Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Alchemy Competition
"Karma? Fate?"
Tian Laokou lowered his head and thought. He naturally knew the meaning of cause and effect, and had also heard of the Avenue of Destiny.
The previous Pavilion Master of Zhaixing Pavilion was best at using divination to spy on the secrets of heaven and destiny. Everyone knew that her divination method was extremely magical and the most accurate in the world, and she had never made a mistake. However, few people knew that what she was practicing was the great way of destiny.
At that time, everyone thought that she would be the one to break the 30,000-year dilemma and ascend to heaven in broad daylight. However, they waited and waited, but only saw her die of exhaustion and a prophecy that could destroy the entire cultivation world.
Tian Laokou has lived for thousands of years, and he has only known this one person who practices the Great Dao of Destiny. However, the old Pavilion Master uses divination to glimpse fate, which has nothing to do with cause and effect. Therefore, he does not know the source of the causal force in Yun Miao.
He looked carefully at Yun Miao's innocent expression again, and couldn't tell whether this naughty boy was pretending not to know or really didn't know.
In fact, he and the head master could both sense that Yun Miao had some unknown little secrets. After all, she had never deliberately concealed her uniqueness. It was just that Yun Miao didn't say it, so they didn't ask.
People always have all kinds of little secrets. As long as these secrets do not harm the Xuantian Sect, it is harmless. They have lived for thousands of years, so they should be tolerant.
It was the same this time. Since Yun Miao said she didn't know, he just assumed that she really didn't know. He just spent some time to do a full body examination for Yun Miao. On the one hand, he wanted to find out where the power was stored in her body, and on the other hand, he wanted to check if there was any problem with her body.
Apart from anything else, this guy is really unlucky when he is down on his luck. He has been on the verge of life and death many times. He doesn't want to see her really die.
However, just like the strange illness last time, no matter how Tian Laokou checked, he could not find any trace of the causal force in Yun Miao's body. Just like the rumored cause and effect, everyone knew it existed, but could not see or touch it.
The good news is that Yun Miao is in very good health, with abundant Qi and blood. The capacity of his Dantian and the width of his tendons are twice that of cultivators of the same level.
Tian Laokou withdrew his hand with a hint of satisfaction. "In addition to the alchemy competition, you should have also signed up for the sword competition, the magic fighting competition, and the ring competition, right? Prepare well these few days and strive to make the top ten in all four competitions. Then not only will your master be happy, but I, your uncle, will also be proud."
Yun Miao raised her hand and made the number nine, proudly declaring that she had signed up for all nine events. She would strive to win a place in all of them, letting everyone know that they had such a smart and lovely disciple/nephew like her!
"Nine items..." Old Tian twitched the corner of his mouth and asked directly when Yun Miao learned how to refine weapons, draw talismans and set up formations?
Yun Miao said calmly, "Tonight."
Tian Laokou looked up at the red sun hanging high in the sky outside the door. He was silent for a long time. He had a lot to say but didn't know what to say. In the end, he could only say, "Whatever you want to say. Anyway, I won't understand anything by then, and it won't be me who will embarrass myself on the stage."
"Anyway, you do have a talent for alchemy. Take a look at the booklet I gave you first. If you have any questions, come and ask me. Once you have learned all the recipes, I will give you recipes for higher-grade pills."
"If you can go further than me in this field, I will give you my most precious ninth-grade elixir recipe."
Yun Miao's eyes lit up: "For free?"
Tian Laokou snorted and laughed: "It's more than just giving you the recipe for free. If you can really reach a higher level than me, your master and I, along with the entire sect, will do our utmost to help you achieve the status of Alchemy Saint!"
A glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes. Putting aside the strange power of cause and effect, Yun Miao was indeed extremely talented in alchemy. If she could continue to delve into it, she would surely achieve something in the future.
If she could figure out a way to break the spell before the Sect Leader's poison took effect, then he would be saved. And then there was the matter of Junior Sister Yan'er's lame leg...
However, Tian Laokou didn't say this out loud. He just patted Yun Miao on the shoulder and said, "Don't think about it. Don't be so ambitious. You just need to follow us and learn well."
Yun Miao nodded perfunctorily: "I understand. I will study hard and make progress every day."
After getting another batch of alchemy materials from Tian Laokou, Yun Miao did not go back to practice immediately, but went to Fufeng to find Tan Xiaobai.
Tan Xiaobai was drawing talismans. When he heard the purpose of Yun Miao's visit, he was stunned.
"What? You signed up for all nine events?"
"What? You want me and Huo Xin to team up? But we're only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, so we can't sign up."
"It's no problem to ask me to borrow yellow paper and cinnabar. I have the most of these. Boss, you can take as much as you want. But the secret treasure hunt..."
Yun Miao imitated Tian Lao's stinginess and patted Tan Xiaobai on the shoulder: "The ninth level of Qi Refining is only one step away from Foundation Establishment. There is still half a month left. You guys should work hard."
"Besides, the Secret Realm Treasure Hunt sounds so interesting. Don't you really want to participate? The sect competition only happens once every ten years. If you miss this one, you'll have to wait another ten years."
Tan Xiaobai said distressedly, "I really want to participate, but breaking through the foundation building stage... I'm not very confident. I can only try my best."
Yun Miao: "Don't worry, you can definitely do it. I can feel that your aura is very close to the foundation building stage. There is only a thin layer of window paper left."
Those involved in the matter are often confused, while those who are watching can see things clearly. Yun Miao was very sure that Tan Xiaobai and Huo Xin were not far from building their foundation.
Hearing this, Tan Xiaobai felt more confident. He then asked Yun Miao if he had any other teammates. After all, even if he and Huo Xin successfully established their foundation, with Yun Miao, there would only be three of them. This only reached the minimum number of people to form a team.
There was no realm restriction in the Secret Realm Treasure Hunt. Those senior brothers and sisters who were going for rankings were definitely strong teams, with ten Jindan forming a team. If the three of them ran into such a team in the Secret Realm, they would be crushed.
Yun Miao picked up Xiao Hei and showed him to Tan Xiaobai: "Mo Aotian said before that he wanted to team up with me. Oh, and Xiao Hei will go too. So there will be five of us."
Tan Xiaobai was surprised: "Huh? Xiao Hei is going too? But he's only at the third level of Qi Refining. The secret realm is still a bit dangerous, he will be scared, right?"
Yun Miao looked at Xiao Hei: "Xiao Hei, are you scared?"
Xiao Hei looked at her calmly: [No.]
Yun Miao nodded, then said to Tan Xiaobai, "Xiao Hei said he won't be afraid."
Tan Xiaobai didn't know Xiao Hei's true identity. In his eyes, Yun Miao just pretended to ask Xiao Hei Lang a question and then answered on behalf of Xiao Hei Lang.
He said helplessly: "Okay, boss, as long as you are happy."
"Then it's settled. Practice well and I'll be waiting for your good news."
After Yun Miao got a bunch of necessary materials for beginners to draw talismans, he left Danfeng like the wind and went to Tifeng to invite Huo Xin to participate in the secret treasure hunt competition together.
Huo Xin seemed calm and composed, but in fact, she was always burning with anger. So when she heard Yun Miao's words, she agreed even faster than Tan Xiaobai.
Yun Miao then went to Weapon Peak and Array Peak, preparing to spend spirit stones to buy a set of tools for refining weapons and carving arrays. After arriving at Weapon Peak, the first person Yun Miao looked for was naturally his old acquaintance, Pi Qianqian.
Unexpectedly, when Pi Xixi heard that Yun Miao was going to participate in the secret treasure hunt, she immediately became interested and asked to join the team.
Ever since she joined the sect, she has been obsessed with refining equipment and has never participated in the secret treasure hunt. Now she is already at the ninth level of the Golden Core Realm, and the upper limit of the realm for the secret treasure hunt is the Golden Core Realm. If she misses this opportunity, if she breaks through to the Nascent Soul Realm in the next ten years, she will no longer have the chance to participate in the secret treasure hunt.
Yun Miao was also stunned when she heard this. She didn't expect that Pi Xixi, who was always teased and chased and beaten by her senior sister, was actually a master at the peak of the Jindan stage, only one step away from the Yuanying stage.
You have to know that in the world of cultivation, a Nascent Soul can already support a medium-sized family or sect, and is worthy of being honored as the Nascent Soul Patriarch! Her Xuantian Sect is indeed worthy of being the world's number one immortal sect, full of Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons!
"Are you sure? Our team is small in number and our overall strength isn't high. I'm afraid we won't get a good ranking."
Although Yun Miao now has many trump cards and killer moves, as long as she operates properly, it is not difficult for her to kill an old monster in the Nascent Soul Stage even if it is higher level than the previous one. However, she will not harm her senior brothers and sisters just because of the so-called ranking.
Yun Miao said bluntly: "We are just curious and want to enter the secret realm to play."
Pi Xixi was even more satisfied after hearing this. She said frankly that she didn't care about the ranking, she just wanted to enter the secret realm to see it. It just so happened that she got along well with Yun Miao and others, which was perfect.
She was unusually generous and said, "Don't you want to buy refining tools and materials? As long as you let me join, I will give you the set of refining tools I discarded before for free."
Free of charge?
Yun Miao couldn't resist these two words the most. She nodded immediately: "Okay, deal!"
*
Three days passed in a flash, and soon it was the day of the alchemy competition.
According to the sect's regulations, sword competitions, arena competitions, magic fighting competitions and beast taming competitions are all held on the arena of the Tifeng Martial Arts Field. Because these competitions are real confrontations, the arena's formation can ensure that the aftermath of the fight between the two sides will not hurt low-level disciples who are just watching the competition nearby.
And next to the martial arts field is a medicinal bath house that can help injured disciples recover quickly.
Competitions that simply test skills, such as alchemy and talisman drawing, are held at Guanyuntai, where the venue is spacious and open, with abundant spiritual energy, ensuring that the participating disciples do not disturb each other and can get into the state faster.
There is little entertainment in the world of cultivation, and the life of a cultivator is very boring. The sect competition is a grand event that only occurs once every ten years in the Xuantian Sect, so many disciples came early.
Because flying was prohibited during the competition to avoid distracting the participating disciples, the spectators crowded closely together under the Cloud Observation Platform, standing or sitting. Groups of three or four gathered together, chatting and laughing, while others brought out tables and placed teapots and wine jugs on them.
The discussion in the airspace was even more heated, with everyone speculating who would be the number one this year.
Soon, the disciples of the Deacon Hall walked onto the Cloud Viewing Platform. With a wave of their sleeves, brass alchemy furnaces half a person's height appeared out of thin air, arranged in a row. There were more than a hundred of them, exactly matching the number of disciples who had signed up for the competition.
There is a cushion in front of each alchemy furnace and a table beside it.
Then, Sect Master Chang came with a group of peak masters and elders and sat down at the table and chairs set up at the head of the Guanyun Terrace. A disciple from the Steward's Hall walked up to Tian Laokou with a box made of obscure stone in his hand and asked him to draw lots.
Tian Laokou reached into the box and quickly pulled out a folded piece of paper. Ding Sangsang from the Deacon Hall stepped onto the Cloud Viewing Platform and, yawning, read out the instructions for the Alchemy Competition and announced the first question: Bigu Pill.
Upon hearing the test question, many of the participating disciples couldn't help but frown. After so many years of refinement, the recipe for the Bigu Pill had become the easiest to master. It was also the first recipe most alchemists encountered, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say it was everywhere. Everyone knew it, so naturally, they would too.
But precisely because everyone knows how to make it and the recipe has long been fixed, they can easily come up with some ingenuity in the fasting pills and surpass others.
Yun Miao had only been in alchemy for three days, so she didn't know about this. She was just secretly glad that she had practiced all the recipes that Old Tian had given her, and the Qigong Pill was among them.
For Yun Miao, who has already mastered the basic alchemy skills, everything becomes easy once he practices it once.
As Ding Sangsang announced the start of the competition, the other disciples from the Deacon Hall placed the ingredients needed to refine the Bigu Pill on the participating disciples' tables. Because each person only had one set of ingredients, and any mistake would result in elimination, most of the participating disciples moved very cautiously, fearing even a single misstep.
Yun Miao was brimming with confidence, completely free of worry and fear. She processed the materials a bit faster, and with the help of the power of karma, she was able to remove the impurities and condense the pills a bit faster than others.
So by combining the two, Yun Miao's Qigong Pill was ready when others were still in the stage of blending the essence and compressing the pill.
She had no intention of hiding her incompetence. She simply raised her hand and patted the alchemy furnace. As the lid of the furnace flew up, a faint fragrance of elixir spread out. Twelve fasting pills flew out of the furnace and fell neatly into the porcelain bottle in her hand.
"I'm done!"
Yun Miao was the first to stand up, immediately attracting the attention of everyone in the audience.
She was also a celebrity in Xuantian Sect, and someone immediately recognized her and asked in surprise, "Junior Sister Yun? Why is she participating in the alchemy competition?"
"Junior Sister Yun has a very good relationship with Peak Master Tian. She must have received guidance from Peak Master Tian, so it's normal that she knows alchemy."
"Really? But why do I remember that she used to farm every day in Danfeng?"
"She was the first to finish, and she was so fast. She won't be eliminated, right?"
"It still depends on the quality and quantity of the fasting pills. If the quality and quantity are not enough, you will still be eliminated."
While the audience was discussing curiously, Yun Miao had already arrived in front of Master Chang and the others. She smiled and bowed, first paying her respects to her master, the various peak masters, and the elders. Then she placed the porcelain bottle in front of Tian Laokou.
"Uncle Master, please taste it."
Tian Laokou did not joke with Yun Miao as usual. Instead, he pretended to be serious and opened the porcelain bottle with a stern face, poured out the pills and examined them. Although he had expected this, he couldn't help but flash a hint of satisfaction and appreciation in his eyes.
"Twelve, third-grade Danwen, not bad."
Everyone present heard his voice. The contestant who was refining the elixir could not help but look at Yun Miao in astonishment, while some disciples who knew alchemy in the audience also let out a small exclamation.
"Twelve? Wouldn't that be a full pill?"
"I've refined at least 800, if not a thousand, batches of Bigu Pills, and I've never made a full pill!"
"Who isn't? When I first started refining the Bigu Pill, I could only produce two or three pills per furnace. The money I earned from selling them wasn't even enough to buy the ingredients. I was completely losing money. Junior Sister Yun has only been in the sect for a short time, and she can actually refine a perfect pill. Her talent is incredible!"
Even the other peak masters and elders who were watching the competition looked at Yun Miao with a little surprise, and then sent a message to Sect Master Chang through their spiritual consciousness. Yun Miao's comprehension was already terrifying enough, but no one expected that she would have such a high talent in alchemy. It can be seen that spiritual root aptitude is not absolute. The Sect Master really accepted a good disciple.
Sect Leader Chang stroked his beard, trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to curl up: [No, no. Haha, thank you for the compliments, but you can't say this in front of Xiao Miao, lest she become proud and complacent.]
Ge Yan's heart ached. If it weren't for that accident, Yun Miao should have been her apprentice. Damn, her senior brother had gotten away with it.
An hour later, the time for the first test arrived. Because the fasting pills were too simple, no one exploded the furnace. However, the quality and quantity of the pills were always different. According to the rules, half of the people were eliminated, and only fifty-three people were left to pass.
Then, Tian Laokou drew lots again. The second question was about the Rejuvenation Pill, another common elixir. It was also the one Yun Miao was most proficient in. So, this time, she was once again the first to complete and submit her creation.
Still twelve full pills, third-grade pill patterns. Tian Laokou picked up the teacup to hide the smile on his lips and gave another good evaluation.
When the test was over, there were only about twenty people left. Tian Laokou drew lots and picked out the third test question - the Enlightenment Pill.
Many of the remaining participating disciples looked distressed. The Enlightenment Pill was not for humans to eat, but for beasts to eat. As the name suggests, it can help ordinary wild beasts open their intelligence and become monsters, and it can also help monsters become smarter.
Judging from its efficacy, it can be seen that Qizhi Pill is a very unpopular pill, and its preparation method is more complicated and difficult than that of Qigong Pill and Rejuvenation Pill.
Someone immediately withdrew from the competition with a bitter face. He had only seen the recipe for the Qizhi Pill and had never practiced it. So, he decided not to make a fool of himself. The others, though somewhat apprehensive, had made it to the final stage and couldn't bear to withdraw, so they decided to give it a try.
Tian Laokou's spiritual sense swept over Yun Miao. Three days was too short. He was worried that Yun Miao, like that disciple, would think that the Qizhi Pill was too unpopular and would skip it without practicing, thus missing the opportunity.
Fortunately, Yun Miao did not show any worry and was still full of confidence. After getting the materials, he started to refine the pills as soon as possible.
When she was the first to approach Tian Laokou again with the refined Qi-enhancing Pill, everyone in the audience fell silent, closely watching Tian Laokou's every move, waiting for his announcement.
Even the disciples who didn't know how to refine pills could see that Yun Miao was always the first to finish refining pills, and that each furnace could produce twelve pills of high gold content. They had a premonition that if Yun Miao did the same this time...
"Twelve, third-grade Danwen, very good."
Although Tian Laokou had been trying hard to maintain his composure, he couldn't help but laugh at this moment.
A disciple on the stage was shocked: "No way? Another Mandan?"
As soon as she was distracted, the alchemy furnace in front of her exploded with a bang, and a cloud of black ash rushed straight to her face.
"Cough cough cough."
The disciple got up, covered in dust and dirt, and rushed over to check the furnace. He took one look at her and burst into tears: "My Qizhi Pill, you died tragically."
The audience burst into laughter, and at the same time, there was a hint of admiration and praise in their eyes when they looked at Yun Miao.
When Yun Miao had previously refined the third-grade Rejuvenation Pill and the Fasting Pill, some of them would have subconsciously thought that this must have been partly due to Master Tian Feng's contribution. Although Master Tian Feng was only Yun Miao's uncle, Yun Miao had undoubtedly learned the art of alchemy from him, a case of a master producing a brilliant student.
But now looking at it again, Yun Miao can even make a full pill out of such an unconventional and difficult enlightenment pill. This is no longer a simple case of a master producing a master student. Her talent in alchemy must be ridiculously high to achieve this effect of making a full pill every time!
Another hour passed, and the alchemy competition was completely over. Yun Miao won the first place. The disciples of the Deacon Hall walked towards the top ten of the competition with a tray. On the tray were ten storage bags, which contained the prizes for the top ten.
The prize for the first place is very generous, including a low-level spiritual treasure-level purple gold alchemy furnace, hundreds of high-level natural treasures needed for alchemy, and 10,000 low-grade spiritual stones.
Yun Miao swept her spiritual sense around and was immediately dazzled by the prizes in the storage bag. Although she already had a lot of spirit stones, who would complain about having too much money!
She was later rewarded privately by her master and Tian Laokou. She was highly praised by her master, and even Tian Laokou praised her this time.
Yun Miao was in high spirits, with a smile that never left her face. After returning to the courtyard, she subconsciously reached for the disciple order, wanting to share her joy with Huo Xin and Tan Xiaobai. However, she quickly remembered that they were working hard to cultivate and break through the foundation-building stage, and that her rash message would disturb them.
So she put down her hand and hugged Xiao Hei instead, rubbing her face against his furry head and laughing triumphantly.
"Oh, I just wanted to join in the fun, but I didn't expect to win first place. What a fuss this is..."
"Hey hey hey, I'm number one!"
"No wonder they say you can get rich by mastering a skill. Just by participating in a competition, you can easily earn 10,000 spirit stones!"
"Xiao Hei, I will make pills to support you from now on. I will make some more Enlightenment Pills for you to eat as candy. If you eat a thousand pills in the morning, a thousand pills at noon, and a thousand pills at night, you will definitely become the smartest puppy in the world!"
Xiao Hei, whose hair had been rubbed into an afro, sighed and raised his paw to touch Yun Miao's face: "You've forgotten again, I'm not a dog, I'm a human. The enlightenment pill has no effect on me. And even if you and I were really a dog, if you keep eating like this, I won't become the smartest puppy in the world. I'll just end up bloated and dead."
Yun Miao feigned surprise: [Eh? Is that so? Xiao Hei, you're so smart! I didn't expect that.]
Xiao Hei: […Even though you’re praising me, I still feel weird about it.]
Yun Miao grinned and rubbed Xiao Hei's head, making it even more messy: [Is there? I don't think so.]
Xiao Hei was rubbed so hard that he was dizzy. When he returned to the ground, he staggered a few times before he could stand firm.
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