Chapter 79: A sudden turn of events, and a return to heaven
In the second round of competition, Li Yu's rapid rise to the top also attracted the attention of the first-class alchemists in the competition.
Of course, they had heard of the champion of the Alchemy Apprentice Competition, but Li Yu's victory last time was more due to luck. But this batch of Baoyuan Dan was not as simple as luck.
One furnace can produce seven top-grade products. This person, who is a hot topic among the sect's low-level disciples, really has something up his sleeve.
However, judging from his performance in the first round, he doesn't have much, and there is still a big gap between him and top talents like Fang Jin and Chen Shu. Baoyuan Pill might just be the elixir he is good at, and he performed very well, so he was able to temporarily reach the top.
Fang Jin, who was squeezed to second place by Li Yu, just glanced at the name and stopped paying attention to it.
The elixir to be refined in the last round of the competition is the Rejuvenating Pill, which is even more difficult to refine than the Sustained Pill. He admitted that Li Yu had some luck in refining the Preserving Pill, but facing an elixir that is more difficult than the Sustained Pill, what is needed is absolute strength, and his luck has ended here.
After more than an hour passed, the second round of competition was over.
Li Yu finally ranked first and entered the final round without any surprise.
Fang Jin, Chen Shuo, Zhang Xin and other eight direct disciples of the fourth-grade alchemist also successfully advanced. The last one to advance was named Song Zhixuan. All the Kunlun disciples were unfamiliar with this name.
"Hey, this Song Zhixuan, why have I never heard of him before?"
"He must be very famous to have reached his current position, and he still looks so young. Which peak is he from?"
"I don't know either. It seems that there is no such young first-grade alchemist in any of the peaks. With his age and strength, he should have been famous a long time ago..."
"Hehe, if you have subscribed to my Kunlun Monthly, you wouldn't ask such a question. This person is a genius in the younger generation of Tiandao Sect. Like Li Yu, he practices the Five Spiritual Veins . This time, he also participated in our Alchemist Competition..."
"Kunlun Monthly, what is that?"
"Everything that happened in the sect, big or small, can be found in the Kunlun Monthly Report. If you order now, there are discounts. Don't miss the opportunity. Once you lose it, it will never come back..."
…
Just like in the apprentice competition, after the second round, only ten people were left entering the final round.
These ten people, the top ten of this year's first-grade alchemist competition, will receive a reward of at least 10,000 spirit coins even if they rank last in the third round. If they rank high, they will have a chance to get a second-grade alchemy furnace. Of course, the alchemy furnace and spirit coins are nothing to these ten people. What they value more is reputation.
After a short rest, the third-rank alchemist took out a jade stick from the jade box and read out, "The last round of pills for the competition, the Rejuvenating Pill!"
His voice turned into rolling waves, echoing throughout the venue.
Upon hearing this, Fang Jin showed a barely perceptible smile on his face.
The others, including Chen Shuo, sighed helplessly.
There is no alchemist who is proficient in all kinds of elixirs. Each person generally only has a few kinds of elixirs that he is good at. Although they have a high success rate in refining the Rejuvenating Pill, they cannot achieve perfection. However, Fang Jin is the best among them in terms of attainments in refining the Rejuvenating Pill.
In this competition, his luck was extremely good, as he got the elixir that he was good at in every round.
On the painted boat, Patriarch Xuanzhen could not wait to ask Master Changchun: "This kind of elixir..."
Changchun Zhenren shook his head and said, "He is not good at it either. Senior Brother Yuyangzi's disciple is very good at the Rejuvenating Pill."
Patriarch Xuanzhen was stunned for a moment, then his face darkened completely. He suddenly looked at the old man and asked, "Lu Taiyi, are you behind this? Why are the elixirs in the competition all the ones you are good at?"
The old man shook his head and said, "Junior sister, in the alchemist competition, luck is very important. How can you make groundless assumptions without any evidence?"
The middle-aged woman was almost certain that there must be something fishy about this competition. She was afraid that Lu Taiyi had arranged it long ago. The anger in her heart had reached its peak, but it was not easy to show it in front of so many people, and she could not let the people of Tiandao Sect laugh at her, so she could only restrain herself.
…
When Li Yu heard that the third round of refining was the anti-aging pill, he did not show any emotion.
The Rejuvenating Pill is an advanced version of the Nourishing Beauty Pill. The Nourishing Beauty Pill can improve complexion. Taking one pill a day can maintain the vitality of the skin and achieve eternal youth. He gave all the Rejuvenating Pills he made to Zhou Zixuan.
If Li Yu is lucky, he can make two top-grade pills of this kind of pills in one furnace. If he is unlucky, they can only be super-high-grade pills.
But what does that matter?
It has to be opened anyway, so it doesn't make much difference to him what kind of elixir he refines.
The others around him had already started the furnace, but Li Yu did not begin refining. According to his theory of the Heavenly Realm, he should flirt with Senior Sister Zhou first and completely relax himself, then he would have a chance to enter the Heavenly Realm and convince everyone else.
This time, the entire alchemy competition was projected using the Water Moon Technique. In the final round of competition, the huge water curtain in four directions was divided into ten pieces. Each piece corresponded to the scene on the alchemy table of an alchemist.
The other nine alchemists were concentrating on making the elixir, but the last young man was chatting and laughing with the female companion beside him, which seemed particularly abrupt.
Some alchemists from other sects who came to Kunlun to observe could not help but wonder, "Why isn't he refining pills? What is he doing?"
The Kunlun disciples around them had already shown an expression of being used to it and were eager to explain it to them.
"Don't be surprised, this is Junior Brother Li's routine operation."
"He's trying to find the feeling..."
"Is this your first time seeing Junior Brother Li participate in a competition? You'll get used to it..."
…
On a certain mountain peak, Lu Xingzhou looked at Li Yu on the screen, snorted coldly, and said: "Let's see how long you can pretend!"
On another mountain peak, two figures stood in a corner. Xu Qingxin looked even more nervous than Jiang Li and murmured, "This time, it's all up to Senior Brother Chen from Cuiwei Peak."
Jiang Li's gaze was always on the last picture.
At this moment, she wished that it was she who was with Li Yu. They had always been together, but everything had changed since she came to Kunlun...
Around Lingyun Peak, people were talking and it was very noisy.
It was unusually quiet on the Lingyun Peak competition platform. Nine out of the ten alchemists were concentrating on making pills. Before long, everyone could smell the fragrance of medicine.
Fang Jin put out the flame and confidently opened the furnace. There were ten anti-aging pills in the furnace, seven of which had five pill patterns on them, and the last three were also top-grade.
After checking, the third-grade alchemist looked at Fang Jin and smiled.
Soon, a line of words appeared on the water curtains on all four sides.
"Fang Jin, seven top-grade pills, three super-grade pills, and forty-seven pill patterns."
As this line of words appeared, there was naturally an uproar outside Lingyun Peak.
"This Fang Jin is really amazing. His performance in each round is better than the previous one."
"It's not entirely because of strength. The other brothers are not necessarily weaker than Fang Jin. It's just that the three kinds of elixirs he drew in this competition are the ones he is best at..."
"How could it be such a coincidence? Is there something fishy going on?"
"I think it's possible. It's fine if he's good at one or two kinds of elixirs, but how could it be such a coincidence that he's good at all three?"
…
Soon, after Fang Jin, Chen Shuo's elixir was also ready. Before the furnace was opened, he shook his head.
"Statement, two super-grade pills, eight high-grade pills, and thirty-two pill patterns."
On the pleasure boat, Changchun Zhenren frowned slightly. With Chen Shu's ability, even if he was not good at making anti-aging pills, he could still make one or two top-grade ones. However, he only had such results in this round. It was obvious that his mentality was affected.
For an alchemist, mentality is sometimes more important than strength. With such a mentality, he is doomed to never become a master of alchemy.
The result is out, there is no hope for this pill anymore, Patriarch Xuanzhen standing by, his face turned ashen, he suddenly waved his sleeves, stood up and flew away.
The old man from Tiandao Sect smiled and said, "It's been hundreds of years, but Junior Sister Zhao's temper is still so impulsive..."
Lu Taiyi smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, fellow Taoist..."
On a certain mountain peak, Lu Xingzhou couldn't hide the smile on his face. He looked at the two names on the water curtain and sneered, "Only thirty-two elixir patterns. What genius alchemist? I may be better than him..."
This competition is actually a contest between Cuiwei Peak and Baiyun Peak. One of them represents Yuzhu Peak and the other represents Yuling Peak. Now, Fang Jin and Chen Shu have both finished refining, and the winner has been decided.
That pregnancy pill is his.
…
When it comes to the Rejuvenating Pill, Fang Jin clearly has absolute dominance.
Ten pearls in one furnace, seven of them are top quality. Such an achievement is beyond the reach of others.
After Fang Jin's statement, people started to open the furnace one after another.
But among the other first-grade alchemists, the best results only had three top-grade pills, which was far from comparable to Fang Jin. He almost secured the championship of this competition.
Eight lines of words have already appeared on the water curtain outside the formation.
“Fang Jin, seven top-grade elixirs, three super-grade elixirs, and forty-seven elixir patterns.
Zhang Xin, three top-grade elixirs, seven super-grade elixirs, and forty-three elixir patterns.
Huang Yuanji, ...
…
Stated, two super-grade elixirs, eight top-grade elixirs, and thirty-two elixir patterns. "
Fang Jin ranked first with forty-seven elixir patterns. The second was Zhang Xin from Jiuhua Peak, who had refined three top-grade and seven super-grade elixir patterns, and ranked second with forty-three elixir patterns. Chen Shuo had refined the least elixir patterns and was temporarily ranked eighth.
This was not their final result, as there were still two people who had not started the furnace.
To be exact, one person did not open the furnace and the other did not start refining.
Li Yu was still chatting with the beautiful female disciple. Song Zhixuan of Tiandao Sect had sweat on his forehead. It was obvious that the refining process had reached a critical moment.
"Junior Brother Li, why haven't you started refining yet?"
"Maybe not. The Rejuvenation Pill is much more difficult to refine than the Preserving Essence Pill. He has only been promoted to a first-grade alchemist for a short time. Maybe he hasn't learned it yet."
"It's already pretty good. Half a year ago, he was still an apprentice, but now he can make it to the final round of the first-grade alchemy master. Sooner or later, he will surpass Fang Jin and the others."
…
Everyone was very tolerant of Li Yu. Considering his age, it was a miracle that he had reached this point. Many people were optimistic about his future.
Another half a quarter of an hour later, the young man from the Tiandao Sect finally extinguished the fire.
The third-rank alchemist walked forward slowly, opened the furnace, and looked a little surprised when he smelled the rich fragrance of the elixir.
The fragrance of this elixir...is no less than the one Fang Jin has brewed.
When his eyes looked into the alchemy furnace, the expression of this third-grade alchemist froze for a moment.
Eight top-grade elixirs and two super-grade elixirs.
Finished!
Something big happened!
He never expected that the alchemist from Tiandao Sect would perform so well in this round, even surpassing Fang Jin who was thought to be the sure winner.
This is the Kunlun Sect's first-class alchemist competition. Kunlun, who is famous in the world of immortal cultivation for his alchemy skills, had his championship in the alchemy competition snatched away by someone from the Tiandao Sect. Where would Kunlun's face be?
Moreover, this year's competition is unusual, and the reward for the champion is a fifth-level pregnancy pill.
This pill is being fought over fiercely within the sect and cannot be lost. If it were taken by someone from an outside sect, it would be a real loss of face and the pill would be lost.
Even though he was honored as a third-rank alchemist , at this moment, he was so nervous that he was sweating coldly.
At this time, outside Lingyun Peak, many people also discovered the abnormality.
"what happened?"
"He has already started the furnace, why hasn't he announced the results yet?"
"Yeah, why did you wait so long this time?"
Some people with sharp minds have already noticed something is wrong and murmured, "Could this person from the Tiandao Sect have refined more than eight top-grade elixirs, surpassing Fang Jin?"
The more they thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
If the Tiandao Sect disciple's performance was not better than Fang Jin's, the third-grade alchemist would not be so hesitant.
The only possibility is that the quality of the elixir he produced is higher than Fang Jin's...
If this is true, Kunlun will lose face this time.
The championship of the competition was snatched away, which made Kunlun lose face.
As for that fifth-level elixir, should I give it to you or not?
If given, it would undoubtedly be a huge loss for the sect.
Even the two late Nascent Soul ancestors of the sect fought for this kind of elixir, so how could you just give it to others for free?
If we don’t give it to you…, then that would be a breach of trust and the Tiandao Sect would definitely make a big fuss about it.
For a large sect like Kunlun, reputation is more important than a fifth-grade pill.
Even ordinary Kunlun disciples felt caught in a dilemma at this moment.
The third-grade alchemist obviously knew this truth, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally chose to tell the truth.
Compared with the fifth-grade elixir, the reputation of the sect is more important.
Another line of words soon appeared on the water curtain. As soon as it appeared, it quickly went upstream and replaced Fang Jin's first position.
"Song Zhixuan, eight top-grade pills, two super-grade pills, and forty-eight pill patterns."
The appearance of this line of words caused a huge uproar to break out around Lingyun Peak after a brief silence.
"what happened!"
"Fang Jin has been surpassed!"
"It's over, that guy from Tiandao Sect is going to be the first in the competition!"
"Doesn't that mean that the sect's pregnancy pill should be given to someone else?"
"Damn Tiandao Sect, they must have planned this long ago. They are usually so domineering, and this time they actually bullied us Kunlun!"
"I didn't expect to see such a scene when I came to Kunlun. Things are getting interesting..."
…
On the competition platform, Fang Jin's expression changed drastically when he saw that line of words.
At this moment, his leader has fallen into the hands of others.
Without the pregnancy pill, all the benefits that Grandmaster Taiyi had promised him became nothing but a pipe dream.
Although Chen Shuo and others had no chance of becoming the champion, they felt a little nervous at this moment.
Finished.
I’m afraid the sect will lose face this time.
As the best of the first-grade alchemists in the sect, they watched helplessly as the Tiandao Sect's people won the championship. This was undoubtedly a disgrace to the sect, and they would be ridiculed for at least ten years...
At one point, Lu Xingzhou was completely stunned.
Without Li Yu, here comes Song Zhixuan!
Is it possible that he is not destined to have this pregnancy pill?
…
On the painted boat.
There was no smile on Lu Taiyi's face anymore.
He never expected this result.
He and Yuzhu Peak were fighting each other, but in the end, Tiandao Sect became the one that benefited.
The people from Tiandao Sect inexplicably participated in Kunlun's alchemist competition this time. It must have been planned in advance. They came here just for the pregnancy pill!
The Yuanying old man from Tiandao Sect smiled embarrassedly and said, "I didn't expect Zhixuan to perform so well this time. However, don't worry, Fellow Daoist Lu, the pregnancy pill is too precious, and Tiandao Sect will not want it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a rainbow light came from the distant sky across several mountains. The next moment, a middle-aged man with an immortal look stood on the painting boat and said to the Yuanying elder of Tiandao Sect: "This pregnancy pill is a reward for the winner of the competition. Whoever wins can take it."
The Yuanying elder bowed to the middle-aged man and said, "Greetings, Master Wang."
The middle-aged man looked at the young man from the Tiandao Sect on the trial platform and said with a smile: "Fellow cultivator of the Five Spiritual Veins, it seems that the Tiandao Sect has produced a good seedling for Danfa cultivation. His future prospects are limitless."
The old Yuanying of Tiandao Sect said, "Thank you for the compliment, Master."
The middle-aged man turned his head and asked a third-rank alchemist standing on the pleasure boat, "Is the competition over?"
The third-rank alchemist said, "Master, there is still one person who has not started refining the elixir yet. The competition will be over in about an hour."
The duration of the first-grade alchemist competition is two hours per round. If everyone finishes refining the alchemy early, the round will end faster. If someone drags it to the last minute, then according to the rules, everyone has to wait for him until the last minute.
Wang Daoxuan looked at the figure chatting with the female disciple and said, "Is this the new disciple who won the first place in the apprentice competition?"
The third-rank alchemist nodded and said, "Yes, he is Li Yu."
In order to prevent the headmaster from misunderstanding, he also specially explained for Li Yu: "He is not stalling for time. This disciple is a little special. He should be looking for the state of alchemy. Last time, he entered the realm of heaven and man in this way..."
Master Kunlun nodded and looked into the formation. His eyes did not fluctuate at all and his emotions could not be seen.
At this moment, almost everyone's eyes were focused on that figure.
Whether or not Kunlun can restore its reputation and losses depends on Li Yu.
There is no doubt that he has become Kunlun's last hope.
But this hope is very slim.
The Rejuvenating Pill is a pill that is more difficult to refine than the Intermittent Pill. In the first round of the Intermittent Pill, Li Yu failed to refine even one top-grade pill. In this round, can he refine nine top-grade pills and surpass the alchemist of the Tiandao Sect?
This is almost impossible.
Unless he can enter the realm of heaven and man again like last time.
They knew this was impossible, but as it concerned the honor of Kunlun, almost all of Kunlun’s disciples were silently looking forward to it.
May the God of Alchemy bless him and let him create another miracle!
At this moment, even Lu Xingzhou was praying in his heart, hoping that Li Yu could enter the realm of heaven and man again, refine ten top-grade elixirs, completely save the face and losses for the sect, and trample the damn Tiandao Sect hard under his feet...
Even though Li Yu was the person he hated the most.
But at this moment, he was not Lu Xingzhou, but just an ordinary Kunlun disciple.
Lingyun Peak, on the competition platform.
Except for Li Yu, the other nine people had already finished refining. They could have stayed here and waited for Li Yu to finish refining, but soon , the third-grade alchemist signaled them to leave immediately.
The hope of the entire Kunlun rests on Li Yu alone, and he must ensure that Li Yu is not disturbed by anyone.
Before leaving, everyone looked at the figure with hope.
Whether they will become sinners of the sect depends on Li Yu's next performance.
Li Yu was still chatting with Zhou Zixuan, but as they chatted, no one appeared around them. Only a third-grade alchemist stood not far from them, looking at them with a nervous expression.
This made Zhou Zixuan nervous.
Li Yu said with a smile: "I am the one who makes the elixir, why are you so nervous?"
Zhou Zixuan whispered, "We are the only ones left. Are the people outside looking at us?"
Li Yu said: "You are so beautiful today, what are you afraid of?"
Zhou Zixuan blushed: "Really?"
At this moment, around Lingyun Peak, tens of thousands of Kunlun disciples, including the head master and several Nascent Soul masters, were looking at the four huge water curtains. The other alchemists had already left, and only close-ups of Li Yu and Zhou Zixuan were on the water curtains.
Although no sound could be heard, everyone could still clearly see the rosy face of the beautiful female disciple, which caused everyone to be amazed again.
Only this time, they were no longer surprised, but admired.
"As expected of Junior Brother Li, you still have the energy to flirt with a beauty..."
"If I were him, I would be unable to stand now."
"The pressure is all on him alone, but he can still laugh and flirt with the female disciples. How strong must his heart be?"
"Junior Brother Li, you are the God in my mind!"
…
At this moment, many people couldn't help but put themselves in Li Yu's shoes. In just a moment, they felt a huge pressure coming at them. Not to mention refining the elixir, it would be difficult for them to even stand, let alone flirt with the female disciples...
Perhaps, this strong inner heart is the key to entering the realm of heaven.
On a certain mountain peak, Xu Qingxin glanced at Jiang Li beside her and said, "Junior sister, why don't we go back?"
Jiang Li shook his head and said, "I've already escaped. If I go back early or late, I'll be punished by my master. I might as well watch it for a while longer..."
On the competition platform, looking at the increasingly anxious expression of the third-grade alchemist, Li Yu knew that the time was almost up.
His expression turned solemn and his eyes became serious.
The Water Moon Technique projected Li Yu's expression outside, zooming in to create a close-up.