The first thing Zhao Hao did after returning to his Cave Abode was not meditate, but carefully examine the jade slip containing the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe once more.
After confirming that everything was in order, he solemnly tucked the priceless Foundation Establishment Pill recipe safely into his Storage Bag.
This was his greatest gain from participating in the Alchemy Grand Assembly so far.
A single Foundation Establishment Pill could fetch an astronomical three thousand spirit stones at auction, and even then, there were often none available to buy.
There was only one reason: demand was too high, and supply was too low.
Qi Refining cultivators outnumbered Foundation Establishment cultivators by more than a hundred to one. Who would not want to reach Foundation Establishment, extend their life by a century, and become the patriarch of a local cultivation clan?
And a Foundation Establishment Pill was undoubtedly the best choice for increasing their chances of breaking through!
However, every spiritual herb required to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill had to be at least a hundred years old, and refining one was even harder than refining some second-tier pills.
More importantly, the upper-tier sects and clans deliberately or otherwise restricted the circulation of the recipe, keeping the number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in check to prevent the mass consumption of hundred-year-old spiritual herbs.
Now, that barrier might as well not have existed for Zhao Hao.
As long as he had enough spirit stones, he could use the system to produce an endless supply of hundred-year-old spiritual herbs through enhancement.
This was no mere pill recipe. It was an inexhaustible spirit stone mine.
For now, though, his pockets were cleaner than his face. He had staked every spirit stone he owned on the betting board at the Ten Thousand Immortal Gambling House.
If he wanted to make his fortune refining Foundation Establishment Pills, he would first have to win back his capital tomorrow.
He sat cross-legged and began composing the "performance script" for tomorrow's second round in his mind.
If he was going to put on an act, he would see it through to the end.
The next day, at the Ten Thousand Immortal Pavilion.
Fewer than a hundred Alchemists remained eligible for this round. Anyone capable of refining a Foundation Establishment Pill, which was harder to refine than many second-tier pills, was unquestionably a genuine second-tier Alchemist.
The atmosphere inside was several times more solemn than yesterday, but the number of spectators had increased rather than decreased.
The moment Zhao Hao stepped into the hall, he sensed several discreet yet powerful strands of divine sense reaching out from the private rooms on the second floor, lingering briefly on him.
One of them was utterly domineering and made no attempt to hide itself. It swept over him like a mountain crushing down from overhead, scrutinizing and probing.
A Golden Core patriarch!
Zhao Hao's heart lurched!
Good grief, even a Golden Core patriarch had shown up today.
Outwardly, he acted as though nothing had happened, strolling casually toward an empty station on the left.
Soon, the appointed time arrived, and the steward began distributing the materials.
Three sets of spiritual herbs for refining Soul Condensing Pills, a brand-new first-tier mid-grade pill furnace, and a jade slip containing the recipe and refining method.
Like Zhao Hao, many of the Alchemists immediately immersed their minds in the jade slips and began studying them carefully.
Though Soul Condensing Pills were only second-tier low-grade pills, their ability to nourish the soul and strengthen divine sense made their recipe priceless.
Many had come specifically for this free second-tier recipe. Even if they failed the round, obtaining a recipe for nothing would still be a tremendous windfall.
Zhao Hao also made a show of holding the jade slip, his brow alternately furrowing and relaxing, as though he found it "utterly engrossing."
Only after half the participants had begun preheating their furnaces did he leisurely put down the jade slip and begin his next performance.
The same recipe, the same flavor.
With a clatter.
He dumped all the spiritual herbs into the furnace in one go.
This time, rather than mocking him, the spectators craned their necks and watched intently, hoping to glean some secret from his bizarre technique.
Boom!
Earthfire surged up. Zhao Hao coated his hands in spiritual power and once again hammered the furnace with a series of heavy clangs.
"Here it comes! His signature move!"
"Where? Where? I had something to do and missed the last round."
Half a quarter-hour passed before another startled cry rang out!
"Look, he's about to add something!"
Sure enough, Zhao Hao whipped off the lid, grabbed the hundred low-grade spirit stones set aside nearby, and tossed them in without hesitation!
Everyone held their breath.
Yet the medicinal fragrance they expected never appeared.
Boom-!
An explosion even more muffled than the one in the previous round erupted inside the furnace.
The blast sent the lid leaping ten feet into the air, and a dense plume of acrid black smoke shot straight upward.
The furnace had blown!
His first attempt ended in failure.
Disappointed sighs and stifled snickers immediately rippled through the stands.
"I told you, that technique of his was pure nonsense. The last round had to have been sheer luck!"
"Who knows whether that technique actually works or only looks like it does? Now this is going to be entertaining."
Zhao Hao's face instantly darkened, turning ashen and extraordinarily ugly.
Without a word, he gave the furnace a cursory cleaning and went straight into his second attempt.
Still the original recipe, still the familiar flavor.
When he lifted the lid again to throw in spirit stones, everyone saw that this time, he had grabbed a full two hundred low-grade spirit stones!
"Holy shit! That lunatic is raising the stakes?"
"He's done for! That brute has completely lost his head!"
Barely a moment after those two hundred spirit stones landed in the furnace-
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion shook the hall.
Under everyone's eyes, the first-tier mid-grade pill furnace violently burst apart!
Red-hot furnace fragments shot in every direction amid a searing blast of air!
Hum!
Zhao Hao reacted swiftly, instantly raising his protective spiritual shield and blocking every fragment flying toward him.
The Alchemists beside him were not so fortunate.
Although the sudden explosion was not enough to injure them, it broke their concentration for a moment, and the medicinal liquids merging inside their furnaces instantly spiraled out of control.
Pfft!
"My pills!"
Several furious roars rang out as a number of Alchemists glared daggers at Zhao Hao.
Zhao Hao acted as though he had heard nothing.
His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the shattered remains of his furnace, his clenched teeth grinding audibly.
"Hahaha, I'm dying!" Undisguised mockery came from the stands. "I heard this reckless brute won twenty thousand spirit stones yesterday, then bet it all on himself again today at three-to-one odds. Now he's going to lose every last stone!"
"What? He bet twenty thousand spirit stones on himself?"
"Seriously? Won't he lose even the clothes off his back?"
"He doesn't even have a furnace anymore. Let's see how he gets out of this!"
At those words, the anger on the faces of the Alchemists who had been glaring at Zhao Hao eased considerably, replaced by looks of gloating.
At the station on the right, Fairy Xuan Su put away her successfully refined Soul Condensing Pills. Gazing at the wreckage strewn around Zhao Hao, she knitted her delicate brows, unable to fathom what medicine he was hiding in his gourd.
Even the Golden Core patriarch watching from the second floor, whose attention had been drawn by the two furnace explosions, wore a displeased expression.
Just then, Zhao Hao moved.
Amid mocking and sympathetic gazes, he took a familiar first-tier low-grade pill furnace out of his Storage Bag.
Its body was worn, and one glance showed that it had seen considerable use.
He set the battered furnace on the floor and began his third and final attempt.