“I never thought this lad would actually understand such a profound simulation practice method. With this approach, his chance of failing in alchemy would be much lower.”
Ji Qing watched Ling Xiao’s actions and could not help but say in surprise, “It seems this lad does indeed have some real ability.”
“Hmph, it only increases the success rate. If he does not know the key to this first test, even if he succeeds in alchemy in the end, it will still count as failure.”
Sun Ran snorted coldly.
“That may not be the case. I still trust in Ling Xiao’s ability,” Elder Chang Le said calmly. “According to rumours, he has always succeeded in alchemy on the first attempt and has never failed!”
“Those are just rumours, not worth believing!”
Drug King Sun Ran harboured too deep a prejudice against Ling Xiao, so he was utterly unwilling to believe Ling Xiao could possess such great skill.
Yet regardless of whether he believed it or not, Ling Xiao at that moment had already immersed himself completely in the world of sensory testing.
In a place others could not see, there stood an imagined alchemy platform.
However, this was still not enough.
Such imagined things were ultimately illusory and insufficiently real.
Visualization!
Ling Xiao suddenly recalled the descriptions of visualization in the Fragment of the Primordial Spirit Scroll.
He had once visualized Nezha from the Investiture of the Gods Illustration.
Visualizing living beings was extremely difficult.
Visualizing inanimate objects, on the other hand, was somewhat simpler.
In that instant, his soul force surged out like a tide, fusing with the elements in the air. A peculiar alchemy platform formed from the condensation of soul force and elements gradually appeared through visualization.
This scene once again stirred intense excitement among the spectators.
“Quick, look at that!”
“Ling Xiao actually created an alchemy platform out of thin air!”
“My goodness, this fellow is too incredible.”
“I absolutely adore him!”
Screams and cheers boiled over once more.
However, Elder Chang Le and the others did not intervene.
If someone could not withstand such distractions and gave up midway, or failed in alchemy, it only proved that alchemist was inadequate.
After all, in many cases, the environment for alchemy was extremely harsh. An alchemist unable to resist harsh conditions had no qualification to claim the championship of this alchemy conference.
As a result, dozens more people failed.
They vented all their frustration on the audience, then blamed Ling Xiao, believing everything was caused by him.
“What on earth is that?”
This time, even Ji Qing was baffled.
Drug King Sun Ran shook his head and said, “It is a fusion of soul force and elements, but as for exactly how it was formed, even I do not know. I only know that ancient records mention this as the method of visualization. In ancient times, some people used visualization to perform alchemy.”
At this moment, Drug King Sun Ran actually forgot his grudge against Ling Xiao for an instant and gazed at him with extreme shock.
How could such a young fellow know the ancient method of visualization?
No, he absolutely had to learn from this fellow how he obtained this method and how to use it!
From initially wanting Ling Xiao dead to now wanting to capture him alive, this senior Drug King had truly never once considered asking Ling Xiao for instruction in a proper manner.
Calling him narrow-minded was indeed not an overstatement at all.
“The method of visualization! That’s right, I remember now. Ancient records did mention such a thing, but wasn’t it said to be lost?”
Ji Qing stood up in shock. “Just who is this lad’s master?”
“Probably learned it from Princess Moon Maiden,” Elder Chang Le pondered and said.
“Princess Moon Maiden? Hmm, that is indeed possible.”
Ji Qing sat back down, his mood calming slightly, yet the surprise Ling Xiao had brought him still echoed endlessly in his heart.
His attention toward Ling Xiao had started merely because of some comments from Yun Ya, but now, he himself felt this lad was truly extraordinary.
Ling Xiao was unaware of the enormous impact his actions had on those people outside.
He was simply focused wholeheartedly on his own task.
Since he had never done anything like this before, he was extremely cautious and never forgot to keep track of time.
After all, seven or eight minutes had already passed.
If in the end he discovered a way to perfectly refine the pill but missed the time limit, it would all be meaningless.
The assessment was an assessment. Once eliminated, there would be no further chance.
…
Extracting components was relatively simple, but using completely unrelated herbs to fuse with elements in the air and create new components was an extraordinarily difficult process.
Mortal pills were relatively simple dan medicines with not overly complex required components. Even so, Ling Xiao attempted simulation dozens of times before finally succeeding.
Fortunately, this was only simulation. If it had been real, he would long since have been eliminated.
Meanwhile, Dan Qing and Ji Luoyu had already finished refining the herbs and placed them into the cauldron to begin the actual refining.
The two of them had some spare time, casually glanced at Ling Xiao, and nearly ruined the flame control due to shock, almost causing their alchemy to fail.
However, they were experts after all and quickly remedied the situation.
This alone sufficiently demonstrated their outstanding ability.
“I succeeded!”
At that moment, one alchemist stood up and shouted excitedly.
“I succeeded too!”
“And me!”
More than twenty alchemists completed their mortal pills almost simultaneously.
Yet what greeted them was the merciless screech of the mechanism bird.
They were eliminated!
This situation was exactly what Ling Xiao had analysed earlier. Those who rashly followed the prescription to refine the mortal pill while ignoring the role of the auxiliary herbs ended up producing a pill that, although effective, absolutely failed to meet the qualifying standard.
“Why? There’s something wrong with your test question!”
One alchemist was unwilling to be eliminated like the others and roared in extreme dissatisfaction.
However, his roaring only resulted in being forcibly dragged away by security warriors.
At this moment, many alchemists who had been about to follow the prescription revealed expressions of relief.
Fortunately, they had been cautious enough not to end up like those people.
But the problem was, what should they do next?
If they did not follow the prescription, how were they supposed to proceed?
…
Time continued to pass. In the following three to five minutes, more than a hundred people were mercilessly eliminated.
This time, no one dared to make a scene.
The failed alchemists left the assessment site dejectedly.
Some departed Sin City in disappointment and anger.
Others remained at the venue with a learning attitude, continuing to watch the competition as spectators.
They wanted to know exactly how this question should be solved.
Of course, up to now, those eliminated were still a minority, totalling fewer than three hundred people.
Compared to the enormous number of over ten thousand participants, this was truly negligible.
More than half of the alchemists remaining at the scene were still persisting.
Sometimes one had to admit that the appeal of Chang Le Immortal Island was indeed very strong. The quality of alchemists attending this time was considerably higher than in previous years.
