Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Exotic Flame Alchemist, Yellow Rank Second Grade!

A pill duel was exactly what it sounded like: a specialized battle between alchemy cultivators.

Victory was judged by the grade and number of pills refined, with grade outweighing quantity.

In general, alchemy cultivators were best suited to dual fire-and-wood attributes. Fire cultivators ran violent and volatile; their flames easily damaged the medicinal nature of herbs, making high-grade pills difficult. They often needed special wood-type cauldrons to stabilize the process. But as an alchemist’s rank rose, the required cauldrons also had to be replaced—at enormous cost. And since fire spell cultivators were formidable in combat, few chose to walk the alchemy path at all.

Pure wood cultivators were even rarer. Fire overcame wood; cultivating in earth-fire environments often led to backlash.

Only by obtaining an exotic flame could the problem be solved at its root.

That was why most alchemy cultivators were fire-and-wood dual-attribute, with few single-attribute practitioners. And because alchemy demanded both delicate control and deep cultivation, alchemists advanced more slowly than other cultivators; the higher the pill, the deeper the spiritual power required. High-level alchemists were exceedingly scarce—and were honored by cultivators of the same realm as a matter of course.

The Dan Cheng Sect possessed a Profound Division Stage alchemist at Profound Rank, third grade, and that alone earned them lavish courtesy from the Zhi Yue Sect. It spoke volumes about how precious high-level alchemists truly were.

All the elders present—those at Essence Condensation Stage and above—had long since seen that Liu Xuan was a pure wood cultivator. At first, none of them had even considered that she might be an alchemist.

But the phantom in the second trial manifested the cultivator’s strongest path.

Liu Xuan’s phantom was alchemy.

Only an Essence Condensation Stage alchemist could refine flames with true essence and bring out a cauldron to duel. Liu Xuan was only at late Foundation Establishment Stage; no matter how extraordinary she was, she could not produce true essence at that realm. And since she was pure wood, the conclusion was unavoidable.

She possessed an exotic flame.

Exotic flames were spiritual treasures born naturally between heaven and earth. Compared to the crude fires of earth-fire furnaces, they were hotter, more responsive, more alive. Not only did they avoid harming the herbs, they could enhance medicinal properties and improve pill grade. Used for forging, they were even more formidable. Every famous artifact recorded in the world had been refined with an exotic flame.

Exotic flames were also divided into yin and yang. Yin flames suited pill refinement; yang flames suited forging.

Liu Xuan raised her hands. A square cauldron patterned with cloud motifs floated into view. With another sequence of seals, she summoned a deep blue flame that hovered like a living thing.

The Dan Cheng Sect elder recognized it instantly. It was the Hundred-Separation Heartwood Flame, a yin flame most suited to wood-attribute alchemists. The world of Heng Yun had not seen such a treasure in a thousand years. To witness it today was a blessing for any alchemist.

Li Shu’s reaction was even more complicated. His personal disciple had hidden too much from him. Now, on a stage before countless eyes, she revealed yet another rare treasure. He could not understand what she intended—and could only sigh, again and again.

It was also the first time Zhao Chun had ever watched someone refine pills. She rarely used common pills herself, but that didn’t stop her from learning through observation.

Within the sect, pills were handed directly to disciples as finished products—pea-sized pellets, white as jade or patterned with delicate lines.

She had never truly seen how a bundle of herbs became that single perfect sphere.

Liu Xuan and her phantom moved at the same time. The phantom’s herbs were only illusory shadows; Liu Xuan’s were real. She tossed rare spiritual herbs into the cauldron in quick succession. The lid slammed down with a heavy thud. She chanted under her breath, seals flashing from her fingers without pause. The deep blue flame leapt and danced, then swelled until it swallowed the entire cauldron.

The phantom mirrored her motions—yet as Zhao Chun watched more closely, she realized the herbs the phantom used were not identical to Liu Xuan’s.

A phantom only reproduced techniques a cultivator had truly mastered, manifested in their best possible state.

If Liu Xuan’s phantom differed from her, there was only one explanation: she was refining a pill she had never successfully produced before.

Zhao Chun could see it. How could those with higher cultivation not?

Most of all the Dan Cheng Sect elder—he recognized every herb Liu Xuan had thrown into that cauldron, and he knew the set by heart.

Main herb, supporting herb, assistant herb, guiding herb—everything required was present. She was refining a Yellow Rank Second Grade spirit pill: the True Essence-Nurturing Pill.

This pill was the advanced form of the Yellow Rank Third Grade Essence-Nurturing Pill. Both aided cultivation, but the Essence-Nurturing Pill boosted true qi, while the True Essence-Nurturing Pill boosted true essence—one of the most commonly used pills among Essence Condensation Stage cultivators.

Liu Xuan had been a Yellow Rank Third Grade alchemist. If she succeeded today, she would become Yellow Rank Second Grade while still at late Foundation Establishment Stage—capable of refining pills for Essence Condensation Stage cultivators. Her value would skyrocket.

Refining such a pill was grueling. Sweat soaked her face. Her brows drew tight, and even her hands trembled as she formed seals.

Time slipped away. Other disciples fell to their phantoms, or fought to stalemates that were judged draws, and left the field one by one.

Without anyone noticing, the platform emptied until only Liu Xuan remained—still refining, still focused, as if the world had narrowed to the cauldron before her.

Then a soft sound rang out.

The phantom’s cauldron opened first.

Three pale-yellow pill shadows rose into the air. Someone recognized them at once: Yellow Rank Third Grade Flowing Wind Meridian-Mending Pills. For Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators with damaged meridians, they were priceless—among the most precious pills of their rank.

The Dan Cheng Sect elder nodded repeatedly. Three pills, and from such a complex recipe at that. Her control and talent were astonishing—no worse than the Dan Cheng Sect’s chief disciple, perhaps even better.

Then Liu Xuan’s cauldron turned.

When her lid opened, a faint medicinal fragrance drifted out. That was normal; only truly top-grade pills could lock their properties so perfectly that not a trace escaped, and such pills were rare in the world of Heng Yun. Most alchemists did not dare chase that extreme.

But that single wisp of fragrance was enough.

She had succeeded.

Inside the cauldron lay a single pill, pure white and smooth, without a single blemish—like a pearl carved from flawless white jade.

Only the Dan Cheng Sect had the authority to judge pills here. Their elder stood and declared, voice ringing across the arena, “A Yellow Rank Second Grade True Essence-Nurturing Pill—mid-grade quality!”

A stir swept through the spectators.

The alchemist on the platform was Yellow Rank Second Grade—and she had refined a completely different pill from her phantom’s. That meant she had broken through in the middle of the trial and utterly defeated her phantom.

Without question, in the second trial, Liu Xuan seized first place in a single stroke. Even the Rong Qing Mountain spell cultivator who had battled their phantom evenly could not compare.

A Yellow Rank Second Grade alchemist was someone even Essence Condensation Stage cultivators would approach with respectful requests. From this day on, Liu Xuan’s standing in the Ling Zhen Sect would rival that of an elder.

In this stretch of the Hundred Sects Assembly, the main character appears less—but the focus falls on people who truly matter, like Senior Sister Liu Xuan. (I adore her. She’s such a gentle sister.)