Chapter 93 - 92: Corpse Insect Pill
Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Corpse Insect Pill
"The first round of Alchemy is over!"
"Eighty-two Alchemists have passed!"
"The rest may leave."
When the two hours were up, Li Xiuci announced the results without hesitation.
Of the nearly one thousand Alchemists, only eighty-two were selected. One can imagine how difficult it was, with over ninety percent eliminated directly.
But most of this ninety percent were not serious practitioners. The majority only dabbled in Alchemy or had learned some crude techniques, using it simply as a side gig to earn some extra money.
Only those who had truly poured their heart and soul into the art of Alchemy were selected.
Among these eighty-two Alchemists, only a few were from other peaks; the rest were all from Jade Cauldron Peak. Jade Cauldron Peak held a distinct advantage in Alchemy.
"The second round of Alchemy will now begin."
As Li Xiuci spoke, the Alchemists present stared at him nervously, afraid he would announce another obscure Elixir.
The result did not disappoint them—it was indeed another obscure Elixir!
"The second Elixir is called the Corpse Insect Pill!"
"Here is the Pill Formula. The time limit is still two hours!"
After speaking, Li Xiuci waved his hand, causing the stone platforms to descend, leaving only eighty-two behind. Then, the Pill Formulas and materials were delivered.
Many of the Alchemists had never even heard of this strange and obscure Elixir.
Duan Ran glanced at the Pill Formula, his eyes immediately widening.
"This... you have to integrate a living Corpse Insect into the Elixir, ensure its vitality, make it slumber within the Elixir, and then activate it with Divine Sense? How is this even refined?"
"The difficulty is too high! Is this still a Tier One High-Grade Elixir?"
On the other side, Hu Liang’s expression was also grim. It was clear his master had not told him about this Elixir beforehand.
’The difficulty is high,’ he thought, ’but my Void Fire Alchemy Skill emphasizes speed. As long as I’m fast enough, I can integrate the Corpse Insect into the Elixir’s core before it’s burned to death!’
’I have a certain degree of confidence. And according to the time and procedures on the Pill Formula, I can refine three batches in two hours.’
He glanced at the materials and, seeing there were indeed three sets, immediately took one to begin his study.
Meanwhile, the Alchemist from Magic Peak was laughing wildly.
’This Elixir is practically made for me! I just need to set up a small Rune to ensure the Corpse Insect can withstand the Pill Fire, that’s it! HAHAHA!’
In this round, he seemed to have the upper hand.
Yet another well-known Alchemist, Tao Le Xin, was at a loss. He could only simulate the process based on the Pill Formula and attempt one batch to see how it went.
"This is so difficult, much harder than in previous years. The Corpse Insect Pill... I’ve never even heard of it. Does anyone know anything who can explain?"
"I only know a little. It seems to be an Elixir used in the past against the Qi Refining Disciples of the Profound Yin Sect. The Corpse Insect could be used to disrupt one of their techniques, but I don’t know the specifics. This Elixir has long since vanished from the market."
"It’s so strange that the sect wants to refine this kind of Elixir. Is something about to happen?"
"That’s not something we Qi Refining Cultivators should worry about."
"Yeah, don’t worry about it."
Amidst the discussions of the crowd,
Yu Changsheng had already finished reading the Pill Formula. This Elixir was indeed targeted at the Profound Yin Sect—no, to be precise, it was targeted against Yin Qi.
Similar to the Scattered Demon Essence Pill he had refined before, after this Elixir was thrown, the Corpse Insect inside would fly out, rapidly devour the surrounding Yin Qi, and then explode.
Disciples of the Profound Yin Sect were said to achieve their Dao through killing, and their cultivated techniques were mostly related to Yin Qi. Therefore, this Corpse Insect Pill would indeed be effective against them.
But its use was limited to the Qi Refining Stage. A Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage would likely have a way to destroy the Corpse Insect the moment it appeared.
’The sect even got its hands on such a heretical Pill Formula. Don’t tell me they have a similar Tier Two Elixir as well?’
Yu Changsheng considered it and felt it was very likely.
But that wasn’t his concern right now. His current task was to refine this Elixir successfully and get his hands on the materials for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
’The requirements for refining this Elixir are very high. I estimate that not many people here will be able to succeed.’
Yu Changsheng glanced at the others and shook his head. He then raised his hand and conjured a flame, gently warming the Pill Furnace before tossing in a few of the supplementary ingredients for the Corpse Insect Pill.
Even he didn’t dare to throw everything in to refine at once this time.
It was a Tier One High-Grade Elixir, and an eccentric one among obscure pills at that.
He needed a trial run.
’Two hours is enough time for me to attempt the Alchemy twice. I should pace myself.’
’The biggest problem with this Elixir is the Corpse Insect. If the Corpse Insect is burned to death in the Pill Fire, the whole thing is useless.’
’However, the flame of the Three-coin Fire Refining Technique is gentle and slow. Combined with the Static Fire I’ve mastered, I have a seventy to eighty percent chance of success on my first try.’
Yu Changsheng closed his eyes, controlling the Pill Furnace while running a simulation in his mind.
’Now is the time.’
He slowed the flame in the Pill Furnace. When it reached the state of Static Fire, he immediately tossed in the Corpse Insect that was set aside.
The main ingredient fell in, and the Static Fire enveloped the Corpse Insect, slowly refining it.
’Slow... steady!’
Yu Changsheng opened his eyes, manipulating the Flame and merging the Corpse Insect with the liquefied materials!
During the final stage of consolidation, the Corpse Insect was suddenly agitated. It began to struggle, trying to escape.
Yu Changsheng hastily controlled the Flame, but the Corpse Insect quickly broke out of the nascent elixir and was reduced to ash in the fire.
A total failure at the final step!
’A little over half an hour... I was a bit too hasty.’
Yu Changsheng sighed. If he had taken a little more time, he was confident he could have successfully formed the pill.
As he failed, sighs could be heard from the others as well.
"Duan Ran failed."
"It looks like only Hu Liang is still refining. He might succeed on his first try!"
"Tao Le Xin couldn’t hold on either!"
"It seems this Elixir is hard to refine without failing once or twice."
"No kidding! Who normally refines such an obscure Elixir for fun? Taking half an hour just to ruin one batch is already pretty good!"
"Huh, the Alchemist from Beast Taming Peak failed too, HAHAHA."
For some reason, some people were particularly happy to see Yu Changsheng fail.
This was especially true for some Cultivators from Jade Cauldron Peak, whose grins were wide enough to fit an apple.
However, Yu Changsheng was not affected by them.
In the stands, Elder Xu chuckled and looked at Gongsun Yang. Seeing his calm and composed expression, he couldn’t help but let out a snort.
"Gongsun Yang, you seem very confident in your disciple."
"Of course. He is my direct disciple, after all."
Gongsun Yang stroked his beard and smiled.
Just then, an uproar came from the front, and everyone looked over.
It was Hu Liang, who had opened his Pill Furnace and was the first to successfully form the pills.
"Three Formed Pills, no Pill Patterns. That counts for six points," Li Xiuci said, glancing at him. "There is still enough time. You can continue refining."
Hu Liang immediately took more materials and began refining again. The results of the first batch were not good; the elixirs were misshapen and had just barely met the standard.
As an ambitious Alchemist, he naturally wanted to refine better elixirs.
The speed of his Void Fire Alchemy Skill was enough for him to start two more batches!
’Now that I’ve grasped the final trick, forming six pills won’t be a problem!’
Hu Liang took a deep breath and threw the main ingredients into the furnace.