Chapter 541: Attacked By All Sides
“Ole brother Dan Chi, this Jiang Chen is simply too
perverse, isn’t he? His level seems beyond what we should have in the Myriad
Domain!” Wei Wuying was the first to step forth and start trouble. When he saw
that even Wei Xing’er could only hold down third place with such an exemplary
display of skill, and Wei Qing could only manage fifth place with his stable
performance, he couldn’t accept the situation. Although there were two more
rounds to go, who knew if Jiang Chen would still set such a ridiculous standard
of performance?
Even though the Regal Pill Palace would still demonstrate a
strong overall strength without Jiang Chen, the Walkabout Sect would absolutely
have a chance of challenging them then. With Jiang Chen so far in the lead, it
didn’t seem as if there was any doubt about the champion of the genius group.
The additional fifty points he would receive then would create a further
advantage for the Regal Pill Palace in the final rankings of the Pill Battles.
The only way for Wei Wuying to prevent this was to step forth and question
Jiang Chen.
When Wei Wuying stepped forth, so did Tristar Sect Head Zhu.
His ambitions for the champion’s seat was still burning brightly as he smiled.
“I also find this to be rather odd. Jiang Chen hails from the sixteen kingdoms,
and even if he’s had the benefit of being trained in the Regal Pill Palace, he
still shouldn’t be displaying such a stunning performance.”
The others smiled and didn’t say a word. Wang Jianyu of the
Sacred Sword Palace had always been at odds with the Regal Pill Palace, so he
chose to jump on the bandwagon as well. “The two sect heads make sense, Jiang
Chen is indeed a suspicious character.”
The Sacred Sword Palace had always ranked near the bottom in
the Pill Battles rankings, and were mostly just here to make up the numbers.
They had no real ambitions in this regard. However, when this matter had to do
with the Regal Pill Palace, their intrinsically hostile relationship left the
Sacred Sword Palace with an obligation to step out to support an objection
against their hated enemy.
The family heads of the Great Cathedral stayed silent,
merely smiling. Only Honored Master Tian Ming of the Dark North Sect chuckled.
“What is there to be suspicious about or not? The Pill Battles are a tradition
left behind from the time of the Myriad Empire. Are you possibly suspecting him
of cheating?”
Dan Chi smiled faintly. “If you three have such effort to
spare in suspecting Jiang Chen, why don’t you spend it teaching your own
disciples? Is it important why Jiang Chen’s performance is so heaven defying?
Ask not where heroes come from. It’s not at all important where Jiang Chen
comes from and why is he such a genius.”
Dan Chi wasn’t someone who could be easily sliced and diced.
He would never allow these fellows to use this as an opportunity to create
trouble. As long as Jiang Chen hadn’t cheated, it was irrelevant how insane or
suspicious his performance was.
“That’s not how things often go though. There’s always
something sinister at play when things appear out of the ordinary. I rather
think we should investigate this.” Wang Jianyu chuckled.
Dan Chi’s face grew cold. “Wang Jianyu, don’t tell me you’re
jealous?”
Wang Jianyu smiled. “My Sacred Sword Palace has never had
much ambition in the Pill Battles. What jealousy is there to speak of? I’m
merely speaking out of a sense of fair play.”
“Fair play? Well, that is certainly a grave matter. I
welcome Palace Head Wang to come out with any evidence of Jiang Chen cheating,
so I can expel such a cheating disciple from my Regal Pill Palace. But if not,
it would be wiser if you shut that mouth of yours in case others make it out to
be a case of jealousy. We’re all heavyweights of the Myriad Domain after all,
and can’t make a fool of ourselves in front of the juniors.”
Honored Master Tian Ming also smiled. “I say, don’t be so
caught up in Jiang Chen’s performance. It’s not a bad thing for the Myriad
Domain to produce such a heaven defying genius! Do you want our Myriad Domain
to always be a nobody, or worse, be disqualified the next time the domains are
drawn?”
Wei Wuying smiled sinisterly. “Old Tian Ming, you always
wear the same pants as Dan Chi. You can save those words of yours, hmm?”
Palace Head Zhu nodded. “I advocate investigating this Jiang
Chen.”
Palace Head Dan Chi’s face darkened. “Investigate what?
Jiang Chen’s background is clean, so what’s there to look into? I only say
this, bring out whatever evidence you’ve got, or stop worrying if you have
none. Have the Pill Battles devolved to the point where those who excel are
suppressed? If everyone thinks my Regal Pill Palace is being superfluous, then
just say so. Why bother scrounging around for such a crude excuse?”
Wei Wuying sneered. “A clean background? And who can prove
that? Jiang Chen is from the sixteen kingdom alliance, that’s already half a
desolate wilderness to begin with. I’m sure everyone remembers the last
gathering where we discussed whether or not to exile them, and almost everyone
agreed. The reason? Is it only because the sixteen kingdom alliance is weak?
Who doesn’t know that that’s the fringe territory where the ancient demon tribe
is sealed? Who can guarantee that those from the sixteen kingdoms don’t have
the background of the demon tribe?”
The expressions of the sect heavyweights drastically changed
as those words rang in the air. It was apparent that the words “ancient demon
tribe” had left a deep feeling of danger in them, and it seemed that none of
them were exempt from this reaction.
Sect Head Zhu immediately interjected. “Sect Head Wei’s
words aren’t without reason. The ancient demon tribe may be dead, but it hasn’t
collapsed yet. It would only require the slightest opening for them to rise
from the ashes again. Even the slightest spark can ravage the plains with fire.
I also feel that we must stay guarded against this.”
Wang Jianyu was happy to add fuel to the flame, laughing,
“We must be cautious about the remnants of the demon tribe. Out of
considerations of security, I recommend making a thorough investigation. We’d
rather kill a thousand erroneously rather than letting one free! That Jiang
Chen’s perverse potential is something that our Myriad Domain level could not
have cultivated.”
Even the family heads from the Great Cathedral didn’t remain
neutral this time and nodded as well. It was apparent that they didn't dare
relax their guard when it came to the ancient demon race, even if they didn’t
necessarily feel that Jiang Chen had anything to do with them. They would
investigate things thoroughly now rather than let anything slip by.
When Dan Chi saw that four out of the six great sects were
advocating for investigating Jiang Chen, he was completely incensed and knew
that they were meaning to band together to suppress Jiang Chen. However, Dan
Chi wasn’t just any easy pickings. He was well versed in these battles,
snorting coldly in response, “If you wish to look into even someone with a
clean background, then I’d like to ask, is the background of every disciple you
recruit clean and pure? Sect Head Zhu, why don’t you tell me where your Ding
Tong is from? Has anyone heard of him before?”
Sect Heads Zhu’s face stiffened as a strange look flashed
through his eyes. “Ding Tong is one of our Tristar Sect disciples.”
“Is that so? Then will Sect Head Zhu tell us more about this
disciple’s background? I’m all ears.”
Sect Head Zhu snorted coldly. “Is there a need to do so?”
Dan Chi laughed heartily. “Since you want to investigate
Jiang Chen, I can reel off his background at any time. Why can’t you do the
same for Ding Tong so everyone can verify his background? Or is it because the
Regal Pill Palace is the champion that you want to suppress us?”
These words stumped Sect Head Zhu into speechlessness.
Wu Weiying was delighted to blow up this matter even more.
Jiang Chen and Ding Tong were both ranked higher than Wei Xing’er anyways. If
both of them could be kicked off, then she would be the current champion. He
grinned, “Dan Chi makes sense as well. If we investigate Jiang Chen, we
naturally need to look into Ding Tong as well. To be honest, I’ve heard of
Jiang Chen before today, but I’ve never heard of Ding Tong. Have any of you
heard of him?”
Everyone was familiar with Jiang Chen’s name from when the
Regal Pill Palace allied with the Precious Tree Sect, but Ding Tong was a true
dark horse in that no one had ever heard of him before the Pill Battles.
Wang Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace was on good terms
with Tristar Sect Head Zhu. He smiled, “Don’t be distracted by Dan Chi,
everyone. He’s merely purposefully stirring up the waters and making the
situation murky to distract from the real problem here.”
Dan Chi shot a cold glare at Wang Jianyu. When all was said
and done, the latter was still a sect head! Yet here he was, being so openly
shameless as to publicly tout a set of double standards. Dan Chi shook his head
with a light sigh. “No wonder the Sacred Sword Palace has never sought to
better themselves. With a sect head such as you, even those below you know
nothing better because of the unworthy example you set at the peak.”
Wang Jianyu was enraged. “Dan Chi, do your words indicate
that you think your Regal Pill Palace already reigns over my Sacred Sword
Palace?! Since we’re all here today, why don’t our two sects finally decide who
truly owns that spirit vein, huh!?
When the Sacred Sword Palace and Regal Pill Palace fought
over the spirit vein years ago, Wang Jianyu had continued to bear a grudge ever
since the former Regal Pill Palace Head had suppressed him in that fight. He’d
always wanted an excuse to strike back and gain face, so relations between the
two could truly only be described as acrimonious in the extreme.
Dan Chi smiled coolly. “There are naturally many
opportunities for your Sacred Sword Palace to strive for glory in the Myriad
Grand Ceremony. Have you already made up your mind to disturb the proceedings
of the Pill Battles today?”
The family head of the Sacred Elephant family of the Great
Cathedral rose to his feet at this moment to try to smooth things over.
“Everyone, let’s not bicker and argue here. Investigating whether someone is of
the ancient demon race is easy enough. Although it had many branches, the
lineage of the ancient demons are still quite different from us humans. Since
Jiang Chen and Ding Tong’s backgrounds are suspect, in my view, they should
both be tested. Otherwise, it would be unfair to both the Regal Pill Palace and
Tristar Sect. Ole brother Dan Chi and Sect Head Zhu, what do you say?”
Dan Chi nodded, “I agree wholeheartedly with the Family
Head’s words.”
Sect Head Zhu hesitated momentarily and also nodded. “Then
let us test both of them.”
There were naturally many ways to test bloodlines in the
Myriad Domain. Jiang Chen and Ding Tong were summoned and notified of the
controversy between the great sects. When Jiang Chen saw that Palace Head Dan
Chi had already agreed, he didn’t say anything else. He had nothing to do with
the ancient demon race anyways, but it was a good thing he hadn't assimilated
the dragon blood. It would be difficult to explain the presence of a dragon
bloodline when it was detected. Even if he wasn’t of the ancient demon race, it
would still be very astonishing to possess the bloodline of the dragon race. Up
until now, Jiang Chen had only assimilated the blood of the Golden Cicada.
Although that could also be detected, it was noticeably different from the
ancient demon race, and was a very pure bloodline to boot. Plus, those of the
Myriad Domain might not necessarily recognize this particular bloodline.
As for the Firelizard and Raven King cores, although he’d
refined them, they hadn’t contained their respective bloodlines. As such, it
wouldn’t be reflected in Jiang Chen’s blood, so he wasn’t opposed to the
testing.
It was rather Ding Tong who was further irritated when he
heard that he had to undergo testing. His second place ranking already irked
him, but since all the six great sects’ heavyweights were present, his belly
full of ire had to go unappeased. Resigned, he could only agree to undergo
testing.
Blood samples were quickly taken, and all of the
heavyweights participated in testing Jiang Chen’s blood. Their final conclusion
was that it was completely void of even traces of the demon race’s bloodlines.
Since there was no demon lineage in his blood, Wei Wuying could no longer find
any more excuses.
Chapter 542: Ding Tong Extends an Invitation
“Hmph, even though Jiang Chen isn’t from the demon race,
there’s still something noticeably off about his bloodline. Can’t you see it?”
Wei Wuying was still unwilling to accept this outcome.
Wang Jianyu nodded. “Indeed. Although this is the bloodline
of the human race, there are some odd components to it. In my eyes, this
bloodline is still worthy of investigation.”
The Sacred Ape family head from the Great Cathedral suddenly
laughed out loud. “The two of you should stop raising objections just for the
sake of opposing the Regal Pill Palace. It’s a very common thing for
cultivators to assimilate the bloodlines of various animals. Almost all of the
disciples of my Great Cathedral have assimilated similar bloodlines. Are you
going to look into each and every single one of them?”
Someone had finally stepped out to speak in defense of
fairness. He sighed, “Still, this bloodline is very rare. Even in my eyes, it’s
still a very impressive lineage. No wonder Jiang Chen’s potential in pill dao
is so high, this bloodline could be the reason why!”
The Sacred Elephant family head also sighed. “You’ve really
found a treasure this time, ole brother Dan Chi. Are you willing to give Jiang
Chen over to my Great Cathedral? Demand whatever price you will, his bloodline
is a great match for the style of our sect!”
Dan Chi chuckled and declined resolutely. “Family Head, I
might be able to painfully part with anything else, but I’ve gone to the depths
of antagonizing the Ninesuns Sky Sect for him. Would I part with him that
easily?”
The Sacred Elephant family head seemed to have anticipated
this response as he huffed out lightly. “What a pity. Ai, it seems like my
Great Cathedral should have a broader vision. We let the Regal Pill Palace pick
up a treasure this time.”
Wei Wuying had played the role of a petty person the entire
time, but he had yet to give up hope. “There’s no problem with Jiang Chen, but
we still need to look at Ding Tong’s bloodline.”
Ding Tong’s bloodline was also quickly analyzed, and
surprisingly, although he didn’t have any lineage from the ancient demon race,
the energy within his bloodline was abnormally strong. It actually surpassed
all the geniuses in the Myriad Domain. The vitality and life-force in Ding Tong
was thrumming with vigor, a level that exceeded even the extreme limit of the
Myriad Domain. He didn’t seem like someone from the Myriad Domain at all.
“Well now this is odd. How could such a sophisticated
bloodline appear in the Myriad Domain?” The Sacred Ape family head was a bit
suspicious as he examined Ding Tong. The latter only snorted coldly as he
retained his usual dismissive look in front of the sect heads. Jiang Chen also
felt it odd, just what was Ding Tong’s background?
Tristar Sect Head Zhu sneered coldly. “Well? Is there the
lineage of the ancient demon race in Ding Tong’s bloodline? If there isn’t, can
we end this farce already?”
Wei Wuying was currently the epitome of awkwardness. He’d
been the one raising the greatest fuss, but the tests had proven that neither
Jiang Chen or Ding Tong were of the ancient demon race despite the
irregularities in their blood. There was no reason for them not to participate
if they weren’t of that ancient demon race. After all, bloodlines were a
different matter for martial dao geniuses, and everyone had their own gifts. No
one could guarantee that everyone’s bloodline was of pure human and without the
slightest bit of impurity. Even his Walkabout Sect often absorbed the
bloodlines of poisonous materials to enhance their own body’s ability in
dispelling poison. When it came down to lineage, theirs actually veered more on
the edge of evil than anyone else’s.
Dan Chi laughed coldly and flicked a glance at Wei Wuying.
“Aren’t you quite disappointed now, Sect Head Wei?”
The other had an incredibly thick skin, slipping on the veneer
of a satisfied, happy chortle. “I am quite gratified! That these two young
geniuses aren’t of the ancient demon race, this is simply the great fortune of
the Myriad Domain!”
Dan Chi then looked at Wang Jianyu and spoke faintly. “Ole
Wang, what a waste of being the villain this time, hmm?”
Wang Jiangyu snorted coldly. “It’s not like I had any
ulterior motives. Everything I did was for the greater good. I can face myself
with a clear conscience.”
Witnessing this exchange, Jiang Chen almost wanted to
harrumph. These old fellows were one more shameless than the other. They were
plainly suppressing those who were different from them, but they wanted to wrap
it up in the outfit of righteous justice.
After the hubbub had died down, the day’s competition took a
break, and everyone returned to their respective areas for a quick rest.
Jiang Chen inquired after the situation in the elders’
group, learning that their competition had been exceedingly fierce. Even Elder
Yun Nie, with his tremendous pill dao ability, had only won second place. An
elder from the Walkabout Sect had actually used the barest of advantages to win
out over Elder Yun Nie. This had cast a slight pall over the elders from the
Regal Pill Palace. It was a good thing that the young geniuses had performed
above their usual level, including even Jiang Chen. Everyone’s scores were
good, and Shen Qinghong’s were actually the lowest amongst the four. But even
so, because of his advantage when it came to a tie, he ranked number seven.
A first, fourth, sixth and seventh, these rankings were
absolutely unheard of. Not only had the team of geniuses not been left in the
dust, but they were greatly in the lead.
Palace Head Dan Chi summoned everyone together to give them
a little pep talk. “Everyone, there are multiple factors at work in the Pill
Battles. It’s said that the elder from the Walkabout Sect has absorbed a
skyfire acclaimed as one of the utmost sources of fire beneath the heavens.
Although this skyfire isn’t ranked highly, its power is easy to imagine.
Therefore, it’s only due to luck that he’s ranked first for now. Our Regal Pill
Palace still holds the overall advantage in the Pill Battles.
“For the young geniuses, everyone has acquitted themselves
well. Your results have been nothing but a pleasure. If you can maintain this
advantage, then our Regal Pill Palace can still leverage our greatest advantage
to take home the championship this time.” He turned towards Jiang Chen, “Jiang
Chen, it’s impossible to not incite jealousy from others when you’re so
extraordinary. I hope the bloodline testing didn’t result in any psychological
pressure on you.”
Jiang Chen smiled nonchalantly. “Such desperate actions from
cornered beasts aren’t worth bothering with.”
Palace Head Dan Chi laughed with admiration. “Fantastic!
This is the bearing of a true expert indeed! The more composed you are, the
less they can do anything to you. In the end, they can only slink away in envy
and jealousy.
“Mu Gaoqi, you have brought glory for the Regal Pill Palace
this time. Elder Yun Nie truly had impressive forethought in accepting you as a
disciple.”
Mu Gaoqi smiled honestly, “The third topic of spirit herbs
is my forte. I must take advantage of the opportunity to consolidate my position
and advance myself further.”
His stunning results in the second round of cauldron
preheating had been entirely due to Jiang Chen. Although he’d only grasped a
third of the True Fires of Ninety Nine that Jiang Chen had passed onto him,
that had been enough for him to make a great showing in the second round. His
results had sent him flying into second place, lifting his overall ranking from
tenth to fourth. The third round of cultivating spirit herbs was what he was
most skilled at. He was an innate wood constitution of high order, a gift that
was a perfect match with cultivating spirit herbs. This advantage bred great
confidence in him for raising his ranking further. He even hoped to make it
into the top three this time! He knew that he didn’t have much hope when
compared with Brother Chen, but he wasn’t satisfied simply trailing behind Ding
Tong at number two and Wei Xing’er at number three.
“Shen Qinghong, your martial dao potential is extraordinary
and your pill dao potential first rate. You need to use this advantage well and
utilize the Pill Battles to temper your strength of heart. This will only bring
benefits to you with no downfalls. If you are fortunate enough to find
enlightenment in the Pill Battles and benefit from an enhanced mental state,
then your future accomplishments will exceed even your master Elder Lian Cheng.
But if you don’t, everything that you have built will not be enough to prevent
you stumbling in front of obstacles of your own making.”
Dan Chi was quite sharp when it came to assessing people,
and his diction and choice of words was carefully precise. He wanted to give
pointers to Shen Qinghong, but whether or not Shen Qinghong could actually take
in his words would be up to him. After all, he was Elder Lian Cheng’s disciple,
and Dan Chi couldn’t overstep his boundaries to truly use harsh methods to
force Shen Qinghong to shape up.
“Ling Bi’er, your martial dao potential is extraordinary, as
is your pill dao potential. Right now, you and Shen Qinghong are on very similar
levels. In the same vein, you also have an internal dilemma to resolve.
However, it differs from Shen Qinghong’s burden, and I’m reassured to see how
you’re handling it. Your calm personality guarantees that your performance will
not skew wildly from one extreme to another.”
Ling Bi'er had suffered multiple hardships since her youth,
fostering her steady personality. Palace Head Dan Chi had naturally picked up
on that strength of hers, and had spoken to each of the youngsters before he
was done. As for the four elders, they were all notable characters and held
high positions in the Regal Pill Palace. The palace head naturally wouldn’t
need to talk to them, and their performance had been more or less stable.
In terms of overall ranking, even if they hadn’t overtaken
the Walkabout Sect, at least they weren’t losing. Add that to the genius
group’s performance, it seemed that as long as they maintained their current
course for the next two rounds, they still had high hopes of taking home the
championship.
Everyone returned to their lodgings after the meeting
wrapped up.
Jiang Chen had returned and was sitting down cross legged
when a message glyph suddenly flew into his room.
“Jiang Chen, dare you come out for a meeting?” The glyph was
from Ding Tong.
Jiang Chen’s thoughts raced. Ding Tong had shown him a flash
of killing intent before, and so Jiang Chen’s wariness against this person was
even higher than against Wei Qing of the Walkabout Sect. What does he want with
this late night invitation? He wanted to turn it down, but after spending a
moment in thought, still walked out. Ding Tong flashed out from behind a column
when Jiang Chen reached the side pavilion.
“So you really did dare come.” Ding Tong’s tone was
dispassionate as he remained fully hidden in the inky shadows.
Jiang Chen responded faintly, “What insights would Daoist
Ding like to impart with this late night summoning?”
Ding Tong’s gaze raked over Jiang Chen’s body like knives in
the night sky, hovering around him like blades. It was enough to force
someone’s hairs to stand on end.
“I’ll give you a suggestion.” Ding Tong said quietly.
“What?”
“Quit the Regal Pill Palace and Pill Battles.” There was an
indisputable sense of arrogance in Ding Tong’s tone, as if he were issuing
orders.
Jiang Chen broke out into a smile. “On what basis?”
Ding Tong responded coldly. “You’ll regret it if you
refuse.”
Jiang Chen smiled casually. “I don’t even know how to write
the word regret. What else do you have to say in the middle of the night? Might
as well let it all out at once.”
“Leave the Regal Pill Palace and join the Tristar Sect. I
will guarantee you a life of riches that will be more than ten times what you
would have had in the Regal Pill Palace.”
“You sure talk big.” Jiang Chen smiled slightly.
“You don’t believe me?” Ding Tong’s gaze chilled.
Jiang Chen waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter if I do or
not. I seek prosperity, but don’t need anyone to bestow it upon me. With that
domineering tone of yours, you’re likely no Tristar Sect disciple either. I
have one word of advice for you. Although the waters in the Myriad Domain
aren’t deep, they’re not something that just anyone can play in. Be careful of
drowning here if you don’t pay attention.” He refused to listen to any more
nonsense after that and drifted inside.
“Jiang Chen, since you refuse to see the error of your ways,
then Mt. Rippling Mirage will be your resting place!” This was a barely
concealed warning and a blatant threat.
“Ding Tong, if you have the spare effort to think of me, why
don’t you have a good ponder on how to hide your fox’s tail?”
Chapter 543: Jiang Chen’s Strange Actions
In the instant Jiang Chen had felt Ding Tong’s hostility
before the Pill Battles, he’d known that there could be no compromise with him.
Ding Tong hadn’t come calling because he truly wanted to recruit Jiang Chen,
but rather because he’d realized that it wasn’t possible to surpass Jiang Chen
in the Pill Battle Rankings. This was nothing more than an intimidation tactic
to scare Jiang Chen into backing out.
Did he think Jiang Chen a three year old child, to be
hoodwinked by these kinds of tricks? Nevertheless, Ding Tong’s actions were
certainly enough to keep Jiang Chen on his guard. His origin was a complete
mystery, and Jiang Chen had enough cause to suspect that he wasn’t actually
part of the Tristar Sect. His participation in the Pill Battles was probably
part of some unspeakable conspiracy as well. The only thing that remained
shrouded was whether Ding Tong was keeping the Tristar Sect in the dark, or were
they in on the plan as well?
As far as Jiang Chen could tell, especially with the
suspicious behavior Sect Head Zhu had shown, he felt it likely that the Tristar
Sect was in it up to their ears. Sect Head Zhu hadn’t been as calm as Palace
Head Dan Chi when Ding Tong was undergoing the bloodline tests, even though
he’d hid it well. Jiang Chen’s God’s Eye had reached a level where that slight
flicker in Sect Head Zhu’s emotions had been clear as day. However, at this
point, all this was merely suspicion and supposition. It wasn’t enough to
create a plausible argument. Besides, this plot seemed to implicate many, and
his current identity and status weren’t enough to persuade the crowd of his
words. He might even cause the Regal Pill Palace to fall into an awkward
situation. Moreover, he was already under general suspicion due to his
outstanding results. If he decided to try and point out something amiss about
Ding Tong, it would only look odd to onlookers.
As a result, Jiang Chen decided to do nothing for now and
just silently observe Ding Tong.
After a night of rest, the competition continued bright and
early the next day. The third round involved spirit herbs, and Mu Gaoqi’s
eagerness for battle was on the verge of exploding.
However, this competition of spirit herbs wasn’t just simply
cultivating a spirit herb or two.
“Now, please enter each area according to your number.
There, you will find three thousand seeds. Your task is to locate the five
seventh level saint rank seeds hidden among them. Each seedling must correspond
to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Then, you must
germinate those seeds within seven days.”
When the rules were announced, it was apparent that this was
one of the more complex rounds. Not only did they have to pick out only five
seeds from three thousand, but they had to make sure that the seeds
corresponded to the five elements, which had further implications when they had
to be cultivated into seedlings. And to boot, all of this had to be completed in
seven days!
“Remember, there are 600 total points that one can win in
this round. Identifying the five seeds will result in 100 points, each seed
being worth 20 points. Growing each seedling earns you 100 points. However,
don’t think that simply growing a seedling nets you the full hundred points.
The quality of the seedling is paramount. If the seedling is of lower rank, you
will receive 30 points. Middle rank seedlings will earn 60 points, and upper
rank, 80 points. Only supreme rank seedlings will you earn the full 100 points.
“Therefore, if you want to receive all 600 points, you must
identify the five correct seeds and raise them to be supreme rank seedlings. Of
course, if you identify the wrong seeds from the beginning, then your efforts
for the latter half will all be for naught. Remember, seventh level saint rank
seeds. If you pick the wrong rank or attribute, you’ll forfeit all your points.
This round is where the wheat will be separated from the chaff. If you don’t
acquit yourself well, you could lose a great deal of points and see your
ranking fall drastically.”
Everyone stood at solemn attention. If they performed well
in this round, they could seize a lot of points. But if they didn’t, they would
lose quite a bit instead. This was truly a double edged sword.
“Do you see the ground beneath your feet? This area is where
you’ll be cultivating your spirit herbs. All of the materials you need have
been made ready for you. Finally, there are no restrictions on using any heaven
defying materials you already own. Apart from not leaving this area, there are
no other restrictions on this round.”
Every area was covered in seals that cut off communication
to the outside world. Each candidate could use any method or technique they
wanted, but they couldn’t ask for outside help.
“Alright, the competition and time of seven days starts...
now. You are now forbidden from leaving for the next seven days. If you set
even a toe outside this area, you will be deemed as having cheated and will
receive a zero for this round.”
The costs of cheating were high. Once someone was deemed as
having cheated, they would basically have to withdraw from the Pill Battles.
There was no way they would be able to obtain a decent ranking.
Jiang Chen closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe,
listening closely to all the rules. The more one prepared, the more likely that
they would be able to save time later. As such, there was no need to start at a
frantic pace. It wouldn’t be too late to make his move after he’d carefully
heard all of the details. He only slowly opened his eyes after the examiner
announced the start of the round.
There were a full seven days to this round with a lot of
flexibility. This was why Jiang Chen wasn’t overly focused on speed. Haste made
for waste.
Three thousand seeds were an astonishing number to comb
through. Pill masters with slightly lower cultivation levels would find it very
difficult to pick out the 5 seventh level saint rank seeds of the five
elements—and this was from the perspective of the Myriad Domain geniuses. If it
were up to those from the Precious Tree Sect to attempt this, possibly even
Forefather Thousandleaf would be unable to accomplish this. But of course, this
was as easy as a simple twitch of his fingers to Jiang Chen. No matter what
level the seeds were, he only needed to touch them, perform a simple
examination, and take a sniff to be able to determine their level. Even if
there were the occasional ones he was uncertain of, he’d be able to draw a firm
conclusion after taking another look.
He’d gone through all of the seeds in roughly fifteen
minutes, selecting about twenty likely candidates and sweeping the rest to the
side.
Of these twenty, he had selected high, low, and medium saint
rank seeds. The only requirement they had was to select seventh level saint
rank seeds that corresponded to the five elements. He’d actually locked onto
the proper five seeds a long time ago, but had suddenly thought of something
else as he’d selected the seeds.
Jiang Chen took a look at the current conditions. It was
already difficult enough to cultivate all five into supreme rank seedlings. It
was also apparent that the organizers were quite stringent, and that almost no
one could walk away with full points under these conditions. However, Jiang
Chen was striving for full marks.
He also knew that if he could gain full points in this
round, his score would leave everyone else behind in the dust. This opportunity
was just far too good to pass up. His pill dao potential had been thoroughly
revealed in the previous two rounds anyways, so he didn’t mind exposing himself
a bit more.
His strange actions baffled Palace Head Dan Chi. “What’s
Jiang Chen doing? He's selected so many seeds; is he planning on cultivating all
of them and then picking the successful ones?” He was puzzled, and couldn’t
fathom what Jiang Chen was planning.
It wasn’t that this method wasn’t allowed. If anyone really
could cultivate large numbers of seeds into seedlings and then pick out the five
correct choices, there was nothing in the rules against it. At the same time,
it was an impossible task. And the reason for that was threefold.
First, the materials provided had been precisely portioned
out. They were just enough to cultivate the minimum 5 seventh level saint rank
seedlings. There just weren’t enough for cultivating all twenty seeds.
One could alleviate that problem by forking over money for
materials, but the second problem still remained. Everyone only had that bare
patch of dirt to work with. There was only so much space, and it certainly
wasn’t big enough to house more than five seeds.
Third, raising seedlings required infusion of one’s energy.
An overly dense concentration of seeds was bad for the development of the
spirit herbs, and if they didn’t receive enough spirit energy over the seven
days, then there may not even be five seedlings at the end.
To use an analogy, the degree of comfort between having five
people in a house and fifty in the same house were completely different. With
the same amount of resources and space, the more seeds that were cultivated,
the less spirit power and space were available for each seed, and that would
affect their rate of development.
Therefore, Palace Head Dan Chi couldn’t understand Jiang
Chen’s actions no matter how he thought about it. If he hadn’t known that Jiang
Chen wasn’t the sort for tomfoolery, he would’ve thought that his disciple was
playing with fire.
Naturally, there were others who thought precisely that,
such as Wei Wuying, Tristar Sect Head Zhu and Wang Jianyu from the Sacred Sword
Palace. Jiang Chen’s performance had been so stunning before that he naturally
attracted many gazes in this round. Wei Wuying was utterly delighted to see
Jiang Chen behave so erratically. He hadn’t thought that Jiang Chen would have
such sophisticated methods when he witnessed the cauldron preheating round
earlier, but he was absolutely sure of his judgement on Jiang Chen’s current
actions. Jiang Chen was going against every ounce of basic knowledge of spirit
herb cultivation. The result was obvious, all actions that went against common
knowledge were destined to be fruitless.
However, they’d learned their lesson this time, and didn’t
make a dig at Jiang Chen or jeer at him. They only watched him coldly, prepared
for a good show. If Jiang Chen came crashing down in this round, then his
previous advantages would have been rendered meaningless.
“You won’t find trouble if you don’t go looking for it. This
Jiang Chen is too full of himself and has gone courting death!” Wei Wuying was
completely looking down on Jiang Chen now. He didn’t believe that such random
crazy actions would result in a high score!
Sect Head Zhu was also privately rejoicing, only wishing
that Jiang Chen would continue this run of madness and hand the championship
over to Ding Tong. As for Wang Jianyu, he had no ambitions when it came to the
Pill Battles. The only thing he wanted to see was the Regal Pill Palace’s
abject humiliation.
Chapter 544: Art of Spirit Reaping
These fellows who were delighting in the misery of others
were also privately observing Palace Head Dan Chi’s reaction. Dan Chi’s
expression never flickered from a solemn gaze; he was obviously unsure of what
Jiang Chen intended. Thus, they realized that Jiang Chen was absolutely going
rogue and this wasn’t something that the Regal Pill Palace had arranged for
beforehand. Since it wasn’t a hidden special technique of the Regal Pill
Palace, they were now certain that Jiang Chen was trying to cast around for a
way forward.
To put it bluntly, they figured he was hoping to get lucky
by cultivating all his spirit seeds and picking the best from them. It wasn’t
that the results would not be accepted, but the plan had some severe caveats in
terms of sufficient space, materials, soil and time. But during a competition,
all of the above were limited. Jiang Chen was simply dooming himself with his
actions! So what if he was lucky and able to germinate his seeds, would their
quality be acceptable then?
With inferior quality lower or mid rank seedlings, his score
wouldn’t be that high either. If the top geniuses put on a good performance,
they could absolutely leap past Jiang Chen in one go. Of course, even as the
center of attention, Jiang Chen was completely lost in his own world, paying no
heed to the reactions of the outside world.
It was no wonder that no one understood what he was doing.
The technique he was using this time was far more unique than what he’d used
previously. It didn’t resemble the techniques of the Myriad Domain at all, not
even the most extraordinary ones. Of course, he needed some extra materials
other than the ones provided, so he took them from his storage ring.
He divided his area into two, and planted twenty seeds in
one half. His actions looked random, but he was actually laying down a small
spirit reaping formation in this half, creating a formation of the five
elements. These twenty seeds weren’t his main focus.
The focus of his attentions lay in the other half, where he
also set down the same spirit reaping formation, but instead accompanied by the
5 seventh level saint rank seeds this time. They were the true stars of the
show.
The two formations formed a link, a one way transmission of
energy from one half to the other. The right half was the true focal point of
the energy, nurturing the five seventh level saint rank seeds. The left half
would merely collect the spirit power produced by the twenty seeds and funnel
it to the five seeds of the five different elements on the right. In spirit
herb cultivation, this technique was called the Art of Spirit Reaping. To put
it simply, it used the characteristics of spirit herbs to form a nurturing
formation of the five elements. The theory behind this wasn’t complicated, but
an exact, precise calculation of space, spirit herb characteristics, terrain,
and usage of materials was needed to set up the formation.
The slightest deviation would result in completely wasted
efforts.
At the end of the day, this was still a highly technical and
difficult undertaking. It was likely that no one apart from Jiang Chen could
use these methods in the Myriad Domain. There may not even be anyone who could
understand what he was doing.
Wei Wuying and Sect Head Zhu were almost dancing in joy.
They’d seen Jiang Chen planting the spirit seeds with their own eyes. Although
Jiang Chen’s methods looked mysterious, they didn't believe that Jiang Chen
would be able to do anything now that he’d mucked it up this much!
Jiang Chen didn’t do anything else after making his
preparations. This technique had a particular advantage over the ones his
competitors were using; he didn’t need to keep an eye on his seedlings all the
time. As a result, he decided to sit down cross-legged and start meditating.
Seven days was a long time, and he didn’t want to waste all
this time. The formation had been set up and he’d done all he could. All that
remained was to patiently await the fruits of his labor.
Jiang Chen didn’t believe that he couldn’t cultivate supreme
rank seedlings out of mere seventh level saint rank seeds in seven days after
he’d used the Art of Spirit Reaping. After all, if it wasn’t for his desire to
obtain all the points in this round, he wouldn’t have used such a complicated
technique. At the very least, using the same methods as the others, he would’ve
definitely produced upper rank seedlings, and he had a decent chance of
obtaining supreme rank seedlings. However, if he wanted to guarantee supreme
rank seedlings, the conditions imposed by the organizers were far too
restrictive. Of this, he was quite certain. In addition, his technique could
also give him some free time. He wouldn’t need to constantly keep an eye on it,
making his job much easier than the others.
Apart from Jiang Chen, Mu Gaoqi was also in his element.
Like wings added to a tiger, the advantages of a wood constitution of high
order were clearly noticeable. He only needed to quickly observe with his
consciousness to easily identify which seed had the most potential.
Cultivating the seeds came even easier. He didn’t need any
special techniques, as he easily grasped each seed’s special characteristics
and used the simplest method to appropriately handle them. Everything was
completed flawlessly. This was his advantage, an advantage that no one else
could possibly emulate. Mu Gaoqi’s techniques were far beneath Jiang Chen’s,
but his innate potential gave him a leg up that Jiang Chen didn’t possess.
Apart from Mu Gaoqi, Ding Tong was the only other with an
apparent advantage. He’d brought over a spirit liquid from somewhere that
induced the growth of spirit herbs. Although this wasn’t an advantage innately
from his potential, it was certainly an advantage that came from one’s
resources.
The seven days started passing one by one, with changes seen
every day in the competitors patches of dirt. On the other hand, the first
three days passed and absolutely nothing could be seen on Jiang Chen’s side.
He wasn’t worried at all, but Palace Head Dan Chi was! Three
days had passed already, and the seeds of all the other top geniuses had
started sprouting already. Tender new shoots could be seen poking through the
ground, their elemental leanings very apparent. Jiang Chen however, still
somehow remained steady and completely confident.
In the eyes of Wei Wuying and the others, this behavior was
just indicative of Jiang Chen giving up on himself. The fourth day had already
dawned, and his seeds had yet to make a move. What was this if not making a
mess as he gave up? There were only a little over three days left. Even if
Jiang Chen had a divine ability at his disposal, could he make spirit herbs
grow at a crazy speed? This obviously went against common sense.
Palace Head Dan Chi was also having trouble understanding
this move of Jiang Chen’s. He trusted Jiang Chen very much, and still felt that
Jiang Chen had some sort of plan even though the latter was behaving this way.
However, there was no proof of said plan, even as the remaining time waned. If
it wasn’t for Jiang Chen’s coolly composed expression, he would’ve suspected
that Jiang Chen wanted to forfeit the race.
“This Jiang Chen must’ve absorbed some heaven defying fire
to put on such a performance in the first round of fire control, and obtain
stunning results in the second of cauldron heating. But, his true form is
coming to light in the third round. It looks like he doesn’t have any
experience in cultivating spirit herbs in the sixteen kingdom alliance and is
completely helpless. He can only muck around blindly. Hmph! How does one amount
to anything in cultivating spirit herbs without at least three to five years of
learning?” Wei Wuying was already certain that Jiang Chen had never learned how
to cultivate spirit herbs, and his perfect scores in the first two rounds had
been nothing but a fluke.
Sect Head Zhu’s thoughts were similar, and he was naturally
delighted beyond words when he saw Jiang Chen with still no real progress. He
was most happy to see Jiang Chen perform below his usual standard, because that
would send Ding Tong up to the champion’s seat.
Wang Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace wasn’t even paying
attention to his own sect’s geniuses anymore. He spent most of his efforts
paying attention to Jiang Chen. It was obvious that his interest in suppressing
the Regal Pill Palace was greater than watching over the development of his own
disciples. “Hmph, this kid is rather good at playing the mysterious card, hmm?
It’s already the fourth day, and his seeds are the only ones that haven’t
sprouted at all. The others have more or less sprouted, and here he sits,
pretending to be calm. He even has the mind to meditate!”
He wanted to burst out laughing. If it wasn’t for the fact
that they were in the middle of a competition, he would’ve started jeering at
Palace Head Dan Chi already. Cultivating martial dao in the middle of the Pill
Battles, this Jiang Chen is such a weird freak.
However, Jiang Chen’s seeds finally sprouted on the
afternoon of the fourth day.
“Hmph, it’s too late now. He’s almost an entire day behind
the others. There’s only seven days total; how can he possibly catch up,
starting so much later than everyone else?” Wei Wuying was a bit startled to
see Jiang Chen’s seeds sprout. He had postulated that Jiang Chen didn’t know
how to cultivate spirit herbs at all, but it looked like his thoughts were
wrong.
On the fifth day, when everyone took a look at Jiang Chen’s
area again, they noticed that there were 20 seeds that had all sprouted on the
left hand side, and only five seeds on the right. Astonishingly, the five on
the right had grown furiously in the span of a night, and their height had
pretty much caught up to the others. Although there was still a bit of a
distance between them and the seedlings of the top geniuses, it was apparent
that Jiang Chen’s seedlings were catching up at a furious rate.
This finally made Dan Chi’s slightly furrowed brow smooth
out as he inwardly brushed away the sweat from his forehead. “Jiang Chen, that
kid! Just what is he up to with this move? He truly started scaring me.”
The others were greatly astonished. They almost couldn’t
believe their eyes. Jiang Chen’s seeds had sprouted a full day later than the
others, but their growth had already caught up to everyone else’s, and were
continuing to grow at that incredible rate! Those who had been waiting to see
Jiang Chen make a fool out of himself all felt that subtle prick of being
played by him.
On the sixth day, Jiang Chen’s spirit herbs overtook the
majority of the other seedlings and began showing signs of reaching the level
of the top geniuses. Moreover, Jiang Chen’s seedlings looked distinctly
superior to everyone else’s crop, whether in terms of color, luster, and
vitality. Even Ding Tong, the one who’d been in the lead before Jiang Chen had
caught up, had seen the gap of his advantage shorten to almost nothing.
Dan Chi smiled, he knew that Jiang Chen must’ve used some
esoteric technique this time. Those seemingly ludicrous actions must have been
the components of a highly sophisticated technique that no one else could
understand. Dan Chi also naturally attributed all of this to the mysterious
Elder Shun. He was happily going down the path that all of Jiang Chen’s
marvelous techniques had been passed down from Elder Shun.
Chapter 545: A Triple Champion
Time swiftly progressed until the seventh and last day
dawned. The participants all had extremely solemn expressions on their faces.
That is, all of them, apart from Jiang Chen. He was completely confident in his
results. Under the yoke of the Art of Spirit Reaping, the five seventh level
saint rank seeds had grown exceptionally well. Even if the judging was to start
at that very moment, they would be identified supreme rank spirit herbs.
The twenty seedlings in the left half were shrunken, as if
they really hadn’t gotten the chance to grow. That was only natural, since the
formation was siphoning the spirit energy they produced and using it to
fertilize the five seedlings in the other half. The growth of the twenty
seedlings had been purposefully stunted. They had only grown so as to keep the
formation active. However, removal of the five seedlings that was the recipient
of their energy would allow the twenty undernourished seedlings to return to
their original vitality. In the end, they would be none the worse for wear.
On the seventh day, the heavyweights of each sect started
craning their necks to examine each of the candidates’ seedlings. Although they
were too far away for a detailed observation, the color and size of the
seedlings could allow them to form a rudimentary judgement.
Jiang Chen’s seedlings had soared ahead of all the others.
The most astonishing thing about his crop was they their growth had been evenly
distributed across all the seedlings. As if they’d shaken hands on an
agreement, each of the seedlings were even in height, size, looks, luster and
quality. They were flawless. This kind of balanced development was the most
frightening aspect of his seedlings.
In contrast, although Ding Tong’s seedlings had had the aid
of a heaven defying spirit liquid, there was still obvious individual
differences between all of his seedlings. This was enough to demonstrate that
his abilities had yet to reach perfection. In contrast, Mu Gaoqi had performed
extremely well, ending up neck and neck with Ding Tong.
Although Wei Xing’er possessed an innate constitution of
fire, it didn’t prove to be an advantage in this round of spirit herb
cultivation. Her performance was just passable, yet Wei Qing’s crop was only
surpassed by Jiang Chen, Ding Tong, and Mu Gaoqi.
The seventh day finally came to an end, and the candidates
were all instructed to vacate their area. A loud hubbub occurred as the
candidates made their way out of their respective areas. Once again, each of
the crop yields were carefully scored, and their totals tallied. Jiang Chen
once again took home full marks for this round with no contest at all, becoming
a stunning triple champion. His overall score was an absolutely flabbergasting
1400 points. His grasp on the champion’s seat was almost a sure thing.
Ding Tong was runner up for this round, but he’d only
received 540 points in this round for a total of 1,270, placing him second
overall.
The most surprising result came from Mu Gaoqi. He’d actually
received 540 points as well, and his overall score had shot up to a stunning
1,250 points, vaulting him into third place overall!
Wei Qing had leveraged his performance in this round to
overtake Wei Xing’er, taking the fourth place in rankings with 1,220 points.
Wei Xing’er was now in fifth place with 1,200 points due to
mediocre performance in the third round.
Ling Bi'er had done better then Wei Xing’er, closing the gap
and now occupying sixth place overall. She was just 10 points behind.
Next, Shen Qinghong, Zhu Feiyang, Lin Hai, Yuan Yuan and
Wang Han actually all had identical scores: 1,180 points, and occupied the
seventh to eleventh positions. That did mean that the difference between Wei
Xing’er’s fifth ranking and Wang Han’s eleventh rank was simply a matter of 20
points. It also meant that one of the top geniuses was destined to be pushed
down to eleventh. A single rank’s difference may be small, but there was a
world of difference in the level of treatment between tenth and eleventh.
The top ten could enter Mt. Rippling Mirage and harvest for
twenty days, but the next ten could only enter for ten days and then only after
ten days had elapsed for the top ten. It was obvious that their chances of
getting anything good would be greatly decreased.
Therefore, after the three rounds were over, the competition
for the top ten instantly heated up. The struggle over number ten was actually
fiercer than the struggle over the championship. With how things had developed,
the championship was originally up to the top four candidates. However, Jiang
Chen’s momentum in taking full marks for each round was slowly sending his
competition up a wall. Those going up against him could only feel a deep sense
of helplessness. No matter how optimistic they tried to be, they had to admit
that as long as Jiang Chen performed at his usual level in the fourth round,
there was almost no hope for them to seize the championship from his hands.
Ding Tong in particular had a belly full of ire and nowhere
to vent. He’d almost gone on a rampage when he learned that Jiang Chen had
taken full marks again. He’d used a heaven defying spirit liquid in this round,
barely skirting the lines of cheating. Even with that, he’d not only failed to
close the distance between them, but the gap had widened instead. What was the
point of the fourth round if this sort of pattern continued?!
Ding Tong was here for the championship. Taking home second
place would be nothing but a humiliating failure. But sadly, the only thing he
could do when faced with this kind of Jiang Chen was to huff, puff and glare.
On the other hand, it was Mu Gaoqi who surprised everyone. Apart from Palace
Head Dan Chi knowing what had happened behind the scenes, all the other
heavyweights of the sect found this batch of Regal Pill Palace candidates to be
incredibly mystifying.
“Dan Chi, your Regal Pill Palace is quite odd. Shen Qinghong
and Ling Bi'er have the biggest reputations, but the true talents seem to be
this Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi. Was this a facade to allow them to shine
brilliantly?”
Dan Chi only smiled and refrained from commenting when he
was asked these kinds of questions.
“We all know of Jiang Chen’s background, but where did this
Mu Gaoqi come from? The Regal Pill Palace disciples truly take our breath away
in astonishment.”
Dan Chi smile faintly. “Wei Wuying, do you want to
investigate Mu Gaoqi now? I’m afraid you’ll be sorely disappointed. He’s always
been a Regal Pill Palace disciple, he’s just kept a lower profile.”
Mu Gaoqi’s sudden rise and unimpeded momentum to reach the
top three was now forcing Wei Qing and Wei Xing’er of the Walkabout Sect to
occupy fourth and fifth. Wei Wuying was finding this a rather bitter pill to
swallow.
However, Mu Gaoqi’s heaven defying performance in the spirit
herb cultivation round was above reproach, and the farce of investigating Jiang
Chen couldn’t be repeated on Mu Gaoqi. It would only invite contempt and scorn.
Face was as thin as tree bark, and although Wei Wuying was thick-skinned, he
wasn’t that shameless.
Instead, it was Wang Jianyu who spoke sourly. “One at fifth
level origin realm and the other at third level origin realm. Are the pill dao
geniuses of the Regal Pill Palace all cultivated on the foundation of
sacrificing martial dao?” At this point, he was reduced to nitpicking, like
looking for a bone in an egg.
“Ole Wang, this should resonate deeply with your Sacred
Sword Palace! Sacrificing pill dao for martial dao—why else does your Sacred
Sword Palace always come in last at the Pill Battles?” Dan Chi laughed softly,
obviously not leaving Wang Jianyu any face.
The latter snorted coldly, “Martial dao strength is
ultimately the support for the establishment of a sect. As strong as pill dao
is, it will never amount to much!”
Dan Chi was quite contemptuous of this kind of perspective.
“There’s only a few years until the Myriad Grand Ceremony. We’ll see just how
much weight your so-called martial might holds then!”
Whether folks accepted it or not, Jiang Chen’s dominating
score was evident, and brooked not an ounce of skepticism.
After seven days of spirit herb cultivation, many of the
candidates were exhausted, and so the competition was paused for everyone to
rest for a day. This was a perfect time to adjust themselves, but it didn’t
matter to Jiang Chen. His performance in the three rounds had left him assured
that the championship was already in the bag.
The fourth round was one of pill refining, and he believed
that as long as he performed up to his usual standards, the championship
wouldn’t go to anyone else. Pill refining was one of his strengths, after all.
“Brother Chen, a triple champion! That’s wonderful! I knew
those people were just gifting you the spirit stones, hahaha!” Mu Gaoqi looked
sincerely happy for Jiang Chen.
“You’re performing well, Gaoqi. It looks like your strength
of heart has increased. Keep your cool and you may remain number three after
the fourth round.”
Mu Gaoqi was in noticeably good spirits. He laughed,
“Brother Chen, my goal before was to enter the top ten. Now, it looks fully
attainable, so I don’t have any mental pressure and can display my abilities to
their fullest. Everyone is strong in refining pills, but I’ll try my best to
remain in the top ten and go for top five!”
“Mm, Wei Qing and Wei Xing’er from the Walkabout Sect are
all strong opponents. It’s a logical outcome if any of you three can make it
into the top ten. However, I believe that you’ll be able to widen the gap
between you and the others in at most ten years.”
An innate wood constitution of high order was a rare
existence in even the Upper Eight Realms, and was absolutely a potential that
lorded over everyone else in the Myriad Domain.
Ling Bi'er came to visit as they were chatting, and Mu Gaoqi
smiled ambiguously when he saw her. He chuckled, “I’ll go away now, Brother
Chen.”
Jiang Chen pretended that he was going to smack Mu Gaoqi a
good one when he saw how the latter’s smile was asking to be hit. Mu Gaoqi
ducked, clutching his head, and scurried off with that cheeky grin still
plastered on his face.
“Junior brother, it looks like that little scamp Mu Gaoqi is
truly looking up to you.” Ling Bi'er also smiled softly when she saw Mu Gaoqi
thus. She felt that relationships between fellow sect disciples should indeed
be this heartwarming.
“Please take a seat, senior sister Bi’er.”
Ling Bi'er nodded slightly. “Congratulations to you, junior
brother. It looks like you’ve locked in the championship of the Pill Battles
already.”
Jiang Chen didn’t put on airs as he nodded with a smile.
“The palace head and Elder Yun Nie have given their marching orders, I dare not
return without it!”
Ling Bi’er immediately felt her heart lighten when she saw
how serious Jiang Chen was. She somehow felt a boundless source of magic from
Jiang Chen, that somehow anything that was impossible would be possible if he
put his hand on it. After repeated psychological impacts, she now had great
confidence in Jiang Chen. Perhaps he really could cure the Divine Befuddlement
Miasma that had tormented her father for more than ten years. When she thought
of this, Ling Bi'er had to suppress the urge to sob. Jiang Chen’s image had
become greater and greater with increasing clarity in her heart. He would
unconsciously float to the top of her mind every day and night.
The two of them looked at each other, and Ling Bi'er somehow
felt a bit shy when she met Jiang Chen’s relaxed and easy gaze. She hadn't had
much of a purpose in visiting him this time, merely wanting to take a look at
Jiang Chen and congratulate him.
It was at this time that a sweet and soft voice travelled in
from outside. “Senior brother Jiang Chen, little sister Wei Xing’er is so bold
as to come visit you.”
Chapter 546: Temptress Wei Xing’er
Wei Xing’er?
An alluring face immediately surfaced in Jiang Chen’s mind.
Wei Xing’er exuded a naturally seductive presence, one that came from deep
within her very bones. Her every movement and gesture gave others the feeling
of an intimate seduction.
When Ling Bi'er heard Wei Xing’er introduce herself, her
brows knit together as her face grew cold. She was obviously not kindly
disposed to this name.
“Senior sister Ling Bi’er, do you know this woman?” Jiang
Chen asked in a low voice.
Ling Bi'er was silent for a moment before responding, “We
shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs, but junior brother, you should
be careful of this woman.”
She wasn’t the sort to gossip about others behind their
backs. Even when she found some matters to be the height of distastefulness,
she still wasn’t willing to voice her opinions on them. In reality, Wei Xing’er
had the reputation of a damnable temptress in the Myriad Domain. She possessed
a fair face, but a foul heart.
Opening the door, Jiang Chen was greeted by Wei Xing’er
leaning on the doorframe, a hint of a tantalizing smile on her face and the
look in her eyes so piteous that it seemed as if tears would fall any second.
Her sinuous waist was resting on the side of the door, further showing off the
curves of her body and exuding amorous charms. Her body was perfect no matter
what angle one assessed her from. When combined with her gorgeously stunning
face, she was a head turner that everyone yearned after.
However, when her limpid eyes caught sight of Ling Bi'er
behind Jiang Chen, she instantly froze. Her alluring posture instantly fled
from her body, only to be replaced with the hostility of a fighting cock. It
was as if there was a quality to Ling Bi'er that made Wei Xing’er spontaneously
overflow with enmity.
“Tsk tsk, I hadn’t thought that the Myriad Domain’s
acclaimed icy beauty would be here feasting on meat close at hand. Ling Bi’er,
don’t tell me you’re longing for love!”
Ling Bi'er seemed to know of Wei Xing’er’s madness as she
flung a quick riposte, “Impossible person.” She ignored the weighty hostility
emanating from Wei Xing’er after speaking and spoke to Jiang Chen, “I’ll be
going now, junior brother, you be careful.”
Wei Xing'er instantly glared ferociously. “Ling Bi’er,
exactly what do you mean by that!?”
Ling Bi'er ignored her and drifted away after stepping
through the door, leaving behind a furious Wei Xing’er. She’d never liked Ling
Bi’er’s proud stature. She’d always felt that Ling Bi'er was just putting on an
act and pretending to be all high and mighty just to attract male attention.
Yet somehow, all those men were suckers for abuse and fought each other daily
to draw closer to Ling Bi’er.
Although Wei Xing'er was equally a man’s lady, many liked
her for her open personality. To put it bluntly, they just wanted her for her
body. There was even a saying amongst the young folks of the Myriad Domain,
saying—take Ling Bi'er for your goddess, take Ling Hui’er for a wife you can
groom, and take Wei Xing'er for your whore.
Even with her reputation, she’d never actually known a man,
but her reputation and popularity was on a completely different level than Ling
Bi’er’s. But whether she was jealous or angry, none of that would change the
truth. This was why she’d exploded with enmity at the sight of Ling Bi’er.
Wei Xing'er smiled charmingly after seeing Ling Bi’er drift
off. “Jiang Chen, are you interested in chatting for a bit?”
“About what?” Jiang Chen smiled faintly and showed no desire
to keep her at arm’s length.
“What would you like to chat about?” Wei Xing'er focused her
eyes on him with great tenderness, light dancing on her brows as her words
filled with some ambiguous hints.
Jiang Chen spread his hands out. “Miss Wei has come to find
me, yet asks me what to chat about. This is posing a difficult question
indeed.”
Wei Xing'er chuckled. “Don’t be so serious!”
Jiang Chen smiled casually, but was unwilling to relax his
guard. This temptress had a natural sense of seduction to her, and her every
dimple and laugh was designed to catch one off guard. If it wasn’t for Jiang
Chen’s Boulder Heart and his solid strength of heart, he likely would’ve
succumbed to her temptation already. How could he not tell that she was trying
to seduce him?
“Jiang Chen, Xing’er might actually be older than you by a
year or two in terms of age. You can call me older sister Xing’er. Do you know?
I once swore a vow that if a man can beat me in the Pill Battles, I would give
myself to him and be his dao partner.” Wei Xing’er’s voice was sweet and soft,
with every word and phrase possessing a kind of unique charm that gently
pressed each syllable into the other’s heart. She leaned slightly forward as
she spoke, sending a cloud of fragrance over and causing the glorious scene
beneath the nape of her neck to come tantalizing into view, showing half of her
cleavage.
To a hot-blooded cultivator, this kind of situation would’ve
been fatally tempting. But her actions didn’t seem enough in front of Jiang
Chen. He just seemed surprised, “Then it seems that both Ding Tong of the
Tristar Sect and Wei Qing of your sect are lined up in front of Miss Wei as
well.”
Wei Xing’er burst out in laughter. “You little imp who
doesn’t understand flirting! If Xing’er liked them, would I be here talking to
you?”
“Eh…” Jiang Chen was speechless.
Wei Xing'er rolled her eyes at him and stuck out a slender
finger to poke at the air above Jiang Chen’s forehead. She pouted, “I knew it!
Ling Bi'er must be talking about me behind my back and made you biased against
me. Hmph, all of those dirty men out there who want to sleep with me, but how
would I be the type of person to let them succeed!”
She extended her pure-white arm as she spoke, showing that
its skin was as flawless as a white lotus root. There was a spot of red on her
arm. “This is my chastity dot. If I lost my virginity, I would lose this dot as
well. Jiang Chen, Xing’er also struggled for a long time before coming here.
Xing’er knows that you may look down on me because of rumors from the outside
world, but Wei Xing'er is someone who dares to love and hate passionately. I
happen to like young geniuses like you, and those so-called men of the Myriad
Domain aren’t worthy of conquering me at all.”
Wei Xing’er’s tone became a bit dejected as her words came
to this point. “Look into my eyes if you don’t believe me. They won’t lie if I
speak the slightest false word.”
She stepped in front of Jiang Chen at this time and exhaled
a fragrant breath. Her firm and perky chest was almost touching Jiang Chen as
she looked deeply into Jiang Chen’s eyes, as if not allowing him to look away.
Jiang Chen’s face was coolly composed, and his eyes didn’t
evade her gaze. Their eyes met, and emotions rippled through her eyes as if her
grievances were wrestling to get out. There were three parts sorrow, three
parts passion, and a few more parts of a seductive beauty that invited pity.
That tender gaze was like the strongest alcohol, as if to look at her eyes was
to become drunk. Her gaze became even more blurred over after a while, and the
seductive look on her face even more intense. The fragrance emitting from her
lips seemed to be capable of melting the entire world. Jiang Chen’s body swayed
and wavered, his gaze fogged over as if he was under a spell. It was almost as
if he’d lost his soul.
Wei Xing'er retracted the seductive look on her face as a
smile curved her lips. “Hmph, as much as a genius as you are, you’re still a
little unlearned. A man who hasn’t known the pleasures of women is at most just
an unweaned brat. You’re a little too young to be playing cool with me.”
She smiled arrogantly as she reached out and patted Jiang
Chen’s face lightly. “Little fellow, you should rejoice that I actually like
your face. Otherwise, things wouldn’t as as easy as becoming muddleheaded for a
few days. You’re the luckiest person out of all the victims to fall for my
Azure Smokesnare Powder.”
She started dragging Jiang Chen as she spoke, planning on
placing him back on the bed. But as she pulled at him, she realized that he
wouldn’t budge at all. She seemed to be hauling on an enormous boulder that
weighed hundreds of kilograms. She actually stumbled herself and fell back into
his embrace, with those half covered globes crashing on his broad chest.
“Ah!” Wei Xing'er cried aloud and realized that a hand had
been clamped tightly around her wrists in a death grip.
“Now that wasn’t very nice, Miss Wei!” The bespelled Jiang
Chen had firmly caught her with arms like steel as a sharp look blazed out of
his eyes. How was this someone who was enthralled?
When Wei Xing'er had flung an art of seduction at him
earlier, she’d thought that she had Jiang Chen in the bag and so had relaxed
her guard. This move had always worked on males both young and old. She’d never
failed, so who would’ve thought that Jiang Chen would be completely fine after
she’d employed the Smokesnare Powder?!
In terms of cultivation, Wei Xing'er was close to the sage
realm. Her level was much higher than Jiang Chen, but here she was, immobilized
by him!
“You…” Shock filled her eyes. “Why are you perfectly fine?!”
“What do you think would happen to me?” Jiang Chen’s tone
turned frosty. “Using the Azure Smokescreen Powder to make me spend the next
couple of days in a fog so I perform below my standard in refining pills—you
thought you’d benefit then, didn’t you!”
Wei Xing'er possessed an indolent nature, and when she saw
that even her Smokesnare Powder couldn’t do anything to Jiang Chen, she knew
that he was different from the others. She tittered, “Alright, Xing’er
concedes. I can’t seduce you, I can’t poison you. You can do whatever you want
with me now.”
Her eyes looked up at him, a throbbing seductiveness back in
them as she gave off the impression that Jiang Chen could punish her any way he
wanted to. He was immediately left speechless yet also inwardly on his guard.
This temptress had a very flexible personality, and a tough character to break.
This move of allowing Jiang Chen to do whatever he wanted looked like a lazy
way out, but it was one that was difficult for him to respond to.
There wasn’t enough of a crime here to kill her, and if he
punished her or injured her in any way that impacted her performance in
refining pills, the Walkabout Sect would surely use this as an excuse to make
trouble for him.
A gentleman did not bicker with a woman. It wasn’t that he
was unable to use poison in kind on her, but how would he resolve the situation
then? He stared blankly for a while, but couldn’t think of how to proceed.
Wei Xing'er smiled alluringly. “If you can’t think of what
to do with this older sister, then let me tell you something. My body is pure,
and if you’d like, just take me. I’m a weak woman and will have to find shelter
in a man’s embrace sooner or later. Why not let you take the advantage? I
already like the way you look. I couldn’t even bear to use too much poison when
I used it against you. How else do you think you escaped the strength of my
Smokesnare Powder?”
Jiang Chen remained at a loss for words, but suddenly
reversed his grip and reached around her, spanking her butt three times in a
row. He didn’t hold back his strength, so the three smacks damaged her skin and
flesh, but not her bones or tendons.
“Wei Xing’er, your moves are useless on me. I’ll let you go
this time, but if there’s a repeat occurrence, I won’t let you off the hook
then!” He pulled open the door and made a gesture of showing his guest the
door. “You can see yourself out!”
Wei Xing'er stood there, stunned after her spanking.
Although she gave the outside world the impression of a lascivious and scheming
woman, she’d never really been touched by a man before. The sensitive areas
about her body were even more of a taboo area, and if any man tried making
moves on her there, they would quickly be dead or crippled.
But today, the taboo zone that was her butt had just been
spanked crisply, like teaching a child a lesson!
Chapter 547: The Way of Divergent Pills, Jiang Chen Finds an
Opening
Even with Wei Xing’er’s coquettish and wanton personality,
she was still stunned by Jiang Chen’s three spankings. She’d never known
shyness in her life, but she’d completely lost her composure now. Her
almond-shaped eyes glared at Jiang Chen. “You… you dared hit me there!”
Jiang Chen snorted coldly. “What are you still here for?
Haven’t you been spanked enough?”
Wei Xing'er grew incensed. “Hmph! Just you wait, Jiang Chen!
One day I’ll make you drink the water with which I wash my feet!”
She flushed red and turned to flee. She even viciously
slammed the door shut on her way out.
Jiang Chen’s expression was indifferent as he murmured to
himself, “This Wei Xing'er seems to think that the greatest beneficiary of her
using the Azure Smokesnare Powder would have been the Walkabout Sect. In
reality, had she succeeded, Ding Tong would’ve been the one lucking out
instead.”
However, if Jiang Chen had been successfully disabled and
prevented from participating in the fourth round, it certainly would’ve impacted
the overall scores of the Regal Pill Palace. At that point, it may have been
possible for the Walkabout Sect to surpass the Regal Pill Palace. Jiang Chen
frowned as his train of thought ran into darker straits
This Wei Xing'er possessed a wanton and indulgent
personality. If Jiang Chen hadn’t known how to read people or if Ling Bi'er
hadn’t reminded him beforehand, or even if he’d been unaware of the Walkabout
Sect’s deft use of poison, then he may not have been as guarded as he had been.
Thankfully, since he’d been forewarned, that Smokesnare Powder hadn’t posed a
threat to Jiang Chen.
But even so, he still didn’t dare relax his guard around
her. Her natural sense of seduction came from her inherent glamour constitution.
Her every gesture and look, even her words were suffused with the skills of
charm. Strung together, they were enough to boil a man’s blood and overcome his
reason with lust.
This small interlude wasn’t enough to disabuse Jiang Chen of
his sense of self. He sat down cross legged to recompose himself, and shortly
forgot about the entire matter.
The candidates all reconvened after a day, gathering in the
most holy of halls in the Rippling Mirage Hall, the Dan Li Palace. It was a
sacred place for the refinement of pills and pill competitions.
A thousand refining formations glittered within the hall.
Each formation was enclosed by restrictions that clearly separated its interior
and exterior. Once again, the elders took the left side, and the geniuses the
right.
“All candidates, enter your respective refining areas
according to your number.”
The candidates only took a short while to find their
respective formations. Entering their formation would activate the
restrictions, sealing them inside.
“From this moment on, no one can leave this area until the
competition is over. If you attempt to leave on your own, you will be attacked
by the formation.”
Everyone was well aware of this rule, and so weren’t
surprised by the announcement.
“Once again, a perfect score in this topic of refining pills
is 600 points, same as the previous topic of spirit herb cultivation.
Similarly, there are also three sections within this one round, each worth 200
points. Your time for this round has now been extended to half a month.”
This meant that the candidates couldn’t leave this area for
the next half month.
“The first section consists of completing pill recipes.
There are ten incomplete recipes in front of you, each missing a variety of
ingredients. Your task is to fill in the missing pieces. Keep in mind that a
recipe may be missing more than one ingredient. There may even be up to three
ingredients that have been removed. Incorrect answers and omissions will both
be regarded as failures, earning you no points for that recipe. This round has
a total of 200 points available, meaning each complete and correct recipe will
earn you 20 points.”
Ten recipes worth 20 points each. These rules were rather
straightforward, but the caveat was that incorrect answers or omissions would
also dock all the points that could be earned from that recipe. This was a much
more difficult requirement to satisfy for the pill masters.
“The second section deals with the analysis of pill
medicines and recipes. Each of you will be given a pill. Your task is to
analyze the pill and reconstruct the recipe by writing down the ingredients.
Once again, this section has a total of 200 available points. With ten
ingredients for each recipe, each correct ingredient can net you 20 points.
However, each incorrect answer will result in a 20 point deduction. The more
incorrect answers you put down, the more points you will be docked. So
remember, if you are not confident in your answer, don’t write down the
ingredient.”
Everyone listened to these rules with solemn faces. This
section was even stricter than the previous, with points being docked for
incorrect answers. If one answered eight correctly yet two incorrectly, this
meant that one would only earn six answers’ worth of points. That would greatly
affect their final score. As such, it would be most prudent to leave answers
blank if they weren’t sure of their choice. The only silver lining was that
even if they lost all their points for this section, their winnings from the
previous section would be untouched. Otherwise, their score for this round
could even dip into the negatives.
Jiang Chen remained as serene as a mountain. No matter how
strict the rules, they wouldn’t be able to affect his ability. The strong would
always remain the strong. As long as his pill dao foundation remained intact,
it wouldn’t matter how stringent the rules became. In the end, this competition
tested one’s foundations, and he was confident in his.
“The third and final section will test your skills in pill
refining. Once again, a perfect score is 200 points. This section will not only
test your ability to refine pills, but also your logical reasoning skills. Each
of you will receive a list of refining ingredients. From that, you will have to
craft a pill recipe, then refine the pill according to your recipe. The
resulting pill will be evaluated according to a grading scale ranging from A to
D. A grade of D will considered as 50 points, C as 100 points, B as 150 points,
and A as 200 points.
“You might be curious about how the grading scale evaluates
your pill. I can tell you that if you refine a pill of the true saint rank,
then even if the pill is a lower rank pill, you will receive a grade of A and
the corresponding 200 points.”
“If the pill is an upper tier saint rank pill, it must at
minimum be an upper rank pill to receive full marks.
“If the pill is a mid tier saint rank pill, then it must at
minimum reach supreme rank of great perfection to be awarded full marks.”
The mention of “true saint rank” and “saint rank” referred
to the classification of the pill itself. Whether the pills were successfully
refined or not, each pill was strictly classified within a larger framework of
pill dao. As for lower, mid, upper, and supreme tier—those were the
categorizations that dealt with the quality of the refined pill. Even mortal
rank pills could be divided based on their quality. Jiang Chen naturally
understood this theory. Generally speaking, it seemed that the higher the pill’s
level was, the greater its chance of receiving an A grade. But if the pill
level wasn’t high enough, then it was up to the quality of the refined pill to
determine the final grade.
With the rules of the competition announced, the pill
refining round could begin.
The first segment was one of recipe completion.
Ten recipes were arrayed in front of Jiang Chen. Everyone
had the same set of recipes, making the competition quite fair.
When it came to pill recipes, it really wasn’t easy to stump
Jiang Chen. Setting aside the fact that he’d seen most of them before, even if
he hadn’t, he could easily extrapolate the missing ingredients from the ones
left in the pill recipe.
He took less than two hours to finish completing the
recipes, but he didn’t dare be careless and carefully checked everything over
once. Due to the rules of this segment, overlooking even one ingredient or
answering one incorrectly meant that he would forgo all the points for that
recipe.
Jiang Chen didn’t wish to make a mistake in this area.
Nevertheless, there were still two recipes in front of him that were so obscure
that he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he had extrapolated the right answers.
Of course, he wouldn’t waste any more time here. Even if he
didn’t get those correct, he would only lose 40 points in total. Given that he
already held an almost 200 point lead over second place, he could afford a 40
point loss. Besides, what guarantee was there that Ding Tong would claim the
full 200 points for this section? At the very least, Jiang Chen didn’t think it
possible.
Still, there was no such thing as an absolute. If Ding Tong
had done his research properly, a healthy dose of luck would make it possible
for him to correctly fill out all the recipes in this first section. Although
Jiang Chen had known much in his past life, he still hadn’t devoted much time
to researching pill recipes in this life. Most of his accomplishments had come
from relying on his formidable memory. But if he’d had a couple of decades to
devote to research, Jiang Chen firmly believed that no recipe in the Divine
Abyss would be capable of stumping him.
He entered the second section right after he’d checked over
his answers from the first. This section involved analyzing pill medicines and
recipes, which was actually the reverse process of refining pills. One had to
deconstruct a refined pill, distilling its essence down to its core ingredients
and then reconstruct the pill recipe.
Jiang Chen loved this kind of pursuit in his past life. He
would always summon his pill dao disciples to join him in deconstructing a pill
he’d newly received and then reconstruct its recipe. This test wasn’t foreign
to him at all.
A pill cauldron was also needed to deconstruct pills, but
the procedure involved in it was diametrically different than the process of
refining pills. If nothing else, it required a far more delicate touch.
Ordinarily speaking, there weren’t that many pill masters in
the Divine Abyss Continent who were willing to spend time and effort to analyze
pills. It was a frustratingly complex process that devoured one’s energy and
mental strength. It was only because of the almost preposterous amount of spare
time Jiang Chen had at his disposal in his previous life that he’d immersed
himself in the pursuit of deconstructing pills.
However, when he’d braced himself for the task of delving
into the pill analysis and picked up the pill he’d been allocated, he couldn’t
help but burst out in laughter. He actually recognized this pill!
“The Skyheart Rebirth Pill!”
Jiang Chen immediately recognized the pill that rolled
around in his hand. It was one of the hallmark products of the divergent pill
faction. The effects of this pill were actually similar to the One Buddha
Powder that Jiang Chen had introduced in the Eastern Kingdom, but far more
advanced. In terms of level, if the One Buddha Powder was level one, then the
Skyheart Rebirth Pill was at least level twenty. This pill was used for calming
the heart and mind. It was extremely useful to powerful cultivators for
suppressing internal demons and clearing the consciousness of stray thoughts.
Contextually, this pill was a rare treasure in this world.
It was almost nonexistent in the Myriad Domain.
“Could it be that this pill is a part of the Myriad Empire’s
legacy, and that the various sects are unable to put it to use?” Jiang Chen’s
guess was correct. There were many legacies that had been left behind by the
mighty Myriad Empire in the Rippling Mirage Hall. Lifting the restrictions and
selecting the appropriate test items from within required the combined efforts
of the six great sects. It also had the added benefit of ensuring that no one
would be able to cheat. However, as long as the pill appeared in the Pill
Battles, it would then be spread to the rest of the Myriad Domain.
Chapter 548: The Longevity Pill
Since Jiang Chen recognized this Skyheart Rebirth Pill, he
didn’t need to spend too much effort on it anymore. The process of
deconstruction was still needed to figure out the ingredients though, since
there was the chance that substitute materials may have been used in the making
of this particular pill. If he’d simply put down the original ingredients, it
may be marked as incorrect. As such, he decided to unravel the pill’s true
ingredients by breaking it down to its basic elements.
The analysis and distillation process went relatively
smoothly, since he already knew this was the Skyheart Rebirth Pill. When he was
done, he was sure that no substitute materials had been used in the making of
this pill. Jiang Chen knew that he wasn’t being overly cautious, since this was
a pill from the divergent pill faction. Its ever-changing style and peculiar
use of ingredients made it a difficult pill to analyze. He had to remain
vigilant.
After deciphering the ingredients, Jiang Chen wrote the
dozen ingredients down. This segment had been surprisingly easy.
“Heh heh, who would’ve thought that I’d luck out in this
section. However, it seems that many will fall in this section. The divergent
pill faction’s pills are the hardest to identify. It would not be unreasonable
to anticipate that many will be stopped short here.” Jiang Chen naturally
wasn’t delighting in the misery of others, but was actually worrying about Mu
Gaoqi and Ling Bi’er. If they recognized the style of this pill, then they
would be able to forge onwards. But if they treated it as an ordinary pill,
then it would be incredibly difficult to analyze. However, Mu Gaoqi and Ling
Bi'er weren’t ordinary geniuses. If this stumped them, then it was highly
likely that everyone would be equally stumped by this divergent pill faction’s
pill.
Jiang Chen didn’t continue dwelling on his thoughts, and
composed himself before advancing to the third and last section. With the lead
he’d secured from the second section, Jiang Chen was fairly certain that he’d
locked in the championship of the genius group.
There were a full hundred ingredients arrayed in front of
him for the third section.
“This segment not only tests one’s powers in pill
refinement, but also their ability to theorize logically, their observation, as
well as their fundamental knowledge.”
With so many materials, there were more than just one or two
pills that candidates would be able to refine. As Jiang Chen’s eyes swept over
the ingredients, the names of several pills flashed through his mind, but were
quickly discarded all one by one. They all came to about mid tier saint rank,
so he would have to refine a supreme rank pill to gain full marks. Jiang Chen
wasn’t willing to take this risk. It was a risk since he only had enough
ingredients at his disposal for at most three pills. It would be a bit
difficult to ensure the production of a supreme rank pill from just three
pills.
He quickly came up with an upper tier saint rank pill
recipe. He only needed to refine an upper rank pill to win 200 points. Jiang
Chen thought about it some more and then looked at the ingredients again, still
choosing to discard it. “Logically speaking, it’s not difficult to refine an
upper rank Phoenix Croon Pill. It’s at eighth level saint rank, but the
Fledgling Phoenix Grass here isn’t of the best quality. Some unwanted
developments might happen if I were to refine it.”
Jiang Chen wanted a slow, but inexorable finish. In the end,
he decided not to go with the Phoenix Croon Pill. He looked at the hundred
ingredients, in no hurry to make a move. He knew that since the organizers had
made a rule about a true saint rank pill, it was possible to create a pill
recipe that would result in a true saint rank pill. Then, even if he refined a
lower rank quality pill of that level, he would still take home full points. In
other words, if he could create a pill recipe that gave him a true saint rank
pill, he would gain full points no matter what level his completed product was.
In the world of pills, pills were divided into mortal,
spirit, saint, true saint, earth, and heaven rank pills.
Saint rank pills corresponded to the origin realm of
cultivation, and true saint to the sage realm. That meant that ordinary sage
realm cultivators utilized pills of the true saint rank. In addition, each rank
was further divided into lower, mid, and upper rank levels.
Jiang Chen kept combining and recombining the ingredients in
his mind.
He had completed the first and second section in the record
time of less than a day, so he had plenty of time to kill on this last segment.
Naturally, all the sect heavyweights were keeping a close eye on him. When
Palace Head Dan Chi witnessed Jiang Chen’s overbearing momentum and the speed
at which he’d blasted through the first two segments, he was immensely
gratified. His actions in recruiting Jiang Chen and allying with the Precious
Tree Sect were being validated as incomparably wise.
With the painful lessons from the first three rounds, Wei
Wuying and the others were now numb to Jiang Chen’s brilliance. They were
convinced it was impossible to speculate or evaluate Jiang Chen with their
logic. After all, he’d caught up and surpassed the others after starting off
much later than any of them in the previous round of spirit seed cultivation!
They’d never heard of anything of the sort before. Now, even as they watched
him explosively sprint through the first two sections of the fourth round, they
didn’t dare bring up any suspicions of cheating. All they could do was bury it
deep in their hearts and try to focus on their tasks.
Of course, that didn’t mean to say that they weren’t hoping
that Jiang Chen would become caught up in his arrogance, overestimate himself,
and fail to perform at the level he’d demonstrated before. But their hopes
seemed doomed, since his demeanor was as solid as Mt. Tai. It didn’t seem like
his performance would be marred in any way.
Wei Wuying couldn’t help but complain in his heart, “That
brat Dan Chi really lucked out this time. What kind of monstrous character is
this Jiang Chen? I don’t believe that a mere sixteen kingdom alliance could’ve
raised this kid. What a pity that Xing’er didn’t get anything from him when she
went to probe him. Even her charm skills couldn’t shake him! Just what is with
him?!”
Almost no male in the Myriad Domain could withstand Wei
Xing’er’s charm skills. Jiang Chen was in the prime of his hot-blooded youth,
how had he not been conquered, especially considering that he’d never tasted a
woman before?
Wei Wuying really wanted to sit Wei Xing’er down for a chat
and go over what had happened, but she was his junior after all. Although she
wasn’t directly related to him, some things were still a bit awkward to speak
of.
Sect Head Zhu was even more depressed. “Ai, it’s looking
more and more impossible to shake the Regal Pill Palace’s position in pill dao
through this time’s Pill Battles. How will I explain this to the Sky Sect when
I return? Although they didn’t send their best in the form of Ding Tong, this
genius is still someone who has some stature in their sect! I’d thought that he
would leave the rest of the geniuses in his dust as he took the genius’
championship, but who knew that no matter how well he did, Jiang Chen would
still one up him? No wonder the Regal Pill Palace went to the lengths of
allying with the Precious Tree Sect for him. He’s once again thrown the Sky
Sect’s plans for the Myriad Domain into disarray…”
Although the Tristar Sect was one of the fourth rank sects
in the Myriad Domain, it had only accomplished their feats with the hidden help
of the Sky Sect. The Tristar Sect was an important pawn of the Sky Sect in the
Myriad Domain, and Ding Tong had been specially charged with helping the
Tristar Sect set up the board for their next move. However, no one had
anticipated that he would be met with setback after setback on his first stage
in the Mt. Rippling Mirage Pill Battles. Jiang Chen’s absolutely stellar
performance was actually firmly suppressing Ding Tong!
“It all comes down to the fact that the upper echelon of the
Sky Sect underestimated the heights of the Myriad Doman. Even setting Jiang
Chen aside, there’s still Mu Gaoqi, Wei Xing’er, and Wei Qing in the mix.
Although Ding Tong is ahead of them, he doesn’t possess the absolute advantage
that Jiang Chen is displaying.” Sect Head Zhu sighed inwardly. He too felt
deeply helpless at the appearance of Jiang Chen, a genius rarely seen even in a
hundred years.
As Wang Jianyu of the Sacred Sword Palace witnessed Jiang
Chen’s rise to claim the championship, he too found it difficult to accept. His
envy of such a genius had been overwritten by his desire to kill Jiang Chen and
root out this competition. “Jiang Chen is a treasure that Dan Chi picked up in
the sixteen kingdoms alliance, and it looks like he’s able to affect the entire
fortunes of the Regal Pill Palace. The growth of such a person only forebodes
ill for my Sacred Sword Palace. If a chance arises, I must eliminate this
person and suppress the Regal Pill Palace’s fortunes.”
The four family heads of the Great Cathedral were equally
shocked at Jiang Chen’s dominating performance. However, the Great Cathedral
had always set itself up as the top sect in the Myriad Domain, so even if they
had certain thoughts, they definitely wouldn’t express them. Besides, they were
too busy plotting on how to headhunt Jiang Chen and lure him over to the Great
Cathedral. They were well aware that their weakness lay in their lack of a
heaven defying level pill master. Once this hole was plugged, the Great
Cathedral was destined to make it into the ranks of the third rank sects in the
next couple of decades.
Jiang Chen spent several hours putting his thoughts in order.
Suddenly, inspiration struck and he slapped his leg. This is it! “A true saint
rank pill!”
The name of a pill flashed through his mind, floating
upwards out of his memories. “The Longevity Pill!”
If a sage realm cultivator used this pill, it would increase
their lifespan from five hundred to eight hundred years. This actually wasn’t
much to a cultivator of that realm, but it was an incredibly tempting thing if
that much lifespan appeared at the end of one’s life, when they were decrepit
and aging. Their hopes of breaking through would reignite, and if they managed
to do so, the breakthrough would provide a further boost to their longevity..
When all was said and done, this wasn’t simply a matter of increasing one’s
life to eight hundred years. “Eh, although the Longevity Pill is technically a
true saint rank pill, it actually approaches the level of an earth rank pill.
Surely the organizers hadn’t done this on purpose…”
Jiang Chen suddenly began to hesitate. He trusted that since
the organizers had arranged for a true saint rank pill to be possible out of
all these combinations, it wouldn’t be the pill he’d just thought of. Rather,
it should’ve been a pill that was barely on the cusp of a true saint rank pill.
The Longevity Pill was a pseudo earth rank pill already, which usually meant
that only those in the emperor realm had the right to use it. Although it
wasn’t solidly in the earth rank level, it wasn’t too far off. In addition,
only those in the sage realm could take this particular pill. If anyone of a
lower realm consumed the pill, its effects would immediately force them to
explode. If anyone of a higher realm, such as the emperor realm, took it, then
they would only receive an increase in lifespan of twenty years.
Jiang Chen sank into a mire of irresolution. He knew that
once the Longevity Pill was introduced into this world, it would cause an
immense uproar and unfathomable consequences. But then, another thought struck
him. “I’ve continuously kept a low profile since I’ve reincarnated. It’s about
time I showed off some of my skills after entering the Regal Pill Palace.
Although there may be some negative fallout from bringing this pill into this
world, there will no doubt be some opportunities that also arise. At the very
least, it’s going to fill my coffers to bursting. I’ll never have to worry
about resources no matter where I go!”
When his thoughts reached this point, Jiang Chen’s
resolution hardened. No matter what, he was going to refine this Longevity
Pill!
Chapter 549: Rich Fruits of Achievement
Jiang Chen was a practical man of his word. He took out the
Skyweave Cauldron and meditated for a moment, mentally simulating the process
of refining the Longevity Pill a few times until he was utterly confident. He
opened his eyes, ready to begin.
He first circulated the fires within himself and once again
used the True Fires of Ninety Nine to preheat the cauldron. When the cauldron
resonated, Jiang Chen randomly picked up two ingredients and threw them in
carelessly.
These two ingredients weren’t actually for refining the
Longevity Pill. When he threw them in, he secretly shot out several beams of
fire as well, turning them into ash. He then haphazardly threw in some more
ingredients, using the flames in his body to repeatedly turn them into ash. He
knew that he needed to conceal his true actions from the others, he couldn’t
allow anyone to derive the pill recipe and ingredient list of the Longevity
Pill from his actions. He was sure that the various heavyweights would be
keeping an eye on him. Given the impact that this pill would have on the world,
there was no doubt people would go insane trying to copy it.
This was why he was purposefully confusing their eyes and
ears by mixing in irrelevant materials in his refining process. It would keep
the others from copying him. Although countless people would attempt to discern
the original components of his pill and then deduce his recipe after it was
made, it wouldn’t be an entirely simple matter. After all, this was a pseudo
earth rank pill, and not so easily reconstructed.
If any such pill could be successfully broken down, then there
wouldn’t be such a thing as unique pill recipes in this world. It would also
invalidate the preciousness of pill recipes. The pill recipe would always be
the most useful way to refine a pill. Reverse engineering wasn’t impossible,
but many pills had ingredients which couldn’t be separated into their parts
after they’d been combined.
The more sophisticated a pill, the more this was so. Of
course, there were no absolutes in life. It all depended on one’s prowess. A
divine level expert analyzing a pill of the mundane world would be able to
parse apart even the most obscure recipe. However, Jiang Chen firmly believed
that his sleight of hand would thoroughly obfuscate the recipe for this
Longevity Pill.
Furthermore, even if someone had the luck to deduce the
recipe, replicating this pill refining would take an identical technique and
control over fire. After all, ingredients weren’t the only things that
determined a successful pill refining. The pill master’s techniques,
idiosyncrasies, control of fire, and all sorts of details would determine the
fate of a cauldron of pills.
Jiang Chen put in the ingredients for the Longevity Pill in
an orderly fashion only after he had done all he could in concealing his
actions. He also knew that what he’d done would more or less affect the quality
of the pill, but he had confidence that although there would be some flaws, he
would still be able to successfully refine a pill. Since as long as he
succeeded, he’d be able to take home full marks even if it was of lower rank,
thanks to the innate level of this Longevity Pill.
The organizers may not recognize the pill, but they would
definitely be able to detect its level. At pseudo earth level, even the lowest
level version would stand out like a crane amongst chickens after Jiang Chen
took it out. Thus, its refining process was quite extraordinary and required a
great deal of effort. Even Jiang Chen didn’t have complete confidence in his
success. After all, his cultivation level was only fifth level origin realm.
Refining a pseudo earth level pill was like reaching for the moon. If it wasn’t
for his solid foundations from his past life, he wouldn’t have the slightest
possibility of success.
It was a good thing that the Skyweave Cauldron and Lotus
granted him advantages that no one else had.
The Longevity Pill was one that gathered together materials
that could extend one’s lifespan and created an effect that truly fought the
heavens for more years of life. After Jiang Chen tossed in all the ingredients,
he began manipulating the fires within his body to slowly fill the area around
the Skyweave Cauldron. The Longevity Pill was a pill that required long,
meticulous work.
If the fire was too strong, then the refinement was doomed
to fail. The pill needed a comfortable pace to ensure refining. Jiang Chen
focused his attentions wholly on controlling the flames.
If there was the slightest detail amiss in refining the
Longevity Pill, the spirit nature of the ingredients would dissipate due to the
heat and decrease the chance of actually forming a pill. This was akin to
cooking food. Some dishes needed to be quickly stir-fried with screaming hot
flames, and others needed to be left to simmer into a delicious broth. The
Longevity Pill was precisely the kind that needed to slowly simmer to reach
perfection.
All the various ingredients were slowly melting within the
Skyweave Cauldron, their spirit power seeping out drip by drip. At this
critical moment, it wasn’t just a matter of control over fire, the pill also
needed Jiang Chen’s unique techniques to continuously purify and manipulate the
spirit power that was being produced.
This pill used quite a number of ingredients, and every drop
of the spirit power contained within them had to be fully utilized. Once lost,
the chances for successfully refining this pill would drop drastically. The
nine ingredients turned into nine streams of vivid spirit liquid within the
Skyweave Cauldron, rushing to and fro the cauldron as if dragons gambolling in
the sky.
Jiang Chen didn’t dare relax an iota of his focus. This was
the most crucial moment for the Longevity Pill. If any one of the spirit flows
escaped his control, then all of his previous effort would be for naught.
Controlling nine streams of spirit power at the same time was a bit rough even
for Jiang Chen. He began perspiring slightly because of his nervousness, and
God’s Eye stared down brightly at the depths of the cauldron. It was by far the
most taxing refining process he’d undertaken since he’d set out on his journey,
and the most difficult pill he’d attempted in this life. The level of the
Longevity Pill far surpassed that of the Hexarune Dragon pill, and was far more
complex to boot.
Three days passed… then five days... seven days…
As the days flew by, the end of the purification process
drew closer. Even with Jiang Chen’s incredible strength of heart, the evening
of the seventh day had brought him near the end of his rope. But he knew, it
wasn’t yet time to relax. There was still room for mistakes to occur. The last
step of this difficult purification process was to combine the spirit flows
together. As long as they could be gathered and seamlessly melded together, the
following steps would be easy. However, the process of coalescing these nine
flows would be the most dangerous. If he’d misjudged their relative
proportions, they would start fighting each other as soon as they came into
contact.
Under those circumstances, the best case scenario was a
refining failure. At worst, the cauldron would vanish in an explosion that
would no doubt harm the pill master. Jiang Chen had to admit, this latest stunt
of refining the Longevity Pill was risky. After seven days of purification, the
ingredients had been distilled to the very essence of spirit power and were
particularly lively. In truth, if he’d misjudged the proportions at any time
over the past seven days, that would’ve led to an imbalance between the nine
spirit powers and resulted in them attacking each other instead. That would
have spelled immediate failure.
Palace Head Dan Chi had been observing the proceedings from
above and had placed the majority of his attentions on Jiang Chen these past few
days. He was greatly astonished to see sweat bead his disciple’s forehead.
Never once had Jiang Chen displayed anything other than pure
confidence and complete assurance. But now, he was showing signs of a struggle?
“What’s going on here?” Palace Head Dan Chi was slightly
taken aback. With Jiang Chen's strength, an upper tier saint rank pill would be
no trouble at all! Even if he wanted to refine a lower tier true saint rank
pill, it would not be so difficult as to make Jiang Chen go to this level of
effort. But how would Dan Chi know that Jiang Chen wasn’t refining anything
akin to a lower tier true saint rank pill? He was going far beyond the horizon,
all the way to a pseudo earth rank pill!
Jiang Chen formed a hand seal and commanded one of the spirit
flows to move. Each hand seal was as comforting as the spring breeze, without
the slightest bit of error to them. The nine spirit forces were now at their
friskiest. If Jiang Chen formed his hand seals too quickly, it would impact the
operating speed of the cauldron and cause flaws to form when the ingredients
melded together.
The nine flows of spirit power continuously converged on the
center of the Skyweave Cauldron at a perfect speed and angle under the command
of Jiang Chen’s string of nine hand seals.
“Meld, meld!” Jiang Chen chanted inwardly, his mind
completely focused on the task at hand. He didn’t dare spare the slightest
thought for anything else, and the thought of the effort of seven days straight
coming to a head made his emotions ripple slightly. But he also knew that if he
couldn’t control his emotions and let it affect his refining, his efforts over
the past seven days would go down the drain. Therefore, Jiang Chen activated
Boulder’s Heart and adjusted his mindset to completely wipe out his emotions,
like a dried up well devoid of ripples, before thoroughly melding the nine
flows together.
Wham!
The Skyweave Cauldron suddenly began trembling as the nine
converged spirit forces resonated with each other. The force of their resonance
caused the cauldron to shiver along with them.
Any other ordinary pill master would’ve thought that
something had gone wrong, but Jiang Chen knew better. This was the resonance
that should occur with the melding of various sources of spirit power for the
Longevity Pill. As long as the forces of resonance didn’t exceed a certain
degree, that meant that there was no problem with this melding.
The resonance rang out for three breaths of time before
slowly subsiding. Jiang Chen’s heart had been in his throat, and slowly started
to settle back to its original position. It had been a long, arduous ride, but
the nine spirit forces of the Longevity Pill had finally successfully melded
together.
The most difficult process had been successfully completed,
and all that was left was to control the fires to nudge the spirit power into
coalescing into pills. “Almost none of the spirit power from the ingredients
had been lost from the cauldron. As such, there should be three or four pills
from this batch.”
According to the rules, pill masters could keep the pills
produced from this section. This was also a form of reward for the candidates.
When Dan Chi saw Jiang Chen’s expression relax, he knew that Jiang Chen must’ve
made it past the most difficult stage. “Just what is Jiang Chen refining? I saw
him throw in at least twenty ingredients before he started. Just what complex
pill is that to need so many ingredients?”
Most pills needed at least five ingredients, and at most
around ten. Those which required more than ten were extremely complicated
pills. Those that required more than twenty ingredients were a rarity in Regal
Pill Palace history.
Jiang Chen’s cauldron of Longevity Pills were officially
finished after roughly five more days. The results slightly surprised him;
there were actually four pills! He’d thought that they would all be lower tier,
but hadn’t thought that there would be two which barely scraped the threshold
for mid tier. “Mm! My efforts haven’t been wasted. If it wasn’t for me spending
so much time on focusing on the purity of the pills, they likely wouldn’t have
reached mid tier.”
Jiang Chen was naturally gratified when he saw his results.
This was the highest rank of pills he’d refined since reincarnating!
Chapter 550: Verbal Sparring
The fourth round had a time limit of fifteen days. Of those
fifteen days, Jiang Chen had used one to complete the first two sections, and
twelve refining the Longevity Pill. In total, he had spent thirteen days
completing this round. He’d lost his advantage in speed for this round, as
there were at least twenty participants who’d finished before him. However,
apart from a few who stood around with noncommittal expressions on their faces,
most of them looked a bit dejected.
It was apparent that the difficulty of this section had
forced everyone not to perform up to their usual standards. After all, the
pursuit of refining pill had never focused on speed, but rather the type of
pill and their effects. As such, the first to complete may not necessarily be
the best level pill presented. It was up to the judges to decide on the grades
of A, B, C and D.
In addition, whether it was the first two sections of
completing the pill recipe or deconstructing the pill had been difficult for
them as well. No one dared say that they were fully confident in taking home
all the points.
Jiang Chen didn’t want to waste the last two days, so he
decided to meditate in the competition area. Time was too precious to waste two
days in pointlessly waiting for the competition to end.
True to the rules, the contest ended two days later. With
the restrictions lifted, everyone left their areas. All of the answer sheets
were taken away, and only one pill needed to be left behind to qualify as a
result of the third section, no matter how many pills the cultivator refined.
Jiang Chen stored three of his pills and left one lower rank as his result.
“All contestants are to return to the main lobby in the
Rippling Mirage Hall to await the scores. Please be warned that the wait time
will be longer this time, as we need to tally up the overall scores of this
time’s Pill Battles in addition to the scores of the fourth round.”
All of the candidates filed into the main hall after this
announcement boomed through the competition area.
“Brother Chen!” Mu Gaoqi trotted up to Jiang Chen from
behind, an excited look on his face, “Brother Chen, was the pill from the
second section from the divergent pill faction?”
When Jiang Chen saw Mu Gaoqi’s brows dancing on his face, he
knew that the latter had done well. He smiled, “Does that mean you were able to
decipher its ingredients?”
Mu Gaoqi chuckled. “Not entirely, but I judged that it was
from the divergent pill faction and so could identify roughly eight
ingredients. I think I got those right.”
If he had been able to deduce that it was from the divergent
pill faction, then that knowledge alone would be able to give Mu Gaoqi quite an
advantage.
“It was indeed a product from the divergent pill faction,
the Skyheart Rebirth Pill.” Jiang Chen nodded and clapped Mu Gaoqi on the
shoulder. “Let’s go.” He was quite satisfied that Mu Gaoqi had been able to
reach that conclusion.
“Hmph! Jiang Chen, stop acting as if you’re all that! That
pill was taken from a sealed off, taboo area. It’s not something that can be
found anywhere in the Myriad Domain. As if you would be capable of analyzing it
for what it is!” A jeering voice rudely interrupted their conversation from
behind. Jiang Chen didn’t even need to turn around to know it was Wei Qing.
Jiang Chen only smiled in response. The truth would be far more convincing than
any debate now, so he couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Ling Bi'er also caught up to them. “Junior brother, what
ingredients would you say that the Skyheart Rebirth Pill possesses?”
She too had deduced that it was a product of the divergent
pill faction, but the Skyheart Rebirth Pill was something outside her knowledge.
It was impossible for her to know of it. But even though she didn’t know what
pill it was, she could still analyze what ingredients the pill was made of.
Even if she couldn’t fully deconstruct it, each additional ingredient she could
identify was another twenty points.
“How many ingredients did you identify, senior sister?”
“I’m only confident about seven of them. I wasn’t sure about
the remaining three, so I didn’t dare write them down.” Ling Bi'er responded
honestly. They would be docked points if she wrote down the wrong answers, so
Ling Bi'er had taken the same path as everyone else and refrained from
haphazard answers.
“Let’s go out and chat.” Jiang Chen only reeled off the ten
ingredients after they’d left behind those behind them.
Mu Gaoqi was delighted. “Haha, Brother Chen, then all eight
of the ones I identified should be right! What a pity that there were two more,
but they’re too obscure that I didn’t figure them out at all. My dao
cultivation is still too shallow.”
Ling Bi'er was also quite admiring, but also felt gratified.
“The seven I identified were all correct as well, but I still fell behind
junior brother Mu.”
But she didn’t envy him. The three of them chatted and
laughed as they arrived in the main lobby. When Shen Qinghong saw them moving
as a group, he felt greatly put out. He was foremost amongst the younger
generation of the Regal Pill Palace, but he was actually feeling quite
ostracized at the moment. However, he wouldn’t express his jealousy in front of
his peers. “You must have performed quite well, given how lighthearted you all
are.”
Jiang Chen smiled casually as Ling Bi'er also smiled
faintly. It was Mu Gaoqi who nodded with a smile, “Senior brother Shen, we’re
discussing the contents of the fourth round.”
Unfortunately, Shen Qinghong wasn’t in the mood to discuss
it. He hadn’t performed poorly, but neither had he done well. He had no hope
for duking it out for the championship and had come to terms with it. He would
be satisfied if he remained in the top ten. In his eyes, pill dao was merely an
auxiliary skill in the end. In the world of martial dao, it was martial dao
geniuses who would greet the world with a proud smile. They alone would be able
to call themselves the masters of the world. Therefore, he never put down the
feeling of superiority in his heart.
When he saw that Ling Bi'er was willing to give up on
herself and lower herself to mix in with Jiang Chen and Mu Gaoqi’s crowd, he
was a bit envious. Although, he’d never admit anything of the sort to himself.
He only felt that she was wallowing in the behavior of a degenerate.
Those from the Walkabout Sect also arrived at the same as
the Regal Pill Palace disciples. The Walkabout Sect was last time’s runner up,
so they took the seat beside the Regal Pill Palace. Wei Qing’s gaze was cold as
he cast a look of death at Jiang Chen, revealing a hint of a cruel smile. Jiang
Chen knew that Wei Qing truly hated him by now, but what did he care? He best
not want to cause trouble, or I don’t mind sending him off on his final journey
inside Mt. Rippling Mirage. He’d already slain a Walkabout Sect elder, so he
didn’t mind adding a mere Wei Qing to his list.
The disciples from the Tristar Sect also walked in. Zhu
Feiyang flicked a glance over at Shen Qinghong. “Ole brother Qinghong, you’re
ranked as the top genius in the Regal Pill Palace at the end of the day, yet
why do I see that you’re ranked last amongst your fellows in the first three
rounds?”
This was an open provocation, almost an outright attack on
Shen Qinghong. In response, Shen Qinghong laughed disinterestedly, “Zhu
Feiyang, you don’t seem to have the best score amongst your sect either.”
Zhu Feiyang laughed heartily, “Junior brother Ding Tong’s
potential is extraordinary. It’s not a big deal that I’ve come up short next to
him, but it’s a different case that you’re last amongst the four from the Regal
Pill Palace.”
Wei Qing also snorted coldly off on the side. “Perhaps the
great Sir Shen is displaying his might and glory as the great senior brother
and letting his junior brothers take their turn in the limelight. That’s also
possible.”
“Hahaha, old brother Qinghong, is that so?” Zhu Feiyang was
smiling in an extremely exaggerated fashion, his expression and tone full of
mockery.
Wang Han of the Sacred Sword Palace also walked over with a
smile. “Your reputation is so great as the first genius of the Regal Pill
Palace, but your pill dao scores are pretty much the same as mine. Ole brother
Qinghong, it’s not that I want to shake your confidence, but there really isn’t
a place for you on the list of geniuses of the Myriad Domain.”
Zhu Feiyang and Wang Han had already broken through to the
sage realm and were truly in first level sage realm, but Shen Qinghong was
still separated by that final step. It was that separation of a line that made
the other two feel so full of superiority. As for Wei Qing, his cultivation
level was lower than Shen Qinghong’s, but everyone knew that his skill with
poison let him rank amongst the top geniuses. Even Zhu Feiyang and Wang Han
would rather offend Shen Qinghong twice over before even thinking of offending
Wei Qing.
The three of them had actually reached an unspoken accord
that they would target Shen Qinghong and incite internal conflict in the Regal
Pill Palace. Shen Qinghong was proud and arrogant, and his face grew ashen when
so many banded together to bully him, but he was left without a riposte.
Jiang Chen suddenly snorted coldly. “If I recall correctly,
this is the Pill Battles of Mt. Rippling Mirage, not the Myriad Grand Ceremony.
Isn’t it too early for you all to flaunt your martial might?!”
Wang Han was the direct grandson of Wang Jianyu and held
great enmity for the Regal Pill Palace. When he saw Jiang Chen butting in, his
gaze grew cold and he shouted, “And who the hell are you? Do you even have the
right to talk when the top geniuses are talking?”
Zhu Feiyang sighed. “Kids these days have no respect for the
rules and seniority. Ole brother Qinghong, as their senior brother, have you
not been teaching them properly?”
Wei Qing added fuel to the flames off on the side as he
chuckled. “Perhaps the great Sir Shen harbors hate in his heart because he
feels that his beauty has been seized from him!”
These fellows were becoming more and more outrageous as they
spoke. Mu Gaoqi’s face had gone beet red with indignation. If it wasn’t for his
low status, he would’ve broken out in loud curses a long while ago. Ling Bi'er
frowned slightly and was about to speak up when Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “And
here I thought you self-styled top geniuses were actually something. Don’t tell
me you’re acting this way because you can’t afford to lose at the Pill
Battles!”
He relaxed into a chair after speaking. “Flustered with
rage, the faces of some petty villains are certainly an ugly thing to see. Tsk
tsk, so the so-called top geniuses of the Myriad Domain have only this little
bit of self-restraint!”
Jiang Chen didn’t glare maliciously or speak gruffly, but
those offhand words made them snap their mouths shut instantly.
“Brat, what are you prancing around for? The scores aren’t
even out yet. Do you think that you’re destined to have the highest scores in
the end just because your ranking was high in the first couple of rounds?” Wei
Qing would never accept Jiang Chen no matter what.
Jiang Chen laughed leisurely. “Regardless of whether or not
I have the highest score, there’s no doubt in my mind that I’d only be ranked
higher than you all.”
Wang Han sniffed derisively. “In the world of martial dao,
pill dao is ultimately just embellishment, a superfluous auxiliary skill. The
ones who will truly command the world are martial dao geniuses. Kid, it’s not
that I want to affect your confidence, but pill dao geniuses have been destined
to cower at the feet of martial geniuses since ancient times to eke out a
living. You won’t be an exception either.”
Zhu Feiyang also nodded slightly. “These words make great
sense. Kid, only when your names graces the Myriad Dragon Rankings will you
barely obtain the right to talk to us. Right now, you are far, far away from
such an achievement.”
Jiang Chen remained composed, but couldn’t help but let out
a bark of laughter. “You talk as if you really think you’re martial dao
geniuses.”
Everyone frowned at those words. This kid really had an
exaggerated opinion of his abilities! Is he overconfident because his Pill
Battles results are excellent, and he actually thinks he’s something? Or has he
forgotten that anyone here can torture him to death after he enters Mt.
Rippling Mirage?
It was at this moment that Elder Yun Nie brought the other
elders in their direction. The other young men were more or less wary when they
saw Elder Yun Nie, retreating to the side after a cold snort.
