Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Tsk, Guo Tianlin's alchemy skills are becoming increasingly superb. If this continues, I'm afraid he might even surpass me in less than ten years..."

Mondo glanced at Guo Tianlin, who was focused on refining pills in the square, and sighed with emotion.

Although he is one of the two vice presidents of the Alchemist Guild and is also a sixth-grade alchemist, he still feels a sense of crisis.

Because Guo Tianlin in front of us is not only known as the top of the four rising stars of the Alchemist Guild, but he is also only in his early thirties. At the same time, his alchemy skills are also quite high, reaching the level of a near-fifth-grade alchemist. Even in the entire Lingnan Four Kingdoms, he is considered a rare talent!

In addition, the Guo clan behind Guo Tianlin is no ordinary force. Not only are all its members skilled in alchemy and medicine making, but they also control an ancestral secret technique called "Dual Spirit Distraction Spell", which can greatly improve the efficiency and success rate of alchemy!

"Old Meng, I never expected you to feel threatened by a young junior. This is so unlike you..."

Zhang Miaoling stepped forward as well, smiling slightly.

Mondo's dark face showed some embarrassment, and he immediately added, "Miaoling, it's not that I'm petty, it's just that Guo Tianlin is a bit too abnormal!"

"If I remember correctly, when this guy first joined the Alchemist Guild five years ago, he was just a lowly quasi-third-grade alchemist, not even as good as that kid Gu Juji."

"But now, less than five years later, he has leaped into the ranks of a near-fifth-grade alchemist. Even the elders of the Guo family back then probably didn't have such abnormal talent in alchemy."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Miaoling remained calm and shook her head slightly. "That may be true, but I still think that Young Master Lu's alchemy skills are superior, even far surpassing Guo Tianlin's."

"Young Master Lu...?"

Upon hearing Zhang Miaoling address Lu Feng so intimately, Mondo was first stunned, then his eyebrows furrowed and his face flushed red. "Miaoling, you must be joking!"

"Lu Feng doesn't even dare to go on stage to compete, and now you're saying Guo Tianlin is inferior to him?"

Mondo was breathing heavily, seemingly quite displeased.

After all, he had a crush on Zhang Miaoling for many years and had been trying to win her over in every way, but she had always been indifferent to him and instead paid special attention to Lu Feng, a naive young man who had just turned nineteen.

"Old Meng, be quiet, don't disturb these kids' competition."

Ignoring Mondo's question, Zhang Miaoling simply raised her hand to signal him to be quiet, her gaze still fixed on the pill-refining competition in the square.

Seeing this, Mundo was unwilling, but he didn't say anything and just stood there with a dark face the whole time.

...

In a corner of the square, in front of a cauldron

Boom! Roar!

A muffled, loud bang was heard, followed by flashes of flame and sparks flying everywhere. A strong, pungent smell of burning emanated from inside the furnace, eventually turning into a plume of black smoke that shot straight into the sky. Clearly, the furnace had caught fire and exploded.

"Damn it! It still doesn't work...!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Juji's expression turned extremely ugly.

This was his sixth attempt at alchemy, and he had used almost all the medicinal herbs and demon cores he had on him. Unfortunately, he still failed in the end. Not only did the furnace catch fire and explode, but the essence of the medicinal herbs inside the furnace was also reduced to dust.

The reason for the fire and explosion was quite simple: the final "melting" stage went wrong.

Because Gu Juji's soul power is relatively weak, only at the third level of soul power, and the pill he is refining this time is the fourth-grade pill "Baoyuan Guiyi Pill", which is not only quite difficult to refine, but also clearly exceeds his ability.

Therefore, even though Gu Juji tried six times in a row, he still failed in the end, and each attempt ended in a fire and an explosion.

Because elixir fusion is different from fire control.

Alchemists must not only maintain the appropriate temperature of the alchemical fire throughout the process, but also fuse the purified medicinal essence and demon core in a 1:1 ratio without the slightest deviation, otherwise they will produce a waste pill or even cause a fire that explodes.

Given Gu Juji's current level of alchemy skills, he is clearly not capable of refining a fourth-grade elixir like the "Baoyuan Guiyi Dan".

"You sissy, you're definitely going to lose today!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Not far away, seeing that Gu Juji had failed to refine the Baoyuan Guiyi Pill, Zhang Yu also cast a provocative glance at him, and at the same time let out a triumphant laugh, as if he was sure to win this competition.

After all, the pill he refined this time was a fourth-grade Vitality Rebirth Pill, and there were no problems during the pill fusion stage. Unless something unexpected happens, Gu Juji has no chance of turning the tables.

"Only one last batch of medicinal herbs and a demon core remain! If I fail again, I'll never be able to hold my head up high again when facing Zhang Yu within the Alchemist Guild...!"

"What should we do...?!"

Faced with Zhang Yu's provocation and mockery, Gu Juji's face darkened, and his fists clenched tightly under his sleeves once again.

After all, this alchemy competition was not only a battle of grudges for him, but also a battle for dignity, and he had an absolute reason not to lose!

"Brother Ji, continue."

Just as Gu Juji was feeling desperate, a calm male voice slowly reached his ears.

"That voice... is it Fellow Daoist Lu?!"

Hearing the sound, Gu Juji looked up and saw Lu Feng in the corner of the crowd nodding slightly at him, which made Gu Juji's heart skip a beat.

"Brother Ji, I bet you don't want to lose to this exhibitionist who likes to go shirtless and talks a lot of nonsense, right?"

"I will assist you in refining the 'Returning to Oneness Pill' this last time."

Lu Feng secretly transmitted his voice again, his tone still calm, "So, what's up?"

"Dry!"

Taking a deep breath, Gu Juji clenched his teeth and immediately chose to believe Lu Feng.

Although he didn't know what method Lu Feng had to improve the success rate of the Baoyuan Guiyi Pill and help him turn defeat into victory, he had no other choice now that things had come to this!

As the saying goes, "Believe in Brother Lu and you'll live forever." Just believe it and that's all!

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the square

"Looks like it's almost done...!"

Guo Tianlin slightly raised his eyelids, glanced at the ancient furnace opposite him that was glowing red from the alchemical fire, then raised his hand and slammed his palm into the center of the furnace, simultaneously dispersing the surrounding alchemical fire.

Bang!

The instant Guo Tianlin struck out with his palm, the transparent figure beside him, resembling Guo Tianlin himself, also transformed his hand into a palm. The two of them unleashed their attacks simultaneously from the left and right, their coordination remaining flawless.

"The elixir is complete, ready to be produced!"

With another low shout, a glint of light flashed in Guo Tianlin's eyes, and he simultaneously withdrew his palms and stood up.

Click!

The next moment, the lid of the cauldron was suddenly lifted by an invisible shockwave, and at the same time, a rich and intoxicating aroma of elixir spread outwards. A wisp of pure white mist, as white as snow, could be vaguely seen enveloping the mouth of the cauldron. Clearly, the elixir produced this time was no ordinary product!

"The rich fragrance of cinnabar, and the pure white mist..."

"Could it be that Guo Tianlin just refined a fifth-grade pill, the Heavenly King Qi-Replenishing Pill?!"

Their gazes were also drawn to Guo Tianlin. Mondo narrowed his eyes, a look of surprise on his face, as if he had also figured something out.