298: Chapter 298 Water Merges with All Things

On the thirty-fifth day, the screen showing Wu Chen ignited another wave of excitement in the viewing area.

Perhaps having learned from the failure of his first furnace, he began his second.

This time, Wu Chen's technique was completely different from the first furnace.

"What Alchemy technique is this?" Elder Chiyang leaned forward.

Wu Chen's palms were suspended on either side of the Pill Furnace, and the threads of Qi between his ten fingers were more than double the amount used in the first furnace.

The Glazed Pure Fire was cut into thirty-six fine flames by him, with every four fine flames wrapping around one type of Spirit Medicine. Nine types of Spirit Medicine were being refined in parallel inside the furnace chamber.

"He is refining nine types of Spirit Medicine at the same time?!" A Pill Hall Deacon exclaimed in disbelief. "Thirty-six fine flames divided into nine groups, with each group independently controlling the temperature, synchronously refining, synchronously decomposing, and synchronously releasing the medicinal properties... This kid is crazy!"

Operating nine types of Spirit Medicine simultaneously meant he had to maintain nine independent temperature variations in his mind at the same time. Not a single one could go wrong, and each group of fine flames had to remain interference-free.

The requirements for Qi control and Divine Soul strength were no longer just 'high'; they were nearly abnormal.

But Wu Chen's train of thought was very clear. The first furnace failed at the ninth step, when the three third-tier spirit medicines were fused one after another, causing a clash with the residual medicinal power of the previous ones.

Since fusing them sequentially would cause conflict, then he wouldn't fuse them sequentially.

By processing all nine types of Spirit Medicine together, advancing them synchronously to the Fusion stage, all medicinal powers would be released and fused at the exact same moment, bypassing the repulsion issues caused by the 'sequence'.

Most people wouldn't even dare to think of this technique, but Wu Chen did it.

The thirty-six fine flames operated stably between his fingers, and the nine types of Spirit Medicine completed the three stages of refining, decomposing, and releasing medicinal properties synchronously.

Reaching the critical node of Fusion, Wu Chen's palms suddenly closed. The thirty-six fine flames were all retracted in the same instant, leaving only a rounded ball of main flame wrapping around the entire furnace of medicinal liquid.

The nine types of medicinal power collided violently within the main flame, and golden light flared brilliantly!

"Did the Fusion succeed?!"

The viewing area became restless. Two Golden Core Elders from the Wu Family stood up simultaneously, their faces unable to conceal their smiles.

Next was the pill formation stage of returning the nine patterns to one.

Sweat had already seeped onto Wu Chen's forehead. The synchronous control of thirty-six fine flames had almost drained more than half of his Qi.

At this moment, the Glazed Pure Fire demonstrated its foundation as a third-rank strange fire—pure and with extremely high controllability.

He divided the medicinal power in the furnace into nine parts and forged them one by one with the Glazed Pure Fire.

The first pill pattern took shape, then the second, the third... By the seventh, his fingers were already trembling slightly, but the temperature never fluctuated.

The eighth, the ninth—all nine pill patterns were condensed!

The final step: closing.

Wu Chen gritted his teeth and drove his Qi, squeezing and gathering the nine pill patterns from all directions. The medicinal power collided violently and fused with each other.

The Pill Furnace trembled for several breaths, and the golden light receded.

A pill hovered in the center of the furnace chamber, with patterns faintly visible on its surface.

It was a success.

Wu Chen reached out to take the pill and put it into a jade bottle, but before the smile on his face could fully emerge, it froze there.

Only three of the nine pill patterns on the surface of the pill were faintly visible; the other six showed no trace at all.

Not only that, the medicinal power inside the pill was flowing chaotically, and its spiritual quality was murky and dim.

It was a waste pill! It was successfully formed, but it was a waste pill.

The plan of processing nine types of Spirit Medicine simultaneously had indeed bypassed the repulsion problem during the Fusion stage, but the excessive consumption of Qi caused by the synchronous operation led to insufficient follow-through during the pill formation stage. The forging of the nine pill patterns was not sufficient, and the Fusion of medicinal power was incomplete.

The direction was right, but the strength was insufficient.

Wu Chen stared at the waste pill for a long time, then put it into his Storage Pouch, not throwing it away.

"What a pity." Someone in the viewing area sighed.

"What's a pity?" A Golden Core Elder nearby shook his head. "The first furnace failed at the ninth step, and by the second furnace, he had already thought of the method of synchronous refining. It really did form a pill; even a waste pill is still a formed pill. How many days has he been studying this? This Comprehension Ability is top-tier among all Foundation Establishment Disciples in the entire Sect."

"That's right, the train of thought is completely flawless. As long as he solves the problem of insufficient Qi during the pill formation stage in the next furnace, he will definitely succeed."

The two Golden Core Elders of the Wu Family exchanged glances. Although the smiles on their faces had faded a bit, there was no disappointment.

The waste pill didn't dampen their spirits; Wu Chen still had three sets of Materials left, and the path had already been paved.

At the very top of the high platform, Immortal Master Yunyang did not speak. He just glanced at his own Disciple's screen, then looked elsewhere.

His gaze landed on Shen Qing's screen.

On the same day, Shen Qing's second furnace began.

Shen Qing had not fully revealed his trump card, the Water Spirit Body, in the first two rounds.

Only now did he finally let go of his restraints.

An extremely special water-type Qi surged out from his Sea of Consciousness.

Shen Qing's eyes were half-closed, and the Qi circulating between his ten fingers presented a very faint, nearly transparent water-blue color.

That Qi had no fixed form; at times it wound like a stream, at times it spread flat like a lake surface, and at times it transformed into water mist, diffusing throughout the entire furnace chamber.

Every change in form perfectly matched the reaction rhythm of the medicinal liquid. If the medicinal liquid moved to the left, it would support it from the right; if the medicinal liquid needed to increase temperature, it would autonomously make space; when two medicinal properties were about to collide, it would first seep into them to smooth out the edges, turning the collision into Fusion.

"Water fuses everything."

On the high platform, Immortal Master Wanxiang's tone rarely carried a hint of affirmation.

"His Water Spirit Body has awakened a new characteristic: Water fuses everything." She turned to look at Immortal Master Yunyang and Immortal Master Tiemian. "The rudiment of the True Meaning of water."

Once these words were spoken, the reactions of the three Nascent Soul Old Ancestors were all gratification. How could they not be gratified that the Sect had produced such a Genius?

A Cultivator who possesses the rudiment of the True Meaning of water has a greatly increased success rate in charging towards the Golden Core, and when condensing the Golden Core, pill patterns will be born, making the quality of the Golden Core far exceed that of an ordinary Golden Core.

This meant that Shen Qing's path to the Golden Core was almost a certainty, and the upper limit would be very high.

The reactions of the Golden Core Elders from the Danding Sect in the viewing area were the most intense.

Seven or eight out of ten Golden Core True Persons present were at the Foundation Establishment Peak and had only succeeded in Core Formation after spending decades touching their respective True Meanings.

"The True Meaning of water." A Golden Core Elder was the first to say these four words, his tone full of emotion. "To touch the threshold of True Meaning at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage... This old man spent thirty years struggling at the Foundation Establishment Peak before barely touching the edge of the True Meaning of fire."

"It's more than just the threshold." Another Middle Stage Golden Core Elder nearby shook his head. "Look at the state between his Qi and the medicinal liquid; he is already able to call upon it stably. Being able to integrate True Meaning into Alchemy operations at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage... This talent is truly terrifying."

Several Elders turned their gazes in unison toward the direction of Xuanguang Peak, looking at Zhao Zhengyang and Elder Fang who were sitting there.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you hid this deep." A Pill Hall Deacon said, "You didn't reveal a single word about such a big matter beforehand."

"That's right, such a thing as the Awakening of the True Meaning of water—how long were you guys at Xuanguang Peak planning to hide it?"

Zhao Zhengyang and Elder Fang exchanged glances, both of them wearing somewhat smug smiles on their faces.