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In the alchemy room.

As more people gathered to watch, the atmosphere became increasingly heated.

Among the crowd, Li Shen also spotted three familiar faces.

Manager Zhao, Elder Zhao Yue, and Zhao Ling.

It's one thing for disciples to join in the fun, but what are elders doing here?

Li Shen was completely bewildered. His gaze swept over the three people and landed on the two white-haired old men.

One is at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and the other is at the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Standing near Lin Xiaoxiao, one of them appears to be Lin Xiaoxiao's master, the Zhao family's honorary alchemist, and the other should be the Zhao family's elder in charge of alchemy affairs.

At this moment, Lin Xiaoxiao spoke up:

"Fellow Daoist Li, why don't you admit defeat now, or you'll accuse me of bullying you later?"

"It's alright, Fellow Daoist Lin. You should learn more later, because you'll have to charge me to become my disciple later."

Li Shen smiled and responded.

After they finished speaking, the two stopped in front of the same alchemy furnace.

Since it is a two-person individual competition, both participants must prepare their own materials.

In order not to bully Li Shen, Lin Xiaoxiao specially allowed him to use better quality materials.

If Li Shen can beat her, he can ask her for reimbursement.

Li Shen flatly refused.

First of all, he didn't come to the competition to gain an advantage.

Secondly, he was very confident.

The competition began under the watchful eyes of the two elders, and the disciples lined up in their respective groups.

The two disagreed on how to prepare the materials.

Lin Xiaoxiao processed the necessary spiritual plants one by one.

The slice is sliced, and the grinder is ground.

Li Shen, however, did not do that. He simply laid them out, sorted them slightly, and then began to select spirit wood to prepare the furnace for heating the pills.

This action immediately made the Zhao family's enshrined alchemist, who was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, frown.

He knew that this competition was only for basic fasting pills.

But they didn't even do any basic processing, which is clearly the behavior of an amateur.

However, remembering that his apprentice had mentioned the other party's philosophy, his brows relaxed.

Want to directly cultivate internal energy through firepower?

The young man who had just learned alchemy was too confident in himself.

He has been refining elixirs for decades and has a wealth of experience.

For a beginner trying this method, there is only one outcome: failure.

Of course, this competition involves refining three batches of pills, with the winner determined by quality and success rate.

Consider the first batch a lesson learned.

After thinking it over, he turned to continue observing Lin Xiaoxiao, his eyes revealing satisfaction with every step she took.

The alchemy furnaces were already warm, with flames evenly licking the bottom of the furnaces.

The two of them took the same first step, placing the same type of medicinal herbs, both of which were Huangdi Gen, which requires a long time to refine.

Lin Xiaoxiao played a short film, while Li Shen played the whole thing.

Several Zhao family disciples standing near Lin Xiaoxiao couldn't help but shake their heads upon seeing this, not expecting that the other party would actually dare to do such a thing.

Next, the two placed the remaining spiritual materials in almost the same order.

The onlookers observed silently, without any discussion.

This is already a fixed process.

Until the refining process begins.

Seeing that Li Shen did not immediately begin controlling the fire to refine pills, but instead slowly took out a fireball talisman, everyone's faces showed varying degrees of astonishment.

"What does he want to do?"

"Want to go straight for the fire?"

"A fireball talisman? Interesting. So this is how talisman masters refine pills. This is truly eye-opening."

The murmurs grew louder and louder, but Li Shen paid no attention.

A flash of light appeared at his fingertips, and a fireball merged directly into the fire, causing the flames to suddenly intensify, almost threatening to engulf the entire alchemy furnace in an instant.

Without any hesitation, he changed his gestures, closed his eyes slightly, and used his divine sense to sense the changes.

About fifteen minutes later, the signs of burning or getting out of control that the dissenting disciples had anticipated did not appear.

Under the precise guidance of Li Shen's divine sense and the changes in his hand gestures, the raging fire tightly enveloped the alchemy furnace.

The alchemy furnace emitted a deep and steady hum.

The alchemy technique he used was called the Thousand Refinements and Myriad Transformations Hand, which Shi Yong obtained from the ruins of an ancient cultivator's mansion. It included Shi Yong's personal understanding and was recorded in his notes.

When Li Shen was refining the Bigu Pill himself, he had already sensed the profoundness of this technique.

Furthermore, Shi Yong's ability to refine high-grade Qi Gathering Pills using this technique and his understanding of the concept, as well as his willingness to attempt to refine second-tier pills during the Qi Refining stage, all prove that this technique is absolutely extraordinary.

Of course, learning such alchemy techniques is not easy.

Fortunately, Li Shen had a solid foundation in talisman drawing and, by analogy, had already mastered some of it.

It is more than enough to make fasting pills.

Li Shen became increasingly confident, and indeed it was true. Although there were no obvious signs on the surface, Li Shen could sense with his divine sense that the medicinal materials inside his pill had undergone a rather drastic change.

This one batch will decide the outcome!

On the other side...

Lin Xiaoxiao's technique was extremely skillful, her finger gestures changing as she meticulously controlled the earth fire with her own spiritual power, gradually extracting the medicinal power.

She caught a glimpse of the flames shooting skyward from Li Shen's side, and a slight doubt arose in her heart, but she dared not be distracted, focusing all her attention on the changes within her own furnace.

Time passed second by second.

A faint fragrance of grains was already emanating from Lin Xiaoxiao's alchemy furnace. Her eyes were bright, and her movements were very steady.

Li Shen's alchemy furnace, though blazing with flames, never emitted any medicinal fragrance.

Some of the disciples watching already showed expressions of "I knew it," and whispered among themselves.

Several people who had bet on who would win before the competition approached the organizers to increase their bets.

Even Zhao Ling was involved. She bet on Lin Xiaoxiao, not because she wanted to make a lot of money, but because she was still resentful about Li Shen taking the Suoyang Pill.

Unfortunately, once this pill is taken, it is difficult to counteract, and can only be resolved on its own after the Foundation Establishment stage.

Zhao Yue frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Hong, the Zhao family's revered alchemist, who was standing beside him.

Zhang Hong gently shook his head and whispered:

"If the heat is too intense, the medicinal properties may be compromised, and even if the pill is successfully made, its quality will not be much higher."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Shen suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

At the most crucial moment of condensing the elixir, Li Shen's fire intensified instead of decreasing.

Lin Xiaoxiao's session had already ended, while Li Shen's session was still ongoing.

She didn't immediately go to get the pills, but turned to look at Li Shen, whose methods were even more aggressive than she had imagined.

A moment later, Li Shen's hand gestures changed repeatedly, and the fire under the alchemy furnace suddenly subsided.

The raging flames seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand, instantly collapsing to the bottom of the furnace, leaving only a warm red glow.

Li Shen has also completed the training.

He didn't go to get the pill either, but turned around and reminded him:

"Fellow Daoist Lin, please retrieve the pill."

No scent emanated from Li Shen's alchemy furnace, unlike the rich fragrance that wafted from Lin Xiaoxiao's furnace.

Just a light sniff is enough to make one's mouth water.

"Even a low-grade Bigu Pill should have some fragrance when it's made. If it has no smell at all, it's obviously a failure."

One of the disciples crossed his arms and drew his own conclusion.

Most disciples who studied alchemy held the same idea.

Then, they looked at the novice talismans around Li Shen who were drawing talismans, and smiled very smugly.

Some disciples even felt that their expressions weren't intimidating enough, so they started making various hand gestures as well.

Faced with the unbridled mockery from the other side, those who sided with Li Shen were unable to refute it.

Although they did not practice alchemy, they had purchased fasting pills.

It's impossible for a pill to have no fragrance at all.

Clearly, Li Shen's attempt at this round failed. Fortunately, there are still two rounds left. As long as Li Shen restrains himself and avoids using those exaggerated gestures, and plays it safe, he won't lose too badly.