After a brief chat, Wei Mingdang and Chen Shuangbai parted ways.
After waiting for a while, Fu Qianlan and He Qi returned one after the other.
He Qi found a short sword-like Law Artifact, which, although of low quality, was very beautiful, as well as a protective mirror-like Law Artifact, all of which cost him a lot of Merit Points.
Fu Qianlan, on the other hand, was holding a talisman, which she said was unique to the Heart-Eroding Stronghold and that she could use it too. She planned to take it back and study it.
After talking for a while, the three went their separate ways.
Once back inside the cave abode on Lesser Yang Peak, Chen Shuangbai took out the incense burner and examined it closely in the sunlight.
Feiguang was confined and not allowed to leave within three miles of Lesser Yang Peak. He could only stand on the outer pine tree, seemingly taking a nap.
The Gray Ball seemed to be asleep, lacking its usual liveliness.
Long ago, Chen Shuangbai had actually been considering one thing—
While Dao of Alchemy is indeed remarkable, with predecessors constantly innovating, unless one is born with a divine physique for alchemy and can refine any Pill Formula with just a glance, it is actually difficult to create a significant difference between oneself and other Alchemist.
After much deliberation, Chen Shuangbai felt that if given the opportunity, she could also innovate and try to see if she could incorporate other elements into the Dao of Alchemy.
Give it a try, it never hurts.
As it happened, Chen Shuangbai practiced the " Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method " and had considerable experience in extracting medicinal properties, so he thought of this Dao of Incense.
Incense can please the gods.
The "god" here refers not only to the god who is watching from above, but also to the cultivator's own god, that is, the soul, which is also referred to in some scriptures.
While in Wind Howling County, Chen Shuangbai had Zhuang Wen collect local incense recipes. He tried them out himself and discovered that even the ordinary incense he made had some outstanding features.
Chen Shuangbai took out a wooden box from his Storage Bag, opened it, and took out a gray incense ball. He placed it inside the incense burner, flicked his finger, and a red glow appeared from within.
Before long, wisps of milky white fragrance wafted from the burner, but it wasn't overpowering; instead, it had a faint herbal scent that was refreshing and quite pleasant.
Chen Shuangbai cultivated amidst this fragrance.
Five days later.
Chen Shuangbai's disciple's jade tablet emitted a faint glow, and upon probing with his spiritual sense, a voice came from within.
"Outer disciple Chen Shuangbai, arrives at Morning Dew Peak."
Chen Shuangbai knew that the Abyss Suppression Hall was summoning the disciples who had returned from guarding the area to reward them for their merits.
Chen Shuangbai composed himself, took a silver chain, tied the incense burner to his waist, extinguished the flames inside, and rode the Flowing Cloud Flying Pouch out of the cave abode, heading towards Morning Dew Peak.
Dozens of fellow disciples were already gathered on Morning Dew Peak.
Chen Shuangbai landed beside Fu Qianlan and He Qi, nodded as a greeting.
Looking around, Chen Shuangbai saw his fellow disciples, some looking dejected, others elated; in short, it was a diverse array of people.
This time, instead of someone who had just completed the Foundation Establishment, it was Steward Deacon Feng from the Abyss Suppression Hall, the same person Chen Shuangbai had previously reported on his duties, who came here.
He picked up a golden scroll and threw it into the air.
As it grew stronger in the wind, it instantly transformed into a massive screen of light, hovering in mid-air and radiating a soft yet majestic golden glow.
On the light screen, silver characters appeared one after another, which were the names of the disciples who had returned from guarding the area.
All the disciples' eyes were instantly drawn to it; they held their breath and looked up to see.
On this light screen, besides the disciples' names, there are also their corresponding guarded areas, ratings, and brief comments from the Abyss Suppression Hall.
" Liu Quan, Black Water Village, Class C."
Wang Fang, Green Leaf Town, Bingzhong Middle School.
" Li Hao, Red Iron Mine, Class C, Upper Level"
The disciples ranked lower mostly appeared calm or slightly disappointed, clearly having anticipated their rankings.
But as the light screen gradually scrolled upwards, revealing the disciples with the second-tier rating, the atmosphere became increasingly lively, with discussions and congratulations rising up.
Chen Shuangbai also stared intently.
Soon after, He Qi's name also appeared, with a rating of B.
Fu Qianlan performed quite well, perhaps because the occasional incidents of spirits harming people in White River Town made the assessment envoy more concerned about local security.
She got a lower grade, which puts her in fourth place.
The first three are...
" Lin Jingtao, Raging Waves City, Class A."
" Ji Ruohua, Flowing Fragrance City, Jiazhong."
The mention of these two names immediately sparked a louder discussion, and following the sounds of congratulations, one could see a man and a woman standing in two different directions of the crowd.
Lin Jingtao stood tall and straight like a pine tree, dressed in a light blue Dharma robe. He had a handsome face and sword-like eyebrows. At this moment, he stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by more than a dozen disciples.
Ji Ruohua stood quietly at the edge of the platform on the peak, wearing the uniform robes of the Jade Spring disciples. She was slender and gentle. In response to the congratulations from her fellow disciples, she humbly offered a few words of explanation.
Chen Shuangbai looked over and heard the whispers of her fellow disciples around her.
Lin Jingtao and Ji Ruohua are both descendants of lineages or subordinate cultivation Aristocratic Clan under the Jade Spring Sect. Due to their outstanding talents, they were sent to the sect at a young age and are considered prominent figures in the outer sect.
"Senior Brother Lin and Senior Sister Ji are both from Class A! This is going to be interesting. They're sure to be among the top three in the Martial Edge Trial!"
"Yes, they are all at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining, just one step away from the Great Perfection!"
"However... there's still one last name missing, could it be...?"
The crowd began to discuss amongst themselves, their gazes involuntarily drawn back to the very top of the list.
A has already been chosen, so the last position, could it be...?
"Above armor?!"
One disciple gasped slightly, somewhat incredulously, and said, "I asked the senior brothers and sisters from the previous and the year before that, and none of them have ever achieved a rank above the highest level for a town guardian. Could the sect have made a mistake?"
"Are you kidding me? Abyss Suppression Hall is known for its strict laws and regulations, don't be ridiculous."
Just as everyone was discussing this, the light screen finally rolled to the top, revealing the last person's name.
" Chen Shuangbai, Wind Howling County, First Class. Ranked first in merit for garrison defense!"
"Above!!!"
"Truly top-tier! Number one in achievements!"
" Chen Shuangbai? Who is Chen Shuangbai?"
"You didn't know because you returned to the mountain late, but those of us who returned earlier received the news much earlier."
The atmosphere exploded in that instant.
Although Chen Shuangbai's two old friends knew that his garrison rating was definitely among the top, they were still overjoyed and genuinely happy for Chen Shuangbai.
As the crowd discussed the matter, some of Chen Shuangbai's fellow disciples who were nearby recognized him and came forward to offer their congratulations.
Chen Shuangbai thanked them all, maintaining a humble demeanor throughout.
But then, more people discovered that Chen Shuangbai's cultivation level had actually reached the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.