Chapter 94

"Everyone has seen, if you want to witness the pinnacle of alchemy, don't miss this opportunity. Opportunities like this are rare and once lost, they won't come again."

Wang Buyi gritted his teeth and said resentfully, "Fine, double the bet! But I must say this beforehand, if his performance is not satisfactory, I won't recognize this deal."

Mei Jiangxue glanced at Bai Chen, "Bai Chen, did you hear that? If you dare to delay our business, I will tear you apart!"

Bai Chen suddenly raised his hands, and a fiery red flame burned in his palms.

"Palm Fire!" Dongfang Qing's eyes lit up.

She knew that in alchemy, there was a profound technique where one could release flames without external assistance, using only their own cultivation.

The flames released by different cultivation methods were not the same.

However, one thing was certain: this type of Palm Fire was far superior to ordinary flames.

Ordinary flames only had the function of heating and catalyzing, while flames generated by inner strength possessed more spiritual qualities and higher temperatures, and were naturally more difficult to control.

"I am willing to offer two million taels of silver to witness Brother Bai's skills."

The fattest of the Four Heroes, Huang Jincai, should not be misled by his stout waist. He possessed not only this excess flesh and the identity of the young master of the Gold Gate, but his martial arts were absolutely no weaker than any of the Three Heroes and Four Heroes.

Of course, what truly made him famous in the martial world was his generosity in spending large sums of money. He also adhered to the principle of the Gold Gate, which was never to do a losing business, making him a true businessman.

Among the Three Heroes and Four Heroes, only Gao Fei remained. He was the outstanding disciple of the Beggar Sect's leader.

He looked at everyone with a bitter smile. Although he did not dress like a beggar, his financial situation was certainly not generous.

If the other Four Heroes had not spoken, it would have been fine, but now that only he was left, he had neither money nor connections.

Mei Jiangxue looked at Gao Fei teasingly, "Aren't you going?"

"Senior, you are joking. I am not as generous as these brothers, so I will just drink some free wine below and not disturb your refined interests."

"Brother Gao, if you need it, I am willing to help you with all my resources to secure a spot for you." Huang Jincai said boldly.

For Huang Jincai, two million taels of silver was nothing. Making Gao Fei owe him a favor and suppressing the head of the Four Heroes, who was known as the first among them, was absolutely worth it.

Moreover, he knew Gao Fei's character too well; he would never accept the two million taels.

"Brother Huang, I appreciate your kindness, but I dare not accept this deal."

"I am also willing to spend two million taels to witness the grandmaster of alchemy."

At this moment, Lin Tian spoke up, his face full of pride. Originally, he had no interest in alchemy.

However, seeing that Gao Fei of the Three Heroes and Four Heroes did not have the chance to witness it, his enthusiasm flared up.

He believed that in terms of background and strength, he was no weaker than the Three Heroes and Four Heroes. He had always been frustrated by the lack of recognition from the martial world, and now that there was an opportunity, he naturally did not want to miss it.

However, Mei Jiangxue was quite unimpressed with Lin Tian, or rather, she did not buy into the White Emperor City behind him.

"Lin Xiaoye, don't get involved. Practice for a few more years with your current talent."

Mei Jiangxue's words were a blatant slap in the face, and Lin Tian's face turned red and green.

He gritted his teeth, wanting to retort, but thinking of Mei Jiangxue's ruthlessness, he suppressed his anger.

It was just that the Seven Stars and the White Emperor City had a rift, and it was unnecessary to take out her frustration on him, a junior.

Although Bai Chen had shown a bit of his skill, Dongfang Qing still had significant doubts about him.

Firstly, Bai Chen was too young. Even if he had started learning alchemy from the womb, it would be impossible for him to reach the level of a grandmaster, no matter how many materials he had to waste.

As for the others, they also had significant doubts about Bai Chen.

All the rumors about Bai Chen were too incredible and all came from Mei Jiangxue.

This made everyone suspect that this was a smokescreen deliberately released by Mei Jiangxue.

However, the truth would soon be revealed.

Dongfang Qing believed that no matter what means Bai Chen used, he could not escape her scrutiny.

Because the status of alchemists was revered, there were many frauds in the martial world.

These frauds had a common characteristic: they used certain means to pass off pre-prepared pills as freshly refined ones.

Dongfang Qing had exposed many such frauds on the spot and believed this time would be no different.

If Mei Jiangxue had introduced Bai Chen more reasonably, Dongfang Qing might have勉强 accepted it.

However, Mei Jiangxue claimed that Bai Chen was on par with the two venerables, or even surpassed them, which Dongfang Qing could not believe at all.

Bai Chen took out the Jade King Cauldron and the Fire Crystal. The Jade King Cauldron was much better than the previous Mo Heng, although it could not match the Medicine King Cauldron and the Poison King Cauldron of the two venerables.

The Fire Crystal could significantly reduce Bai Chen's inner strength consumption. In the past, the success rate of refining the Lingdong Treasure Pill was quite low, partly due to the cauldron and partly due to personal cultivation and the level of alchemy.

Now, both the level of alchemy and personal cultivation had made significant breakthroughs.

Especially after breaking through to the innate realm, Bai Chen no longer needed to deliberately restrain his inner strength. At least when refining the Lingdong Treasure Pill, there would not be much consumption.

Mei Jiangxue entered the room and ordered her disciples to fetch ten sets of materials.

"Senior, wasn't it agreed to refine only ten pills?"

"Does it make a difference to you whether it's five or ten? It's all in one batch anyway. Besides, we've collected admission fees, so we should make sure the young heroes get their money's worth, don't you think?"

Mei Jiangxue's cunning smile made Bai Chen grind his teeth in frustration, but he could not get angry.

Bai Chen had no choice but to put all the materials into the cauldron at once.

This action immediately gave Dongfang Qing a handle, and she said, "Do you really know how to refine pills? The process of refining the Lingdong Treasure Pill is very delicate. If you put all the materials into the cauldron at once, the medicinal properties will mix and turn into slag. This is a complete waste of materials, and with ten sets, I don't think it's worth continuing."

"Suit yourself." Bai Chen shrugged.

Although Mei Jiangxue had seen Bai Chen refine pills before, she also felt a bit unsure after hearing Dongfang Qing's words.

"Bai Chen, these materials are worth a million. Don't mess around."

"Senior, you've made enough to cover ten batches. Do you really need to be so careful?"

Bai Chen calmly responded to Mei Jiangxue's doubts and began to emit flames from his palms, enveloping the Fire Crystal.

The originally bright red Fire Crystal immediately emitted a scorching heat.

Dongfang Qing had not left. She thought Bai Chen was deliberately trying to drive her away to avoid being exposed by her keen eyes, so she chose to stay.

As soon as Bai Chen started refining, her opinions came again: "Is this really okay? Raising the temperature so high at the beginning, the medicinal properties need to be gradually catalyzed."

However, Bai Chen had no time to argue with Dongfang Qing and was fully focused.

Even though these steps were deeply ingrained in his mind, there could be no mistakes during the refining process.

"Hmm?" Dongfang Qing's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she detected the distinct aromas of different materials.

She was slightly surprised. Generally, when so many materials were refined in one cauldron, the medicinal properties and spiritual energy would mix, resulting in a single mixed aroma.

However, the multiple distinct aromas now indicated that the medicinal properties had not mixed but were well-separated.

"What technique is this?" Dongfang Qing's expression became somewhat strange.

Cheng Xianyi looked at Dongfang Qing and, seeing the doubt on her face, asked softly, "Miss Dongfang, have you noticed something unusual?"

"I once heard my father mention a lost alchemy technique that could refine mixed materials while keeping the medicinal properties and spiritual energy distinct. However, even my father only heard about it from his elders and never saw it himself, so I can't be sure." Dongfang Qing shook her head, dispelling her doubts.

This technique was an ancient legacy, long lost, and it was impossible for it to appear here.

Cheng Xianyi looked at Dongfang Qing with doubt and then turned to Bai Chen.

It had to be said that Bai Chen's alchemy process was one of the few she had seen that was as smooth and beautiful as flowing clouds.

The entire process was seamless and orderly, and she could only see this much.

However, from Dongfang Qing's perspective, it was a completely different story.

In Dongfang Qing's eyes, the control of the fire was perfect, as if following a precise schedule, clear and distinct.

Many times, Dongfang Qing sensed changes in the aromas and thought it was time to adjust the temperature, but Bai Chen had already completed the necessary steps.

Sometimes, she thought the aroma was too strong, and the next moment, it disappeared completely, with all the medicinal and spiritual properties being absorbed into the cauldron.

There were many techniques and steps she could not understand.

However, it had to be said that Bai Chen's entire process was absolutely perfect in her eyes.

Flawless! Dongfang Qing was not unwilling to argue, but she could not find any flaws.

Even the initial steps she thought were flaws turned out to be extraordinary and far more complex than she initially imagined.

Each step had strict requirements and was interconnected.

Many times, Dongfang Qing could not help but exclaim in her heart that alchemy could be done this way.

For example, at the beginning, multiple materials were put into the cauldron at once, but it was only now, when the aromas of two materials intertwined to form a crucial medicinal property of the Lingdong Treasure Pill, that she understood the reason.

At this moment, even if Dongfang Qing saw a step that did not conform to common sense, she dared not speak out.

She wanted to see if the subsequent steps would match the earlier ones.

Moreover, many times, she did not understand the purpose of these steps.

Many of the steps for refining the Lingdong Treasure Pill that Bai Chen did not use, and the steps he did use, were incomprehensible to Dongfang Qing.

This was like a complex program. The overall result was the same, but the programs written by two programmers might be different.

"Miss Dongfang, what do you think of his alchemy skills?"

Beside her, Huang Jincai shifted his plump body. He did not understand alchemy, but he had the basic ability to read people's expressions. His gaze was mostly on Dongfang Qing's face throughout.

He was not observing how beautiful Dongfang Qing was; he was trying to judge Bai Chen's value from the only person who could accurately assess it on the scene.

Dongfang Qing was very reluctant, as she noticed everyone's eyes on her.

After a long silence, she reluctantly said, "Deep and unfathomable... not inferior to the two venerables of the Ten Thousand Flower Valley." (To be continued.)