A faint medicinal fragrance began to spread from inside the cauldron as he continued to refine.
Rich.
Layered.
Complete.
Shock rippled through the hall.
Moments ago, they were certain it would explode.
Now—
It had succeeded.
At the front, the Deputy Pavilion Master's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but praise him in his heart.
'This technique…' 'This skill…' 'Good. Very good.'
Time passed.
The incense burned steadily.
Then—
"Click."
The essence condensed.
The fragrance deepened.
Lin Feng opened his eyes.
Done.
Then—
"Bang!"
He struck the furnace with great force, sending the lid flying.
A rich aroma spread instantly.
Inside—
Three pills floated in the air, perfectly formed.
A blood-red pill.
A pale-golden pill.
A light cyan pill.
Silence.
"Three… pills?"
"In one attempt?"
The elders were stunned.
"Look at the quality…"
"At least mid-grade…"
"No… high-grade…"
At the front, Elder Lu was speechless.
The Deputy Pavilion Master slowly smiled.
—
Ouyang Jun stood frozen.
His confidence shattered.
'Impossible…'
His fists trembled.
And yet—
Lin Feng didn't even look at him.
—
Calmly, Lin Feng picked up the pills and turned toward the elders.
His expression remained unchanged.
As if this—
Was nothing.
The incense still burned.
But the result—
Already felt decided.
…
Seeing the pills presented in a tray in front of him, the Deputy Pavilion Master almost couldn't help but praise him out loud. But remembering the other trialists were still refining, he reluctantly controlled himself and only nodded in acknowledgment.
"Okay. Since you're done, go rest on the side until everyone else is finished. Then we will begin to grade this round," the vice master said softly.
Lin Feng cupped his hands and bowed slightly, then walked toward the corner at the back of the hall. The deputy master's eyes lingered as he walked away, his thoughts unknown.
As Lin Feng rested his back against the wall, he felt a wave of ill intent wash over him from another direction. He didn't need to be told to know the aura belonged to Ouyang Jun, but Lin Feng wasn't interested in taking the bait, so he simply ignored him. Instead, he glanced at the other participants one after another.
Some were full of concentration. Some were visibly covered in sweat as they pushed their spiritual qi techniques to the highest level, trying to control the spirit fire as well as the materials in the furnace.
Others were in despair, as their cauldrons had exploded earlier and their materials were scrapped. Without a cauldron and with no time to get another batch of alchemy materials, as the incense stick was nearly running out, they could only watch helplessly.
He shook his head.
Suddenly, his eyes inadvertently landed on the old man he had met earlier in the queue. He immediately became interested and observed him.
But the more he watched, the more he worried, as the old man was clearly struggling due to the decline of vitality that comes with advanced age and low-level realm cultivation.
'If nothing changes, his materials will likely not be heated enough and will fail to condense into a pill due to the many remaining impurities,' he frowned deeply, weighing it.
'Heyya… forget it. For the sake of your previous good intentions, I'll help you this once.'
After thinking about it for a bit, he sighed and decided to help the old man out.
Lin Feng walked steadily toward him under the curious gazes of the elders and Ouyang Jun.
'What is he trying to do?' they all thought.
He arrived right beside the man.
The old man, who was completely immersed in the refinement, suddenly felt someone standing over him. He looked sideways, startled, and saw Lin Feng's face.
"Oh, little friend, it's you. Have you completed your pill assessment?" he asked after recovering his composure.
Lin Feng nodded faintly.
Seeing him nod, the man smiled, his gaze turning to admiration.
"Sure enough, my old eyes did not fail me. You are indeed a rare genius."
"Is there anything this little friend needs from this old man?"
"If there is anything, I'm afraid it would have to wait until I am finished," he said, returning his attention to his furnace, which was becoming increasingly restless.
"Old man, why are you still so obsessed after so many years?"
"Is making alchemy more important, or is your obsession more important?"
Instead of answering the old man's question, Lin Feng asked one of his own.
The old man was stunned by the question. So were the elders and the people watching. Only the Deputy Pavilion Master smiled and nodded.
Suddenly, the old man's eyes lit up.
"Yes… it seems you understand."
"So it's not too late to correct," Lin Feng said.
"Little friend, please enlighten this old man. I will be eternally grateful," the old man said, a hint of pleading in his voice.
"Don't worry, old sir. Since I'm here, I will naturally help you."
"Thank you, thank you, little friend."
"Alright, enough. Focus on the furnace," Lin Feng said sternly.
The man nodded, not minding his tone one bit.
"Your problem is that you keep using the standard seal."
The man listened attentively while continuing to feed the flames qi.
"Although there is nothing wrong with this method, for someone like you, it reduces the refinement success percentage."
"After all, apart from the other components, the final two hand signs are for spiritual qi circulation and yang circulation."
"The fire spiritual qi pours into the furnace as fuel, and the body's yang energy acts as the match to create an alchemy fire capable of melting materials."
"But for someone like you, whose vitality has declined, although there is enough to start the fire, there isn't enough to keep it burning. This leads to many impurities not being removed, causing the pill to be low quality or even fail at the refinement stage."
"Why not replace that final yang seal with a yin seal in the middle of the refinement process?"
"Although yin opposes yang, there are no absolutes in this world. Yin can also complement yang. What is most important is balance."
"So if you take the yin energy being expelled during the beginning as fuel for the yang qi poured in during the early stage, then in the middle and later process, you won't need to expend your already feeble yang qi."
"Although this will decrease the flame's area, it won't decrease its intensity—and may even increase it."
Hearing Lin Feng's explanation, it was like a layer of fog was removed from the old man's eyes. He became excited and quickly changed his hand seals. Sure enough, it was just as Lin Feng described—the previously large pill fire shrank to a small area, but the heat remained the same and even began to increase.
"What?!"
"How is that possible…?"
"How did he know that?"
"So magical!"
The elders were in an uproar, seeing such a method for the first time. They began to take note of everything.
Only the vice president remained composed, but his view of Lin Feng subtly changed.
"Oh my god, little friend, it is working! Hahaha!"
"When this old man succeeds, I will definitely be grateful to you!"
"There is no need to be dramatic. Just focus," Lin Feng said, dismissing him.
He walked back to his corner, closed his eyes, and began to rest.
Time quickly passed, and the incense stick burned lower and lower. From time to time, one could hear the explosion of a cauldron or smell the fragrance of a pill forming.
As the last of the stick was about to burn out, the final fragrance of a pill appeared, making everyone look over to see who had succeeded at the last moment.
The old man suddenly struck the cauldron with both hands, then withdrew them, stopped running his qi, opened the lid, and excitedly picked up the elixir inside, placing them on the tray.
The incense stick ran out.
A cold voice sounded.
"Alright, time's up. Those caught continuing will be punished according to association rules."
The remaining trialists collapsed in despair.
"Alright, elders, collect the pills and announce the results."