"Alright, let's begin."
After speaking, Elder Shi Rang of Danta stood to one side of the stone platform.
As Elder Shi Rang of the Pill Tower finished speaking, the group of alchemists in the center of the hall who had completed their purification exchanged glances. Then, a third-grade alchemist who was near the front of the line gritted his teeth and walked out. He took out a jade bottle from his spatial ring, gently placed it on the bluestone platform, and showed a tense expression on his face.
The cyan stone platform seemed to sense the jade bottle on it, and then the purified Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass from the jade bottle poured its immense spiritual power directly into the stone platform, causing it to emit wisps of spiritual light.
After the stone platform flashed for a while, the patterns on both sides of the platform were slowly illuminated.
"Five purifications, just enough to meet the standard, passed." Shi Rang nodded slightly, looking at the five illuminated patterns on both sides of the cyan stone platform.
The third-grade alchemists who passed the test showed joy on their faces.
"Next."
"Four attempts at refining! Failed!"
Following closely behind, a second-grade alchemist stepped forward and quickly placed the jade bottle in his hand on the cyan stone platform. After a moment, four patterns on both sides of the cyan stone platform lit up. Just as the fifth pattern was about to light up, it suddenly went out, seemingly because the spiritual power of the medicinal herb was insufficient.
"Sigh! Just a little bit more!"
The alchemist's voice was full of regret. He had completed five purifications in the alchemy room and was overjoyed, but because of his rough technique, the spiritual power of the medicinal herbs was severely lost during the purification process, which led to the failure.
"Next!"
"Hmm? That's not right!"
Then a third-grade alchemist stood up, placed the jade bottle containing the purified black iron spirit leaf grass on the stone platform, and looked nervously at Shi Rang, the Grand Elder of the Pill Tower.
"How dare you cheat! You've failed! Are you a member of the Zhao clan? The Zhao clan is disqualified from participating in the next alchemy competition!"
Seeing the red light emanating from the stone platform, Shi Rang stepped forward, took out a jade bottle, sniffed it lightly, and directly drove the third-grade alchemist, who was already paralyzed with fear, out of the alchemy tower.
Seeing how strict the rules were, some third-grade and second-grade alchemists quietly left the hall, seemingly having the same thoughts as the third-grade alchemists.
"I urge you all to be truthful and not implicate your families!"
Seeing some people quietly leave, Shi Rang did not stop them, but instead warned the group of alchemists below the stage.
As the premier event of the Ding Dynasty, the Alchemy Competition offers immense rewards to families who rank in the top ten. Not only do they receive generous rewards from the dynasty, but their families can also become administrators of their respective cities. Therefore, every time the competition is held, countless family members from the Ding Dynasty gather in Dading City.
Furthermore, the organizer behind this alchemy competition is the powerful Pill Tower. Alchemists who participate in the competition also have the opportunity to be taken in by some powerful alchemists, which can be described as a meteoric rise.
If cheating is discovered, the family will be disqualified from participating in the current and next alchemy competitions. For some families that are already at the bottom, this is tantamount to losing their chance for glory. They may even be swallowed up by other families before the next alchemy competition is held.
After the brief hiatus, the test continued.
"Next…"
"Six purifications, passed."
"Next…"
"Three purification attempts, all failed."
Successes and failures were reported alternately, but most of the failures were among the second-grade alchemists. Of course, there were also some second-grade alchemists who were able to refine six times or even more, which drew a lot of exclamations. However, these people had already reached the third grade in strength, but they had never participated in the alchemist level assessment of the Pill Tower.
For a moment, the entire hall was filled with two atmospheres: one of joy after passing the test, and the other of regret and resentment due to failure. For many alchemists, this alchemy conference might be the last one they ever participate in.
As the test time passed, it was the turn of the participants from the four major families and the eldest prince, Ding Sheng.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ding Sheng calmly walked to the side of the blue stone platform. With a flick of his finger, a jade bottle inlaid with gold foil appeared in his hand. He casually tossed it onto the stone platform and looked up at Shi Rang, the Grand Elder of the Pill Tower, and said with a smile, "This junior's abilities are limited. This Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass is extremely difficult to refine, and I have only refined it eight times."
As soon as Ding Sheng uttered these words, the other alchemists in the hall stirred up a bit. Even Shi Rang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and glance at him with some surprise.
It should be noted that the purification of spiritual herbs is relatively easy for the first five times, but the difficulty increases dramatically after that. For example, a typical fourth-grade alchemist can only purify the Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass seven times, and even some advanced fourth-grade alchemists need a certain amount of luck to purify it eight times.
Of course, some alchemists, though of low rank, possess strong soul perception and fire control abilities, giving them a significant advantage in purifying spiritual herbs.
"Excellent. After eight purifications, the Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass's spiritual power has been perfectly preserved. Pass!"
Looking at the intense light flashing on both sides of the blue stone platform, Ding Sheng nodded slightly.
Ding Sheng stood aside with a smile, enjoying the surprised looks from everyone.
Jiang Xingchen and Lin Yan stood next to the stone platform one after another. Both of them had been purified seven times and passed the test.
"Qin Xin, what's wrong? Should I go first?"
At this moment, only Qin Xin and Yan Lan remained in the center of the hall.
"Um."
Qin Xin wasn't in a hurry, so he let Yan Lan take the test first.
As Yan Lan walked, her red bodysuit swayed under her skirt, making her appear very capable. At this moment, she glanced at the somewhat arrogant Ding Sheng.
Ding Sheng also noticed the look in Yan Lan's eyes, but only responded with a disdainful smile.
The jade bottle was gently placed on the stone platform, and instantly, it shone with a light even more dazzling than the cauldron.
"Eight purifications, passed!"
After Shi Rang announced it loudly, Yan Lan smiled broadly, deliberately smiling in the direction of Ding Sheng. (Biquge)
Ding Sheng's face immediately darkened, because although both of them had only refined the spiritual energy eight times, it was clear that Yan Lan was superior in terms of the amount of spiritual energy preserved.
"It's your turn..."
Shi Rang looked at Qin Xin, who was the only one left in the center of the hall, and seemed to think that he would not be able to pass the test.
Hearing the urging voice, Qin Xin slowly opened his eyes, lazily stretched his body, and looked at Zhan Qingqi, who was extremely nervous, with a comforting gaze.
Upon reaching the blue stone platform, Qin Xin finally stopped.
He took out a jade bottle containing the purified Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass powder from his Qiankun bag and placed it on the blue stone platform.
A black light suddenly shone on the stone platform, and loud laughter erupted in the crowd. Everyone thought that Qin Xin had placed a piece of Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass powder that had failed to be purified on top of it.
When Elder Shi Rang of Danta saw this scene, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"This is... purified...nine...nine times!"
Looking at the patterns that lit up on both sides of the blue stone platform, Shi Rang stammered a little while speaking.
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