61: Dan, Fu Qian Shi

Lin Feng's eyes narrowed slightly. He sprinkled the auxiliary "stone marrow powder," and his Divine Sense instantly split into seven strands, piercing into the powder.

The powder vibrated minutely in the air, its structure quietly changing. The originally coarse particles became as fine as dust. The moment they fell and made contact with the main medicinal liquid, they fused perfectly.

Throughout the entire process, the medicinal liquid in the Pill Furnace churned, yet it was always constrained by a gentle spiritual power, never spilling a single drop.

The medicinal fragrance permeating the air grew increasingly rich.

Finally, Lin Feng brought his hands together, and the lid of the Pill Furnace fell with a "clang." The furnace fire extinguished abruptly, yet the residual heat still echoed within the Pill Furnace.

A clear, resonant hum sounded from within the furnace. A round, flawless core condensation pill with faint pill patterns flew into the jade bottle in his hand. The medicinal fragrance was restrained, and its luster was hidden.

Almost at the same time he completed the pill, pill hums of varying pitches sounded from the other Pill Furnaces in the arena. For a moment, medicinal fragrance overflowed, and spiritual light flickered.

Su Sizhu had long since finished her Alchemy and was standing quietly to the side waiting for the evaluation. However, her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the activity on Lin Feng's side.

Deacon Disciples had long since stepped forward, holding jade boxes, collecting the Medicinal Pills refined by each person one by one, and sending them to the high evaluation platform. Several Elders of the Spirit Pill Pavilion began to carefully inspect them.

Every Elder would place the Medicinal Pill in their palm, using their own pill fire to slightly sense it, observing its color, degree of roundness, and the clarity of the pill patterns. More importantly, they felt the purity of the medicinal power contained within and the amount of Impurities.

Occasionally, an Elder would place two Medicinal Pills side by side to compare them carefully, sometimes whispering a few words to each other.

The Disciples below held their breath, their eyes fixed on the high platform, waiting for the final results to be announced.

Lin Feng stood quietly in place, his expression calm, though his heart was not without ripples. He knew his pill quality was not bad, but there were many experts on the field, and there were plenty of people with flashy techniques and excellent Medicinal Pill appearances.

Finally, True Person Xuan Ling in the center of the high evaluation platform stood up.

"In this Alchemy competition, the first place goes to Yi Feng of the Spirit Pill Pavilion. The pill is of Top Grade, the medicinal power is perfectly fused, and there are almost no Impurities."

Sounds of exclamation and envy erupted from below the platform.

"Second place, Su Sizhu of Cloud Bamboo Peak. The pill is of Top Grade, and the medicinal properties are particularly well-stimulated."

...

The rankings were announced one by one, and each one sparked a discussion. The spots in the top ten were becoming fewer and fewer.

Lin Feng's heart lifted slightly. He noticed that the Disciple with the exquisite technique and Senior Sister Ruan from Kaiyang Peak, who controlled the water-refining method, were both in the top five.

Until...

"Tenth place," True Person Xuan Ling's voice paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across the crowd below, seemingly looking for the corresponding person. "Outer Sect Disciple, Lin Feng. The pill is of High Grade, the medicinal power is pure, there are very few Impurities, ranked tenth."

As the voice fell, the arena was silent for a moment, and then a commotion erupted, even more enthusiastic than before.

"Tenth? Is it really him?"

"High Grade quality? Very few Impurities?"

"An Outer Sect Disciple can also be in the top ten? What kind of luck is this?"

Su Sizhu, standing not far away, flashed a look of disbelief in her eyes when she heard Lin Feng's name ranked tenth.

She had seen Lin Feng perform Alchemy with her own eyes. The technique looked basic, but it was terrifyingly precise, especially the "seven-vibration Divine Sense" technique, which was one of her unique methods. It was just that Lin Feng used it even more steadily and solidly than she did.

She couldn't help but stare intently at the Medicinal Pill belonging to Lin Feng that was presented to the high platform by the Deacon Disciple. Even from a distance, she could feel the uniform and pure medicinal power within it. This result made her curiosity even stronger.

When Lin Feng heard the ranking, the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.

Tenth, just right.

Before everyone could digest this news, True Person Xuan Ling continued: "According to precedent, all those in the top ten of the Dao of Alchemy will be awarded a bottle of 'Five Elements Condensation Liquid' as encouragement."

Once these words were spoken, the Disciples below who failed to enter the top ten immediately blew up.

"Five Elements Condensation Liquid? That is a treasure that can refine Qi and stabilize the dao foundation."

"It is said that this liquid is extremely difficult to refine. It requires gathering the essence of the Five Elements, supplemented by dozens of Spirit Medicines, and refined by Core Formation Stage Elders using pill fire for a full forty-nine days to take shape."

"The Sect is so generous this time."

"If I had known, I would have fought with my life for it. Unfortunately..."

Countless envious and even jealous gazes instantly focused on the top ten Disciples, especially Lin Feng, who had just squeezed into the ranks as a dark horse. Many Disciples' eyes turned red, wishing that the spirit liquid was theirs.

Even the few Prodigies who had already been determined to be in the top ten, although they also received the spirit liquid, still looked at Lin Feng with mixed emotions. They had immersed themselves in the Dao of Alchemy for many years to achieve this, and Lin Feng, an Outer Sect Disciple, could actually refine a High Grade pill and enter the top ten; it was truly hard for people to understand.

Lin Feng took the Five Elements Condensation Liquid, which felt warm and cool to the touch. His expression was calm, but his heart was filled with joy. He then put the jade bottle into his ink-colored bracelet.

As the bell ending the Alchemy competition rang, the Formation on the ground operated again. The fire of all the Pill Furnaces extinguished first, and the earth fire interface was closed. Subsequently, the Pill Furnaces, along with the platform, slowly sank and submerged into the ground.

The bluestone slabs on the ground closed again, returning to their original state, as if nothing had happened, clearing a vast space for the next competitions.

Lin Feng swept his gaze across the Spirit Beast competition area and saw from afar that, amidst the fluttering green sleeves of Senior Sister Xiao, a majestic third-order "Green-Eyed Thunder Cloud Leopard" was docilely bowing its head under her palm, drawing cheers from the whole arena.

Turning his head to the Puppet competition area, he saw that Wu Chen, the second place in the Myriad Beast Valley Outer Sect trial that year, had also successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. The bronze mechanical beast he controlled was exceptionally agile, and only then did he realize that this person was a hidden Prodigy in the Dao of Puppetry.

Lin Feng turned to the Talisman competition area. He followed the same pattern, secretly urging the heaven-stealing vine to cautiously capture the "Talisman Intent" and the essence of the brushstrokes that escaped when the experts in the arena were drawing Spirit Talismans.

He still did not seek to show off his skills, but used extremely solid spiritual power control and extremely precise rune architecture to draw a "Gold Shield Talisman."

On the evaluation platform, several Elders carefully inspected it. One of them was Elder Xuan Yue, who, although he did not speak, nodded slightly, apparently approving of his solid foundation. After a comprehensive evaluation, it was once again tenth place.

The Disciples below were already dumbfounded, and the commotion rose again.

"Tenth again? Who exactly is this Lin Feng?"

"Entering the top ten in both Alchemy and Talismans? Unheard of."

"His luck is simply too good."

Lin Feng looked at Senior Brother Li Yun, whom he had met last time. He was actually the second place in the Talisman competition this time. His right index finger, resting on his knee, couldn't help but tap twice.

'...It really is him.' Lin Feng felt a chill in his heart. This person was famous and was recognized by the Sect as a genius in the Dao of Talismans. There were even rumors that he had already received the true inheritance of a certain Elder.

The reward for this Talisman competition was a Talisman brush called "Lingxi." The brush handle was as warm and smooth as jade, and the brush hair was made from the soft hair on the neck of a third-order Spirit Beast, the "Green-Eyed Profound Fox." When writing, it could slightly amplify Divine Sense, making the transmission of spiritual power more stable and precise. For a Talisman master, it could be called a Sharp Weapon. As soon as this reward was announced, it caused another round of envious whispers.

Lin Feng turned to the Formation area, where the atmosphere was completely different from the other arenas.

Square bluestone Formation platforms stood quietly, Formation Flags moved without wind, and faint flowing light circulated between the complicated rune carvings.

There were clearly fewer Disciples who signed up for this path, scattered sparsely in front of various Formation platforms.

Some of them had ancient Formation Plates hanging from their waists, and some had half-rolled ancient scrolls exposed in their sleeves. Most of them had a temperament as calm as water, unlike the noise in other arenas. Many people had even closed their eyes, concentrating, their fingers constantly moving in the Void Realm to deduce, and muttering to themselves.