Lu Ming's expression was solemn. He used his Primordial Qi to envelop the churning, boiling medicinal liquid in the Fire Lotus Pill Furnace, while simultaneously invading it with his Spirit Sense to suppress the surging medicinal power. Finally, the medicinal liquid shot out, as if drawing bright, sparkling rays of light in mid-air.
Ultimately, it fell into Zhou Fuling's emerald green alchemy furnace.
At this moment, Zhou Fuling immediately suppressed the shyness surging in her heart, and her pretty face became extremely serious. However, the faint blush that still lingered on her fair cheeks was like the sunset on a sacred snow mountain, adding to her captivating beauty.
Zhou Fuling unleashed her inner fire, catching the medicinal liquid that Lu Ming had thrown at her.
Twenty-four streams of Clear Qi danced like sprites, skillfully stabilizing the boiling medicinal power in the liquid. At the same time, their own Spirit Sense circulated and merged into the liquid, beginning the subsequent refining process.
Lu Ming's Primordial Qi and Spirit Sense remained in the medicinal liquid, calming the medicinal effects and assisting Zhou Fuling.
During this period, their Spirit Sense inevitably came into contact and clashed repeatedly.
Lu Ming didn't care about this. The collision of Spirit Sense was just like the bombardment of each other's Primordial Qi when fighting with a person. But Zhou Fuling seemed to be extremely sensitive to this. Every time they made contact, Lu Ming could feel that her Spirit Sense was like a frightened little white rabbit, trembling and dodging.
She completely lacked her usual arrogant and domineering senior sister aura.
Lu Ming found it amusing, so he would use his Spirit Sense to "crash" it whenever he had a spare moment.
But soon Zhou Fuling noticed, and immediately became extremely embarrassed and angry. She couldn't help but kick Lu Ming's shin, and at the same time, her voice trembled with shame and indignation. " Lu Ming! If you cause any more trouble, I'll burn all your medicine!"
Lu Ming gave an awkward smile and quickly apologized, "Senior Sister, calm down, I didn't mean to."
Zhou Fuling was so angry she wanted to bite her teeth, but this was not the time to teach this naughty junior brother a lesson. She could only calm herself down and focus all her Clear Qi on refining the medicinal power in the liquid to a peaceful state.
Then she began to refine the elixir using the " True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi ".
It must be said that Zhou Fuling's talent in Dao of Alchemy is quite outstanding. Her circulation of Clear Qi is more proficient than Lu Ming's. In addition, she had refined the Thunderclap Pill before, so she successfully passed the First Refinement in just a short while.
"Go, senior sister!" Lu Ming had nothing else to do but encourage her.
Zhou Fuling ignored him and became completely absorbed in alchemy. Stimulated by Lu Ming's Spirit Sense, she became more serious than ever before, reaching an extreme peak. Under her control, the Clear Qi gradually developed a Perfection and perfect quality.
"Huh?"
Lu Ming's perception was the clearest, since his Primordial Qi and Spirit Sense remained here, constantly in contact with Zhou Fuling's Spirit Sense.
In his perception, Zhou Fuling's inner fire seemed to have changed at this moment, and it even had a strange sense of sacredness.
Faintly, he seemed to hear a clear, long cry.
That comes from the bloodline.
At this moment, the Fire Lotus Mark on Lu Ming's Divine Ability Bone shone brightly.
This sudden turn of events startled Lu Ming. What was this inside Zhou Fuling's body that could elicit a reaction from the Fire Lotus Mark? And this reaction was a hundred times stronger than when he had seen the " Netherwater Flame " before.
At the same time, Zhou Xuan's eyes suddenly changed on the balcony. He looked sharply at Zhou Fuling, who was refining pills. Between her smooth eyebrows, golden flames were faintly visible. Deep within the flames, a golden phantom with flapping wings seemed to have appeared.
However, this change quickly disappeared and vanished.
"This..."
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, then a look of shock and ecstasy appeared in his eyes, which he quickly suppressed.
In that split second, Zhou Fuling's alchemy speed suddenly increased, and the Second Refinement and Third Refinement were completed in almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
A rich, fragrant aroma immediately filled the air.
The expressions of the many alchemists present changed, especially Song Ren, whose face immediately turned ugly. This was because such a fragrance indicated that the pill had already taken shape, and once formed, its quality would reach the same level as theirs, that of a mid-grade pill.
"Senior sister is amazing!"
Lu Ming also noticed this and immediately exclaimed with delight.
" Lu Ming, shall we continue?" Zhou Fuling asked at this moment.
Lu Ming was taken aback and said, "Senior Sister, what do you mean? The Third Refinement is already complete, how can you continue?"
"I feel we can try the Fourth Refinement, because you might not be able to obtain the Netherwater Flame from the mid-grade Thunderclap Pill," Zhou Fuling said slowly.
Lu Ming fell silent. He understood Zhou Fuling's meaning. Releasing the pill now would stabilize the Thunderclap Pill at a mid-grade quality, just like Song Ren and the others. However, this was not a sure thing.
Since everyone is at the mid-grade level, who will ultimately win? And who should receive the Netherwater Flame?
Given the previous leaks of exam questions by the Dao of Alchemy masters of these Alchemist Association, Lu Ming dared not gamble on their impartiality. They could easily find some excuse to exclude him.
This isn't just a possibility, it's highly probable.
Therefore, if he wanted to prevent these Dao of Alchemy masters from engaging in underhanded dealings, he had to achieve a crushing victory in this alchemy process; otherwise, he still wouldn't be able to obtain the Netherwater Flame.
"If Senior Sister wants to try, then Junior Brother is naturally willing to accompany her." Lu Ming took a deep breath and said decisively.
"Oh? I'm not absolutely sure, though. If you fail, it won't do you any good if you come crying to me," Zhou Fuling teased.
"It's just a low-level Spirit Fire, far less than a fraction of Senior Sister's kindness in helping me," Lu Ming said casually.
Zhou Fuling was stunned for a moment, her face slightly flushed as she lightly spat out a word, but the joyful smile in her eyes showed that she was very receptive to Lu Ming's charm. Then, without further hesitation, she moved her mind, and five more streams of Clear Qi emerged from her alchemy furnace.
Adding to the previous twenty-four, there are now a total of twenty-nine!
Lu Ming was somewhat astonished upon seeing this and asked, "Senior Sister, where did those five streams of Clear Qi come from?"
"I don't know, it just suddenly appeared. I guess it's because of the Bloodline Divine Ability power," Zhou Fuling replied.
Bloodline Divine Ability? What are those? That's beyond my comprehension.
Lu Ming was speechless. Well, he almost forgot. This person came from a top-tier family of supernatural powers in the " Great Shang Imperial Domain," which was probably one of the most powerful and ancient forces in the entire Great Shang Kingdom. Their foundation was beyond his imagination. How could he look at them with ordinary eyes?
Zhou Fuling channeled twenty-nine streams of Clear Qi, which roared out once more to refine the Thunderclap Pill that was about to take shape.
To truly proceed to the Fourth Refinement the True Explanation of Six Refinements of Clear Qi, one needs to reach thirty strands of Pure Clear Qi. Although Zhou Fuling is still a little short, fortunately, the medicinal power of this pill-refining session is abundant, and her foundation is excellent. Therefore, if all goes smoothly, she can still upgrade the quality of the Thunderclap Pill by one level.
At this moment, all the alchemists understood Zhou Fuling's plan and immediately showed surprise.
Song Ren and Su Tao became extremely nervous, because they knew that if Zhou Fuling succeeded, then the Netherwater Flame would probably be out of their reach.
So all they could do at that moment was pray that Zhou Fuling would fail!
On the balcony, the Divine Ability Master from the Fengyang Prefecture Alchemist Association looked at each other in bewilderment. Ye Changfeng and Su Wan, in particular, frowned slightly, clearly as this turn of events had exceeded their expectations.
Zhou Xuan stepped forward at this moment, a smile on his face, but a warning in his eyes, clearly reminding these Dao of Alchemy masters not to try to cause trouble.
Throughout the entire hall, everyone's gaze was focused on the alchemy furnace in front of Zhou Fuling.
As time went by, glistening beads of sweat slid down Zhou Fuling's pretty cheeks, which had a perfect jawline. It was her first time undergoing the Fourth Refinement, so she naturally felt exhausted. However, she understood the importance of this success for Lu Ming, so she gritted her teeth and dared not relax even a little.
And so, another incense stick's worth of time passed.
Suddenly, a faint rumbling sound came from the emerald green alchemy furnace.
Everyone's heart seemed to skip a beat.
All eyes turned to the alchemy furnace.
Amidst the rising flames, thunderous sounds echoed as an exceptionally brilliant and perfectly round pill spun rapidly within the flames, releasing extremely pure and potent medicinal energy.
Zhou Fuling stretched out her jade-like hand, and the silver pill flowing with lightning shot out and landed in her palm.
Holding the pill, she took a few breaths, her chest heaving, before handing it to Lu Ming, who stood beside her, his face full of amazement. The girl smiled sweetly, a hint of pride and satisfaction in her voice, and said, "Junior brother, I have not failed you."