Immortality begins with Becoming an Alchemy Grandmaster

Liu Muchan was somewhat curious, ”However, Junior Brother Xuan Luo has only achieved results in Pill Refinement Technique. In the Sect’s grand competition, what counts is realm cultivation and fighting methods. Even if he participates, it should be hard for him to secure a good ranking, right?”

It was not surprising for Liu Muchan to say so, as Luo Chen was strictly introduced by her, and at that time, he was only at the Early Stage Foundation Establishment realm.

However, to her surprise, Senior Brother just smiled slightly.

”You are mistaken about that!”

”Oh?”

”When you first went into closed-door cultivation, Xuan Luo met with the Master for the second time and had already broken through to the Middle Stage Foundation Establishment. His cultivation speed far exceeded imagination. Later, when refining pills, I occasionally checked his assignments and found that he did not fall behind in cultivation. Especially...” Wan Jiu Zhang thought of the batch of elixirs Luo Chen refined at the Pill Tasting Conference, confidently saying, ”Especially with the aid of the Circulating Qi Pill, so much time has passed that he most likely has further advanced in his realm!”

Liu Muchan hesitated and said, ”Could it be that he has already reached the Late Stage Foundation Establishment?”

”Not only that!” Wan Jiu Zhang said meaningfully, ”Before he announced closed-door cultivation, he had already reached the Late Stage Foundation Establishment.”

Liu Muchan was stunned, her beautiful face revealing an uncontrollable look of surprise.

”Could it be...”

”Alright, let’s focus on the grand competition!”

Wan Jiu Zhang waved his hand, maneuvering the Flying Boat, taking everyone towards Dou Jian Mountain.

When they arrived at the scene, the bustling scene almost dazzled those Lower Order Disciples who had been cultivating at Jade Spring Peak and occasionally going out on tasks.

They only then realized how vast the Su Ling Sect was.

Even just among the young people with a cultivation level similar to their own, there was already a large group.

Moreover, Nascent Soul True Masters appeared from time to time, making people envious.

Soon, the rewards for this grand competition were also announced.

Ji Yue and Feng Zhiyan, most concerned about the Foundation Establishment realm, quickly rushed into the crowd to look at the list.

”A total of one hundred outstanding disciples will be selected! The last fifty will be rewarded with Spirit Stones, Magic Tools, and Elixirs. The top fifty, in addition, will receive an extra rare mineral that aids in refining a Natal Magic Item. The top ten...”

When they saw the rewards for the top ten, they could not help but be stunned.

The reason was that aside from the regular elixirs, there was a reward of a kind called the Circulating Qi Pill.

This pill has gradually spread within the Su Ling Sect over the past few years, and its heaven-defying efficacy has made many Foundation Establishment True Cultivators yearn for a pill they could not obtain.

Because of Luo Chen’s relationship, Jade Spring Peak could periodically obtain a batch.

Although the quantity wasn’t much, it significantly increased the cultivation speed of some Foundation Establishment True Disciples.

In other words, this time Wan Jiu Zhang had the confidence to let the disciples of Jade Spring Peak show themselves, also due to this reason.

And those were just Lower Grade Circulating Qi Pills.

But the prizes announced on the list were actually marked as Ascendant Grade level!

And they were personally refined by Pill Refinement Grandmaster Xuan Luozi!

The two exchanged a look, shocked.

Xuan Luozi?

Wasn’t he their fellow disciple?

Wan Jiu Zhang and Liu Muchan also realized this point, and couldn’t help but express their admiration.

Even though Junior Brother Xuan Luo did not come in person, he also participated in the sect’s grand competition in some way.

...

Meanwhile.

In the Alchemy Institute!

Because of the convening of the sect’s grand competition, the attention of more than half of Su Ling Sect’s cultivators had been attracted.

The Alchemy Institute was no exception.

After all, these Pill Refiners themselves were also tutored from various peaks and veins, and as long as their age and realm were appropriate, they could also participate in the sect’s grand competition.

Therefore, when the grand competition began, regardless of the cultivators coming to seek pills and medicine, or the Pill Refiners within the institute, their numbers significantly decreased.

Using the phrase ”you could row a boat between them” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

This was most evident at the Lingmiao and Lingyao Peaks, which were mainly composed of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Period Pill Refiners.

In contrast, Dan Emperor Mountain, which was mainly composed of Nascent Soul stage Pill Refiners, was not much affected.

Those are Nascent Soul True Masters of quite advanced age who have seen the sect’s grand competitions countless times and no longer have much interest.

Rather than watching the excitement, they preferred to dedicate their energy to Pill Refinement.

Especially recently, they have been quite busy.

Not only did they get someone to tidy up the entire Dan Emperor Mountain, but they were also constructing several new buildings.

One of the buildings was quite large in scale and used rather expensive materials; at a glance, it even had palace specifications.

This setup didn’t seem like an expansion but rather suggested they were preparing for grand hospitality for someone.

In fact, that was indeed the case!

Within a grand hall on Dan Emperor Mountain, over a dozen figures gathered together.

Each person had a Four Pattern Token hanging from their waist.

These were all the Fourth Order Pill Refiners on Dan Emperor Mountain.

In the vast Su Ling Sect, with over a thousand Nascent Soul True Masters, except for those amateur hobbyists making pills in their spare time, these people from Dan Emperor Mountain are the finest in the sect’s Dao of Alchemy.

Inside the hall, discussions were lively.

”According to Elder Ancient Wood’s message, he will return to the sect in at most another ten or twenty years.”

”How long has he been away pursuing the Dao at Tianyuan Daoist Sect this time?”

”Almost a full cycle of sixty years, I believe!”

”A cycle of sixty years... Tsk tsk, it seems that the Alchemy Saint who appeared at Tianyuan Daoist Sect five hundred years ago truly lives up to his reputation! To think that with Elder Ancient Wood’s temperament, he could endure studying by his side for so many years, that person must have extremely high attainment in the Dao of Alchemy, or he would not have been able to convince our Su Ling Sect’s only Five-Stripe Alchemist.”

”Some of you may not know, but even among Fifth-Order Alchemists, there is still a difference.”

”Oh, how does the dean explain this?”

”In a general sense, refining any grade of elixir can make one a Pill Refiner of that grade. But after the Fifth Order, things become less straightforward. Although refining a Fifth Order Elixir can make one a Fifth-Order Alchemist, they are often limited by the True Intent of the laws they comprehend, so many High-Order Elixirs cannot be refined. Only a special category of Fifth-Order Alchemists is unaffected by these limitations!”