73: Chapter 73 One Turn, One Heaven; One Turn, One Realm

Daoist Xuandan frowned, his gaze locked firmly onto Zhou Tianchen's Alchemy platform, his heart filled with confusion.

He had practiced Alchemy for tens of thousands of years and had never seen anyone re-refine a Medicinal Pill that was already complete.

Huo Lingzi shook his head and muttered to himself, "Young man, you are far too greedy."

In his view, the quality of that Medicinal Pill was already quite good; if it could be successfully completed, it would be at least a Profound Rank Intermediate High Grade.

Yet Zhou Tianchen insisted on re-refining it. If this wasn't greed, what was it?

Yun Yin did not speak, but her gaze became a few degrees more focused.

She vaguely felt that this action of Zhou Tianchen's was not out of greed, but had a deeper meaning.

A flash of brilliance crossed Dan Qingzi's cloudy eyes.

He could not understand what Zhou Tianchen was doing, but he could feel that the moment the Medicinal Pill fell back into the furnace, the aura of the qiankun furnace underwent a subtle change.

The change was extremely subtle; an ordinary Cultivator would not be able to perceive it at all. However, he was a Heaven Rank Alchemist, and his perception of Pill Furnaces had reached the Realm of exquisite detail.

Dan Qingzi did not speak, simply watching quietly, his cloudy eyes filled with anticipation.

Time ticked by, second by second.

In the arena, a few more Alchemy platforms had extinguished their furnace fires.

On Beichen Feng's Alchemy platform, a black-green Pill Furnace suddenly emitted a clear, resonant hum. The furnace lid sprang open, and three Medicinal Pills flew out simultaneously.

The Medicinal Pills were entirely crimson, with fine, golden patterns flowing across their surfaces, emitting a scorching and rich medicinal fragrance. That fragrance spread out, and could even be clearly smelled from the viewing stands.

"Three pills! And the quality is extremely high!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Huo Lingzi's eyes lit up. He stood up abruptly, walked a few steps to the judging table, received the three Medicinal Pills with both hands, and examined them carefully in his palms.

A moment later, he took a deep breath, his voice carrying a hint of irrepressible excitement.

"Profound Rank Advanced, High Grade!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire arena was in an uproar.

"Profound Rank Advanced High Grade! In the previous Alchemy competition, Zhang Xiaoting, who won the championship, only reached this level!"

"Beichen Feng is truly worthy of being a Disciple of Medicine King Valley; he lives up to his reputation."

"Three Medicinal Pills, and every single one is High Grade."

The discussions on the viewing stands rose and fell, with astonishment, praise, and envy intertwined.

Beichen Feng withdrew his furnace and stood up. His expression was calm as he bowed to the various Earth Rank Alchemists at the judging table, then retreated to the side to close his eyes and regulate his breathing.

There was not much joy on his face, as if refining a Profound Rank Advanced High Grade Medicinal Pill was merely a routine matter for him.

Immediately after, Mu Qing's Alchemy platform also lit up.

An ice-blue Medicinal Pill flew out from the furnace. On the surface of the pill, ice-crystal-like patterns faintly flowed, emitting a cold and chilling medicinal fragrance.

Wherever that medicinal fragrance passed, even the temperature of the air seemed to drop by a few degrees.

Daoist Xuandan took the Medicinal Pill, examined it for a moment, and nodded slightly.

"Profound Rank Advanced, Medium Grade."

Mu Qing's expression remained unchanged. She withdrew her furnace, stood up, gave a slight nod to the judging table, and retreated to the side.

There was another round of discussion on the viewing stands.

"Profound Rank Advanced Medium Grade. Although it cannot compare to Beichen Feng's High Grade, it is still at a top-tier level."

"The Piaomiao Sect's Ice Heart Alchemy technique is indeed exquisite."

Lu Chen's Alchemy platform also lit up.

A pale green Medicinal Pill flew out from the furnace. The medicinal fragrance was light and lingering; although it was not as rich as Beichen Feng's, it had a unique charm of its own.

Yang Danzi took the Medicinal Pill, glanced at it, grinned, and said, "Profound Rank Advanced, Medium Grade. Not bad."

Lu Chen bowed respectfully, withdrew his furnace, and retreated to the side, but his gaze involuntarily glanced toward Beichen Feng's direction.

Profound Rank Advanced Medium Grade. It was only one step away from High Grade. This gap could not be called small, but it was not large either.

Next time, he would just have to compete again.

The other Alchemy platforms also successively had results.

Profound Rank Elementary, Profound Rank Intermediate; the best was only Profound Rank Intermediate High Grade, and no more Profound Rank Advanced pills appeared.

At this moment, Shen Cihui had also successfully completed his Alchemy, producing a Profound Rank Elementary, Medium Grade Medicinal Pill.

For him, this result was already very good.

He turned around, his gaze landing on the adjacent Alchemy platform.

The golden flames on that Alchemy platform were still burning quietly, as if indifferent to everything around them.

Shen Cihui looked at Zhou Tianchen's Pill Furnace, urgently wanting to know what grade of Medicinal Pill Zhou Tianchen could refine.

Inside the qiankun furnace, the first turn of Nine-Turn Recovery had reached its end.

Zhou Tianchen's face was pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead, but his hands were as steady as a rock, his hand seals changing continuously.

The Xuanyuan Barrier-Breaking Pill that he had re-refined was undergoing a transformation inside the qiankun furnace that ordinary people could not imagine.

The qiankun fire inside the furnace had originally been a gentle gold, but at this moment, it faintly revealed a hint of purple.

If an ordinary Pill Furnace were to withstand this level of fire, it would have long since cracked and the pill would have been destroyed.

Yet the qiankun furnace stood as steady as Mount Tai, the runes on its body flowing ceaselessly, precisely controlling every bit of fire power within the range Zhou Tianchen desired.

Zhou Tianchen's Divine Sense was completely immersed in the furnace.

The contents of the first volume of the Scripture of Alchemy slowly flowed through his mind.

"The quality of a pill is not immutable. Re-refining in the furnace is like a Phoenix's Nirvana, being reborn from the fire. One turn, one heaven; one turn, one Realm."

Nine-Turn Recovery: one turn is one transformation.

Although he had only reached the threshold of the first turn, after the pill was re-refined, it had indeed undergone a qualitative leap.

The medicinal power was no longer a simple accumulation; instead, under the effect of the qiankun fire, it had re-fused and been re-refined, forming a brand new, more pure medicinal structure.

This was the Profound Truth of Nine-Turn Recovery.

On the viewing stands, everyone's gaze was focused on Zhou Tianchen's Alchemy platform.

Huo Lingzi looked puzzled and muttered to himself, "What on earth is this kid up to?"

Yang Danzi rarely put down his wine gourd, sitting up straight and changing his usual lazy demeanor.

He could feel that some kind of change was happening inside that Pill Furnace. The change was extremely subtle; ordinary Alchemists would not be able to perceive it at all.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu did not understand Alchemy, but even he could see at this moment that what Zhou Tianchen was doing was definitely not simple.

He subconsciously looked at Jiang Changge beside him, only to see Jiang Changge still leaning back in his seat, his expression indifferent, a faint, almost imperceptible smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, as if he had already understood everything before him.

The heavy stone in Ancestor Zhou Huaixu's heart immediately fell to the ground; if the Senior was not anxious, why should he be?

Shen Cihui stood by his own Alchemy platform, his gaze landing on Zhou Tianchen, his eyes filled with complexity.

He and Zhou Tianchen had known each other for many years. Previously, his Alchemy skills were higher than Zhou Tianchen's, and he often guided him.

Yet in today's competition, Zhou Tianchen had already reached a height that he could only look up to in vain.

Shen Cihui took a deep breath, suppressed the complex emotions in his heart, and his eyes gained a bit more firmness.

In the past, they were Fellow Daoists; in the future, he would be a target to chase.

With such a person leading the way in front, his path of Dao would not be lonely.

Half an hour later.

Inside the qiankun furnace, the transformation of that Medicinal Pill finally neared its end.

Zhou Tianchen opened his eyes, golden light seeming to flow within his pupils.

He took a deep breath, and his hand seals suddenly changed. The lid of the qiankun furnace vibrated violently, emitting a low, resonant humming sound. That sound was like the tolling of an ancient bell, echoing through the valley.

The golden flames inside the furnace surged instantly. The originally faint hint of purple was now several times more intense, enveloping the entire Alchemy platform in a sea of purple-gold light.