The Unprecedented Genius Alchemist

After Chi Danzi’s explanation, Xia Yi finally grasped the Myriad Treasure Pavilion’s certification process.

Simply put, the Myriad Treasure Pavilion would provide materials for three distinct types of pills.

Each type of pill would come with three sets of materials; Xia Yi would pass as long as he could refine two different pills within the stipulated time and before exhausting his allocated ingredients.

Upon successful completion, the Myriad Treasure Pavilion would award him alchemist robes and badges befitting the corresponding rank.

Of course, the Myriad Treasure Pavilion was not a charity; if he passed, the expended materials would be considered an investment, and the pavilion would even offer to purchase the pills he had refined.

Should he fail, he would be required to pay spirit stones equivalent to the value of the spirit herbs.

Furthermore, the pill cauldron used for refining had to be one provided by the Myriad Treasure Pavilion.

“Well, Xia Yi, my young friend, do you have any other questions?”

“None at all.”

“Excellent. In that case, let us waste no time and begin the certification now.”

With a sweep of his hand, Chi Danzi arranged nine full sets of medicinal ingredients neatly on a nearby table.

“These ingredients will be your examination, young friend. The timer will begin the moment I close the door on my way out. Is that clear?”

After surveying the ingredients Chi Danzi had laid out and confirming everything was in order, Xia Yi assented.

“Yes, no problem.”

“Very well. This alchemy room is now yours, young friend.”

With that, Chi Danzi stroked his beard and exited the room.

‘Click.’

As the sound of the door closing echoed, Xia Yi commenced his alchemy, igniting the pill cauldron with his pure white Extreme Yang True Flame.

****

“How is he doing?”

Returning to the monitoring room, Chi Danzi glanced at the flowing sand in the hourglass before inquiring about Xia Yi’s progress.

“Excellent. His refining process is very familiar. His control over spirit herbs and pill formulas is also exceptionally strong.”

“Oh?”

Hearing such praise from Xuan Shen, Chi Danzi looked curiously towards Xia Yi in the alchemy room.

As Fourth-Rank alchemists, they had worked together for many years, yet this was the first time Chi Danzi had ever heard Xuan Shen give such a positive evaluation.

Ordinarily, even a ‘mediocre’ rating was considered quite good.

Even the young man from the Azure Feather Immortal Sect’s Pill Peak, when he came for certification, received only an average assessment.

What kind of person could possibly elicit the word ‘excellent’ from Xuan Shen?

From Chi Danzi’s perspective, Xia Yi had perfectly and swiftly solved the first challenge they had set: the classification of ingredients for the three types of pills.

Indeed, Chi Danzi had not initially provided Xia Yi with pre-sorted ingredients.

Instead, they had deliberately mixed one or two spirit herbs, forcing the certifier to discern them independently.

For instance, by blending one or two ingredients for Pill B into the materials for Pill A, they would observe if the certifier could correctly identify the necessary ingredients for each pill.

‘Judging by this speed, this lad must have noticed something amiss the moment I laid out the ingredients.’

‘What a brilliant young man, even faster than that fellow from the Azure Feather Immortal Sect’s Pill Peak. No wonder you gave him such high praise.’

Chi Danzi was full of admiration for Xia Yi’s ability to quickly distinguish the required ingredients for the pills.

“Not only that, but have you noticed? His alchemy technique is incredibly fluid, and his flame is quite unique.”

Prompted by Xuan Shen’s observation, Chi Danzi then focused his attention on Xia Yi’s refining technique.

“Hmm… so fluid? Wait, no! How is his impurity removal speed so incredibly fast?!”

Impurity removal was one of the essential steps in alchemy; the quality and speed of this process directly influenced the final pill’s grade.

It was also the most time-consuming and mentally taxing stage.

Xia Yi’s inherent purification ability, combined with the extremely high temperature of his Extreme Yang True Flame, allowed him to complete this high-quality impurity removal with remarkable ease, immediately proceeding to the next step.

This made Xia Yi’s entire refining process as smooth and seamless as executing a familiar combo with one’s favorite hero.

“This must be his unique advantage, no wonder he can come to certify as a Third-Rank alchemist at such a young age.”

“Indeed, apart from some minor flaws in his heat control, there are virtually no other issues.”

“Hmm…”

Just as Xuan Shen and Chi Danzi assumed Xia Yi’s final burst of intense heat was a result of poor heat control, leading to the waste of the first set of materials…

…a perfectly round Qi Restoration Pill, adorned with three pill纹 (TL Note: A visible pattern or marking on a pill indicating its high quality and potency), was retrieved by Xia Yi from the cauldron and placed into a jade bottle.

“What?! He actually succeeded in refining it!”

“Pill patterns!!”

Fortunately, Xia Yi could not hear the commotion in the monitoring room, or else Xuan Shen and Chi Danzi’s shouts might have startled him into causing the cauldron to explode.

“A perfect-grade Qi Restoration Pill!”

“How did he manage that?!”

It was no wonder these two veteran Fourth-Rank alchemists lost their composure, for the appearance of pill patterns signified that the pill could perfectly unleash the efficacy of all its ingredients with side effects so minimal they were negligible.

Even they, when refining a Third-Rank Qi Restoration Pill, could not produce one with pill patterns.

In other words, Xia Yi, with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, had refined a top-grade pill that even they, at the perfected Golden Core stage, could not achieve!

“Wait! What is he doing?!”

Xia Yi, having just refined a patterned Qi Restoration Pill, did not rest.

Instead, following his usual habit, he continued by tossing the ingredients for a second type of pill into the cauldron.

“Continuous refining!!? Is he insane?!”

Upon confirming that Xia Yi was indeed performing a continuous, unbroken refining operation, Chi Danzi was so stunned that he actually plucked out some of his own beard.

He hastily moved, intent on stopping Xia Yi from an action that would surely cause the cauldron to explode.

Yet, before he could take two steps, Xuan Shen’s voice called him back.

“No! It’s stable!! He stabilized the medicinal properties!!”

“Ah?”

After Xia Yi initiated the continuous refining operation, his pill cauldron merely gave a symbolic tremor before obediently settling into calm.

It was common knowledge that if one cooked in an unwashed wok, the flavors would intermingle.

Alchemy followed the same principle; refining a new pill without completely clearing the residual medicinal power of the previous one would lead to chaotic medicinal energies and an explosion.

However, Xia Yi’s inherent purification ability and the formidable heat of his Extreme Yang True Flame allowed him to completely bypass this step.

He had discovered this while studying with Pei Yunxiang, a revelation that had startled her at the time.

Nevertheless, this particular operation, apart from saving a bit of time, wasn’t actually of much significant use—unless one needed to refine two Ninth-Rank pills in a short period.

“Alas, he is indeed a genius, even more remarkable than that young man from the Azure Feather Immortal Sect’s Pill Peak, but it’s a pity his temperament is too impatient.”

With a slight sigh, Xuan Shen did not hold much optimism for the outcome of Xia Yi’s second pill refinement.

The reason, once again, stemmed from the continuous refining operation.

Generally, for lower-grade pills, alchemists would try their best to avoid continuous refining, as it would not only cause the cauldron to explode.

Even if one was lucky enough to avoid an explosion, the resulting pill would most likely be a mottled poison pill, utterly useless and a mere waste of materials.

This was why Xuan Shen felt such pity for Xia Yi.

Xia Yi’s talent and strength were indeed the greatest he had ever witnessed, but his temperament for alchemy fell far short.

‘Unless he can refine another pill with pill patterns under continuous refining!’

Xuan Shen clearly did not believe such a result was possible; pills with pill patterns were gifts from heaven, and only those with immense fortune could occasionally refine one.

How much less likely for a young man with an impatient temperament?

‘If Xia Yi can refine another pill with pill patterns under these circumstances, then I, Xuan Shen, will eat this table on the spot!’

However, Xia Yi’s subsequent actions made Xuan Shen exceedingly grateful that he had not voiced his inner thoughts just moments before.

Otherwise, he would now be pondering whether it was better to eat the table with a dip or simply gnaw on it raw.

Before the astonished gazes of the two veteran Fourth-Rank alchemists, Xia Yi retrieved a Purity Pill, also adorned with pill patterns, and placed it into a jade bottle.