198: Chapter 198 No, we can't lose here.

Zhao Zhengyang of Xuanguang Peak stood atop the clouds, feeling proud as he watched his Disciple use forceful water-over-fire techniques.

To be able to utilize the Five Elements' generation and restriction to such an extent with a Water Spirit Body proved his foundation was indeed profound.

However, when Zhao Zhengyang's Divine Sense swept over Su Cheng's clusters of docile medicinal liquid, his expression involuntarily tightened.

“Just what kind of Wood-attribute Cultivation Technique is this kid practicing?” In the nearby Void Realm, Elder Lu Yuan of Wanhua Peak was also shocked. “In the Face of the Five Elements' restriction, he didn't use forceful methods, but instead let those violent medicinal properties resolve themselves. How strange.”

Beside him, Elder Qingmu's Divine Sense was also locked onto the stone platform. Though he couldn't see through his Disciple's true methods, he chuckled inwardly: When has my eye for talent ever been wrong? Zhao Zhengyang is definitely going to lose Face today.

During the purification stage, the two seemed roughly equal on the surface, with Su Cheng being slightly stronger when handling the Blazing Flame Stamen and Thick Earth Root due to his strange skill.

The real difficulty lay in the subsequent Fusion step.

Su Cheng restrained his aura, waiting for Shen Qing to finish processing the fifth medicinal ingredient.

Neither spoke, but their movements were surprisingly synchronized, controlling the heat at the same time to prepare for the dangerous Fusion stage.

This rapport was a direct sign of respect for one's opponent.

Shen Qing began first.

A pale blue water mist emerged from between his fingers, forming a dense water net between the five clusters of medicinal liquid.

Every thread of the water net precisely connected two adjacent medicinal liquids, gradually eliminating the attribute barriers between them.

The onlookers could clearly see:

The silver-white Metal-attribute medicinal liquid was first enveloped by the blue water threads, its sharp edges smoothed significantly by the mist;

The earthy-yellow Earth-attribute medicinal liquid was then incorporated into the water net.

Shen Qing skillfully utilized the Five Elements' generation and restriction, using the Water, Metal, and Earth medicinal liquids to establish a stable foundation before slowly absorbing the Wood-attribute liquid.

This method was highly methodical, clearly a practiced technique passed down through the Sect's Legacy, rather than something improvised.

The Wood-attribute medicinal liquid fused in smoothly without issue; the principle of Wood being generated by Water operated steadily under the control of his Water Spirit Body.

When the Fire-attribute medicinal liquid was added, the breathing of the nearby Xuanguang Peak Disciples suddenly slowed.

As soon as the crimson medicinal liquid touched the blue water net, a violent repulsion erupted on the spot.

The moisture at the contact surface was repeatedly evaporated by the high temperature, with white steam rising over a foot high.

The muscles in Shen Qing's cheeks suddenly tightened, and his fingers moved rapidly, casting two sets of Advanced fire-control seals: 'Overlapping Waves Condensing Flow' and 'Thousand Thread Entanglement'.

Ordinary means could not suppress such violent attributes.

He used his water-attribute magic power without reservation, desperately maintaining the integrity of the water net;

Simultaneously, his powerful Divine Sense dispersed entirely, turning into countless invisible threads that forcibly entered the microscopic points of the water-fire clash to perform rigorous adjustments.

This forced Fusion process was not smooth.

There was always a pale, ghastly transition zone at the boundary between the crimson and deep blue—the residue of the frantic conflict between the two medicinal properties.

Shen Qing spent half an incense stick's worth of time, relying on his Divine Sense to grind it down bit by bit, before finally compressing that white mark to the width of a hair.

The five medicinal liquids were finally pieced together.

A mass of grayish-gold medicinal liquid suspended at the bottom of the furnace; though its appearance was rough, it had finally stabilized.

The water-attribute magic power within acted as a stabilizer, preventing a collapse.

Shen Qing stopped his hand seals, his forehead already drenched in sweat.

A few cheers erupted from the crowd.

“Clean and efficient!”

“Senior Brother Shen's 'Overlapping Waves Condensing Flow' seal was used perfectly; his Divine Sense control is simply flawless!”

“All five attributes have fused. Looking at that grayish-gold base, the Fusion rate must be at least seventy percent!”

“It's eighty percent! How many people in his generation can claim they can achieve that?”

Shen Qing didn't listen to the noise around him. He ignored it, his gaze falling directly onto Su Cheng opposite him.

Su Cheng also moved.

He didn't use Shen Qing's complex weaving technique; his approach was so simple that the onlookers couldn't understand it at first.

Pale green spiritual energy spread from his palms, covering all five medicinal liquids simultaneously without any particular order or priority.

There was no water net, no triangular foundation, and no sequence for adding the ingredients.

It was just a layer of pale green light film, covering them in a very ordinary manner.

“What is he doing?”

“Fusing all five simultaneously? Is he crazy?”

“Isn't this just seeking death? Once the attribute conflict gets out of control and the five medicinal liquids go berserk together, the Pill Furnace will explode!”

Before the discussions could stop, the changes inside the furnace had already begun.

Under the cover of the pale green light film, the colors of the five medicinal liquids faded visibly to the naked eye.

Silver-white became pale silver, crimson became light pink, azure became pale blue, and both emerald green and earthy yellow lost their original depth.

They simultaneously became quiet.

But Su Cheng was in no hurry.

Su Cheng deliberately reduced the input of the Qi of Creation, suppressing the Fusion speed to match Shen Qing's pace.

The five medicinal liquids slowly converged toward the center of the furnace, their steps steady but not fast at all.

The onlookers actually breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good, good. He's not being reckless; it looks like he's controlling the tempo.”

“But his technique is too crude... just a single layer of light film? He didn't even build a framework.”

After about half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Shen Qing's grayish-gold medicinal mass had formed, and Su Cheng's five medicinal liquids had just reached the point of contact.

Silver-white met azure with no white transition zone.

Light pink pressed against pale green with no backlash from the fire-wood conflict.

The five colors interlaced at the boundaries for a brief moment before they began to slowly permeate and fuse into one another.

This was completely different from the thrilling scene of water-fire clashing and white mist billowing that Shen Qing had just displayed.

Su Cheng's hands were suspended steadily over the furnace mouth, his fingers slightly spread, his breathing even, and his expression calm.

Judging by this momentum, the Fusion rate was steadily advancing toward seventy percent.

Seventy percent.

Seventy-five percent.

As it approached eighty percent, Shen Qing's Face began to tighten.

His Fusion rate earlier had been exactly around eighty percent, which was the best he could do after using his two most powerful seals, 'Overlapping Waves Condensing Flow' and 'Thousand Thread Entanglement'.

Yet this Junior Brother at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage had reached the same level quietly, using only a single layer of pale green light film.

It was still rising.

Eighty percent.

An amber color began to appear on the surface of the mixed medicinal liquid—a characteristic color that only appeared after a high degree of Fusion among the Five Elements.

Shen Qing's breathing quickened. Staring at the changes in Su Cheng's medicinal liquid, he guessed a possibility that was hard for him to accept: Su Cheng hadn't reached his limit yet.

“No, I can't lose here.”