Chapter 208: The Appointed Day Arrives, Public Pill-Concocting

Chapter 208: The Appointed Day Arrives, Public Pill-Concocting

"I reckon half a year should be sufficient."

Geng Wansheng, who had been the first to speak up, interjected once more.

"These pills are indeed challenging to refine, but since Brother Chu is an exceptional talent in the eyes of the elders, devoting himself solely to research during this period should yield fruitful results."

"They're really pulling out all the stops with this goading." Chu Ning sighed inwardly.

In truth, he was confident that even with just a month's time, he could easily concoct these pills with his eyes closed.

However, Chu Ning's objective was not to flaunt his skills but to establish his authority and gain a foothold.

Thus, he didn't deliberately rush the timeline and instead agreed, "Then half a year it is!"

Upon hearing Chu Ning's direct acceptance of the half-year deadline, Geng Wansheng was taken aback.

Even Yuan Rongzhang gave Chu Ning a surprised glance.

If it had been any other pills but the Jiuhua Condensing Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill, they might have believed it possible to improve the success rate within half a year.

But with these two pills in the mix, they simply couldn't bring themselves to believe it.

If one could achieve an 80% success rate in refining the Foundation Establishment Pill in just six months, the Jiuhua Sect would have nothing to worry about.

He Yanmao, too, was stunned. He had been about to speak up to buy Chu Ning more time, but he hadn't expected Chu Ning to agree so readily.

Just as He Yanmao was about to say something, Yuan Rongzhang interjected, seemingly afraid that Chu Ning might change his mind, "Since Brother Chu has agreed, it's settled then. We can also invite the elders to witness the event half a year from now."

As he spoke, he turned to a cultivator beside him and said, "Inform all the cultivators in the pavilion to observe Brother Chu's pill concoction half a year from now. Everyone must attend."

"Yes!"

Only then did Yuan Rongzhang turn to He Yanmao and say, "Brother He, would you please report this to the elders?"

He Yanmao sighed softly and nodded slightly.

With the situation having progressed this far, he couldn't very well say anything more.

And so, the group dispersed.

He Yanmao called Chu Ning to a room.

"Brother Chu, you're too impulsive!"

As soon as they entered the room, He Yanmao sighed, "I had intended to call you over today just for a meet and greet. Even if they tried to make things difficult for you, you could have just ignored them. After I reported to Master Gong, we could have put this matter to rest, and you could have continued your duties as an executive in peace, refining pills. But now, with all the ruckus, it's not so easy for Master Gong to forcibly suppress the issue."

He Yanmao paused slightly before continuing, "There's something you should know, Brother. This Yuan Rongzhang is a descendant of Elder Yuan, a late-stage Golden Core elder. After Qiu and Ling passed away, Yuan has been eager to become the chief executive of the Pill Refining Pavilion. But Master Gong disagreed, so I took the position. Today's incident was, to some extent, directed at me."

He Yanmao sighed softly again.

"I'm also to blame for this. I should have explained the situation to you clearly earlier, but I haven't seen you in the past half month, so I didn't get to clarify things. I never expected him to make things difficult for you so publicly today."

Hearing this, Chu Ning finally understood.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, where there are people, there is intrigue. So, it's a dispute between the First Elder and the Second Elder, and I've been inadvertently dragged into it."

It seemed that while the First Elder had supported He Yanmao in becoming the chief executive, their faction was still the weaker one within the Pill Refining Pavilion.

Chu Ning now understood why Elder Gong had wanted to bring in an outsider like him to be an executive.

Apparently, there was no suitable pill refiner within the Jiuhua Sect who could support He Yanmao at this time.

Chu Ning regretted that he had no interest in such disputes. All he wanted was a relatively relaxed cultivation environment.

With a noncommittal expression, Chu Ning said, "I am confident in my pill-refining skills."

Seeing Chu Ning's timely display of his 'true colors,' He Yanmao was taken aback for a moment before sighing inwardly.

"This personality... just like that 'Xiao Danshi.'"

Though he thought this, he couldn't help but say, "Since that's the case, you can focus on your research these next six months. I'll arrange a special pill-refining room for you in the Pill Refining Pavilion. As for the various raw materials needed for pill refining, they will be provided. However, these pills are extremely precious, so even our Pill Refining Pavilion can't supply them endlessly."

Chu Ning nodded in understanding and didn't say much more. Instead, he took out several jade slips from his storage bag and handed them to He Yanmao.

"Brother He, please take a look and tell me if there are any issues with the refining methods for these pills."

It wasn't unreasonable for Chu Ning to be cautious. After all, he knew nothing about the character of the Jiuhua Sect's members.

If any of the three had tampered with the refining methods, he might end up wasting his time and effort, only to become a laughingstock.

As he spoke, He Yanmao took out another jade slip from his storage bag.

"This slip contains some more basic knowledge about our Jiuhua Sect's pill-concocting techniques. Although your pill-concocting skills are exquisite, Brother Chu, the Jiuhua Condensing Pill is unique to our sect. Starting from this aspect will make it easier for you."

Seeing this, Chu Ning didn't refuse. It would indeed be a good thing to learn more about pill concoction during this time.

So, he took the jade slip without hesitation.

After chatting with He Yanmao for a while longer, Chu Ning bade him farewell and left.

In the following six months, Chu Ning continued to keep a low profile.

Most of the time, he stayed in his cave abode's courtyard.

Only every half a month, when Wang Ping brought him refining materials, would he spend a few days in the pill refining room of the Pill Refining Pavilion.

However, after each pill concoction, Chu Ning always maintained a calm and peaceful demeanor, leaving everyone clueless about his progress in pill refining and the success rate of his pill concoction.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of Chu Ning's promised pill concoction arrived.

On this day, Chu Ning left his cave abode and flew towards the Pill Refining Pavilion.

In his heart, he pondered his gains over the past six months.

[Yanfire Divine Wood Technique (Upper-tier Profound Rank), Third Layer (2660/20000)]



[Nine Transformations Body Refining Art, First Volume, Undying Golden Body (345/10000)]



[Refine God Technique, Third Layer (7837/8000)]



The proficiency levels displayed in his mind gave Chu Ning his answer.

In the past six months, his cultivation progress in the third layer of the Yanfire Divine Wood Technique had increased by 1,000 points, averaging more than 5 points per day.

This was faster than before.

Naturally, this progress was thanks to the Nine Cycles Condensing Pill.

This pill was originally only a mid-tier mediocre spiritual pill.

However, after being refined by Chu Ning, it had reached the level of a mid-tier high-quality pill.

Although it was not specifically a Wood and Fire dual-attribute pill, it was even more effective in enhancing spiritual power than the Green Wood Primal Yang Pill refined by Chu Ning himself.

This also allowed Chu Ning's cultivation to progress significantly over the past six months.

The progress of the Undying Golden Body in the Nine Transformations Body Refining Art was average.

As for the Refine God Technique, the third layer had also increased by about 100 points compared to normal cultivation.

Naturally, this was due to the effects of the Six Gods Pill.

This pill was indeed a mid-tier mediocre spiritual pill, and it had an extremely good effect on enhancing divine sense.

When used in combination with the Iron Soul Flower, the results were astonishingly good.

As for the Purple Gold Pill and the Foundation Establishment Pill, Chu Ning had no use for them temporarily, so he gave them all to He Yanmao after refining them.

This delighted He Yanmao greatly, as these Foundation Establishment Pills solved the Pill Refining Pavilion's urgent need.

In addition to cultivation techniques, his progress in spells was also good.

After trying to combine the Wind and Fire Conflagration Art with the Fiery Blaze Scripture, Chu Ning indeed found that the power of the Fiery Blaze Scripture had increased significantly.

Currently, he had already cultivated it to the point where he could perfectly combine it with the Flamewing Bird form, and he had started attempting to combine it with the Fire Python form.

He believed that it wouldn't take long before he could try combining it with the Red-Eyed Tiger Demon form as well.

It must be known that the Red-Eyed Tiger Demon form had fused with the Spirit Soul Demon Fire, making it inherently more powerful than the normal Fiery Blaze Scripture manifestation.

If he added the Wind and Fire Conflagration Art on top of that, the might would be absolutely astonishing.

As for the Divide Spirit Technique, with Chu Ning's persistent cultivation, he had already reached the level of twelve divided spirits.

With his divine sense becoming stronger, Chu Ning's progress in cultivating the Divide Spirit Technique was also noticeably faster.

In the past five or six years, he had only progressed from three divided spirits to nine.

But in the past year, he had already reached twelve.

As Chu Ning thought about his cultivation progress, he soon arrived at the Pill Refining Pavilion.

"Chu Executive is here!"

"Chu Executive!"

When Chu Ning entered the Pill Refining Pavilion, some of the Qi Refining cultivators inside saw him and greeted him respectfully.

Although there were quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Pill Refining Pavilion who didn't seem to recognize Chu Ning's executive position, most of the Qi Refining cultivators still maintained sufficient respect for Chu Ning since he was appointed by the sect.

At least that was the case on the surface.

Chu Ning didn't bother to guess which of these people were sincere and which were fake.

He nodded to everyone and then headed straight for the practice field behind the Pill Refining Pavilion.

There were two pill concocting areas in the practice field behind the Pill Refining Pavilion, which were usually used for pill concocting exchanges within the pavilion.

The executives and some of the more powerful non-executive pill masters in the Pill Refining Pavilion would also refine pills here from time to time.

It was a way to give the disciples opportunities to observe and learn.

When Chu Ning arrived at the practice field, he found that there were even more Qi Refining cultivators gathered there, and quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators as well.

What surprised Chu Ning was that there were also quite a few disciples from places like the Artifact Refining Pavilion and the Beast Taming Pavilion.

He could tell from their different clothing.

"Brother Chu, don't feel pressured during the pill concoction later." He Yanmao said, a smile on his dark face.

"I've already informed Elder Gong, and as long as your Condensing Pill's success rate isn't too low, he will speak up for you."

Upon hearing He Yanmao's words, Chu Ning didn't offer any explanation but merely smiled faintly and said, "Thank you, Brother He. I'll go and prepare now."

He Yanmao nodded in response, "Alright, go ahead, Brother. We'll greet the Golden Core elders when they arrive later."

As Chu Ning spoke, he walked towards the alchemy chamber within the dojo, which was separated by a restrictive barrier.

At that moment, Su Yuqing also appeared and smiled, nodding at Chu Ning.

Chu Ning nodded back in acknowledgment but didn't pause in his steps, proceeding directly into the alchemy chamber.

This was Chu Ning's first time in this place.

The alchemy chamber was essentially an elevated platform surrounded by restrictive barriers.

Chu Ning sensed the barriers slightly and found that they seemed to have only a soundproofing effect, allowing spiritual energy and line of sight to pass through unimpeded.

They were likely meant to prevent external influences from affecting the pill concoction process.

At the center of the platform was a pitch-black earth fire pit, but there was no pill furnace placed on it.

Chu Ning placed his own pill furnace on the platform and then unlocked the array sealing the earth fire, carefully sensing its properties.

The earth fire here was exceptionally stable, much to Chu Ning's satisfaction.

After closing off the earth fire, he sat down cross-legged on the platform to calm his mind and gather his spiritual energy.

At that moment, in a corner of the dojo, Yuan Rongzhang stood with Geng Wansheng and the others.

A soundproof barrier surrounded the group, and when they saw Chu Ning from a distance, one of them murmured softly, "This Brother Chu is remarkably calm. Could it be that he truly has a plan?"

"Impossible!" Yuan Rongzhang refuted immediately upon hearing this.

"It's difficult even for pill masters in our sect who have been practicing the Nineflower Condensing Pill's fire control technique to master it in just half a year.

How could he possibly use it in pill concoction within this short period, let alone while also cultivating other pill formulas?"

Geng Wansheng chimed in, "Indeed, Yuan Rongzhang. It took you a long time to cultivate the Nineflower Condensing Pill's fire control technique to such purity.

It's absolutely impossible for this Chu Ning to master it in a short time."

After a brief pause, Geng Wansheng continued, "Yuan Rongzhang, do you think he might give up on concocting the Nineflower Condensing Pill and only refine the other three pills?

If he's talented enough, he might achieve a certain success rate.

In that case, even if he fails to refine the Nineflower Condensing Pill, Elder Gong might still speak up for him."

"That..."

Hearing Geng Wansheng's words, a serious expression appeared on Yuan Rongzhang's face.

He felt that Geng Wansheng's words made sense. After all, Chu Ning was someone brought in by Elder Gong.

Just as he hesitated, a message-transmitting talisman suddenly appeared in his hand.

Yuan Rongzhang sensed it briefly and then smiled with delight. "Rest assured. Today, unless Chu Ning can refine all the pills, he will definitely not become the pavilion master."

The group was curious about Yuan Rongzhang's words, but since he didn't elaborate, they knew better than to ask further.

Soon, they entered the dojo and took their places at the center.

Almost everyone from the Pill Refining Pavilion had gathered, and due to the pavilion's advance notice, most people were present, with very few out on missions or refining pills. Additionally, members from other pavilions and peaks had joined, making the crowd nearly four hundred strong.

Everyone knew that sounds couldn't penetrate the restrictive barriers around the alchemy platform, so various discussions erupted.

Some were curious, while others were skeptical, creating a lively atmosphere.

Just then, four beams of light appeared in the sky, approaching rapidly from a distance and soon arriving above the dojo.

"The elders have arrived!"

Just from the beams of light, the crowd could tell that these were the sect's elders.

There was one Nascent Soul elder in the Nineflower Sect, along with the sect master, Yu Changle, who was at the late Golden Core stage. The first and second elders were also at the late Golden Core stage.

In addition, there were seven Golden Core elders, two of whom were at the middle Golden Core stage, while the rest were at the early Golden Core stage.

With one Nascent Soul cultivator and ten Golden Core cultivators, their collective strength was indeed formidable.

However, only four beams of light were present, indicating that not all the elders had come.

From the beams of light alone, the crowd couldn't identify which elders had arrived, so they all bowed together and greeted, "Greetings, elders!"

Chu Ning, standing outside the platform's restrictive barriers, also noticed the elders' arrival and bowed respectfully.

Looking up, he recognized three of the four elders.

One of them was Elder Gong, who had brought him into the sect.

As for the last elder with a square face, Chu Ning did not recognize him.

Although Chu Ning was unfamiliar, the rest of the elders from the Pill Refining Pavilion recognized him.

Upon seeing this elder, He Yanmao and the others exclaimed in surprise, "Elder Ling! You've emerged from seclusion!"

Hearing their exclamations, Chu Ning realized that this elder must be Ling Cang, the Golden Core elder of the Pill Refining Pavilion.

"Hmm!"

Ling Cang acknowledged them with a soft grunt and then swept his gaze across the few Pill Refining Pavilion executives, his voice cold as he said, "If I hadn't come out of seclusion, who knows how much more of a laughingstock you would have made of the pavilion."

With these words, he rebuked the few executives, leaving them speechless for a moment.

At this moment, Gong Yuyuan smiled and said, "Elder Ling has successfully broken through to the middle stage of the Golden Core. As soon as he heard about the Pill Refining Pavilion's situation, he rushed over.

All of you should quickly congratulate him."

"Congratulations, Elder Ling, on breaking through to the middle stage of the Golden Core!"

Hearing Gong Yuyuan's words, everyone bowed and congratulated him once again.

The disciples of the Pill Refining Pavilion also looked at Ling Cang with delight.

This elder had always been protective of the pavilion, and now that he had emerged from seclusion and broken through to the middle stage of the Golden Core, the Pill Refining Pavilion would no longer be bullied as it had been recently.

Hearing everyone's congratulations, Ling Cang's expression softened slightly.

However, he continued to stare at the four executives and said, "Brother Gong brought in a talented pill master with good intentions, but you lot messed things up.

Instead of focusing on improving your pill concocting skills, you're always plotting these schemes, and now even the sect's supply of high-quality pills is affected.

He Yanmao, Yuan Rongzhang, you two have really disappointed me."

Everyone knew that Elder Ling had a stubborn personality.

However, the fact that he openly reprimanded the two executives in front of the First and Second Elders surprised many people.

For a moment, the entire dojo fell silent.

He Yanmao opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.

Yuan Rongzhang bowed and said, "Elder, I admit that I was at fault, but my original intention, as well as Brother Geng's, was for the benefit of the Pill Refining Pavilion.

After all, the pavilion has always had this rule, and if we set a precedent, we won't be able to uphold the rule anymore."

At this moment, Ling Cang looked at Chu Ning and said, "Chu Ning, Brother Gong has already explained to me his reasons for bringing you into the pavilion as an executive, and it is understandable given the circumstances.

However, what Yuan Rongzhang and Geng Wansheng said also makes sense. If your pill concocting skills don't meet the requirements of an executive, the other disciples might not be convinced.

Since the few of you have already come to an agreement, let's proceed with your suggestion."

With Ling Cang's words, even Gong Yuyuan had no reason to object, and he readily agreed, "That's the best decision!"

Yuan Zhuo also nodded and said, "When it comes to the Pill Refining Pavilion, Elder Ling has the final say."

Elder Ling had been in seclusion for a full decade, and during that time, both Gong Yuyuan and Yuan Zhuo had harbored thoughts about taking control of the Pill Refining Pavilion.

After all, it was a hub of the sect's best resources.

However, now that Ling Cang had emerged from seclusion and advanced to the middle stage of the Golden Core, the two of them naturally let go of those ambitions.

Although they were at the late stage of the Golden Core, they had no hope of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage anytime soon, and it would be difficult for them to directly suppress Ling Cang, who was at the middle stage of the Golden Core.

Furthermore, the two of them had been keeping each other in check.

Hearing Ling Cang's words, a smile appeared on Yuan Rongzhang's face.

At that moment, Geng Wansheng realized why Yuan Rongzhang had said those words earlier.

Apparently, he had learned about Ling Cang's emergence from seclusion from Yuan Zhuo.

Standing on the high platform, Chu Ning listened to the elders' conversation and gradually understood the underlying situation.

However, he didn't take it to heart.

After all, as long as he refined the pills successfully, everything would be fine.

Thus, he cupped his hands and said, "Elder, then I shall begin refining the pills."

"Go ahead," Ling Cang waved his hand, signaling for Chu Ning to start.

Chu Ning immediately walked back into the restrictive barrier, summoned the earth fire, and began to refine the Purple Gold Pill.

Among the four pills, the Purple Gold Pill was the easiest to refine, and Chu Ning had already attempted it twice in the past six months.

Naturally, the success rate was high.

At this moment, he skillfully separated and placed the various spirit herbs into the pill furnace, beginning a series of processes: decocting, extracting, melting, separating, and finally, pill condensation.

Chu Ning's pill concocting techniques on the high platform were smooth and seamless, but the fire control technique he used was just an ordinary one from the Spirit Pill Anthology.

Therefore, the people watching below weren't too surprised.

It wasn't until Chu Ning completed the entire pill condensation process and began to retrieve the pills that the crowd became excited.

Chu Ning clapped his hands, causing the lid of the pill furnace to open, and the pills inside flew out and hovered in the air.

Chu Ning intentionally let everyone see the pills clearly, so he didn't directly put them into a bottle but allowed them to float in the air for a moment.

Immediately, exclamations of surprise rang out.

"Eight pills! The success rate of this Purple Gold Pill has reached ninety percent!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end