299: Chapter 299 What a huge appetite!

"To be honest, my Disciple only recently gained this insight," Zhao Zhengyang replied with a smile. "He had a sudden realization during those few months of seclusion. After he came out, the two of us verified it; it is indeed the embryonic form of the Law of Water. It was just unstable at the time, so we didn't dare to make it public."

Elder Fang added, "We intended to report it to the Sect after the Alchemy Hall Competition, but we didn't expect this kid to use it directly during the competition."

Several Elders shook their heads and sighed with a smile upon hearing this. Someone said, "The Water Spirit Body Awakening the Law of Water... I'm afraid the quality of his Golden Core will not be low when he reaches Core Formation... Your Xuanguang Peak is going to be in the spotlight this time."

Zhao Zhengyang smiled without saying anything, but the corners of his mouth couldn't be suppressed.

The Foundation Establishment Disciples in the back row of the viewing area were confused. Their cultivation was insufficient to perceive the aura of the Law contained within that layer of transparent water-blue Spiritual Qi; they only saw that Shen Qing's Alchemy process was extremely smooth.

"Why did Senior Brother Shen's Spiritual Qi change color?"

"Is it a new ability of the Water Spirit Body? Or some secret technique?"

"The Seniors look very excited. What exactly is it?"

"It must be something amazing. Didn't you see even the Nascent Soul Old Ancestor looking at his side..."

Guesses flew back and forth, but no one could provide an accurate answer.

In the independent space, Shen Qing naturally knew what was happening inside his body.

The sudden Epiphany during his seclusion a few months ago had brought him much closer to the Spiritual Qi of Water between heaven and earth.

The feeling of "all things can be merged" when Spiritual Qi circulated was not something that could be obtained through Acquired Cultivation; it was the natural Awakening of the Water Spirit Body after accumulating to a certain critical point.

He still didn't fully understand what this meant for his future, but he clearly felt that this batch of Medicinal Pill was being refined very smoothly.

Too smoothly.

Seventh step, passed.

Eighth step, passed.

Ninth step, that nearly transparent water-blue Spiritual Qi permeated the surface of the third third-tier spirit medicine in advance.

Water merges with all things.

After the Dragon Saliva Silver Thread was soaked by the water-blue Spiritual Qi, the sharp edges in its medicinal properties that repelled the first two Spirit Medicines were smoothed out one by one, and a thin film of water appeared on the surface of the medicinal essence.

When it merged into the medicinal liquid, it was like a drop of water blending into a river, leaving no trace behind.

Finally, it reached the stage of unifying the nine pill patterns, which was Shen Qing's true home field.

The characteristic of "water merges with all things" was pushed to the extreme in the separation of medicinal essence and the condensation of golden pill patterns.

The nine strands of medicinal essence were wrapped by the water-blue Spiritual Qi, isolated from each other yet maintaining a subtle connection. When condensing the pill patterns, the medicinal essence was guided by the water film to compress and form on its own.

The first golden pill pattern, formed.

The second, the third... all in one go.

After all nine golden pill patterns were condensed, they closed together.

The water-blue Spiritual Qi passed through the nine golden pill patterns, guiding them one by one to the core of the Medicinal Pill. The intensity of the collision of the medicinal essence was reduced by more than half by the water film, and the closing process was surprisingly steady.

The golden light converged, and a Medicinal Pill floated in the center of the furnace.

All nine golden pill patterns were visible on the surface, with five being deep and clear, and four being slightly lighter but with complete outlines.

The spirituality was clear and bright, and the precious light was soft.

Low Grade!

Shen Qing was the first of the fifty people to refine a finished Medicinal Pill!

The viewing area was jubilant.

"It's done! Shen Qing succeeded!"

"Low Grade! The first finished Medicinal Pill!"

"The advantage of the Water Spirit Body in this type of Medicinal Pill is too great!"

"No, it's not just the Water Spirit Body. Look at the state of his Spiritual Qi; that's not ordinary water-elemental Spiritual Qi..."

The discussions were overwhelming.

On the high platform, Nascent Soul True Lord Yunyang put down his teacup and spoke.

"A Disciple of Xuanguang Peak?"

Head Xu Changqing bowed and replied, "Replying to the Old Ancestor, Shen Qing is a Personal Disciple jointly guided by Elder Zhao Zhengyang and Elder Fang of Xuanguang Peak."

Nascent Soul True Lord Yunyang nodded, his gaze falling on Elder Zhao Zhengyang and Elder Fang, who were sitting in the middle row of the viewing area.

"The two Elders have taught him well."

As these words were spoken by the Nascent Soul Old Ancestor, Elder Zhao Zhengyang and Elder Fang both stood up and bowed, with unconcealable joy on their faces.

To be praised in person by a Nascent Soul True Lord in front of many Elders and Disciples was their honor.

Nascent Soul True Lord Yunyang glanced at Shen Qing's screen again, then said:

"Water Spirit Body, comprehension of the Law of Water, excellent bones, and steady Heart-Nature. This child's Breakthrough to Golden Core in the future is promising. The Alchemy Hall shall make a record, and after the competition, include Shen Qing in the Sect's Key Cultivation Roster."

The buzzing in the square suddenly heightened.

The Sect's Key Cultivation Roster was the list of Core Disciples that the Danding Sect updated every ten years. Disciples on this list were allocated cultivation resources, Medicinal Pill supplies, and Cultivation Technique teachings at the highest specifications.

There were over a thousand Foundation Establishment Disciples in the entire Sect, and there were no more than twenty names on the list.

Shen Qing became a legend in one battle.

Interestingly, Wu Chen's Revered Master, Nascent Soul True Lord Yunyang, was not unhappy that his own Disciple had been outdone; instead, he was the first to praise Shen Qing.

This was the magnanimity of a Nascent Soul True Lord. Competition between Disciples was competition, but from their height, every extra Genius in the Sect added to its Foundation; there was no narrow-minded thought that "someone else's Disciple cannot be stronger than mine."

The other two True Lords nodded in agreement; Geniuses deserved special treatment.

As for Wu Chen, although the waste pill was a failure, his approach was remembered by the Elders on the high platform.

The concept of refining nine Spirit Medicines simultaneously was bold even among Golden Core Elders, not to mention that he had derived this plan from the failure of the first furnace in just over ten days.

A Genius is a Genius; he would not be denied because of one waste pill.

Time reached the fortieth day, and Zhou Mingyuan's second furnace resulted in a Low Grade pill.

The Golden Core Elders present were not surprised by this result. Zhou Mingyuan had been in the Sect for nearly a hundred years, and his Foundation Establishment Peak cultivation was in the top tier among the fifty people.

More importantly, he had comprehended the Law of Fire.

"The Law of Fire," a Golden Core Elder said in a low voice. "Zhou Mingyuan's set of techniques follows the path of forging steel from a hundred refinements, using fire-attribute Spiritual Qi to repeatedly forge and press the medicinal base. The purity of the medicinal essence when condensing the pill patterns is far beyond that of ordinary people. Although his golden pill patterns are not flashy, each one has been tempered a thousand times, and his Foundation is extremely stable."

"No wonder he has been lying low in the Alchemy Hall for fifty years without a word; it turns out he has been polishing his own Law all along."

"Only after seeing it today do I realize that this person probably didn't come to participate in the competition just to fight for a ranking," another Golden Core Elder said thoughtfully. "He wants to use the refining of the nine-aperture golden spirit pill to further perfect his own Law of Fire and make final preparations for the Breakthrough to Golden Core. It seems he also received the news in advance."

"If that's true, this person's Heart-Nature is far deeper than his peers. Using a second-tier top-grade Pill Formula created by a Nascent Soul Old Ancestor as a whetstone... what a huge appetite."

"If he breaks through to Golden Core, the quality of his pill patterns may not lose to Shen Qing's, just a different path."

As soon as these words came out, there was another commotion in the viewing area.

Within one day, first Shen Qing's Law of Water, then Zhou Mingyuan's Law of Fire—two Geniuses at the Law level competing on the same stage. The gold content of this Alchemy Hall Competition had already been raised to the highest level in history.

Zhou Mingyuan took out the Medicinal Pill and looked at it twice. His expression remained unchanged as usual. He put the Medicinal Pill into a jade bottle and continued to close his eyes to adjust his breath.

More than a hundred years of practice had long since smoothed out his joy and anger. Whether it was Low Grade or Medium Grade, there were still Materials in his hand, so he would just continue refining.

For him, the significance of this competition was not in the ranking, but in whether he could use this Opportunity to take his Law of Fire a step further and step into the Golden Core Realm in the most perfect state.