Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 498 - Alchemy Competition

Bi Gongyu had tirelessly devoted himself to alchemy in the past few days. However, he had only managed to understand half of what his master had given him, and he still couldn't comprehend many aspects. This left him with numerous questions swirling in his mind.

Bi Gongyu quickly approached Liu Wuxie when he entered because only he could answer his questions.

"How's the progress? How confident are you in refining the Spirit Restoration Pill?" Liu Wuxie asked as he sat beside Bi Gongyu. In addition to the Spirit Restoration Pill, Bi Gongyu had recently refined a batch of seventh-grade pills that were set to be shipped outside the sect for sale through shops acting as their agents.

"I tried refining ten cauldrons, but only one cauldron succeeded. Even so, the quality is only subpar." Bi Gongyu took out a porcelain bottle. He took out three pills that contained some impurities.

The modified Spirit Restoration Pill had stronger medicinal effects. Despite having the grade lowered, the difficulty refining it was comparable to ninth-grade pills.

The materials required weren't costly but slightly higher than ordinary seventh-grade pills. There was no market price for a high-quality Spirit Restoration Pill.

Liu Wuxie was confident he would dictate the price when it was introduced. The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion could refine ordinary pills, which was why Liu Wuxie had no intentions of seizing the sect's market share. Since he wanted to refine pills, he would naturally aim to refine pills that the sect didn't have.

There would be no conflict this way, not to mention it was common for meridians to be damaged in a fight. Thus, he believed the Spirit Restoration Pill could cause a stir in the market.

Out of a hundred cultivators, at least ninety-five had some degree of damage in their meridians. While these minor damages wouldn't affect their cultivation, their meridians could be eroded over time. This could lead to a blockage that would halt their cultivation entirely.

"Tell me the entire refinement process." Liu Wuxie returned the pills to Bi Gongyu and had to know where things had gone wrong to guide the latter.

Bi Gongyu described each step meticulously, including the order of ingredients, timing, and techniques used. After he finished explaining the process, he stood respectfully to the side.

Liu Wuxie closed his eyes and began to simulate Bi Gongyu's refining process in his soul sea. A miniature Liu Wuxie stood on the Heavenly Dao Book and reenacted Bi Gongyu's process.

Time passed by the second, and Bi Gongyu didn’t dare to interrupt Liu Wuxie, and the latter finally opened his eyes after a full ten minutes.

"You made three mistakes when refining the Spirit Restoration Pill. Although these mistakes won't cause the cauldron to explode, they will severely affect the pill's quality," Liu Wuxie said.

It was already impressive that Bi Gongyu could quickly refine the Spirit Restoration Pills. Bi Gongyu's alchemy talent was average, and his current achievements were due to Liu Wuxie's guidance. He didn't have the talent, so Bi Gongyu could only make up for it with hard work.

He had been researching tirelessly for days, not wanting to disappoint his master.

"Please guide me, master!" Bi Gongyu's eyes lit up. He took out paper and a brush to ensure he noted down every detail while Liu Wuxie explained.

"Your first mistake is not heating the cauldron long enough. When refining the Spirit Restoration Pill, the cauldron's temperature must reach at least one hundred degrees," Liu Wuxie pointed out Bi Gongyu's first mistake, which the latter noted down promptly.

"Secondly," Liu Wuxie continued, "you mixed up the order of the spiritual herbs. The Blue Night Flower should be added before the Thousand Bone Herb. Mixing them in the wrong order affects the pill’s quality."

"Your final mistake is your technique. You're too hasty when forming seals, neglecting the most essential aspects. You should maintain a calm heart when refining pills, or the pills wouldn't just be lacking, but they would also harm the consumer if taken," Liu Wuxie continued and identified the final mistake.

Sweat dripped from Bi Gongyu's forehead. The first two mistakes were understandable, but the third mistake was inexcusable. With Bi Gongyu's age, he should know better than anyone to keep a calm heart when refining pills.

This was also understandable because the Heavenly Dao Society had just been established, and Bi Gongyu was under tremendous pressure, wanting to lighten Liu Wuxie's burden. This was why he became impatient when refining pills.

"Thank you, master! I will remember it well!" Bi Gongyu nodded with cold sweat running down his back.

"There are still three days left, and I have some time to guide you." Liu Wuxie spent the next day in the alchemy chamber to guide Bi Gongyu, whose alchemy skills improved by leaps and bounds. Many parts he had trouble with became clear.

Liu Wuxie had amassed many spiritual herbs in the past year, so he could afford to use them extravagantly. They could also use points to exchange for more spiritual herbs if they needed more.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion might have been less wealthy compared to the other sects ranked ahead of it, but it had an abundance of spiritual herbs.

Liu Wuxie finally left at night, and Bi Gongyu could now gain a foothold based on his alchemy skills. He might not be capable of surpassing everyone in the sect, but his alchemy skills were enough to qualify him for the position of an elder in the Treasure Pill Peak.

The position of an elder in the Treasure Pill Peak wasn't determined by their cultivation but by alchemy skills. The higher one's alchemy skills, the higher their status would become.

Upon becoming an elder, they could also receive more resources, an independent cultivation chamber, and the qualification to take disciples to contribute to the sect.

Liu Wuxie spent the second day guiding Song Ling in spiritual runes. On the third day, a challenge was sent to the Treasure Pill Peak, which caused a stir, and the sect became lively once more, like a rock tossed into the lake.

"Liu Wuxie again? He dares to challenge an elder of the Treasure Pill Peak?" The disciples who heard the news gathered to discuss the upcoming duel.

"It's not Liu Wuxie this time, but his disciple. The challenge wasn't sent under Liu Wuxie's name but a disciple named Bi Gongyu. This person isn't young. He ascends from the mundane world and acknowledges Liu Wuxie as his master.”

"A brat like him dares to take a disciple? What a joke!" Many people sneered at the idea of Liu Wuxie taking in a disciple. They were under the impression that Liu Wuxie was leading them astray with his measly cultivation.

The news quickly spread throughout the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and Elder Tian Xing wasn't surprised when he heard about it. He already knew it was only a matter of time before Liu Wuxie would bare his fangs when the Heavenly Dao Society was established. The Treasure Pill Peak became his first target.

This was necessary if Liu Wuxie wanted to gain a foothold in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion unless he was willing to remain an ordinary disciple for the rest of his life.

Elder Yi Xuan had been unable to focus for the past few days. He couldn't even concentrate on managing the Martial Arts Hall, so he left it entirely in the hands of the other two elders.

He returned to his courtyard to check on his grandson, only to find that his grandson's eye sockets had sunken, and the vitality in his body was decreasing. If nothing was done, his grandson would be turned into a living corpse, suffering a life worse than death.

"Yi Nan, there's an alchemy competition on the Treasure Pill Peak. Let's go have a look together!" Yi Xuan carried Yi Nan and placed the latter on his back as they headed towards the Treasure Pill Peak.

The square on the Treasure Pill Peak was filled with people at dawn because an earth-shattering alchemy duel was about to occur there. The person Bi Gongyu challenged was an eight-star alchemist of the Treasure Pill Peak.

The Treasure Pill Peak had ten eight-star alchemists and over a hundred seven-star alchemists. One could imagine how precious eight-star alchemists were in the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. As for nine-star alchemists, there were only five of them, one of whom was Qing Mu.

Bi Gongyu was somewhere between a seven-star and an eight-star alchemist. He had surpassed ninety percent of the alchemists regarding alchemy skills, but he was held down due to his cultivation in the Heavenly Dipper Realm. This meant he could become an eight-star alchemist once he reached the Heavenly Phase Realm.

There wasn't a seven-star alchemist in the Heavenly Dipper Realm, and Bi Gongyu was the first.

The skills of seven-star alchemists varied. Some seven-star alchemists could only refine fixed types of pills and nothing beyond that scope.

"Master, it looks like anyone random dares to challenge you. You should've killed him previously." There were over a dozen alchemy apprentices in an alchemy chamber, along with a yellow-robed elder.

The old man, Huang Tao, was the elder of Treasure Pill Peak, whom Bi Gongyu wanted to challenge. He had slapped Bi Gongyu and expelled him from the peak.

Huang Tao had taken in many disciples over the years. He taught many of the four- and five-star alchemists, who voiced their anger upon hearing that someone had challenged their master.

"Let's make sure he doesn't leave this place alive. While we're at it, we can also take the opportunity to humiliate Liu Wuxie. I’ve heard that he's getting a lot of attention lately. This is an excellent opportunity to teach him a lesson." A disciple waved his fists around. He believed Liu Wuxie and Bi Gongyu were courting death to challenge his master.

"Senior Brother is right. Let's take this opportunity to humiliate them thoroughly!" other disciples chimed in.

"Master, why not let me accept the challenge on your behalf? You do not need to bother with them based on your esteemed status." A man in his thirties entered the chamber. He was a seven-star alchemist, and he was willing to fight the challenge on behalf of his master.

"They have specially listed my name in the challenge. If I don't respond to the challenge, others will think I'm afraid of him," Huang Tao said, waving his hand. He was ready to face the challenge since he had accepted it.

"But the other party is only a lowly alchemist. What rights does he have to challenge you, master? Let him get past me first if he wants to challenge you, master," the youth shared a different thought and voiced his argument. If everyone did the same, wouldn't his master be overwhelmed with requests for challenges? He was a seven-star alchemist, and he wanted to probe his opponent's strength on behalf of his master.

"Senior Brother Mo is right. Let's test their strength first," one of the disciples chimed in. "If they're all talk and no skill, Senior Brother Mo can humiliate them easily. That way, Master won't have to step in and risk being accused of bullying the younger generation." The others nodded, finding reason in his words.

Huang Tao frowned, feeling that accepting the challenge was beneath him. After a moment of consideration, he finally said, "Fine. Mo Lan will handle it for me."

The crowd outside was in an uproar, and the square was packed. More disciples came in droves to watch the battle, which made the sect deploy a few elders to maintain order in the square.

Two alchemy cauldrons were set up in the square's middle, with earth flame channeled underground to allow the alchemist competition to occur here. This meant no one could cheat under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Yi Xuan slowly entered the crowd while carrying his grandson on his back. The surrounding disciples made way for him right away.

"Master, it's getting late. Let's go!" Bi Gongyu and the others were already prepared and waiting in the abode. They were waiting for Liu Wuxie's word before they headed to the Treasure Pill Peak.

"Let's get going!" Liu Wuxie waved his hand, and everyone set off for the Treasure Pill Peak.

Several elders were seated in the great hall on the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's central peak, and Tian Xing was among them. Besides Tian Xing, Qing Mu was also present.

"Sect master, the Treasure Pill Peak is the foundation of our Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, but this brat is impudent to challenge an elder. If anything happens because of that, who will bear the responsibility?" Qing Mu was an elder of the Treasure Pill Peak, and it was natural for him to speak on behalf of the peak.