Chapter 81

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Thinking to this point, he quietly closed his eyes. Scenes of the Dahuang Benleidao, where heaven and earth were destroyed, rapidly flashed through his mind. Standing still, he emitted no mystic energy and released no aura, as if he did not exist at all.

However, just as Tuoba Mu charged over, the blade in his hand about to slash across Chen Mo's forehead—

Chen Mo's eyes suddenly snapped open. A strange light quickly flashed in his pitch-black pupils, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a perfect smile.

As the tip of the blade grew larger before his eyes, Chen Mo calmly and subtly moved half a step to the side. The blade narrowly missed, passing by his cheek with a whoosh, a hair's breadth away from disaster.

The boxing intent in his mind became increasingly clear, like water reaching its critical point.

His hands rubbed together, pulling back to his ribs, as if drawing a bow. His fists, like entangled dragons, struck straight out, the surrounding air seeming to solidify. From the point of the fist, cracks spread out, growing larger, and white marks appeared as if they could tear apart the surrounding void.

Thunder rumbled.

"Thunderclap!"

With a "bang" and a miserable roar, Tuoba Mu flew diagonally four zhang away, landing heavily on the ground, unable to move.

After throwing a punch, Chen Mo still felt unsatisfied. He stood proudly in place, motionless, carefully savoring the punch he had just thrown. His brows furrowed and relaxed intermittently, completely immersed in the endless variations of the Thunderclap technique.

Tuoba Mu felt a sharp pain in his chest, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The sound of his ribs cracking echoed, and several of them were clearly broken, his chest caving in.

His face filled with terror, he thought of fleeing, but his limbs were weak, and he lacked the strength to even stand. He could only stare helplessly at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo's body trembled slightly, like a large bell, emitting a wondrous sound of heavenly thunder. Then, he stepped forward, his fist emerging from his waist, like an iron ox plowing the field, heavy and powerful.

After a few punches, it seemed like a long time had passed. The heavy momentum of his punches gave a profound and mysterious feeling, but before he could fully savor it, Chen Mo's punches became faster, alternating between punches, elbow strikes, and shoulder thrusts. His feet danced in a continuous flurry, and a large tripod in front of him was kicked away, exploding in the air.

Tuoba Mu looked at the young man in front of him with horror, unable to muster any resistance. It turned out that the other party had been hiding his strength. If that kick had hit him, he would have been shattered to pieces.

After a long time, Chen Mo's movements gradually slowed down. With a sharp breath, his muscles relaxed, and sweat poured out like a spring, drenching his entire body.

"Get lost. Tell your master that I, Chen Mo, don't mind having more enemies. I just hope he has the courage to bear my wrath."

Chen Mo had no interest in looking at him further. With a mental command, he chose a relatively intact, well-spirited tripod with a missing leg, storing it in his storage ring, and returned to his original path.

Little Eight also glared at Tuoba Mu with a fierce look, making an "ao ao" sound, as if responding to Chen Mo's words. The latter felt a chill, thinking, "What a terrifying young man, even his pet is so scary."

He hurriedly scrambled away.

When Chen Mo returned from the tripod tomb, he stepped into the Xuan Kong Pavilion and heard the melodious sound of a zither, like a flowing stream, echoing in his ears. He quietly entered, leaning against the cave wall, patiently waiting for Muling Wei to teach him alchemy.

After finishing her piece, Muling Wei stood up gracefully. "Are you ready?"

Chen Mo first took out the materials for the Small Spirit Gathering Pill, then the two-legged broken tripod. The tripod was tilted, so he had to support it with his body.

He then kicked Little Eight, who was still savoring the taste of the pill, to serve as a tripod leg. Little Eight tried to escape, but Chen Mo stepped on him, giving a sheepish smile to cover his embarrassment. He then glared at Little Eight, as if saying, "If I fail the trial, we'll have to pack our bags and go home. You won't get to eat the best spirit pills anymore."

Little Eight thought for a moment, his turtle eyes narrowing, and he pouted, reluctantly serving as a tripod leg. For the sake of delicious pills, he would do anything.

Muling Wei was slightly surprised. What kind of turtle was this little turtle? It was quite intelligent.

She looked at the tripod and nodded in satisfaction, rarely showing a smile.

Chen Mo did not use the powerful jade slip to get a good tripod but followed her instructions to the tripod tomb, picking a relatively decent broken tripod. Clearly, he was not a frivolous person and understood the importance of being down-to-earth.

The tripod used for trials was usually a common low-grade one, without complex inscriptions. This tripod had a few simple characters inside, forming a small talisman that helped absorb the essence of heaven and earth. The downside was the missing leg, which affected the tripod's stability and the fire control process.

With such a tripod, a skilled alchemist could produce a first-grade pill.

Of course, for Chen Mo to try his hand at refining the ungraded Small Spirit Gathering Pill, this tripod was more than sufficient.

"Chen Mo, listen carefully," Muling Wei said, placing the herbs in the tripod. "Extracting the essence of the herbs is the first step. Activate your mystic energy, grab the tripod's ears, and channel your mystic energy into the tripod, drawing a thread of the essence of heaven and earth to ignite the flame."

Chen Mo followed the steps, grabbing the tripod's ears with both hands, activating his Bright Mystic Energy, and channeling it into his arms, then slowly into the tripod through his palms.

As the Bright Mystic Energy entered the tripod, a low hum sounded. The ancient characters on the inner wall of the tripod seemed to detach, twist, and form a small vortex, emitting a faint light from the Bright Mystic Energy, absorbing the essence of the cave.

"Ignite the flame and use your divine sense to extract the herbs. The temperature must be gentle. Too high, and the herbs will turn to ashes; too low, and it will be ineffective. Over time, the essence of the herbs will be destroyed," Muling Wei explained, closely watching the tripod.

Having a divine sense was a prerequisite for learning alchemy.

In Muling Wei's view, Chen Mo's divine sense seemed quite pure. If cultivated well, he would be a good seedling. This was why she gave him the opportunity to try.

Otherwise, if he were an incapable person, even if he knelt for ten days and ten nights in the Xuan Kong Pavilion, Muling Wei would not relent.

Chen Mo increased the amount of Bright Mystic Energy in his body, and suddenly, a scorching flame ignited.

The moment it ignited, with a "bang," the herbs were burned to ashes before their essence could be extracted. The ashes leaked out from the bottom of the tripod, forming a black patch.

His first attempt ended in failure.

Little Eight, serving as a tripod leg, shook his head, muttering to himself, "Master, you can't rush things. Stay calm and take your time. Whether or not we can have a good life in the future depends on you."

Success and failure both depend on the same person.

Muling Wei knew that the talisman on the tripod added difficulty to igniting the flame. If the essence was too abundant, the flame could easily become too large and burn the herbs. Once the technique of igniting the flame was mastered, future alchemy would be much easier.

"Based on the size of the small vortex formed by the talisman, you must control the amount of mystic energy you channel when igniting the flame," Muling Wei said patiently. Even the most talented alchemist needs to grow through step-by-step practice.

Chen Mo took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and grabbed the tripod's ears again, starting his second attempt.

The initial steps went smoothly. When the small vortex absorbed the essence, Chen Mo carefully suppressed his Bright Mystic Energy, cautiously testing the abundance of the essence. Then, a small amount of mystic energy entered, and a flame ignited, the red core flickering, as if about to go out at any moment.

Chen Mo controlled the Bright Mystic Energy, making it a steady flow, and the flame finally stabilized, like a nimble tongue playfully licking the herbs.

Muling Wei nodded, surprised that Chen Mo understood so quickly. Although his technique was not yet proficient, his control of the flame's temperature was good, a necessary skill for an alchemist.

"Gradually increase the flame to extract the liquid essence of the herbs."

Chen Mo's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat, his fingers gripping the tripod's ears turning white. He focused entirely on the changes in the herbs inside the tripod. Each herb was refined by the flame, and green liquid separated out, floating in the vortex of fire before gradually sinking to the bottom. The remaining residue was burned away by the flame.

The process of retaining the essence and discarding the dross was complete.

"Condensing the pill is the final step and the most challenging. First, condense the liquid into a proto-pill, then further refine it into a solid pill. If you can remove more impurities during this process, the quality of the pill will improve. However, this is difficult, and I can only control it to some extent. You just need to form a solid pill."

As she spoke, Muling Wei raised a jade-like hand and placed it on the tripod to observe the situation inside.

Chen Mo pursed his lips, clearing his mind, and focused on channeling a large amount of Bright Mystic Energy into the tripod. The flame grew larger with the vortex formed by the talisman, continuously roasting the liquid at the bottom of the tripod. The liquid rose again, rolling and surging in the center of the vortex.

As more mystic energy flowed in, the tripod shook violently, the flame becoming erratic, colliding with the tripod's walls and making a popping sound, posing a risk of explosion.

Little Eight, though tense, remained steady on all fours, serving as a tripod leg with great responsibility. He was concerned about the final result of the pill, as it related to his future supply of premium turtle food.

He silently prayed, "Master, pass the test. If you pass, we can stay in Changchun Valley. I still have my eye on the pills in the jade box of the fairy sister."

......

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