Chapter 240 - 95: The Duel Between Fire and Cauldron

Words : 2076 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

The fourth round of the pill test was not held immediately, considering that Yue Jinghua and Lie Sisi had already exhausted their mental power, it was decided that the test would be held two hours later. While Yue Jinghua was resting, a man dressed in nightclub attire walked in and whispered a few words to Lady Yao. Yue Jinghua’s keen senses naturally allowed her to hear the conversation between the two clearly. The man said, "Lady, something terrible has happened. Young Master Chen, the grandson of Elder Chen from Danlu, has been beaten and was just brought back injured." Lady Yao’s face changed immediately. It turned out that the Pill Master impersonating ’Chen Jiangyin’ was indeed a Pill Master from Danlu, but he was nothing more than an entry-level alchemist there. This time, he was entrusted by his grandfather to deliver something to Lady Yao, and he took the opportunity to stay in Poluo City for a few days. Whether out of vanity or because he had had too much to drink, the mediocre Young Master Chen actually claimed to be Chen Jiangyin, the genius prodigy of Danlu, and started to swindle people everywhere he went. In previous incidents, with Lady Yao’s protection, no major scandals had erupted. But this morning, as soon as Lady Yao entered the palace to oversee the alchemist assessment, Young Master Chen went out flaunting the name ’Chen Jiangyin’ to show off once again. Little did he know that this time, he would take a fall. First, he was stopped at the entrance of a tavern, and then, for some inexplicable reason, he fell to the ground and couldn’t get up. By the time he was carried back to the nightclub’s residence, he was already unconscious. Even after several entry-level alchemists from the nightclub had checked on him, they could not determine the cause. Now, the servants have come to report that they fear there is no cure for him. "Even if we have to use a high-level Spirit Pill, we must keep his breath hanging on. Immediately take out the treasured five-headed ginseng and have him swallow it. As long as there is a breath left, once he is sent back to Danlu, Alchemist Chen will surely be able to save him," Lady Yao was also in a panic. If someone dies in her place in Poluo City, she would truly be at a loss to explain herself. "But Lady, Alchemist Chen does not readily save people. If he finds out that Young Master Chen has impersonated him, I’m afraid he will leave immediately," said the concerned subordinate. "Hmph, foolish. We obviously cannot tell him the truth. Just say that Young Master Chen was attacked while representing Danlu on an outing, because he couldn’t stand a freelance Pill Master slandering Danlu and personal insults against Chen Jiangyin himself. Chen acted in a dispute," Lady Yao, the sly old fox, deduced upon hearing that Young Master Chen had no external wounds that the other party must have been hit by a Spiritual Attack. It is said that Chen Jiangyin, after reaching the pinnacle in the Alchemy Dao, has in recent years begun to focus on Dark Techniques related to Spiritual Attacks. After the servant left, Lady Yao glanced at Yue Jinghua with a sinister look. She saw the latter distractedly chatting with Princess Sha Fei, and couldn’t help but think to herself about what the servants had said earlier — before falling unconscious, Young Master Chen had a conflict with a woman surnamed Yue with an unsightly face. Counting the time, it coincided exactly with the period when Yue Jinghua was late. Could it be that Young Master Chen’s unprovoked injury was related to Yue Jinghua? On the side, Yue Jinghua was chatting with Sha Fei. Sha Fei was noticeably more affectionate towards Yue Jinghua than in previous days. It was uncertain whether it was because Yue Jinghua had performed well just now or for some other reason. In no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Sha Fei had already started to call Yue Jinghua ’sister’. "Sister, I heard that you broke off with Prince Fa a few days ago. You really dared to make that decision, considering he is after all a prince," Sha Fei asked with a smirk. This matter was also a hot topic of gossip in the palace. "Sister Sha, do you think that a woman marrying someone powerful and influential equates to happiness?" Yue Jinghua glanced at Fa Xiao Yun, who was not too far away, engaged in a pleasant conversation with Lie Sisi, whereas Fa Xiao Yi was nowhere to be seen. Yue Jinghua was on guard and scanned the surroundings, noting that not just Fa Xiao Yi was missing, but Qin Gang as well. Sha Fei seemed to be stumped by the question. Her face darkened a bit, and after another look at Fa Xiao Yun, she said gloomily, "You are so young, yet you think very thoroughly. But what can a woman do if she does not rely on a man?" "Let me tell you a story, which begins with a martial girl..." Yue Jinghua began slowly. By the time the fourth round of the pill test started, she had just finished telling her story. Sha Fei’s expression remained as usual, but the handkerchief she held was already soaked through. "For the fourth round of the competition, the alchemy recipe to be tested is the infant ginseng pill, formulated by the retired elder alchemist Alchemist Miao from Danlu, based on Princess Sha Fei’s constitution to nurture and protect the fetus," Lady Yao announced the fourth drug formula. Upon hearing the alchemy recipe, both Yue Jinghua and Lie Sisi were surprised. Infant ginseng pill? The infant ginseng pill was also a middle-level Spirit Rank elixir, but the difficulty of making this elixir was comparable to the True Dark Pill. The greatest challenge in making the River Car Pill was not in the mutual antagonism of medicinal properties like the True Dark Pill, but in the process of Alchemy itself. The infant ginseng pill is made from a fourth-level Spirit Grass called ginseng baby, which, unlike ordinary black ginseng or other Spirit Grass, has limbs and tends to run around all over the hills. It takes a very special technique to capture it. During the production of the infant ginseng pill, it is also necessary to ensure the freshness of the ingredients. The ginseng baby cannot be killed, instead, it must be slowly refined with an Elixir Fire Array. In this process, the baby ginseng would intermittently let out whimpers like that of an infant, which had a strong enchanting effect on people’s hearts. If an alchemist listened to it and felt a sense of unease, a moment of carelessness could lead to the failure of the alchemy. Both Yue Jinghua and Lie Sisi were still innocent maidens and it was their first time seeing a baby ginseng. All they saw was Lady Yao ordering someone to bring over two medicinal baskets, the tops of which had been sealed with Dark Power. She reached into the two baskets with her hands and upon grabbing, "whimper whimper whimper" cries that sent shivers down people’s spines emanated from the baskets. Lady Yao grabbed two baby ginsengs. Each baby ginseng resembled a diminished version of an infant, plump and soft, their leaves like thin and sparse baby hair, and their fat ginseng roots like limbs, presenting a lifelike appearance. "Ladies, each of you may take one baby ginseng. Whoever successfully produces Elixir Pills first, and once consumed by Princess Sha Fei proves to be effective, shall win," Lady Yao casually tossed the baby ginseng towards the two maidens. Lie Sisi was well-prepared, with a slap on her Golden Toad Tripod, it flew up, opening its wide mouth to swallow the baby ginseng that had been thrown into it. From within the body of the tripod, "whimper whimper" cries could be heard intermittently. Yue Jinghua had never held a baby in both her past and current life, so when Lady Yao threw the baby ginseng over, with the intent to make things difficult, she deliberately unleashed the Dark Power seal from the baby ginseng. A "baby" with flailing claws lunged over, and the formerly plump and soft baby’s shape became vicious beyond comparison. From the wailing mouth protruded sharp spikes, which bit onto Yue Jinghua’s finger in an instant. Unexpectedly, not only did it fail to injure Yue Jinghua, but she also pressed it down with a counter-move and bound it with "Soft Finger". "Little fellow, you’ve quickly learned to turn hostile," luckily Yue Jinghua considered the upcoming alchemy session and had specifically worn Alligator Turtle Gloves, preventing any injury from the bite. Despite being subdued, the baby ginseng still emitted piercing cries from its mouth from time to time, irritating Yue Jinghua to no end. Secretly channeling the Nine Revolutions Star Creation Technique, she dispelled the irritation in her heart, Yue Jinghua pondered for a moment before suddenly speaking loudly, "Lady Yao, please prepare a jar of your finest aged wine for me." The aged wine was brought over after a short while. On the other side, Lie Sisi had already begun the process of concocting the Elixir Pills. Yue Jinghua, however, opened up the seal of the aged wine unhurriedly, took a sniff, showing an intoxicated expression, then took out a gold-rimmed large bowl from her embrace, scooping up a bowl of wine as if she was about to start drinking right there in the Chuyun Hall. "How dare you! Yue Jinghua, you dare to be so presumptuous in front of the Monarch," Fa Xiaoyi slammed the table and stood up. "Prince Fa, what’s the rush? It’s not as if this wine was taken from your storehouse," Yue Jinghua held up the large bowl and retorted mockingly, "But speaking of it, the wine in this palace truly doesn’t compare to the quality in your storehouse. If I remember correctly, Prince, your storehouse hides fifty jars of excellent ’Cloud Honey Wine’." No sooner had Yue Jinghua spoken than King Fa Xiaoyun’s countenance severely changed, and he glared at Fa Xiaoyi. That Cloud Honey Wine was a specialty from a suburb of Shang Kingdom, with a maximum production of only one hundred jars a year, and merely ten jars were presented as tribute to the palace annually. It was unexpected that there were so many jars in Fa Xiaoyi’s residence. It appeared that this younger brother of his had been quite the dark horse. With a face turning from pale to red, Fa Xiaoyi felt unable to speak further, fearing that Yue Jinghua might spout more nonsense, and could only sit down sullenly. On the other side, Lie Sisi gave Yue Jinghua a sidelong glare. Yue Jinghua raised the large bowl, but not for drinking; she poured the entire bowl of wine into the ginseng baby’s mouth. After being fed several bowls of wine, the baby ginseng’s belly swelled, and its tender ginger body turned pink, looking like a cooked shrimp and still burping from time to time. Only then did everyone understand, Yue Jinghua’s purpose for the wine was to merely "intoxicate" the baby ginseng. Once the baby ginseng was intoxicated, Yue Jinghua started her alchemy. She swiftly selected the necessary ingredients to concoct the baby ginseng pill, adding them one by one into the Elixir Furnace and igniting the Elixir Fire Array. With a cold gaze, Lie Sisi watched Yue Jinghua’s every move. The two were competing in the same arena, naturally very close to each other. Yue Jinghua’s previous smooth and flowing actions appeared to be even more proficient than her own. Lie Sisi knew that if she did not rely on her Golden Toad Tripod, she would undoubtedly lose today. Why? Why a woman of such ugly appearance and devoid of Dark Energy, could transform from someone who knew nothing about alchemy to a proficient veteran in just a few months? What was all her effort in the past three years for then? Zhen Ni, oh Zhen Ni, you were oppressed by Yue Xiaoqi in your past life, and now, even after being reborn, you still have to be manipulated by this hideous woman? No, she would never allow the same to happen to herself again. Lie Sisi’s face revealed a crazed expression that seemed all too familiar.

Chapter 240 - 95: The Duel Between Fire and Cauldron

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