Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

On the Alchemy Platform, Ling Fei and Xu Zitao both began to refine two portions of medicinal ingredients.

If they were refining ordinary pills, forget two in one furnace—they could easily refine nine.

But refining Spirit Pills was different.

First, one had to gather the Medicinal Qi for two pills and ensure it was distributed evenly so that both would have identical effects.

Second was the matter of imprinting two Mystical Technique Patterns.

Imprinting even a single Mystical Technique Pattern was extremely difficult. One could only imagine the difficulty of imprinting two.

Ling Fei, however, was quite confident. ’My Soul Power is continuously growing stronger. I have a real chance of refining two Second Grade Spirit Pills.’

Although he was only in the Celestial Pill Realm, he had spent the last few months absorbing the True Dragon Essence Blood sealed within his mind, making his Soul Power incomparably strong.

Sinking his Heart Spirit into the Pill Furnace, Ling Fei began the alchemy.

Beside him, Xu Zitao also sank his Heart Spirit into his Pill Furnace.

However, he clearly lacked the same sense of ease.

’Even though I practice the ancestral Nine Revolutions God Refining Technique, I still haven’t reached the Nascent Soul Realm. With my current power, I could refine two First Grade Spirit Pills in one go, but two Second Grade Spirit Pills will be difficult. However, my control over the Mystical of Martial Arts is extremely strong. As long as I focus, I still have a sixty percent chance of success. As for this Ling Fei... even if his soul is powerful, it can’t be stronger than mine.’

’Besides, I have the advantage when it comes to Mysticals.’ Xu Zitao’s gaze sharpened, and he began to concentrate on his alchemy.

He was supremely confident in himself.

He refused to believe that anyone in this insignificant Southern Wilderness could compete with him.

Even though the Alchemy Dao wasn’t his specialty, he was more than capable of crushing this country bumpkin.

...

Time passed quietly as the disciples from the twenty-one sects stared intently at the two young men on the Alchemy Platform.

On the platform, a glint appeared in Ling Fei’s eyes. ’The Medicinal Qi and Pill Patterns are successfully imprinted. Next is to condense the Mystical of Martial Arts.’

The pills in his furnace were now formed, having reached the final stage: imprinting the Mystical Technique Pattern of Martial Arts inside them.

A glint flashed in Ling Fei’s eyes. ’I’ll imprint two at once. But which two should I use?’

He could imprint two identical Mystical Technique Patterns.

At the same time, he could also imprint two different ones.

However, imprinting identical Mystical Technique Patterns was clearly less difficult than imprinting two different ones.

’I’ll imprint two different ones!’ Ling Fei’s Heart Spirit stirred, and he made his decision.

This was an experiment, and a gamble.

It demanded an extremely high degree of Soul Control Power.

One needed to have precise control over two different Mysticals of Martial Arts.

’When the heart wills it, the Mystical moves!’ At Ling Fei’s thought, the Celestial River Mystical Technique Patterns spread out before being condensed by him.

In addition, he also summoned the Mystical of Meteor.

The two Mystical Technique Patterns moved toward their respective pills, ready for imprinting.

WHOOSH!

The Mystical Technique Patterns settled into place, the entire process appearing effortless.

Before long, the patterns had fused with the pills, becoming one with them.

Finally, guided by his Heart Spirit, Ling Fei condensed all the remaining Medicinal Qi inside the Pill Furnace and infused it into the pills.

And with that, this batch of pills was successfully refined.

Meanwhile, the nearby Xu Zitao had also reached the final stage of his refinement.

’My sword is like the Beiming Sword Sea.’ Xu Zitao’s Mystical Technique Pattern condensed, surging toward the two pills like a vast ocean to imprint upon them.

However, the Mystical Technique Pattern writhed, sending a ripple through the furnace and causing his soul to feel strained.

One of the patterns even seemed about to break free from his control and dissipate entirely.

This was a sign of insufficient Soul Power.

After all, he had not yet reached the Nascent Soul Realm.

In fact, for anyone below the Nascent Soul Realm, achieving the feat of Multiple Pills in One Furnace while refining Second Grade Spirit Pills was exceedingly difficult.

’Imprint!’ But Xu Zitao was no ordinary person. He exerted all his might and forcefully succeeded in imprinting the Mystical Technique Patterns onto the pills.

The moment they were imprinted, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

HUMMM!

But, in that moment of relaxation, the Mystical Technique Pattern on one of the pills failed to form completely, leaving a minute gap.

It was a tiny gap, almost impossible to spot with the naked eye.

Though small, the gap rendered the Mystical Pill Pattern flawed.

’A slight mistake?’ Xu Zitao’s brow furrowed. He then glanced at the other pill.

’Thankfully, this one is fine.’ Seeing this, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Thus, his attempt at refining two pills in one furnace was, just barely, a success.

’He’s finished already?’ As Xu Zitao withdrew his Heart Spirit from his Pill Furnace, he saw the perfectly composed Ling Fei.

His brow furrowed at the sight.

"Are they both finished!?" Everyone in the crowd below the platform looked on with anticipation.

"I wonder who was successful?" Even Vice Sect Leader Jiang had a look of anticipation.

All eyes fell upon the two of them, waiting for the results to be revealed.

"Pill Master Ling, you have to succeed!" Fang Yuan was visibly nervous.

Shangguan Wan’Er’s heart was pounding so hard she felt it would leap out of her throat.

She knew how much was at stake. If Ling Fei lost, both he and the Lingyun Sect would be in a terrible position.

Even Sect Leader Yuan’s eyes flickered, betraying his nervousness.

The Elders of the Lingyun Sect could hardly remain calm.

Master Xuan Ji, Valley Master Wan...

Countless gazes fell upon Ling Fei.

Everyone was waiting for him to reveal the answer.

CLANG!

On the Alchemy Platform, despite all the stares, Ling Fei appeared perfectly calm. With a wave of his palm, the furnace lid flew open.

Then, two pills flew out, guided by his power.

Xu Zitao did not make a move, his eyes fixed on Ling Fei.

He was clearly nervous, desperate to see whether Ling Fei’s pills were successfully refined.

The pills Ling Fei took out were brown, each one wreathed in two Pill Patterns.

Upon seeing the two pills, the nearby Vice Sect Leader Jiang’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Two of them, and both have two Pill Patterns... Those are two Second Grade Spirit Pills!" he gasped.

"What! He actually managed to refine them!"

"Holy crap, how is Ling Fei so incredible? Isn’t he only in the Celestial Pill Realm? How can he have such powerful Control Power?" An uproar immediately erupted from the crowd.

"The kid has some skill." Beiming Huahai’s expression darkened, and his gaze finally landed on Xu Zitao.

"Haha, it seems this Ling Fei is quite capable indeed!" Master Xuan Ji laughed heartily, his hands clasped together.

"To reach this level at his age... he is truly worthy of being the successor chosen by the Pill King." Sect Leader Wan’s face broke into a smile, the solemn expression she’d worn before finally vanishing.

"I wonder how Young Master Xu fared?" The Sect Leader of Thousand Lakes Mountain frowned and immediately looked toward Xu Zitao.

In that instant, nearly every eye in the place fell upon Xu Zitao.

’That brat actually succeeded.’ Seeing this, Xu Zitao frowned, then gritted his teeth and took out the pills he had refined.

Each pill was also encircled by two Pill Patterns.

"Two pills... He succeeded too?" The crowd below looked on in astonishment.

"He succeeded!" Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun and the others were also incomparably shocked.

No one had expected this result.

Did this mean the two of them would have to compete again?

"Haha, would the Pill Masters please come forward to inspect the elixirs," Vice Sect Leader Jiang said with a smile.

Even though both of them seemed to have succeeded, they still had to go through the proper procedure.

They couldn’t just declare a result without a proper inspection.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The words had barely left his mouth when the Alchemy Masters from the various sects flew onto the Alchemy Platform.

Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun stepped forward personally, visibly excited himself.

"Perfect elixirs!"

"Two elixirs, suffused with two different Mysticals." First, the crowd inspected Ling Fei’s elixirs.

"These are perfect Second Grade Spirit Pills!" Afterward, the representatives from every sect gave them the highest praise.

Then, the group moved on to inspect Xu Zitao’s elixirs.

"Not bad, not bad at all!" An Alchemist nodded repeatedly after taking his elixirs.

"Are they about the same?" The Cultivators in the crowd were dying from the suspense.

They had seen countless alchemy competitions.

But they had never seen two people so evenly matched.

"Huh? This elixir seems to have a flaw!" Soon, someone discovered the imperfection in one of Xu Zitao’s elixirs.

These inspectors were using their Heart Spirits to sense the elixirs.

This was because they also had to sense the aura of the Mystical on the Pill Patterns.

"Let me see." At once, everyone scrambled to inspect it.

"What a pity. It was just shy of being a success," the Alchemist from the Beiming Sword Sect sighed.

Although they weren’t official judges, they still had to examine their own sect’s elixir to ensure it wasn’t misjudged.

Thousand Lakes Mountain, Wind Watching Cliff, and Dongze Sect all sent their Alchemists to take a look.

In the end, all of them shook their heads.

"He failed?" Seeing this, the people from the three sects all frowned.

Even Beiming Huahai’s face was extremely grim.

He had thought that Xu Zitao would be more than enough to crush Ling Fei and vent their sect’s frustrations, but he had never expected this result.

"In this competition, Ling Fei successfully refined two Second Grade Spirit Pills. Xu Zitao successfully refined one, but the other has a slight flaw. Therefore, Ling Fei is the winner." Vice Sect Leader Jiang quickly announced the result.

"Ling Fei! Ling Fei!" When the news was announced, the entire venue erupted in an uproar.

"I knew Pill Master Ling would win! Hmph, that so-called Zitao is nothing but a posturing clown," Fang Yuan said smugly, curling her lip.

’He won?’ The heart that had been caught in Shangguan Wan’Er’s throat finally settled.

"Pill Master Ling is incredible!" the people of the Lingyun Sect cheered excitedly.

"He’s incredible!" Yuan Chong’s eyes were wide as saucers. "It’s only been a year since he joined the sect, and he can already refine two Second Grade Spirit Pills in one go."

"That guy... he didn’t even tell me beforehand." Amid his excitement, Yuan Chong couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

And to think he had been foolishly asking Ling Fei if he had even succeeded in refining Spirit Pills before.

Meanwhile, this guy was refining Second Grade Spirit Pills with ease!

’Still, this is a pretty great surprise.’ He looked overjoyed, casting aside all the frustration from his own failure.

"We’ve won, at last." Yuan Huaitian also let out a sigh of relief.

Then, he glanced toward Master Xuan Ji and Sect Leader Wan.

The two smiled back, sharing a look of mutual understanding.

Now, all of them could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Ling Fei’s victory proved, at the very least, that their previous decision in the Falling Star Mountain Range had been wise after all!

However, while everyone from the Lingyun Sect was ecstatic, Lian Shuang remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

It was as if this victory held no meaning for her.