly, she wasn't much better than him.
He had never seen her refine a nine-patterned supreme Mortal Pill, at best an eight-patterned one, and only three pills per furnace, so bad it was beyond words.
Gu Feng stood there like a wooden stake, while the other alchemists all showed mocking smiles. Talking big was useless, when it came to real skill, he was just a wimp.
"Just like this, keep it up until the alchemy competition ends." Elder Shen was very satisfied and agreed with Gu Feng's approach. Not refining pills meant not becoming a laughingstock. After the competition ended, everyone's attention would be on the pills, and Gu Feng could find an opportunity to sneak away, ending this farce.
"Gu Feng, why don't you refine some pills? Where did your earlier courage go?"
"Could it be that you only know how to brag? Show some real skill."
"..."
Gu Feng had successfully stirred up everyone's interest, but his indifferent demeanor really annoyed those who wanted to watch the excitement.
It gave them the uncomfortable feeling of being halfway through taking a dump, neither up nor down, and not fully satisfied.
As time passed, Gu Feng remained as still as a monk in deep meditation, unmoving like a mountain. This scene caused great dissatisfaction among some of the audience.
They became more and more agitated, eventually starting to curse. Most of the audience seats were filled with outer sect disciples of the Sunset Glow Sect.
No matter what, Gu Feng was the number one in the outer sect of the Sunset Glow Sect. Insulting him was no different from insulting them.
Some passionate disciples began to argue with the visiting cultivators nearby, gradually escalating into pushing and shoving, with the potential for a group fight.
"Look, Brother Gu is starting to activate the spirit fire!" At the fourth hour of the alchemy competition, nearly halfway through, Gu Feng finally started to move.
By now, some alchemists had already entered the final pill condensation stage.
The time to refine a furnace of Qi Gathering Pills varied among alchemists, the shortest being five hours, the longest eight hours, while Gu Feng only needed one hour.
If he had started refining from the beginning, it wouldn't have guaranteed that everyone would be affected.
This timing was just right!
Gu Feng waved his hand, leaped high into the air, his graceful figure flipping a few times in the air, pointed his finger, and uttered a thunderous syllable: "Rise!"
A crimson flame roared out from the ground, larger than anyone else's before, and shaped like a blooming lotus.
After igniting the flame, Gu Feng's leaping body slowly descended, standing on the pill furnace, his arms spread out, his body like a magnet, absorbing all the flames.
The crimson flame sometimes flowed like a small wave, making a splashing sound; sometimes like a hundred birds chirping, the sounds echoing; sometimes like mountains and forests, the valley sounds deep...
This move was too beautiful, not an exaggeration to say it amazed the entire audience. The scene erupted with enthusiastic applause.
Everyone thought, there is no smoke without fire, Gu Feng really had some skills, maybe he could really take first place.
As the saying goes, outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the skill. Gu Feng's series of actions, in the eyes of Elder Shen and other experienced alchemists, were unnecessary.
What's the use of a beautiful flame shape? It's a waste of soul power for no reason. The soul power of a Postnatal Realm cultivator is already weak, and this move probably used up more than half. Does he still have the ability to refine pills?
Moreover, there's not much time left, less than half the time to finish refining. Isn't it too late to refine a furnace of Qi Gathering Pills?
"This kid isn't here to refine pills, he's here to show off!" Gu Santong twitched his mouth and muttered.
"Good, good, Gu Feng is extraordinary, just this flame control technique surpasses everyone here. It seems his earlier bold words were not just empty talk!" The elder from the Unwavering Sect spoke loudly.
Elder Shen clenched his fists, really wanting to punch this old man. This was blatant flattery, aiming to slap him in the face later, truly despicable.
Looking at Gu Feng constantly showing off on the martial arts stage, Elder Shen finally couldn't help but let out two crisp coughs, reminding Gu Feng.
Gu Feng sensed the meaning in the coughs, turned his head with a smile, and gave Elder Shen a reassuring look, making the latter's beard twitch in anger.
After the show, Gu Feng wiped the crystal sweat from his forehead. This series of flame control had really exhausted him.
This scene was seen by everyone below, who all twitched their mouths and rolled their eyes in speechlessness.
In flame control, you're definitely first, but this is an alchemy competition, can you please take it seriously?
Gu Feng landed back on the ground, took a few deep breaths, and then began a violent alchemy that would shock the eyes.
What is violent? It's violent furnace warming. Gu Feng didn't carefully warm the furnace with gentle heat like other alchemists to ensure even heating in every corner. Instead, he directly blasted large flames, as if he had a grudge against the furnace, wanting to melt the entire thing.
After the violent furnace warming, it was the violent extraction of spirit herbs. This step is crucial. Generally, alchemists extract one spirit herb, store it in a corner of the furnace, then extract another. But Gu Feng directly threw all the spirit herbs in at once, starting the extraction simultaneously.
Not only that, but he was also extremely fast. Some sharp-eyed cultivators noticed that some of the spirit herbs Gu Feng threw in seemed to be only half purified before being discarded as residue.
Looking at the many intact spirit herbs at Gu Feng's feet, the big shots on the high platform all shook their heads. With such a rough alchemy method, not to mention Qi Gathering Pills, even an ordinary pill would be hard to refine.
"This damn kid!" Elder Shen cursed in his heart. If it weren't for the occasion, he would have rushed onto the stage and dragged the troublemaking Gu Feng down.
What others took four full hours to complete, Gu Feng did in less than half an hour!
Showing a latecomer's momentum, he joined the first batch of alchemists entering the pill condensation stage.
The pill condensation stage is extremely dangerous. A slight mistake can cause the furnace to explode, ruining all previous efforts. All alchemists were careful, cautious, and cautious some more.
But Gu Feng once again demonstrated the beauty of violent alchemy. In an instant, he condensed all the purified materials together, then divided them into nine lumps!
"Good, this soul control technique is indeed extraordinary!"
Even the rarely speaking President Tong of the Alchemist Association couldn't help but clap and laugh, his eyes filled with admiration.
"What's so great about it? These pills were doomed to fail from the start, no chance of success!" The elder from the Unwavering Sect said sourly.
At least he had salvaged some face for the Sunset Glow Sect, and Elder Shen also showed a smile.
In the entire alchemy process, this was the only shining moment, the rest was unbearable to watch!
But soon, his smile froze on his face, because Gu Feng had another shocking move.
After dividing the pills, before they stabilized, Gu Feng made the gesture to open the furnace.
"Rise!"
As soon as the word "Rise" was spoken, the small lid on the furnace flew off, and nine spiritual lights wrapped in flames shot into the sky.
"Damn, the pills aren't even done yet, and he's opening the furnace?"
"Did he run out of soul power and had to open the furnace early?"
"..."
Amidst everyone's astonishment, Gu Feng stepped on "Immortal by the River," his movements graceful, like a celestial being descending to the mortal world. The nine pills all fell into his hands wrapped in spiritual power.
At this moment, these pills were still burning fiercely. Gu Feng gently exhaled, and nine Mortal Pills with flowing light and nine-patterned runes appeared in his palm.
A rich medicinal fragrance spread out!
"Boom——"
"Boom——"
"Boom——"
The group of alchemists who had been watching Gu Feng's alchemy had their minds completely blown the moment they saw the nine supreme Mortal Pills appear.
The scene exploded with deafening noises, thick smoke billowing, and more than ten alchemists directly blew up their furnaces, while over twenty showed signs of unstable furnaces.
This... how is this possible?
This sentence echoed in the minds of everyone, including President Tong, making their heads buzz.
This was too outrageous, they had never seen such a rough alchemy method that successfully refined nine supreme Mortal Pills!
Too fast, just one hour, what can you do in one hour? Not even enough time to extract the materials!
It shattered everyone's worldview, cracking their deeply ingrained understanding of the world!
"Sorry, I'm done. Those of you aiming for second place, better hurry up!"
Gu Feng grinned, flicked the pills out, and the nine pills spun beautifully in the air, then linked together and fell into a white jade bottle, sealed, and labeled with his name, all in one go!
"Brother Gu, you're awesome!!!"
The entire venue erupted with noisy shouts.
On the high platform, Elder Shen covered his forehead with a bitter smile. This scene was exactly the same as when Gu Feng refined the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill.
Others were fooled by this, but he knew Gu Feng's true capabilities.
Without even thinking, he knew that the Qi Gathering Pills Gu Feng refined were just another high-looking, more Qi Gathering Pill-like counterfeit product, most likely diarrhea pills!
Now it's over, last place is certain, and the Sunset Glow Sect's face is completely lost.
(End of the Chapter)
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