"What do you think, Senior?"
Ling Feng raised an eyebrow and smiled. Although he knew his abilities were far inferior to Yan Cangtian's, he had considerable confidence in alchemy.
Furthermore, Yan Cangtian's expertise lay primarily in theory; in the realm of alchemy, theory alone didn't guarantee success.
"Let's compete then. I'm not afraid of you!" Yan Cangtian chuckled with interest. "Over there are the other ninety-nine medicinal herbs. If you require any, feel free to select the amount needed to refine the pill."
Ling Feng shook his head. "The medicinal herbs required for refining the Hundred Herbs Pill should be available outside in the medicinal garden and on those shelves. I'd rather select them myself. I can't take advantage of you, right?"
"You have a point!" Yan Cangtian laughed heartily. "Very well, I'll wait for you to gather all the medicinal herbs, and then we can start refining the pills together! I'm not going to take advantage of you either!"
Ling Feng smirked inwardly. In reality, he dared not use the medicinal herbs selected by Yan Cangtian. Though the man's theories were impressive, his ability to discern medicinal herbs was lacking. However, Ling Feng couldn't express that directly.
"In that case, I appreciate it, senior."
Ling Feng smiled faintly, secretly condensing the heavenly dao divine inscription. With his Boundless Vision activated and his exceptional insight, he quickly memorized the locations of all one hundred types of medicinal herbs required for the Hundred Herbs Pill.
"Then, senior, I will start gathering the medicinal herbs." Ling Feng respectfully fist-and-palm saluted Yan Cangtian, picked up an empty tray, and headed towards the door.
After the time it takes for one incense stick to burn...
Yan Cangtian looked at Ling Feng with surprise, his eyes filled with astonishment. He muttered to himself, "How is this kid so familiar with my territory? It's as if he's in his own home. He's even more acquainted with everything here than I am!"
As he pondered to himself, Ling Feng entered the alchemy hall, carrying a tray filled to the brim with a smile gracing his face. "All the necessary medicinal herbs have been harvested."
"Already?" Yan Cangtian was surprised inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "Hmph, you managed to do it within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. Just barely passable!"
In fact, it took Yan Cangtian more than a month just to prepare the materials for the Hundred Herbs Pill...
"So, can we begin now?" Ling Feng asked calmly.
"Your pill furnace is over there!" Yan Cangtian gestured towards a seemingly ordinary furnace nestled in the corner, maintaining a composed expression. "Well then! Don't accuse me of taking advantage of you. I've provided you with a lower-grade furnace. Given your level of true qi cultivation, you won't be able to control the alchemic fire of my higher-grade furnace."
Yan Cangtian wasn't merely speaking in vain; considering Ling Feng's current level, he still lacked the precision to uniformly regulate the alchemic fire necessary for a higher-grade alchemy furnace.
"No problem, this furnace will suffice." Ling Feng advanced towards the waist-high ordinary furnace. Placing all the materials on a stone platform near the furnace, he stated calmly, "Senior, shall I begin refining the Hundred Herbs Pill?"
"Alright, youngster. You've already lost. I am the empire's best alchemist; those presidents and vice-presidents of the Alchemist Guild you hear of are merely my juniors!"
With a polished motion from his large hand, Yan Cangtian caused all the trays holding various medicinal herbs from a hundred paces away float up into the air.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
With a series of swift movements, Yan Cangtian caused each tray to hover before him. His actions were as quick as lightning as he efficiently processed various medicinal herbs, promptly tossing them into the pill furnace.
With crimson radiance flickering in his hands, he activated his qi, showcasing a technique in handling the medicinal herbs that far surpassed that of Yuan Qiansheng, the fourth-grade alchemist Ling Feng had encountered in the Cangqiong Sect.
"The swiftness of his technique, along with the meticulous attention to detail in handling the medicinal herbs, can only be described as that of an alchemy grandmaster!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Ling Feng's eyes. He never imagined that this seemingly eccentric old man would possess such a high level of alchemy skill.
Had it not been for his poor herb-discerning abilities, he might have already attained the rank of a sixth-grade or higher alchemy grandmaster...
Taking a deep breath, Ling Feng composed himself and began processing the various ingredients required for crafting the Hundred Herbs Pill.
The Hundred Herbs Pill, while not a high-grade medicinal pill, was considered to be by most a fifth-tier pill. Its effects included meridian nourishment and the enhancement of tendon flexibility, making it a supplementary medicinal pill for body refinement.
The true formula for the Hundred Herbs Pill had long been lost, with over a dozen missing ingredients that remained unknown to this day.
As Ling Feng carefully pondered Yan Cangtian's completed formula, he realized that it was indeed the optimal recipe. He couldn't make any further adjustments to the ingredients.
This showcased Yan Cangtian's exceptional theoretical prowess, sparking in Ling Feng an eagerness to see if he could successfully refine the long-lost "Hundred Herbs Pill."
While handling the herbs, Yan Cangtian glanced at Ling Feng with the corner of his eye and was astonished to find that Ling Feng's technique was just as fast as his own, if not faster. There was even a hint of Ling Feng catching up.
"Good lad, hiding your talents so well!" Yan Cangtian dared not be distracted further and focused entirely on alchemy.
In no time, all the herbs melted into the furnace. The next step was to control the fire.
Ling Feng ignited the alchemic fire, harnessing his Earth-Fire true qi with such ease that he could precisely reach any desired temperature.
On the opposite end, Yan Cangtian's cultivation greatly exceeded the Transformation Realm, so all of his true qi had been transmuted into elemental qi, which was denser and purer than Ling Feng's.
His elemental qi also bore the fire attribute, clearly having been spiritually infused, and represented a rare form of fire attribute true qi. In terms of temperature control, he rivaled Ling Feng's ability.
One quarter of an hour passed.
Two quarters of an hour passed.
As time ticked away, minute by minute, a full half-hour later, white mists billowed from both furnaces, rising into the air.
However, on Ling Feng's side, a faint fragrance was discernible amid the mist.
"It's time to open the furnace!"
Inhaling deeply, Ling Feng gently tapped the furnace lid, causing it to fly open. With steady hands, he scooped up the jade box prepared in advance and securely placed the Hundred Herbs Pill inside.
As three breaths passed, Ling Feng opened the jade box. Inside was a pill as green as jade. It was perfectly formed, flawless, and exquisite.
This was undoubtedly a top-grade Hundred Herbs Pill, perfectly refined to its utmost potency!
On Yan Cangtian's side, several pills lay in the furnace, devoid of color and resembling pearls.
However, they lacked any medicinal fragrance, and due to errors in herb selection, their medicinal effects were canceled out. The pills were irregular in shape and also had uneven areas.
Whose pills were superior and whose pills were inferior was quite obvious!
Although eccentric, Yan Cangtian knew that most of the pills in his furnace were failed pills!
"Senior, I have succeeded!"
Ling Feng calmly presented the Hundred Herbs Pill he had refined to Yan Cangtian.
"Humph, stop boasting!" Yan Cangtian took the jade box and examined it closely. His hands trembled as he exclaimed, "This... this is the Hundred Herbs Pill! The real Hundred Herbs Pill!"
Yan Cangtian quickly picked up the pill from the jade box, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it. Tears welled up in his eyes as he fell to his knees, raising his hands high and shouting madly, "Haha... I did it! The Hundred Herbs Pill, it's really refined!"
It took him fifteen years to complete the Classic Formula of the Medicine King, but for the following five years, almost none of the pills he attempted to refine were successful. Now, Ling Feng's successful refinement of the Hundred Herbs Pill meant that his research achievements were not in vain.
At this moment, what Yan Cangtian was feeling was truly hard to describe.