Elder Xing Yun was stunned for a moment, as if he had heard an utterly unbelievable joke. His expression was both absurd and amused. "What did you say? You can refine Qi-Gathering Pills?"
He had thought Su Chen had come up with some decent excuse for himself.
After all that, it turned out to be such an absurd, baseless claim.
Su Chen could refine Qi-Gathering Pills?
Impossible. Elder Xing Yun was willing to wager his entire fortune that, ever since Su Chen had entered the Orthodox Unity Sect, he had never even touched a pill furnace.
As for before he entered the Orthodox Unity Sect, Su Chen had only been twelve years old. Even if he had studied alchemy, how many days could he have studied it for?
Qi-Gathering Pills were not something that could be refined so easily!
"Someone, bring him a pill furnace! I'd like to see just how he plans to casually refine Qi-Gathering Pills!" Elder Xing Yun said coldly. In his eyes, Su Chen's words were nothing less than an insult to the profession of alchemist.
A person who had likely never even touched a pill furnace claimed that he could refine Qi-Gathering Pills?
He wanted to see how Su Chen would refine them.
Following Elder Xing Yun's order, two servants soon carried a large bronze pill furnace as tall as a person into the main hall.
Moreover, Elder Xing Yun had even ordered someone to prepare a set of ingredients for refining Qi-Gathering Pills for Su Chen.
Under normal circumstances, a single set of these ingredients would be worth a fortune. Yet in order to make Su Chen reveal his true colors on the spot, Elder Xing Yun had produced one without hesitation. He had truly spent a great deal.
"Since you claim that you can refine Qi-Gathering Pills, then refine them here in the hall and let everyone see just how brilliant your alchemy skills truly are." Elder Xing Yun sneered mockingly.
He thought Su Chen would shrink back.
Yet Su Chen's face remained calm, with not the slightest sign of retreat. He merely looked at Elder Xing Yun indifferently.
The chill in that gaze made Elder Xing Yun pause midsentence, and an inexplicable coldness rose in his heart.
Even he himself did not know why he felt fear before a mere junior disciple!
Su Chen calmly withdrew his gaze, then raised his right palm and struck the pill furnace.
The next moment!
The bronze pill furnace suddenly shook violently, and its lid, along with the scraps of medicinal ingredients inside, flew high into the air.
This sight made Elder Xing Yun's eyelids twitch again.
How could Elder Xing Yun not know that Su Chen's move was called Furnace Clearing? It used hidden force within the body to directly clear away the medicinal residue left behind from the previous refinement.
If such residue was not cleaned away, it would seriously affect the next refinement, causing impurities in the next batch of pills and resulting in failure or a drop in pill quality.
Yet ordinary alchemists used specialized tools to clear their furnaces. Very few could do so without relying on external objects, using hidden force alone.
But Su Chen had done it!
Elder Xing Yun narrowed his eyes, a sense of unease rising in his heart.
Could Su Chen really refine Qi-Gathering Pills?
No, that was impossible!
That Furnace Clearing just now had to have been a coincidence.
Compared to Elder Xing Yun's complicated state of mind, most of the disciples present were much simpler. They had not understood Su Chen's Furnace Clearing step at all.
"What is Su Chen doing?"
"Is he performing acrobatics? Hahaha..."
But Su Chen's next action immediately robbed them of their laughter.
Su Chen flicked his finger, shooting a spark from his fingertips into the space beneath the pill furnace. Blazing flames instantly erupted under the furnace!
This step was called Fire Ignition!
If they had not understood the Furnace Clearing step just now, then Su Chen's skillful Fire Ignition technique undoubtedly shocked them.
Even Elder Xing Yun revealed a horrified expression. If the Furnace Clearing just now could still be dismissed as coincidence, then this Fire Ignition step was undeniably genuine alchemical skill.
When had Su Chen become an alchemist?
Before Elder Xing Yun could think further, Su Chen swept out a hand and sent the prepared set of ingredients beside the pill furnace straight into it.
Refining Qi-Gathering Pills required six types of ingredients in total. The order in which each ingredient was added and the control of the flame both mattered greatly, or the refinement could easily fail.
Yet Su Chen threw all the ingredients in at once, completely ignoring any proper order of addition!
Quenching!
Purification!
Pill formation!
All in one smooth flow!
The entire process took less than two incense sticks' worth of time.
Though Su Chen had been reborn into the body of a fifteen-year-old, his memories still belonged to a generation's Pill Emperor. Refining a lowest-grade first-rank pill like the Qi-Gathering Pill was easier for him than eating and drinking.
While everyone was still standing there with their mouths agape, a thick white mist drifted out from the pill furnace, accompanied by waves of clear medicinal fragrance.
This was the sign of successful pill formation!
Unhurriedly, Su Chen extended his right palm again and lightly struck the pill furnace. Its lid flew up on its own once more, and pill after pill, white as jade, flew out from within.
Each finished Qi-Gathering Pill was the size of a longan, crystalline and lovely.
Su Chen casually picked up a porcelain plate to catch them. The Qi-Gathering Pills landed on it one by one, producing crisp, pleasant sounds like pearls falling onto a dish.
In stark contrast to those pleasing sounds were the extremely ugly expressions on Elder Xing Yun's and Lu Yuan's faces.
Even if they were beaten to death, they would never have imagined that Su Chen would truly refine Qi-Gathering Pills.
"Impossible, right?"
"When did Su Chen learn to refine pills?"
The disciples present were also utterly shocked!
They had thought Su Chen was making a fool of himself by refining pills on the spot, but never expected that he would truly produce Qi-Gathering Pills.
"Let this old man inspect them!" Elder Xing Yun strode over and grabbed several of the
pills from the porcelain plate.
He refused to believe that what Su Chen had refined were real Qi-Gathering Pills!
However, the moment he examined and sniffed the pills in his hand, Elder Xing Yun's expression darkened even further.
With his discerning eye, how could he fail to see that these were indeed Qi-Gathering Pills? Moreover, every single one was full in color, evenly formed, and enticing—clearly of superior quality!
In less than two incense sticks' worth of time, Su Chen had refined a furnace full of superior-grade Qi-Gathering Pills!
This undoubtedly overturned Elder Xing Yun's and Lu Yuan's false accusations and framing completely.
Just as Su Chen had said, if someone could casually refine Qi-Gathering Pills, why would he go through such trouble to steal them?
After all, the raw ingredients for Qi-Gathering Pills were not particularly precious. What was precious was merely the skill to refine them.
"What is going on? Su Chen really refined Qi-Gathering Pills. Could he actually be a hidden alchemy genius?"
"If he can really refine them so easily, then it does seem like there would be no need for him to risk so much to steal them."
"Could Elder Xing Yun really have wronged him?"
Elder Xing Yun's expression was grim. Today, he had been absolutely certain that he could destroy Su Chen's future in one stroke and expel him from the sect.
Yet at the critical moment, Su Chen had refined Qi-Gathering Pills on the spot, causing every one of his plans to collapse!
"Well, Elder Xing Yun? Are you still unwilling to admit that you and Lu Yuan joined forces to frame me?" Su Chen asked calmly.
How could Elder Xing Yun admit it?
For one thing, Su Chen had no evidence proving that he had framed him. For another, he was a long-established, highly respected elder of the Orthodox Unity Sect. How could his position be shaken so easily by a mere disciple?
Elder Xing Yun immediately sneered. "Su Chen, there are indeed some doubts regarding your theft of the pills. This old man will investigate the matter thoroughly! Your punishment of having your dantian crippled and being expelled from the sect shall be revoked for now."
"However, you publicly defied your elder and showed no respect for your teacher or the Way. As your senior, this old man must still administer a slight punishment! From today onward, you will go down the mountain and serve as a menial disciple for one year. During that year, you are forbidden from cultivating!"
Before you continue