Chapter 160: The First Tied First Place

Next came the actual refining process. Crafting the Mysterious Profound Pill was relatively straightforward; only three primary medicinal ingredients had age requirements, while the remaining auxiliary herbs could be anything, though some caution was still required during the process.

Soon, Chu Han retrieved his own medicinal cauldron. Placing his right hand upon it, a surge of thunder-fire energy erupted, igniting the entire cauldron into towering flames. At this moment, the entire competition venue was wreathed in smoke as many participants began refining their pills.

After a brief moment of thought, Chu Han tossed all three primary ingredients directly into the cauldron, stoked the flames, and began refining them with ferocious intensity. His thunder-fire energy was far more potent than ordinary flames, granting him a much faster speed in purifying the medicinal components compared to others.

Meanwhile, Fu Dong was not lagging far behind in his refinement. He was using a blue flame that looked remarkably flashy, though in Chu Han's eyes, it was merely for show. The temperature of this blue flame was exceedingly low, making it entirely unsuitable for refining medicinal herbs, and it carried a high risk of causing the cauldron to explode.

True to Chu Han's expectations, the temperature within Fu Dong's cauldron was quite low. After half an hour of refinement, even the stems of the herbs had yet to break down, causing him to grow somewhat anxious.

Although the first round only required participants to pass within the time limit, the elite competitors in such a match were bound to vie for supremacy, and finishing as quickly as possible was paramount.

He had not anticipated that the blue flame's temperature would be so remarkably low; no matter how hard he tried, he could not pick up the pace. He cursed inwardly, realizing that he was bound to fall behind in terms of speed during this round of refinement.

At this moment, Chu Han had poured his entire focus into his own pills. The temperature within the cauldron steadily rose, and before long, the three primary ingredients were successively reduced to drops of pure medicinal essence. After taking a sniff to confirm everything was correct, he began refining the auxiliary herbs.

There were a total of twelve auxiliary ingredients. The first ten went smoothly, all successfully rendered into medicinal essence, but when it came to the eleventh herb, he sensed something was amiss before he even placed it into the cauldron.

This herb was called Yellow Silver Grass, an ordinary medicinal plant, but he clearly remembered that when he previously crafted the Mysterious Profound Pill, this herb had not been included at all.

He checked the scent once more. Sure enough, this was an unnecessary ingredient for the Mysterious Profound Pill. It seemed there was a trick hidden within the formula; to increase the difficulty, an otherwise unneeded herb had been added. If this ingredient were fused with the others, the inevitable result would be failure.

Chu Han discarded the Yellow Silver Grass without hesitation and continued refining the pill with complete composure, showing not a trace of panic. His entire alchemy process flowed with an effortless harmony that was a pleasure to watch.

Observing Chu Han from afar, Xuantian could not help but nod inwardly. It took immense courage to question a medicinal formula, and the fact that he was able to identify the Yellow Silver Grass as a trap merely by scent alone was a level of discernment far beyond ordinary reach.

However, it was not so much that Chu Han possessed the reckless courage to doubt the formula, but rather that he trusted his own sense of smell. Any pill he had refined even once was a scent he would never forget for the rest of his life. Thus, through scent alone, he recognized the Yellow Silver Grass as a trap—a feat owed entirely to his rock-solid foundational training, which he had spent several years mastering.

Before long, Chu Han finished purifying all the medicinal ingredients, reducing them drop by drop into pure essences devoid of the slightest trace of impurity. Only after completing this step did Chu Han initiate the second phase: fusion.

Purification was critically important. While a pill could still be formed without complete purification, any impurities remaining in the essence would severely degrade the final pill's medicinal properties. Hence, he maintained a strict habit during alchemy: he had to completely purge all impurities from the essence before proceeding to synthesis. Although speed was important, the efficacy of the medicine always came first.

All the pure essences merged together simultaneously, and a loud explosion instantly echoed from within his cauldron, drawing the gazes of everyone nearby. Seeing his action, Fu Dong sneered derisively.

"Hah, you want to fuse all the medicinal essences at once? How naive. Even Elder Xuantian would find doing that extremely strenuous, let alone a piece of trash like you."

Fu Dong voiced his mockery without a second thought. Chu Han had terrified him back at the Leng family estate, and now, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he naturally sought to reclaim his lost face.

Yet Chu Han continued to ignore him. He was able to pull off such a feat entirely thanks to his formidable soul power. At this moment, his soul power had permeated the entire medicinal cauldron. The temperature inside rose once more, and as all the essences merged, they put up a violent resistance. However, suppressed by Chu Han's soul power, the turmoil was quelled shortly after.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Chu Han's forehead. Given his current cultivation level, performing this step was indeed pushing his limits, but he had pulled it off nonetheless. He continued refining the pill, while the surrounding onlookers gasped in unison.

Fu Dong was right; attempting to forcefully fuse all the pill components together with insufficient strength carried immense risk. Yet Chu Han had actually succeeded. Fu Dong's complexion turned alternately red and white; he had already suffered a defeat, and his preceding mockery had resulted in an immediate slap to his face, leaving him thoroughly humiliated.

Not far from Chu Han, a young man quietly observed the scene, the corners of his lips curving upward. He had assumed no one here could rival him, but he had not expected a dark horse like Chu Han to emerge so abruptly. Judging by his alchemy techniques, he was no less capable than himself. This competition was getting interesting.

Half an hour later, Chu Han opened his eyes and made a grasping motion with his right hand. A round, glossy medicinal pill flew out from the cauldron and landed cleanly inside a jade bottle. He raised his hand, and almost simultaneously, the young man who had been observing him raised his hand as well. Both spoke in unison, "I am finished."

While the majority of the participants were just preparing to enter the second phase of fusion, the two of them had already completed their alchemy. Chu Han frowned slightly and turned his head to glance sideways. Sure enough, the young man was also holding a similar jade bottle and offering him a smile. Chu Han returned the smile. This person must be Mingqing, the disciple of Qingxuan; he truly was a formidable opponent.

Following the inspection by Elder Xuantian, both of their pills were found to be completely flawless, resulting in a tie for first place. Upon the announcement, the Leng family members leaped for joy. Leng Ye, however, remained quite calm; for her, Chu Han reaching this stage was entirely expected—he was simply a man who created miracles.

"You must be Chu Han, right? Your strength is quite good. I look forward to our showdown in the second round, though I doubt you will be my match."

As the two walked out, Mingqing spoke up. He possessed immense confidence in his own alchemy, and the fact that his master was Qingxuan, the vice-master of the Pill Sect, only reinforced that self-assurance.

"Is that so? Likewise. The championship this time belongs to none other than me."

Chu Han did not show the slightest sign of weakness. To back down at this juncture would be the greatest blow to one's own morale, and he possessed absolute confidence in his own alchemy as well.

With those words, he turned and strode out of the venue. Mingqing watched his retreating figure, his expression gradually growing gloomy. Chu Han was his primary rival in this competition, and he was determined to crush Chu Han until he was left with nothing.

Returning to his seat, Chu Han closed his eyes to rest and recuperate, preparing himself for the next match. Leng Feng hurried over to express his gratitude, but Chu Han merely waved a hand. At that exact moment, a figure materialized before him.