Chapter 1724: Each Showing Their Skill

The two slivers had been absorbed by Li Yan’s physical body, needing no active use of his Fragmented Poison Body to consume them. However, in that instant, he sensed three types of toxins within him stirring, wanting to rush out from his chest and abdomen. They settled back down once the red slivers were fully assimilated.

Li Yan was all too familiar with this reaction. It meant those three toxins had a desire to consume this specific poison. Having researched his Fragmented Poison Body for centuries, he knew exactly what this meant. This red pill could be neutralized by one of those three toxins or a combination of them. Otherwise, his internal toxins would not have responded.

He hadn’t expected the first stage to be this easy. He had assumed they would be given a recipe to refine. That would have involved some luck. But his rank as a Yellow-rank Alchemist was earned through real effort, so he had some confidence anyway.

Dealing with a 4th-grade toxic pill was simple with his constitution, but doing it under surveillance was tricky.

‘I must first secretly identify which Fragmented Poison or combination works. Then, using my knowledge of them, I need to figure out which herbs would refine into something similar. That way, I won’t show any flaws…’

He had used this method to create antidotes for his own poisons in the past, so he was experienced. Everyone had different ways of breaking a poison, and the final pill he refined wouldn’t be displayed to others—it was just a cover. However, alchemy experts could deduce the logic of the antidote from the ingredients requested. If he chose random materials, it would draw suspicion.

…

Ming Qi shook her head slightly. Her vision blurred, and a dark cave she often saw in her dreams vanished. It was a scene her master had once described so vividly that she had internalized it, often seeing it when her mind wandered.

‘A hallucinogenic pill! It actually affects a Spirit Transformation cultivator!’

When her vision cleared, she realized she had been lost in a fantasy for a short time. She admired the alchemy of Huangqi Valley. A 4th-grade hallucinogen that could momentarily blur the mind of someone at her level meant its purity was exceptionally high, with very few impurities.

She scraped some powder from the pill, pinning it in the air with spiritual power. With a flash of light, an exquisite white jade bottle appeared in her hand. She tapped it with a slender finger, and a drop of milky-white liquid flew out. It was odorless. The moment it touched the powder, the liquid enveloped it.

Ming Qi stared at the globule. Her Divine Sense, as steady as a rock, locked onto the liquid. Soon, points of light appeared within the white liquid—various colors: blue, yellow, and cyan. Simultaneously, wisps of vapor drifted out.

Her Divine Sense wove through the vapor, observing the colored crystals. With her other hand, she used spiritual power to divide the vapor into small zones, locking them in the air. She was meticulous, moving with extreme caution to prevent the components from dissipating.

When no more vapor emerged and the colored crystals vanished, the white liquid had turned a dull ash-gray. She flicked her finger, shattering the gray liquid into smoke, then blew it away.

She then focused on the zones of trapped vapor. She pulled one toward her, withdrawing the spiritual cage. Just as the vapor began to spread, she inhaled a thin thread of it through her nose. She closed her eyes. A moment later, a jade slip appeared in her hand, and she carved several words: “Bellfruit!”

She moved to the next zone, observing it for ten breaths before inhaling it. This time, after a moment, she opened her mouth and exhaled the vapor! She picked up the slip and added: “Mantil Horn!”

She repeated the process with the third zone…

She continued this for a long time. When she finished testing every wisp of vapor, sweat beaded on her snow-white forehead. The task wasn’t physically taxing, but it was mentally exhausting. After a brief rest, she scraped more powder from the pill and produced her white bottle again…

Time was tight. It was best to finish the analysis within half a day and formulate a solution. There was little time left for refining, and it was best to succeed on the first try.

In another room, Ming Yu used a nearly identical method. Since they practiced together, their techniques were naturally similar.

…

In a different chamber, the handsome youth, Yan, spat out a globule of fire to refine half of the red pill. He had split it in two for testing. The rule forbade using exotic flames for refining the antidote, but he wasn’t refining yet; he was analyzing the poison. The flame he used wasn’t an exotic flame of heaven and earth, but a supreme Yang-attribute fire he had cultivated himself, so it didn’t violate the rules.

Soon, the half-pill began to melt. Under his control, a globule of liquid formed—not red, but a mixture of green and yellow. However, the youth wasn’t satisfied; he still couldn’t distinguish the components. With a thought, an amber jade bowl appeared before him. The fire vanished. With a tug of spiritual power, the liquid flew into the bowl like a colorful droplet. The jade bowl began to spin steadily in the air.

In seconds, the liquid was spread into a thin, uniform layer across the inner walls of the bowl. Looking at the bowl, the youth finally smiled with satisfaction. He picked up a jade slip and began to record his findings…