freenovelworld Chapter 181 A Different Method
Chapter 181 A Different Method
Chapter 181 A Different Approach
Seeing everyone's growing impatience, Zhu Gui, the master of the Holy Pill Pavilion who was presiding over the competition, was secretly pleased. He wanted to announce that Nangong Lihuo had won the competition, but he dared not because of the city lord's face.
Therefore, Zhu Gui hesitated for a long time before getting up and walking up to Sheng Chunshui, saying, "Lord City Lord, I don't think Xiao Chong will come, so please announce the results of this competition."
Sheng Chunshui raised his eyelids slightly and said calmly, "Let's wait a little longer. Since it's a competition, how can we convince everyone if we don't have a proper contest? Besides, I think everyone is looking forward to the competition, right?"
The last sentence was addressed to the leaders of various factions who were constantly making sarcastic remarks. Hearing the city lord speak, the leaders, despite their deep reluctance, forced smiles and said, "Yes, yes, let's wait a little longer. We must give the young man a chance."
Sheng Chunshui's eyelids drooped again, as if she was closing her eyes to rest, but in her heart she had already cursed Xiao Chong a thousand times.
"As the lord of a city, I am busy with countless affairs every day. Do you think it is easy for me to come out? I said I came to make a judgment for you, but actually I am just here to support you!"
"If it weren't for my niece Xueyan's pleas, who would have time to bother with such a trivial matter? If you dare not come today and make me lose face, just wait and see how you get punished later!"
Just as Sheng Chunshui was feeling indignant and thought Xiao Chong was unreliable, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door. Then, three boys and one girl rushed in, carrying a three-foot-tall purple alchemy furnace.
"Greetings, everyone! I am Long Wu, a capable lieutenant under Grand Master Xiao, here to pave the way for my young master. Now, let's give a warm welcome to Grand Master Xiao as he makes his grand entrance!"
After setting down the alchemy furnace, a flamboyant young man with a single horn on his head jumped around, showing off and being extremely pretentious.
This young man was naturally Long Wu. Given that the alchemy room was full of big shots from all sides, Long Wu kept his position very low this time, referring to himself as "this humble one" instead of "Fifth Master" or "Fifth Young Master".
However, Long Wu's opening remarks did not receive a warm response from everyone. Apart from a few scattered claps from the City Lord's faction, everyone else remained silent.
Long Wu showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and once again shouted, "Please welcome Grand Alchemist Xiao!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a young man wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses that covered half of his face walked into the alchemy room.
"You're Xiao Chong?" Zhu Gui asked, exasperated, seeing the boy's cool, stylish, and smug appearance.
“That’s right, it’s me.” Xiao Chong took off his sunglasses and threw his trench coat behind him. Long Wu quickly jumped over and carefully caught it.
"Too unconventional! How could someone like that possibly be an alchemist?"
"What a show-off! This young man somehow managed to get hold of a few alchemy formulas and thinks he's all that, actually believing he's a master of alchemy!"
The leaders of the various factions began to make sarcastic remarks again.
Amid the commotion, the host, Zhu Gui, said with a dark face, "Since the main character is here, let's begin." He felt that today's competition was already a foregone conclusion, and therefore he was quite disinterested.
“Alright!” Xiao Chong slowly sat down beside the Purple Cloud Cauldron, his answer brief and forceful.
"What kind of broken alchemy furnace is this? It's so old and ugly. I don't know where it was picked up from!"
"Judging from how old this alchemy furnace is, I'm afraid that if you put a fire on it, the furnace will be burned to ashes before the elixir is even refined!"
The members of the Holy Pill Pavilion complained after seeing the Purple Cloud Cauldron.
"What a disgrace! If we had known this would happen, we would have been better off not coming!" This was what the people from the City Lord's Mansion were thinking, but they didn't say it aloud.
Hearing the discussion, Zhu Gui suddenly felt that even if his side won, it wouldn't be very convincing, so he wanted to shut them down first. Therefore, he pointed at the Purple Cloud Cauldron and said, "Are you sure you want to use this broken furnace? Should I get you a new one? So that you won't blame the furnace if you lose."
"No need!" Xiao Chong replied as briefly as ever.
Zhu Gui gave up and announced listlessly, "The competition officially begins. Bring out the materials!"
At a command, servants in the Sacred Pill Pavilion immediately brought out various materials needed for alchemy. These materials were all specified in advance by both sides in the competition and prepared by the Sacred Pill Pavilion beforehand.
The materials were quickly transported to the alchemy room and piled up beside the two contestants according to their requirements.
Nangong Lihuo glanced at Xiao Chong expressionlessly and began to put the materials into the alchemy furnace in order.
It's important to understand that the preparation of materials is very particular. The order in which to add them, the quantity, and the specific steps involved are all crucial and cannot be taken lightly. Even the slightest mistake could result in a batch of unusable pills.
The materials Nangong Li Huo used were all extremely precious, many of which were rarely seen in normal times. Therefore, everyone in the alchemy room observed very carefully. Opportunities to witness firsthand how a master alchemist refined elixirs were extremely rare.
"Look, that's the blood of the clever phoenix, and that's the Immortal-Extinguishing Herb. They're both rare treasures that are on the verge of extinction!"
"My God! It's actually Spring Soft Wood! Am I seeing things? What kind of pill is this being refined into?"
"I can't tell either, but there's no doubt that the pills refined from them will be extraordinary!"
Seeing Nangong Lihuo throw one precious material after another into the alchemy furnace, everyone exclaimed in surprise, filled with anticipation for the elixir that was about to be produced.
brush!
After the initial materials were added, Nangong Lihuo flipped his hand, shooting out a wisp of dark blue flame that ignited the fire at the bottom of the alchemy furnace.
"Purple Flame Crystal! The furnace is actually burning Purple Flame Crystal! The most premium fuel!" someone exclaimed.
"That's right, it's Purple Flame Crystal. But that's not the most precious thing. The most precious thing is the wisp of flame in Master Nangong's hand, the Nanming Li Flame! Not to mention in Lianxin City, even in the entire Tianyun Continent, it's unique and unparalleled!"
Some people who like to teach others start to popularize knowledge, as if they are the owners of the Southern Ming Fire.
"So that's how it's said. I was quite ignorant." The man who had lost his voice humbly accepted the instruction, then turned his gaze to Xiao Chong and asked curiously, "Why is there still no movement from over there?"
After his reminder, everyone turned their attention to Xiao Chong.
Amidst the incredulous expressions of the crowd, Xiao Chong shouted, "Long Wu! Long Wu! Where is Long Wu?"
"Here I am! Here I am! It's just refining a pill, what's the rush!" Long Wu rushed in from outside the door, carrying a large bundle of firewood on his back.
"Light the fire!" Xiao Chong calmly ordered.
"Just you wait and see!" Long Wu replied impatiently, shoving the dry firewood under the cauldron and casually pulling out a tinderbox to light it.
"Add the medicine!" Xiao Chong ordered again, and together with Long Wu, they hurriedly threw all the materials into the Purple Cloud Cauldron at once.