673: Hundreds of Elixirs

However, every person (or Yao) who entered the valley was instantly "fixed" by an invisible force within an independent space of no more than a few zhang in circumference.

They could see and hear each other, but could not approach or interfere.

Hum!

In front of everyone, a soft screen of light manifested out of thin air, clearly displaying the assessment content:

[Ten Thousand Medicines Returning to Nature]: Randomly manifest one hundred types of medicinal herbs (may include remnants from Elementary to Immortal grades).

Candidates can identify their medicinal properties, attributes, mutual generation and restriction, and possible uses through sight, smell, taste (micro-sampling), Spiritual Qi detection, or micro-calcination. Time limit: One hour. Completion of 80% is passing, 90% is excellent, 100% is perfect.]

Hiss—!!!

The moment they saw the assessment content, a collective gasp echoed throughout the valley!

"Randomly one hundred types?!"

"And it might include Immortal grade remnants?! Who has ever seen such a thing?"

"One hour?! And identify medicinal properties, mutual restriction, and uses?!"

"Rely on smell and taste to sample? What if I draw something highly toxic? Calcination? Who takes the blame if I burn it?"

"This... this is simply an impossible task!"

"It's over! I'm going to be eliminated in the first round!" Countless Loose Cultivators and many Cultivators who were not specialized in the Dao of Pills turned pale, and many wailed aloud.

"Hahaha! Heaven helps me!" The Savage Demon Green Dragon, however, could not help but let out an excited low roar!

He was born with a Wood Spirit Sacred Body and his sensitivity to the essence of plants and trees far exceeded that of ordinary people; he could even deduce medicinal properties by absorbing the medicinal power through the roots!

This assessment was tailor-made for him! He also saw the movements on Yao Delong's side, and his mouth curled into a disdainful arc:

"Human Race brat, the Dao of Pills isn't about lip service! Watch how you die!"

Although the Sky-Rending Demon King was isolated, seeing the excited expression on the Azure Dragon, he also relaxed and looked towards Yao Delong's direction with mockery in his blood-red eyes.

The alchemists from the Nine Nether Sect and Myriad Sword Valley also furrowed their brows, under immense pressure.

Just then, the first medicinal herb slowly took shape in the light screen in front of everyone—each with different forms, colors, and auras!

A tense atmosphere instantly permeated the entire valley!

Yao Delong looked at the withered branch in front of him that was pitch black, like charred charcoal, then looked at the strange herbs in front of his fellow sect members, and finally glanced at the emerald vine overflowing with Spiritual Qi in front of the Savage Demon Green Dragon in the distance...

A corner of his mouth slowly curled into an intrigued arc.

"A bit interesting."

The next moment, he extended his slender fingers and gently tapped the "charcoal," his movements as casual as if he were toying with an ordinary toy.

As Yao Delong's fingertips lightly touched the charred withered branch, an endless stream of information flashed through his mind: Ink Jade Agarwood, grows on the edge of geothermal lava, does not rot for a thousand years; its carbonized shell is not decay, but essence restrained within!

Medicinal properties: Extremely Yin and cold in nature, contains a trace of eternal stillness, can neutralize violent fire toxins and stabilize the core of high-grade Pill Furnaces that have lost control.

Uses: Core auxiliary medicine for the 7th-grade "Ice Soul Suppressing Origin Pill," edge auxiliary material for the 8th-grade "Nine Turns Soul Returning Pill," and can also be used to refine special Yin-attribute armor.

He could even instantly deduce three or four schemes to fine-tune Pill Formulas using this medicine, though there was no need to display them at this moment.

With a casual tap on the light screen, the relevant medicinal properties, attributes, mutual generation and restriction, and main uses were imprinted into the assessment Jade Slip like flowing water, the speed so fast it was dazzling.

"This... is too easy, right?" A Core Disciple of Pill Cloud Peak nearby had just finished identifying the second medicinal herb, and upon catching a glimpse of the "Recorded: 3" prompt on the light screen in front of Yao Delong, his eyes nearly popped out.

For Yao Delong, who had Cultivated the "Pill Scripture Secret Scroll" and the Medicine Daoist's bottom-of-the-box "Void Derivation Pill Transformation Art" to Perfection, and whose Realm had long since returned to simplicity under the System's enhancement, the first few dozen medicinal herbs, no matter how their forms changed, even if they were ancient varieties long extinct in the Eastern Region, were as simple as a toddler learning to read in his eyes!

Observation: With just one glance, the herb's age, growth environment, and attribute tendencies were clear in his mind.

Mental Deduction: Combining experience and the deduction ability of classics, its medicinal properties, mutual generation and restriction relationships, and even what kind of Medicinal Pill it could be used to refine, as well as its grade and type, instantly appeared clearly.

Manual Recording: A light tap of the fingertips, and information was instantly recorded into the Jade Slip, smooth as clouds and flowing water, without any hesitation.

He was strolling in a leisurely courtyard, taking things as they came. Conversely, in the entire valley:

Loose Cultivators and small-faction alchemists: They were already in a fluster, sweating profusely. Some held the herbs as if they were holding bombs, sniffing cautiously, and if they detected a trace with weak Spiritual Qi, they were scared into retracting; some tried to calcine a small piece, only for it to turn into ash with a "puff," leaving them wanting to cry; some tasted a root, their Faces turned green instantly, and they hurriedly pulled out detoxification pills to gulp down...

Myriad Sword Valley Elder Chen: This 7th-grade Elementary alchemist was able to barely keep up with Yao Delong's speed for the first fifty herbs relying on his deep accumulation, but by about the sixtieth, when a strange herb appeared that looked like a withered vine, exuding an aura of decay yet containing vitality, the cold sweat on his forehead came down with a "swish"! This was completely beyond his cognitive range!

He could only suppress his anxiety, take out a complete set of exquisite tools, carefully scrape off a little powder to observe the color, and then take a small section of the root to taste it extremely carefully with the tip of his tongue, closing his eyes to sense it for a long time before daring to tremblingly record his guess on the Jade Slip.

The Pill Cloud Peak group: As professional contestants, they were quite smooth at first, and their speed was far superior to others.

Liu Ruyan raised her fair wrists, observing, sniffing, and occasionally trying, her movements elegant and precise; although her speed was not as monstrous as Yao Delong's, she was also among the best.

However, as the difficulty of the herbs increased, their speed also dropped significantly, requiring more careful analysis.

Liu Ruyan's gaze drifted to Yao Delong from time to time, watching his almost thoughtless movements, and her purple eyes shimmered with brilliance.

The Savage Demon Green Dragon: This possessor of the Wood Spirit Sacred Body was indeed an anomaly among the Yao Race.

He closed his eyes tightly, his hands pressing into the air above the emerald vine in front of him, and a soft green halo radiated from his body, as if he had merged with the vine.

By sensing the flow of medicinal power through the roots, he deduced its nature. His speed was extremely fast! Second only to Yao Delong!

When he completed the first fifty and discovered that Yao Delong was actually a line faster than him, a flash of astonishment crossed his blue-green Face, which then turned into deep disdain:

"Hmph! Putting on a show! Human Race brat, are you just writing blindly for the sake of Face? Let's see how long you can pretend!"

He concentrated more and more on driving the Wood Spirit Sacred Body, and his speed increased again.

Time flew by, and half an hour passed in the blink of an eye!

The number of records on the Jade Slip in front of Yao Delong had already reached eighty-eight!

And the Savage Demon Green Dragon, relying on the Wood Spirit Sacred Body, had finally caught up to eighty-five! This was already a terrifying speed!

It should be known that the fastest among the others, such as Elder Chen, Liu Ruyan, and other Pill Cloud Peak Elders, had only just reached about eighty herbs at this moment, and were already exhausted, with huge consumption of their mental state.

However, Yao Delong's brows furrowed slightly at this moment.

"The later herbs... are indeed tricky." He thought to himself.

From the sixtieth herb onwards, the rarity, complexity, and Law fragments contained in the herbs had suddenly increased by a level!

These last twenty herbs were mostly long extinct in the Eastern Region, and did not even belong to the known medicinal System of the Azure Cloud World! They were either ancient relics or from other great worlds! The grade was at least 8th-grade and above!