The alchemy trial began.
With the head elder’s command, the contestants’ platforms were filled with materials needed for alchemy.
These materials could be provided by the Rongyun Sect, but most people used rare materials brought from their own sects.
“Cousin, if you need, I can share some spirit herbs with you,” Lin Tanjun said, her trial platform situated close to Shen Tanqi’s. She glanced worriedly at the materials on Shen Tanqi’s table. Aside from the items provided by the Rongyun Sect, the only thing Shen Tanqi had brought himself was his alchemy furnace.
Shen Tanqi wiped the inside of the furnace clean and looked up with a smile, “No need, these are enough.”
Lin Tanjun hesitated, glancing from Shen Tanqi to Yu Ce, who was nearby. Like Shen Tanqi, Yu Ce had nothing on his table besides the items given by the sect.
She wanted to persuade Shen Tanqi further but swallowed her words reluctantly.
Indeed, birds of a feather flock together.
The elders from various sects on the platform observed all the disciples, ensuring everyone had their materials ready, then struck the gong to start the competition.
“Today’s alchemy trial task is to create a Revival Pill. The highest quality pill will earn the top spot!”
The Revival Pill was a basic pill that every disciple could make. However, the simpler the pill, the harder it was to produce a high-quality version.
Previously, after the eradication of the Chen Gui at Shuoxia City, the sect leader had rewarded Shen Tanqi and Yu Ce each with a top-grade Revival Pill he had personally made.
However, Shen Tanqi had given his share to Yu Ce at the time.
If he had known this would happen, he would have kept that Revival Pill from the sect leader to study carefully.
But now, thinking about it was useless. Shen Tanqi looked at the spirit herbs and spirit water on the table. For a pill like the Revival Pill, which replenishes spiritual energy, most alchemists just infuse their own spiritual energy into the pill, sealing it inside.
However, this method means the Revival Pill can only restore a limited amount of spiritual energy, and in situations where a quick refill is needed, one pill wouldn’t suffice.
Shen Tanqi pondered for a moment, his gaze falling on the spirit-absorbing grass on the table.
Spirit-absorbing grass can store a cultivator’s spiritual energy, but it’s cheap and rarely used. He remembered reading in an alchemy manual that the Spirit Absorbing Grass could absorb spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, but only for a very brief time, just a few seconds.
What if he could refine a pill that could speed up the absorption of spiritual energy from the environment? Wouldn’t that provide a continuous supply of spiritual energy?
With this thought, Shen Tanqi’s eyes lit up. He glanced around and saw no one else trying this.
He immediately started, washing the herbs and dumping all the materials into the furnace. As he lit the fire under the furnace, the kindling wouldn’t catch.
Seeing everyone else already starting, Shen Tanqi anxiously struck his flint, when he heard Yu Ce’s calm voice from nearby, “You can use a fire spell.”
Though Yu Ce’s tone was light, Shen Tanqi could detect the teasing in it. He looked up to see Yu Ce leisurely placing the lid on his furnace and smiling at him.
Shen Tanqi: …
“I know, I just forgot.”
He muttered softly. As a modern person, he momentarily forgot that he could easily start a fire in this cultivation world.
But this world really can’t compare to modern conveniences; something as simple as lighting a fire requires a spell instead of just using a lighter.
Following the simple spell Yu Ce had taught him, Shen Tanqi carefully performed a fire incantation. In an instant, the wood under the furnace burst into flames and quickly turned to ashes.
“…”
Covered in soot, Shen Tanqi heard the low laughter of Yu Ce and Lin Tanjun around him. He wiped his face, feeling a bit speechless.
“Cousin, you need to control your spiritual energy better,” Lin Tanjun said, stifling her laughter with her hand. Her furnace was already working, and she gently infused her spiritual energy into it.
Shen Tanqi nodded, loading new wood into the furnace, and glared at Yu Ce, who was still laughing at him. “Is it that funny?”
“No,” Yu Ce replied, suppressing his smile. With a slight wave of his hand, the fire under Shen Tanqi’s furnace reignited gradually.
With the fire going, Shen Tanqi focused on controlling his spiritual energy to shape the pill.
Before long, other disciples began confidently opening their furnaces and presenting their pills to the elders.
Scores were starting to be announced, and even Yu Ce and Lin Tanjun had already submitted their pills.
“Lin Tanjun, second inner disciple of Feiluan Sect, first-grade Revival Pill with minor flaws!”
The crowd buzzed and clapped.
“Yu Ce, third inner disciple of Rongyun Sect, flawless first-grade Revival Pill!”
The applause was deafening, making Shen Tanqi’s ears ache.
The difference between ‘minor flaws’ and ‘flawless’ referred to whether the pill’s shape was perfectly smooth and unblemished, a crucial part of the scoring criteria.
Lin Tanjun’s first-grade Revival Pill must have been slightly marred in the furnace, resulting in tiny imperfections.
Shen Tanqi felt somewhat embarrassed. Given his usual record of producing pills that looked more like they had been chewed by a dog, he feared becoming the laughing stock.
Lost in his thoughts, a purple smoke suddenly billowed from the furnace’s spout, nearly blinding Shen Tanqi. Without hesitation, he reached out, ignoring the heat, and lifted the lid off the furnace.
The overseeing elder happened to witness this and raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Another top-grade pill? The quality of this year’s sect disciples is quite impressive.”
Purple smoke was a sign of a top-grade pill.
Shen Tanqi felt somewhat relieved. He blew on his scorched fingers and carefully removed the pill from the furnace, placing it on a white jade plate on the table. When he looked closely, his already soot-darkened face grew even darker.
Damn it, others refined one pill, but what he made looked more like a lump!
After a moment, the elder picked up the lump from the white jade plate, frowned for a moment, and then announced loudly, “Shen Tanqi, second inner disciple of Rongyun Sect, first-grade Revival Pill, full of flaws!”
Shen Tanqi: …
No need to shout it so loudly, Elder.
Once all the disciples’ pills were finished, the elders began the testing phase. To prevent any attempts to harm the elders with poisoned pills, the disciples were required to taste their own pills before handing them over.
“Although Lin Tanjun’s pill has minor imperfections, its quality is outstanding with pure spiritual energy. She truly lives up to being a disciple of Feiluan Sect!”
“Yu Ce’s pill from Rongyun Sect is even better in quality. After consuming it, I feel refreshed and all fatigue from these busy days has disappeared. It seems to have a calming effect as well!”
“Hey, Elder Qing from Qingliu Sect, why aren’t you tasting it?”
The two elders who had tasted Lin Tanjun and Yu Ce’s pills turned their gaze to the Qingliu Sect elder, who looked very serious.
The elder from the Qingliu Sect hesitated as he held up a lump of yellow, unidentified substance. He looked across at Shen Tanqi, whose face was covered in soot with a wide grin, and his lips twitched slightly before he spoke, “Are you sure… this is a Revival Pill?”
Shen Tanqi nodded, rubbing his hands awkwardly. “It might not look great, but I just tasted a bit myself, and the effect is actually quite good. Would you like to try?”
The elder from the Qingliu Sect hesitated, staring at the lump. Finally, he took a deep breath and said to his junior disciple beside him, “Fetch me a spoon.”
After a while, the elder inserted a silver spoon into the lump of Revival Pill, feeling a slight relief when it didn’t change color.
“Very well,” he muttered reluctantly, scooping up a spoonful and reluctantly putting the yellow substance into his mouth.
In an instant, the elder’s eyes flew open wide. He felt as if every pore in his body had been opened wide, and an immense amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth rushed crazily into his body. He looked incredulously at Shen Tanqi, whose hair was singed and face covered in black soot, and said in disbelief, “What did you add?”
Hearing the commotion, Yu Ce and Lin Tanjun both turned their gazes towards them.
Shen Tanqi blinked and smiled, “Effective, isn’t it?”
In the midst of the elder’s shocked expression, Shen Tanqi turned back to his own table, picked up a handful of spirit-absorbing grass, and placed it in front of the elder. “I added a lot of spirit-absorbing grass. Since the Revival Pill is used to replenish spiritual energy, and spirit-absorbing grass can absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, wouldn’t it achieve the same effect?”
Upon hearing his explanation, the elder from the Qingliu Sect remained dumbfounded for a while before finally uttering, “You… you created this pill yourself?”
Yu Ce leaned in slowly beside Shen Tanqi, gazing at the yellow pill on the plate, and murmured softly, “Senior brother, you’re amazing.”
Shen Tanqi glanced at him, gritted his teeth, “Stop being so sarcastic.”
“Indeed, impressive…” The elder from the Qingliu Sect wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Although the effect of this pill only lasts an instant, in that instant, I absorbed a vast amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth!”
If used in actual combat, swallowing such a pill at a life-or-death moment could very likely turn the tide!
Trembling, the elder raised the lump of pill and was about to introduce it to the other elders nearby when he suddenly realized he hadn’t asked Shen Tanqi the name of this pill yet. Turning back, he asked eagerly, “Shen Tanqi, have you given a name to this pill?”
Shen Tanqi cleared his throat awkwardly and whispered, “No, how about… let’s call it the ‘Stretch Legs and Widen Eyes’1The name ‘Shen Tui Deng Yan’ (伸腿瞪眼), which translates to ‘Stretch Legs and Widen Eyes,’ comes from a famous story attributed to Ji Xiaolan, a renowned scholar and government official during the Qing Dynasty, known for his wit and literary prowess. One day, he created a concoction or medicine and gave it an absurdly descriptive name: ‘Stretch Legs and Widen Eyes Pill.’ The name implies that upon taking the pill, one’s legs would stretch out, and their eyes would pop open, as if in amazement or shock..” Unable to come up with a name himself, he borrowed one from an old name by Master Ji Xiaolan.
The elder from the Qingliu Sect felt the name of the pill was odd, somewhat resembling the name of some poisonous substance. However, since this was a pill created by Shen Tanqi himself, he quickly pushed aside his doubts and excitedly shared with his colleagues, “Come, everyone, taste Shen Tanqi’s ‘Stretch Legs and Widen Eyes’. It can rapidly replenish spiritual energy in an instant!”
People tasted it one after another, astonished beyond words.
In just a moment, Shen Tanqi’s ranking soared to rival Yu Ce’s, and next to his name appeared a small Red Flame Flower.
“First place, my daddy is the best!!”
As the competition concluded, Goldfish rushed forward excitedly, hugging Shen Tanqi, coquettishly saying, “Daddy, I want to eat the pills you just made.”
Shen Tanqi’s confidence was now overflowing. He felt there was nothing in the world he couldn’t achieve.
If it weren’t for Yu Ce’s continuous support and affirmation, he probably wouldn’t have even thought about participating today.
Unconsciously, Yu Ce had been influencing him, changing him, and striving to make him a better person.
Thinking of this, Shen Tanqi’s heart was deeply moved, his eyes tinged with a hint of redness. He picked up the little one from the ground, rubbing his eyes and smiling as he asked, “Does Goldfish want to eat pills or chestnut candy?”
Upon hearing chestnut candy, the little one cheered and without hesitation abandoned the pills, “Chestnut candy, chestnut candy! I want to eat chestnut candy!”
Li Tanjiu and Xiao Yu also came over to congratulate, but Xiao Yu still seemed a bit unwilling, saying, “Just wait, in the next swordsmanship competition, I definitely won’t lose to you.”
As a member of a family renowned for alchemy, this little girl unexpectedly refined a third-grade pill, which would surely lead to criticism when she returned home.
Shen Tanqi waved at her with a smile and said, “Alright, do your best in the next round, Xiao Yu.”
Lin Tanjiu raised an eyebrow playfully and teased, “Seems like your relationship with Xiao Yu is better than with me.”
Pausing for a moment, as if remembering something, Lin Tanjiu lowered her voice and leaned closer to him, “By the way, if Mian Mian wants to go see that daemon healer in Wenqiu City, I can introduce you to him.”
“I was thinking the same.”
Shen Tanqi had been concerned about Mian Mian’s well-being, worrying if there were any other illnesses they hadn’t noticed. Visiting the legendary daemon healer seemed like a good idea.
He glanced at Yu Ce, who was about to buy chestnut candy for the children, and called out, “Yu Ce, Lin Tanjiu and I will take Mian Mian to see the healer. When the results are out, please collect them for me. Take care of Goldfish and Taro Ball and bring them to the inn.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Ce’s gaze fell on Lin Tanjiu, and after a moment, he gently nudged Taro Ball and said, “Erdan, go with Daddy and take care of them.”
Last time, when he couldn’t be with Shen Tanqi, Shen Tanqi had an accident. Only with Taro Ball and Lin Tanjiu following him, could he be at ease.
Taro Ball took this important task assigned by Yu Ce seriously, immediately grasping the hilt of his soft sword at his waist and solemnly replied, “Yes, Father, you can rest assured.”
Even if something happens to me, I won’t let anything happen to Daddy and little brother.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
