Chapter 78 The Man Who Refined the Baoyuan Pill to Perfection
There is no time in cultivation, and half a month passes in the blink of an eye.
During the past half month, Li Yu's practice has not made any progress, but his alchemy skills have improved a lot. He has mastered all eighteen kinds of elixirs involved in the first-grade alchemist competition.
Up to now, he could stably produce one top-grade pill out of every furnace of ten pills. If he was lucky, he could even produce two.
If it was Baoyuan Pills, he could even produce six or seven top-grade pills in one furnace.
At this time, he was certain that whether he allowed the furnace to control his body or not, he would be affected by the furnace. The level of alchemy for a normal alchemist would not improve so quickly.
Tomorrow is the day of the first-grade alchemist competition. Li Yu plans to take a day off today to recuperate.
Since he had nothing to do anyway, he said something to Zhou Zixuan and went to Feilai Peak to sell the first-grade pills he had been refining these days.
His pills were in great demand in the sect. His face was his biggest trademark. In a short while, dozens of bottles of pills were sold out. Those who bought his pills included not only Kunlun disciples, but also several figures wearing uniforms of other sects.
Wu Tong was strolling on Feilai Peak. When he saw Li Yu, he strode over and said, "In the past few days, many disciples from other sects have come to the sect. They should be here to observe the first-grade alchemist competition. If you can win the first-grade alchemist competition, you will be famous. Wow, winning the first-grade alchemist competition and the first-grade alchemist competition consecutively is unprecedented in Kunlun's history."
Li Yu waved his hand and said, "I don't have that ability, unless I can enter the realm of heaven and man again..."
"Maybe it's possible. I'm optimistic that you'll make history." Wu Tong smiled and said, "However, this first-grade alchemist competition should be the most competitive in recent decades. After all, the prize for the champion is a fifth-grade pill. Who wouldn't be tempted? I heard that there's also an alchemy genius from the Tiandao Sect participating..."
Li Yu was somewhat surprised and asked, "Can people from the Tiandao Sect also participate in the Kunlun disciples' competition?"
Wu Tong shrugged and said, "Originally there is no precedent, but the Yuanying stage ancestor of Tiandao Sect personally mentioned this matter to the headmaster. What else can the headmaster say? If we refuse, it will show that we in Kunlun are afraid of their Tiandao Sect in alchemy. Besides, we still have to give face to the Tiandao Sect. After all, they are the leader of the righteous way..."
Li Yu is no longer a novice in cultivating immortals. He often hears the name of Tiandao Sect even when he is in Kunlun Cave Heaven.
This is the only super sect in the righteous path, and its strength is unparalleled in the righteous path. Although the Kunlun Sect is known as the second largest sect in the world of immortal cultivation, even if Kunlun is combined with Shushan and Emei, it is not as powerful as the Tiandao Sect.
Wu Tong said leisurely: "The Tiandao Sect is used to being overbearing. If I were the headmaster, I would have no choice but to agree. However, if the champion of this competition is really taken away by the Tiandao Sect, we in Kunlun will lose both the fifth-level elixir and our reputation..."
Li Yu is not worried about this.
This pregnancy pill is very important to Jiang Li and must not be lost.
He will take action at the critical moment.
…
Lingyun Peak.
The first-class alchemist competition in previous years was held at Lingyun Peak.
There are nearly a thousand first-grade alchemists in the entire Kunlun, but not all of them will participate in the competition. For some people who have just been promoted to first-grade alchemists, they are unable to refine some of the elixirs in the competition.
There were only over 300 first-grade alchemists participating in the Kunlun First-grade Alchemist Competition.
Due to its scale, the first-grade alchemist competition in previous years was actually far less eye-catching than the Alchemy Apprentice Competition. It was just that the various alchemy peaks attached more importance to it. However, this year, the situation is different.
The reward for the winner of the first-grade alchemist competition is a fifth-level pregnancy pill, which is unprecedented. Not to mention the Kunlun disciples, even the people from the outer sects couldn't help but come and join in the fun.
Before the competition started, the mountains around Lingyun Peak were already crowded with onlookers.
Four huge water curtains projected the scene on the competition platform from four different directions, allowing the people watching around to see it clearly no matter from which direction.
There were several figures sitting on a pleasure boat floating in the air.
The Kunlun Sect Leader did not attend the first-grade alchemist competition, but two late Nascent Soul masters and two fourth-grade alchemists were present.
They are Master Xuanzhen of Yuzhu Peak, Master Taiyi of Yuling Peak, Master Changchun of Cuiwei Peak, and Yuyangzi of Baiyun Peak. Although the latter two are not as good as the former two in cultivation, their status in the sect is not weaker than the two masters in the late Nascent Soul stage.
Patriarch Taiyi and Yuyangzi were chatting and laughing while sipping the spiritual tea.
Another old man with a yin-yang fish embroidered on his chest was talking to Changchun Zhenren. Only Patriarch Xuanzhen was drinking tea by herself. She was not popular in the sect, and she would not have shown up for this kind of competition. However, since it concerned her beloved disciple, she would only feel at ease if she saw him on the scene.
On the competition platform covered by a soundproof formation, more than three hundred first-grade alchemists are ready.
Without exception, they all have an assistant by their side. Refining first-grade elixirs is an extremely laborious task, and they cannot spend too much time on the preparatory work.
The situation on the platform is also projected from various angles on the four water curtains.
The Kunlun disciples from the surrounding peaks who were watching the excitement were discussing as they watched.
One disciple complained: "Hey, this competition is not good. Why are all the participants so old?"
The last competition among alchemy apprentices was really beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, with good-looking people like Li Yu, Junior Sister Zheng, and Senior Brother Zhao, and most of the contestants were young disciples. But this time, the competition was mostly attended by elderly people, with many middle-aged faces, and only a handful of young people.
Someone said unhappily, "Nonsense, this is a first-grade alchemist competition, not an apprentice competition. Those who can participate in the first-grade alchemist competition must have been refining pills for at least ten years, or even decades. How can they be as young as an apprentice of the alchemy sect?"
After the foundation is established, the cultivators can only have a slight effect of maintaining their youth. In the Golden Core stage, if the cultivators want to maintain their youth forever, they need to take the Youth Pill for a long time and continuously. The Youth Pill is a first-level pill, and its price is much more expensive than the Qi-restoring Pill. It costs two hundred spirit coins per pill. If you take one pill a day, you will need thirty pills a month, which costs six thousand spirit coins. Even the foundation-building stage cannot afford it...
Looking around, these first-grade alchemists all looked a bit weathered.
The only thing that provided visual comfort to everyone was a young couple chatting and laughing in a corner of the competition platform.
"Hey, isn't that Junior Brother Li? Is he here to participate in the First-Class Alchemist Competition as well?"
"Isn't he an apprentice of Dan Dao?"
"It's been a long time since then. What year's almanac are you talking about? Junior Brother Li was promoted to a first-class alchemist a few months ago. However, he came to participate in the competition just a few months after his promotion. It's impossible that he can refine so many elixirs..."
"I don't know. Where do you get the news from?"
"Brother, would you like to order a copy of the Kunlun Monthly Report that I edited? On the first day of every month, I will compile all the major and minor events that happened in the sect last month so that you can stay informed of the latest happenings in the sect without leaving the peak. It only costs fifty spirit coins per month. If you pay annually, you can get a discount of one hundred spirit coins..."
…
Because of the formation blocking his way, Li Yu could not hear any sound from outside.
However, this time he knew that there was a live broadcast outside, so he restrained himself a little. He did not flirt with Senior Sister Zhou, but just chatted casually.
As a bell rang, the entire competition platform suddenly became quiet.
At the front, a third-rank alchemist randomly pulled out a jade stick from a jade box, and then said in a deep voice: "The first round of the competition is the Suspension Pill."
His voice, empowered by his magical powers, resounded throughout the entire competition platform.
Nearly half of the alchemists immediately frowned when they heard the three words "intermittent pill".
Although both are first-grade pills, the difficulty of refining the Intermittent Pill is several times that of the Bigu Pill and the Recovery Pill. They have not yet fully mastered it. The competition is not like their usual alchemy. In the first-grade alchemist competition, there is only one set of materials in each round. If the refining fails, they will be eliminated directly without a second chance.
They originally had a fluke mentality, thinking that if the three types of elixirs in the competition were all first-level entry-level elixirs, they could enter the next round if they were lucky. However, they did not expect that the first round of this year's competition would be of hell difficulty.
No matter how much you complain, you still have to make the pills. After all, today's pill making materials are free, so just take it as an opportunity to practice.
It is very difficult to refine the intermittent pill. In the first round of competition, accidents occurred frequently. Someone had just condensed the pill fire, but because he could not control the violent spiritual power in the medicine liquid, he destroyed the pill and had to withdraw.
Fortunately, everyone is a first-level alchemist, so even if the alchemy fails, the furnace will not explode.
Some experienced alchemists did not start refining right away. After a quarter of an hour, half of the alchemists left because of failure in refining. The competition platform became much quieter, and they then leisurely introduced the spiritual liquid into the alchemy furnace.
The time required to refine a first-grade elixir is slightly longer, and it is common for it to last for more than an hour. During this time, the disciples watching outside will naturally not be idle, and they will all start to predict who will be the winner.
"I think Senior Brother Chen from Cuiwei Peak has great potential. It is said that he can even refine Qi Gathering Pills."
"Haha, not necessarily. Believe it or not, among those present, there are at least eight who are capable of refining Qi Gathering Pills. Their strengths are all about the same. Who can win depends more on luck."
"It depends on luck...how do you say that?"
"It's obvious that you don't know the rules of the first-grade alchemist competition. In today's three rounds of competition, you will choose three out of the eighteen first-grade elixirs. If you are lucky and you are good at all three, you will have a greater chance of winning. If others are good at all three, then there is basically no hope. So you will find that the winners of the first-grade alchemist competition are different every year. This year you are lucky and you will win, but next year you will be unlucky and you won't even make it into the top ten..."
…
After an alchemy apprentice explained the rules of the competition, the people around understood and began to look at the remaining alchemists on the platform, and soon they all gathered in the same place.
There's really nothing interesting to see a bunch of old guys making elixirs.
The female disciples' attention was finally focused on Li Yu, while the male disciples' attention was all on Zhou Zixuan beside him.
No matter how the pills he made were, at least he looked good.
The only drawback is that the viewing distance on the water curtain is too far, it would be better if it were closer...
…
On the competition platform, Zhou Zixuan had already prepared the medicine for her, and Li Yu was concentrating on refining the elixir.
The difficulty of making the Duanxu Pill is not small. Without the help of the trustee, he dare not be careless. After all, there is only one chance. Even if his hands shake, he will be eliminated.
The higher the level of the elixir, the more precious the materials are, and no waste is allowed. Therefore, high-level alchemists have very high requirements for themselves. Wasting a furnace of precious materials is a huge loss for them.
Li Yu's goal was to enter the final round, so when refining the first elixir, he chose to play it safe.
It was nearly an hour before Li Yu turned off the fire and opened the furnace.
There are ten pills, six of which are super-grade, four are top-grade, and none are of the best grade.
Outside the formation, the Kunlun disciples who had been paying attention to Li Yu for a long time also saw it at the first time.
Although there were no top-grade elixirs in this furnace, the ability he displayed was still shocking.
"It hasn't been long since he was promoted to a first-grade alchemist, but he has already reached this level?"
"Six super-grade pills and four high-grade pills. These are first-grade pills, and they are more difficult to refine. They are higher in quality than the low-grade pills he refined in the first two rounds of the apprentice competition."
“Is this the benefit of reaching the Heavenly Man Realm? This kind of talent in the art of alchemy is too terrifying…”
"Give him a few more years, and he will be able to win the first-class alchemist competition, right?"
…
At this moment, many contestants have already finished refining. Li Yu's result is not bad, but it is not very good either. He is not even in the top ten. He is not very outstanding. But you have to know that a few months ago, he was still an apprentice of alchemy.
Only alchemists know how terrifying this speed of progress .
Junior Sister Zheng and Senior Brother Zhao are amazing, right? They were the second and third in the Alchemy Apprentice Competition, but they did not participate in the First-Class Alchemist Competition. Among the top ten in the last competition, only Li Yu participated in this competition, and he was also able to refine first-class pills at an extremely high level.
Even the few third-rank alchemists in charge of this competition were a little surprised.
“This speed of progress is truly terrifying.”
"It's more than shocking. I've never seen anyone improve so quickly in the Dao of Alchemy..."
"It's probably because of the Heavenly Man Realm. I heard that after Junior Brother Zheng entered the Heavenly Man Realm once , he was able to refine a first-grade elixir with a high rate of producing top-grade elixirs. The reason why he didn't participate in this competition is that he wants to win the Apprentice Competition next year..."
…
After handing the pill to the deacon disciple, Li Yu looked up at the water curtain within the formation.
It contains the ranking of contestants who have successfully refined their products.
Ranked first is a man named Fang Jin. Among the ten pills he made, five are top-grade and the remaining five are all super-grade.
Being able to refine the first-level intermittent pill to this extent, his strength is quite impressive, and he should have the ability to refine the second-level entry-level pill.
The next few people, more or less, also refined a few top-grade pills. Li Yu was familiar with their names: He Zhiqing, Zhang Xin, Huang Yuanji, Chen Shu... They were all the first-class alchemy geniuses that Senior Sister Xu wanted to visit.
These people were all disciples of fourth-rank alchemists. They were indeed very capable and firmly occupied the top ten positions.
Of course, Li Yu's results were not bad either. He was currently ranked 15th. One hundred people would advance in the first round, and he had already secured a spot.
On top of a high-altitude painting boat.
Patriarch Xuanzhen's face looked a little ugly. The first place in this round was Yu Yangzi's disciple, and Yu Yangzi stood on Lu Taiyi's side.
Cuiwei Peak's statement is only ranked seventh.
Changchun Zhenren glanced at Xuanzhen Patriarch and said, "Chen Shuo is not good at making intermittent pills. Let's see if he can draw a pill that he is good at in the next two rounds. If he can, then there is still a chance. If not, then he can only blame his bad luck."
What she meant was that if Chen Shu couldn't draw the elixir he was good at, he could only blame Master Xuan Zhen for his bad luck.
Another old man in the late Nascent Soul stage had a smile on his face.
Everything about the competition was in his plan. With a temporary advantage, Lu Taiyi did not take advantage of the situation. Instead, he smiled and asked the old man from the Tiandao Sect beside him, "The disciple from your sect is not very old, but has a strong talent for alchemy. He can actually be ranked eleventh..."
The old man from Tiandao Sect smiled and said, "It's still not comparable to Kunlun's genius. As expected of the first sect of alchemy, the most outstanding first-class alchemist from our Tiandao Sect can't even make it into the top ten here..."
…
More than an hour later, all the alchemists had finished refining the pills.
The result of this round was beyond Li Yu's expectations.
According to the rules, after the first round of the competition, one hundred people will remain, but among the three hundred first-grade alchemists, only ninety-six can successfully refine the intermittent pill, and only these ninety-six can successfully advance to the second round.
The intermittent pill is still too difficult for most first-grade alchemists.
After the first round ended and a short rest, the third-rank alchemist drew the second stick from the jade box, and his voice soon echoed throughout the platform: "Second round of pills for the competition, Baoyuan Pill."
Upon hearing the name Baoyuan Dan, most of the contestants breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Baoyuan Dan is not an entry-level first-grade elixir, it is much easier to make than Duanxu Dan. Those who can pass the first round have a very high success rate in refining Baoyuan Dan.
Li Yu was also very happy. He didn't dare to talk about other elixirs, but the Bigu Pill, Huiqi Pill and Baoyuan Pill were the three elixirs he was best at, especially the Baoyuan Pill. He had refined it over hundreds of furnaces and could easily refine more than five top-grade pills.
On the high-altitude painted boat, Patriarch Xuanzhen bowed to Immortal Changchun and asked, "Baoyuan Pill, is your disciple good at refining it?"
Changchun Zhenren shook his head and said, "This is not the kind of elixir he is good at. It seems that his luck is not good in this competition."
As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Taiyi.
It would be fine if it was just the Intermittent Pill, but the pill drawn in the second round of the competition was the one that Yu Yangzi's disciples were good at. This probably couldn't be easily explained by the word coincidence.
However, she did not say anything. By standing on Yuzhu Peak's side this time, she had repaid Li Yu's kindness to Keqi. She did not want to get too deeply involved in the dispute between the two late Nascent Soul cultivators.
Time passed slowly, and on the platform, people's pills were produced one after another.
The water curtain within the formation is also constantly refreshing.
"Fang Jin, six top-grade elixirs and four super-grade elixirs."
"Zhang Xin, three top-grade elixirs, seven super-grade elixirs."
“Huang Yuanji, top-grade elixir two, super-grade elixir eight.
…
Stated, one top-grade elixir, five super-grade elixirs, and four high-grade elixirs. "
On the water curtain outside the formation, the rankings were constantly updated, and the surrounding disciples were discussing it.
"Fang Jin, it's Fang Jin again. It looks like he is very likely to be the champion of this competition."
"That may not be the case. The most important thing is to look at the elixir drawn in the third round. Now we can only say that he is lucky. If the elixir drawn in the third round is not one that he is good at, then no matter how lucky he was in the first two rounds, it will be useless. This kind of thing often happened in previous competitions..."
"It's obvious that Fang Jin was very lucky in this competition."
"Keep watching. The first-class alchemist competition is all about excitement. No one knows who will win until the last round..."
…
On the pleasure boat, Grandmother Xuan Zhen's face already looked very bad, but until the last round, she still suppressed her emotions.
She glanced at Lu Taiyi, who was talking to the Nascent Soul expert from the Tiandao Sect. He didn't look nervous at all, and it seemed as if he already understood everything.
At this moment, there was a sudden uproar among the onlookers from the surrounding peaks.
Patriarch Xuan Zhen looked towards the water curtain in the sky. Among the densely packed names, there was one name that was swimming upstream at an extremely fast speed, surpassing everyone else and finally settling in the first place.
"Li Yu, seven top-grade elixirs, three super-grade elixirs."
This name, which was not unfamiliar to her, made her slightly startled.
Even the Nascent Soul expert from the Tiandao Sect was somewhat surprised and said, "Li Yu, this is the champion of the last apprentice competition. I didn't expect that he would be so powerful in refining first-level elixirs..."
He was an alchemist himself, and had paid attention to the alchemy genius of Kunlun, and had also heard of Li Yu's name.
Lu Taiyi was only slightly surprised and did not take it too seriously. The difficulty of Baoyuan Dan was far less than that of Duanxu Dan and Yangyan Dan. One round of lead was nothing.
Li Yu's sudden climb to the top also gave the disciples who were watching from all sides something to talk about.
After all, he was extremely well-known among Kunlun's lower-level disciples, and had a good reputation, and was a topic that everyone often discussed.
"Junior Brother Li is first!"
"Is he so powerful even when refining first-level elixirs?"
"Hehe, you don't know, right? I can't say anything about other elixirs, but this Baoyuan Pill is Junior Brother Li's best elixir."
"I can tell from the looks of it that this Senior Brother is a fellow practitioner. Junior Brother Li's Bao Yuan Dan is worth three pills. Anyone who uses it will know!"
"Have you ever experienced the effect of the top-grade Baoyuan Pill? It took six hours, a full six hours. After it was over, my Taoist partner rewarded me with a thousand spirit coins. If I could do it a few more times, I would be able to establish my foundation before her 250th birthday..."
"I would like to call him the man who refined the Baoyuan Pill to perfection!"
There were also disciples who looked annoyed and regretted, "I should have known better than to buy it in the sect. Where does Senior Brother Li live? I will go to him to buy Baoyuan Pills in the future..."
