Chapter 105 The Unpredictable Fifth Elder

The old man was in good spirits, but at the moment he looked dissatisfied.

It was as if Chu Ning had done something against the will of heaven and earth.

Chu Ning was stunned.

The first thing I thought of was to run.

But then he thought again, to be able to appear in the yard silently without me noticing at all, this person must be at least a strong man in the middle stage of foundation building.

You can't escape by running.

This was not what shocked Chu Ning the most. What shocked him the most was how this person knew that he could refine the top-grade Ningyuan Pill.

According to the progress given by the Secret Mirror, we should not open the furnace now, but control the furnace again. This batch of pills can indeed be of top quality.

If we start the furnace ahead of time now, the best we can get is good quality products.

It’s not that Chu Ning wanted to waste this opportunity, but he didn’t know when Huang Fei would come again. He had to first refine a furnace of ordinary quality Ningyuan Pills for preparation, and then refine the top-quality Ningyuan Pills for himself.

But how did this old man know that?

"Senior, are you kidding me? I can't possibly make a top-grade Condensing Yuan Pill. I'll be satisfied if I can make a good-quality one."

Xie Shouping laughed. This little guy was playing tricks on him.

The last time he came out of seclusion, he smelled the strange fragrance of elixir, which is the unique fragrance of top-grade elixir.

It’s just that ordinary alchemists can’t detect it. The reason why he can become a third-grade alchemist is partly because of his unique talent in the smell of elixirs.

Every alchemy genius has his or her own unique talent. Those who do not have special talents can still reach the third level with better opportunities and more diligence, but they will stop at this level in their lifetime.

He was delighted to find that there was an alchemist in the Wenjin Sect who could refine top-grade elixirs. However, although he had made the elixir at that time, there were still some follow-up tasks that he had not completed, so he did not leave the cave.

Facing several elders who came to congratulate him, he only said that this time he wanted to accept a personal disciple.

However, a few days later, Xie Shouping calmed down and felt that what he said at the time was a bit too decisive.

Although someone had refined a top-grade elixir, he didn't know the situation of the person who refined the elixir. If it was an old alchemist, there would be no point in accepting him as a disciple.

Or maybe, the alchemist who made the best elixir just passed by Wenjin Sect and was no longer in Wenjin City, so where could he be accepted as a disciple?

Therefore, he concealed his body and quietly came out of the cave, intending to take a look at the situation first. He first used his spiritual sense to investigate and ask the alchemists in the sect, but found nothing.

There are a few more alchemists than before his last retreat, but the qualifications of the new ones are average, and the old ones have not made much progress either.

It seems that the alchemist who made the best elixir is not a disciple of the current sect.

Just when Xie Shouping was about to leave in disappointment, his spiritual sense discovered that there was another young man refining the elixir.

However, he didn't take it seriously at first and was about to retract his spiritual sense, but the conversation between this little guy and the black snake caught his attention.

"Old Black, we have taken that top-grade Qi Condensation Pill, and the effect is really good. If we refine a few more furnaces of high-grade Yuan Condensation Pills, we will occasionally get a few top-grade ones. If we continue like this for three to five years, we will be able to build our foundation."

So, that top-grade elixir was made by this little guy?

Are you so confident that you can refine a top-grade Ningyuan Pill?

Are you treating top-grade elixirs as cabbages?

Do you want to occasionally get a few top-quality ones?

He didn't even dare to say that.

As an alchemist, his first impression of the young man was not very good. An alchemist should have a respectful heart towards alchemy. He can be confident but not arrogant.

But soon, Xie Shouping found himself slapped in the face.

This young man was really good at alchemy and he could control the temperature exactly. With his level as a third-grade alchemist, he didn't even need to use his spiritual power to check as he knew the situation of the Ningyuan Pill in the furnace.

If this batch of pills is refined like this, it will really become a batch of top-grade pills.

From that moment on, Xie Shouping had already decided that he would accept this person as his disciple.

However, Xie Shouping did not show up immediately, but instead waited until the young man had refined the batch of pills before showing up again.

But what he didn't expect was that this young man actually wanted to deliberately lower the quality of this furnace of pills, from top quality to good quality.

Even though he had lived for more than three hundred years, he couldn't stop getting furious when he saw this scene.

If an alchemist deliberately lowers the quality of the elixir, other alchemists would probably slap him to death if they saw it.

Everyone carefully refined the elixir, and even used the concept of luck, in the hope that the quality of the elixir would be better.

You, on the other hand, deliberately lower the quality.

He couldn't help it, so he showed up.

Seeing the young man in front of him deliberately speaking modestly, Xie Shouping forced himself to resist the urge to slap him.

Don't be impulsive. This little guy is indeed very talented. If word gets out, I'm afraid other third-grade alchemists will come and snatch it from me.

Well, you have to take care of it.

"If you can't refine it, then how can you eat the top-grade Condensing Yuan Pills like candy beans and occasionally show off a few top-grade ones."

Xie Shouping didn't understand what "xuan" meant, but he could roughly guess that it was a way of eating.

Were you overheard?

This was the first thought in Chu Ning's mind. His conversation with Black Snake was overheard by the old man in front of him.

So the other party has been keeping an eye on me for at least several days.

"Senior..." Chu Ning wanted to struggle and say that he was just bragging.

"If this furnace of Condensing Yuan Dan cannot produce a top-grade product, I just happen to have a few poison pills that need someone to test their effects."

Chu Ning's mouth twitched. This was a naked threat.

This is not testing the elixir, this is committing suicide.

Seeing Chu Ning's bitter face, Xie Shouping continued: "Of course, if you refine a top-grade pill, I will also give you a reward. The better the pill, the higher the reward. Let me be honest with you, my words carry some weight in the entire Wenjin City."

So domineering?

Chu Ning understood what the old man meant. He meant that he could cover the entire Wenjin City.

Looking at the old man who disappeared again, Chu Ning communicated with the black snake directly in his mind.

"Old Black, do you think what this mysterious old man just said is reliable?"

“Maybe there’s some bragging involved, but it should be pretty awesome.”

Chu Ning agreed with Lao Hei's judgment. He also thought so. The aura given by this old man was even greater than that of Deacon Bao.

But why did the other party insist on asking me to refine top-grade elixirs?

Is this to see if you really have this ability or are just bragging?

"I have no choice but to continue practicing."

No matter what the old man's purpose was, Chu Ning knew that he could only do as he was told. His words were very clear, and no matter if he was trying to hide his incompetence or was afraid of being envied, he could cover it up.

Seeing that Chu Ning didn't start the furnace, he continued to refine.

Xie Shouping, who had already left, withdrew his consciousness. The young man's talent in alchemy was unquestionable, but the reason why he did not accept him as a disciple on the spot was that he did not want to discourage the alchemy aspirations of other alchemists in Wenjin Sect too much.

At the beginning, because he was too excited, he only announced that he would recruit disciples, which led these alchemists to misunderstand and think that he would select talented ones from among them. When his spiritual sense swept over these few days, he also saw the scenes of these alchemists desperately refining pills.

With his strength and alchemy level, he doesn't need to worry about whether these alchemists will suffer a blow or whether they will have resentment in their hearts. If there are any resentful ones, he can just slap them to death.

But what happened to Zhe'er that year taught him a lesson.

He had to set up a careful plan to prevent his second apprentice from encountering the same thing as Zhe'er in the future.

…

…

An hour later, Xie Shouping came back.

In the yard, the lid of the alchemy furnace has been opened, and the Ningyuan Pill has been refined.

There are seven in total, five top quality and two good quality.

"Not bad. Take a good look at this notebook. There are also some medicinal herbs in this storage bag."

Xie Shouping threw a storage bag to Chu Ning. Chu Ning's eyes lit up and he was about to express his gratitude, but he found that the man had disappeared again.

Storage bags are generally used by those who have established their foundation, or by some cultivators in the late Qi Condensation stage who have a strong background.

"Fuck, this is great stuff."

After scanning the items in the storage bag, Chu Ning's heart beat faster. The storage bag was full of medicinal herbs, as high as a hill.

This person must have robbed a large medicinal materials market.

With Chu Ning's current knowledge, he couldn't imagine how so many medicinal herbs were collected, because there were many extremely precious ones among them.

"Bamboo Ling Powder, Seven Lotus Fruit... Aren't these the main ingredients needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill?"

Not only are the ten main ingredients needed for the Foundation Building Pill here, but also the quantities are sufficient. In addition, there are some pills that he doesn't even recognize.

"Old Black, it seems like we have found a powerful partner this time."

"It's too thick. Pulling out one leg hair will take us a while to digest." Lao Hei also agreed with Chu Ning's words.

After reading for nearly a quarter of an hour, Chu Ning finally finished reading the medicinal herbs in the storage bag, and then his eyes fell on the notebook.

"Shit, it's a pill recipe!"

Chu Ning didn't know how many times he had said "oh shit".

There are more than ten pill recipes in this notebook. Not only that, each recipe also contains practical experience in refining the pill.

Even if he didn't have the help of the Secret Mirror, he could still refine high-quality pills based on the practical records in this notebook.

…

…

When asked about a manor in Jinfeng, Bao Huining's face was gloomy. He did not expect that the fifth elder would make such a decision after coming out of seclusion.

Hold an alchemy competition.

Regardless of social status, even people from other cities can participate.

Moreover, the Fifth Elder also specifically stated that as long as an alchemist signed up, no one could stop him, and anyone who did so would be killed.

What does this mean? It means that at this moment, there are two people fighting for life and death, and the loser is about to die. As long as the alchemist says that he wants to participate in the alchemy competition, the opponent cannot kill him, otherwise he will be killed.

The other five elders did not say how the competition would be conducted. They only said that the winner would be accepted as his personal disciple.

The specific rules will only be announced on the opening day.

It is hard to figure out what the Fifth Elder is going to do.

This made Bao Huining very depressed. He had gone to great lengths to defeat Qiong Liangyou and Zhang Junming, but it was in vain. The Fifth Elder seemed to not care about this matter at all.

Compared to Bao Huining's depression, at another manor at this moment, Qiong Liangyou burst into laughter.

"Junior Brother Bao, your wish has failed. The Fifth Elder is holding an alchemy competition. All alchemists can participate. I can also sign up."

"Master, Uncle Bao must be very depressed right now. His talk of luck is useless this time."

Nearby, an alchemist in the early stage of foundation building echoed.

"The theory of destiny?" Qiong Liangyou's face turned cold: "Then there is no need for Dan Nu to exist anymore."

"I will do it right away."

Yang Feng nodded. The master meant to let the Dan slave die.

It is easy to kill a Dan slave. All you need to do is find a few poison pills and give them to him to test.

"Go ahead."

Qiong Liangyou waved his hand. This matter was just a trivial matter to him. Since the fifth elder said that he would hold an alchemy competition, he had to prepare well now.

There are only a few second-grade alchemists in the entire Wenjin City. As for the first-grade alchemists, the Fifth Elder probably looks down on them.

This time he's going to go all out.

…

…

In the house, Chu Ning, who had just finished refining a new batch of elixirs, saw a black snake falling on him, and hurriedly walked out of the house and came to the yard.

Now he has learned his lesson. When he is refining the elixir, he lets the black snake watch at the gate of the courtyard, and warns in advance if anyone comes.

"Chu Ning, come out and try the pill."

The door was pushed open rudely, and two disciples of the Wenjin Sect in the late Qi Condensation stage stood at the door with impatient looks on their faces.

Hearing the other party's words, Chu Ning's eyes narrowed.

Test the elixir?

According to Huang Fei, Deacon Bao had already informed the Law Enforcement Hall, but since the head of the Law Enforcement Hall was not here, there was no reply.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

But this is just a formality, and the head of the Law Enforcement Hall will not ignore Deacon Bao's face.

The strength of the head of the Law Enforcement Hall is only at the late stage of foundation building, while Deacon Bao is also a second-grade alchemist.

Therefore, Chu Ning is actually no longer considered an elixir slave. These days, he has been concentrating on refining elixirs in the yard, and has not asked the disciples of Jin Sect to call him to test the elixirs.

There is something wrong with these two.

"Why, you're not leaving yet?"

"I am no longer a Dan slave. Deacon Bao helped me get rid of my Dan slave status. If you two want to find someone to test the Dan, you should find someone else."

"Stop talking nonsense here. Your status as a Dan slave is still on the list. Come with us quickly."

Listening to the other party's answer, Chu Ning was sure that these two people were targeting him specifically.

Even if these two people really didn't know that Deacon Bao had informed the Law Enforcement Hall, their attitude shouldn't have been like this after he brought up "Deacon Bao".

You don’t have to believe it, but the safest approach is to verify the truth of what you say before making a decision.

What if it’s true?

Two people in the late stage of Qi Condensation offended a second-grade alchemist in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. How serious the consequences would be? Wouldn’t these two know? “If we don’t leave, it seems we have to take action.”

One of the cultivators in the late Qi Condensation stage sneered and reached out to grab Chu Ning, but Chu Ning dodged it easily.

"Hey, there are some means, but not enough!"

Unable to catch Chu Ning, the man flicked his sleeves and a ray of light shot out, wrapping around Chu Ning like a snake.

Chu Ning's figure flashed, but the rope followed him like a shadow and locked onto him directly.

"cut!"

Chu Ning formed a seal and a flying knife appeared, which turned into a stream of light and directly cut the rope into two pieces. The rope fell to the ground and lost its light.

"asshole!"

When the man saw the rope being cut, a look of heartache appeared on his face, but then he looked greedily at the flying knife summoned by Chu Ning.

"Junior brother, let's go together!"

"good."

The man summoned his companion, and a long sword appeared in his companion's hand, with a sword light bursting out, stabbing towards Chu Ning.

Chu Ning controlled the flying knife and collided directly with the long sword.

The long sword shattered, and as the man looked in disbelief, the flying knife pierced his arm.

Swoosh! The flying knife turned again and stopped between the eyebrows of another man, who looked terrified.

“Don’t…don’t kill me!”

Chu Ning frowned. According to his previous temperament, he would have killed the two men directly. But now they were in the territory of the Jin Sect. If he killed the two disciples, he would not be able to run far before being caught.

Just as Chu Ning was hesitating, a terrifying pressure came over him.

"How dare you, a Dan slave, to hurt someone."

A sword beam fell from the sky.

A strong person in the foundation-building stage.

Chu Ning didn't even think about it. A green light appeared around his body and he immediately used his spiritual armor technique to his full strength, forming a green armor.

At the same time, his body was retreating frantically.

As the sword light fell, the green armor on Chu Ning's body only lasted for three breaths before it collapsed.

However, these three breaths also absorbed 80% of the power of the sword. The remaining force caused Chu Ning to crash into the courtyard wall, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

This is the strength of a strong person in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Even though he is now very close to the foundation-building stage, as long as the spiritual energy in his body has not been liquefied and he has not entered the foundation-building stage, his spiritual energy will not be on the same level as the other party.

"It's good that you can withstand my attack, but you will still die."

Above the yard, a man was riding on a flying magic weapon, looking down at Chu Ning from above, with disdain in his eyes.

If someone dares to resist, there is no need to test the elixir, he can just kill him directly.

"Old Black, be prepared to fight to the death."

Chu Ning stared at the Foundation Establishment man. It was not that he was completely without a chance. Lao Hei's speed was now comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment expert. And although Lao Hei's poison could not kill a Foundation Establishment expert now, it could slow down their movements.

"Got it. You have to withstand the frontal attack."

Lao Hei responded that to deal with a strong man in the Foundation Establishment Stage, Chu Ning could only rely on the Spirit Armor Technique to withstand the attack head-on, while he would take the opportunity to sneak attack the opponent.

"Still trying to resist?"

Yang Feng saw Chu Ning's unconvinced look, his pupils were frosty, and he formed seals with his hands. But at this moment, a figure appeared and blocked Chu Ning.

"What do you mean, Junior Brother Yang? Chu Ning is no longer a Dan slave."

The person standing in front of Chu Ning was Huang Fei, who rushed over immediately after hearing the noise.

"If you injure a disciple of my Wenjin Sect, you deserve to die even if you are not a Dan slave."

"Disciple?" Huang Fei glanced at the two late Qi Condensation cultivators in the yard and felt a little relieved.

They are just two outer disciples, which means nothing to them, the inner disciples.

In fact, from top to bottom, the Wenjin Sect has never regarded the outer sect elders and outer sect disciples as members of the sect.

"Uncle Bao has already informed the Law Enforcement Hall that Chu Ning doesn't need to test the pills anymore. These two people still came after Chu Ning, and they deserved to be beaten. Could it be that Junior Brother Yang is going to stand up for these two people?"

Huang Fei knew that Yang Feng was Uncle Qiong's disciple, so he could only bring up Uncle Bao.

Chu Ning was Uncle Bao's lucky son in alchemy. If he was killed by Yang Feng, would Uncle Bao blame him for not protecting him well? Since he chose to recommend Chu Ning to Uncle Bao, he had already stood on Uncle Bao's side. If he offended Uncle Qiong, Uncle Bao would back him up. But if he displeased Uncle Bao again, it would be really difficult for him to stay in Wenjin Sect.

Yang Feng was also in a dilemma. With Huang Fei here, he couldn't kill Chu Ning.

But he had to complete his master's orders.

"Brother Huang, he is just a Dan slave. Even Uncle Bao would not hurt the harmony among fellow disciples because of a Dan slave."

Yang Feng was using words to pressure Huang Fei. The harmony between these fellow disciples did not refer to the two of them, but to Bao Huining and Fellow Daoist Qiong.

"Whether it will happen or not, we have to wait until Uncle Bao knows about it. Why don't you go back first, Junior Brother Yang, and I will ask Uncle Bao later. If Uncle Bao thinks Chu Ning should be punished, then I, Huang Fei, will never interfere."

Yang Feng's eyes flickered, and after a while he said, "Okay, let this kid live a little longer. I don't think Master Bao will protect him."

Watching Yang Feng leave, Huang Fei did not give Chu Ning a chance to speak: "Follow me."

Chu Ning followed behind Huang Fei. At this moment, he was also thinking about a question: would the steward Bao protect him? "Wait here. Don't think about anything. There are many strong foundation builders here."

When they arrived at Bao Huining's manor, Huang Fei did not let Chu Ning follow him in, but just pointed at Chu Ning meaningfully.

"Old Black, why do you think Deacon Qiong suddenly wants to kill me? And will Deacon Bao protect me?"

When Huang Fei entered the manor, Chu Ning's mind started working quickly. He had to think of a way to break the impasse.

"It's hard to guess. The theory of luck is very mysterious. The other party may not believe it completely. You have to be mentally prepared."

Lao Hei's meaning is very clear. We cannot put all our hopes on Deacon Bao.

Chu Ning agreed with Lao Hei's opinion and said, "If it was just one person in the early stage of foundation building, we could still fight, but now we have attracted the attention of two people in the late stage of foundation building. I am afraid that running away is impossible. The only way to break the deadlock is to find that generous mysterious strong man."

Chu Ning touched the storage bag lining his waist. When things really came to a point where he couldn't do anything, he took out the storage bag and said directly that he was protected by a mysterious strong man.

There are so many medicinal herbs in the storage bag, which is not something that a cultivator in the late Qi Condensation stage can get. The strength of this mysterious strong man must be at least in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

But this is the last step when there is no other way out, and if it really comes to this, he has to make a bigger noise, otherwise what if Deacon Bao or Deacon Qiong takes a fancy to these herbs and wants to kill him to silence him?

While Chu Ning was thinking about how to break the impasse, Bao Huining, who was sitting on the armchair in the manor with squinted eyes, listened to Huang Fei's story with a flat expression without any change.

Huang Fei's heart sank slightly. Judging from the look on Master Bao's face, he was afraid that he would not protect Chu Ning.

"Brother Qiong lost the competition that day, so he took it out on Chu Ning. Brother Qiong and I are brothers after all, and it would be bad to hurt our friendship for Chu Ning."

After a long time, Bao Huining opened his eyes and said lightly.

Sure enough, Bao Huining's subsequent words were within Huang Fei's expectations.

This means giving up on Chu Ning.

"But Chu Ning and I have some fate. If he falls into the hands of Senior Brother Qiong, I'm afraid he will be tortured. Please give him a quick death for me."

Huang Fei felt a chill in his heart. Master Bao was going to silence him, but his expression remained unchanged. He said, "I know what to do with you, nephew."

"Go ahead. I always trust you to do things."

Huang Fei walked out of the manor silently, letting Chu Ning follow him without saying a word, and only stopped when they were about ten miles away from the manor.

"Chu Ning, if you want to stay alive, answer me a question first. You have been able to find the best elixir several times. It's not because of your feeling, but because of your method."

"You don't need to tell me what to do, just answer me 'yes' or 'no'?"

Chu Ning was silent for two breaths and nodded.

"It is as expected." Huang Fei was not surprised. When he saw Chu Ning blinking continuously, he had been a little suspicious.

"If you want to survive, there is only one way, which is to sign up for the Alchemist Competition held by the Five Elders. All the alchemists who sign up for the competition are not allowed to attack. If you can stand out in the competition, you may have a chance to survive."

Huang Fei quickly told Chu Ning about the Alchemist Competition, and Chu Ning did not hesitate at all: "Okay, I'll go."

"In that case, when I want you to take action later, just shout it out loud."

"Okay, thank you for showing me a way out."

Chu Ning's words were sincere, as Huang Fei's words had already told him that Deacon Bao had no intention of saving him, and there was no need for Huang Fei to tell him this.

"Helping you is also helping myself."

Chu Ning was puzzled, but Huang Fei did not explain.

He did not tell Chu Ning that Bao Huining wanted to silence him. He just realized that Bao Huining was not the kind of person he could rely on.

If Chu Ning was killed to silence him, he would be the only person who knew the truth.

Of course, if Chu Ning answered: It really depends on my feeling.

Then he would not tell Chu Ning how to save himself, because even if Chu Ning participated in the Alchemist Competition, he would be eliminated and would only die a few days later.

No matter how Chu Ning determines whether a pill is poisonous, as long as he shows his talent in the competition, he may be able to join the Wenjin Sect.

As long as Chu Ning is alive, Uncle Bao will not focus his attention on him.

As for the possibility that Chu Ning could soar to the top in the alchemy competition and be noticed by the fifth elder and accepted as a disciple, he had never thought about such a thing because it was unrealistic.

PS: I almost wrote 7,000 words, but I still divided it into chapters. One chapter has too many words, which makes it seem expensive, and it is tiring to read. I silently beg for a monthly vote.

(End of this chapter)