Chapter Eighty-Five: Fighting Dan

  ……

  "Gong!" The copper gong resounded loudly, the hourglass was turned over, and the fight began.

  The countless noises around suddenly fell silent.

  Huo Yingfan, who had made early preparations, took the lead. He threw a medicinal material into the cauldron and slapped his palms on it, pouring thick and mysterious energy into the inscription on the medicinal cauldron. The intricate and complex inscription emitted a faint, hazy purple glow, like a starry night sky, which grew brighter and clearer. At the point where the inscriptions converged, a small vortex of light formed, rapidly condensing the surrounding spiritual energy.

  "Hmm..."

  Suddenly, amidst the swirling vortex of stars, a crimson flame burst forth from within the cauldron. A scorching sensation rushed forward to envelop everything.

  He held his breath, unfolded his divine thoughts, and took a strand of fierce flames in mid-air. Under his control, it moved agilely, like a tongue of fire, lightly sweeping over the medicinal materials with a gentle touch, repeating several times. This medicinal material underwent subtle changes, its surface turning a faint golden yellow, emitting a fragrant aroma.

  When this wisp of flame is exhausted, the medicine falls from mid-air.

  Suddenly, another fierce flame flashed by.

  "Hiss."

  With a faint sound, a wisp of blue smoke rose and the essence of the medicine was extracted, floating in the center of the cauldron, a handful of black and white residue fell to the bottom.

  Then it was business as usual, without a hitch, and nothing to complain about.

  "Wow! Master Huo's technique is so skilled and proficient, I wish I could be half as good as him."

  "It's true, it's really true! Brother Huo is one of the few young geniuses in our Changchun Valley!"

  "Xiao Yingzi just used the 'one come two return' method, that's his proud technique, which can better extract the essence of medicinal materials. This technique alone requires at least two to three years for you to master, and if you want to use it skillfully, without ten or eight years of experience, you won't be able to achieve it. It's not something that a rustic like Chen Mo can compare to."

  Ye Lianxiang stood in the crowd, her hands clasped together and a proud look on her face. As far as she was concerned, the outcome was already decided. Next, she could only enjoy watching Chen Mo, that country bumpkin, being exposed for who he truly was and being driven out of Changchun Valley in disarray.

  Guoyue Xiao's country also appreciates He Yingfang's "one come two go" refining technique. Among the younger generation, having this level is considered outstanding.

  He looked at Ho Yingfan and then turned his gaze to Chen Mo.

  Chen Mo only opened the lid of the cauldron at this time, and his hands were about to grasp the handle of the cauldron. The huge medicine cauldron shook twice. He stopped the movement in his hand, picked up a stone and padded it under the bottom of the cauldron, and then compacted it.

  Huo Yingfan was sharp-eyed and saw that one of the tripod's three legs was missing, then others also discovered it. A loud laughter burst out from outside the field, causing a commotion.

  "Chen, if you're short of money to buy medicine, just say so, I'll give you some... it's no big deal, why bother agreeing to this losing battle with a guilty conscience?" Huo Yingfan was also amused, laughing until his mouth corners twitched.

  As soon as Huo Ying finished speaking, someone behind her started echoing her words.

  "This poor kid must have been driven mad by his desire for wealth! No wonder he has the audacity to compare himself with Master Huo, all for that twenty thousand taels of gold."

  "It's just, it's...! You dare to compare your broken cauldron with Master Ho's alchemy? Do you know that Master Ho's cauldron is a superior-grade treasure of the mortal realm? It's simply self-degrading."

  "You little scamp! If this broken tripod is used to refine a first-class Spirit Gathering Pill, there's a high chance it'll blow up!"

  ……

  A string of sarcastic remarks fell into Chen Mo's ears, but his eyes were as calm as an ancient well. With his current state of mind, could a few small taunts possibly provoke him?

  On the other hand, a good tripod can increase the success rate of alchemy, but it loses the most primitive tempering of alchemy techniques.

  "Brother Chen indeed has deeply grasped the true transmission of our master, his alchemy skills are extraordinary. With such a trashy cauldron, he can refine a top-grade medicine. Truly, great skill requires great courage, I admire him greatly."

  Huo Yingfan finished speaking and saw Chen Mo slowly organizing the medicine, feeling a bit bored for a moment. A hint of anger flashed in his eyes. He thought to himself, "You little brat can continue pretending, but wait until the fight is over, let's see if you're still calm then?"

  Also saw Chen Mo, bent down to look at the medicine, picked and chose after, only then threw one of them in. Seeing this clumsy appearance, Huo Yingfan's mouth corner "sneered" and showed disdain.

  In the alchemical furnace, a pale grey flame rose and danced, as the medicinal herbs churned. A strand of pale grey flame was captured by Chen Mo's divine thought, wrapping around the herbs. The impurities on the surface of the herbs were scorched away, revealing their snowy white essence within. Fine wisps of pale blue smoke continued to waft out from above the herbs.

  Generally speaking, the more refined and pure the elixir is, the less green smoke there will be.

  After all impurities are removed, the snow-white essence of the medicine is fully revealed before everyone's eyes. More than a dozen breaths have passed, but the onlookers seem to be completely unaware.

  Huo Yingfan's mouth gradually opened wide, his heart shocked. Such a high concentration of essence was truly rare, at least not something he could refine himself. He thought to himself, could it be that he would lose?

  "No, it's impossible. You think you can win me with just a broken tripod? However, this part of refining the essence is only familiar, alchemy is an art that emphasizes comprehensive ability. This kid has only been practicing for a month, how could he possibly defy heaven?"

  Huo Yingfan muttered to himself, as if to confirm his conjecture.

  Chen Mo had just refined a herb, and subconsciously wiped the sweat off his forehead. As a result, he relaxed his mind, causing all the medicinal essence to be destroyed, turning into a ball of charred blackness, with green smoke billowing out.

  "What a pity!" The crowd all clicked their tongues in regret.

  "Brother Chen, when refining the elixir, one must not be distracted in the slightest. Don't even mention wiping away sweat, even if a knife is placed at your neck, you must focus all your attention... "

  Huo Yingfan glanced at Chen Mo with a slanted eye, intentionally speaking in a serious and solemn tone. But before the words had fallen, suddenly, his hand slipped, and the medicinal materials he was about to add hissed loudly as they turned into thick green smoke, filling the air with a scorched smell. The hint of a smile that had just appeared at the corner of his mouth instantly froze.

  Everyone was stunned, such a dramatic scene made the whole scene dead silent. The crowd seemed to be petrified.

  The whole audience burst into laughter, and the retribution of the present world came so quickly that even Gu Yue Xiao, who was usually strict in his judgment, had a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

  Ma Shi's front hoof slipped, and Huo Yingfan's old face turned red as he forced himself to remain calm.

  But in this way, the first refining, one or two people failed. Chen Mo started and lost an opportunity, while Huo Yingfan was too concerned about Chen Mo, making his mind unstable, and he might have already become a pill.

  Gu Yu's gaze drifted to a distant, mysterious place, where he saw Mu Ling Wei smiling faintly. Like a lotus flower, she was breathtakingly beautiful. He showed no concern for this battle with Dan. His deep, blue eyes seemed to have already seen through everything.

  Huo Yingfan took a lesson, calmed down and focused his mind. His face set in determination, he gazed at the Dan tripod. He picked up some medicinal materials with one hand, tossed them into the tripod with another, grasped the handles of the tripod with both hands, and poured the Xuan Qi from his palms into it. The flames suddenly surged vigorously, and the second refinement began.

  He made a steady move, operating with ease, and one by one, the auxiliary materials were refined to extract their essence, falling into the cauldron.

  As Huo Yingfan gradually calmed down and became serious, the commotion also subsided, and the entire venue fell silent to the point where a needle could be heard falling. At this time, Chen Mo also began his second attempt at alchemy.

  Huo Yingfan glanced at Chen Mo, watching as he threw the medicinal herbs into the cauldron one after another. His movements were not only swift and skilled, but also completely different from before, which left Huo feeling quite astonished.

  He smiled and said, even if he really had some skills, what's the big deal? If we talk about alchemy, he was a second-rate alchemist, confident that he could defeat Chen Mo, who was still wearing his gray robes.

  At this point, Huo Yingfan's eyes burst out with a fierce glow, the veins on his forehead bulged, his hands clenched into fists, and his fingers stood upright like bronze statues, as if flames were bursting forth from them.

  "Condense!"

  Everyone's gaze suddenly shifted and was drawn to Huo Yingfan.

  Huo Yingfan relaxed and wiped the sweat off his brow. He casually opened the lid, and with a swift motion of his hand, he grasped a dan medicine that was rolling around at the bottom of the cauldron.

  Huo Yingfan, the dan medicine is ready!

  What about Chen Mo?

  Huo Yingfan looked up and saw Chen Mo struggling to control the fire.

  "Boom." The lid of the bronze tripod suddenly jumped up, and a wisp of blue smoke slowly rose.

  Chen Mo failed again.

  The happiest person to see Chen Mo like this was probably Huo Yingfan. However, his face looked calm and collected, with a hint of hypocrisy: "Chen Shidi, winning or losing is just a normal thing in the military, don't worry about it."

  Chen Mo remained silent, his face calm, and with a wave of his sleeve, the remaining dregs were swept out.

  Huo Yingfan handed over the Dan medicine to Gu Yuexiao.

  Gu Yu Xiao Guo took a look, this pill is round and smooth, the surface has no luster, slightly rough, with a brown color, the fragrance of medicine is poor, although it's like a mud ball baked in earth, but it has already become a pill, it should be a first-class聚灵丹 without a doubt, however, it can only barely be considered ordinary.

  Huo Yingfan was a second-grade alchemist and could refine it, which should be normal.

  However, he thinks more highly of Chen Mo. Firstly, Chen Mo is the disciple's grandson of Lu Huazhen. Secondly, he is not arrogant or impatient, and his temperament is exceptionally firm and steadfast, which is what he particularly appreciates in young people.

  Appreciation returned appreciation, he was the referee of this match after all. He nodded slightly to the woman in the distance and said: "This Dan medicine is a Aggregating Spirit Dan, its quality belongs to the middle grade."

  Huo Yingfan's chin was slightly raised towards Chen Mo, her whole body exuding an unbridled arrogance.

  "How are you, Brother Chen?"

  Off-court, Howard brought in a lot of people who were very popular.

  The judge's words came through, mixed with the noise from outside the court. Chen Mo's face remained calm as he said slowly, "We each have a set of materials left, and there's still nearly half the time remaining. The outcome is far from certain until the very end."

  Chen Mo finished speaking, and the scene fell silent. The audience below first whispered to each other, but soon their voices grew louder.

  "Who does this Chen Mo think he is, comparing himself to Huo Yingfan?"

  "It's all over, yet you still won't give up, just to save face, what a miserable existence."

  "It's not going to work, this time the stakes are high, wanting to take a chance... thinking about money is driving me crazy..."

  "Silence! The Danbi Pavilion is a solemn place, how can you be so loud and boisterous? Continue the match!" Gu Yue shouted sternly, and the scene fell silent as if frozen.

  Huo Yingfan stood with his hands behind his back, deep in thought, pacing around the room. His face seemed to be filled with difficulty. "Chen Shidi, don't blame me for speaking bluntly, have you ever won since the two games? Young people having momentum is good, but don't overestimate yourself."

  "Hmph, Ho Shixiong, you talk too much, focus on refining your dan!" Chen Mo retorted calmly.

  Each side is as stubborn as the other, neither willing to give in.

  ……