Dao Patterned Pills

Everyone looked Ning Fa over with varying expressions.

Although he was still one proper pill short, by now no one doubted that Ning Fa could pass this assessment.

After all, pill refining was basically never a matter of luck. Especially since Ning Fa had refined pills twice in a row, achieving a success rate of over forty percent—more than enough to prove his pill-refining ability. He should be very confident of producing at least one proper pill in his final attempt.

Ning Ruiming's face was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water, and his expression had become exceedingly ugly.

Yet at this moment, a strange light bloomed in Ning Fa's eyes.

He felt as though he had entered a peculiar state. The sensation of refining pills felt incomparably wonderful, so wonderful that he nearly forgot he was still undergoing an alchemist assessment, as though he were sinking into intoxicated absorption.

His hands formed hand seals once more, and the various spirit materials before him took flight again.

Less than an hour later, he opened the furnace once more.

This time, the misty rosy glow from the pill furnace was even more pronounced than during the previous two attempts.

A trace of shock appeared on Wei Chengzong's face. With a wave of his hand, several pills wrapped in rosy light flew out. Facing the crowd, Wei Chengzong announced loudly, "Five proper pills and one failed pill."

"Across three rounds of pill refinement, Ning Fa has refined a total of ten proper Essence Replenishing Pills, with a success rate of fifty-five percent. I announce that Ning Fa has passed this pill-refining assessment."

The moment those words fell, the vast pill chamber went silent. Everyone wore a different expression.

Ning Shaohong wore a faint smile. She had not held much hope for Ning Fa to begin with, but his performance today had clearly exceeded her expectations. It also gave her, who had stepped forward for his sake, a sense of shared glory.

Ning Xiuying, clad in fiery red battle armor and possessed of a striking figure, also stared at Ning Fa with a strange expression. She had never expected this famously useless member of the family to truly pass the alchemist assessment.

Liu Qinghui's expression did not change. She still looked delicate and fragile, the very picture of pitiable beauty, though a trace of complexity appeared in her lovely eyes.

Ning Ruiming's expression had already turned incomparably ugly. With a cold snort, he rose to leave.

Just then, Ning Shaohong, who had been about to stand, suddenly focused her beautiful eyes and stared intently in Ning Fa's direction.

Ning Fa had actually taken out another set of spirit materials for an Essence Replenishing Pill and begun refining again, utterly oblivious to everything around him.

A faint, strange radiance seemed to flicker over his body.

Uncertainty appeared on Ning Shaohong's jade-like face. Then, as though she had thought of something, shock surfaced in her eyes as she murmured inwardly, Could this be the legendary state of entering the Dao...?

Wei Chengzong was somewhat puzzled. He had just been about to remind Ning Fa that the assessment was over when a spark of fiery-red spiritual light suddenly shot before him, startling him badly.

Turning his head, he saw Ning Shaohong glaring sternly at him. In a low voice, she said, "Everyone, be quiet!"

Ning Ruiming knitted his brows tightly. Though he did not know what was happening, his instincts told him it was certainly nothing good.

Liu Qinghui's lovely eyes widened slightly as she stared fixedly at Ning Fa. Her delicate hands clenched tightly, and she even began to feel nervous.

Ning Fa's gaze was utterly focused, while the fighting spirit in his eyes grew ever more vigorous.

Every movement he made while refining pills gave others the impression of drifting clouds and flowing water, flawless and natural.

He had even forgotten that he was refining pills, moving as though guided by his body's instinct alone.

By now, Wei Chengzong had finally noticed something. His face was full of shock, while envy appeared in his eyes.

As an intense misty rosy light flashed from the pill furnace, the furnace lid flew open, and six pills rose into the air amid the radiant glow.

Every one of them was round and full. In terms of appearance, color, and fragrance, they even surpassed the pills Ning Fa had refined before.

The pill at the center in particular shone with an unusual white radiance, making it distinctly different from the other five pills.

More remarkably, a faint mark could be seen on its surface, with mysterious runes seeming to flicker within it.

Wei Chengzong seemed to have thought of something, and disbelief filled his face.

He hurried forward and carefully examined the pill.

Only after a long while did he say in a shocked voice, "A Dao Mark?... This is a Pill Dao Mark!?"

The instant he spoke, even Ning Shaohong and Ning Xiuying, who knew nothing about pill refinement, were profoundly shaken.

Not to mention alchemists like Wei Chengzong, Ning Ruiming, and Liu Qinghui—they looked as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Because every one of them understood what a pill with a Dao Mark meant.

The path of pill refinement had a famous characteristic: if an alchemist refined a pill to an exceptional degree of perfection, they could touch upon the legendary Pill Dao Laws, causing a natural Dao Mark to appear upon the pill.

The more Dao Marks there were, the more perfect the pill was, and the more Pill Dao Laws it had touched.

Rumor had it that even a One Dao Mark pill was far more effective than ordinary pills, with a difference of several times over.

Nor was it simply a matter of enhanced medicinal effect—it would also gain certain special medicinal properties.

Above One Dao Mark, there were even Two Dao Marks, Three Dao Marks...

Such pills with multiple Dao Marks were no longer merely pills. They possessed certain unimaginable miraculous abilities.

Unfortunately, in the current cultivation world, at most One Dao Mark pills could be found. Two Dao Mark pills were occasionally heard of, while pills exceeding Two Dao Marks existed only in ancient records.

And any alchemist capable of refining Dao Patterned Pills was an alchemy grandmaster renowned throughout a region, held in the highest esteem.

Moreover, even such alchemy grandmasters found it difficult to refine Dao Patterned Pills every time, for heaven, earth, and man all had to align; not one could be absent.

For instance, everyone knew that thirty years ago, the finale item at an auction in Tianshui Market had been a One Dao Mark Foundation Establishment Pill.

It had driven countless cultivators into a frenzy of bidding and ultimately sold for the staggering sky-high price of over one hundred thousand spirit stones, more than three times the price of a normal Foundation Establishment Pill.

That was because a One Dao Mark Foundation Establishment Pill not only raised the odds of breakthrough by twenty to thirty percent over an ordinary Foundation Establishment Pill, but could also widen the user's Dantian and lay a solid foundation.

Even immediately after achieving Foundation Establishment, one's Mana would be no weaker than that of seasoned cultivators of the same realm, and future breakthroughs through the minor stages of the Foundation Establishment Realm would also become easier.

That was why everyone was so sensitive to Dao Patterned Pills, and so utterly shocked.

Ning Ruiming looked completely dumbfounded, practically suspecting that he was dreaming.

Even Liu Qinghui, who had always appeared composed, widened her eyes. Her lips even parted slightly, her face full of disbelief.

The shock in Ning Shaohong's eyes gradually faded. She gave Ning Fa a deep look, and the corners of her lips could not help but rise.

This descendant of an old acquaintance had truly given her far too great a surprise.

At the same time, various thoughts spread through her mind.

The Alchemy Hall was currently controlled by the Third Elder's faction, while the Second Elder's faction, to which she belonged, was severely constrained in pill refinement. Ning Fa's displayed potential in alchemy made her begin to truly value him.

She had already decided to seek out the Second Elder—her elder brother, Ning Weidong—to discuss this matter. She would support Ning Fa's pill refinement and cultivate him into a high-ranking alchemist for their faction.

With that thought, Ning Shaohong rose abruptly and walked to Ning Fa's side.

Her slender jade hand took the rare One Dao Mark Essence Replenishing Pill from Wei Chengzong. After examining it closely, she smiled at Ning Fa and said:

"Ning Fa, are you willing to give me this One Dao Mark pill you refined?"

Ning Fa had also recovered from that strange state. He immediately smiled and said, "For a pill refined by this junior to catch the Ninth Elder's eye is naturally this junior's honor."

Ning Shaohong's cherry lips curved upward, and then she turned and left.

Ning Xiuying also gave Ning Fa a deep look before following her away.

On the other side, Liu Qinghui's lovely eyes remained wide, and she still wore an expression of utter disbelief.

With a crack, Ning Ruiming, his face livid, accidentally crushed the armrest of his wooden chair.