288: Chapter 288 is all about trickery.

Shen Qing's powers of observation are very strong. Although their last match wasn't long, he had sniffed out many things from the minute details of Su Cheng's Fusion of the five medicinal liquids.

Coupled with the sensation from that brief moment just now and the indescribable change in Su Cheng, Shen Qing became even more convinced of his judgment: this Junior Brother was hiding far more than what he had shown last time.

"So?" Su Cheng asked.

"So I want to make an agreement with you." Shen Qing's tone had no ups and downs. "At the competition, you and I shall fairly and squarely determine who is superior once again."

Su Cheng glanced at him; this was a challenge.

Two months ago, Su Cheng might not have accepted so readily.

But the tempering of the Qi of Creation and Dao Rhyme during this period gave him confidence. His Alchemy level was no longer what it had been two months ago.

"Fine." Su Cheng nodded. "We'll see the truth at the competition."

Shen Qing nodded, turned, and left without further pleasantries.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned his head. "By the way, several Senior Brothers have already put out word that they can refine supreme grade pills."

"You should know how hard second-rank supreme grade pills are to refine. Even when Golden Core Elders refine second-rank pills, the supreme grade rate isn't that high."

"For Foundation Establishment Disciples to produce supreme grade, relying on their own cultivation isn't enough; they must borrow external power. Those who can do it all have some trump cards in their hands."

He said no more. His white-clad figure soared into the sky on a flying sword, heading towards Xuanguang Peak.

Shen Qing came to Qingmu Peak partly to reclaim his honor from his last loss to Su Cheng, and partly to confirm Su Cheng's current state.

He had confirmed it; it was even deeper than he had expected.

However, Shen Qing did not panic. He hadn't been idle these past few months either. His Revered Master had spent a great price to open that door for him, allowing him to walk a completely different path in Alchemy.

No one knew about those improvements except for the three of them—Revered Master and Disciples. The result would naturally be seen on the day of the competition.

There were more than just one or two Senior Brothers in the Sect who could refine supreme grade pills. Zhou Mingyuan, Lin Ruoshui, Zhao Green Mountain, and the Old Ancestor's Disciple Wu Chen—each possessed deep foundations, as Shen Qing had heard of them all.

But he believed he was not inferior to any of them.

He treated Su Cheng as his main rival not because he thought Su Cheng was stronger than those people, but because Su Cheng had beaten him.

An opponent who has defeated you once is the one who needs to be taken most seriously.

If Su Cheng couldn't produce anything that surprised him, the first place in this competition would be his.

Su Cheng stood there, looking in the direction Shen Qing had left.

Several people could already refine supreme grade Medicinal Pills.

Those people had been in the Sect for decades or even a century; they had deep foundations, their own fortuitous encounters, and the support of external items. It wasn't surprising they could reach this step.

(supreme grade Medicinal Pills in this book are indeed precious, but they are certainly not exclusive to the protagonist. One can only say the protagonist has a cheat, making it simpler and easier to achieve, and the success rate will be much higher. It does not mean that others cannot refine them.)

Su Cheng turned and headed up the mountain, his pace a bit faster than when he came.

Halfway up, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Damn, I forgot to mention the stakes."

He was so focused on agreeing to the match that he didn't mention any wagers, wasting a good opportunity. If he beat Shen Qing and got nothing in return, what was the point? It was a huge loss.

Su Cheng shook his head and quickened his pace back to his Immortal Cave.

Never mind, just beating him at the competition would be enough. At least it would add to his reputation, which would help with his subsequent plans.

After returning to his Immortal Cave, Su Cheng pulled out all his recent Alchemy records and reviewed them furnace by furnace.

His supreme grade rate was currently around thirty percent.

Although he didn't know the exact supreme grade rate of those veteran Senior Brothers, Su Cheng estimated it wouldn't be higher than his.

The reason supreme grade Medicinal Pills were precious was that they were too difficult to refine.

It was true those people could refine supreme grade, but their success rate was likely just as low. Whether they could perform stably on the day of the competition was another matter.

However, Su Cheng would not slack off because of this. The competition was a one-shot deal; he needed it to be foolproof.

Less than a month remained.

The specific rules for the Alchemy Hall Competition hadn't been announced yet, so he could only prepare by referring to the format of the previous one.

But with nearly double the number of applicants this time, the rules would likely undergo significant adjustments.

But these weren't things he should worry about. He only needed to do one thing: continue increasing his supreme grade rate.

Su Cheng's purification and Fusion had reached their limits, and his timing for collecting the pills was becoming increasingly precise.

The only Bottleneck lay in the pill condensation—the critical point where the medicinal liquid solidifies from a liquid state into a solid pill. He always felt just a breath short.

Where was the shortfall? To put it bluntly, the Dao Rhyme he channeled was still too little.

Su Cheng's understanding of the Dao of Alchemy was actually not very deep.

He had reached this point by relying on the natural affinity of the Qi of Creation for the medicinal properties of all things, the special Physique granted to him by the Qiankun Creation Art, and the Dao Rhyme picked up from the chamber of the creation furnace.

It was all through clever tricks.

True pill rhyme was that mysterious resonance produced at the final moment of pill formation when medicinal properties, heat control, and spiritual power reached a perfect balance. He was still far from touching that threshold.

Those veteran Disciples who had been in the Sect for decades or centuries could refine supreme grade because they were supported by decades of accumulated insights.

He could refine supreme grade because the creation Dao Rhyme completed that step for him at the last moment.

With enough Dao Rhyme, it is supreme grade. Without enough Dao Rhyme, it is High Grade.

So the root of the problem wasn't his insight into pill rhyme, but how much Dao Rhyme he could bring out from the creation furnace.

Thinking of this, Su Cheng's train of thought suddenly took a turn.

What was the core concept of the Qiankun Creation Art? Using the body as a furnace, taking heaven and earth as medicine, and refining oneself into a supreme great pill.

According to this theory, he himself might be a pill in the process of forming.

Although he was still in the starting phase and the dao foundation furnace had just formed, in theory... did his body already possess certain characteristics of a pill?

The Qi of Creation could harmonize with all medicinal properties; was it because he himself was moving in the direction of becoming a pill?

The more Su Cheng thought about it, the more he felt this Cultivation Technique was somewhat absurd. If he really refined himself into a great pill in the end, would he still be himself?

Wouldn't he become Tang Sanzang's flesh, where whoever ate him would gain longevity?

He tried hard to shake his head and suppress this thought.

With his current cultivation and experience, he had no way to deduce the origins of the qiankun creation furnace or the ultimate goal of this Cultivation Technique.

Thinking too much was useless; it was better to do the tasks at hand well.

However, this train of thought gave him a new direction. Was there a deeper connection between the Qiankun Creation Art and the qiankun creation furnace that he hadn't discovered yet?

For example... throwing himself into the creation furnace to refine himself? But the moment this thought appeared, he snuffed it out.

Setting aside that the creation furnace was in his Sea of Consciousness, with the concentration of Dao Rhyme in that chamber, his fragile body at the Early Foundation Establishment Stage would likely have nothing left, not even dregs, if he went in.

Su Cheng set aside his stray thoughts and pulled his attention back to the problem before him.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away in Qinghe Prefecture and Pingling Prefecture, another storm was brewing.

Tiangang Sect, Discussion Hall.