160: Chapter 160: For the Purpose of Refining the Mind, Not for the Assessment

“Retrieve medicinal ingredients, grind, ignite, infuse Qi...”

Ouyang Li’s movements were fluid and natural.

He had once participated in the battle to destroy the Corpse Fiend Sect, and the gains from that battle were worth a lifetime of what he could usually earn.

With these gains, he bought a large amount of top-quality Alchemy equipment to assist his Alchemy, and spent a great deal of money to ask an Elder in the Sect for advice on Alchemy techniques.

After several years of bitter cultivation, feeling that his Alchemy had far exceeded the requirements for a Second-Rank Alchemist, he came to Ningyun City to participate in the assessment.

“After becoming a Second-Rank Alchemist, the Sect will surely regard me as a treasure. Taking this opportunity to take an Elder as a master and study high-level Alchemy methods is not impossible.”

The assessment process had been smooth sailing, and Ouyang Li’s state was particularly good. Just as the Medicinal Pill was about to form, his Sea of Consciousness suddenly fell into chaos.

The familiar Alchemy techniques became unfamiliar, and even the operation of controlling the heat went completely out of order.

“Bang—”

Unsurprisingly, the Pill Furnace exploded.

“I give up!”

Ouyang Li almost cursed out loud. The exploded Pill Furnace was worth three thousand Spirit Stones, which was his income for ten years.

However, the greatest taboo in the assessment is a major change in mentality; perhaps the previous operational error was caused by his distraction.

He took out another Pill Furnace, but the quality of this one was much lower.

“Retrieve medicinal ingredients, grind, ignite, infuse Qi—”

For some reason, he felt his hands had become much stiffer, and his affinity for Spirit Fire and Spiritual Plant had also dropped significantly.

“Bang.”

Just as he infused the Qi, the Pill Furnace exploded.

Ouyang Li was covered in dust and dirt, and he angrily said, “It must be the Pill Furnace’s problem. After this, I will definitely go to the Pill Treasure Pavilion that sold this Pill Furnace to argue with the shopkeeper.”

There were only five Cultivators in the assessment arena. Ouyang Li’s two consecutive furnace explosions attracted the attention of the other three, but only one old man was unaffected, pouring his whole heart into Alchemy.

The old man’s Pill Furnace was rented from the assessment arena, and the Spiritual Plant and Pill Formula were bought on the spot, but only his operation technique looked decent.

This old man was Fang Huai. He had already exchanged for Ouyang Li’s [Alchemy Minor Achievement] and was taking advantage of the assessment to fully improve his Alchemy proficiency.

“Is this guy an idiot?”

Ouyang Li was a bit confused. This assessment was for refining Qi Gathering Pills, but that old man was refining True Origin Pills.

What annoyed Ouyang Li was that just as he was bad-mouthing him, a rich fragrance of pills wafted from the old man’s Pill Furnace.

The True Origin Pill was finished.

The difficulty of refining a True Origin Pill is no lower than that of a Qi Gathering Pill, but the assessment is not about who refines the more difficult Medicinal Pill, so Fang Huai would naturally not pass the assessment.

The assessing Cultivator, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly smelled the medicinal fragrance and immediately opened his eyes, saying, “The pill fragrance is like clouds, condensing without dispersing. It seems another Second-Rank Alchemist has emerged today.”

He walked up to Fang Huai, took out the refined Medicinal Pill, and stared at it several times with wide eyes. Then, he sternly called over the Cultivator who had prepared the assessment materials.

“I told you to prepare the Pill Formula for the Qi Gathering Pill. Why did you give this Fellow Daoist the Pill Formula for the True Origin Pill?”

The Cultivator looked innocent and said, “I have checked it dozens of times before; there is indeed no problem.”

The assessing Cultivator angrily said, “Are you saying that this Fellow Daoist is muddle-headed and cannot distinguish between a True Origin Pill and a Qi Gathering Pill?”

He turned to look at Fang Huai and couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed. This old Cultivator was really holding a True Origin Pill!

“Fellow Daoist...”

The assessing Cultivator just wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Fang Huai: “No need for more words. This old man came here only to refine the heart, not for the assessment.”

After speaking, he opened the Pill Furnace and began the second wave of Alchemy. He wanted to take advantage of the remaining time in the assessment to shear Ouyang Li’s wool thoroughly.

Three hours later.

Only Fang Huai and Ouyang Li remained in the examination hall.

The time for Fang Huai to exchange labels had arrived, and he was now fully focused, keeping his eyes on Ouyang Li’s hands.

Ouyang Li, who had returned to his original level, was anxiously injecting Spirit Fire into the Pill Furnace to ripen the Spirit Pill.

For the First-Rank Alchemist assessment, if you don’t pass the first time, you have to wait ten years to sign up for the second time.

There was half a stick of incense left before the end of the assessment, and given Ouyang Li’s current progress, completing it would be extremely perilous.

“Hurry, the pill is about to form. As long as I add more Spirit Fire, the pill will form soon.”

Ouyang Li gritted his teeth. The desperate situation stimulated his potential, and his luck was indeed not bad; the Pill Furnace seemed about to explode but remained stable at the critical value.

There were twenty breaths of time left, and it would take at most ten breaths to ripen this furnace of pills. Ouyang Li seemed to see the First-Rank Alchemist Identity Token beckoning to him.

Fang Huai, on the side, nodded silently. Watching others practice Alchemy was indeed different from practicing it himself.

Especially after he upgraded [Alchemy Introduction] to [Alchemy Skilled Hand], he could grasp some nuances from Ouyang Li’s seemingly impatient techniques.

“It’s a pity I don’t have a Spirit Beast Bag; otherwise, I would definitely bag you up and take you back to the Purification Bureau.”

Since Fang Huai took in Toad Old Seven, he began to realize the benefits of having subordinates. Seeing a talent like Ouyang Li at this time, he couldn’t help but raise the corners of his mouth.

“Fortunately, I have a way to make you submit to me automatically. First, I cannot let you become a First-Rank Alchemist. Once you have that status, there will be more constraints.”

Thinking of this, Fang Huai looked at the [Insufficient Spiritual Power] that appeared on his body due to long-term Alchemy.

“One more breath, it’s done!”

Ouyang Li just wanted to cheer, but found that at the last moment, his internal Spiritual Power was suddenly exhausted, and the Spirit Fire could not be controlled.

“Bang—”

The Pill Furnace exploded again.

“Damn it, what the hell is going on?”

Ouyang Li couldn’t help but curse angrily.

“Ouyang Li, this is a sacred place for Alchemist assessment, not a place for you to throw a tantrum. With such a Heart-Nature, how can you refine High Grade Medicinal Pills?”

The assessing Cultivator shouted angrily. In his eyes, Ouyang Li’s assessment was purely relying on luck.

He had practiced four times and exploded the furnace three times. If he were to pass the assessment, and some joke happened in the future, it would surely make others who were also assessing Cultivators laugh at him for a hundred years.

“Senior Brother, I!”

“Get out!”

Ouyang Li walked out dejectedly. This time, the assessment was a huge embarrassment. Not only did he explode three furnaces, but he was also scolded by the assessing Cultivator.

After Ouyang Li left, Fang Huai also got up to bid farewell, but heard the Foundation Establishment Cultivator say: “Fellow Daoist, it’s a pity.”

Fang Huai thought he was talking about him giving up on becoming a Second-Rank Alchemist, so he said: “There is nothing to pity. I came here this time only to prove myself, not to seek a cold Identity Token.”

The assessing Cultivator sighed and said: “Is it because your Lifespan is running low? Take my advice, you only live once, don’t believe in the afterlife. Go to Ziyang City to replenish some Lifespan, and you can still accomplish a lot.”

Replenish Lifespan...

Ziyang City...

So the Danxia Sect also raises Longevity Ghouls.

Outside Ningyun City, Ouyang Li sat on a glowing gourd, speeding towards the distance.

“Bad luck, too bad luck. Isn’t today too evil?”

Ouyang Li cursed while reviewing the assessment process, feeling that something was wrong no matter how he thought about it.

Feeling a stream of light approaching him from behind, he looked back and saw an Early Foundation Establishment Cultivator riding a Flying Sword and speeding towards him.

That Cultivator’s appearance was exactly the same as the old man who participated in the assessment.