Having completed the planned task, Shi Xuan returned via the same route from the "easy" array gate, feeling a great sense of relief. This time, she headed straight for the Pill Gate.

She was quite confident about passing the alchemy test.

The Danmen and Zhenmen are structurally very similar.

Pushing open the first door, one finds a rather unremarkable table with a pile of medicinal herbs on it, and on the other side stands a shelf, also filled with various medicinal herbs categorized by type.

Shi Xuan turned his gaze to the table and, after a quick glance, knew that these spiritual herbs were formulated according to the proportions of a second-tier Qingxin Pill, except that two very inconspicuous spiritual herbs were missing.

So, the question is to get someone to find the remaining two herbs on the shelf and add them in, right?

This is too simple. Shi Xuan skillfully picked out the remaining two herbs from the shelf according to their dosage and placed them in the pile on the table. Clearly, this answer is correct.

The table acknowledged her answer, but instead of splitting open like before, the tabletop shifted to the side, revealing the second layer underneath.

There's a second question!

On the second table, there were still some medicinal herbs arranged as before. The problem was that the medicinal herbs on the second table were exactly the same as those on the first table, with no difference whatsoever.

The same question cannot be asked twice, so the answer this time definitely cannot be Qingxin Dan (清心丹).

What could that be?

Shi Xuan searched his memory, but even after going through all the elixir formulas from his past and present lives, not a single one was a perfect match.

Could it be that this isn't a question testing one's knowledge of alchemy?

If there is no fixed formula for pills, what can be added to these spiritual herbs to create new pills without causing the furnace to explode or turn into charcoal due to the incompatibility of the herbs?

Shi Xuan was engrossed in the process, carefully considering the matter, and finally selected five medicinal herbs, taking a portion of each herb and placing it among the pile of herbs on the table.

She didn't know how effective the medicine would be when all these ingredients were combined, but the ingredients complemented each other and were in just the right proportions, so it would definitely be able to form a pill.

The table shook after receiving the answer, as if pondering for a few moments, before flashing a faint light and acknowledging her answer.

The stone wall in front of them split open to the sides, just like the entrance to the formation, revealing a door. In the empty space above the door were several ancient books and a few jade bottles.

Shi Xuan took out the ancient book and glanced at it. There were introductions to spiritual herbs, pill formulas, and a pill refining notebook belonging to some great master. It recorded a lot of experience in pill refining in detail, including successful experiences and failures.

If these precious pill formulas and notes were released to the outside world, they would surely attract countless alchemists from the Qian Yuan Continent, who would fight tooth and nail for them.

As Shi Xuan put the book away, he decided to reprint a few copies and sell them to wealthy alchemists.

Those jade bottles naturally contained refined elixirs, which matched the contents recorded in the notes. It was unknown how many years they had been there, and whether they had lost their medicinal properties.

Let's accept it first, and if it really doesn't work out, we'll give it to Zhaocai to eat.

As if sensing something, Zhao Cai sat down on her head twice in dissatisfaction, making Shi Xuan's head buzz.

Just as Shi Xuan was about to leave through the newly opened door, he suddenly remembered something, turned around and collected all the spiritual herbs from the two-tiered table and shelves, adhering to the principle that every place he passed through must be clean and tidy, without a single piece of clutter.

"By the way, Senior Brother, were there any chess pieces, formations, or stars on the wall that we could take with us from that door? If so, we can go back into the formation door after we leave."

Lu Shenzhi was taken aback by her question. He had come twice, but he had never thought of taking the test materials with him.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "The chess pieces, the chessboard, the materials for setting up the formation, and the starry walls in the final room are all worth a lot of spirit stones. However, if the materials for setting up the formation are taken away, there may be unpredictable consequences due to the damage to the formation."

"It's alright, you're here for me! Senior Brother, it's time to show off your skills! I believe in you!"

Lu Shenzhi: Thank you, but it's not necessary.

The room behind the second door was much larger, more than ten times the size of the first room.

One entire wall of the room was covered with countless pieces of paper, each describing a symptom. In front of each piece of paper was a small wooden board.

On the other side of the room was an extremely tall shelf of pills, neatly arranged with countless small jade bottles, all of which were exactly the same and had no markings or labels.

Is this meant to make the alchemists being tested recognize all the pills and prescribe the right medicine for their symptoms? That's too ruthless. A rough estimate suggests there must be at least a thousand symptoms on this wall, and on the other shelf, there are more than two thousand bottles of pills!

Identifying each bottle of pills and then placing the appropriate pill on the small wooden board in front of the paper on the opposite wall is more than just tedious; it requires the pill cultivator to have an extreme familiarity and understanding of all pills.

A wall of pills successfully ignited Shi Xuan's fighting spirit. She first browsed through the entire symptom wall, then started examining the pills one by one in front of the shelf, looking at their color and smelling their aroma. When she found one that matched her description, she placed it on the small tablet on the opposite wall.

Just as Shi Xuan was relentlessly fighting against the pills covering the entire wall, Fan Mingzhu finally found two disciples of the Divine Cauldron Sect—Li Gou Dan and her fifth senior sister, Huang Qiu Nan.

Despite taking healing pills, the internal injuries caused by Shi Xuan's shock were not fully healed. Upon seeing his fellow disciples, his eyes reddened, and he almost shed tears.

"Junior Sister, what's wrong with you?!" Li Gou Dan was shocked. On her first day here, Fan Mingzhu looked pale with blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Huang Qiunan asked in surprise, "What happened?"

This time, Fan Mingzhu wasn't just pretending to be on the verge of tears; she was genuinely about to cry: "Shi Xuan! She's going to kill me!"

"What?!" Huang Qiunan found it unbelievable. In her memory, Shi Xuan had always been a shy and well-behaved girl. She had never seen her quarrel with anyone when she was in the Divine Cauldron Sect. How could such a person dare to kill Junior Sister Mingzhu?

Although she seemed to have changed in temperament during my last two meetings, I did not see any hatred or murderous intent in her eyes.

Li Gou Dan had other thoughts in mind when he heard this.

Junior Sister Mingzhu possesses life-saving magical artifacts, yet she was still injured to such an extent, demonstrating the opponent's formidable strength. Encountering Fan Mingzhu now is uncertain; whether it's a blessing or a curse is hard to say. If they were to meet again on the way, Fan Mingzhu, as the sect leader's daughter, possesses numerous magical artifacts, while he lacks such high-level defensive artifacts. If a fight were to break out, he might very well become the one sacrificed.

Isn't this just a case of gods fighting and little devils suffering the consequences?

Li Gou Dan was already thinking about how to distance himself from Fan Mingzhu without revealing his intentions.