The sect leader and Shu Yuanguan, seated on the stage, were secretly pleased. This year's alchemy competition results were almost too good, to the point that they were somewhat embarrassed. Eight of the top ten spots were occupied because they had only sent eight people. They wanted to keep a low profile, but it seemed their strength wouldn't allow it…
The leader of the Fuyuan Sect took the stage to announce the results of the first round, but his tone was not as cheerful as at the beginning. After all, as the host, it was a loss of face to have all the participants eliminated in the first round.
The second round of the competition is scheduled for three days later. This gives the ten disciples ample time to prepare, determine the pills they want to refine, and gather the necessary ingredients.
Yes, the second round requires participants to bring their own materials to prevent those who want to refine pills that require rare and precious medicinal herbs from the sect hosting the event.
"What are we going to do for these three days?" Lu Wenxing couldn't sit still as soon as he got back to his lodgings. A three-day holiday while traveling sounded wonderful. "Or maybe I should go to the market again?"
"I'm not going." Shi Xuan refused without hesitation.
"Why? Is there anywhere else to do around here besides the market?"
“I’ve bought everything I needed to, there’s no point in going again,” Shi Xuan said thoughtfully. “These three days… I might as well stay in the house and concoct some poison pills.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Liangce, who was standing behind her, couldn't sit still any longer. He asked tentatively, "Didn't you already develop poison pills back in the sect?"
Lu Shan nodded hurriedly, for they were all victims at that time.
Shi Xuan glared at him: "That's not a poison pill, it's like a joke. Didn't you notice what happened yesterday? If I had thrown over a poison pill that would kill instantly, that man in black would probably be dead by now, and wouldn't have had the strength to escape."
Lu Shan and Gu Liangce both flinched. The lingering effects of the Fragrance Pill and the Intelligence Pill were still fresh in their minds. If another wave of poison pills came, would they even see the sun rise tomorrow morning?
"What are you two afraid of?" Shi Xuan laughed when he noticed the actions of the two people beside him. "Do you think I would use you two to test the poison pills? I have no intention of bearing the crime of killing my fellow disciples, okay?"
The two of them patted their chests in unison, as if they were breathing a sigh of relief.
"Then we don't need to test this poison pill?" Lu Shan was still curious.
"Of course we have to try it," Shi Xuan rolled her eyes at him, "You big brain, why can't you think straight? If I find someone to test the poison pills, wouldn't I become a heretic? Can't it be a demon beast besides a human?"
As he spoke, Shi Xuan chuckled and said, "I've heard that the back mountain of the Fuyuan Sect is extremely vast and home to many demonic beasts. Let's go there and give it a try." If the demonic beasts could hear this, they would surely tremble in fear.
I bought a lot of materials from the market, including quite a few medicinal herbs and poisonous plants.
Shi Xuan took out the pills and sorted them. Thinking of the Tranquility Pill she had flicked at the man in black yesterday, she pondered and said to Lu Wenxing, "It is indeed a bit inconvenient to use pills in battle. They are not easy to ingest and can only be inhaled, which requires taking advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness. How about we go to the artifact craftsmen of the Langya Sect to customize a magic artifact that can launch pills?"
Unable to go out and play, Lu Wenxing sat on the ground listlessly and replied, "Let's wait a little longer. Right now, those sects are probably extremely dissatisfied with us. If I were them, I would want to turn back now."
Shi Xuan nodded. It was indeed an unexpected event that all of them had advanced in the first round of the Alchemy Competition.
"Let's leave it at that for now. I'll practice playing with leaves first, and we can talk about it again when we have the chance."
On the first day of the holiday, nothing happened, and the courtyard of the Lianfeng Sword Sect was very quiet.
Shi Xuan took the lead in going into seclusion to refine pills, which greatly pleased the sect leader and elders. Even though the youngsters achieved good results in the first round of the competition, none of them slacked off. They didn't indulge in play during their free time, but instead diligently prepared for the next round of the competition.
The group alchemy activity continued until the morning of the second day.
After lunch, Shi Xuan led Lu Wenxing, Lu Shan, and others to sneak into the back mountain of Fuyuan Sect.
As soon as Zhaocai entered the mountain, it flew away happily. Shixuan didn't pay any attention to it, treating it as just time for it to have some fresh air.
The back mountain of the Fuyuan Sect covers a vast area, part of which is within the sect's territory, while the other part is a wild area inhabited by many demonic beasts, serving as the initial training ground for cultivators newly entering the sect.
Shi Xuan chose a gentle slope with dense forest, released her divine sense to carefully sense and observe the traces on the ground, her first target was to find a small demon beast.
Before long, she spotted the paw prints that had been left by the animals; they looked like those of several guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs are only level one demonic beasts. They are not strong in attack and do not look like rats. Instead, they resemble a kind of spirit pig and usually live in groups.
Shi Xuan hesitated for a moment and said, "Guinea pig meat is very delicious. It would be a shame to poison them. Why don't we catch a few and roast them?"
Lu Wenxing responded immediately.
“Here’s what we’ll do,” Shi Xuan instructed, “First, lure out a few guinea pigs. Second Brother will be in charge of catching them. I’ll poison the rest. If they all die from poisoning, we won’t have anything to eat.”
The group tiptoed and followed the guinea pig's paw prints, and sure enough, they found a rat hole. Shi Xuan used his divine sense to explore it and found that there were quite a few rats.
She took out a leaf, lit it, and put the ashes into Lu Wenxing's pocket. She said, "Go forward a bit to the rat hole. A few of them will come out of the hole when they smell it. Run far away and catch the ones that come out."
Lu Wenxing found it extremely amusing and ran happily to the mouse hole, even patting his pocket on purpose.
Sure enough, a short while later, three large guinea pigs cautiously emerged from their burrow. Lu Wenxing quickly retreated, maintaining a safe distance from them, and led the three guinea pigs away.
Shi Xuan took out two of her newly refined Immortal Palace Pills from her bracelet—the name means that once you touch them, you will immediately go to the Immortal Palace to report for duty.
Approaching the hole and into her firing range, Shi Xuan raised her hand and flicked two dark, round spheres into it. The black spheres immediately dispersed upon encountering the obstruction, and the hole was momentarily shrouded in a cloud of black mist.
Before long, a thud came from inside the guinea pig's burrow. Several stubborn ones ran out of the hole, took a few unsteady steps, and then collapsed.
In just a few breaths, two poison pills wiped out a nest of guinea pigs!
Poison pills are effective!
Lu Shan and Gu Liangce, who were following behind Shi Xuan, exchanged a glance and thought to themselves: Luckily, they weren't chosen to test their pills, how terrifying!
At this moment, Lu Wenxing also brought over the three guinea pigs he had hunted. Shi Xuan said, "Put them in the storage bag first, and roast them when we get back. Let's go find a large monster to try now."
Large monsters usually live deeper into the forest, so Shi Xuan and his companions headed straight for the depths. They occasionally encountered a few monsters along the way, but Shi Xuan ignored them, finding them too small.
After traveling several dozen miles further, Shi Xuan suddenly heard a roar. Although the sound was far away, it was immediately recognizable as coming from a large demonic beast.
Shi Xuan became interested and beckoned everyone to head in the direction of the sound. The closer they got, the clearer the roar became, and they could even vaguely hear human voices mixed in, as if the monster was fighting with someone.
Shi Xuan released his divine sense to investigate and heard a male voice anxiously say, "Junior Sister Mingzhu, please put her things down first!"
Oh, it looks like Fan Mingzhu! This is truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
