As everyone knows, the people of the Shenmu Sect place great importance on status. Qi Zhiheng didn't dwell on this with Guan Yunmo any further, so the two of them sat down together in the audience seats.
At this moment, the alchemists on the stage had already begun their competition, displaying all sorts of dazzling alchemy skills.
Qi Zhiheng couldn't help but sigh, "I can't compete with him. My alchemy techniques are still too rudimentary."
He glanced around the crowd a few more times and spotted someone who looked very familiar. That immediately caught his attention.
Qi Zhiheng found the man's face very familiar. He wanted to ignore it, but it was so familiar that it was hard for him to ignore it.
This alchemist looks just like a grown-up Ye Hanyuan! However, Qi Zhiheng didn't think much of it. There are many people in the world who look alike, so it's not strange that this person looks like his disciple.
He shook his head, trying to look away.
Guan Yunmo noticed that he was staring at someone and asked, "What are you looking at, Master Yi? I saw you staring at it for quite a while."
Qi Zhiheng replied somewhat perfunctorily, "That disciple's technique seems quite good." He was naturally referring to the person who resembled Ye Hanyuan.
Guan Yunmo smiled faintly and said, "Those are disciples of our Shenmu Sect."
"The disciples of the Shenmu Sect are all quite skilled in alchemy," Qi Zhiheng praised. He wasn't wrong; the alchemists of the Shenmu Sect were indeed more reliable in their alchemy than those of other sects.
In the end, all three winners were disciples of the Shenmu Sect.
Nearly a third of the disciples of the Divine Wood Sect are alchemists. The fact that they were able to become the third largest sect in the Southern Continent by relying on so many alchemists with low combat power shows the skill of their alchemists.
The disciples from other sects didn't seem to find it unusual to lose to the Divine Wood Sect; it seemed they were used to it.
Qi Zhiheng looked up and met Tang Min's gaze. Qi Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat. Had Tan Min recognized him?
Tang Min smiled and nodded at Qi Zhiheng, then looked away.
Qi Zhiheng breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he had hidden it quite well.
The days passed quickly, and the alchemist exchange meeting began that day.
The group first refined a batch of pills, and then checked the quality of the pills.
Qi Zhiheng conservatively refined the pills, and not all ten pills were refined into top-grade pills. Only three of the pills in this batch were top-grade.
Even three top-grade pills were a feat that was difficult for anyone present to achieve. Guan Yunmo had meticulously refined a batch of pills, but only managed to produce one top-grade pill. The second place went to the alchemist from the Divine Wood Sect, Guan Yunmo's senior brother, who produced two top-grade pills.
The Shenmu Sect, which had always been at the top in various alchemy competitions, actually lost to an unknown alchemist, which surprised many alchemists present and aroused their curiosity about Qi Zhiheng to a certain extent.
Fortunately, everyone who had become a fourth-level alchemist was already quite old, and they didn't show off too much in front of Qi Zhiheng.
Even Guan Yunmo was quite surprised. He knew Qi Zhiheng's abilities, but he didn't expect them to be so great.
The more Fire Essence Fruits you get, the more you'll receive if you win first place. As for how many you'll get, that depends on how many Fire Essence Fruits will ripen.
Tang Min wasn't startled. He thought to himself that he was fortunate to have become accustomed to Qi Zhiheng's abilities when he was in the sect. Compared to Qi Zhiheng, who could refine ten top-grade pills in one batch, Yi Yun's performance was nothing to be excited about.
After the competition, everyone began to discuss their experiences in alchemy. Many people asked Qi Zhiheng questions, and Qi Zhiheng was able to answer them all, which convinced everyone.
After the exchange meeting, there will be two days of rest. Two days later, it will be time for everyone to channel their fiery energy into the Wood Essence.
Qi Zhiheng's victory in this competition further solidified the Shenmu Sect Master's belief in his identity and prompted him to encourage his other disciples to get to know Qi Zhiheng better.
During his two days of rest, many people wanted to visit Qi Zhiheng and sent him visiting cards. Qi Zhiheng was too lazy to go out and deal with them, but he couldn't refuse to see them all, so he had to accept the visits of several alchemists with good alchemy skills.
Two days passed, and after everyone rested for two days and their spiritual and soul power were fully restored, they gathered again and set off for the Spirit Fire Wood.
Qi Zhiheng stood in the crowd, and many people came up to talk to him. Qi Zhiheng did not put on airs. When someone tried to probe his background, Qi Zhiheng evaded the question. However, if someone discussed alchemy with him, he would answer seriously.
In this way, everyone figured out how to communicate with him, and with the attitude of communicating and learning more, many people asked him questions.
After traveling for two hours, the group entered the sect's forbidden area, which was not usually open to the public.
There were no formations outside the forbidden area. Qi Zhiheng knew nothing about formations and followed the others from the Shenmu Sect into the forbidden area.
Many spiritual herbs are planted in the forbidden area. Most of the herbs we saw along the way were common varieties, with only a few rare ones occasionally.
Qi Zhiheng didn't believe that the spiritual herbs in the forbidden area of the Divine Wood Sect would be such ordinary stuff. They probably knew that outsiders would pass by on this road, so they planted these ordinary things by the roadside to cover their tracks.
The spiritual energy around them was indeed abundant, and Qi Zhiheng immediately felt refreshed and relaxed.
Qi Zhiheng knew that there were many traps set up here. After passing through the spirit field, the path became winding and circuitous. He guessed that it was some kind of formation.
After taking a detour, we finally arrived at our destination.
Looking at Yuanyuan, Qi Zhiheng seemed to see a huge ball of fire burning, and the air around the flames seemed to be distorted and deformed under the scorching heat.
"The Firewood is just ahead." The one who spoke was Guan Yunmo's senior brother, Wu Shengyao, who had come in second place in the competition two days ago.
If Qi Zhiheng hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the first place would have been his, and his introduction would have been even more legitimate.
Despite his thorough preparations, Qi Zhiheng still managed to disrupt the situation. It would be a lie to say that Wu Shengyao had no lingering resentment, but his master had repeatedly instructed him to treat Qi Zhiheng well. He suspected there might be some hidden reason behind this, which actually helped to suppress his displeasure somewhat.
I dare not disobey my master's requirements, so I can only try to keep a peaceful mind to prevent my mind from being too open-minded and making further progress!
“Master Wudan, we all understand,” a Nascent Soul cultivator said with a smile.
Almost 90% of the people here were from the last exchange meeting. They had already seen the Firewood, so there was no need for them to listen to Wu Shengyao's introduction.
Wu Shengyao said, "There are still some newcomers here, so it's good to introduce them."
Qi Zhiheng guessed that the 'newcomer' he was referring to was probably himself. However, he didn't care too much.
The group quickly arrived at the foot of the Firewood tree. As soon as they got within a hundred meters, the heat wave in the air hit their faces.
Looking at the giant fire tree that was more than ten meters tall in front of him, Qi Zhiheng felt a surge of excitement. He wished he could plant one in his space as well. He had plenty of fire seeds in his space, which would be a good choice for growing trees.
The entire body of the Firewood is fiery red, with each leaf resembling a red gemstone ablaze with flames.
It is said that after a certain number of years, the leaves that fall off this kind of firewood are also a kind of spiritual herb that fire spirit root cultivators love, and can be used to refine fire attribute pills for consumption.
The trunk is about one meter in diameter, and the only different color on this fiery red Elmwood is its flowers.
The flower was about the size of an adult's palm, with six petals, red stamens, blue tips, and white interiors, the two colors blending seamlessly. There were at least a thousand flowers on the entire Firewood tree.
Qi Zhiheng felt a surge of excitement. There were fifty-three fourth-level alchemists present. If there were a thousand fruits, half of them would be more than five hundred. As the first-place finisher, wouldn't he be able to take the lion's share? Putting aside everything else, he should at least get a few dozen essence fire fruits, right?
As it turns out, Qi Zhiheng's idea was far too simplistic. Although there were quite a few flowers, not every single one would eventually produce a fruit of pure fire.
Qi Zhiheng was somewhat disappointed when he learned of this.
Wu Shengyao stood under the tree and said, "I believe that all the fellow Daoists who attended the last exchange conference understand what is about to happen, but I still want to explain things clearly here."
No one dared to refuse him and let him finish explaining the rules.
"As you all know, sufficient fire energy is required for the Fire Essence Fruit to ripen. Therefore, the task of transferring fire energy will depend on everyone present," Wu Shengyao continued. "The amount of Fire Essence Fruit that you will receive will depend on how many fruits the Fire Essence Tree produces. My Divine Wood Sect promises that half of the Fire Essence Fruit obtained this time will be given to everyone present, distributed according to their ranking!"
"Leave it to us!" Those present were quite adept at transmitting fiery energy, so their response was much more casual.
Wu Shengyao looked at Qi Zhiheng and said, "Alchemist Yi Yun, are you quite familiar with transmitting fiery energy?"
Qi Zhiheng nodded and said, "Although I haven't tried it before, I can still do it."
Wu Shengyao said, "Then let's take our positions and get ready to begin."
There is a special array under this Firewood tree that transmits fire energy. As long as everyone stands in the position where fire energy is transmitted, they can transmit fire energy to this tree.
Qi Zhiheng was assigned a seat, and several other people were standing not far from him. However, the people were spread out at a distance, so it did not look crowded.
At the command, the alchemists present began to channel their fiery energy into the formation below.
Qi Zhiheng also followed the group's actions and channeled his fiery energy.
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