In the courtyard, a middle-aged man sat smilingly beside a stone table, possessing a handsome face adorned with a long black beard trailing from his jaw, holding a scroll, exuding an air of refined elegance. This exquisite man was none other than Ling Xiao, the Sect Master of the Langya Sect.

"Yanluo, bring out the items." Almost the instant Nie Kong's figure flickered into the courtyard, Ling Xiao turned toward the room and called out. "Grandfather, coming." A crisp voice echoed from within the hall.

Nie Kong looked toward the sound and saw a girl of about eleven or twelve years old rushing out from the hall, balancing a wide wooden plank with both hands. The girl wore a purple dress, her figure was still quite immature, but her appearance was exquisitely beautiful, especially her round eyes, which were remarkably lively.

Seeing the ten medicinal cauldrons resting on the plank, Nie Kong seemed to understand immediately, chuckling softly, "Sect Master Ling Xiao appears to have prepared the challenge for this bout long ago." "Indeed." Ling Xiao stroked his black beard and smiled faintly. "Mu Chonglou could compel herbs to draw near him, yet you defeated him based on the herbs' affinity; You Li possesses incredibly fierce fire power and refined the 'Nine-Refining Divine Incense' with exceptional speed, and yet you made him feel ashamed with your own speed in concocting the same 'Nine-Refining Divine Incense'..." Pausing, Ling Xiao withdrew his gaze from the medicinal cauldrons, looking at Nie Kong with a half-smile, and continued, "My greatest mastery lies in refining the Eighth-Grade Spirit Medicine, 'Sea Heart Divine Dew,' and what’s more, refining multiple batches simultaneously.

I trust my preparation aligns well with the young brother's wishes?" Nie Kong smiled back, "You speak truly, Sect Master Ling Xiao is superbly prepared." Setting the wooden plank down on the stone table, Ling Yanluo peered curiously at Nie Kong with both eyes. "You are so young!

You can’t be much older than me, so how could you be so formidable? You defeated Grandpa Chonglou and Grandpa You Li.

Please don't defeat me, your grandfather, as well, okay?" "..." Nie Kong felt a mixture of amusement and exasperation. This little girl called Mu Chonglou 'Grandfather,' yet Nie Kong referred to Mu Chonglou as Great-Grandfather.

By this reckoning, wasn't his own seniority lower than this little girl's? Especially when she uttered that last sentence, her eyes sparkling like two gemstones, utterly endearing.

"Yanluo, do not speak carelessly." Ling Xiao’s right hand trembled slightly, nearly pulling out a beard hair, and he awkwardly straightened his face to reprimand, "The spar hasn't even begun, and Grandfather hasn't lost yet!" The little loli clutched Ling Xiao’s sleeve, saying pitifully, "But he is really so amazing, even Grandpa Chonglou and Granny You Li couldn't beat him. Brother Nie Kong, how about I take you as my master?

Then you would be my master, and Grandfather would also be my master, and you wouldn't have to compete." "Huh?" Nie Kong was momentarily stunned. Ling Xiao was even more chagrined, clearing his throat twice.

"Don't listen to the child's nonsense, Nie Kong, let us begin now." The little loli looked at Nie Kong, wanting to say more, but was stared down fiercely by Ling Xiao’s eyes, forcing her to droop her head in slight grievance, pouting silently. Tapping the large box resting on the wooden plank, Ling Xiao chuckled, "This wooden box contains twenty sets of medicinal ingredients for the 'Sea Heart Divine Dew.' Nie Kong, I won't be overly polite with you.

For this challenge, let me act as the paving stone, and I will refine first. If the number of batches you refine simultaneously exceeds mine, I will naturally concede defeat." "Good!" Nie Kong nodded.

Refining multiple batches simultaneously was a specialty of the high-tier Nether Alchemists of the War Clan. When Nie Kong first met Zhan Feihong, he had witnessed him refining six batches.

While studying Nether Pills at the 'Pill King Tower' on War God Mountain, Nie Kong had seen Zhan Baige refine eight batches at once—seven successful, one failed. Later, Nie Kong was inspired by the sight and tried it himself.

In the initial few attempts, Zhan Baige and Zhan Feihong watched with amusement, but after the eighth attempt, the four high-tier Nether Alchemists of the War Clan never dared to refine multiple batches in front of Nie Kong again! "I wonder how many batches Ling Xiao can refine simultaneously?

Ten?" As Nie Kong’s thoughts raced, Ling Xiao had already made his move. Keng, keng, keng...

a series of crisp sounds rang out as the lids of the ten medicinal cauldrons popped open in succession, falling onto the wooden plank. Immediately, the large wooden box opened, and Ling Xiao swiftly grabbed and added the herbs.

In mere seconds, the cauldrons were sealed again. "Ten batches, as expected!" A strange smile appeared on Nie Kong's face.

"This number is slightly inferior to the Nether Earth Pill King, but it is enough to rival an Apex-Tier Nether Alchemist." "Whoosh!" Spiritual energy elements within a radius of several dozen meters violently churned. The ten medicinal cauldrons simultaneously shot into the air.

Instantly, Ling Xiao’s figure moved, his hands striking out toward the cauldrons. Wummm, wummm, wummm, wummm...

A low drone sounded simultaneously. Ling Xiao flickered rapidly, and in an instant, the area before the table was filled with his afterimages.

His two arms moved violently left and right, with extreme speed. Looking toward Nie Kong’s direction, the figure standing before him seemed no longer to be a single person, but the 'Thousand-Armed Guanyin' of a past existence.

The flames emanating from Ling Xiao's palms first scorched the medicinal cauldrons independently, but after ten seconds, those ten bursts of fire merged into one, expanding larger and larger. After about a minute, a massive fireball nearly two meters in diameter began to hover above the courtyard.

At this point, Ling Xiao’s flickering form stilled, his arms undulating like spirited serpents, ceaselessly plunging into the interior of the fireball. Wummm, wummm, wummm, wummm...

The droning intensified, vibrating outward across a great distance, echoing resonantly throughout this Sea Heart Island. Instantly, all the disciples of the Langya Sect on the island were alerted, almost universally gazing toward the center of Sea Heart Island, every single look filled with reverence and admiration.

Just by the sound, they knew the Sect Master was refining medicine again, and the quantity being refined simultaneously had likely reached an unprecedented peak! The Langya Sect disciples who had been cultivating on the beach vaguely sensed that something was amiss; perhaps it was connected to the fellow who had cleaved through the waves to arrive.

"This Ling Xiao is truly formidable!" Watching the medicinal cauldrons spinning rapidly within the fireball, Nie Kong inwardly praised. Refining multiple batches simultaneously carried an exceptionally high risk of failure, and even if a medicine was successfully created, the fusion rate of the spiritual herbs would not be very high.

For instance, the Apex-Tier Nether Alchemist of the Nether Earth War Clan, Zhan Baige, when refining eight batches of spiritual herbs simultaneously, the seven successful Nether Pills were all only of ordinary quality. But judging by Ling Xiao's current state, Nie Kong could almost certainly assert that all ten batches of medicine he was refining would succeed, and the medicinal fusion rate of every pill would exceed eighty-five percent.

To achieve such a fusion rate while refining medicine in this manner was already quite horrifying. After all, he wasn't refining low-grade spirit medicine, but Eighth-Grade spirit medicine.

However, Nie Kong also felt a slight regret; if the number of cauldrons had been reduced by two, the fusion rate for eight spirit pills could likely have reached ninety percent. "Bang!" Approximately fifteen minutes later, the fireball violently dispersed.

The ten medicinal cauldrons paused momentarily in mid-air before lightly descending, aligning themselves in a row on the wide wooden plank. ...

...RO