Yue Jinghua’s wooden tripod could no longer withstand the cries of the infant ginseng and the dual effect of the alchemy fire, and finally burst under the pressure.
Seeing the elixir furnace explode, some people among the crowd showed a relieved smile, while others frowned.
With the elixir furnace exploding, the alchemy failed. Even though Lie Sisi had not successfully crafted the infant ginseng pill, she had already won against Yue Jinghua, whose elixir furnace had shattered.
"What a pity, this time the title of Imperial Alchemist will definitely go to Miss Lie," Lady Yao said, feigning regret.
"You are mistaken," said Fa Xiaoyi, his cold eyes had been tightly focused on the Alchemy Fire Array where Yue Jinghua was, from the moment the elixir furnace exploded.
The elixir furnace shattered, affecting the Alchemy Fire Array, which almost went out.
But just as the Fire Array was about to extinguish, he saw a rapidly moving figure diving towards the elixir furnace, catching the falling infant ginseng at incredible speed.
Fa Xiaoyi, with his strong elemental perception ability, felt a surge of vitality like never before, as if the most active and wondrous force between heaven and earth had emerged from nowhere.
The originally restless infant ginseng, under the miraculous force, fell sweetly asleep like a baby finding the warm embrace of its mother.
In the Alchemy Fire Array, the fire burned vigorously, but this time, the fire was blue, and as the flames burned, the blue fire resembled petals of a lotus flower.
Before the crowd could take a closer look at where the cluster of elixir fire came from, everyone simultaneously gasped in shock.
The fire was not gathered beneath the shattered elixir furnace, but... it was on Yue Jinghua’s hands.
On Yue Jinghua’s hand, a cluster of fire burned. The infant ginseng, having shed its ginger-yellow appearance, turned smooth and rounded on the surface. Bursts of pill fragrance emanated, signaling the onset of pill formation.
Controlling fire with bare hands, no need for an elixir furnace.
Yue Jinghua had already reached the level of a Middle-level Alchemist.
A genius, truly a genius. A young girl who had only been exposed to the Alchemy Dao for a few months had already become a Middle-level Alchemist capable of performing alchemy with bare hands. If given a few more years, would she not become the next Chen Jiangyin?
Lady Yao was so astounded she was at a loss for words; she immediately thought to report today’s discovery to Danlu.
Such a person, if not included in Danlu and instead became a famed freelance Pill Master, would be a significant blow to the entire Danlu.
The existence of Feng Wanwan was already enough; having another Yue Jinghua, Danlu would never let such an incident happen again.
Lie Sisi’s body jolted, a sickly sweet taste surging in her throat.
Being able to control fire barehanded, and still managing to save the elixir pills despite the furnace shattering, Yue Xiaoqi, you are truly driving me to a dead end.
Whether out of madness or desperation, in that moment, Lie Sisi had only one thought: she could not let Yue Jinghua successfully refine the baby ginseng pill.
The long armor in her hand snapped on cue, and a swipe of blood red appeared in the palm of her hand. While everyone was captivated by Yue Jinghua’s fire control technique, Lie Sisi smeared the blood onto the golden toad tripod.
The golden toad tripod, having absorbed human blood, began to lose its golden glaze bit by bit, developing ugly bumps, and its limbs grew even bulkier.
"Quack--" the golden toad tripod turned into a shadow, kicked off powerfully with its feet, and its foul mouth sprayed out arrows of toxic saliva.
Yue Jinghua chuckled.
In front of everyone, it seemed as if the beautiful blue elixir fire in Yue Jinghua’s hand grew three feet taller, as if building a firewall in front of everyone, blocking their sight.
When the golden toad pounced, there appeared multiple blue fire lotuses in the air.
The Dun Qinglian Fire, which could even melt the shell of a Seventh-Order Alligator Turtle, enveloped the skies like a myriad of dandelions flying past.
The golden toad had no time to dodge and was instantly swallowed by the Lotus Fire.
"Ah," as the crowd regained a clear view of the hall, they heard a tragic scream coming from Lie Sisi’s Fire Array.
For some unknown reason, the Fire Array had lost control, Lie Sisi’s Divine Soul had already merged with the golden toad tripod, and with the formidable Lotus Fire, for a moment, she caught fire, rolling about on the ground like a fiery ball.
Lady Yao and others, upon seeing this, were horrified and immediately rushed to help, but the fire could not be put out no matter what. The fire not only burned through Lie Sisi’s flesh but also erased her beautiful appearance.
"Ah--so painful, Xiaoqi--Xiaoqi--I beg of you--I was wrong," Lie Sisi cried out, calling a name unknown to everyone.
Had you known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?
Zhen Ni, the camaraderie between you and me had already been severed when you first betrayed me.
Yue Jinghua had long suspected that the radically changed Lie Sisi might be Zhen Ni reborn, for only Zhen Ni would be so obsessed with Fa Xiaoyi, who resembled Liao so closely.
Yue Jinghua closed her eyes, the Lotus Fire in her hand flared even more intensely, and the infant ginseng pill took shape.
"The pill is formed," a cold female voice awakened everyone in the room, and Yue Jinghua held ten jade-like infant ginseng pills in her hand, each exuding the fragrance of pills.
The flames on Lie Sisi were also extinguished at the same moment.
Just moments before, Lie Sisi, who looked like a beautiful jade lady, had been burned into a charcoal-like state. Her most cherished face, mixed with the toxins from the golden toad’s blood and the fire poison from the Lotus Fire, had become horrendously disfigured.
"Prince, Xiao Yi," Lie Sisi had only one breath left, as she raised her hand, seeking Fa Xiaoyi.
Fa Xiaoyi avoided her hand with disgust.
From Lie Sisi’s eyes, flowed two streams of tears, resembling pus or blood.