Seeing Mu Zisi’s uncharacteristic agitation upon receiving Nie Kong’s submitted formula, Cheng Feiliu, Que Yu, and Fu Er-rong couldn't help but crowd closer, eager for a glimpse. Qu Tingyun, being a woman, naturally felt awkward squeezing in with the old men, yet her eyes inevitably drifted over.
As for Nie Xingyun standing behind, seeing the strange expression on his old nemesis's face made him even more impatient; he directly stepped onto his chair, leaning over to look down from above. Upon seeing the dense yet meticulously neat handwriting on the paper, the old man was first startled, then utterly dumbfounded. The little scamp wasn't just filling out a formula; he was clearly conducting a meticulous analysis of the three provided elixirs.
“... 'Seven-Fingered Golden Star' as the primary ingredient, 'Iron-Horned Dragon Eye' as the secondary, 'Phoenix Whisker Grass' as the auxiliary, and 'Palm Leaf Black Heart Lotus' as the envoy... The auxiliary ingredient, 'Phoenix Whisker Grass,' could perhaps be substituted with 'Sparse Feather Immortal,' which can both harmonize the toxicity of the 'Iron-Horned Dragon Eye' and maximize the efficacy of the 'Seven-Fingered Golden Star'… Furthermore, in the envoy ingredients, an additional 'Blue Sparrow Fruit' could be added to the 'Palm Leaf Black Heart Lotus' to facilitate better fusion of the medicinal power…”
Cheng Feiliu loudly read the annotations next to the first formula, his face mirroring Mu Zisi’s astonishment. “Substituting 'Sparse Feather Immortal' for 'Phoenix Whisker Grass'—how did this old man not think of that? A miscalculation, a complete miscalculation! And that final 'Blue Sparrow Fruit'—it’s the perfect finishing touch! Marvelous! Truly marvelous!”
Fu Er-rong nodded subconsciously. “Indeed! And changing 'Leaf Membrane Flower' to 'Bat Orchid' in the second formula is even more ingenious. Especially the addition of 'Eagle Claw Root' at the end, which is clearly more suitable than the 'Fish Scale Prickle Ball' written by the other youngsters.”
“Primary, Secondary, Auxiliary, Envoy—this terminology is also incredibly precise! Although we old folks also follow these four principles when compounding medicines, no one has ever articulated it this way before.”
“…”
The five-rank Spirit Alchemists began to critique the work in a flurry of voices.
Hearing their discussion, Qu Tingyun’s heart stirred, and she immediately couldn't sit still. She disregarded the propriety between men and women, reasoning they were all just old fogeys anyway, and squeezed in. Her initial curiosity was replaced by admiration, which finally settled into a sense of relief.
The only one still reviewing the formulas, Lian Tianxin, now looked somewhat puzzled. “It seems the young man has overturned all three formulas?”
“Excellent! Excellent!”
Nie Xingyun, standing on the stool, had his face split into a wide grin, his already small eyes squinted down to mere slits. Whenever Nie Kong’s response contained some astonishing insight, the old man couldn't help but clap his hands and shout in delight, feeling immensely satisfied.
Seeing the judges universally praising Nie Kong’s formulas, not only were the Spirit Alchemists gathered nearby awaiting the second round’s results left wide-eyed and speechless, but even the people in the VIP seats exchanged uneasy glances. Most of them were unfamiliar with medicines, but they could tell from the expressions of Cheng Feiliu and the others that the answer provided by the last person to submit was not merely excellent—it was exceptionally outstanding.
In all the previous Thousand Spirits Alchemy Meets, which spirit alchemist dared to be so bold as to critique the formulas provided by the judges, and articulate their reasoning so clearly?
The reactions of the five-rank Spirit Alchemists on the judging panel, transmitted through word-of-mouth, began to cause successive waves of uproar throughout the crowd behind them.
“Is that for real? That kid actually modified the topics given by the judges?”
“How could that be fake? Just look at the stir among the judges and VIPs in front—that young man is truly unexpected!”
“He even altered the formulas given by the judges. Could he possibly be even more skilled than those five-rank Spirit Alchemists?”
“That’s not necessarily true. All those formulas used low-grade medicinal ingredients. My guess is that the kid has an extremely thorough understanding of low-grade herbs.”
“…”
“Did you hear? Did you hear? The fellow who submitted last completely stunned the masters! This is the first time this has happened in the grand competition of the Thousand Spirits Alchemy Meet!”
“…”
“Tsk, tsk. The moment that guy turned in his formula, he shocked all the judges. He truly lives up to his reputation as a Spirit Alchemist whose spiritual power has mutated!”
“…”
By the time the news reached the back, it had deviated further and further from the actual events, but this did nothing to dampen the excitement of the crowd. Instantly, the courtyard became a tumultuous sea of noise, rising and falling in succession. The massive sound waves shook the snow loose from the trees outside the courtyard, causing it to flutter down in drifts. The Spirit Masters who had been browsing for elixirs and herbs in the courtyard on the right side of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion were all astonished and rushed in a throng toward the courtyard on the left.
The deafening commotion startled the competing Spirit Alchemists, and they looked toward Nie Kong, standing before the judges, with complex expressions.
Mu Xinjiang’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed excitedly, “Little Sister Ling, did you see that? I never expected Big Brother Nie Kong, after brewing things for so long, to unleash such a devastating weapon. Heh heh, what good did the Fourth Prince’s early submission do him? Once Big Brother Nie Kong made his move, he instantly stole all the limelight. I need to see what that Fourth Prince looks like now; I can’t miss such a perfect opportunity.”
With that, Mu Xinjiang began scanning the crowd for a sight of him. Cheng Zixuan, clad in snow-white robes, stood out too much for Mu Xinjiang to have any trouble spotting him. At that moment, the smile on the Fourth Prince’s face looked forced, a faint shadow of gloom hovering in his brow.
Mu Xinjiang was in high spirits and chattered away ceaselessly, delighted.
Mu Xiaoling couldn’t be bothered with the verbose boy. Her gaze flitted between Nie Kong and the judges, a nascent sense of reverence stirring in her heart for Nie Kong. She had long suspected that the three hastily prepared formulas would have flaws, but she had never thought deeply about it, nor had she imagined that Nie Kong could, in such a short time, mark every questionable point in the formulas and even provide solutions.
As this thought crossed her mind, Mu Xiaoling suddenly wondered how her two main rivals in this Alchemy Meet—Qu Xinyi and Yu Qingguan—must be feeling. They must be greatly surprised too. Her beautiful eyes flickered, and she spotted the two gracefully slender maidens from her memory nearby, confirming with satisfaction the look of astonishment on their faces.
Among so many people, the calmest one was ironically Nie Kong, the originator of the uproar.
Other Spirit Alchemists largely understood pharmacodynamics and properties through oral instruction passed down from their elders, but Nie Kong was different: he had personally consumed every single herb listed in the formulas.
Although Xiangxiang had absorbed the medicinal power, with the little fellow’s skill of “smelling fragrance to know medicine,” his understanding of certain subtle aspects of the medicinal properties, and even some effects undiscovered by others, was far more profound and thorough. His ability to dissect all three formulas stemmed precisely from this.
“Nie Kong, there seems to be an error in your annotation for the third formula. The medicinal powers of ‘White Bone Green’ and ‘Six-Leaf Frost Red Bead’ are said to generate minor toxicity when fused. Is that truly possible? In my youth, I consumed the Second-Rank Spirit Medicine ‘Blazing Sun Pill,’ which primarily used ‘White Bone Green’ and ‘Six-Leaf Frost Red Bead,’ and I experienced no symptoms of poisoning,” Fu Er-rong suddenly looked up at Nie Kong and questioned.
Nie Kong had never tasted the Blazing Sun Pill, but that didn't prevent him from explaining Fu Er-rong’s doubt. He smiled slightly and said, “Master Er-rong, if I recall correctly, the ingredients used to refine the ‘Blazing Sun Pill’ definitely included ‘Bee Chrysanthemum Grass.’ In reality, ‘Bee Chrysanthemum Grass’ can completely dilute the toxicity generated when ‘White Bone Green’ and ‘Six-Leaf Frost Red Bead’ merge. However, the third formula here lacks any medicine capable of dissolving that toxicity. If one were to refine the spirit medicine strictly according to the original formula, even if successful, it would be harmful to the Spirit Master upon consumption. If the Master does not believe me, he could personally taste both ‘White Bone Green’ and ‘Six-Leaf Frost Red Bead,’ preferably separated by a quarter of an hour. This way, the toxicity generated during the fusion of their powers would be strongest, although given the Master’s cultivation, such a small amount of poison could be quickly expelled.”
“Oh?”
Seeing Nie Kong speak so eloquently, Fu Er-rong sank into thought. This third formula was his own creation, yet it had been completely overturned by Nie Kong. What Nie Kong said was surely not nonsense; the truth or falsehood of it could be verified with a simple test.
“No need for verification; I can confirm this part.”
Mu Zisi spoke up. Even though he couldn't stand Nie Xingyun's smugness, he could not ignore Nie Kong’s outstanding performance. He praised, “Young man, your answer for the medicine compounding stage is superb, especially the concept of ‘Primary, Secondary, Auxiliary, Envoy’—it practically pioneers the field of spirit medicine formulation. Old Man Nie Five certainly doesn't possess such insight. These four words, ‘Primary, Secondary, Auxiliary, Envoy,’ you must have devised them yourself, right?”
While praising Nie Kong, Mu Zisi couldn’t resist taking a dig at Nie Xingyun.
Old Man Nie, however, didn't care this time and stroked his beard, laughing heartily. “Haha, Old Man Mu, you need to look at whose disciple he is.”
Seeing his triumphant arrogance, everyone present was somewhat speechless, and even Nie Kong found it a bit much, letting out a light cough. Just then, Lian Tianxin's voice interjected, “Alright, Old Mu, the result for the second stage is settled. Arrange for the announcement right away.” With that, he snatched Nie Kong’s answer sheet…
… P: Third update is here. I received many tips today, from old friends and new brothers alike. Votes and clicks have surpassed last week’s totals—thank you all so much for your support, (∩_∩)~. Also, I just noticed that friends have been casting 12,000-word update votes yesterday and today. Cough, cough. I'm afraid I can’t manage that right now; the saved drafts were used up a few days ago. My apologies~~~~~ … .