Qi Zhiheng was somewhat unsure whether this was the first time Xu Yuanzhou had used this method, or if someone had already fallen victim to it before.
Yang Yitian asked, "This demonic energy has no effect on you, right?"
Qi Zhiheng shook his head and said, "It has no effect. On the contrary, it can provide me with some spiritual power. By the way, I also made a lot of spiritual herbs today. I'm rich!"
Although this wisp of demonic energy was latent, if someone could control it, it might have a certain impact on him during tomorrow's competition, causing him to perform poorly in alchemy. Thinking of this, he decided to ask Elder Wu for some information.
Xu Yuanzhou, who had already left, had returned to the courtyard where they lived.
"Senior brother." At this moment, the arrogance and haughtiness on Xu Yuanzhou's face had faded, and he appeared much more composed than before.
The senior brother he addressed appeared to be older than Xu Yuanzhou. This was Wen Chuan, Xu Yuanzhou's senior brother.
Wen Chuan gestured for the man to sit down and poured him a cup of tea: "You've met Qi Zhiheng? How did you find it?"
Xu Yuanzhou took a sip of tea and said, "Then I'll have to ask my senior brother to help me verify this as well."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Wen Chuan looked at his junior brother and asked, "Did you send the 'thing' out?"
Xu Yuanzhou didn't forget the main point: "Of course, it was 'sent' out, but I don't know for a moment whether he is the person he appears to be."
"How did he behave?" Wen Chuan showed some interest, mainly because Xu Yuanzhou's expression was somewhat indescribable.
Xu Yuanzhou said, "When I first went there, I knew he wouldn't dare offend me. I mocked him by using the title of the number one genius of the Slaughtering God Sect, but he remained unmoved. I asked him to refine pills, and he initially refused, but when he saw the reward I offered, he immediately agreed. Judging from this kind of personality, he must be extremely greedy. I've also heard that he once sold a large number of pills for spirit stones. I deliberately humiliated his pride as an alchemist, but to my surprise, he didn't care at all and started refining pills in front of everyone. At that time, I felt that this person might be a spineless coward, and he would submit as long as someone else's power was greater than his. Of course, I haven't completely changed my opinion of him yet, but..."
"But what?" Wen Chuan pressed.
Xu Yuanzhou took out the medicine bottle directly: "This is the Blazing Flame Pill he refined."
Wen Chuan opened the bottle of pills, and a fragrant aroma wafted out. He said, "A top-grade pill? The competition starts tomorrow, and he's already refined it today? It seems his success rate is extremely high. I imagine he'll have a hard time recovering his energy tomorrow."
Xu Yuanzhou shook his head: "That's not entirely true."
Wen Chuan gestured for his junior brother to continue.
Xu Yuanzhou narrowed his eyes and said, "I originally planned to have him continue refining pills. I also felt that he might not be able to refine a top-grade pill today. I thought the information I had heard before was exaggerated. How could anyone refine a top-grade pill in one go, let alone a pill that is beyond the required grade?"
"What's the reality?"
"In fact, he did successfully refine a top-grade Blazing Flame Pill today, and on his first try!"
Upon hearing his words, Wen Chuan crushed the teacup in his hand into several pieces.
Xu Yuanzhou continued, "He agreed so readily before, which made me suspect that he probably already knew he could succeed in refining it on the first try."
"Impossible! Who can predict their own success rate in alchemy?" Wen Chuan couldn't believe it at all.
Xu Yuanzhou sighed and said, "Originally, I also thought it was impossible, but the facts are right in front of us, and I can't help but believe it. I think he has an excellent grasp of his alchemy skills, and I'm afraid his success rate is over 80%. Otherwise, refining three batches of pills would inevitably affect his performance in tomorrow's competition due to insufficient energy."
"He actually has such abilities?" Wen Chuan looked into the distance, seemingly deep in thought.
Xu Yuanzhou said, "Yes, his abilities make me feel that he might be hiding his true strength, or that his previous compromises were just his indifference, or that he is extremely good at forbearance and shrewd in his calculations." In fact, an enemy who knows how to be patient is the most terrifying.
Unfortunately, Qi Zhiheng was completely indifferent to this matter. If this person knew his thoughts, he would probably be angry at himself for wasting his brain cells.
"It's a real pity. If only this person had joined my Tianyuan Sect," Wen Chuan suddenly sighed.
Xu Yuanzhou had the same thought: "It's a pity he's from another sect. No wonder I can't let him stand out there." He couldn't help feeling regretful, as he could already imagine that one day he would fail under the test of his inner demons.
Meanwhile, Qi Zhiheng had already approached Elder Wu.
Elder Wu looked Qi Zhiheng around twice and said, "It seems you're alright."
Qi Zhiheng cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your concern, Elder. I'm fine."
Elder Wu also found it somewhat unbelievable: "That person didn't make things difficult for you? You seem to be in good spirits."
Qi Zhiheng smiled and said, "He is a Nascent Soul Immortal Lord, why would he make things difficult for me, a Golden Core cultivator? Elder Wu, on the other hand, it seems like you want me to be made difficult."
Elder Wu coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment: "It's alright, it's alright. I just found it a little strange. After all, they are disciples of the number one ranked sect. They shouldn't have so much free time to cause trouble."
Qi Zhiheng thought to himself: This person has so much free time, and even spent an entire afternoon deliberately making things difficult for him.
But he said, "I suppose major sects still have some magnanimity."
Seeing that he was alright, Elder Wu inquired about the purpose of his visit: "Did you come to let me know you're safe?"
Qi Zhiheng said, "That's not the case. We're going to participate in the competition tomorrow. I'm thinking that after entering the Enlightenment Tree, I might have to undergo the Nascent Soul stage tribulation in a while. How easy or difficult will this tribulation be?"
Elder Wu, having been through it all, had some authority on this matter: "The tribulation of lightning varies from person to person. Generally, the intensity of your previous tribulations will increase tenfold in the next stage. I don't know how your previous tribulations were, so I can't give an evaluation. You should weigh the pros and cons yourself."
Qi Zhiheng further inquired, "So, once the tribulation of lightning is overcome, one can enter the Golden Core stage?"
Elder Wu shook his head and said, "That's not the case. Many people have survived the tribulation of lightning but failed in the tribulation of inner demons. Not everyone has this tribulation of inner demons, but some cultivators with weak will cannot avoid it and fail in the process of surviving the tribulation."
"Judging from Elder Wu's words, it seems there are quite a few people struggling with the inner demons of failure," Qi Zhiheng said solemnly.
Elder Wu patted Qi Zhiheng on the shoulder and laughed, "You've got a lot on your mind, but this inner demon tribulation is indeed powerful. Take our Slaughtering God Sect for example. Since ancient times, there have been many cases of failure when Golden Core cultivators try to enter the Nascent Soul stage. In the last hundred years alone, more than three hundred people have failed to transcend the tribulation due to the inner demon tribulation."
Qi Zhiheng's mind seemed to be thinking about something: "So it seems that this inner demon tribulation is indeed powerful." Although he said this, he was thinking in his heart that he wondered how many people had failed to overcome the tribulation because of that wisp of demonic energy.
Qi Zhiheng then asked, "So what about outside of the last hundred years? Was the failure rate the same for the previous few hundred years?"
Elder Wu was not young, so recalling the past was not difficult for him. He sighed and said, "Six hundred years ago, it shouldn't have been like this. It's just a pity that the temperament of cultivators is getting worse and worse, which has led to fewer and fewer people making progress."
Qi Zhiheng's lips twitched. He thought to himself, "Could this be man-made?" He then asked another question: "Is this increased probability of failing the tribulation due to inner demon tribulation a common phenomenon throughout the entire Southern Continent?"
Elder Wu nodded and said, "Naturally, these are common phenomena; every sect has quite a few."
Qi Zhiheng raised an eyebrow and said, "Then, is the same true for the number one ranked Tianyuan Sect?"
Elder Wu was about to answer him when he paused, thought for a moment, and said, "Tianyuan Sect should also have made some progress, but the number of people seems to be less than that of other sects."
Qi Zhiheng chuckled twice and praised, "That truly lives up to its reputation as the number one sect in Nanzhou. The disciples must all have resilient minds to resist the afflictions of inner demons."
Elder Wu nodded in agreement and sighed, "That's true. If only our sect could be like that. I've mentioned it to the sect leader before, that we should pay more attention to the cultivation of new types of disciples."
Qi Zhiheng was speechless for a moment after hearing his words. In Yang Yitian's words, Elder Wu had a kind of naive and innocent charm.
Qi Zhiheng said dryly, "This disciple has no more questions now, so I'll go back and prepare for tomorrow's competition. Elder Wu, this disciple will take his leave."
After Qi Zhiheng finished speaking, he left Elder Wu's residence. He had some guesses in his mind, but he couldn't solve them now. He could only wait until he returned to discuss the matter with the sect leader.
After resting for a night, the competition began the next day.
Qi Zhiheng and the other disciples from the sect who were participating in the competition walked out together, and some other disciples followed. However, they were not in the same place; the contestants and the spectators were naturally in different locations.
The venue was divided into several sections. Qi Zhiheng followed the participating alchemists out; their sect had thirty alchemists participating in the competition. Only two level-four alchemists remained in the sect to guard the area, one of whom was Tang Min. Tang Min had already participated in the previous competition and would not participate again in this one.
At this time, some sects had not yet arrived, and since there were too many participants to finish the competition in one go, they were divided into three groups. The sects that arrived late could participate in the competition on the following two days.
Qi Zhiheng followed the crowd into the backstage area where he was participating.
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