" The Fire Lotus Mark reacted to this Spirit Fire. It seems that this kind of Spirit Fire is indeed very compatible with the Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus!"
Lu Ming sensed the subtle fluctuations emanating from the Fire Lotus Mark, and a surge of joy welled up in his heart. At the very least, his " Golden Plasma Fire " could not cause the Fire Lotus Mark to fluctuate in the slightest.
"Hehe, this ' Netherwater Flame ' was collected by me a year ago from the depths of a large lake. It took some effort at the time, but low-level Spirit Fire isn't very effective for refining high-level pills, so I decided to release it to see if any of the young alchemists in my Fengyang Prefecture are suitable for it. This is quite an opportunity for these young alchemists." Pang Qingsong said with a smile, looking at those burning gazes.
"President Pang is very righteous."
Many young alchemists present praised Pang Qingsong's actions, saying that they were indeed a form of support for the local young alchemists. After all, if he had handed over this low-grade Spirit Fire to some trade fair, his final gains would definitely have been much greater than they had now.
Even Lu Ming echoed the praise, saying that if Pang Qingsong hadn't brought out this " Netherwater Flame," he wouldn't know where to find a Spirit Fire.
Such a noble act deserves high praise; the only slight Perfection is that he wasn't given the prize directly.
"President Pang, what is the competition method for ' Netherwater Flame '?" a young alchemist asked impatiently.
"We are the Alchemist Association, so the competition will naturally be based on alchemy. Alchemists who meet the competition requirements will have a formula for a mid-grade pill announced to me later. I will also give each alchemist three sets of corresponding medicinal materials. As long as you can refine the pill according to the formula, you will be considered successful. The final winner will be determined by the quality of the pill," Pang Qingsong said casually.
This approach clearly did not surprise many alchemists, and they were all eager to try it out.
Zhou Xuan then looked at Lu Ming and asked, "How many strands of Clear Qi have you cultivated using your ' True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi '?"
"Twenty-one," Lu Ming replied.
Although he was busy during this period, he did not neglect his cultivation of Dao of Alchemy skills. With the help of the special ability of the " Fire Lotus Mark ", his progress in Dao of Alchemy skills was quite rapid. After all, the condensation of Clear Qi is also related to the success rate and grade of alchemy.
At the moment of pill formation, the Primordial Qi and the Pill Qi merge, which enables the birth of Clear Qi.
Lu Ming relied on the Fire Lotus Pill Furnace's automatic fusion of medicinal power—a super cheating method—to achieve a remarkably high pill-forming rate. If it weren't for the final pill-forming stage, which required him to manually work, he felt the success rate would reach an astonishing level.
Therefore, every time Lu Ming failed in alchemy, he felt ashamed, as if he was dragging down the Fire Lotus Pill Furnace.
"Tsk, you're progressing so fast, you're almost catching up with me." Zhou Fuling exclaimed in amazement, her beautiful eyes sparkling. She had also been diligently cultivating the " True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi " during this time, and her improvement was also significant. She had now condensed twenty-four strands of Clear Qi.
It's important to know that she achieved this after more than a year of cultivation, while Lu Ming has only been practicing the " True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi " for less than half a year.
Therefore, given Lu Ming's speed, he will likely surpass her in the " True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi " very soon.
"You are indeed a prodigy in Dao of Alchemy." Even Zhou Xuan nodded, quite agreeing with Lu Ming's talent in Dao of Alchemy.
Lu Ming felt a little guilty. If it were supernatural cultivation, he could still rely on his Sub-Heaven-Grade Divine Ability Bone to admit that he was a prodigy of supernatural abilities. But this alchemy... If it weren't for the " Fire Lotus Pill Furnace " perfectly fusing the medicinal power, he would probably be burning incense with gratitude if he could cultivate ten strands of Clear Qi.
In alchemy, Lu Ming truly relied entirely on his connections to get ahead.
The extraordinary ability of the Fire Lotus Pill Furnace to automatically fuse medicinal power greatly increased Lu Ming's pill-forming rate.
"Twenty-one strands of Clear Qi are enough to barely refine the ' True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi ' into Third Refinement, which is enough to refine a mid-grade pill. However, we don't yet know which pill Chairman Pang will have you refine. If it's one you've never encountered before and is quite difficult, you might not be the final winner."
Zhou Xuan glanced at Ye Changfeng and the other local Dao of Alchemy masters from Fengyang Prefecture, and said in a low voice, "I suspect they probably knew in advance what pills they were going to refine, so they had their disciples practice beforehand."
Zhou Fuling frowned slightly and couldn't help but say, "Isn't that leaking the exam questions? That's not fair."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "It's not really unfair. This Netherwater Flame was originally an opportunity left by Pang Qingsong for these young alchemists in Fengyang Prefecture. It's only natural that he would give them some hints."
Lu Ming sighed helplessly. Why didn't they include him in this? He was a local alchemist too. Wasn't Qingyuan Market considered part of Fengyang Prefecture?
It's outrageous! I really want to expose their shady dealings.
However, Lu Ming knew that doing so would only isolate him from the alchemist community of Fengyang Prefecture and would have no other effect. In fact, he might even be stripped of his qualification to compete for the Netherwater Flame.
" Lu Ming, your talent in alchemy is mainly concentrated in the fusion of medicinal power. You have an unimaginably keen perception in this area. However, your pill-forming technique is quite rough, far inferior to that of Fuling. This will affect the quality and success rate of your pills. In a sense, it is your weakness in alchemy," Zhou Xuan said thoughtfully.
Lu Ming felt somewhat embarrassed. The fusion of medicinal power was done by the Fire Lotus Mark, but the formation of the pill was entirely under his control... He felt like he was being scolded.
"It's already very good. The fusion of medicinal power is a crucial step. This innate talent is something that many alchemists strive for but cannot obtain. Fourth Uncle, you are being too demanding. If Lu Ming still had such talent in the pill-forming stage, how could it be your turn to teach him? Even those Grandmaster of Dao of Alchemy would probably be tempted by him," Zhou Fuling said with a smile, trying to comfort him.
Zhou Xuan rolled his eyes at his niece, annoyed. "How dare you talk to your fourth uncle like that? I was just giving this kid a little nudge, look how anxious you are. Is this really just an investor's mentality?"
He shook his head, ignoring his niece, and continued, "If the pill being tested is one you are good at, then you can make up for some of the shortcomings in your pill-making technique with your proficiency. But if it's a pill formula you haven't encountered before, then you probably won't be able to make the pill, or even if you do, the quality of the pill might not be as good as those pill masters who are prepared."
Lu Ming's expression also became serious. He knew that Zhou Xuan's words were true. Among the steps of alchemy, he did not need to worry about the step of fusing medicinal power. However, if it was an unfamiliar pill, he would encounter some problems in the pill-forming step due to insufficient proficiency at the beginning, which would affect the quality of the pill.
In normal times when refining pills, such problems wouldn't matter much. A few successes and failures would only result in the loss of some medicinal materials, which he could gradually make up for as his proficiency increased.
But now the competition is for the " Netherwater Flame," and three portions of medicinal herbs mean three chances to try and fail.
If he cannot refine high-quality pills before exhausting these medicinal herbs, then he will probably miss out on the " Netherwater Flame ".
But Lu Ming had put in so much hope and effort for this Spirit Fire, how could he bear to watch it fall into the hands of others?
"It's all these guys' fault. Why did they have to leak the exam questions? If everyone started on equal footing, I wouldn't have to worry about this." Lu Ming was a little annoyed and cursed inwardly.
"So, Fourth Uncle, if you have a plan, just tell me! Why are you keeping me in suspense?" Zhou Fuling complained, noticing Lu Ming's ever-changing expression and then looking at the composed Zhou Xuan.
Lu Ming was immediately pleasantly surprised; it seemed Zhou Xuan had a backup plan?
Zhou Xuan was already used to his niece siding with outsiders, so he curled his lip and said, "There is indeed a method we can try."
"What method?" Lu Ming asked in surprise.
Zhou Xuan smiled and casually uttered two words.
"Combined Refinement."