Chapter 6

"Wait and see, you'll be eating shit!"

Lu Chen shot back a retort and then calmed down, focusing on refining the pill.

The nine steps of pill refinement: warming the furnace, selecting materials, refining, liquefying, merging, sealing the furnace, forming the pill, opening the furnace, and collecting the pill.

The first step, Lu Chen had already completed.

But for the second step, Lu Chen did not follow the strict procedure, which led to much ridicule.

Entering the furnace and refining are actually the same process, referring to the purification of each medicinal material individually, removing impurities, and then placing them.

This process involves refining each medicinal material one by one, which is very tedious and time-consuming.

Lu Chen, however, did the opposite, dumping all the materials into the furnace at once. It seemed to save time and effort, but how could the refining step be carried out?

Even a ninth-rank alchemist couldn't achieve this, let alone Lu Chen.

At this moment, in the eyes of Zhou Hong and other alchemists, Lu Chen was even worse than the lowest-level alchemy apprentice, simply blindly refining pills.

Lu Chen increased the alchemical fire to its maximum and continued refining, ignoring the disdainful gazes around him.

His alchemical knowledge contained the highest-level refining techniques, which these people could not understand.

After a quarter of an hour, the furnace lid began to tremble.

Lu Chen opened the furnace lid, and a strong medicinal scent spread, along with the impurities that had been refined.

Under the mocking gazes of the crowd, Lu Chen quickly sealed the furnace and proceeded to the next step.

Not long after, a faint sound of flowing water came from the furnace, indicating that the medicinal materials had successfully liquefied.

Another incense stick's time passed, and the furnace began to vibrate, the amplitude increasing, as if it were about to explode.

"Ha, is the furnace about to explode?"

"His control of the alchemical fire is poor; an explosion is normal."

"He doesn't even control the fire; it would be a miracle if it didn't explode."

Mocking voices rose one after another.

Lu Chen had reached the merging step, which required precise control of the fire. If the fire was not controlled well, it was easy for the furnace to explode. However, Lu Chen only increased the alchemical fire, seemingly unaware of how to control it.

Thus, no one around him had any faith in Lu Chen, all believing he was about to fail.

Especially Zhou Hong, who was smiling brightly, waiting for the moment when Lu Chen's furnace would explode.

"Seal the furnace!"

Lu Chen suddenly extended his left hand, pressing it firmly on the furnace lid.

Then, his soul power turned, spreading throughout the furnace, instantly suppressing the violent furnace.

Snap!

A crisp explosion sounded from the furnace.

"This is the sound of the pill forming!"

"I thought it was going to explode, but he actually managed to form the pill."

"Lu Chen didn't learn alchemy at the Alchemy Hall, did he? Where did he learn it from?"

Voices of disbelief rose one after another.

All the people around were stunned.

There are three thousand great paths, but only the path of alchemy is supreme.

The path of alchemy is difficult, and alchemists are rare, while alchemical pills are essential for martial artists.

Therefore, any alchemist is respected by martial artists.

If Lu Chen were an alchemist, his status in Twin Trees City would be high.

But at this moment, Zhou Hong's voice was neither warm nor cold.

"He made a mistake in the material selection step. One mistake leads to many more. Even if he forms a pill, what does it matter? Pills are divided into good and bad, and his will definitely be a bad one."

Everyone listened and all looked enlightened.

"Open the furnace, let's see if you've refined a pile of shit?"

Zhou Hong was extremely arrogant, mocking and taunting, eager to see Lu Chen humiliated in public and become a laughingstock in Twin Trees City.

"Open the furnace!"

Lu Chen casually reached out and directly opened the furnace.

Actually, opening the furnace and collecting the pill have specific techniques; otherwise, it would affect the quality of the pill.

However, since it was a low-level pill, Lu Chen didn't bother with such details.

As the furnace opened, a smell of burnt medicine spread.

Inside the furnace, there were no pills, only a pile of black waste.

"Failed!"

"Ha ha, indeed a pile of shit."

"What did you refine? If you don't know how to refine pills, don't brag. Is it fun to puff up your cheeks and pretend to be strong?"

Everyone shook their heads, their gazes filled with disdain for Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen, pretending to be an alchemist, offending the path of alchemy, is a grave sin!"

Zhou Hong coldly snorted and waved his hand. "Bring Lu Chen in, break his hands, and throw him out of the hall."

Although he didn't know where Lu Chen's cultivation came from, Zhou Hong felt that since Lu Chen had fallen into his hands, he shouldn't let him off easily. He wanted to cripple Lu Chen again, ensuring he would never have a chance to rise again and pose no threat to the Zhou family.

"Wait, who said I didn't form a pill?"

Lu Chen laughed and reached out, brushing aside the waste to reveal a full, yellow pill.

Instantly, the entire alchemy hall fell silent.

Everyone's eyes widened, feeling embarrassed.

No one expected that among the waste, there was a formed pill.

Moreover, the quality was not bad; it was a mid-grade Body Refinement Pill.

"Zhou Alchemist, come, come, come, you can inspect this pill to see if it's real."

Lu Chen pointed at Zhou Hong and then at the pill in the furnace, smiling.

"No need, the pill is real."

Zhou Hong's face turned red, and he quickly shook his head.

Joking, even the customers could see it was a real pill; how could he not see it?

If he, a high-rank alchemist, had to inspect it, would he have any face left?

"Then, the Awakening Dragon Grass?"

Lu Chen asked.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, how could Zhou Hong go back on his word?

Zhou Hong immediately ordered someone to bring an Awakening Dragon Grass and hand it to Lu Chen.

"You can leave."

Zhou Hong waved his hand, his face dark, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Also, you said earlier..."

Lu Chen paused, a mocking smile on his lips. "If I form a pill, you'll eat shit!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the alchemy hall fell into a dead silence!

Zhou Hong stood there, extremely embarrassed.

"Bring the shit!"

Lu Chen extended his hand, shocking everyone.

The crowd was stunned, shaking their heads.

It seemed Lu Chen was going to force Zhou Hong to eat shit.

But how could Zhou Hong eat shit?

A high-rank alchemist, the nephew of the city lord, his status was extremely noble.

If he ate shit in public, what would be left of his face? The face of the alchemy hall? The face of the city lord?

Zhou Hong's face turned ashen, his fists clenched, about to explode.

"Since we are both alchemists, why must you push so hard?"

A stern voice echoed through the hall.

An older man with a thick mustache appeared.

He wore a black alchemy robe identical to Zhou Hong's, with a golden pill embroidered on it.

The difference was that below the golden pill, there was a prominent red stripe.

A first-rank alchemist!

"Director Chen!"

Everyone bowed, showing respect to the alchemist.

Only Lu Chen showed no reaction, neither bowing nor greeting.

Chen Yuanliang was not only a first-rank alchemist but also the director of the alchemy hall, monopolizing the alchemical pills in Twin Trees City, with power not inferior to the city lord Zhou He.

Chen Yuanliang and Zhou He had a good relationship, and he had promoted Zhou Hong, which was why Zhou Hong had such a high status in alchemy.

The alchemy hall's refusal to let Lu Chen enter likely had something to do with Director Chen.

"Zhou Hong's words were a joke; you don't need to take them to heart."

Chen Yuanliang glanced at Lu Chen and waved his hand. "Bring fifty mid-grade Body Refinement Pills and give them to this young alchemist. Let's consider this matter settled."

Upon hearing this, the crowd was stunned.

Body Refinement Pills are basic pills, and the vast majority of martial artists are in the Body Refinement stage, with a huge demand.

Alchemical pills are not easy to refine, and the market is in short supply, making them very expensive.

An ordinary martial artist can afford only a few low-grade Body Refinement Pills in a year.

Mid-grade Body Refinement Pills are even harder to refine, more expensive, and only wealthy and powerful families can afford them.

Chen Yuanliang was bleeding heavily to save Zhou Hong's face.

Everyone looked at Lu Chen with envy.

Fifty mid-grade Body Refinement Pills were brought, and Lu Chen accepted them without hesitation.

Forcing Zhou Hong to eat shit was impossible; embarrassing him was enough, and getting a substantial reward was a win-win.

After all, the cost of fifty mid-grade Body Refinement Pills is not small, and the materials for refining pills are very expensive.

Just as Lu Chen was about to leave, Zhou Hong's provocative voice sounded in his ear.

"Lu Chen, since you are an alchemist, dare you accept my challenge? Let's have a pill refinement competition. If you lose, leave the pills and the Awakening Dragon Grass behind and get out. If I lose, I'll give you fifty low-grade Spirit Qi Pills!"