790 Elixirs? Teach Xu in the Closed Area!

"Attention, Passive Points, + 6,845."

"Surprised, Passive Points, + 3,412."

The notifications box flashed rapidly.

Xu Xiaoshou, who had secretly modified the spirit-gathering array pattern, enjoyed the black chicken's Passive Points (as it performed alchemy).

As time passed, not only did the presidents in the judges' seats realize that something was wrong, but so did the crowd.

"Wow, look at Young Master Xu. That black chicken is incredible. It hasn't even caused a cauldron explosion yet!"

"Something's wrong... shouldn't the boy conducting the spirit-gathering array be Xiao Wanfeng?

"Why is Xiao Wanfeng only in charge of serving tea and picking out spiritual medicines while the black chicken is performing alchemy? How did a chicken snatch his role?"

"There's something strange with this chicken... Maybe it's a venerable Elixir Master of some Demi-saint faction. We should investigate thoroughly!"

"Something wrong with the chicken? You must be delusional. Why would some venerable Elixir Master of any Demi-saint faction transform themselves into a chicken? Wouldnt that be asking for death if they ventured near an alchemy cauldron and caused an accident?"

"Uhm, that is true..."

A heated discussion brewed amongst the onlookers.

Even the anxious staff members, who were -- under the President's order -- there to keep Young Master Xu out of harm's way should the spirit-gathering array go awry and explode, eased up. This unbelievable scene mystified them.

Likewise, many leaders on the viewing platform sot to their feet as they looked up at the screen in awe. They could not help but feel astonished and stared with their mouths agape.

"A black chicken performing alchemy..." muttered countless people in utter disbelief.

It was simply unimaginable.

No one had ever seen such an absurd alchemical technique practised in modern and ancient times.

More importantly, no one had expected a black chicken to possess such skill in alchemy such that it had not caused the cauldron it was using to explode.

"Look!"

"There aren't many spiritual medicines left on Young Master Xu's table. Does this mean that he's about to succeed?"

"Heavens, how long has it been? It can't have been more than half an hour!"

"Look at Xiao Wanfeng's intoxicated expression! The medicinal fragrance wafting out of the cauldron must be taking effect. It does not seem like he's putting on a front... Darn it! I want to enter the spirit-gathering array and take a whiff of too! It's a legend in the making, and it'll soon be recorded in the annals of alchemic history..."

"It's a testament to Young Master Xu's ability. Look at the others; they are all in a mess. He has been sitting on the chair from the beginning to the end, his bum glued to the chair. Are the elixirs almost ready?

"Isn't this a little too easy?"

Indeed, the spirit-gathering array was already emitting a heady medicinal fragrance.

Young Master Xu still sat on his chair, his feet propped lazily on the table.

There was no need for him to do anything; the black chicken could handle such a trivial task itself.

Xiao Wanfeng, on the other hand, was dumbfounded by Young Master Xu's absurd yet comical approach to alchemy. It seemed almost effortless to his unassuming eye.

"Young... Young Master Xu, are the elixirs almost ready?" Xiao Wanfeng asked hesitantly. He was afraid of affecting Young Master Xu's 'seemingly tranquil' state of mind. Soon, not a single spiritual ingredient was left on the table, and a sudden realization struck him then. With trembling hands, he offered the young master his tea.

Young Master Xu turned around and accepted the proffered cup. He did not even spare the alchemy cauldron a second glance. "Yes, it's almost ready. This Thirst Generating Pill is a little difficult to make, but it isn't so hard with the pill formula available," Young Master Xu answered, a slight smile touching his lips.

Xiao Wanfeng eyed Young Master Xu dully as he tasted his tea.

His feet were still on the table, even as he sipped the tea in his hands...

He had not lifted a finger to control the flame or used any alchemical techniques since the very beginning.

Under the threat of death, the helpless black chicken born of the void concocted the pill. There was no room for error, or it would be the one stuffed into the cauldron next!

How was this a 'little difficult'? Xiao Wanfeng was flabbergasted.

At first, he had thought Young Master Xu's nonchalance was an act, but now that he was watching him performing alchemy first hand, Xiao Wanfeng knew he had misjudged. How could this be considered a 'little difficult'?!

Xiao Wanfeng sighed in amazement.

He could not help but look back at the other Elixir Masters.

At this moment, most of the Elixir Masters either had not started, or they were forced to start over because their cauldrons exploded.

Too many people stared at Young Master Xu's spiritual array with their mouths open. They watched the scene of the black chicken conducting alchemy as if they had witnessed a miracle.

Xiao Wanfeng looked to the left.

The Elixir Master on Young Master Xu's left was the first to exit the stage. The cauldron that Elixir Master had used exploded fairly early into the competition.

Turning around, he locked eyes with Yu Chuchu. She was staring at the black chicken in their spiritual array.

Her eyes were fixed on them!

Seeing Xiao Wanfeng looking at her, Yu Chuchu finally regained her senses.

She raised her eyebrows and gave him a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

Xiao Wanfeng opened his mouth to speak but ended up closing it without saying a word. He shook his head and inclined his head slightly. "Don't look at me; I'm as clueless as you are. It's one of Young Master Xu's eccentricities; it's normal," he muttered, though nobody heard him.

Yu Chuchu clearly did not understand Xiao Wanfeng's complicated expression.

Pulling herself together, she tried her best to recover her composure.

"He was speaking the truth..."

Yu Chuchu recalled Young Master Xu's teasing dissection of the old President's assessment. Only then did she come to terms with everything Young Master Xu had said.

She missed the first few steps. By the time she noticed Young Master Xu's performing alchemy, the spiritual ingredients on the other party's table had already been reduced by more than half.

Still, she had managed to glean much from the pill formula while drawing comparisons between it and the black chicken's unique method of concocting. Observing when the black chicken threw the spiritual ingredients into the cauldron was enough to grant her some insight.

The layman would see the tricks, while the expert would watch the show.

Young Master Xu's black chicken was indeed funny, but its grasp of the medicinal properties of spiritual medicine and the timing to throw them in was simply superb.

"This pill formula..."

Yu Chuchu looked at the jade scroll in her hand.

At first, she had thought this pill formula was amazing, but she was just another toad in a well.

Young Master Xu's ability was unparalleled, and even his pet chicken had grasped such a profound understanding of alchemy that the process by which it concocted pills seemed more authentic than the step recorded in the jade scroll.

"I must be going crazy..."

Yu Chuchu pursed her lips, shocked by her train of thoughts. The pill formula in her hands was the life's work of the Eighteen Flavours Old President. How could it not compare to a grade ten Elixir Master?

An Elixir Master would often simulate the entire process in their minds before attempting alchemy.

Although Yu Chuchu had yet to perform alchemy, she had already rehearsed it several times in her mind.

She gathered her thoughts, resolutely discarding the simulation she had carried out in her mind, and followed the steps demonstrated by the black chicken, pursuing the alchemical technique that was the foundation of Young Master Xu's skill.

The process unfurled itself in her mind, and she immediately sensed how exquisite the technique truly was.

"There's no time!"

Yu Chuchu realized there was not much time left. She had to hurry.

However, just as she grabbed a stalk of spiritual medicine, a dazzling ray of multicoloured light grabbed her attention. Yu Chuchu could not help but turn towards the source.

"Swish!"

A multicoloured treasure light spewed forth from Young Master xu's alchemy cauldron. Its dazzling rays enveloped Young Master Xu and Xiao Wanfeng, transporting them into a vast faerie land within the spiritual array.

The multicoloured light soared into the sky, but the spiritual array did nothing to block it.

The spiritual array was like a decoration, unable to seal the multicoloured light that yearned for freedom. It allowed the ephemeral luminescence to soar into the clouds and disappear above the Nine Heavens.

"Hua!"

The crowd was shocked, feeling their scalps go numb.

"W-what is going on? Is it normal for alchemy to produce such phenomena?"

"I don't know... Were this any other place, I would have thought a treasure of heaven and earth had appeared; thus, the multicoloured light."

"It's crazy... How could alchemy produce such a phenomenon?"

"Could it be the birth of a Saint Pill?"

"Suspected, Passive Points + 6,541."

"In Awe, Passive Points + 4,218."

Xu Xiaoshou got up. With a wave of his hand, a single jade bottle appeared.

Several elixirs emitting seven-coloured treasure lights flew out from the alchemy cauldron. Under Xiao Wanfeng's wonderstruck gaze, they fell into the pill bottle.

"The alchemy trial is over."

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand and dissolved the spiritual array. "Wanfeng, let's go and get some fresh air!"

...

The judges were speechless.

The eighteen judges had weathered many storms and seen an untold number of scenes in their lives, but the one playing out before them was completely foreign even to them.

Even if it was similar...

"Why?"

Lu Chenghui shook his head in confusion. "Why are those pills emitting treasure light? The Thirst Generating Pill is only a grade seven elixir. Not even top-grade elixirs would produce treasure light or such unfathomable phenomena!"

He hugged his head in disbelief. "It can't be, it shouldn't be..."

Shi Ti stared at this scene in a daze. "It's not him. It's not him! That fellow's alchemy skills aren't that great! Which school of alchemy is this? Spiritual Technique Alchemy? Summoning Technique Alchemy? No! In any case, it can't be the Infernal lineage!"

Dong Ling blinked her confused eyes, feeling equally shocked.

A second ago, she, too, had been mesmerized by the glow emitted as the pill formed in the cauldron.

No sooner had she blinked than a possibility flitted to mind, and she grabbed the array token.

"Is something wrong?"

"How could he shut down the spiritual array? Didn't I assign control to the main array? Is the spiritual array Lao Yue gave me defective?"

"Confinement area!"

As the thought crossed Dong Ling's mind, she stood up and pointed at Young Master Xu, who was about to walk out of the arena. Her first instinct was to shout, but thankfully, she had the presence of mind to send a telepathic message instead, "Young Master Xu, please head over to the confinement area to prevent questions from leaking out."

Why would she want to prevent the questions from leaking out?

Xu Xiaoshou, who was on his way out of the arena, stopped in his tracks.

He knew that he was part of the last batch of contestants, and there would be no more going on stage, so why would he leak the questions?

There was definitely a screw loose in President Dong Ling's head.

Still, Xu Xiaoshou did not hesitate too much. He nodded and brought Xiao Wanfeng with him to the confinement area.

"Divine!"

"This is a miracle!"

"I've never seen such alchemy. Is this the foundation of the Demi-saint families? Young Master Xu summoned a black chicken we all thought was a joke, but it managed to refine elixirs that could give off multicoloured light."

"That's right. When Young Master Xu comes over later, you must learn from him."

"En, this isn't fawning. It's purely an exchange of ideas!"

The Elixir Master in the confinement area eagerly waited for Young Master Xu's arrival. He wanted to get to the bottom of this matter.

However, after waiting for a long time, they all began to scratch their ears and cheeks.

"H-how is he walking so slowly?"

The young man, Zhu Yan, who was silently waiting, was also rubbing his hands eagerly, awaiting guidance in the confinement area.

Young Master Xu walked slowly. His speed put even a turtle's to shame. To make things worse, he also turned his head every three steps and looked back every five. He waved at the enthusiastic audience with a face matching the spring breeze...

Contrary to appearances, he was in a foul mood.

"It can't be!"

"His alchemical skill is beyond anything I've seen. He should be like me, a steady and hardworking individual."

"Why does he care about those ordinary people?"

Zhu Yan was so anxious that he wanted to jump over the railing. However, when he saw the powerful guards beside him, he swallowed this intent.

The Elixir Master in charge of the confinement area, stunned by the multicoloured light display, waited with a dark expression.

Young Master Xu and Xiao Wanfeng merely walked a few metres away, lingering in the arena's vicinity despite leaving the spiritual array.

Eventually, President Dong Ling, sitting in the judge's seat, could not stand it anymore.

What was he doing? Did he need an escort to get to the confinement area?

"Go to the confinement area!" President Dong Ling transmitted telepathically, her anger as clear as day.

"I'm going. I'm going!"

Xu Xiaoshou did not even bother acknowledging her orders any further. Instead, he continued greeting the big wigs in attendance, showing great enthusiasm as if he were meeting old friends, unbothered by the whims and urgings of the secular world.

Dong Ling's frustration with this clown grew as she watched him pandering to the crowds. "Then walk faster. I want you in the confinement area in three breaths!"

"Oh."

Xu Xiaoshou was helpless. He could only hurry off the stage and make his way towards the confinement area under the starry-eyed gazes of worship. He almost appeared reluctant to leave his new fans.

Swish.

The pop-up box on the information bar stopped.

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at his harvest.

"Passive Points: 342,108."

What the heck!

Painting an army of black chickens and sending them to their deaths had earned him close to 200,000 Passive Points!

Wasn't 'Painting Mastery' a little too awesome?

It was a money-making machine!

There were still two rounds left in the alchemy meet. In the next two rounds, if he painted more black chickens and earned another wave of Passive Points, would he be able to earn another million for each day?

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou could not help but feel a little annoyed that the alchemy meet would end soon.

Then again, if it had been anyone else, they may not have earned as many Passive Points as he had in so short a span.

"Forget it. I'll take advantage of this wave of excitement. The next time I appear, I'll order my chickens to seize the spotlight again!" Xu Xiaoshou made up his mind.

...

In the confinement area...

As the name suggested, a troupe of Elixir Masters manned the area, preventing anyone from leaving once they stepped inside. The moment Young Master Xu stepped into the confinement area, he was surrounded and summarily detained.

"Young Master Xu! I'm Hou Zi Yun from Tian Yuan City..."

"Young Master Xu, Young Master Xu, I'm Cai Ji from the Sunless Prefecture of the East Spirit World..."

"Young Master Xu, Young Master Xu, I'm Gongsun Ying from the Sunless Prefecture of the Central Region. My Gongsun Clan has quite a bit of contact with the Northern Region. I've long heard of Young Master Xu's resounding name. No one in the Northern Region does not know who you are! Now that I've seen you, words do not do you justice!'

A hush descended. The gazes of those in the crowd were filled with nothing but admiration for Gongsun Ying.

Amazing... To think there was someone who knew Young Master Xu among them!

After a pause, the surroundings burst into conversation.

The moment he entered, many people began flattering Xu Xiaoshou such that he could not open his eyes. It was blinding.

"What a guy..." His horizons were broadened.

Did they not say Elixir Masters were a class of prideful individuals? How could they be so shameless?!

He even knew the Taixiang Xu family of the Northern Region?

He could ascend to heaven in peace...

Zhu Yan was stunned and could not squeeze through the crowd to meet Young Master Xu. He was so anxious that he began stamping his feet in frustration.

Just then, Young Master Xu's servants came forward and signalled for everyone to step back and calmly offer their greetings one at a time.

Young Master Xu waved his hand smilingly and said, "I know what everyone wants to ask. Please wait a moment, and I'll explain everything about the Thirst Generating Pill and the test. It is better to teach a man to fish than to give a man a fish. Today, let's discuss the Dao, discuss the Dao... Haha..."

"Alright!"

"Young Master Xu is generous!"

"As expected, rumours say that Young Master Xu is a good person. He treats people generously and is mature in handling matters. He has the bearing of a gentleman. As expected of a Demi-saint's descendant."

"Young Master Xu, hurry up and explain the true meaning of the Thirst Generating Pill. I was stumped by the first step, preparing Blue-Leafed Ice Grass. Truly despicable!"

"Me too, me too! I got stuck at the third step. That 'Condensed Ice and Congealed Fire' almost drove me crazy. How can ice and fire fuse together? I couldn't learn anything from the first step either. I'm curious!"

When the crowd saw Young Master Xu sharing his thoughts, they grew restless.

On the side, Qiu Jiang Zhi, Zhu Yan, and the other young geniuses who had scored more than 90 points either had a proud expression on their faces and did not speak, or they crossed their arms in disdain...

Nonetheless, they all pricked up their ears and waited for Young Master Xu to share his thoughts without exception.

"That's easy. It isn't anything difficult."

Xu Xiaoshou stared at his nails happily.

This group of Elixir Masters was a little cute.

They were not as reckless as those unscrupulous martial artists. These people had the hearts of researchers as they pursued the Dao of Alchemy.

The laymen saw the absurdity of the black chicken's alchemy.

These professionals were elites from all walks of life. How could they not see what Young Master Xu's carefree attitude, while performing alchemy, represented?

"Come."

"Allow this Young Master to explain."

Xu Xiaoshou was not stingy. After observing the array pattern in the confinement area, he used his spiritual senses to tweak it gently.

"Hua!"

"Young Master Xu! Young Master Xu!"

"Awesome, I've never seen that multicoloured light in my entire life..."

The voices from the outside suddenly rushed in, and the people in the confinement area were shocked.

"What's going on?"

The guards were nearly scared to death. They thought that the spiritual array was broken, so they clasped onto the hilts of their swords, standing ready for anything that might happen.

"Come, come, come, everyone, look over here."

At this time, Xu Xiaoshou spoke in a manner that said, "As a teacher, I preach the Dao of heaven, Swallow the Mountains and Rivers."

Soon, even the guards' attention was drawn over.

"This Young Master will tell everyone, the first step, the Blue-Leafed Ice Grass, possess the characteristic of 'leaving'..."

Everyone's eyes widened.

Zhu Yan's eyes instantly lit up.

He knew that he had earned points with that sentence alone.

This Young Master Xu had something up his sleeves!