Chapter 41 Genius Girl
Kunlun Cave.
Lingxu Peak.
There are many famous peaks in Kunlun Cave Heaven, such as Yuxu Peak, where the head master practices, and Yuzhu Peak , where the Xuanzhen Patriarch in the late Nascent Soul stage practices. Although the name of Lingxu Peak is not mentioned too much by the disciples on weekdays, on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month every year, almost the entire Kunlun's attention will be focused here.
The annual alchemy apprentice competition was held at Lingxu Peak on this day.
Although it was just a competition among alchemy apprentices, the sect took it very seriously. The entire Lingxu Peak was usually covered by a large formation, which would only be opened on the day of the competition.
Every alchemist started out as an apprentice in the art of alchemy. The sect's eight alchemy masters all won first place in the apprentice competition when they were apprentices. For alchemists, this is also a great honor in their journey of alchemy.
This also leads to extremely fierce competition in the annual Dandao Apprentice Competition.
Some alchemists, who clearly already have the strength of a first-grade alchemist, are reluctant to take the first-grade alchemist assessment, just to win the first place in the competition and add a highlight to their alchemy career.
For some reason, this year's Dandao Apprentice Competition is more intense than previous years.
The reason for this is the sect's latest decree to limit the purchase of Tongmai Pills. Even some elders and disciples are facing a shortage of Tongmai Pills, so more people have set their sights on the Alchemy Competition.
If they can get a good ranking in the competition, they will be rewarded with the valuable Tongmai Dan. In the past, they looked down upon these rewards, but this time they have to find a way to fight for it.
At this moment, the Lingxu Peak formation has been activated.
On a vast platform at the top of the peak, there are thousands of stone platforms densely arranged. The outer periphery of the stone platforms is covered by a large formation. The formation will not affect the line of sight, but can isolate the sound and also has the function of blocking the wind, so as not to disturb the contestants inside.
The open space outside the platform was already crowded with disciples who came to watch the fun.
There are also shadows on the trees farther away.
In the sky, there were several huge spirit boats floating. Some elders and deacons of the sect were sitting on the spirit boats, sipping tea and watching the sect's annual event, occasionally chatting with people around them.
"Who do you think will win this competition?"
"It's time for Uncle Danyangzi's beloved disciple to take his turn. Zhao Wuliang has long been able to refine first-grade elixirs. He has been reluctant to take the alchemist exam just to win the first place in the competition. Unfortunately, there are always dark horses in the competition every year. If I remember correctly, he has been the second for four consecutive years..."
"I am more optimistic about the disciple of Changchun Zhenren. The girl is only fifteen years old and has cultivated four spiritual veins. The sect is obviously training her to be the next master of alchemy..."
"After all, the little girl is only fifteen years old. She will have plenty of opportunities in the future. I still think highly of Zhao Wuliang."
"I heard that she opened the furnace a month ago and refined five top-grade pills in one furnace. Not to mention these apprentices, most second-grade alchemists don't have such a high top-grade rate . This is talent..."
"There are also He Jin from Senior Brother Wang, Deng Qingsong from Senior Brother Liu, and Liu Ren from Senior Brother Feng. They are all participating in this competition. This competition should be the most interesting one in recent years. Let's wait and see..."
…
Lingxu Peak.
Summit platform.
Li Yu stood beside a rectangular stone platform, on which were placed some medicinal herbs, jade pots, jade bowls, and an alchemy furnace. In order to prevent cheating, all the materials for alchemy were prepared in advance by the sect.
Zhou Zixuan stood beside him, staring at the herbs on the stone platform, her fists clenched tightly, her finger joints turning white due to nervousness.
Li Yu couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'm the one taking part in the competition, why are you more nervous than me?"
Zhou Zixuan pursed her lips and asked, "You, you're not nervous at all?"
Li Yu shrugged and said, "It's just a small scene, relax, relax..."
His expression was indifferent. If he was so easily nervous, he would have died countless times. In his previous life in Southeast Asia, he was pointed a gun at his head in front of nearly a thousand people, but he could still talk to the other person with a smile. This time, he was just refining an elixir in public, there was nothing to be nervous about.
However, when he looked around, he saw that many people around him had more or less nervous expressions on their faces.
This is also normal. Alchemists are used to making pills in a closed and quiet environment. It would be a bit uncomfortable for normal people to suddenly create such a big scene. This is also a test of their character by the sect.
But there are also those like Li Yu who are as steady as an old dog.
Next to him was a young girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, pretty and charming, not looking nervous at all. She was leaning against the stone platform, humming an unknown tune.
Even the young assistant beside her didn't seem to be nervous at all and was talking to her happily.
Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan were chatting casually to ease her tension, and after a while, she heard a few dull bell sounds and a deep voice echoed above them.
"The Alchemy Apprentice Competition has officially begun!"
As soon as the words fell, the crowd became agitated, and the thousand stone platforms in the square immediately became busy.
The first round of competition lasted only one hour. The assistants purified the elixir as quickly as possible, while the alchemists stood beside the furnace, trying their best to adjust their condition to the best to ensure that they were in the best condition to make the elixir.
The competition is divided into three rounds, and the rules of each round are different.
There were one thousand people participating in the first round. After one round, ninety percent were eliminated, leaving only one hundred people.
The requirements for this round are relatively loose. There are three materials on the stone table. All alchemists need to refine ten hemostatic pills, ensuring that each pill has three or more danwen.
Anyone who cannot produce ten top-grade hemostatic pills with three sets of materials will be eliminated directly.
If there are more than one hundred people who qualify, the first one hundred will be selected to advance based on the amount of materials consumed and the quality of the pills.
The requirement for this round is to use the least amount of materials to refine the largest number of pills with the best quality.
While other alchemists were adjusting their states, Li Yu was watching Zhou Zixuan extracting the spiritual liquid. She learned this at Biyun Peak. Her operations were smooth and well organized. Even the girl next to her looked at her a few more times.
Soon, a portion of elixir was ready.
Li Yu poured the elixir prepared by Zhou Zixuan into the main chamber of the alchemy furnace and began to refine it. Almost at the same time, the girl next to him had also started refining the elixir.
When Li Yu first started refining pills, it took him nearly half an hour to refine a batch of pills.
As his cultivation level improved, the time he needed to refine the elixir became shorter and shorter. Now, the fastest time only took about a quarter of an hour. However, this was the first round, so he just had to ensure his advancement and didn't need to exert his all.
During the alchemy process, accidents occurred frequently on the entire competition platform.
Snapped!
One alchemist was so anxious that his hand holding the jade bowl became unsteady, and the bowl containing the elixir fell to the ground and broke. The noise scared another alchemist next to him.
The alchemist had already sealed the furnace and started refining the medicine, but he was suddenly frightened. His hands trembled and the flame also shook.
puff……
A black smoke came out of the alchemy furnace, and his batch of pills was wasted.
He glared at the other person fiercely, but did not dare to delay and hurriedly urged his assistant to prepare the second set of materials.
As time passed, such mistakes occurred frequently on the huge alchemy platform. One person was even affected twice in a row. His mentality exploded and he started fighting with the alchemist next to him who was affecting him. The final result, of course, was that he was taken away by the deacon disciples who maintained order, and he was not allowed to participate in the competition again within three years.
After about a quarter of an hour, the girl was the only alchemist left within three feet of Li Yu.
The alchemist next to him just now started fighting with the one next to him, which caused a series of chain reactions. The surrounding alchemists were all affected. Several of them had no choice but to withdraw because all their materials were wasted...
Li Yu tilted his head to take a look. The girl next to him was not very old, but her mentality was as steady as an old dog. The big commotion around her did not affect her at all.
The flame under Li Yu's alchemy furnace remained steady.
Soon, he smelled a strong fragrance of elixir.
The girl sitting next to him seemed to have already started the furnace.
Ten pills, two of the best quality, and eight of the super quality.
Just by smelling the fragrance of the elixir, Li Yu could judge the quality of that batch of elixirs because he was so familiar with the smell.
This surprised Li Yu. He really couldn't underestimate the heroes in the world. Kunlun Sect was really a place with many hidden dragons and crouching tigers. This young girl was so young, but she was already 50% to 60% as good as him in alchemy...
