Desolate Devouring Art - Chapter 1042 - Refining Again

Chapter 1042 – Refining Again

Long Chen hesitated, clearly reluctant to accept the terms. He had already lost control of the situation, and no one could predict what chaos Liu Wuxie would unleash if he refused. Worse still, public opinion was quickly turning against the Spirit Jade Pavilion.

The members of the Heavenly Dao Society watched the unfolding events with satisfaction. Each of them knew Liu Wuxie was about to deal another fierce blow to his opponent.

“My condition is simple,” Liu Wuxie declared. “If the Heavenly Dao Society fails to produce pills with purple pill runes, we’ll withdraw from the commerce fair without complaint. But if we succeed, Elder Shi must publicly admit his mistake and slap himself across the face.”

Bi Gongyu stepped forward, mockery gleaming in his eyes as he challenged, “Shi Yuan, do you dare accept it?!”

The crowd gasped in unison. Liu Wuxie’s terms were shocking. What kind of strategy was this? Even if they succeeded and Shi Yuan slapped himself, how would that benefit the Heavenly Dao Society?

To the public, it seemed like a meaningless demand. But those who stood at the peak of the Earth Profound Realm understood the deeper implications. Shi Yuan was the Pavilion Master’s trusted confidant. For him to slap himself in public would be as good as insulting the Pavilion Master himself.

The crowd failed to realize that the divide between the Heavenly Dao Society and the Spirit Jade Pavilion had begun the moment Shi Yuan had intervened. Because he served as the Pavilion Master’s right-hand man, his every action carried weight, and he had, to some extent, spoken on the Pavilion Master’s behalf.

Shi Yuan’s expression darkened with fury. He hadn’t anticipated Liu Wuxie’s humiliating proposal, one that cornered him completely. If he refused, it would seem he lacked confidence in his accusations. But if he agreed, it would ruin his reputation and tarnish the Pavilion Master’s name as well.

“Elder Shi Yuan, are you scared or just too cowardly to take the bet?” Liu Wuxie goaded, adding fuel to the fire.

His intentions were clear. He wasn’t there to win the Spirit Jade Pavilion’s favor. His true goal was to make the Heavenly Dao Society’s name ring across the realm. Once they gained that reputation, their pills would sell themselves.

Fan Zhen stepped forward and said in a calm and firm voice. “If he doesn’t accept the bet, then we’ll take it as him conceding first place to the Heavenly Dao Society. Does anyone object?”

At this point, whether they refined another pill no longer mattered. Shi Yuan had trapped himself in a no-win situation.

If Shi Yuan backed down now, everyone would treat it as silent admission, and he might as well slap himself right then and there. Yet, even if they allowed another round of refinement, he had no chance of turning the tide. The situation was a slow, drawn-out humiliation, like roasting him slowly over a low flame.

“Elder Shi, what are you hesitating for? Let them refine it again! I refuse to believe they can produce pills with purple pill runes,” an elder from the Scarlet Dragon Cult stepped forward, pressing for a retest.

“That’s right! Let them refine it again!” more voices echoed from the crowd.

These sects had no intention of backing the Heavenly Dao Society. Their goal was simple. They wanted to watch and learn. If the Society could truly reproduce the pill, it would confirm the authenticity of their alchemy techniques, and the others could find a way to imitate them.

Liu Wuxie stood firm. “Elder Shi, what’s your decision?”

Even Long Chen, growing visibly impatient, urged Shi Yuan to make a decision.

“Fine, I agree to your condition,” Shi Yuan finally spat, a venomous glint flickering in his eyes.

“If you fail to produce a pill of the same quality, there’s no need for you to walk out of this plaza. I’ll personally slaughter every last one of you,” he growled.

Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes, a flash of murderous intent gleaming within them.

“The Heavenly Dao Society didn’t rise to its current height through intimidation,” he replied coldly. “Elder Shi, I’ve committed every word you spoke to memory.”

A golden light shimmered in Liu Wuxie’s gaze as he spoke, and his calm defiance sent a jolt through the crowd.

The tide of the commerce fair shifted in an instant. The ridicule and scorn from earlier had disappeared. That single response from Liu Wuxie was enough to win the crowd’s respect.

Standing firm under Shi Yuan’s threat was no small feat. The courage of the Heavenly Dao Society was no longer in question.

“Let’s get started then!” Long Chen declared, raising his hand to signal the beginning.

Though he still didn’t understand the source of the grudge between Shi Yuan and the Heavenly Dao Society, that question would have to wait.

Bi Gongyu stepped forward and summoned a massive alchemy cauldron. This vessel was no ordinary tool, and Liu Wuxie had gifted it to him. He had acquired the treasure from an elder of the Azure Crimson Gate and reforged it himself.

With a wave of his hand, a fierce flame roared to life, instantly enveloping the cauldron.

“Wait… isn’t Liu Wuxie supposed to be the one refining the pill?” someone in the crowd asked, confused.

Though Bi Gongyu had reached the Spirit Profound Realm, it was clear to anyone with a discerning eye that his breakthrough had been recent. How could someone who had just advanced to the Spirit Profound Realm be capable of refining a spiritual pill?

What they didn’t know was that Bi Gongyu had already mastered the refinement of first-grade spiritual pills even before his breakthrough. Now, with his cultivation elevated, producing such a pill was no longer a challenge for him.

Calm and composed, Bi Gongyu laid out the spiritual herbs in flawless order.

Suddenly, the air shimmered with light as dozens of Memory Talismans activated throughout the plaza. Spectators scrambled to record every step of Bi Gongyu’s technique, eager to study the process firsthand.

“Those spiritual herbs look cheap. Can he refine a first-grade spiritual pill with that?” murmurs of doubt rippled through the crowd.

Many spectators frowned at the herbs Bi Gongyu retrieved, puzzled by his choices. Alchemists follow strict requirements, and the quality of ingredients played a critical role in the outcome. Yet, the herbs he displayed were all common.

“That’s impossible! How could those herbs produce a first-grade spiritual pill?” More voices chimed in, disbelief spreading like wildfire.

Even the elders of the Profound Cloud Sect began to frown. As masters of alchemy, they instantly recognized the limitations of the ingredients laid out before them. At most, those herbs could yield ordinary pills, not something worthy of first-grade status.

In their experience, refining a first-grade spiritual pill usually required ingredients worth at least five thousand high-grade spirit stones. However, what Bi Gongyu had prepared barely amounted to one thousand.

Everyone recognized the value of first-grade spiritual pills. Despite their cost, they were accessible enough for widespread use and consistently remained in high demand.

Without hesitation, Bi Gongyu tossed all the ingredients into the cauldron, beginning to form intricate seals. Once he summoned profound seals, he directed them one after another into the cauldron, each imprint pulsing with refined control.

“What a strange technique,” several alchemists murmured, rising from their seats to get a closer look.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said an elder from the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was a grandmaster in alchemy, yet even he struggled to decipher Bi Gongyu’s method.

“That’s strange,” others echoed, equally puzzled. His technique shattered their expectations, its rhythm and flow unlike anything documented in traditional alchemy.

“It might look ordinary,” remarked an expert at the pinnacle of the Earth Profound Realm, “but watch how he resonates with the world around him.”

Though he wasn’t well-versed in alchemy, the expert could still sense that something extraordinary was unfolding before him. Bi Gongyu moved in perfect harmony with the natural world as if he were resonating with the flow of heaven and earth itself.

“How is it possible for him to borrow power from the surrounding world?” voices in the crowd rose in astonishment.

Flames surged from the cauldron, enveloping it in an intense blaze. In just three minutes, he added all the ingredients.

“What? He’s already in the purification stage?” an elder from the Profound Cloud Sect cried out, shock written across his face.

Normally, three minutes was hardly enough time to heat the cauldron and begin adding herbs properly. Yet, Bi Gongyu had already advanced to the purification stage. His technique defied convention.

With graceful precision, Bi Gongyu began pacing around the cauldron. His movements flowed smoothly like water.

“Incredible! Even if he can’t refine any purple pill runes, his technique alone has already surpassed most alchemists here,” someone remarked, unable to hide their admiration.

Even without the purple pill runes, if the refinement succeeded, it would still be enough to shake the entire plaza. Bi Gongyu’s display was rewriting their expectations.

Gradually, opinions began to shift. More and more spectators started viewing the Heavenly Dao Society in a new light. Who said a small faction couldn’t rise to prominence? Every major sect had once started from nothing. Even the Spirit Jade Pavilion had begun as a modest shop, climbing to its current prestige only after years of struggle and perseverance.

“Pill fragrance! There’s pill fragrance!” someone shouted as a rich, medicinal aroma began to drift from the cauldron.

Five minutes passed, and Bi Gongyu completed the purification stage; the condensation stage was already underway. No one present had ever seen the process unfold with such speed and precision.

“What an intense fragrance! It looks like the Heavenly Dao Society might produce a pill with purple pill runes!” several excited supporters shouted, their voices ringing out over the crowd.

If the Heavenly Dao Society succeeded, many sects wouldn’t hesitate to purchase their pills to strengthen their forces. While most factions had their alchemy divisions, pills with purple pill runes were too rare to come by.

As time passed, the members of the Heavenly Dao Society remained composed and unwavering.

Shi Yuan grew visibly restless, while the faces of the Wang Clan darkened. They were all too familiar with the quality of the Heavenly Dao Society’s pills, and now, they could no longer intervene. Bi Gongyu had neared completion.

Then, without warning, a haze formed above Bi Gongyu’s head, accompanied by a subtle shift in the air.

“Haze? It’s a natural phenomenon!” someone cried out in disbelief.

Most in the crowd had never witnessed such a sight. For a pill to draw the attention of the natural world was nothing short of astonishing.

After stepping into the Spirit Profound Realm, Bi Gongyu had gained a much deeper understanding of the alchemy technique Liu Wuxie had passed down to him.

“It has reached the final step of pill forming!” someone exclaimed.

With the condensation stage complete, the process advanced to its final and most critical phase: pill formation.

A soft, rolling sound echoed from the cauldron, light and melodious, like wind chimes dancing in a gentle breeze.

“Open!” Bi Gongyu called out, stepping forward and striking the cauldron with both palms.

He extinguished the flames around the cauldron instantly, and the surrounding temperature dropped sharply. At the same time, the cauldron released a rich medicinal fragrance that spread rapidly across the entire plaza. Even those hundreds of meters away were drawn in by its scent.

Cultivators hovering mid-air instinctively stepped closer, drawn in by the aroma.

“It smells incredible! Even my cultivation is reacting!” exclaimed a cultivator at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm. Just by inhaling the fragrance, he felt his bottleneck begin to loosen. If he consumed the pill, he had a strong sense that he could break through on the spot.

With a swift wave of his hand, five gleaming pills soared from the cauldron and landed neatly in Bi Gongyu’s palm. Without hesitation, he sealed them inside a porcelain bottle, locking in their potency before the open air could diminish it.

As the fragrance faded, the crowd groaned in frustration. Many cultivators groaned, some even pounding their chests in regret.

“I want that pill! I’ll pay any amount of spirit stones!” shouted a cultivator at the pinnacle of the True Profound Realm. He sensed a breakthrough approaching, only for the opportunity to slip away with the dissipating aroma.

His eyes burned with determination, and he vowed to obtain that pill, no matter the cost.

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