Chapter 189 Wooden Beast Attack

The advanced alchemists kept observing the scene on the Alchemy God Tree.

While Zhong Cai was refining pills, he naturally took in the various actions of the other alchemists. He even recognized the resources that the third-level alchemists had obtained at a glance—although they were all of excellent quality, they did not attract his attention.

Only when the disciples and grand-disciples of certain alchemists also obtain a decent resource will they appreciate it, and acquaintances will tease each other about it.

The treasures that Zhong Cai obtained on two separate occasions were quite different, which made them take them very seriously.

Especially that tattered booklet—based on past experience, any booklet that appears in this form contains content that is at least level seven!

This is no ordinary resource.

In an instant, many advanced alchemists' thoughts were filled with envy and a hint of teasing.

King Sangdan, your disciple is as stable as a mountain on the Pill God Tree!

Two batches in a row, and not a single mistake occurred.

[You're the kind of person who either doesn't take on disciples at all, or when you do, they're all exceptionally talented!]

[King Sangdan, you'd better work harder. If you accidentally fail to resolve your disciple's doubts about alchemy, it will be difficult to teach him further.]

"Our sect has an exceptionally talented martial arts prodigy. Why didn't King Sangdan mention that disciple to you sooner? I could have transferred him here to befriend your disciple and venture together to the Divine Pill Tree! It would be safer that way."

Sang Yunchu listened to these words with a smile and without disturbing them before slowly transmitting her voice back.

[Cai'er's alchemy skills are indeed solid, but there are still many shortcomings, which I, Sang, can still teach her for now. Now that he has a Daoist partner accompanying him on his adventures, she will surely protect him fiercely, so there's no need to worry too much.]

The alchemists joked around, but as they talked, they couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks.

Who could blame them when their disciple not only possessed exceptional alchemy skills but also performed them so well? Even if he made a mistake once or twice, they could still feel more at ease.

But that little alchemist succeeded in making pills three times in a row, three different kinds of pills each time... Even if it were just making the same kind of pill, it would be very impressive to achieve this level, let alone now.

This further suggests that Zhong Cai is probably proficient in many kinds of pills, and the success rate of each kind is extremely high, perhaps even reaching 100%!

Sang Yunchu didn't mind and politely deflected them all.

That makes it even more infuriating.

·

On the Dan Shen tree.

Zhong Cai looked at the alchemy furnace happily for a while, then said excitedly, "Old Wu, please put it away for me!"

Wu Shaogan naturally put it away.

Zhong Cai cannot use this alchemy furnace yet, since it is not an innate treasure.

At the very least, we have to wait until Zhong Cai reaches the Fusion Realm before we can try to use it to refine pills.

Currently, Wu Shaogan can barely refine a level four alchemy furnace, but its quality is much worse than the one used by Zhong Cai.

Although Wu Shaogan wanted to give Zhong Cai the best, it was clear that his alchemy skills could not keep up with the speed at which Zhong Cai was improving her alchemy. Moreover, he needed to spend time drawing the fourth-level purification talisman that Zhong Cai needed even more, so he did not insist on it in the first place.

Therefore, Wu Shaogan thought that since he was learning a little bit at each level, it would be great if his daughter A Cai could use it if he had the chance, and it would be good as a souvenir if he didn't... By honing his skills in this way, perhaps when A Cai really needed it but didn't have other suitable alchemy furnaces, he could help out, which would be a good precaution.

·

Zhong Cai was very satisfied with the results of the first two attempts, so he did not delay and immediately began the third refining process.

This time, he refined the Vortex Pill.

For him, the difficulty of making the Vortex Pill was about the same as that of the Flying Feather Pill. When he was honing his skills in making these two pills, he did them one after the other, so in the end, his skill level was about the same as that of the Flying Feather Pill.

An hour later, Zhong Cai successfully produced the elixir.

Full-grade pills, three top-grade and three high-grade pills.

Zhong Cai didn't keep a single one and fed them all to the Dan Shenmu.

The Dan Shenmu emitted a burst of azure light for the third time.

Zhong Cai was already used to it. She reached in and took something out.

Upon receiving it, it felt incredibly light; it was a scroll.

Zhong Cai opened the scroll.

Unsurprisingly, it is a medicinal formula.

A prescription of level eight.

Zhong Cai recalled his inheritance. Ever since his aptitude was raised to the top of the Earth grade, the inheritance pill formulas issued by the altar had also reached level eight.

There are over four hundred ordinary ones and thirty-five carefully selected ones.

And this elixir formula...

Zhong Cai compared it and found that it was not in his lineage.

Dark Yin Pill.

It is a special kind of elixir, suitable for cultivators who cultivate Yin attribute power, and can also assist in cultivating Yin attribute secret techniques.

However, there aren't many Nirvana cultivators with this attribute that Zhong Cai has heard of on the entire Flying Star Continent. But if they were to actually refine it, there would still be a great market for it. After all, when his master introduced the eighth-level alchemists on the continent, he had never heard of any of them being skilled at refining pills of this type.

Zhong Cai stroked his chin and decided that if his master didn't have the formula when he got back, he would copy it down for him.

He believed that with his master's abilities, he could refine many kinds of level-eight pills. The more pills his master knew how to make and the wider the range of Nirvana cultivators he could cover, the higher his status would be. In this way, he, as his disciple, could also receive more protection.

·

Zhong Cai happily handed the pill formula to Wu Shaogan and quickly explained his plan: "Old Wu, please organize everything I get here. I'm afraid I'll forget it if I refine pills a lot in the future."

Wu Shaogan readily agreed.

The two looked at each other and smiled, both of them extremely happy.

Then, the two of them thought of something and their expressions turned serious.

Zhong Cai said, "The benefits that Dan Shenmu gave me in the first three times were great, so it should be satisfied with me."

Wu Shaogan continued, "When it starts again next time, I'm afraid wooden beasts will appear and attack."

Zhong Cai looked up and said very seriously, "Old Wu, it's all up to you now!"

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly: "Don't worry, A-Cai."

·

Neither of them doubted that Wu Shaogan would fail in his defense.

Wu Shaogan was absolutely confident—this Divine Pill Tree was primarily for the benefit of alchemists, and it wouldn't create impossible tasks for the martial arts cultivators protecting them. As long as it wasn't absolutely impossible, he was certain he could complete it.

Needless to say, Zhong Cai was even more outstanding.

He naturally assumed that, as long as it was a test related to martial arts cultivators, and as long as it was one at his own Old Wu's level, Old Wu would definitely be the strongest!

·

The two looked down again.

With their eyesight, they could see that the closest blades to them were all less than two hundred feet away.

Zhong Cai blinked: "It seems that all we need to do is resist the wooden beasts."

Wu Shaogan nodded.

·

The test that the Divine Tree poses to martial arts cultivators and alchemists also involves the collision between its leaves.

However, firstly, it can only collide with the leaves of martial arts cultivators of the same realm, and secondly, the range of collisions is limited to the same level.

Even for martial arts practitioners with strong martial ethics, because they knocked over multiple leaves and made their own leaves thicker, these leaves could move within a certain range, floating up and down... But to catch up with the height of Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, it was still not easy.

Besides alchemists refining pills while being attacked by wooden beasts, another way for the leaves to rise is for martial arts cultivators to knock over nearby leaves.

Each time one is overturned, the leaves thicken, making the branch more stable, and the entire branch also rises a layer higher.

Each level is about ten feet high, which is over two hundred feet...

·

Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan didn't say much. They smiled at each other and then each got into position.

Wu Shaogan didn't know which direction the wooden beast would come from, so he simply stood next to Zhong Cai and released his spiritual senses.

Zhong Cai trusted Wu Shaogan implicitly, so he sat down on the spot and started the furnace immediately.

He figured that the profound energy Old Wu had expended on the tree could only be replenished by the energy from the tree, so the Firefly Pills he had refined earlier were no longer usable...

Without hesitation, Zhong Cai took out other types of medicinal herbs.

Because he wanted to refine all the pills he knew how to make first, he didn't make the Firefly Pill this time. Instead, he chose another pill that could replenish Xuan energy and whose effects were no less than the Firefly Pill.

It's also a high-quality elixir formula, but the name is a bit funny.

This thing is simply called "Energy Boosting Pill".

A jumble of thoughts flashed through Zhong Cai's mind, but when he picked up the first medicinal herb, all his distracting thoughts vanished.

His fingers moved swiftly, handling even the most complex medicinal herbs with ease and fluidity before tossing them into the alchemy furnace.

Inside the alchemy furnace, the medicinal herbs emitted countless subtle popping sounds, which at first glance seemed like the furnace had exploded. However, this was actually just a natural reaction of the herbs. As long as the alchemist was aware of the situation and didn't sense anything wrong, they only needed to endure it for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, and then, after adding the second herb, they could instantly stop the popping sounds.

Just like now.

Zhong Cai threw in more than ten red seeds with their thin skins peeled, and the alchemy furnace immediately quieted down.

There were still sounds coming from the alchemy furnace, but they were faint and almost inaudible...

Zhong Cai was completely focused, leaving everything around him to his old man, Wu.

·

From the moment the bell was heated by a wood fire, a wooden beast silently appeared on the right side of the blade.

Its entire body is emerald green, exactly the same color as the leaves, making it look very vibrant.

Its shape resembles a lithe giant wolf, with a body about ten feet long, and its steps are light and agile.

Although the wooden beast didn't actually make a sound, Wu Shaogan had already looked over the moment it appeared.

The wooden beast leaped up instantly and pounced!

A smile played on Wu Shaogan's lips as he drew a stiff bow without anyone noticing. With a swift movement, the bowstring tightened around the wooden wolf's neck. The wolf, of course, wouldn't be easily subdued; its claws still reached for him—but the instant Wu Shaogan had secured it, he swung his arm with incredible force, lifting it up!

The huge wood wolf was flipped over and smashed onto the leaf, belly up.

At the same time, its entire wolf head was severed by the bowstring and rolled away during the process.

The wolf's head and body were thus separated.

The wooden wolf, having lost its head, was naturally killed. As its body fell to the ground, it emitted a blue light and quickly disappeared.

From the moment the wood wolf appeared, to when it tried to approach him, to when it was killed, it only took a single breath!

Despite the wood wolf's attempt to interfere with Zhong Cai's alchemy, it couldn't even get within a ten-foot radius of Zhong Cai—it couldn't touch him at all.

·

Wu Shaogan remained vigilant; the wooden beast would not appear in isolation.

Sure enough, his eyes flickered slightly, but his body remained motionless as he drew his bow and released two arrows!

It's unclear how he did it, but the arrows shot out one after the other.

The arrow in front just happened to hit the giant green wooden fox that had just appeared. The wooden fox reacted very nimbly and dodged to the left in an instant!

However, Wu Shaogan's second arrow went in that direction and arrived there—instantly piercing the wood fox's throat!

The wooden fox struggled incessantly, but in an instant, its entire head was shattered by the force of the arrow.

The next instant, the wooden fox also disappeared in the blue light.

Wu Shaogan smiled slightly.

It's at both ends.

Immediately afterwards, Wu Shaogan drew his bow again.

This time, he could sense a sense of threat coming from the northwest direction of the leaf.

Following his instincts, Wu Shaogan drew his bow and shot an arrow in that direction again, this time firing three arrows in quick succession.

There appeared a giant wooden gorilla, with a small, grotesque-looking monkey perched on its shoulder.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that the wooden gorilla's eyes are actually lifeless, while the little monkey is extremely lively—and upon even closer inspection, one can see that the little monkey's tail is attached to the wooden gorilla's body.

The little monkey also sensed the danger and quickly rushed out!

The monkey's tail could stretch continuously, allowing the little monkey to jump freely.

The wooden gorilla also jumps nimbly.

But it was too late.

Two of the three arrows fired by Wu Shaogan struck the wooden gorilla in the neck, exploding together and splitting its head open!

The final, third arrow struck the little monkey squarely in the heart... The little monkey was so small, only a foot tall, that even with its sharp claws and teeth, it couldn't really do anything... The whole monkey was blown to bits.

These arrows were formed from Wu Shaogan's profound energy, and can be considered one of the secret techniques he learned.

It's not very aesthetically pleasing when used, and it's also difficult to precisely concentrate and control it during practice. But once you really master it, it becomes extremely efficient and effective.

This wooden beast—a combination of a wooden ape and a monkey—also transformed into a blue light.

·

In such a short time, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wu Shaogan had already killed three groups of wooden beasts!

Each wave was done casually, as if it hadn't taken any effort at all.

However, this is a test from the wooden beast on the Pill God Tree. Could it really be that easy?

·

Outside the Dan Shenmu tree.

Countless advanced cultivators also witnessed the battle between the martial arts cultivators.

Although the time required for each batch of pills by low-level alchemists is not long, and they are all very talented and initially refine pills that they are good at, gaining the approval of the Pill God Wood is not easy. So far, no alchemist has been attacked by the wood beast.

However, the martial arts cultivators on the same branch of the tree were eyeing their respective "neighbors" with covetous intent. Some of them couldn't contain themselves and, when they saw the alchemist opposite them reaching a critical moment, they immediately rushed over. Sometimes they succeeded, but sometimes, because the martial arts cultivator on the other side was stronger, they ended up being overturned.

During this period, many level-three alchemists were disturbed and fell from their positions, losing their qualification to continue refining.

Such impulsive martial arts cultivators are mostly alchemists whose strength is insufficient to make the Alchemy God Tree release a wooden beast to test them. If they want to gain more benefits, they can only increase the conflict between the leaves.

·

At this moment, Zhong Cai, who was 500 feet tall, finished refining three batches of pills in a row, and Wu Shaogan became the first to be attacked by the wooden beast.

As for Wu Shaogan's performance...

Several advanced alchemists had only moved their spiritual senses to other tree branches for a short while when they scanned back and discovered that Wu Shaogan had already killed two of them in succession. Furthermore, they witnessed him kill a third one in just a few breaths.

That's too fast!

Advanced alchemists are all at a high level, so they can easily see through Wu Shaogan's fighting style. They also came from lower levels, so they can see even more clearly the exquisiteness of Wu Shaogan's arrows, as well as the terrifying fighting skills and extremely sensitive fighting instincts he has in the Suspended Illumination Realm. This is not only due to Wu Shaogan's own hard work and relentless practice, but also because he has a terrifying talent in combat from birth!

At this moment, the advanced alchemists also saw that Wu Shaogan was already dealing with the fourth wooden beast.

Still as efficient as ever.

Then the fifth one, the sixth one...

Almost every wooden beast that appeared was shot and killed by Wu Shaogan in the very first round.

Some wooden beasts did cunningly appear beside Wu Shaogan, but they couldn't possibly launch a sneak attack—they were already strangled by Wu Shaogan with the bowstring, stabbed with the tip of the hard bow, or smashed to death with the bow itself as soon as they appeared.

In short, it was done very simply, without a single unnecessary movement.

Extremely efficient.

The advanced alchemists couldn't help but watch for a while longer.

The scene possessed a cruel beauty; among martial arts cultivators at the Suspended Illumination Realm, such a concise yet magnificent slaughter was almost unheard of.

They're really good at fighting!

At this moment, the advanced alchemists once again focused their spiritual thoughts on Sang Yunchu.

Sang Yunchu, still with a gentle smile, introduced Wu Shaogan.

[Shao Gan is Cai'er's childhood friend and a top genius who joined my Azure Dragon Academy with her. He is also Senior Brother Jiang's disciple.]

Many advanced alchemists understood immediately upon hearing this.

It turns out he was Jiang Chongguang's disciple.

·

This Jiang Chongguang is quite famous among advanced alchemists.

In this day and age, even though countless powerful individuals want to raise outstanding descendants, and indeed many powerful descendants have been cultivated by providing a large amount of resources, very few can truly surpass their parents.

Jiang Chongguang's father, Jiang Yun, was a Nirvana Realm expert with terrifying combat power. Even though he had only just entered Nirvana Realm, he had a record of challenging peak eighth-order savage beasts and even killing two at the same time!

Jiang Yun was so powerful that it would be difficult for his successors to surpass him, but his only son, Jiang Chongguang, was even more powerful than him when they were at the same level.

Back when Jiang Yun was at the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, he could kill three or four peak seventh-tier savage beasts at once, but he had never killed an eighth-tier one. Jiang Chongguang was different. At the peak of the Spirit Transformation Realm, he had personally killed several early eighth-tier beasts... Even though he could only kill one at most at a time, he could still escape from a three-on-one attack!

This is Jiang Chongguang!

Jiang Chongguang, having surpassed his master, would certainly not casually accept a disciple and tarnish his reputation.

Over the years, countless young cultivators have wanted to become his disciples, and some exceptionally talented geniuses have even said they would join the Azure Dragon Academy if he were willing to accept them as disciples—but Jiang Chongguang has still politely declined them all.

Because Jiang Chongguang was so picky, even many advanced alchemists had heard that more than ten years ago, when Canglong was recruiting disciples, Jiang Chongguang finally took a liking to a young cultivator and personally sent an invitation to him to enter the academy and become his only disciple!

However, the advanced alchemists didn't pay much attention to martial arts cultivators, so they naturally didn't know that the young man was Wu Shaogan.

What's even more unclear is that Wu Shaogan and Sang Danwang's disciple were actually a Daoist couple!

This is really...

I don't know how to describe it.

·

The advanced alchemists had mixed feelings.

In the Azure Dragon Academy, the top alchemist is Sang Yunchu, while among the martial arts cultivators, Jiang Yun has achieved Nirvana and Jiang Chongguang has achieved Spirit Transformation.

Now, Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang have both found successors—that incredibly affectionate young couple!

As a result, Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang, who already had a good relationship, will definitely become even closer and support each other more.

For example, if Jiang Chongguang used to take most of the level-eight rare herbs he obtained after sneaking into the deep mountains to Sang Yunchu, but might also use a small portion to befriend other high-level alchemists... then now, he would probably give them all to Sang Yunchu.

Conversely, Sang Yunchu used to only give Jiang Chongguang's orders a slight preference, but now they will probably be given the highest priority. As long as he has the pill formula, he will not refuse. In fact, if Jiang Chongguang needs a large number of pills to help him with his Nirvana, but lacks the resources he can provide, Sang Yunchu should be willing to advance some of them himself.

Because of their respective disciples, their mutual trust will undoubtedly increase significantly, and they will prioritize giving each other the resources they possess that are suitable for one another. They will be able to provide each other with tremendous help, and their professional abilities will improve even more rapidly.

and……

If Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang can achieve such a feat simply because of their respective disciples, then their disciples are already life-and-death companions. In the future, they will likely continue to work together and support each other—their progress will be even faster than that of their masters!

·

The advanced alchemists sighed inwardly.

Azure Dragon Academy was already an eighth-level power, and now there is no shortage of advanced alchemists or powerful martial arts cultivators. It will probably continue to be glorious for many years to come, which is truly remarkable.

In a few years, the Azure Dragon might not only rise to a very high level in the fifteenth state, but also have a greater say among the level eight forces in the entire Flying Star Continent!

·

Not only were the advanced alchemists very interested in Wu Shaogan, but the powerful Spirit Transformation cultivators and Nirvana Realm avatars who accompanied the alchemists and were responsible for protecting them were also very interested.

Combat is their forte; they can see through Wu Shaogan's fighting style better than alchemists.

Alchemists could discern a general outline of his abilities, while martial arts experts could see Wu Shaogan's battle strategy.

Extremely unpredictable and extremely powerful.

Some of their fighting styles are even comparable to, or even superior to, those of currently powerful martial arts cultivators.

Of course, this "brilliance" doesn't mean that it's already so brilliant that it can contend with cultivators at higher levels, but rather that the potential of that approach is extremely high.

Once Wu Shaogan reaches the corresponding level, he will definitely be at the top of that level!