Chapter 112: Too Clean

Yun Lian stood before the furnace.

Her face, already lacking much color, turned even paler from the excessive consumption of spirit energy, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her brow.

However, a faint smile of relief and pride hung at the corners of her mouth.

Countless looks of awe and curiosity quickly focused on her.

Yun Lian appeared calm and composed as she carefully removed the pills from the furnace one by one, placing them on a jade plate.

The pills were roughly the size of a thumb, perfectly round, and possessed a luster as white and smooth as jade.

Upon their surface, one could faintly see the flow of purple veins.

Hiss — !

As soon as the pills left the furnace, an exotic fragrance wafted out, filling the entire venue.

One whiff was enough to refresh the spirit and cause the crowd to gasp in uncontrollable admiration.

‘Pill patterns! They are actually pills with pill patterns!’

‘My God, this young woman has such high alchemy attainments at such a young age!’

Pill patterns were a phenomenon that appeared only when a pill’s rank and quality reached a certain realm, achieving a sort of resonance with the natural world.

In other words, pill patterns were a manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth.

The fact that this batch of pills displayed pill patterns was enough to prove their exceptional quality and potent medicinal effects.

Standing to the side, Chen Yuyang raised an eyebrow in surprise.

He had not expected Yun Lian’s alchemy skills to be this high.

Ling Pozhu, an Elder of the Pill Sect, flickered into motion and appeared before Yun Lian.

He used spirit energy to envelop one of the pills, letting it float before him.

After a careful inspection, his eyes flashed with light.

He then announced Yun Lian’s results to the entire assembly in a loud, clear voice.

“Rank 4 Bone Quenching Pill, Top Grade quality, eight pills in total, with faint pill patterns!”

Upon hearing this, a wave of exclamations swept through the arena.

For pills of Rank 4 and above, it was rare for a single batch to yield many, yet Yun Lian had produced eight in one go.

Furthermore, they were Top Grade and even bore faint pill patterns.

Even among Rank 4 alchemists, the level she displayed was at the very pinnacle.

Yun Lian gave a slight nod to Ling Pozhu, a faint smile appearing on her face.

But in the next moment, perhaps because she had finally relaxed, her feet suddenly stumbled.

Her spirit energy was pushed to the absolute limit, her body felt hollow, and she began to fall backward.

Seeing this, Chen Yuyang almost instinctively reached out his arm, steadily supporting her shoulders and back.

Where his hand touched her, she felt soft and delicate.

Her body temperature was low, and her heartbeat was slightly slow.

‘There seems to be a deficiency in her body, a hidden ailment.’

With just a brief touch, Chen Yuyang silently sensed her condition.

“Thank you.”

After steadying herself, Yun Lian looked up at Chen Yuyang and thanked him in a weak voice.

“It is nothing.”

Chen Yuyang shook his head, but his eyes involuntarily drifted back to the jade plate holding the Bone Quenching Pills.

The pills were clean, and the spirit energy fluctuations were extremely pure, without a single trace of impurity.

‘So, what about the karma of these pills?’

Chen Yuyang wondered to himself.

Unfortunately, he was not the type of person with keen perception or a relevant divine talent, so he could not see that ethereal karma.

Soon, however, Zhu Tian, the Sect Leader of the Pill Sect, stepped slowly toward Yun Lian.

He casually picked up one of the Bone Quenching Pills and examined it for several breaths.

A look of approval appeared on his aged face, and he gave Yun Lian a slight nod, offering a word of praise.

“Not bad. To be able to refine Top Grade Rank 4 Bone Quenching Pills with pill patterns at your age… your future is promising.”

For a figure of the Pill Sect Leader’s status, this was an exceptionally high evaluation.

After speaking, Zhu Tian returned the pill and raised no further objections.

It seemed there were no issues.

Seeing this, the doubt in Chen Yuyang’s heart dissipated.

At that moment, Yan Dangmo also returned to the main venue of the Pill Assembly.

Earlier, he had sensed Yan Luo’s return and had temporarily left to check on her.

Now that things with his granddaughter were settled, he had rushed back impatiently.

Yan Dangmo did not care at all about the results of the others or any pill pattern phenomena; he only cared about one thing.

That was how Chen Yuyang’s pill was coming along.

Currently, there were quite a few people who shared Yan Dangmo’s thoughts.

However, compared to Yan Dangmo’s concern, they were mostly driven by curiosity.

They wondered just how far Chen Yuyang could go.

Chen Yuyang naturally felt the gazes converging from all directions, and he could not help but feel some pressure.

It was not that he was worried about failing, but rather that he was worried about doing too well.

He was also wondering what level he should aim for this time.

Before the pills were formed, the medicinal potency and the heat were still under his control.

He could appropriately restrain himself and lower the quality.

However, once the pills began to solidify, it would be beyond his control.

If he accidentally refined pills of too high a quality, it would be detrimental to him.

Therefore, Chen Yuyang continued to wait, planning to control the pill formation only after most of the others had finished.

This way, he could ensure success while keeping the quality within a relatively inconspicuous range.

However, his waiting made Yan Dangmo grow anxious.

‘Why hasn’t he finished yet?’

Tugging at his beard, Yan Dangmo could not help but grumble inwardly, ‘The boy is only refining a Rank 4 Qi Gathering Pill. Among Rank 4 pills, the difficulty isn’t that high. Logically, his refining speed should be very fast. Others with higher difficulties have already finished, so why is he still…’

The more he thought about it, the more Yan Dangmo’s heart sank.

‘Could it be… he’s unable to condense the pills?’

This sort of thing was actually quite common in alchemy.

Some alchemists would have a peaceful refining process where everything seemed to go smoothly without any hitches, but in the end, they simply could not condense the medicinal liquid into a pill.

There were many possible causes: perhaps the ratios of the medicinal herbs were slightly off, or the impurities hidden within the herbs were not completely removed, causing them to repel each other during the final condensation.

It could also be a lack of heat or a mistake in the timing of adding an auxiliary ingredient.

In short, there were many reasons.

As for the specific cause, the alchemist would need to review, summarize, and adjust many times over.

To master the refinement of a specific pill, it was common to fail ten or twenty times.

Therefore, in alchemy, no matter how well one performed before the pill was formed, it was all for naught if it failed at the end.

However, Chen Yuyang was not in a hurry.

He remained seated as steady as a rock before his furnace, his spiritual sense covering the entire field to observe the situation of the others.

At the same time, he secretly funneled muddled spirit energy into the furnace to begin lowering the quality of the pill.

After a period of nervousness, Yan Dangmo suddenly had an epiphany and let out a breath.

‘Forget it, to be honest.’

Given Chen Yuyang’s age, even if he ultimately failed the refinement, it was entirely acceptable.

After all, it was a Rank 4 pill.

Being able to refine one meant being considered a mid-rank alchemist, which was already an elite existence.

Furthermore, a small sect like the Hehuan Sect lacked resources and did not seem capable of nurturing a Rank 4 alchemist from scratch.

Even if he failed, his talent was already exceptional.

He had plenty of patience and resources to cultivate him properly.

The prerequisite, of course, was that he became a part of the Yan family.

Nevertheless, Yan Dangmo could not help but harbor a small spark of hope.

‘What if? What if he really pulls it off?’

‘What if he truly is a peerless genius who reached the realm of a Rank 4 alchemist at the age of 15?’

Just as Yan Dangmo’s mood swung back and forth between joy and worry, another phenomenon erupted in the field.

Boom — !

A wave of spirit energy, far more vast and powerful than the one from Yun Lian’s refinement, swept out like a tidal wave.

Following that, a beam of seven-colored light pierced through the boundaries of the field’s formations, descending straight from the heavens to envelop a furnace on the other side of the venue.

Hiss — !

Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the scene, many even sucking in a breath of cold air.

“My God! Another pill formation phenomenon! And this phenomenon… it’s even more shocking than the one from the Falling God Cliff disciple!”

“That’s Mu Qianxi, the genius alchemist who took first place in both the first and second rounds!”

“A genius? He’s nearly 30 years old, isn’t he? That Chen Yuyang is only 15.”

Someone in the crowd could not help but whisper.

“Mu Qianxi can trigger a seven-colored light phenomenon now. I dare say the quality of this pill is absolutely extraordinary!”

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Mu Qianxi stood before his furnace, his expression remains indifferent, though his already thin face was now a few shades paler due to the excessive spirit energy consumption.

Mu Qianxi took a deep breath and formed hand seals, controlling the lid of the furnace as it slowly opened.

At this moment, even he was looking forward to the final result of the batch he had poured his heart and soul into.

Pills enveloped in spirit energy flew out of the furnace.

The Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Pill was complete!

“Good!”

A loud cheer rang out.

Mu Qianxi’s master, Qi Tian, could no longer remain seated.

He leaped from the spectator stands and landed before his disciple.

Qi Tian was filled with excitement and anticipation as he hurriedly began to inspect the freshly refined pills.

The pills were pitch black, round, and full.

Their surfaces were not smooth but covered in clear purple veins that seemed to flow slightly like living things.

This was a true manifestation of pill patterns, fundamentally different from Yun Lian’s faint, flickering patterns!

Moreover, what Mu Qianxi had refined this time was the Nine Revolutions Returning Essence Pill, which was far more difficult than Yun Lian’s Bone Quenching Pill.

The final count was exactly six pills.

Every single one had reached the Top Grade level.

“Qianxi, you did well, very well.”

Qi Tian nodded repeatedly in excitement, unable to stop smiling, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching together.

Nearby, Elders from other sects and the Alchemy Association also began to gossip.

“Such a phenomenon, such quality… that old ghost Qi has really brought glory to his lineage this time!”

“He is indeed impressive. With such alchemy skills at his age, my own disciple is inferior. I admit defeat wholeheartedly.”

“Yes, if this Mu Qianxi is cultivated well, becoming a high-rank alchemist is only a matter of time.”

The Elders did not hide their praise.

However, the expressions of some Elders were rather unsightly.

But in the end, alchemists were always judged by their ability; if you weren’t good enough, you weren’t good enough.

Since their disciples had not produced comparable results, they naturally had nothing to say.

Seeing his own results, Mu Qianxi was also extremely satisfied.

At the same time, his eyes carried a heavy sense of pride as he looked toward Chen Yuyang’s direction.

‘My pill is finished. What about yours?’