C19 Hundred Cold Pill(2)

A servant swiftly presented a freshly lit stick of incense at the edge of the arena. With the mayor's command, the competition commenced without delay!

Jiang Xiaofan arranged the spiritual herbs necessary for his alchemy on a nearby table. He glanced sideways, observing the trio engaged in their own pill refining.

The majority of onlookers had gathered around Chu Zhu's platform. In his hands, Chu Zhu held three Fifth Grade Profound Level spiritual herbs: Earth Silver Grass, Golden Thread Lotus, and Blazing Flame Mushroom. Additional lower-tier Profound Level herbs adorned the table beside him. These three primary herbs alone indicated he was crafting a Fifth Grade Profound Level Element Gathering Pill.

The Element Gathering Pill was known for its extraordinary ability to stabilize and concentrate Martial Qi within the Dantian. Consuming it promised profound benefits to one's cultivation for years to come. Yet, the pill's creation was intricate, requiring ten perfectly synergized herbs and precise control of the flame.

Chu Zhu, with adept manipulation of Martial Qi, had already initiated the refining process, while the other two competitors were focused on producing high-grade Yellow Rank pills.

Meanwhile, the crowd around Jiang Xiaofan's platform grew restless, noticing his prolonged inaction, and murmurs rippled through the air.

"Are you up to the task? You've been idle for too long!"

"Has the sight of Young Master Chu's skills petrified you?"

"Laughable, these nobodies! They stand no chance against Young Master Chu, even if they reached for the heavens."

"They're utterly useless, why even bother stepping onto the stage? They might as well forfeit."

…

Seated to one side, Ann Yunshan's brow creased in a slight frown, pondering what Jiang Xiaofan might be waiting for.

Qin Chuan's fists were balled in frustration, itching to confront the naysayers, but his junior brothers held him back.

The entire Hand of God Medical Hall held their collective breath, anticipating Jiang Xiaofan's move. They had witnessed his knack for delivering surprises time and again, and they were confident that this occasion would be no different. He wouldn't disappoint them now.

Even against an opponent so formidable they seemed unbeatable, there was still a willingness to put faith in Jiang Xiaofan!

Jiang Xiaofan closed his eyes. The burning of an incense stick, nearly half an hour, was all the time he had, and his repertoire of Profound Level pills was limited. The issue wasn't just his insufficient level; he also had a scant supply of Profound Level spiritual herbs, leaving him with only a few pill formulas to choose from.

After much deliberation, Jiang Xiaofan opted for a pill from the First Grade of the Profound Level, one that had become a relic of the past—the Hundred Cold Pill.

True to its name, the Hundred Cold Pill embodied a hundred degrees of coldness. Its primary ingredient was a single herb, the Gathering Cold Grass. Luckily, the storeroom of the Hand of God Medical Hall had some, and Jiang Xiaofan had taken two stalks that day. The auxiliary herbs were not specified, but they needed to be cold in nature, with higher grades yielding better results. Jiang Xiaofan had an abundance of such herbs in his storage ring, which he now laid out in full.

As onlookers watched Jiang Xiaofan arrange a mountain of spiritual herbs on the table, they burst into mockery.

"What can a disciple of the Hand of God Medical Hall concoct with such an array of herbs? Is he attempting to brew Eight Treasures Porridge?"

"How can he possibly fit all those herbs into a Pill Refining Furnace? Does he even understand the art of pill refining?"

"Why bother with this fool? Let's go watch Young Master Chu work his magic! I can already catch the scent of his pills!"

"Indeed, it's a waste of time to watch this one!"

Despite the derision, a few on the high platform wore expressions of intrigue.

The spiritual herbs piled on Jiang Xiaofan's table shared one trait—they were all cold. A pill demanding such an extensive array of cold herbs did exist in their memories, the long-lost Hundred Cold Pill. But to refine it in the mere time it takes an incense stick to burn seemed impossible. Even if Jiang Xiaofan possessed the knowledge, attempting to produce the Hundred Cold Pill during this competition was tantamount to a death wish.

The Pill Refining Elders from Ocean Pavilion and the Seven Luminaries Sect wore sneers on their faces, convinced that Jiang Xiaofan was merely someone who had a few pill formulas up his sleeve but lacked any real intellect. Meanwhile, they were scheming on how to seize those very formulas for themselves.

In contrast, the Elders of the Divine Wind Sect and the Medicine Controlling Sect's Imperial Inspector looked on with curiosity. Their visit was primarily to observe Jiang Xiaofan, a prodigious young alchemist capable of concocting the Fighting Spirit Pill, Life Return Pill, Black Mystic Herb Pill, and even the Stone Condensing Pill. Such talent was indeed alluring; with proper guidance, he was bound to become a renowned figure in the Spirit Brilliance Realm.

Time was ticking away, with one-third already passed, leaving Jiang Xiaofan with limited time to act. He placed the Gathering Cold Grass into the Pill Refining Furnace without bothering to close the lid, swiftly igniting the flames with his Martial Qi.

As the furnace's temperature soared, Jiang Xiaofan directed a wisp of Martial Qi inside, enveloping the Gathering Cold Grass to prevent it from incinerating. Simultaneously, with his left hand, he began adding stalks of spirit grass to the furnace.

To the onlookers, it appeared he was simply tossing in the spirit grass. Yet, each time he picked up a stalk, Jiang Xiaofan employed the Spirit Extraction Hand technique to instantly extract the medicinal essence from the low-grade Yellow Rank spirit grass, depositing only the invisible essence into the furnace. The residual impurities of the spirit grass were reduced to dust, dispersing into the air.

The unique property of the Gathering Cold Grass was its ability to accumulate coldness. With over a hundred stalks now in the furnace, the crowd was baffled by Jiang Xiaofan's unconventional approach of refining pills without sealing the furnace, with most dismissing it as folly.

Chu Zhu, who had finished his pill refinement early, shifted his attention to Jiang Xiaofan. The young man's pill refining method was unorthodox; leaving the furnace open would cause the medicinal essence to evaporate with the heat, scattering it outward, seemingly rendering the creation of pills impossible.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. How had someone like Jiang Xiaofan, a complete novice, managed to make it to the finals?

What they failed to realize was that Jiang Xiaofan had a rare talent: the Spirit Extraction Hand. This skill allowed him to not only isolate the essence of medicine but also to safeguard it.

As the incense stick neared its end, the other three contestants had finished their refining. Only Jiang Xiaofan remained, stubbornly working on his pills in a technique that seemed impossible for pill formation.

He had combined hundreds of different Medicine Vitals. With swift precision, Jiang Xiaofan sealed the Pill Refining Furnace and unleashed his Martial Qi to refine the mixture. Flames roared to life, and the furnace's temperature soared to its peak.

The slightest error in temperature could ruin the Medicine Vital, yet without sufficient heat, the Medicine Vitals wouldn't fuse properly. In that case, the Hundred Cold Pill would be nothing more than a lump of cold energy, ineffective and even harmful if consumed.

Tension gripped everyone at the Martial Artsed Hand Medical Hall. Ann Xiaobai's fists were clenched so tightly that her nails threatened to pierce her palms. She fervently prayed for Jiang Xiaofan's success.

Jiang Xiaofan divided his Martial Qi in two: one part stoked the furnace's flames, while the other shielded the Medicine Vital. The five judges on the high platform watched, their skepticism giving way to astonishment.

With their profound abilities, they could sense the wild Spiritual Qi in the Pill Refining Furnace coalescing, the rich scent of the pill wafting through the air.

The combined aroma of over a hundred spiritual herbs filled the room. Even before the pill emerged from the furnace, its fragrance outshone the other three contestants', captivating everyone present.

Sweat streamed down Jiang Xiaofan's forehead as he rapidly depleted his Martial Qi, feeling the strain of exhaustion.

As the last of the incense ash touched the ground, the allotted time came to an end. The mayor called out, and a bell chimed in Jiang Xiaofan's mind. His face brightened with joy—he had done it!