Cultivating to Become a Great Celestial - Chapter 29.1

Chapter 29.1: Victory Claimed Through Steps

However, Su Tingyun was currently powerless to even defend herself. Thus, though she pitied that person, she didn’t pay any more attention to him. Her life was currently in the hands of Liu Feizhou who was on the stage refining pills.

Another two hours passed. Xu Yishan had successfully refined a fourth rank Revival Pill.

Meanwhile, Gu Hao’s Foundation Establishment Pill was also approaching its last critical juncture. The medicine cauldron in his palm rapidly revolved and its lid clattered as if something was trying to leap out of there. Then, the flame he controlled split and some thin strands of flames that seemed like heated iron wire formed to bind the medicine cauldron.

“He has already purified and condensed the pill. The last step is to gather the spiritual energy of the heaven and earth to form the pill. Win or lose, it all ends here.” The person that spoke was the Sect Leader of Wuliang Sect, Jiang Feiyun. “This young Gu’s control over the pill flame is extremely delicate. It looks like he has practiced quite a lot.”

Dan Fengyang also nodded. “This batch of pills is a success.”

Right after his words fell, the purple pill cauldron in Gu Hao’s palm emitted a hazy splendor as he simultaneously retrieved his pill flame. Then, he turned to look at Dan Fengyang who was on the tall stage and bowed deeply in that direction. After that entire series of actions, he finally opened the pill cauldron and used his spiritual energy to lift three brown, smooth, and round medicinal pills into the air.

The fragrance of the medicine immediately filled the surroundings. Though this fragrance didn’t affect high-level cultivators much, all of the newly accepted disciples below started gulping the air with large inhales. The medicinal fragrance assailed their nostrils and made them feel refreshed and clear-headed.

However, when Su Tingyun smelled that fresh fragrance, she felt a chill in her heart.

…

“Three pills in one batch and the quality is outstanding. I’m quite amazed that you were able to achieve such a stage at your current level of strength.” Dan Fengyang stroked his beard with an appreciative smile on his face. Gu Hao was instantly overjoyed at the unexpected praise and said, “It’s only due to Master’s effective guidance.”

After he said that, he looked to the side towards Liu Feizhou. Victory was currently already in his grasp so when he took in Liu Feizhou’s clumsy performance, he felt as if he was watching a little clown hop around.

Sweat covered Liu Feizhou’s forehead and his garments along with his back were also thoroughly drenched.

At present, the cultivator that was adding firewood also seemed a little lacking in energy. For some unknown reason, he was adding firewood increasingly slowly, causing Liu Feizhou to feel even more pressure.

Su Tingyun noticed something off about that person. Then, when she caught Gu Hao’s dark gaze, her heart trembled. Could it be that Gu Hao had bribed that cultivator? Bastard! He sure causes no small amount of trouble!

Liu Feizhou couldn’t afford to diverge his attention right now. However, the fire in the furnace was getting weaker and weaker so he had no choice but to use his spiritual energy to nourish it. The problem was, if he completely depleted his spiritual energy, he wouldn’t be able to hold up for the rest of the pill refinement process. Just as Liu Feizhou’s mental concentration was about to waver, he suddenly discovered that the fire in the furnace was starting to recover.

Liu Feizhou looked down and saw the damned old woman who had pounced over, sent the cultivator tumbling away with a kick, then had taken his place.

Su Tingyun was also just staking it all. She was someone Liu Feizhou had brought over so no one really paid attention to her. At present, she was starting to add firewood herself after having kicked that cultivator away. This firewood was not normal wood but wood manufactured from high-rank spirit wood. Thus, the temperature of the flames was extremely high. Her skin turned slightly red from being roasted and some of her hair got scorched by the sparks that leaped out.

Liu Feizhou took a deep breath and calmed himself before saying, “The fire’s not strong enough, use spiritual energy.”

He was currently at the crucial stage for condensing the pill so he could only take a gamble. This was the disadvantage of not having a pill flame: he had no way of controlling the flames as he pleased. Even if he used his spiritual consciousness to control the fire in the pill furnace, there would still be a gap compared with controlling a pill flame that existed within his body. That slight disparity was enough to decide the success or failure of a batch of pills.

‘The fire’s not strong enough, use spiritual energy.’ Su Tingyun understood that, but she wasn’t sure how much spiritual energy specifically to use.

Su Tingyun poured her spiritual energy into the furnace fire and the flames instantly started crackling as they flared up vigorously. However, Liu Feizhou immediately shouted, “Enough.”

Su Tingyun had felt his body slightly shake. It was clear that he had almost failed.

So now, Su Tingyun didn’t dare to randomly throw in more firewood. She thought about it a little, then carefully used her spiritual consciousness to glance at the medicinal pill inside the furnace. There was currently only one pill inside the pill furnace. It was floating in the air and looked like a melted piece of chocolate. Below it were the medicinal dregs that had settled on the bottom of the furnace.

Su Tingyun saw the parts that weren’t being heated evenly by the fire which, in consequence, caused the shaping of the pill to be difficult. She inwardly remarked, ‘oh no’, then subconsciously flipped the medicinal pill a little…

Su Tingyun discovered that no one seemed to have noticed her little movement. Thus, she started flipping that medicinal pill back and forth like she was barbecuing it until it was finally shaped. Although it was a little irregular and oval, it was much better than the sticky lump it was in a moment ago.

At this time, a layer of silvery light emitted from Liu Feizhou’s body. A huge amount of spiritual energy poured into the pill furnace and wrapped up the medicinal pill that was floating in the air. It was as if countless large hands were repeatedly squishing it flat and rolling it into a round shape. In just a few moments, that medicinal pill became glossy, smooth, and round. At the same time, the medicinal dregs below had disappeared as well.

Then, Liu Feizhou bent his finger and flicked. A water-like light shot into the fire below the pill furnace and the fire extinguished. The pill furnace opened and a glossy Foundation Establishment Pill was revealed. Liu Feizhou loosened a breath of relief and bowed towards the stage to Master Dan before turning around to glance at the old woman who was tired to the point she was about to collapse. Liu Feizhou’s brows slightly furrowed and he reached out to pull Su Tingyun up.

It was just that when he pulled her up, a layer of black ash got on his hand. This was ash from the burning of Black Iron Wood and it felt extremely unpleasant to Liu Feizhou. He forcefully lowered his voice as he said, “You didn’t even set up a Dust Barrier (secret art) for yourself?”

Su Tingyun’s lips turned down. She had been facing death right then, how could she have possibly remembered to use some Dust Barrier? Not to mention, she was only at the first stage of Spirit Condensation so she had little spiritual energy to begin with. She probably wouldn’t have been able to maintain even the flames if she had used a Dust Barrier.

In reality, Liu Feizhou also knew this. He lifted his hand and used the secret art to clean Su Tingyun up. After he finished, he shot her a black look before making a gesture as if he was brushing away dust. Then, he slowly walked to stand between his fellow disciples.

“I refined three pills in one batch and also took less time than you. I’ve won.” Gu Hao took out that poisonous pill. “Junior Brother, you should take this pill in front of us now.”

Liu Feizhou didn’t even bother to glance at him and just sneered. “Master hasn’t even given his comments yet. When did jurisdiction over victory become yours?”

Gu Hao started laughing and the poison ulcer on his face trembled with his movements. His appearance became even more dreadful. “Death is near at hand, yet you still dare to mouth off…” He was about to say more when Dan Fengyang said from the stage, “The rear waves of the Yangtze River truly drive on those from before ah (each new generation exceeds the previous). The winner of this competition is Liu Feizhou.”

The smile on Gu Hao’s face immediately stiffened and he forgot to close his opened mouth. With his eyes bulging out, he looked even more similar to a big-mouthed toad. Gu Hao hastily turned around and knelt down to ask, “Master, they’re both Foundation Establishment Pills. I took less time to refine it and also successfully made three in one batch. Why did Master deem him victorious?”

Gu Hao could not accept it. How could he have lost?

How can he lose?

“Indeed, they’re both Foundation Establishment Pills. However, the pill formulas you two used were different.” Dan Fengyang sniffed again. “Rootless Water, Drawn Skullcap, Ironheart Orchid… Liu Feizhou’s Foundation Establishment Pill used these three low-rank medicinal grasses. He had used low-rank medicinal grass to refine a medicinal pill that is at the apex of fourth rank pills. Even if he only formed one pill, it’s still his victory.”

The formulas for medicinal pills were not always the same. Medicinal grasses can always be substituted with other medicinal grasses of similar nature. However, the Alchemist must possess strong talent and control in order to substitute high-rank medicinal grasses with low-rank medicinal grasses. Not to mention, Liu Feizhou still didn’t have a pill flame yet. If he had, he probably would be capable of refining fifth rank pills by now.

If he was capable of refining fifth rank medicinal pills, in the eyes of the common people, he would no longer be an alchemy apprentice but an alchemy master.

Rootless Water, Drawn Skullcap, Ironheart Orchid…

These three plants were precisely the three plants that Su Tingyun had been growing. It was also precisely these three medicinal grasses that allowed Liu Feizhou to beat Gu Hao and successfully become Dan Fengyang’s star disciple.

The smile on Liu Feizhou’s face was especially mild and clearly not arrogant at all. He walked alone on to the high stage and proceeded to respectfully give three bows and nine kowtows to Dan Fengyang. After that, under Dan Fengyang’s guidance, he offered sacrifices to the forefather master of Dan Fengyang’s clan. With this, he had officially become Dan Fengyang’s star disciple.

After all of this was done, Liu Feizhou slowly walked to Gu Hao. “Second Senior Brother, it’s about time to honor our bet.”

He had won, so Gu Hao had to hand over his pill flame.

“Keep dreaming!” Gu Hao turned to leave but he suddenly felt a chill from his back and immediately dodged to the side as he said sternly, “Liu Feizhou, you actually dared to harm your fellow disciple right in Master’s presence!?”

“That’s right ah, Master is present. Master da ren can distinguish the rights and the wrongs and will naturally judge this matter fairly. ‘Agree to bet, agree to pay.’ Second Senior Brother, you understand this logic, right?”

大人 –  “da ren” A suffix used for an official or a person in authority. It’s like the suffix ‘-sama’ in Japanese.

Liu Feizhou and Gu Hao’s bet had already spread through the entire Wuliang Mountain. Dan Fengyang had also heard of it so now, he nodded. “‘Agree to bet, agree to pay.’ Gu Hao, since both of you had laid down the wagers back then, on what grounds can you possibly violate it?”

A pill flame is a world spirit flame. Even if it’s just a first rank Incense Wood Flame, it was still something extremely hard to attain. His newly accepted star disciple had extremely high natural talent. With the help of a pill flame, his disciple will definitely go far in the practice of alchemy. Not to mention, this pill flame was even something that his disciple had won honorably. If Gu Hao didn’t act with proper tact, don’t blame him for becoming unhappy.

When Gu Hao heard what Dan Fengyang said, his back immediately became covered with sweat.

He understood that there was no way he could refuse to hand over this pill flame today. He regretted a lot. However, regret was already useless now. Gu Hao closed his eyes and a flame appeared in the middle of his palm. After giving it a mental command, the flame gradually started rising into the air and left his body. At the same time, Gu Hao’s facial color became increasingly pale. Pill flames assimilate with one’s dantian sea of consciousness, so forceful removal causes one’s primordial spirit to suffer damage. However, Gu Hao didn’t have any other choice right now.

He felt resentment. He itched to tear Liu Feizhou apart limb by limb, skin him alive, and eat his flesh. Yet, he couldn’t do so. All he could do was endure.

After a while, Gu Hao finally peeled the Incense Wood Flame out of his spiritual consciousness. As he handed that flame to Liu Feizhou, he stressed the words, “Junior Brother Liu should look after it well.”

“That’s only natural. A pill flame is an alchemist’s second life. I wouldn’t wager something this precious in a bet with someone.” Liu Feizhou took out a small jade box he had prepared and placed the Incense Wood Flame inside before continuing, “Many thanks, Second Senior Brother, for enduring the pain to part with your treasure.” After he finished speaking, he didn’t close the lid of the box but used spiritual energy to lift a little bit of the flame and danced it in front of Gu Hao. A few moments later, he slightly smiled and sent that little spark in his hand shooting out.

The spark swept past Su Tingyun’s temple. It was just a tiny spark, yet it created an enormous heatwave, causing Su Tingyun to feel as if her hair was burning. She was silently cursing Liu Feizhou for being a white-eyed wolf (someone that betrays your kindness) when, in the next second, she stiffened. A pitiful cry came from behind her and Su Tingyun slowly turned around to discover that the cultivator she had kicked aside earlier has already become a fireman.

Only a few seconds had passed, yet a person had been burned to coal by that pill flame.

Su Tingyun: “…”

This person can take a life, not only without blinking but even while wearing a faint smile. Will she really be able to survive hugging his thigh?

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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Proofread by Yours Truly