Chapter 123 Just One More
Tiandao City, the site of alchemy exchange.
As a bell rang, the first-grade alchemist competition came to an end. There was jubilation in the Tiandao Sect, but on the Kunlun side, the atmosphere was a bit depressing.
The first-class alchemist of Tiandao Sect gained the upper hand when he was refining the first batch of pills, and maintained it until the end.
In the end, not only were the top three in the competition all disciples of Tiandao Sect, but there were also five first-class alchemists from Tiandao Sect who made it into the top ten, while Kunlun only had four. Before the competition began, Zhao Wuliang, Fang Jin, Chen Shu, and Zhang Xin, who were all highly expected, ranked fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth respectively. Not to mention winning the competition, they didn't even make it into the top three.
In today's alchemy exchange, Kunlun had a bad start and encountered setbacks that he had never experienced in the Immortal Dao Conference.
At the peak, the top ten in the competition were all Kunlun disciples.
This time there are only four, and the ranking is extremely unsatisfactory.
Li Yu stood on the stage, looking at the performance of everyone on the water curtain, feeling somewhat surprised.
In fact, the failure in this competition cannot be blamed on Zhao Wuliang and the others. Judging from the number of danwen, their performance was normal or even exceptional, and they performed very well.
It’s not their fault that they didn’t make it into the top three; it’s just that their opponents were too strong.
There is no need to mention Song Zhixuan. Each of his furnaces contains eight or nine top-grade pills. When he was in Kunlun, he was definitely hiding his abilities. He deserved the title of first place in the competition.
Although the other two Tiandao Sect disciples were not as good as Song Zhixuan, Li Yu had watched their alchemy process and found that these two people controlled the fire very steadily. Most second-grade alchemists were not as steady as them. The alchemy fire did not fluctuate throughout the whole process. The quality of the pills they refined was also better than that of Zhao Wuliang and others.
Without making any emotional comments, I have to say that the overall strength of this generation of Tiandao Sect's first-class alchemists exceeds that of Kunlun.
Kunlun’s loss in this game was not unfair.
Although Li Yu still felt that the two men's fire control was a bit too steady and not quite at their current level, he couldn't see anything using the Qi-gazing technique and could only sigh at the talent pool of the Tiandao Sect.
At this moment, the distant Kunlun Cave.
Under Wu Tong's live broadcast, all the Kunlun disciples also learned the result of the competition at the first time.
Kunlun is the number one sect in alchemy. In the alchemy competition, ten talented alchemists did not even make it into the top three. They were crushed by the Tiandao Sect in all aspects. Some were disappointed, some were angry.
"What did those guys do?"
"Even the people of Tiandao Sect can't compare to them!"
"It would be great if Senior Brother Li was here!"
"Brother Li is participating in the first-grade alchemy competition. What about the second-grade alchemy competition? Forget it. Let's focus on the next one. With Brother Li here, there won't be any problems this time..."
The failure in the first competition forced everyone to place their hopes on Li Yu, hoping that he could save some face for Kunlun.
At this time, in Tiandao City, Li Yu had already walked into the competition venue.
A second-grade alchemist needs to refine three batches of pills, namely the second-grade Recovery Pill, the Gathering Pill and the Meridian Opening Pill. There is only one set of materials. Failure means elimination. Each batch of pills, plus rest, has a time limit of three hours. The number of pill patterns is also used as the judgment standard. If the number of pill patterns is the same, the one with more top-grade pills wins.
In this match, except for Li Yu, the other nine people are all from the lineage of fourth-grade alchemists, and were also the top ten in the sect's second-grade alchemist competition not long ago.
As for the ten second-grade alchemists of the Tiandao Sect, Li Yu didn't know any of them.
Kunlun is the number one sect in alchemy, and it is not a false reputation. When it comes to low-level alchemists, Tiandao Sect can still be on par with Kunlun, but above the second level, Kunlun can crush Tiandao Sect in both the number and quality of alchemists.
The alchemy competition at the Immortal Conference is a very comprehensive examination of alchemists. They have to select what they need from all the herbs, and they have to extract the liquid and purify it by themselves. They cannot rely on others, which is similar to the alchemist assessment.
Li Yu wore gloves that blocked spiritual energy. After selecting the herbs, he did not waste any time and started to purify the spiritual liquid directly.
Not far from him, an alchemist from the Tiandao Sect prepared quickly and had already started refining the medicine.
Li Yu only took a glance and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The Tiandao Sect is really a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers are hidden. Apart from anything else, their alchemists have extremely stable fire control. If he doesn't use the alchemy furnace in his body, he is not even as good as the other party in fire control. I wonder if they know any unique fire control techniques...
On the Kunlun stands, everyone felt a little relieved about this competition.
Because Li Yu was there, they had nothing to worry about.
Everyone is well aware of Li Yu's strength. He can refine top-grade second-level pills. If he does not pursue the best, he can refine two top-grade pills in one furnace, which is a pill with six patterns.
Not to mention those second-grade alchemists, even the third-grade alchemists present would have to admit defeat.
Li Yu took his time in refining the first batch of Qi-rejuvenating pills. It took him an hour to succeed. Two pills came out of the furnace, one was top grade and one was super grade, but none was top grade.
His success rate in refining Tongmai Pills is one top grade or two upper grade pills. The difficulty of refining Huiqi Pills is lower, one upper grade and one super grade pill, which is in line with his demonstrated ability.
In this competition, he just needs to perform well and get the ten Tuomai Pills. He doesn't need to perform too well, otherwise when he returns to the sect, he may have to pay more pills every month.
The difficulty of making a second-grade elixir is incomparable to that of a first-grade elixir. It can be said that all second-grade alchemists can only guarantee one elixir per furnace. What they need to do is to improve the quality of this elixir as much as possible. If they pursue quantity too much, the end result will be that they will not get any.
Li Yu is currently ranked first with one top-grade pill and one super-grade pill, totaling seven pill patterns.
Zheng Keqi ranked second with a super-quality pill and four dan patterns.
But she was not the only one in the second place. There were four alchemists in the Tiandao Sect, and they all refined a super-grade Qi Recovery Pill. The five of them tied for second place. Several alchemy geniuses from Kunlun all refined high-grade Qi Recovery Pills, occupying the sixth to tenth places.
Looking at the results on the water curtain, some alchemists in Kunlun looked a little shocked.
Although Li Yu firmly holds the first place with his absolute strength, when did the second-grade alchemists of Tiandao Sect become so powerful that so many of them are as good as the talented girl from Cuiwei Peak?
If it weren't for Li Yu, her talent in alchemy would have been ranked among the top five in the Kunlun alchemy lineage for hundreds of years, but she was only on par with the four Tiandao Sect disciples?
However, there was more to shock them than that.
As another young alchemist from the Tiandao Sect started the furnace, the water curtain fluctuated, and the first position that originally belonged to Li Yu was replaced by another name.
A second-grade alchemist named Zhou Yang from the Tiandao Sect is currently ranked first with two super-grade pills and eight pill patterns.
Everyone in Kunlun was in an uproar.
"How can this be?"
"He actually surpassed Senior Brother Li!"
"Who is this Zhou Yang? Why have I never heard of him before?"
"I have heard of him. He is a genius in the alchemy of the Tiandao Sect, but at most he is at the upper level of the second-grade alchemists in the alchemy peaks. How could he have made such great progress in such a short period of time?"
At this time, there was also a commotion among the crowd of onlookers.
"Isn't it said that Li Yu is the number one second-grade alchemist?"
"It seems that the rumors are exaggerated."
"It turns out there are people who are stronger than him."
"There are always people who are better than you, and there are always higher things that are better than you. The Tiandao Sect is indeed the Tiandao Sect..."
In the crowd, a disciple of Tiandao Sect said proudly: "We, Tiandao Sect, have obtained a complete alchemy inheritance in a secret place. From now on, the era of Kunlun alchemy dominating the world is about to end..."
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately caused heated discussions among the crowd.
In this exchange on alchemy, the strength of Tiandao Sect was fully displayed. Their alchemists were no less capable than Kunlun's, and some were even better. Everyone could see it.
Some small and medium-sized sects that have been cooperating with Kunlun for a long time, and even some of the top ten sects, are considering whether to hand over their sect’s elixirs to Tiandao Sect for refining in the future?
The ideas of the immortal cultivators who wanted to join Kunlun to learn alchemy also began to waver. Compared to Kunlun, joining the Tiandao Sect seemed to be a better choice.
In Kunlun Cave Heaven, the disciples who got the news first were also filled with disbelief.
"What? Even Senior Brother Li lost?"
"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible..."
In Kunlun, when it comes to alchemy, Li Yu represents a kind of invincible belief. The fact that he actually fell behind the people of Tiandao Sect for a short time made it difficult for many people to accept it for a while.
A disciple consoled him, "Don't worry, this is only the first batch of pills. The second-grade alchemist competition requires three batches of pills. We still have a chance..."
But some people were dejected and said, "The Qi-Restoring Pill is the simplest second-level pill. If we lag behind by one furnace, it means that others' attainments in alchemy are better than ours. The gap will only widen in the future..."
"We must believe in Senior Brother Li. When has he ever let us down?"
"What if he enters the realm of heaven again?"
…
Be it the crowd of onlookers or the distant Kunlun, there was quite a commotion because of the ranking after the first furnace of pills. On the competition field, Li Yu just glanced at the water curtain, then retracted his gaze and began to close his eyes and regulate his breathing.
The performance of the Tiandao Sect's alchemist was indeed beyond his expectations, but everything was still within control.
Unless they can refine six top-grade pills next, they will not give him any chance.
Li Yu glanced at the alchemists from Tiandao Sect and felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He had just paid some attention to them. The cultivation level of these people was at the late stage of foundation building, but their control over the alchemy fire could no longer be described as perfect, but had reached the pinnacle.
The influence of pill fire on the quality of pills accounts for at least 50%.
After the unexpected incident with the first furnace, Li Yu did not rush to start the second furnace. Instead, he took out a book on formations to read. In the case of temporary lag, he had to strike back and seize the initiative.
When the image on the water curtain focused on Li Yu, everyone once again witnessed his strong psychological quality.
When the Tiandao Sect was far ahead and all the Kunlun alchemists were extremely nervous and carefully selecting herbs and purifying liquid medicine, he was not panicked at all. Not only was he not panicked, he even had time to study the formation. Who else could do that?
He did not take any action until most people had finished refining the second batch of Qi Gathering Pills.
In this round, the alchemists of Tiandao Sect continued to perform steadily. Four of them produced a super-quality pill, and Zhou Yang also produced two super-quality pills. The total number of pill patterns reached sixteen, and he took the first place with an absolute advantage.
Li Yu still has only seven danwen, and has fallen out of the top five.
However, he has not yet started refining the second batch of pills, and this is not the final result.
When most people finished refining the second furnace and started to rest, Li Yu started to refine the elixir slowly.
An hour later, Li Yu opened the alchemy furnace.
The image on the water curtain was also immediately shown to Li Yu's alchemy furnace.
In his alchemy furnace, there were two pills lying quietly, one was a super-quality pill, and the other was a top-quality pill with five pill patterns.
As a result, after the second round, Li Yu's total number of danwen reached sixteen, tying Zhou Yang's score. However, because Li Yu had a top-grade elixir , his ranking was still above Zhou Yang, and he returned to the first place.
This scene made the Kunlun disciples present feel at ease and breathe a sigh of relief.
Among the various spiritual conchs in Kunlun Cave Heaven, Wu Tong's voice was also very excited: "Li Yu refined a top-grade and a super-grade pill, with the same number of Zhou Yang Dan patterns as Tiandao Sect, but with a top-grade pill, so it ranks ahead and has become the first again..."
In Tiandao City, at the alchemy competition site, Zhou Yang from Tiandao Sect glanced at Li Yu and was extremely shocked.
He knew very well where his four super-grade pills came from. Because of this, Li Yu's results were even more unbelievable to him. Is there really someone in this world who has such a terrifying talent for alchemy?
Even if there was the spirit of a powerful god in his body to help him stabilize the fire in his elixir, he was still unable to defeat Li Yu?
At this moment, an old voice sounded in his mind.
"Why are you panicking? Wait for him to refine the last batch of pills first. With me helping you, you can't lose to a kid in the Foundation Establishment Stage..."
Zhou Yang calmed himself down, took a few pills, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to recover his mind.
Although he had the help of the sect's powerful gods, the process of refining the pills still depended more on himself. Refining two furnaces of pills in succession was a little overwhelming for him.
There are time limits for alchemy exchanges. The second-grade alchemists from various major sects rested for more than an hour, recovered their energy, and then began to refine the Tongmai Pill.
Tongmai Pill is considered the most difficult of the second-level pills. It takes about two hours to refine, and the time left for them is extremely limited.
Time passed slowly. Except for Li Yu from Kunlun and Zhou Yang from Tiandao Sect, all the alchemists started to refine the alchemy. Only the two whose number of elixir patterns far exceeded others remained as still as a mountain.
In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed.
Li Yu was still closing his eyes and regulating his breathing, his expression was calm and composed.
On the other hand, although Zhou Yang was also sitting cross-legged there, anxiety was clearly visible on his face.
At a certain moment, knowing that he could not wait any longer, he opened his eyes, immediately put the elixir into the furnace and began refining it.
Another quarter of an hour passed before Li Yu stood up calmly and was the last one to condense the magic fire.
An hour later, other alchemists had already started their furnaces. The four alchemists from Tiandao Sect still each refined a super-grade pill, and the total number of pill patterns was finally fixed at twelve.
Zheng Keqi from Kunlun performed exceptionally well on the third furnace and actually refined a top-grade pill, which ranked third with thirteen pill patterns.
Although Li Yu and Zhou Yang only refined two furnaces, they were firmly ranked first and second. As long as they did not fail, even if they only refined one medium-grade pill, they would eventually be the top two in this competition.
At this point, the top ten in this second-grade alchemist competition have been announced.
Among them, the third, eighth, ninth, and tenth all come from Kunlun.
The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh are all disciples of Tiandao Sect. As for who will be the champion in the end, it is still unknown. But just from the existing rankings, it can be clearly seen that Kunlun's alchemy twin stars are obviously more talented than others. However, apart from them, the second-grade alchemist of Tiandao Sect is more powerful.
At this moment, everyone's attention is on the last two people.
They started the furnace an hour later than the others, and have not yet completed the refining process.
Time passed quickly. Zhou Yang started a quarter of an hour earlier than Li Yu. With a quarter of an hour left before the end of the competition, he put out the alchemy fire and opened the alchemy furnace.
Two top-grade pills with five dan patterns on them floated out from the pill furnace.
Although Tongmai Pill is difficult to make, he, like Zheng Keqi, made a breakthrough in the last furnace and refined two top-grade pills with a total of ten pill patterns, bringing the total number of pill patterns to twenty-six.
If Li Yu wants to surpass him, he must at least refine two top-grade pills.
The pressure instantly came to Li Yu.
Zhou Yang looked at the two top-grade pills with a smile on his face. He finally sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.
Even with the help of the God Transformation Ancestor, these two top-grade pills consumed all his mind and energy. He now collapsed on the ground, unwilling to even move a finger.
The disciples of Tiandao Sect have already secured victory.
The Kunlun disciples present held their breath silently.
In the distant Kunlun Cave Heaven, under Wu Tong's live broadcast, the Kunlun disciples also learned the latest situation of the alchemy competition and were waiting quietly. The entire Kunlun Cave Heaven seemed to have become quiet.
In the Yuxu Palace, a spiritual conch was floating in front of Wang Daoxuan, looking in the direction of the Tiandao Sect.
At the scene of the alchemy competition, Li Yu remained very calm. He only slowly put away the alchemy fire when there was still half a quarter of an hour left before the end of the competition.
He opened the lid of the alchemy furnace and a pill flew out.
The pill appeared above the water curtain at the first moment.
There are... three dan patterns on it.
Top-grade elixir.
After a moment of silence, the crowd was suddenly in uproar.
“It’s only a top grade?”
"It's over. Li Yu lost."
"Has Zhou Yang's results affected his mentality?"
"I didn't expect that Kunlun would lose two rounds in a row in the alchemy competition..."
Zhou Yang has already refined two top-grade pills, and Li Yu must at least refine two top-grade pills to win this competition. However, one of his pills is a top-grade pill, so the result of this competition is already very obvious.
Even after this pill, another super-quality pill flew out of the pill furnace, but it still couldn't change the outcome.
In this competition, he was not favored by the God of Alchemy and failed to enter the realm of heaven and man.
He can produce one super-grade and one top-grade Tongmai Pill in one furnace. He deserves the title of the Gemini Stars of Kunlun Alchemy, but the title of the Son of Alchemy is somewhat unworthy of him in front of Zhou Yang.
Judging from his performance in these three competitions, Zhou Yang should be the son of alchemy.
Several second-grade alchemists from the Tiandao Sect were already celebrating with Zhou Yang in advance.
"Congratulations, Brother Zhou."
"Two top-grade pills in one furnace. Senior Brother Zhou can be said to be the best among the third-grade alchemists."
"I'm afraid even if a fourth-rank master took action, it would be no more than this..."
In the stands, many disciples of Tiandao Sect had proud looks on their faces. On the other hand, the disciples of Kunlun were dejected. Even Li Yu had lost, so no one in Kunlun could defeat Zhou Yang.
Among the third-grade alchemists, only Wang Hua still had hope in his heart.
Li Yu has to go to Lingyun Peak to exchange for Tuomai Pills every month. He knows very well that Li Yu's strength is far more than that.
He glanced at a certain place in the stands. While all the Kunlun disciples were extremely disappointed, Li Yu's Taoist partner did not seem worried at all. This gave Wang Hua a glimmer of confidence.
Wang Hua stared at the water curtain. At a certain moment, his body shook, and he finally showed ecstasy on his face. He laughed and said, "I knew it!"
At the same time, someone in the crowd exclaimed.
“Look!”
"Look at Li Yu's alchemy furnace!"
"There's one more!"
"He refined three in one furnace!"
Everyone looked towards the water curtain and saw that after the two pills, another pill flew out of Li Yu's furnace, and this pill had four pill patterns on it.
Superb elixir!
There are three pills in one furnace, two are super-grade and one is top-grade. Although there is no top-grade one, the total number of pill patterns on the three pills adds up to eleven. In this way, the total number of pill patterns on Li Yu's three furnaces of pills reaches twenty-seven.
Not more, not less, just one more than Zhou Yang's.
