As soon as Zhan Qingqi said this, gasps of surprise rippled through the hall, and everyone's eyes turned to Qin Xin, who was standing to the side.
Qin Xin hadn't expected that Zhan Qingqi's words would attract so much hatred. To avoid being ganged up on, he chose to keep a low profile, standing aside with his hands behind his back, looking somewhat pretentious.
"Dinghao told me that Qingyue brought back a strange man yesterday. It must be you."
With a flick of his magnificent robes, Ding Sheng exuded an aura of royalty. He merely glanced at Qin Xin before speaking, his words inspiring fear and leaving no room for rebuttal.
Qin Xin smiled calmly at this attitude. With his spiritual consciousness present, this kind of intimidation had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Ding Hao? I don't know him. The man you're talking about should be me, right?" Qin Xin said after a moment's thought.
Qin Xin's nonchalant demeanor caused the man's thick eyebrows to furrow slightly, as if his authority had been violated.
"I advise you not to get involved in this mess!" Ding Sheng snorted, his tone laced with threat.
"Muddy waters? Why is the alchemy competition about wading through water instead of refining pills?"
Qin Xin pretended to know nothing, which made the usually aloof Zhan Qingqi smile. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if afraid of losing her composure.
"snort!"
When Ding Sheng saw that his threats had no effect on Qin Xin, his face immediately darkened.
"Since Qin Xin is the son-in-law of the Zhan clan, he is naturally qualified to participate in this alchemy conference. Does anyone else have any objections?"
The elderly man with snow-white hair seemed to have seen this scene many times before, and his aged voice drifted out slowly.
Ding Shen had no choice but to give up at this point.
"If that's the case, then so be it!"
Seeing that no one continued to refute him, the old man announced directly, "Many people probably know me. I am the Grand Elder of the Pill Tower in Dading City."
"Before participating in the alchemy competition, everyone must first undergo a test of purifying spiritual herbs. Only those who can purify five times are qualified to participate. Anyone found cheating will be disqualified from the competition and will also be banned from participating in the next alchemy competition."
After Elder Shirang of Danta explained the rules, he led the participants into their respective venues.
"Before the hourglass runs out, everyone must stop what they are doing. Those who have not completed the refining process will fail, and those who have completed the refining process after the hourglass has run out will also be considered to have failed. To be fair, everyone can only use the pill furnace prepared by my Pill Tower."
Hearing such stringent requirements, some contestants complained. After all, to complete the multiple extractions of spiritual herbs, one not only needs skillful alchemy techniques but also a strong soul perception to ensure that the extracted spiritual herb essence is purer. The time limit undoubtedly increases the difficulty.
Moreover, some people are able to easily refine pills only because they have high-level pill furnaces. Without the support of high-level pill furnaces, their strength is somewhat diminished.
"Alright, let's begin!"
The Grand Elder Shirang of Danta ignored the wails of the group, clapped his hands, and announced the start.
Upon hearing this, the contestants in the hall walked into some of the alchemy rooms.
"Qin Xin's hourglass is set for three hours, so the purification of the spiritual medicine must be completed within three hours."
Zhan Qingqi spoke softly from the side, her voice tinged with nervousness. Although she believed Qin Xin had the ability, she had never seen him refine pills before, and under such a harsh test, she was somewhat uncertain.
Don't worry.
Seeing Zhan Qingqi's expression, Qin Xin smiled slightly.
After glancing around the hall, Qin Xin found the corresponding alchemy room and quietly went inside.
Upon entering the alchemy room, Qin Xin discovered that the space was quite small. Fortunately, there was only a bluestone platform and a refined iron furnace, which didn't take up too much space and prevented it from feeling cramped. On the bluestone platform were a spiritual herb and an hourglass.
Seeing that the hourglass had started timing, Qin Xin finally turned his attention to the spiritual herb.
"Since it is this Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass."
Qin Xin also let out a surprised sound. Although this herb was only of the second grade among spiritual herbs, it had a unique characteristic: it was extremely fire-resistant. This was because the Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass grew in the crater of a volcano and was a spiritual herb that relied on absorbing fire energy to grow.
Even a typical fourth-grade alchemist would find the Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass extremely difficult to refine. Besides being incredibly hard to refine, purifying it is also extremely challenging. A slight misstep could turn the entire herb into a pile of black ash. The flame cannot be too small, or it will be impossible to refine; nor can it be too large, or it will turn into a pile of black ash. It truly tests an alchemist's ability to control fire.
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Xin took out a Qi-restoring pill from his Qiankun bag and put it in his mouth, just in case.
With a flick of his finger, a stream of true energy flowed into the refined iron cauldron in front of him. Under the control of the flame array within the cauldron, red flames rose up.
After absorbing the will of fire, Qin Xin's flames changed from pale yellow to red. Apart from the increased temperature, the true fire did not change in any other way, so Qin Xin did not pay too much attention to it.
Feeling the rapidly rising temperature in the entire alchemy room after the flames started burning, Qin Xin gained more confidence.
After attaching his spiritual sense to the refined iron furnace, Qin Xin was able to accurately perceive the temperature of the flames inside. Under the guidance of his soul perception, Qin Xin subtly controlled the flames inside the furnace until they stabilized. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the black iron spirit leaf grass in his hand flew out and fell directly into the refined iron furnace.
After his eyes slowly closed, Qin Xin's ten fingers moved nimbly in front of him, relying entirely on his senses to control the flames...
As the Black Iron Spirit Leaf Grass began to change due to the flames burning inside the alchemy furnace, the sand in the hourglass gradually decreased, and time passed second by second...
Inside the main hall of the Pill Tower, the martial artists waiting outside held their breath, and the place was very quiet as they waited for the alchemists who were going to take the test to come out of the alchemy room.
As most of the time passed in the hourglass, the alchemists in the alchemy room disappeared without a trace, as if they had vanished into thin air.
Zhan Qingqi, who was waiting outside, did not know anything about alchemy. She was a little nervous. Her hands clenched tightly and began to turn white. Her breathing became a little rapid.
Elder Shi Rang of Danta was resting with his eyes closed.
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