Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Shaking Three Mountains
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Atop the stone platform, Elder Zhou’s expression changed, his eyes held locked onto Fang Lin’s actions.
“This is…” Elder Zhou murmured, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Right after Fang Lin had slapped the Golden Flame Cauldron thrice, and a dull, thudding sound echoed from within the cauldron.
On Lu Jiuhe’s side, the Green Rock Cauldron began to shake violently as well.
“How can this be?” Lu Jiuhe became flustered. The refining process for the Blood Coagulation Pill had reached its final stages, so why had the Pill Furnace started vibrating all of a sudden?
Fang Lin, his features carrying a hint of fatigue, glanced at Lu Jiuhe’s side and a smiled suddenly spread across his face.
Despite his frantic attempts, Lu Jihu was still unable to halt the vibrating Pill Furnace. His expression was becoming increasingly panicked and tense.
“What’s going on? Something seems off.”
“Why is the vibration from Senior Brother Lu’s Pill Furnace so intense?”
The people around also noticed the abnormality. The thudding sounds from Fang Lin’s Pill Furnace was incessant, while Lu Jiuhe’s Pill Furnace seemed to have been provoked in some way, shaking ceaselessly on the spot.
“This—is this…?” At a distance, Mu Yan suddenly let out a cry of surprise, but she stopped short of completing her sentence.
Meng Wuyou, puzzled, looked towards Mu Yan and said, “Could it be what? Just speak.”
Mu Yan shook her head. She wasn’t even sure if her guess was correct. Instead of explaining further, she merely suggested that they should wait and see.
Bang!
Suddenly, the lid of the Golden Flame Cauldron flew off and landed off to the side.
Following which, a large cloud of white smoke billowed out from the Golden Flame Cauldron, taking the shape of a Flood Dragon.
Upon seeing this, everyone present gasped in surprise, unable to maintain their composure.
“Smoke transformed into a Flood Dragon! The phenomenon of smoke taking the form of a Flood Dragon!”
“My God! I thought that was just a legend in the books!”
“A coincidence! It must be a coincidence!”
Smoke transforming into a Flood Dragon was a phenomenon recorded in many ancient alchemy texts. Whenever smoke from a Pill Furnace transformed into a Flood Dragon, it signified that the Pills refined were of the highest quality.
The smoke that formed the Flood Dragon lingered for a long time before gradually becoming invisible as it ascended towards the sky.
Lu Jiuhe stood there foolishly, as his Green Rock Cauldron continued to shake. The moment he saw the smoky white Flood Dragon, a sense of foreboding arose within his heart.
“The outcome of this contest is going to be hard to predict,” a disciple said with a frown.
His words found agreement with many others. Before this, everyone had been confident in Lu Jiuhe’s victory. However, now that the white Flood Dragon had emerged, everyone was unsure. Such a phenomenon represented that the Pills produced were of the highest quality. Unless Lu Jiuhe could also produce a Blood Coagulation Pill of the same supreme quality or even a higher one, he would not be able to surpass Fang Lin.
But, was that possible?
The highest quality was almost the limit. To go any higher meant a perfect quality, which was practically impossible to achieve.
At that moment, an unusual pill fragrance filled the air, not particularly rich, yet fresh and refined, much like sandalwood, incredibly soothing to the senses “This scent has a rather refreshing and calming effect upon inhalation.” “I feel so much more relaxed.”
“Just by the fragrance of the pill, it’s clear that its quality is not inferior.”
Hearing the surrounding discussions, Kang Lu’s face looked particularly unpleasant. His fists were tightly clenched, and his teeth were gnashing unconsciously.
“I refuse to believe! He has only just become a formal apprentice, I refuse to believe he possesses such advanced alchemy techniques!” Kang Lu roared inwardly.
At this moment, Fang Lin peeked into his Pill Furnace. Inside, nine milk-white Pills lay calmly at the bottom of the furnace, each seamless and pure, appearing as impeccable as mutton-fat jade.
Elder Zhou came down and saw the nine Blood Coagulation Pills in Fang Lin’s
Pill Furnace. He immediately appeared amazed.
“Please verify the quality, Elder,” Fang Lin said with a faint smile.
Elder Zhou nodded, and eagerly picked up the nine Pills for a closer look.
When Lu Jiuhe saw the milk-white Pills in Elder Zhou’s hand, his face changed instantly, and a look of despair flashed in his eyes.
“The highest quality Blood Coagulation Pills! Nine of them!” Elder Zhou checked every single Blood Coagulation Pill before loudly announcing to everyone in the field.
As soon as Elder Zhou’s words dropped, the crowd erupted in shock. Whether it was Pill Apprentices, formal disciples or those disciples from the Martial Sect who had come to watch the excitement, all of them widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at Fang Lin.
“My God, they are of the highest quality!”
“Who would have thought of that!”
“Smoke transforming into a Flood Dragon, it really did happen!”
At this moment, exclamations and praises for Fang Lin incessantly burst from everyone present, a stark contrast to the earlier disparagement towards Fang Lin.
Kang Lu and the others stood there, listening to these praises, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Especially Kang Lu, who had been eager to see Fang Lin lose face in front of everyone. However, the scene before him was completely opposite to his expectations.
“It isn’t over yet, Senior Brother Lu may still be able to refine Blood Coagulation Pills of the same highest quality. Fang Lin hasn’t won yet!” Kang Lu suddenly shouted.
Everyone glanced at him, showing expressions of disdain and mockery. The outcome was already clear, it was very unlikely for Lu Jiuhe to refine a Blood Coagulation Pill of the topmost quality. Even if Lu Jiuhe managed an incredible feat and produced a Blood Coagulation Pill of the highest grade, he would at most reach a draw with Fang Lin. In all respects, it could be said that Fang Lin was now standing on invincible grounds.
Elder Zhou then returned the Pills to Fang Lin. When he looked at Fang Lin again, his eyes held obvious admiration and surprise.
Fang Lin smiled, swayed slightly, and sat down on the ground.
“My apologies, Elder, but I’m simply too exhausted, ” Fang Lin admitted with a wry smile.
Elder Zhou shook his head and said, “Not a problem at all. The method you used earlier when you slapped the Pill Furnace thrice, could it be the Shaking
Three Mountains technique?”
Fang Lin saw no need to conceal and nodded.
Upon seeing Fang Lin’s confirmation, the shock in Elder Zhou’s eyes intensified, but it was accompanied by even greater joy and excitement.
“Well done! The Shaking Three Mountains!” Elder Zhou declared loudly.
Fang Lin rolled his eyes. Was this old man attempting to inform everyone of his mastery over the Shaking Three Mountains technique?
As expected, upon hearing “Shaking Three Mountains” , Mu Yan and Meng Wuyou revealed stunned expressions while Wu Zhen and Zhao Dengming were in disbelief.
“An ancient Alchemy Technique, Shaking Three Mountains, recorded in historical books, is manifested in a junior apprentice.” “This Fang Lin, it seems he’s more than meets the eye.”
“So that was the Shaking Three Mountains, no wonder there was the phenomenon of the Flood Dragon made of smoke.”
The Pill Furnace was like a mountain, and encompassing all the steps of refining a pill within three shakes was why it was called the Shaking Three Mountains.
While the three shakes Fang Lin did seemed simple earlier, they had exhausted all his mental and physical strength, hence him being so fatigued.
At this moment, Lu Jiuhe also managed to complete his set of pills.
However, after taking a single glance at his pills, he cried out and fell unconscious to the ground.
Elder Zhou swiftly moved over to Lu Jiuhe and checked on him. Seeing that he was merely unconscious and there were no serious injuries, he then looked inside Lu Jiuhe’s Pill Furnace.
A moment later, Elder Zhou, with a peculiar expression, announced loudly, “Lu
Jiuhe’s pill refining attempt has failed!”