Chapter 0957: Where did this demon come from
âSenior, is there anything wrong?â Ning Cheng, on seeing this short, fat old man not speaking, asked once again.
The short, fat old man hesitated for a moment before speaking, âYou are taking the pill sage assessment; why not just refine ordinary dao pills?â
Ning Cheng understood what this short, fat old man thought of him. This old man only wanted him to refine a few random dao pills and that he didnât care whether he succeeded or not. The more common the dao pill the examinee refined, the less the Pill Union would lose. In the end, if he failed, the pill marrow would also go to the Pill Union.
âIâve heard that in a Pill Sageâs assessment, half the dao pills refined would be returned to the examinee. Besides, are the materials for Violet Heaven Pills very precious? Itâs the most ordinary one that I can refine.â Ning Cheng showed a warm smile.
The short, fat old man almost choked on Ning Chengâs words and spat out a mouthful of blood. The Violet Heaven Pill was the most ordinary one? Wouldnât that mean the following pills would require even more heaven-defying materials?
Ning Cheng had put up the pill marrow as collateral; as such, the short, fat old man couldnât say it bluntly that he didnât believe that Ning Cheng had the skills to refine such a dao pill. I let you refine ordinary dao pills because I wanted to give you a chance to succeed. Plus, I also wouldnât lose too much if it resulted in a failure. After hesitating for a long time, he finally took out a few jade boxes and put them in front of Ning Cheng. âAlright, since you insist on refining the Violet Heaven Pill, then itâs all on you.â\nAs long as the Violet Heaven Pillâs refinement failed, he would come up with an excuse to not take out higher-grade dao pill materials.
Ning Cheng raised his hand and waved, bringing out a pill furnace with the words âFirst Furnace of Chaosâ engraved on it.
When the old man saw Ning Chengâs pill furnace, he almost laughed out loud. How dare someone call a pill furnace âthe First Furnace of Chaosâ? It felt too shameless, even to him. No wonder this Dao Sculpting kid dared to come here to take the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment. This brat lived in his own little world.
The short, old man suddenly spoke up, seeing that Ning Cheng was about to reach out to grab the alchemy materials. âWait. Show me your Dao Transformation Pill Deity qualification token first.â
Ning Cheng looked at the old man suspiciously and asked. âDo you even need a Dao Transformation Pill Deityâs qualification for taking the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment? If I had such a qualification, would I even need to come here for the examination?â
Although the short, fat old man looked stung by Ning Chengâs words, he felt delighted internally and spoke up. âWithout a Dao Transformation Pill Deityâs qualification token, you can only take the exam for a Dao Raising Pill Sage. Take out your Dao Raising Pill Deityâs qualification token, heheâŠâŠâ
Ning Cheng couldnât help but give an awkward reply. âI only have a Rank 8 Pill Emperorâs qualification token. Didnât you say that I only needed âaâ qualification to take the exam?â
This time, the short, fat old man truly felt speechless. He stared at Ning Cheng for a long time before he sighed and said, âI, Sheng Huotian, lived for quite a long time. But todayâs the day I finally saw what it is to dare to think big and then do big. A Tier 8 Pill Emperor actually came to me and said he wanted to take the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment. Whether in terms of boldness or thickness of oneâs skin, if you said you were the second, no one else in the whole world would dare to claim the first.â\nNing Cheng replied in a calm voice, âSo you donât want to let me take the test, huh? Does it also mean that Senior Sheng wants me to forfeit my pill marrow?â
âForfeit your pill marrow? As if. The pill marrow is an incredibly precious material for an alchemist. Still, even if I needed it, I, Sheng Huotian, am not so despicable as to snatch your pill marrow. Besides, even if I, Sheng Huotian, wanted to do so, the Pill Union wouldnât allow it. You should go and first take the Dao Transformation Pill Deityâs assessment, and then come back to me when youâre done with it.â Sheng Huotian replied with an emotionless tone.
Ning Chengâs tone suddenly turned cold. âYou want me, a Dao Transformation Pill Sage, to stand in line with those ordinary examinees? If the treatment is the same for everyone, why the hell would I come here for the assessment of a Dao Transformation Pill Sage?â
Sheng Houtian laughed, âI donât care if you were the number one Dao Sculpting cowhide in the entire Grand Essence Realm; youâre still not a Dao Transformation Pill Sage yet. If you were a Dao Transformation Pill Sage, Iâm afraid your nose would be pointing at the sky. Well, it doesnât matter. If you donât want to stand in line, thatâs okay with me too, but youâll have to take the assessment from me. But if you want to take the assessment from me, you will need to take it step-by-step from the ranks of Dao Sculpting Pill Deity. Otherwise, go and stand in line with the others. As for the pill marrow, whether you take the test or not, the Pill Union has its rules. As long as you donât pass the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment, it wonât be returned to you. If you donât take the test, it will be returned to you.â\nWhat Ning Cheng wanted to hear were precisely those words from Sheng Houtian. Now that Sheng Houtian said it aloud, Ning Chengâs tone immediately softened. âSenior Sheng, itâs not impossible for me to take the assessment under you. Itâs just that there is no clarity about who owns those spirit grasses and to whom do the refined pills belong?â
Sheng Houtian spoke up angrily, âThe spirit grasses obviously will come from this sage, but the refined pills would all be considered yours. Satisfied?â
After hearing Sheng Huotianâs words, Ning Chengâs expressions warmed up, âThen, many thanks for the offer, Senior Sheng.â
Sheng Houtian sneered and didnât say anything as he raised his hand and waved, bringing out two medicinal ingredients. âThe first assessment is for Dao Sculpting Pill Deity. Use these materials to refine the Burst Spirit Pill.â
Ning Cheng looked at the two ingredients speechlessly and hesitated for a moment before saying, âCan you change the pill to be refined?â
Ning Cheng still hadnât used up the Burst Spirit Pills he had previously refined, and he also didnât plan on continuing to use Burst Spirit Pills. What would he do with so many Burst Spirit Pills?
Sheng Houtian simply ignored Ning Chengâs request and continued. âThere are enough spirit grasses for three furnaces, and you need a success rate of 60% or more for passing. That means you must successfully refine at least two furnaces before you can become a Dao Sculpting Pill Deity.â
Seeing that this old man, Sheng Houtian, had little intention of compromising, Ning Cheng took the Burst Spirit Pill materials and threw them into the pill furnace.
When Sheng Houtian saw Ning Chengâs actions, his face turned red with rage. How was this a Dao Sculpting Spirit Pill refinement? However, his anger disappeared a moment later.\nWhat was there to be angry about? The faster this kid failed, the better it would be, right? At that moment, he wouldnât have to take out any other spirit grasses at all.
A white flame suddenly manifested over Ning Chengâs palm, and Sheng Huotianâs face immediately twisted in shock. The more he looked at it, the wider his pupils grew, and then he suddenly shouted in surprise. âThatâs the Nameless FlameâŠ..â
The Nameless Flame wasnât truly nameless; it was the sixth-ranked flame in the Grand Essence Realm. Sheng Houtian never expected that Ning Cheng, a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor, could take out such a precious flame.
Ning Cheng didnât bother to pay attention to Sheng Houtian. The flame quickly enveloped the pill furnace, and a moment later, the furnace filled up with green gas.
In just a few moments, Sheng Huotianâs expressions changed once again. He was a Dao Transformation Pill Sage himself, so he naturally understood that Ning Cheng wasnât fooling around.
Ning Cheng had almost instantly refined and purified the spirit grasses. Moreover, in less than a third of an incense stick, a unique fragrance belonging to the Burst Spirit Pill emerged from the furnace.
Between ten to twelve breaths later, twelve pills emitting a powerful aura emerged and entered the jade bottles Ning Cheng had previously prepared.
Sheng Houtian could no longer sit still and immediately stood up with eyes wide open. Twelve Burst Spirit Pills, all of them top-quality Dao Sculpting Spirit Pills. Even he couldnât do any better than this.
It meant that Ning Cheng had indeed come for the Dao Transformation Pill Sageâs assessment and not to fool around.
Sheng Houtian immediately put away the materials that Ning Cheng hadnât yet refined. Instead, he took out fresh materials. âThereâs no need to refine the second furnace. Looking at your proficiency, youâve clearly passed the Dao Sculpting Pill Deity assessment. Next is the Dao Raising Pill Deity assessment.â\nAlthough he looked calm on the surface right now, his heart had long since turned upside down. When did such a heaven-defying alchemic powerhouse come out of the Grand Essence Realm? If this person hadnât come to the Pill Union for the assessment, he would have never known that there was still such a powerful Pill Deity in the Grand Essence Realm. Maybe he was already at the Pill Sage level.
Ning Cheng internally cursed Sheng Houtian for such pettiness. However, he also didnât care too much about it. In any case, Ning Cheng didnât put the Burst Spirit Pill in his eyes in the first place. The second pill he had to refine was the Immortal Rain Pill, which belonged to the Dao Raising Spirit Pill category. It was essentially a healing pill and a relatively precious one at that.
As Sheng Houtian expected, Ning Cheng only used a third of an incense stick in refining a furnace of top-quality Immortal Rain Pills.
Seeing this result, Sheng Houtian decided to take out a furnace full of materials for the Green Leaves Red Flame Pills without saying a word. The Green Leaves Red Flame Pill was a Dao Transformation Spirit Pill that assisted flame-attuned cultivators to cultivate their spirit techniques. It was even more valuable than the Immortal Rain Pills.
Sheng Houtian watched Ning Cheng skilfully refine, gather and fuse the medicinal extracts, and then form the pills without a half-a-moment of pause. He couldnât fathom just how many Dao Transformation Spirit Pills had Ning Cheng refined till now to reach such proficiency. However, the more he watched, the more shocked he became. Sheng Houtian was, at the very least, the second in command within the Pill Union. Even in terms of refining proficiency, he was only second to the Pill Unionâs Union Master.\nYet, even with his vast experience and knowledge, he couldnât determine what pill art Ning Cheng used during his refinement process. He couldnât see any form or structure, whether he looked at the initiation, condensation, or medicinal essence collection. Truth be told, he could only watch the process at the surface level and couldnât see or even sense the minute transformations at all. Ning Chengâs spiritual consciousness screened the pill furnace from outside influence. Therefore, unless Ning Cheng gave him permission, he couldnât forcibly probe the furnace with his spiritual consciousness.
âDing-Ding-Ding.â Sounds of pills rumbling in the jade bottle rang out. Listening to those sounds, Sheng Houtian gave out a long sigh. This wasnât a Pill Deity who had come to take the alchemy assessment but a demon. Twelve fiery-red Green Leaves Red Flame Pills, all of them of the highest grade without exception. Where on earth did this kid come from? Better yet, who in the heavens even taught such a demon?
Even if Ning Cheng took his time refining the Dao Transformation Spirit Pill. It took him only two incense sticks to pass the Dao Sculpting, Dao Raising and Dao Transformation Pill Deity assessments since the start of the evaluation. The Dao Transformation Pill Deity assessment required only a success rate of at least 30% to pass. Therefore, even without Ning Cheng refining a second furnace, Sheng Houtian knew that Ning Cheng most likely had a 100% success rate. Not only did Ning Cheng have a 100% success rate, but even the pills would be of top quality.
Sheng Houtian sighed. âFellow Daoist Ning Cheng, I retract my previous underestimation of you. You are indeed qualified to take the assessment for Dao Transformation Pill Sages. You also have the qualifications to despise those pill deities outside.â
Sheng Houtian directly admitted that he had underestimated Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng also, in turn, felt somewhat better about the old man. Many experts, regardless of their professions, wouldnât readily admit to their mistakes.\nâFellow Daoist Ning Cheng, these ingredients are for the Falling Scar Dao Pill, which also includes a Falling Scar Dao Fruit.â Sheng Houtian took out a furnace of materials and placed it in front of Ning Cheng. âI understand that youâre qualified to take the assessment for the Dao Transformation Pill Sage. However, I still have to ask you to take the assessments for the Dao Sculpting and Dao Raising Pill Sages according to the Pill Unionâs rules.â
Ning Cheng nodded. It didnât matter to him; the pills were his anyway. This time, since he was to refine a Dao Sculpting Dao Pill, he became even more careful with his actions. He even separated and refined the spirit grasses carefully. After all, it was the first time that he was refining a dao pill. Even if the Mysterious Yellow Formless provided him with powerful means, he still had to adapt to the process first.
Ning Cheng had seen the Falling Scar Fruit before. In fact, a Falling Scar Fruit had appeared in the Grand Essence Ruinsâ exchange and was bought by Kong Ning. Kong Ning had even asked him to borrow points to purchase that Falling Scar Fruit, to which he agreed.
The most precious material for the Falling Scar Dao Pill was naturally the Falling Scar Fruit. After Ning Cheng placed the Falling Scar Fruit into the furnace, the dao flame immediately covered it. At that exact moment, Ning Chengâs spiritual consciousness sensed a faint aura of the laws of heaven and earth from it.
Ning Cheng hadnât misjudged it previously. The heaven and earth laws in the Falling Scar Fruit were indeed not strong. One could even say that they were weak to the point of non-existence. However, although it contained a clear law, it felt that it could break and dissipate at the first touch. As if on cue, and before Ning Chengâs spiritual consciousness could even begin refining the Falling Scar Fruit, the laws within the Falling Scar Fruit started to collapse.\nSensing the laws collapsing within the Falling Scar Fruit, Ning Chengâs heart turned anxious. What was the defining feature of refining a Dao Pill? It was the law. Once the laws of the dao fruit collapsed, even if he finished the refinement of the dao pill, it would be tantamount to a failure.\n
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