Chapter 650 - 644: Shocking the Entire Audience

"Is he crazy? He wants to refine that many Spirit Medicines at once? Who does he think he is!" The crowd erupted when they saw Shen Haoran toss fifty stalks of Spirit Medicine directly into his Pill Furnace. It was common knowledge that refining different Spirit Medicines required varying flame temperatures, refinement times, and other specific details. Alchemists sometimes refined a few Spirit Medicines simultaneously to save time, but doing so required an extremely high degree of control over one’s Spiritual Thought.

The limit for an average Alchemist was refining three to five types of Spirit Medicine at once. Feng Miaoke’s earlier feat of simultaneously refining over ten stalks was already considered monstrous. Even her teacher, the Vice Hall Master of the Medicine Hall, Ji Wuqing, could only manage a dozen or so at most. But now Shen Haoran dared to throw fifty stalks of Spirit Medicine directly into his Pill Furnace. Wasn’t he just asking for death?

"Has he given up? Is he just messing around so he’ll have an excuse when he fails?" the crowd speculated.

In the air above, the Elders of the Medicine Hall exchanged stunned glances. They, more than any outsider, understood what simultaneously refining fifty Spirit Medicines truly meant. It required one’s control over their Spiritual Thought to reach a stage of minute precision, and it also demanded splitting one’s focus fifty ways. Not even a Seventh Grade Alchemist could possibly achieve that!

A flicker of surprise crossed Yao Wuchen’s eyes as he watched the confident smile playing on Shen Haoran’s lips. ’As the Hall Master of the Medicine Hall and an Eighth Grade Alchemist, this is simple enough for me now. But when I was a Seventh Grade Alchemist, I was absolutely incapable of this. This young man, an Alchemist of the Human Race just like me... he’s quite interesting. This year’s contest for Pill Emperor is truly the most exciting one yet.’

"This guy... he’s really..." Atop the high platform, both Long Aotian and Yan Jue stared with open mouths, watching Shen Haoran’s back in disbelief. They knew Shen Haoran was bold, but they never imagined he could be this audacious. Simultaneously refining fifty Spirit Medicines—if he succeeded, his name would resound here with dazzling brilliance. But if he failed, at best, his Spiritual Thought would be damaged; at worst, his Sea of Consciousness would shatter completely!

"Hmph, what a grandstander. Just you wait, you’ll get what’s coming to you!" Feng Miaoke stared at Shen Haoran, her expression dark. She hated him from the bottom of her heart. She had intended to capture everyone’s attention with her technique of refining over a dozen Spirit Medicines, but Shen Haoran had to go and refine fifty—three to four times her number. He made her feat look like a child’s parlor trick.

In her heart, Feng Miaoke cursed Shen Haoran, wishing for him to fail, for his Sea of Consciousness to be shattered by a Spiritual Thought backlash. But her curse was destined to fall on deaf ears. Shen Haoran’s expression remained composed. After the fifty Spirit Medicines entered the Pill Furnace, the jet-black Fire Spirit Black Obsidian transformed into fifty Fire Dragons, each swallowing a stalk in a single gulp and beginning the frantic Refinement. Shen Haoran’s fingers flickered without pause, controlling the temperature and timing for all fifty Fire Dragons. Under the searing heat of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, the surfaces of the Spirit Medicines began to wither as droplets of the Essence of Spiritual Medicine were forced out.

Refining fifty Spirit Medicines was no burden for Shen Haoran at all. Thanks to his Chaos Divine Body, his Spiritual Thought was already several times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Although he had only just become a Seventh Grade Alchemist, the current strength of his Spiritual Thought was comparable to that of a Middle Level Seventh Grade Alchemist. Furthermore, his control over his Spiritual Thought far surpassed the level of minute precision.

Because of the two Heaven and Earth Spirit Seeds within him, Shen Haoran had to constantly maintain a delicate balance between them. His ability to find that subtle equilibrium between two Heaven and Earth Spirits, both possessing destructive power, was a testament to his incredible control over his Spiritual Thought. Forget fifty Spirit Medicines; even with a dozen more, Shen Haoran could have handled it with ease.

Not only that, but Shen Haoran also possessed the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, which was a huge asset to him. The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian had its own consciousness; it would transmit information to Shen Haoran about what the Spirit Medicines required from the flame and even help him adjust the temperature and refinement time. As a result, there was no danger of him getting hurt at all!

In the Central Square before the Medicine Hall, all eyes were fixed on Shen Haoran, waiting for him to make a mistake. However, a minute passed. Ten minutes passed. An hour passed... Half a day went by, and Shen Haoran’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. On the contrary, inside his Pill Furnace, potent surges of Energy were slowly beginning to form—the telltale sign that the Essence of Spiritual Medicine was being successfully extracted!

"My heavens... He actually did it!"

"Is this guy a monster? Who was it that said he couldn’t refine a Seventh Grade Elixir? With that freakish control over Spiritual Thought and the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, it’d be a miracle if he *couldn’t* refine a Seventh Grade Elixir!"

Continuous gasps of astonishment rang out, startling the other contestants who had been immersed in their own Alchemy. Some Alchemists were so engrossed in watching that they completely forgot about the contents of their own Pill Furnaces. As a result, the Essences of Spiritual Medicine they had painstakingly fused together were instantly reduced to nothing in a moment of carelessness.

Shen Haoran, however, had no mind to spare for anyone else’s Pill Furnace. He was completely focused on refining his own Spirit Medicines. These were all common Spirit Medicines, so their Refinement wasn’t as troublesome as one might imagine. Within a day, Shen Haoran had completely refined all fifty-odd Spirit Medicines into their essences. Glob after glob of potent Essence of Spiritual Medicine, enveloped by the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, floated quietly within the Pill Furnace.

By the time Shen Haoran finished refining these Spirit Medicines, everyone except for Feng Miaoke—including Long Aotian and the others—still had two or three Spirit Medicines left to refine. Even though Shen Haoran had started two days after them, he was now ahead. Long Aotian and the others had no complaints; after all, even they had to admire someone who could refine fifty Spirit Medicines in one go.

Setting the fifty globs of Essence of Spiritual Medicine aside, Shen Haoran turned his gaze to the three remaining items on the stone table: the Dragon Saliva Fruit, the Red Spirit Root, and the Ice-Skin Jade Vine. These were the three main ingredients for refining the Great Heaven Creation Pill.

Shen Haoran casually picked up a Dragon Saliva Fruit and tossed it into the Pill Furnace. In the next moment, the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian immediately enveloped the fruit and began the frantic Refinement process.

However, under the searing heat of the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, the Dragon Saliva Fruit showed no sign of change. The same flame that could instantly reduce an ordinary Spirit Medicine to ash was unable to inflict even the slightest damage on the Dragon Saliva Fruit.

Shen Haoran had expected as much. The Dragon Saliva Fruit was a Top Grade Spiritual Medicine, containing an amount of Energy far beyond that of any common Spirit Medicine. He increased the heat, and a faint green light gradually materialized around the Dragon Saliva Fruit, as if it were contending with the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian...