Long Chen didn't say anything more. He placed one hand on the Moon Molten Star Refining Furnace, the transparent flames swirling back and forth above the furnace.
"Huh?" Still need a heater? Using such a low-level alchemy technique—is he really an alchemy expert? For a moment, all the disciples looked strange.
The stove heater is the simplest and most basic alchemy technique, also known as the beginner's technique, but true experts don't need this step.
Because the alchemist and his own furnace are united in mind, when the master needs to refine pills, the furnace warms up and enters the alchemy state.
But at this moment, Long Chen was seriously performing the most basic movements, and the masterful demeanor he had just put on was once again being questioned by everyone.
Long Chen's movements were just standard, but nothing remarkable. He felt like a rigid, ordinary alchemist, with no sign of a true expert.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ye Qian's flames surged, his hands waving as his soul power erupted. On the alchemy furnace, the shadows of a dragon and a phoenix grew increasingly solid. As the flames shifted, they balanced hardness and softness, smooth and natural.
Sometimes the fierce flames turn into femininity, accomplished in an instant, making viewers' hearts race, but Ye Qian remains completely unaware. His calm and composed demeanor has won countless admirations.
Just this technique alone was something only Ye Qian could accomplish among the younger generation of alchemists present. The name of the number one genius was well deserved. Even though Wanqing somewhat looked down on Ye Qian, she still had to admit that his alchemy skills were truly flawless.
In Wanqing's understanding, among her peers, the only one who could surpass Ye Qian in alchemy was the Pill Fairy. She didn't know much about Long Chen, so she was full of concern.
Especially after Long Chen finished the stove, he began refining the medicinal powder. All the movements were standard, with no technical skill at all.
And the Moon Molten Star Refining Furnace remained lifeless and weak, making it impossible to look at it at all.
The sneers and disdainful voices from outside never ceased, but Long Chen still maintained a very serious expression as he refined the pills.
In their words, aside from his expression like a master, all other alchemy movements of Long Chen now matched the behavior of a rookie.
But no matter how much the outside world mocked him, Long Chen always maintained his sacred expression, a kind of meticulous focus.
"Long Chen has already lost. His Reverse Path Water Spirit Flame, although ranked first on the Earthfire List, seems he cannot fully control it. Many impurities in rare herbs have not been completely removed." An elder from the Divine Pill Hall shook his head and said.
With their experience, they could tell at a glance that some of the powders Long Chen refined contained traces of impurities.
For ordinary disciples, this was already impressive, but in their eyes, it still fell short.
Especially when facing opponents like Ye Qian, who possessed the Flame of Inheritance, even without a pill furnace, he could still refine rare medicines without a trace of impurity.
Long Chen had the aid of the pill furnace, yet some rare herbs still couldn't be fully refined, making it unclear whether Long Chen was incompetent or if the furnace was too badly injured.
What puzzled them most was that Long Chen seemed unaware that impurities still lingered among those rare medicines, and continued refining them with a serious expression.
"The Moon Melting Star Refining Furnace fell into his hands—what a squander of a precious gem." An elder said with a defiant expression, saying that the top of the ten ancient alchemy furnaces had fallen into the hands of such a rookie alchemist, which was truly tense.
"Actually, we ...," another elder's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but before he could finish, another elder nearby glared at him, and that elder quickly shut up.
They secretly glanced at the Pill Master, but he seemed not to hear them, his eyes fixed on Long Chen's movements, as if deep in thought.
Most of the audience's attention was focused on Ye Qian, because his movements were graceful and elegant, his flames ever-changing. Whether alchemists or martial cultivators, everyone could learn something from him.
In contrast, Long Chen's movements were stiff and rigid, nothing surprising. Almost ninety-nine percent of people didn't look at him, and even those who did did it to mock him.
Feng Fei also frowned at this moment. The maid beside her said, "Sir, why don't we go back? This kind of competition is entirely Ye Qian's performance. Here, it's a complete waste of our time." Feng
Fei hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Forget it, let's just keep watching. Since we're already here, I just feel that Long Chen isn't a good person. It's really strange that he jumps into such an obvious trap." "
That's true. This Long Chen is terrible. You asked me to investigate his history and found that along the way, he used shady tricks to kill countless people." The maid said with a smile.
Last time, in front of the Dragon Army on the Eighth Heaven, Long Chen gave Feng Fei no face and directly told her to leave. She was furious but couldn't vent it.
After going back, after much thought, he finally couldn't help but investigate Long Chen to find out who this guy really was.
The investigation shocked both her and her maids—Long Chen's growth story was nothing short of legendary.
However, throughout Long Chen's upbringing, he used many disgusting underhanded tricks. During the Xuantian Villa assessment, he pushed people into the river and even urinated on them.
Using tricks, he tricked a group of people, and in the end, he obtained the Disc Jade Royal Jelly himself.
Digging holes beneath the plaza to make the Dragonblood Legion get diarrhea, filling cesspits, luring someone with a cleanliness obsession into a cesspit, and so on—Long Chen had used countless underhanded tricks.
Last time, when the Third Legion was tricked, compared to Long Chen's past achievements, it wasn't anything remarkable.
So Long Chen had already been labeled as sinister by them. People like him couldn't just stand by and fall into a trap. So, even though it seemed boring, they still wanted to see the final outcome; otherwise, constantly thinking about it would be a problem.
Refining so many rare herbs into powders and liquids is a tedious and tedious task, and any mistake during this process would ruin all previous efforts.
Therefore, a pill cultivator's soul power must be strong; otherwise, if the soul power is insufficient, the person's spirit can easily slack. Once the spirit becomes lax, mistakes are not far off.
Time passed bit by bit. Refining hundreds of kinds of medicinal powders was a massive undertaking. Neither Ye Qian nor Long Chen relaxed for a moment.
But people gradually noticed something odd: although Ye Qian's movements were dazzling and graceful, with flames rising, he appeared extremely efficient.
Long Chen's movements were rigid, slow, and clumsy. Logically, Ye Qian's progress should have left Long Chen far behind.
But the two moved at exactly the same speed. Ye Qian refined as many rare herbs, and Long Chen refined as many. Although Ye Qian acted early, Long Chen's speed always matched his own.
The order in which the two refined was different, but their progress was almost identical. No matter how hard Ye Qian tried to use it, he could never shake Long Chen off.
At this point, people finally became a bit alert. They carefully observed Long Chen's movements, and someone sneered: "
To catch up on time, a lot of the powder hasn't been fully refined, and the colors are mixed and impure. Long Chen is just talking nonsense."
These disciples lacked the elders' insight, as their experience was limited. Only now did they notice Long Chen's situation.
As
a result, the disciples of the Divine Pill Hall despised them even more. To catch up and let the powder contain contamination, this person was hopelessly foolish, and the outcome was obvious.
Time flew by, and Long Chen's movements remained as stiff and clumsy as ever. Almost everyone stopped looking at him and focused on Ye Qian.
Just refining the powder took three days and nights, but Long Chen's progress was not slow at all. When Ye Qian finished refining, Long Chen had just finished as well.
Ye Qian snorted coldly, forming hand seals and slowly infusing the medicinal powder into the pill furnace. The power of the flames increased once again, and the figures of a dragon and a phoenix circled around him and the furnace. The scene grew even more astonishing.
Ye Qian moved, and so did Long Chen, slowly pouring the refined powder into the pill furnace.
"Actually... With my hands, I'll go. When
everyone watched Long Chen pour the rare medicines into the pill furnace, all the pill cultivators were nearly shocked.
Pouring medicinal powder into the pill furnace with his hand—this seems like an apprentice's technique, right? Even entry-level apprentices would have already used soul-drawn medicine to enter the furnace. What was Long Chen up to?
If Long Chen's clumsy movements before were understandable, then what does it mean to inject powder with his hand now? Deliberately humiliating the Divine Clan? Does this mean the divine race's alchemy skills haven't even started yet? For a moment, the disciples of the Divine Pill Hall were furious.
"Let's see how long he can keep being arrogant. When the results are announced, I wonder if he'll be able to smile again?" I looked forward to seeing him lie on the ground, barking like a dog, licking the bricks clean. A disciple from the Divine Pill Hall said through gritted teeth.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, Ye Qian's pill furnace roared loudly. Ye Qian had already closed the furnace, and in the void, dragons and phoenixes resounded together, shaking the entire world.
The endless energy between heaven and earth formed a massive vortex, wildly pouring into the pill furnace. The scene was terrifying. As soon as this phenomenon appeared, the disciples of the Divine Pill Hall couldn't help but feel their blood boil. The moment most anticipated by the alchemists was finally approaching.
"Long Chen actually merged the furnace too. When did he do it?" Someone was stunned, realizing that at some point, Long Chen had also completed the furnace fusion and entered the final step of pill refining.
"He's just a clown jumping around, who cares about him?" Someone sneered, all their attention focused on Ye Qian.
"All the power of the Heavenly Dao is concentrated on Senior Brother Ye Qian. Long Chen can't absorb even a trace, so there's no way he can form a pill. He really is a fraud." Someone said coldly.
Because although Long Chen had merged the pill furnace at this moment, there had been no abnormal phenomena erupting. It had been lukewarm. With Ye Qian present, he couldn't absorb the power of the Heavenly Dao, and the results of the competition were already out.
"Buzz!"
At that moment, the worn pill furnace in Long Chen's hand began to radiate slowly from its body, and the rust on his body was ignited. It was like an endless starry sky before everyone, and the overwhelming pressure made the heavens change color.
"What?"
For a moment, all the powerful figures present couldn't help but stand up, their eyes fixed intently on the Molten Moon Star Refining Furnace, their eyes filled with inexplicable shock.