Blazing Pill?

Outside a cave dwelling on the waist of the northern peak of Spring Return Valley, Dan Fusheng and seven fellow disciples, all clad in light purple Daoist robes, sat cross-legged, blocking the entrance to the cave in an Eight Trigrams formation. The mountain wind blew, and dead branches and fallen leaves from the summit drifted down. However, they were pushed away by an invisible force about a hundred zhang from the cave entrance, then shattered into dust.

Dan Fusheng and the other eight Daoists assumed a posture with their five senses facing the heavens. From each of their heads, a pillar of True Essence, either red, white, blue, or yellow, and as thick as a fist, shot up more than three zhang high. The pillars of True Essence diffused in the air, transforming into a swirling mist several feet in diameter. Within the mist, faint lotus-like phantoms seemed to flicker. However, these phantoms were too dim and scattered, appearing to lack substance. Almost every moment, a phantom would struggle to coalesce, only to fail at the last moment and dissipate into scattered points of light.

After an hour passed like this, Dan Fusheng was the first to open his eyes. He sighed with a hint of frustration, chanting, "The path of Dao is difficult, more difficult than climbing to the heavens."

The other Daoists opened their eyes simultaneously, also sighing, "The Dao is boundless, but our lives are finite. To seek the infinite with the finite, how absurd!"

The eight Daoists exchanged glances, then suddenly burst into hearty laughter, "There is nothing else to do but give it our best effort!"

After laughing for a while, the Daoists bowed to each other, retracted the swirling pillars of True Essence from above their heads, and each took out a silk-bound book from their sleeves, reading intently. From time to time, a Daoist would speak softly, proposing their views on a question from the book, and immediately someone would respond or debate. Outside this cave dwelling, it had become like an academy in the mortal world, with scholars seeking the Dao and unraveling mysteries.

However, inside the cave dwelling, the scene was entirely different.

Beyond three layers of stone doors protected by prohibitions, lay a square stone chamber. Inside, there was only a stone couch, and on the floor, a bamboo mat was spread. Piled on the mat were simple provisions like pine nuts, Solomon's seal, and yam. On the stone couch, Yao'er, holding the jade tablet inscribed with the Great Luo Pill Scripture, her head resting on an extremely large Reishi mushroom, was sleeping soundly. A clear stream of saliva slowly dripped from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes darted back and forth, and she mumbled, "Little junior brother, eat less~~~ Give the chicken legs to senior sister!"

Suddenly, Yao'er let out an indignant cry, "Damn little junior brother, you even ate all the chicken feet!"

Filled with anger, Yao'er puffed up her cheeks and sat up on the stone couch. Pouting, she looked left and right, angrily shouting, "Little junior brother! Lin Xiao! Get out here!"

Blinking a few times and finding that Lin Xiao had not obediently "rolled out," Yao'er was momentarily stunned. Tilting her head, she pondered for a while before suddenly slapping her forehead and exclaiming softly, "Ah, I'm confused again! I'm in seclusion, comprehending the Great Luo Pill Scripture? Good heavens, I still have over two months before I can go out! Little junior brother's roasted chicken~~~ Wuwu!"

As she spoke, tears began to fall from Yao'er's eyes. She grumbled with a hint of resentment, "If I weren't afraid of Master and the others finding out that I secretly taught the Great Luo Pill Scripture to little junior brother, Yao'er wouldn't be obediently stuck here for three months! Hmph, little junior brother, you're dead! When I get out this time, you'll have to roast a hundred~~~ no, a thousand roast chickens for me!"

Soon, Yao'er's mood brightened considerably. She wiped her eyes and excitedly rushed to the bamboo mat on the floor, saying with a smile, "Mmm, seclusion isn't fun, eating is more fun!" Grabbing a handful of pine nuts, Yao'er used a trace of True Essence with her hands and flicked them. The hard shells of the pine nuts turned to powder and scattered. Opening her small mouth, she scooped the handful of pine nuts in and slowly chewed them one by one, a look of utter enjoyment and satisfaction on her face. "Delicious, delicious, just delicious. Mmm, if pine nuts were used in medicine, what could they be combined with? And this Solomon's seal, this yam, although they are not old enough and their medicinal properties are not strong, if they were combined with those few very potent medicinal ingredients as ruler, minister, assistant, and guide, could they be used in medicine?"

Her small mouth mechanically ground away, and Yao'er's mind drifted off again. However, seeing her hands rapidly forming various spiritual seals, and faint wisps of energy rippling from her fingertips, it was clear that despite her apparent daze, her mind was churning with all sorts of thoughts.

"Aiyaya~" Yao'er suddenly shrieked and jumped up from the ground. She leaped so high that she bounced more than three zhang into the air, hitting the ceiling of the stone chamber. With a "dong" sound, Yao'er, grimacing in pain, clutched her head and fell back to the ground, plopping down. "Ouch, a person's head is indeed not as hard as stone, damn stone! Mmm, this is bad, I have to be in seclusion for three months! Will little junior brother remember to go pick lotus seeds to eat? Mmm, will he miss the chance to eat lotus seeds?"

The corners of Yao'er's eyes and mouth drooped, and her whole demeanor became listless. Tilting her head, she pondered for a while, then nodded, and then shook her head again. "Mmm, little junior brother is smarter than Yao'er! But, with this kind of thing, he's always so muddled! Does he remember the date for picking lotus seeds? Uh, does he? Doesn't he? Yao'er is so angry!"

Fiercely shaking her fist, Yao'er muttered menacingly, "Little junior brother, I'll deal with you when I get out! Hmph, you're so careless!" Without even seeing Lin Xiao, Yao'er had already convicted him and was preparing to punish him severely to vent her anger. As for the method of punishment, Yao'er rested her chin on her hands, tilted her head, and giggled foolishly, "If I ask little junior brother to roast two thousand pheasants, will the patrolling senior uncles scold me? Mmm, roasting two thousand pheasants at once, lined up, how far would they stretch?"

Yao'er's eyes gleamed green. She clenched her fists tightly and said fiercely, "Mmm, I've decided! Not two thousand, but five thousand! Wuwu, can pheasants be used for alchemy?"

Outside the cave dwelling, a mass of white clouds descended from the sky. Daoist Danling, accompanied by two young Daoist attendants, slowly descended from the clouds. Dan Fusheng and the other eight elder Daoists quickly rose and bowed, "Senior Brother Sect Leader!" Dan Fusheng, even more surprised, asked, "Senior Brother, why are you here instead of presiding over the disciple competition?"

Daoist Danling smiled slightly and walked slowly to the stone door of the cave dwelling, gently placing his hands on it. Centered on his palms, a circle of moon-white light faintly flickered, and a water mirror, about a zhang in diameter, clearly displayed Yao'er's every move inside the cave dwelling. Daoist Danling said leisurely, "The disciple competition has other elders presiding over it, so there is no need for me to stay there. As for Yao'er, she possesses the extremely rare Five Elements Complete Physique, which is seen only once in ten thousand years. According to Senior Uncle-Ancestor Xiao Yun's physiognomy, Yao'er is also a person of great fortune with boundless future prospects. Her seclusion to comprehend the Great Luo Pill Scripture is actually more important than the disciple competition."

Dan Fusheng and the others all bowed in agreement. This secret was known only to them, the elders of the Great Luo Pill Dao. Yao'er was not like what she had told Lin Xiao, that her Five Elements attributes were evenly distributed at twenty percent each; there was something more profound. If the total Five Elements attributes of a person were ten, with each element allocated proportionally, Lin Xiao's fire attribute constitution represented him having ten points of fire potential. Yao'er's total potential was fifty, with each of the Five Elements attributes accounting for over ten points! This talent could only be described as extraordinary and terrifying.

Moreover, among the two or three remaining elders of the Xiao generation in the Great Luo Pill Dao, the old Daoist Xiao Yun, who did not practice alchemy but preferred heavenly divination, had cast a hexagram for Yao'er when Danxia brought her back to Spring Return Valley as an infant. The hexagram indicated that Yao'er was destined for great fortune and had limitless prospects. Although Yao'er's fate still held some ambiguity, her exceptionally noble destiny was beyond doubt. The high command of the Great Luo Pill Dao had long decided to cultivate Yao'er as the next Sect Leader. Otherwise, why would Dan Fusheng have bet with her, a young disciple, using the Great Luo Pill Scripture? And why would he have lost it to her so easily?

Without further ado, Daoist Danling used a secret technique to observe Yao'er comprehending the Great Luo Pill Scripture. The nine elder Daoists and two attendants simultaneously looked at the water mirror. As a result, the nine elder Daoists almost fainted from anger, while the two attendants suddenly clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter.

Inside the stone chamber, Yao'er was using the purple jade tablet as a tool, constantly jumping up and fiercely hitting the ceiling of the stone chamber. While forcefully striking the stone walls, she angrily cursed, "Serves you right for hurting my head! Serves you right for hurting my head! Hmph~ Strange, why is this jade tablet so sturdy? Won't it break? Use more force!"

With a clanging sound and sparks flying, Yao'er had actually knocked a hole the size of a human head in the ceiling of the stone chamber. Clouds and rainbows danced on the purple jade tablet, creating dazzling streams of light. With each strike, a piece of stone the size of a fist was chipped off the stone wall, which was protected by layers of prohibitions. Yao'er became engrossed, humming a little tune as she swung the jade tablet with force, and vaguely reciting a medicinal formula. From time to time, she would rush to the bamboo mat, grab a yam, and take a fierce bite.

Daoist Danling, who was usually as jovial as a merchant looking to make a fortune, had a greenish complexion at this moment. He turned around indignantly and whispered harshly to Dan Fusheng, "Junior Brother Dan Fusheng, your disciple!"

Dan Fusheng took a step back with a strange expression and bowed, "Senior Brother, although Yao'er is nominally my disciple, she was raised by Danxia since childhood! It's just that Danxia was too lazy to be her master, so Yao'er was registered under my name and became my disciple. If Senior Brother insists, perhaps it would be better to speak directly to Danxia?"

Daoist Danling's face twitched, and he let out a hum. Dan Fusheng continued, "Speaking of which, both Hua Feng'er and Yao'er were personally taught by Danxia. My true disciples are only Lin Xiao!" Mentioning Lin Xiao, Dan Fusheng's eyes narrowed into a thin line. "Xiao'er is very promising. He was able to break through to the eighth level of the True Fire Art in just two years. Such talent is rare even in Spring Return Valley. What does Senior Brother think?"

The corners of his mouth twitched. Daoist Danling turned away sullenly, summoned a mass of white clouds, and lightly stepped onto the clouds with the two attendants. He waved his large sleeves and said with a strange laugh, "Junior Brother, you must be careful! I fear Lin Xiao might also end up becoming Junior Sister Danxia's disciple! Heh heh, you don't know, this time, for that 'Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe,' Junior Sister Danxia has been cheating."

"Cheating?" Dan Fusheng's expression was extremely peculiar. The other elder Daoists also glanced askance at Dan Fusheng, but none of them spoke. Danxia, as the only female elder in Spring Return Valley who could wear light purple Daoist robes, was someone few people were willing to provoke unnecessarily. Cheating or not, as long as it wasn't too excessive, everyone would just turn a blind eye.

Dan Fusheng coughed, sat down on the ground somewhat awkwardly, focused his mind, and a swirling mist rose above his head. He entered a state of meditation by himself. His Dao companion, and his Dao companion's disciple, had thought processes that were quite different from normal people. Like Daoist Danling, he was a good-natured person. What could he say?

Outside the Pill Room of Spring Return Valley, several experts from the Great Luo Pill Dao used their magical powers to move two hundred pill furnaces from the Desolation Grade Pill Room and place them on a spacious open ground outside the Pill Room. Disciples like Lin Xiao, responsible for the pill furnace fires, followed two elders, running back and forth. They drew fire-attracting spiritual formations on the ground, communicated with the underground spiritual veins, and arranged precious fire-attracting woods like golden birch. Immediately, the pill fires within the furnaces blazed fiercely, and the temperature of the plaza instantly rose, the heatwave forcing the white-robed attendants to retreat in alarm.

After igniting the furnace fires, Lin Xiao and the other Fire Worker Daoists retreated to the side. In the disciple competition, the fire intensity had to be controlled by each person personally. The art of controlling fire was also an important basis for evaluating a person's alchemy skills. The reason the Great Luo Pill Dao established Fire Worker Daoists like Lin Xiao, who were specifically responsible for furnace fires, was merely to facilitate large-scale pill production. However, in reality, Fire Worker Daoists like Lin Xiao also had to learn various pill recipes, and the disciples who practiced alchemy also had to learn how to control fire, with slight differences in emphasis depending on their Five Elements attributes.

According to the order of entry, Lin Xiao was ranked in the seventh batch of the green-robed disciple competition. This meant he would have to wait until the first twelve hundred green-robed disciples finished their alchemy in batches before it was his turn to compete.

The Desolation Grade Pill Room had enough pill furnaces to allow all the green-robed disciples to compete simultaneously. However, the Spring Return Valley disciple competition was not just about competition; it was more about increasing the disciples' alchemy experience. Alchemy in batches of two hundred people allowed the white-robed attendants and blue-robed Daoists with shallower cultivation to gain insights into the mysteries from the techniques of their senior brothers, which was also a way of nurturing the younger generation.

However, one thing was happening concurrently. When the pill furnaces were set up, all the green-robed disciples participating in the competition went to the disciple in charge of the medicine storehouse to collect the various medicinal ingredients they needed. When Lin Xiao listed the several highly sought-after precious herbs such as "Blazing Flame Flower," "Nine Yang Grass," and "Flame Dragon Fruit" required for refining the Blazing Flame Pill, the disciple in charge of the medicine storehouse and the elders supervising nearby looked at Lin Xiao in surprise. The herbs Lin Xiao used were in very small quantities in other pills, and when combined, they could only be for refining the Blazing Flame Pill.

An elder with a long beard, wearing a light purple Daoist robe, looked at Lin Xiao and kindly reminded him, "Junior Nephew Lin Xiao, aiming too high will not get you anywhere!" As a genius disciple who had cultivated the True Fire Art to the eighth level within two years, basically all the elders of the Dan generation in Spring Return Valley recognized Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao bowed to the elder and was about to say something when Danxia's not-so-polite voice suddenly came from the side, "Junior Brother Dan Yao~~~" deliberately drawing out the words "Junior Brother," Danxia sneered, "How do you know Xiao'er is aiming too high? How do you know Xiao'er cannot refine this 'Blazing Flame~~~', hehehehe!" Danxia suddenly raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and chuckled a few times.

Daoist Dan Yao rolled his eyes and weakly bowed to Danxia, "Sister Danxia is right. It's just that, with a Desolation Grade pill furnace, this pill is likely to be~ Yikes? Unless, like the Spirit Gathering Pill Yao'er refined, it has been enhanced with~" Daoist Dan Yao's eyes lit up. He asked Lin Xiao with a smile, "Xiao'er, good nephew, what other auxiliary medicinal ingredients do you need?"

Danxia grabbed Lin Xiao by the shoulder and dragged him away. As she walked, Danxia looked back and shouted, "Why are you asking? I've already prepared the auxiliary medicinal ingredients for him, so there's no need to trouble Junior Brother Dan Yao~~~!"

Daoist Dan Yao watched helplessly as Danxia dragged Lin Xiao away. He put his hands in his sleeves and pondered, muttering, "Interesting, interesting, isn't this cheating? The pill recipe that Yao'er used, only a few people like the Sect Leader have seen it. The profoundness within it, mmm~ perhaps, there really is a method to refine the Blazing Flame Pill using a Desolation Grade pill furnace? Difficult, difficult, difficult!"

To make a long story short, on the eleventh day of the Spring Return Valley competition, the first twelve hundred green-robed disciples had all refined their pills. The best quality among them was a Hong Grade "Spirit Cleansing Pill." The elders of Spring Return Valley gave the evaluation that this "Spirit Cleansing Pill" could be considered of upper-middle quality among Hong Grade pills.

After observing for eleven days, and being pestered by Hua Feng'er for eleven days, and being threatened by Danxia intentionally or unintentionally for eleven days, Lin Xiao finally entered the arena.

Casually selecting a pill furnace, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on a white mat in front of the pill furnace. With a few hand seals for controlling fire, the furnace fire immediately rose and fell as if it were an obedient kitten, following Lin Xiao's will. The color of the flame also changed continuously from red to milky white. In just a blink of an eye, the furnace temperature had changed hundreds of times, perfectly demonstrating the fire intensity changes required from the stage of adding ingredients to the stage of nurturing the pill. This display of fire control alone earned Lin Xiao thunderous applause from all the nearby fellow disciples.

The fire control Lin Xiao demonstrated was already catching up to the cultivation of the weakest elders in Spring Return Valley. Danxia couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably, and the elders all showed pleased expressions.

Lin Xiao himself didn't think it was anything special. When he was in Spring Return Hall, he was already accustomed to this state of combining his mind with the fire intensity, easily perceiving all the changes in the fire. He casually preheated the pill furnace with a gentle fire, then poured a bucket of spiritual spring water into the furnace, injecting it into the pill cauldron, which was about a foot square at the core of the pill furnace. After the spiritual spring water began to bubble like fish eyes, he first dropped the "Blazing Flame Flower" into the pill cauldron.

The heat steamed, and under the pressure of the fire's spiritual energy, the Blazing Flame Flower melted into a milky red gel, floating and bobbing in the clear spiritual spring water, refusing to merge with it.

Previously, at this stage, a Cosmos Grade pill furnace would have been needed to forcibly break up this gel formed by the Blazing Flame Flower using high temperature and high spiritual pressure, forcing it to merge with the spiritual spring water. However, Lin Xiao did not yet have the cultivation to operate a Cosmos Grade pill furnace, nor could he generate such high temperatures and spiritual pressure. He simply took out a "Three Yin Ganoderma Leaf" and dropped it into the pill cauldron. The "Three Yin Ganoderma Leaf" transformed into a faint silver liquid. Upon collision with the red gel, the red gel churning in the spiritual spring water immediately disintegrated, turning into a cauldron of red liquid.

"My teacher's method is indeed effective," Lin Xiao thought, gaining confidence in winning first place in the green-robed disciple competition.

Danxia probed the changes in the pill cauldron with her divine sense. Suddenly, she raised her sleeve and gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She leaned close to Hua Feng'er's ear and whispered with a smile, "The pill recipe that Teacher hastily concocted is indeed effective. Hehe! Yao'er's randomly tinkered-with improved Spirit Gathering Pill recipe, I've made a few slight changes following her example, and it's incredibly effective!"

Hua Feng'er's face twitched. She looked at Danxia in horror and asked in a low voice, "Mistress, the formula you gave Junior Brother, are you not confident in it yourself?"

Danxia looked at Hua Feng'er in surprise and said matter-of-factly, "Of course I'm not confident! After all, it's a modified Blazing Flame Pill formula! That's a Cosmos Grade Spirit Pill!"

Hua Feng'er stared blankly at Danxia and asked in a low voice, "Then, if Junior Brother fails this time and doesn't get first place?"

Danxia snorted coldly, her beautiful face stern. She said fiercely, "Such an incompetent disciple should naturally face a wall for three years to reflect on his mistakes! The Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe! Such a beautiful magic robe~~~ Uh, Feng'er, are you unhappy with Mistress speaking to me like this?"

Hua Feng'er lowered her head, her eyes darting around. She obediently said, "How would Feng'er dare?"

"Exactly!" Danxia chuckled softly. "Isn't this formula very effective now? At least the first three main ingredients have been added, and there haven't been any accidents, right?" Danxia proudly patted her chest and boasted, "When I make a move, how can I be wrong? Yao'er, who is so muddled, was able to improve the Spirit Gathering Pill. Am I worse than Yao'er?"

Hua Feng'er's eyes twitched as she looked at Danxia, remaining silent for a long time.

The simplified version of the Blazing Flame Pill was extremely fast to refine. Lin Xiao spent three hours condensing the pill juice in the pill cauldron into a fist-sized lump of viscous medicinal paste. At this point, it was time to use the spiritual art to shape the pill and finally convert it forty-nine times with both civil and martial fire, allowing the pill's essence to be contained within, forming a qualified Spirit Pill.

However, because too many auxiliary medicines were used during the refining process to melt the difficult-to-refine main ingredients into one, the properties of these auxiliary medicines were mixed and would seriously affect the final outcome of the pill. It was even possible that due to these mixed medicinal properties, the pill would not form at all. Therefore, Lin Xiao threw in the last batch of auxiliary medicinal materials, 'Thousand Knot Grass'. This herb had a gentle and pure nature, most capable of absorbing various medicinal properties. Integrating it into the medicinal paste, although it might slightly reduce the efficacy of the Blazing Flame Pill, it could effectively counteract the influence of the mixed medicinal properties on the pill.

Logically speaking, Danxia's formula was well-conceived. Adding the Thousand Knot Grass at the end was also feasible in terms of medicinal principles.

But why did Lin Xiao feel that something was subtly wrong?

However, he didn't have time to ponder it further. He performed several spiritual arts in succession, and the civil and martial fire in the pill furnace rapidly transformed. The fist-sized medicinal paste was condensed, finally forming thirteen thumb-sized black and red pills that spun rapidly in the pill cauldron. The pills were spinning so fast that they even stirred the air in the cauldron, emitting a 'buzzing' strange sound.

Just by looking at the anomaly when the pills took shape, one could tell that these thirteen pills were of good quality.

Danxia, who had been observing the movements in the pill cauldron with her divine sense, finally relaxed. She couldn't hide her joy and chuckled softly, "As expected, these are top-quality pills, at least superior to that Spirit Calming Pill from earlier." After a few laughs, Danxia frowned with some doubt, "But why are the pills black and red?"

Hua Feng'er stared blankly at Danxia, not knowing what had gone wrong. As everyone knew, the 'Blazing Flame Pill' was entirely crimson, surrounded by wisps of fire-cloud-like pill essence, which was a high-grade Blazing Flame Pill. Yet Danxia claimed that the Blazing Flame Pill Lin Xiao refined was black and red? A black and red Blazing Flame Pill? Red represented fire, but what did black represent?

Daoist Danling's laughter suddenly rang out from the side, "Hehehe, Junior Sister Danxia, have you gotten what you wished for?"

Danxia turned her head back indignantly and glared at Daoist Danling.

Daoist Danling chuckled, stroked his beard, and sighed, "I didn't expect that after Junior Sister learned about the Grand Competition, you could concoct a modified Blazing Flame Pill formula in just three days. Yao'er spent three years of hard work to improve the Spirit Gathering Pill, and she's already considered a heavenly talent. Junior Sister improved the Blazing Flame Pill in three days. This skill, hehe!"

Danxia's face couldn't help but blush slightly, knowing that Daoist Danling was mocking her for using Yao'er's method of improving the Spirit Gathering Pill to improve the Blazing Flame Pill. However, she still glared fiercely at Daoist Danling and said coldly, "Yao'er is my disciple!"

Daoist Danling smiled slightly and quickly said, "She's Junior Brother Dan Fu's disciple."

"Is there a difference?" Danxia glared angrily at Daoist Danling, her right hand already resting on the sword at her waist.

Daoist Danling's expression turned serious, and he quickly said, "No difference, of course no difference~~~ Hmm, Junior Brother Dan Yu, quickly bring these two hundred disciples forward, and we will carefully assess their pills." Lin Xiao's refined improved Blazing Flame Pill took the longest. By the time he finished refining, his fellow disciples had already finished. Daoist Dan Yu stepped forward and brought Lin Xiao's batch of alchemists to the elders, including Daoist Danling.

The pills of the other one hundred and ninety-nine disciples in green robes were not particularly noteworthy, with the highest being only three 'Marrow Cleansing Pills' of the Hong Grade.

When Lin Xiao presented the thirteen mutated Blazing Flame Pills, all the elders in purple robes frowned simultaneously and let out soft sounds of surprise.

These elders all knew what a Blazing Flame Pill should look like. A black and red Blazing Flame Pill was something they had never seen before. But if it wasn't a Blazing Flame Pill, all the elders had observed Lin Xiao's refining process with their divine sense. These were clearly the steps for refining a Blazing Flame Pill, with only many auxiliary medicinal materials added. The use of auxiliary medicinal materials was also reasonable; no one believed Lin Xiao had the cultivation to refine a true Blazing Flame Pill.

Danxia couldn't help but say, "Senior Brother Sect Master, look at these pills?"

Daoist Danling picked up a black and red pill, his expression hesitant. This pill looked too strange. If he smelled it, there was no scent, and he couldn't be sure what kind of pill it was. But when he probed with his divine sense, the pill essence within was condensed and solid, indeed a Spirit Pill of good quality.

But as for its specific medicinal effects~~~

Daoist Danling habitually picked up the pill, preparing to test it on himself. However, upon seeing the slightly nervous faces of Danxia and Hua Feng'er, he changed his mind. His eyes darted, and Daoist Danling smiled and said, "Junior Brother Dan Yu, go catch a mountain monkey, freeze it in the cold pond behind the mountain for a quarter of an hour, then bring it back for Senior Brother to treat."

Daoist Dan Yu nodded, and a white light shot out as he left.

Hua Feng'er's heart pounded. She suddenly leaned close to Danxia's ear and asked, "Mistress, the auxiliary medicine used to fuse the 'Blazing Dragon Fruit', was it 'Poison Dragon Grass'?"

Danxia glanced at Hua Feng'er and nodded, "It was 'Lone Dragon Grass', what's wrong?"

Hua Feng'er's gaze drifted. She confirmed with Danxia again, "Mistress, when you asked me to prepare various auxiliary medicines, you didn't give me a formula, but spoke the ingredients. Was it 'Poison Dragon Grass'?"

Danxia nodded impatiently and said in a low voice, "It's 'Lone Dragon Grass', yes. Why are you so long-winded, girl? Isn't your Uncle-Master Dan Yu going to catch a monkey? We'll know its medicinal properties soon enough."

Hua Feng'er opened her mouth but said nothing.

Lin Xiao, who was nearby, caught some clues. His heart pounded as he looked at Danxia and Hua Feng'er, his eyes wide open.

Danxia noticed Lin Xiao staring at her and turned to look at him. When she saw his wide eyes, Danxia seemed to realize something too. She opened her mouth wide and looked at Hua Feng'er. Hua Feng'er gave Danxia an awkward smile and quickly took a few steps back. Danxia's face turned pale and then flushed. She slapped her forehead fiercely and suddenly roared in a low voice, "My Mistress's 'Hundred Treasures Rainbow Robe'~~~ You two unfilial disciples!"

Lin Xiao flinched, secretly shrinking behind Daoist Danling. He thought innocently, "What's going on? What does it have to do with me? Didn't I honestly refine the pills? Even if something went wrong, it has nothing to do with me!"

As for Daoist Danling, who was holding the pill and preparing to swallow it to test its properties, he had clearly heard Danxia and Hua Feng'er's hushed whispers. Daoist Danling's face darkened. He casually threw the pill he was holding back onto a jade plate held by a young disciple, looking helplessly at Danxia and Hua Feng'er.

After a quarter of an hour, Daoist Dan Yu rushed back, carrying a mountain monkey covered in thin ice shards. He shouted loudly, "Senior Brother, quickly, the Blazing Flame Pill! This monkey's internal organs are frozen into ice shards. Take the medicine quickly, otherwise this monkey's life will be on your head, and it has nothing to do with me, your Junior Brother."

Daoist Danling's face darkened again. He casually grabbed a 'Blazing Flame Pill' and shot it into the mountain monkey's mouth.

The mountain monkey let out a sharp, piercing scream. Its ice-covered body trembled, and it suddenly leaped dozens of feet high. After a few 'squeaks', its body turned into a fireball and burned fiercely. In the blink of an eye, the mountain monkey, which was about the same height as a human and brought by Daoist Dan Yu, was burned to ashes.

"Hiss~~~" All the Daoists present gasped and simultaneously looked at Lin Xiao with strange glances.

Lin Xiao, feeling wronged, hugged his head with both hands amidst thousands of peculiar gazes and crouched on the ground, shrinking back.

Daoist Danling looked with lingering fear at the twelve black and red 'Blazing Flame Pills' on the young disciple's jade plate. He gently patted his forehead. He said in a deep voice, "Nephew Lin Xiao, bring out the formula you used to refine this pill!"

Lin Xiao quickly pulled out the yellow silk that Danxia had given him from his sleeve and threw it to Daoist Danling.

A group of elders from the Great Luo Pill Dao gathered together, pointing and gesturing at the yellow silk. Danxia's exclamations could be heard continuously.

After a long while, the elders parted. Daoist Danling scanned the disciples present with a stern expression and said in a deep voice, "After joint confirmation by the elders, the pill refined by Lin Xiao is not a Cosmos Grade 'Blazing Flame Pill', but an unnamed 'Pill Poison' with the medicinal power reaching the Universe Grade. To refine a Universe Grade pill with the cultivation of the eighth level of the True Fire Art, hmm, for this Grand Competition, the first place among the green-robed disciples~~~ is Lin Xiao!"

The vast square was silent. Everyone stared blankly at Lin Xiao, their gazes occasionally glancing at the embarrassed Danxia and Hua Feng'er.

He certainly had a trick up his sleeve.

In the Grand Competition for low-level disciples, being able to refine a Universe Grade Spirit Pill made Lin Xiao absolutely the first person in the history of the Great Luo Pill Dao since its founding.

And in the Grand Competition for low-level disciples, instead of refining a life-saving Spirit Pill, he refined a harmful Pill Poison. Lin Xiao was the unprecedented first, and no one else had such a glorious achievement.

When Lin Xiao received the first-place rewards from Daoist Danling, he felt a mix of laughter and tears.

He had now made a name for himself in the Great Luo Pill Dao. Everyone in the Great Luo Pill Dao should recognize him now, right? (To be continued)