Fox Demon: The villain at the beginning

Chapter 468 The Gap, the Fragrance of Elixir

"So it's Princess Yaoyue!"

Jin Renfeng bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

He naturally remembered the little princess.

In her memory, this princess once participated in the Alchemist Conference with Xiao Yan and successfully refined a fourth-grade pill.

He is also a talented alchemist with considerable abilities.

"You don't even recognize me, and you call yourself an alchemist!"

The little princess gave a soft snort, seemingly quite dissatisfied with Jin Renfeng.

"What do you mean by that?"

Jin Renfeng was somewhat puzzled by the little princess's attitude.

"The little princess is the disciple of Chemir, the vice president of the Alchemist Guild, and is also the most famous genius alchemist in the royal family today."

Nalan Yanran smiled and said,

“Senior brother, you are an alchemist, yet you don’t recognize her. No wonder the little princess is causing you trouble.”

"So that's it!"

Jin Renfeng understood.

Not far away, watching the young man chatting happily with the three beauties, Liu Ling's gaze was complicated, and she did not step forward.

As a disciple of Dan Wang Guhe, he knew that his master had always held Jin Renfeng in high regard.

That is why he was always quite jealous of Jin Renfeng.

Over the years, he had been secretly competing with his opponent, hoping to surpass Jin Renfeng on the path of alchemy and gain his master's approval.

However, in the end, they were ruthlessly left behind by the other side.

Now, at seven or eight years older, he has only just reached the level of a third-grade alchemist. Meanwhile, others have already begun their fourth-grade alchemist assessments.

"The gap is widening!"

Liu Ling felt a pang of sadness.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I hope that Young Master Jin can successfully complete the assessment this time. When the time comes, Yao Ye will personally host a banquet to celebrate with you. As long as you don't refuse, that will be fine."

Yao Ye smiled slightly.

Jin Renfeng nodded with a smile on his face.

The other party's manners were almost perfect, leaving no room for criticism.

"Truly worthy of being a princess in charge of the army, her skills are truly extraordinary!"

Looking at the woman's exquisite face, Jin Renfeng secretly praised her.

Putting aside cultivation level, in terms of interpersonal skills, Yanran is far inferior to her.

"What are you little rascals talking about? You're having such a lively chat!"

A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Jin Renfeng turned his head and saw an old man in purple robes walk up to them at some point.

"President Fama!"

Upon seeing the old man, Yao Ye quickly bowed and paid his respects.

"Is this the current president of the Alchemists' Guild, the peak fifth-grade alchemist Fa Ma?"

Jin Renfeng secretly glanced at him.

Although the old man was withered and decaying, one could faintly sense the immense energy hidden within him.

"Yaoye, why are only the two of you here? Didn't your royal ancestors come?"

Fa Ma squinted and asked with a smile.

"Our ancestor has other important matters to attend to and is unable to come."

Yao Ye replied.

"That old guy, it's amazing he can sit still."

Fa Ma chuckled and cursed, then slowly shook his head before turning his gaze to Jin Renfeng beside him.

"You're Jin Renfeng from the Yunlan Sect?"

"Yes, sir!"

Jin Renfeng bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

Fama nodded and smiled.

"Although he is still young, his soul power is truly not weak."

"As expected, heroes emerge from youth!"

Jin Renfeng's eyes showed surprise.

He had only released a portion of his soul power to test the waters, but he hadn't expected that such a small action would be noticed by the other party.

"Little guy, now that you've arrived, the assessment should officially begin!"

Famo said slowly,
"Come with me!"

After saying this, the old man turned around and headed to the left side of the hall.

Facing the gazes of everyone in the hall, Jin Renfeng smiled slightly, flicked his sleeves, and followed behind the old man.

One after the other, the two entered a room.

Gazing at the boy's figure, Nalan Yanran unconsciously clasped her hands together.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

With the door tightly closed, the sound was blocked out.

Before Jin Renfeng lay a spacious room, with a stone platform in the center. On the platform were various jade boxes.

Upon reaching the stone platform, Fa Ma stopped and spoke slowly.

"On the stone platform, I have prepared three sets of various medicinal materials needed for alchemy and a prescription for a fourth-grade pill for you."

"As long as you can refine a single finished pill according to the prescription, you will pass this test."

Upon hearing this, Jin Renfeng immediately stepped closer to the stone platform.

But at that moment, Fama reached out and stopped him.

"Little fellow, there are two conditions to become a fourth-grade alchemist: one is to master real fire, and the other is to refine fourth-grade pills."

Fa Ma smiled and said,

"You have to let me see if you have mastered the basic requirement of using real fire before I let you start refining."

"I am naturally aware of that."

Jin Renfeng nodded and raised his right hand to release the Illusionary Sea Flame.

The deep blue flames rippled gently like flowing water. The blue light reflected on their faces. A wave of intense heat swept outwards, causing the temperature of the entire space to rise rapidly.

"Excellent! The flames are scorching hot and have a strange shape, far surpassing ordinary beast fire."

Fama nodded, a smile appearing on his wrinkled old face.

"The Yunlan Sect is indeed very powerful to be able to obtain such flames."

"President Fa Ma, since I dared to participate in the alchemist assessment, I have naturally made preparations."

Jin Renfeng said casually.

"Let's skip these formalities!"

"This little guy has quite the temper!"

Famo sighed softly.
"Alright, let's begin the refining process!"

Jin Renfeng walked to the stone platform and opened the jade boxes one by one.

The jade box contained various medicinal herbs and a purple scroll.

He raised his hand and took the scroll in his hand.

As the scroll slowly unfurled, a message came into his view.

"A fourth-grade elixir, the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill?"

Upon seeing these words, Jin Renfeng looked surprised.

He looked up at the old man beside him and said in a deep voice,
"President Fama has really given me a tough challenge!"

Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, a peak fourth-grade pill. It can be used at the Great Dou Master level, and after consumption, it can increase the user's strength by one star.

Because it can directly enhance strength, its value is extremely high, even comparable to a fifth-grade elixir, making it extremely difficult to refine.

It is considered one of the top-tier fourth-grade pills.

Jin Renfeng put down the scroll in his hand, his eyes revealing a hint of questioning.

Normally, the test to become a fourth-grade alchemist only requires refining some simple fourth-grade pills.

For example, healing pills, qi-restoring pills, or at most qi-gathering powders.

Elixirs like the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, which are comparable to fifth-grade pills, are considered to be far beyond the scope of the assessment.

"A 15-year-old fourth-grade alchemist is too rare, so our Alchemist Guild should naturally be more demanding."

Seeing through the boy's thoughts, Fama said expressionlessly,
"Of course, you can also refuse and participate in the next assessment."

"However, this assessment will be treated as a failure!"

"This old guy is deliberately causing him trouble."

Jin Renfeng understood.
"However, given my current status and strength, this peak fifth-grade alchemist shouldn't be deliberately targeting me."

"It seems I have unintentionally become involved in the struggles of the Yunlan Sect."

Having learned the reason, Jin Renfeng remained calm, slowly turned around, and released the medicine cauldron.

Although the other party's actions were outrageous, they were still in accordance with the procedures for the fourth-grade alchemist assessment. Moreover, this was the territory of the Alchemist Guild, so there was nowhere to seek redress.

In this situation, one can only accept reality.

With the Illusionary Sea Flame igniting in his hand, Jin Renfeng threw it into the Crimson Blood Cauldron.

The other party's goal was clear: to make his assessment fail as much as possible.

However, the other party miscalculated one thing.

For him, the Purple Heart Breakthrough Pill, a peak fourth-grade pill, was not troublesome at all.

As a pill that steadily enhances the strength of a Great Dou Master, this formula is widely available. The Yunlan Sect also collects it.

To enhance his strength, he even personally refined it once and consumed it himself.

Therefore, refining such elixirs is something they are very skilled at.

"Wisteria fruit!"

"Ice Orchid!"

Jin Renfeng waved his hand, throwing one or two medicinal herbs from the stone platform into the medicine cauldron in sequence. Then, controlling the temperature of the flame, he slowly extracted the essence needed for refining the pill according to the information recorded in the prescription.

"This kid's technique is quite skilled. Could it be that he's confident he can refine this Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill?"

Upon seeing this, Fama frowned.

He admitted that he had indeed cheated in the assessment.

The young man in front of me is far too young and his talent is far too outstanding.

As a result, this assessment attracted the attention of too many powerful forces.

He suspected that if he succeeded in the assessment, the royal family would ruthlessly eliminate him.

As the president of the Alchemists' Guild, he had to protect the interests of alchemists, even if Jin Renfeng was a member of the Yunlan Sect.

However, he did not want to see the Yunlan Sect and the royal family fight each other at the Alchemist Guild.

In the end, he had no choice but to forcibly increase the difficulty of the assessment.

If he fails the test, all eyes on this kid will quickly disappear.

Even if there is another assessment in the future, it won't attract as much attention as it does now.

One by one, medicinal herbs were added to the cauldron and, under the scorching heat of the Illusory Sea Flame, refined into pure materials, which were then placed into jade bottles.

He could originally refine the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill using the battle fire formed from his battle qi. Now, with the powerful weapon, the Illusionary Sea Flame, he is even more confident in this refining process.

Soon, all the medicinal materials were extracted.

Blue flames slowly rose within the cauldron. The golden-haired man's phoenix eyes were fixed intently on the leaping flames. After a moment, his hands moved rapidly, and bottle after bottle of previously refined essence was methodically poured into the cauldron. The flames immediately surged upwards, instantly engulfing the ingredients.
Among these steps, the fusion of medicinal herbs began.

A powerful spiritual force permeates the space, and the subtle reactions of every ingredient fusing within the cauldron are instantly transmitted back to the mind. These reactions are then quickly compared with the reactions described in the prescription to determine whether the alchemy process is proceeding correctly.

Clumps of materials fused into the medicinal liquid, and soon the rudimentary form of the elixir slowly took shape.

Seeing this, Jin Renfeng breathed a sigh of relief.

"Next comes the most crucial step."

He murmured to himself and threw a third-tier rock ape magic crystal into the medicine cauldron.

Because the energy of magic crystals is constantly being lost once extracted, this crucial material cannot be refined in advance and must be refined on-site.

The earthen-yellow magic crystal was thrown into the medicine cauldron. Stimulated by the flames, it released an earthen-yellow light shield to resist the scorching heat of the flames.

Jin Renfeng was not in a hurry and continued to refine the Illusionary Sea Flame.

Under the scorching heat of the beast fire, the yellowish-brown light barrier quickly shattered.

The rhomboid crystals were melted by the high temperature, turning into a mass of yellowish-brown liquid.

Seeing this, Jin Renfeng carefully manipulated his soul power, allowing it to combine with the previously fused medicinal liquid.

With the fusion of the energy transformed from the magic crystal, the embryonic form of the elixir gradually solidified.

A thick purple smoke emanated from the pill itself.

"A purple fragrance! This kid actually mastered it!"

Fama looked astonished.

Before a fourth-grade elixir is formed, it will produce a unique fragrance. The stronger the fragrance, the higher the grade of the elixir.

Some top-grade pills that are close to the fifth grade will even develop a colored and fragrant aroma.

"What a terrifying life!"

Fama sighed.

He knew that his plan had completely failed.

Once the colored elixir fragrance is formed, the alchemy will surely succeed.

All that's left is to work at a leisurely pace.

Time, like flowing water, quietly slipped through our fingers, and the colored fragrance emanating from the medicine cauldron grew increasingly rich.

Through the transparent lid of the cauldron, Jin Renfeng could see the nascent pills spinning inside.

Under the scorching heat of the flames, the purple elixir became even more perfect.

"it's time!"

Sensing that the pill had fully formed, Jin Renfeng slapped the lid of the cauldron away. A ball of blue flame, enveloping the pill, shot out from the cauldron and landed in his hand.

In an instant, a rich purple fragrance slowly rose up, forming a purple cloud that enveloped the roof of the room.

"With such a rich, colored fragrance, this Purple Heart Breakthrough Pill must be of exceptional quality."

Fama was secretly amazed.

The blue flames slowly dissipated, revealing a purple pill in Jin Renfeng's palm.

The pill was about the size of a thumb. It was entirely purple, with a faint ring of blue ripples mixed in, like spreading waves. It looked quite strange.

Jin Renfeng placed the pills back into the jade box, walked to the old man beside him, and said with a slight smile,

"Please, President Fama, take a look!"

Fa Ma took a deep breath, accepted the jade box, squinted his eyes, and examined the pills in front of him.

"The pill is round and smooth, with a strong medicinal fragrance, and also has red patterns."

The old man's voice was rough and deep, like cutting wood.

It is truly a top-grade elixir.

He looked up at the boy before him and sighed.
"It seems you are quite familiar with this elixir!"

"I've refined it once before."

Jin Renfeng laughed,
"After all, the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill is quite a practical medicine."

"In the end, I ended up getting myself caught in the middle."

Fama sighed, shook his head, and said helplessly.
"Little guy, you've passed this test."

Jin Renfeng's face revealed a knowing smile.

For him now, passing the fourth-grade alchemist exam is no challenge at all.

(End of this chapter)