The first two steps went surprisingly smoothly; he completed them flawlessly.
But Feng Bao was not excited.
Every previous failure had occurred at the step of fusing the medicinal liquids.
For some unknown reason, he followed every detail of the Pill Formula, yet the fusion always failed.
"Perhaps I was born unsuited to alchemy!"
With a try-it-and-see attitude, Feng Bao began the third step of refining the Pigu Pill: fusing the medicinal liquids.
Whether because he had changed Alchemy Rooms or for some other reason, he actually succeeded at the third step!
He felt something profound and mysterious, something impossible to put into words!
Every sufficiently experienced alchemist had gone through this.
By their accounts, at times like these, they could often refine pills that surpassed their usual standard.
Premium pills were often refined at such moments!
Excitement surged in Feng Bao's heart!
At that moment, he had an intensely strong premonition.
This time, he would successfully refine the Pigu Pill, and the finished pills would be of no low quality.
Riding that feeling, Feng Bao performed the pill-congealing technique.
Streams of Mystic Gestures struck the pill furnace.
Under the effects of the Mystic Gestures, the medicinal liquid divided into nine portions and wrapped itself into spheres.
Having reached this step, the refinement was basically ninety percent successful.
"It's in the bag!"
Feng Bao smiled faintly, waiting only to open the furnace and retrieve the pills!
The moment Wei Shangyi entered the Alchemy Room, he activated the earth fire.
But he did not begin refining pills immediately.
During the time since entering the Alchemy Room, he had calmed down.
After careful thought, he truly found a way to deal with it.
From his earlier conversation with Old Man Lin, he had learned that Old Man Lin relied on the activation time of the earth fire, then estimated the duration of the refinement to make the earth fire flare up and cause the refinement to fail.
Therefore, all he had to do was activate the earth fire first, wait until the time needed to refine one furnace of Pigu Pills had passed, and only then begin refining.
That way, he could avoid the earth fire's sudden flare-up.
And complete the Pigu Pill refinement without interference.
"Haha! I, Wei Shangyi, am a heaven-sent genius. Even at the end of the road, I can still find a path to life!"
As for Zhou Xun,
He had seen it clearly just now: Zhou Xun had entered Alchemy Room B-5.
The other Alchemy Room where the earth fire would flare up!
"Zhou Xun, Zhou Xun, it seems even Heaven does not want you to pass this assessment!" As he spoke, he let out a sinister laugh.
"Though the process has had some twists and turns and exceeded expectations, the result has ultimately returned to what I envisioned!" Wei Shangyi finally concluded.
Elsewhere, in Alchemy Room B-5.
As soon as Zhou Xun entered, he activated the earth fire and began refining Pigu Pills according to his usual process.
Other than the first time, when he had deliberately failed the refinement, in the dozens of refinements afterward, he had produced no fewer than ten finished pills every time.
Moreover, every pill had remained at standard quality.
With such skill, passing the assessment naturally held no suspense.
What Zhou Xun needed to consider was which grade to keep the Pigu Pills at.
They had to avoid drawing attention while also ensuring that he passed the assessment smoothly.
After all, one careless slip and he might end up taking first place.
That was not the result Zhou Xun wanted.
Others worried over how to refine well; Zhou Xun worried over how to refine poorly.
Elsewhere, that manager, Old Man Lin Hongjiu,
Had taken out the control token for the earth-fire array from the moment the assessment began.
He stared fixedly at those three Alchemy Rooms.
He was truly dedicated to his work.
He had made up his mind to make the Wei Brothers feel that they had gotten more than their money's worth.
After all, he did not often see orders worth thirty spirit stones in his lifetime.
They were major clients.
Just as he was beginning to grow impatient from waiting, more than a dozen fiery red dots suddenly lit up on the light screen projected by the token.
"It's begun!"
The old man's spirits lifted, and he hurriedly looked toward the three Alchemy Rooms.
Sure enough, they had begun as well!
The Elder silently calculated the time in his heart.
After about half an hour had passed, his heart stirred.
"It's time!"
He immediately sent out a Mystic Gesture!
At the same time, the earth fire in Alchemy Room B-8 among the three suddenly surged!
The pill that was on the verge of being successfully refined was jolted by the suddenly raging flames, instantly cracking apart before releasing a cloud of black smoke.
After that came a burst of furious cursing.
The Elder smiled faintly and sent out another Mystic Gesture.
The earth fire in Alchemy Room B-5 likewise surged.
A cry of astonishment also came from Alchemy Room B-5.
The Elder's smile deepened. At this point, only the last room remained. Once it was done, he could leave with effortless grace, hiding both his person and his name in the depths.
"Third Uncle, Third Uncle!"
Just as he was about to make his move, a knock and call suddenly came from outside.
The Elder's expression changed. With a sweep of his hand, he immediately stored the token in his Storage Pouch.
After straightening his appearance, he opened the door with an unchanged expression.
"Worthy Nephew Ruochang, why have you come?"
Nearly half an hour later, Lin Ruochang left, and the Elder closed the door again.
He hurriedly took out the token and opened the light screen to inspect it.
By then, the earth fires in most of the Alchemy Rooms had already been extinguished.
"Fortunately, fortunately, the earth fire in B-17 is still burning!"
"If I control the earth fire to flare up now, it will still count as fulfilling my promise. As for whether it disrupts the refinement, that is none of my concern!" The Elder's heart stirred.
Without the slightest hesitation, he sent a Mystic Gesture toward the fiery light dot representing Alchemy Room B-17.
Feng Bao was brimming with confidence as he sent out his final Mystic Gesture, waiting only for the liquid to congeal and the pills to be collected.
At the final moment when the pills took shape, the earth fire beneath the pill furnace suddenly flared up.
A fierce blaze rose up, breaking the balance of the medicinal liquid that had been about to stabilize.
The nine pills that had condensed into their initial forms exploded at once, followed by a cloud of black smoke.
A faint burnt smell drifted over the pill furnace and spread through the entire Alchemy Room!
Feng Bao stared dumbfoundedly at everything before him.
"Why!"
"Why did the earth fire suddenly flare up out of control at the very instant the pills took shape, reducing the pills I painstakingly refined to ashes!"
Looking at the nine pitch-black clumps of powder inside the pill furnace, like lumps of charcoal,
Feng Bao wanted to cry, but no tears came.
This had been the closest he had ever come to success!
The same scene had also occurred in Alchemy Room B-5.
The difference was that Zhou Xun, who possessed divine sense, forcibly controlled the pill furnace and cut off the supply of firepower the instant the earth fire flared up.
Before you continue