Attack and defense…
Such pill battling methods were simply unheard-of. But for Gu Zuo, who possessed the secret method of psychic powers, there wouldn’t be any problems with manipulating the flow of medicinal power to rapidly produce medicinal pills. Only, since the rules were like this, it would be for the best that he attacked and had the essence of a “fight” if he wanted to surpass others.
Hence, Gu Zuo’s mind began to calculate.
He wanted to choose a medicinal pill that spewed medicinal power all over the place and had intense reactions when refining. The best pills would be unstable ones… Of course, there were many pills that restrained one another. If he could sniff out the type of medicinal pills the pharmacists next to him were refining in advance, he could simply focus on selecting those pills… But there were at least four people surrounding him. The ones he most needed to handle were the two on his left and right. He couldn’t guarantee that they would all refine the same medicinal pill. As a result, the selected pill had to be capable of affecting other pharmacists in a large area.
After thinking about it in this way, ordinary pills weren’t too reliable.
In the end, the ones that were genuinely suited for “fighting” were mostly the Paradox Pills — The Soul Pills, Trick Pills, and Poison Pills were all useable. Soul Pills required the extraction of souls from other living creatures, so it wasn’t suitable here. The toxicity of Poison Pills could negatively affect other medicinal pills, so it actually could be chosen. The Trick Pills were a jumbled heap with too many applications to count, so it was also naturally feasible… In that case, it was either the Poison Pills or the Trick Pills, or he could simply combine both sides. He carefully pondered over this.
After Gu Zuo hesitated for a while, he still selected the Trick Pill in the end.
It would be a pure Trick Pill, without any poison.
It wasn’t because of anything else. Rather, while it could indeed thwart the nearby pharmacists if it contained poison, the refined medicinal pill couldn’t be eaten. Maybe it would also have strong side effects, which wasn’t too good either. In addition, a disciple of the magnificent Qingyun Sect would be refining medicinal poison in front of everyone. This, this would also inevitably cause a loss of face.
After contemplating for a little bit more, Gu Zuo finally picked a branch of medicinal pills.
The name of this medicinal pill was the Spirit Devouring Pill.
By just hearing this name, one would know that it wasn’t a good thing. And as the name implied, the function of this pill was mainly to devour the spirit!
If the thing devoured was a martial artist’s true qi, then its name would be changed to the Qi Devouring Pill, but it didn’t. The meaning of spirit devouring was to swallow up…the qi of a pill’s medicinal spirit.
Yes, swallowing a medicinal pill’s spiritual qi wasn’t the same as swallowing a martial artist’s true qi. It was an archetypical type of item for trapping pharmacists. However, if it was only this, Gu Zuo wouldn’t have gone so far as to launching the Spirit Devouring Pill — Because there were some pills with analogous uses. After swallowing the spiritual qi of very many pills, it would explode. This was purely to harm others without benefitting oneself. It was specifically used to cheat others.
Ah, but it wouldn’t be good here, right? Although the pill wrecked others, it also destroyed itself. That would still result in a loss! How can it be used here?
The reason why the Spirit Devouring Pill was stranger than ordinary Trick Pills was due to it being a composite-type medicinal pill.
It wasn’t known when some illustrious pharmacist genius invented such a medicinal pill. A dozen mutually-restraining herbs were used to refine a type of auxiliary pill’s pill liquid. Meanwhile, the pharmacist then refined another medicinal pill to form the main pill’s pill liquid. After that, by using an exquisite technique, the auxiliary pill’s pill liquid encapsulated the other pill liquid. And under the pharmacist’s control, a two-in-one composite pill would be formed. The combination of effects was that Spirit Devouring Pill!
Just as he thought of it, he acted. Gu Zuo swiftly instructed the medicine runner about the proper medicinal herbs he should fetch.
That medicine runner was also well-behaved. His legs made quick strides as he ran along the field. The other pharmacists were still in the middle of thinking about it when some saw that another person was rushing to the front. Perhaps they were struck by inspiration or their hearts stirred restlessly, but they also quickly made their decisions and had their medicinal herbs fetched.
It didn’t take long for all kinds of medicinal herb fragrances to start wafting through the field.
The medicine runners busily shuttled between the pharmacists, and the flames within those pill cauldrons were ignited and combusted with the start of the competition.
Of course, Gu Zuo had also roused the flame underneath his pill cauldron to warm it up.
The medicinal herbs to his side were divided into two batches. One batch was for refining the Revitalization Pill, which was suitable for Xiantian martial artists. The other batch was the materials for the Spirit Devouring Pill.
The work methods of the Qingyun Sect pharmacists naturally caused many other powers to take notice.
Above all, because today was the finals, the City Lord’s Mansion had invited three Grand Elders of the mansion to appear. This was to conduct an accurate judgment for this time’s Pill Battling Assembly, and to obtain the fairest grading and ranking.
Among the Grand Elders, there was even a Golden-Level pharmacist who was of the same rank as Xu Lingxiu’s master in Qingyun Sect. After he appeared, the authority of this Pill Battling Assembly was that much stronger!
Additionally, there were still many high-level pharmacists who hadn’t participated in the Pill Battling Assembly. They possessed gold slips for the Myriad Medicine Tower and were very famous on their own. All of them tried to sit with the three Grand Elders. When they watched the pill battles, they also carried out commentaries and discussed the medicine refining processes of those competing pharmacists — This was similarly a big attraction for the Pill Battling Assembly. As far as these pharmacists were concerned, these comments and discussions were considered their own pill battles.
Getting back to the main point.
After all the pharmacists finished choosing their medicinal herbs, those spectating high-level pharmacists began to talk.
One would only hear their engrossed chatter:
“That youngster is pretty good. Looking at the herbs he got, he should be refining the Cold Ice Pill. This pill is suited for martial artists who practice ice-attribute cultivation methods or martial skills. Although it’s an esoteric choice, the refining process will emit intense, ice-cold qi. I’m afraid the youngsters close to him will be out of luck.”
“You all look at that woman. The heat of the herbs she took is enormous. She should be refining the Scarlet Fire Pill, which suits fire-attribute martial artists. She’s the opposite of that youngster refining the Cold Ice Pill. If they were sitting together, wouldn’t that collision be interesting?”
“Indeed, very interesting. It’s a pity that they’re not sitting in the same place. Thus, any impact will be somewhat small. However, whether it’s the Cold Ice Pill or the Scarlet Fire Pill, the pill cauldrons of the surrounding pharmacists will be negatively affected.”
“How many cauldrons will they blown up this time?”
“Quick, look at that person. Is the thing being refined the Snake Saliva Pill? I’ve heard that one needs the poison of a hundred snakes. However, even though the refined product is highly toxic, it’s also a wonder pill used to counteract other poisons…”
Such conversations were uttered, and many of the spectating pharmacists, who didn’t understand what they were seeing, all had sudden realizations. They took the initiative to raise their many insights. The ones who were currently talking were pharmacists of virtue and prestige. While their words weren’t vaunted as key principles, their words could let many people see the light. It deserved deep respect.
The pharmacists currently on the field for the finals were the best out of everyone. Practically every person had a few tricks up their sleeves, and they absolutely couldn’t be looked down upon.
The spectators commented one by one, and each of them were in exuberant moods.
Suddenly, a high-level pharmacist said with hesitation: “That teenager seems to be refining a…Revitalization Pill?”
Hearing these words, the other prestigious pharmacists all looked over, feeling rather astonished:
“The Revitalization Pill is a pill that can cure the majority of a Xiantian martial artist’s injuries. Its effects are wonderful. Therefore, it mustn’t be refined with other medicinal pills in the same cauldron, and it mustn’t be polluted with other medicinal powers. Otherwise, the caldron will definitely explode.”
“He is refining the Revitalization Pill. When the people to his sides emit medicinal power, he’ll suffer many negative influences.”
“By refining the Revitalization Pill, I’m afraid that it’ll be much harder for him to form the pill than it’ll be for those refining other medicinal pills… Why would this youngster want to refine the Revitalization Pill?”
Soon, some pharmacists recognized that the teenager was a Qingyun Sect disciple. He hadn’t ever participated in any of the preceding qualifying rounds, and had directly entered the finals. Suddenly, someone guessed that this youngster lacked experience. And because he was too young, he hadn’t grasped that many pill prescriptions. Therefore, he had no choice but to use this. But it was also due to the teenager’s young age that many pharmacists believed that it was already fantastic that he came to take part in the finals to gain experience and not achievements. It wasn’t too late for him to come back five years later to reveal outstanding talent.
However, the high-level pharmacist who first discovered that teenager continued to speak: “Everyone, if he’s refining the Revitalization Pill, it seems there are a dozen more medicinal herbs than there should be.”
When these words were spoken, everyone else fell silent.
Ah, right. All the herbs for the Revitalization Pill that the teenager was refining were present, but there were still more than ten extra herbs. What did he want to do? Could it be that the teenager got the medicinal herbs wrong? It wasn’t likely. If it was just refining the Revitalization Pill, the prescription was commonly seen. In that case, there certainly wouldn’t have been an error with the herbs. Or, could it be possible that it wasn’t the Revitalization Pill? It didn’t seem to be the case either.
In an instant, these pharmacists became especially interested in the teenager who was refining the Revitalization Pill. On the contrary, they didn’t care that much about the other numerous, outstanding pharmacists in the venue.
This teenager who was being closely watched was naturally Gu Zuo.
Indeed, the Revitalization Pill required a purer environment. However, as the Revitalization Pill acted as the main pill, would there still be concerns about impurity when the auxiliary pill’s medicinal liquid encapsulated it? It wouldn’t be attacked or polluted by other medicinal powers at all.
After selecting the medicinal herbs and composing himself, Gu Zuo directly threw quite a few herbs into the pill cauldron. The herbs sizzled as they melted into an extremely pure medicinal liquid and condensed.
When it was about to be formed, Gu Zuo made another move, and threw out all the medicinal herbs for refining the Revitalization Pill.
This kind of action immediately made those high-level pharmacists stare blankly.
Soon after, someone frowned: “Making trouble! He’s really making trouble! Could it be that he considers this place as a vulgar claptrap to please the crowds?!”
Another felt it was interesting: “He hasn’t blown up the cauldron yet. Perhaps there’s some other purpose?”
Someone else muttered irresolutely: “I haven’t seen anything like this before. Now, let’s see what that teenager intends to do.”
Gu Zuo’s movements were considerably fast.
Suddenly, all of the Revitalization Pill’s herbs were turned to medicinal liquid and had gathered together. Following that, several medicinal herbs for the Spirit Devouring Pill were also thrown in. They combined with the herbs of the auxiliary pill, which went in previously, and had also turned to liquid.
If someone saw the current situation inside the pill cauldron, they would be able to see a transparent liquid ball as big as a pigeon egg as well as a ball of solidifying liquid as big as a thumb. Soon, the pigeon egg-sized liquid ball swiftly drew close to the thumb-sized liquid ball. There was an abrupt collision, and it wrapped the other up!
At this moment, the large medicinal ball covered the smaller medicinal ball. Yet, as a whole, it still presented a beautiful amber color. And this amber color was the color of the Revitalization Pill. Because the exterior of that larger medicine ball was colorless and inconspicuous, the amber color was contrasted and became even more lustrous, glossy, and beautiful.
With such a spectacle, those high-level pharmacists were all somewhat dumbfounded.
The cauldron hadn’t exploded?
In the end, what was that teenager doing?
It seemed as if there was nothing special about it… Was it possible that the extra medicinal herbs that were put in weren’t the least bit useful? Could it be that the teenager had intentionally chosen these herbs in order to please the crowds? Or should it be said that these medicinal herbs were merely to protect the Revitalization Pill? But if it was only this, while there was enough defending, there wasn’t enough attacking. The idea was indeed new and original, but it was only new and original. It was out of the question to say that there was something worthy of a second glance…
Yet, while the pharmacists were generating many conjectures, a strange matter occurred the next moment.
Above Gu Zuo’s pill cauldron, a faint breeze seemed to have formed.
In this outdoors environment, having a breeze blowing by was something that couldn’t have been more normal. However, that wind nevertheless came from inside the pill cauldron. That was very abnormal.
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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