Whoosh!
Through the void, a wide sleeve swept across.
Yet to the touch, there was still only emptiness.
Luo Chen slowly withdrew his hand, his eyes gleaming with golden light.
"Another illusion?"
Soon, however, he realized that the entities radiating rich white light were not illusions; they were real. It was just that whenever he tried to subdue them with brute force, they turned slick and elusive, impossible to grasp.
"It seems using force to capture these shielded pills to smell them up close won't work."
With eyes capable of seeing through illusions, he had already discerned that these white lights were actual medicinal pills. Just like the "pill-books" in the side hall earlier, they were products of the same illusory technique. As things stood, brute force was futile. Only by truly identifying the corresponding pill could one actually take it into hand.
Luo Chen curbed his restless thoughts and shifted his gaze toward the other four not far away.
At first, they too had been somewhat surprised by the specific test of this trial. Yet having likely encountered similar challenges in the past, they settled down quickly after their initial fluster.
Each began displaying their divine skills!
Chen Mozi retrieved a gourd, poured out an unidentified liquid, and dabbed a drop onto his nose.
Xin Yisheng radiated brilliant crimson light that interwove with the white lights in a splendid display.
Lu Chun formed a hand seal and sat cross-legged in the void.
Chu Yu took the simplest approach, merely donning a white veil that seemed capable of filtering out the miscellaneous pill auras.
Under these methods, progress gradually emerged.
Joy flashed across Lu Chun's face. Stirring from his meditative state, he wrote the name of a pill onto the desk before him.
Swish!
The moment the pill's name appeared, a beam of white light surged toward him, coming to rest upon his jade platter.
This signaled a single success!
Having taken the lead, Lu Chun felt immensely pleased with himself. Glancing around, he caught Luo Chen observing him and instinctively moved to shield the tier-one pill resting on his jade platter.
Luo Chen gave an easy smile and turned away, paying it no further attention. In truth, special arrangements governed this place, making it impossible to discern the pill his rival had obtained by sight alone.
Once his smile faded, Luo Chen sank into deep thought.
Distinguishing scents was a compulsory skill for every alchemist.
More often than not, determining the quality of a pill relied on far more than tangible traits like pill patterns, physical appearance, taste, or texture. Pill fragrance—or rather, pill aura—was an equally crucial component.
For an experienced alchemist, there were times when one did not even need to look. A gentle sniff was enough to identify the pill, its medicinal potency, and its grade.
Even though Luo Chen came from an unorthodox background, he possessed profound mastery in this regard.
In his early years, he had concocted a pill known as the Blood Fiend Pill. Upon completion, its fragrance was scorched, heavy, and viscous. An alchemist brewing orthodox pills might have assumed the furnace was ruined, but for the Blood Fiend Pill, that scorched scent was the very hallmark of success. Back then, Luo Chen had relied on that scorched aroma to confirm his triumph.
Yet what truly demonstrated Luo Chen's prowess in this area was not the fragrance of any single pill, but rather a spell.
The Cleansing Art!
In his early days, to guard against enemies tracking him through lingering auras, Luo Chen had trained the Cleansing Art to the Great Perfection stage. Whenever he finished refining pills, he would instinctively cast it upon himself to purge his scent. That casting process went far beyond merely erasing all traces. Within the tangled scents clinging to him, he had to precisely distinguish the residual pill aura of the concoction he had refined, ensuring it was scrubbed clean without a trace.
Over the course of three hundred years, Luo Chen had reached the point where a single whiff was all he needed to identify any pill he had ever refined.
His gaze swept over the hall where white lights darted everywhere, his brow furrowing slightly. If the scope of this test were limited strictly to pills he had made, it would pose no threat at all. But how could the white lights here be counted in the mere hundreds or thousands? To pick out one hundred pills with absolute precision from this vast sea without making a single mistake was simply too broad an undertaking...
"The scope?"
Luo Chen experienced a sudden epiphany. Did the "pill-books" he had read in the side hall of the Alchemy Saint Hall not encompass every single pill in this trial?
"The scope of this test is vast. Acting rashly may make one seem ahead of the rest, but it is actually an inferior approach."
"A single careless mistake, and all prior efforts are wasted."
"Only with absolute certainty should one put brush to paper!"
Luo Chen drew a deep breath and, like Lu Chun, sat cross-legged in the void.
His divine sense unfurled, blanketing the endless white lights.
With slight twitches of his nose, he scrutinized every white beam that streaked past. Crucially, he cross-referenced these pill fragrances against his memories of reading the pill-books earlier.
Through repeated identification, Luo Chen gradually realized that Alchemy Saint Chu Yan's choice to disguise the pills as pill-books had not been mere ostentation. Certain truths of the Dao of Alchemy could never be fully encapsulated by written words alone. Pill fragrances were a prime example: one or two might be described with precision, but what of ten, a hundred, or thousands upon thousands? Words ultimately fell short, and completely different pills could easily share identical descriptions.
A hairsbreadth discrepancy on paper could lead thousands of miles astray in practice!
Only after personally smelling them could an alchemist grasp a concrete understanding.
Luo Chen did not put brush to paper for a long time, remaining seated within the hall.
Such solitary stillness naturally drew the attention of others. Yet in the midst of a trial, none had the leisure to watch him continuously; their own progress demanded their full focus.
Lu Chun had written first and progressed the fastest. Over a dozen pill names already covered his white paper, and over a dozen corresponding pills sat upon his white jade platter.
Xin Yisheng proceeded more slowly, but every stroke was exceptionally precise.
Chu Yu moved steadily without haste. Her white veil treasure seemed capable of filtering out extraneous odors, making her the second fastest in the hall.
Chen Mozi, on the other hand, seemed to have hit a bottleneck after writing his first pill name, taking ages to identify a second.
For a time, three distinct scenes played out within the hall.
Lu Chun's side was bustling and advancing swiftly.
Xin Yisheng and Chu Yu proceeded steadily, putting brush to paper with calm composure.
Chen Mozi and Luo Chen remained entirely motionless, like statues carved of wood and clay.
Time slipped away. Within the great hall, devoid of the sun, moon, or shifting daylight, none could tell how much time had passed.
Imperceptibly, the first trial reached its midpoint.
"Phoo..."
With a long exhale, Chen Mozi stirred from his silence.
He surveyed his surroundings: Lu Chun, who had started with blazing speed, was now struggling with every stroke; Chu Yu and Xin Yisheng maintained their original pace, yet their expressions grew increasingly solemn.
A quiet smile touched his heart.
"The more distinct a pill is, the easier it is to identify. But those left for the end all share remarkably similar scents."
"There are even several varieties that are completely colorless and odorless."
"Under the constant pressure of the trial and the unspoken competition over progress, who can keep a steady mind and bring their true capabilities to bear in the latter half?"
"Only with comprehensive preparation can one write with inspired genius!"
"Fortunately, I saw the pitfall from the very beginning and did not rely blindly on the ingrained experience of past trials."
He prepared to set brush to paper. Yet before doing so, he cast a casual glance toward Luo Chen.
The young man remained deep in contemplation.
"It seems I underestimated Luo Chen. He undoubtedly realized the true method to pass this trial just like me, perhaps even earlier."
"His title as an Alchemy Master is well-deserved!"
"Yet youth remains his shortcoming. A lack of accumulated foundation has shackled his start."
With a faint smile, Chen Mozi penned the name of a second pill upon the paper.
A white light drifted over.
Its scent was exceptionally faint, barely perceptible, yet he had indeed identified it correctly.
At that very moment, flames abruptly flared out of nowhere.
Lu Chun stared blankly at the desk before him. The paper covered with dozens of pill names had spontaneously combusted. Meanwhile, every pill resting upon his white jade platter flew away.
This meant he had failed.
"How could this be?"
"The records clearly stated that an intense aroma resembling plum blossoms and osmanthus belongs to the Fanghua Pill! It prolongs life and preserves youth, so why was it wrong?"
"No!"
"There is also a tier-three pill called the Baihe Pill with the exact same description! Yet the two are fundamentally different—that is a demonic pill that ignites one's potential in exchange for immense power."
"Wrong... I was wrong!"
Murmuring in despair, Lu Chun was overcome with regret for writing so hastily.
Right then, a surge of tremendous power welled up, propelling him out toward the hall entrance.
Before departing, his gaze swept across everyone in the hall. Some remained indifferent to his exit, some wore expressions that said 'as expected,' and others sneered with derision.
Only one person remained completely unmoved.
Boom!
The wind and clouds shifted, and a figure tumbled outside, staggering several paces before standing dejectedly before the Alchemy Saint Hall.
Ye Lingtian, who was specifically overseeing the trial of the Alchemy Saint Hall, was taken aback by the sight.
"So soon? Less than half a year has passed!"
The others had already crowded forward.
"Young Master!"
"Cousin, why have you come out so early?"
"Could it be that you failed?"
Facing the inquiries of his clansmen, Lu Chun felt consumed by shame. Realizing the outcome was sealed, the crowd ceased their questioning when Lu Chun fell silent, sparing him further humiliation. Yet seeing that Lu Chun showed no sign of leaving and intended to await the final results, someone asked curiously:
"How is the trial progressing?"
Lu Chun sighed, recounting the scene he had witnessed before his departure along with his assessments. Listening quietly on the side, Ye Lingtian formed a general picture in his mind.
Chen Mozi was the most cautious and steady, advancing the slowest.
Chu Yu and Xin Yisheng were taking measured, solid steps, making them likely to clear the trial first.
Yet Luo Chen, the one he held the highest hopes for, had remained motionless for nearly half a year.
"What is he doing?"
***
"What on earth are you thinking?"
During a brief rest, Chu Yu stole a glance at Luo Chen.
Another two months had slipped by, yet he still made no move. If she had initially thought he was merely posturing, she no longer harbored such thoughts. The trial only grew harder the further one went, and accurately singling out a specific pill from a boundless sea of choices was already wearing her down mentally.
By now, she also understood that peeling away layers one by one in a steady march was not the optimal method. Only through comprehensive consideration could one accomplish it all in a single stride. Yet the sheer accumulation of knowledge and alchemy foundation required for that was terrifyingly vast.
Among everyone present, perhaps only Chen Mozi possessed such depth, as evidenced by his paper that was nearly filled with names. Under these circumstances, why should Luo Chen push himself so hard? It would be far better to use the clumsy method to pick out the pills one by one; at least he would not lose so embarrassingly!
Xin Yisheng rubbed his brow and caught sight of Luo Chen's calm profile, letting out a silent scoff in his heart.
"Truly too young to shoulder great responsibility!"
Yet when he caught sight of Chen Mozi's progress, anxiety flared within him. How had Chen Mozi, who started so late, surged ahead of him?
Chen Mozi had no attention to spare for anything else, wholly focused on chasing down two intertwining white lights.
"Smells of fish roe, nauseating to the senses, entwined without end, locked in life and death."
"This is undoubtedly the legendary Yin-Yang Pill!"
"Yet which is Yin, and which is Yang? Where lies the difference between the two?"
"Must I really gamble on this?"
At some point, beads of sweat had formed upon the man's forehead. For a Nascent Soul True Person, even one who did not practice body refinement, a physical frame tempered countless times by spiritual energy and magical power would rarely break into a sweat. This was a testament to the immense pressure bearing down on him!
That agonizing dilemma tortured Chen Mozi for an entire month before finally coming to an end.
He took the gamble!
And he succeeded!
With the pressure lifting, his confidence surged, and his subsequent progress accelerated. Seventy-one... eighty-two... ninety-three... He was only single digits away from identifying a hundred pills.
Just as the one-year mark approached, catching everyone completely off guard, Luo Chen abruptly opened his eyes.
His gaze swept across the boundless sea of white light. Taking up his brush, he calmly dipped it in ink.
"Qiongying!"
A white beam swooped down, landing upon his jade platter to reveal its true pill form.
Nearly transparent, colorless yet dazzling. It had no odor, yet upon revealing itself, it suffused the soul with a profound, rich fragrance.
This was a tier-four pill, an exceedingly rare concoction meant to nourish the Primordial Spirit. In the present world, none could craft it; only the ascended Alchemy Saint Chu Yan had ever produced a single small furnace of it.
Luo Chen glanced at it with a placid expression, treating it as nothing out of the ordinary, as if everything was well within his grasp.
Once he began writing, it was like a rushing river flowing without pause. His brush flew across the paper as one pill name after another surfaced upon the sheet.
"Five Aggregates."
"Supreme Heaven Rejuvenation."
"Purple Frost Condensation."
"Jade Dew."
"Thousand Bones."
...
"Qi Nourishing!"
The moment Luo Chen inked the final name, the desk before him dissolved into thin air. The white paper drifted forward like a guide.
Luo Chen first collected the hundred pills resting on the white jade platter, then took a step forward to follow.
Behind him, three pairs of eyes tracked him closely. They had noticed him the moment he began writing, yet none had imagined he could identify all one hundred pills in a single breathless sequence.
What kind of profound foundation, what kind of supreme confidence did this require?
Spurt...
Blood sprayed through the air. Engulfed in flames, Xin Yisheng was hurled backward by the great power of the Alchemy Saint Hall.
Blood stained his lips as he cursed his own mistake, stunned by Luo Chen's sudden victory. Seeing Luo Chen move with blistering speed, panic had set in, causing him to misjudge a pill. In the end, a single misstep had led to eternal regret.
"Chen Mozi has ruined me!"
Amidst his unwilling roar, the doors of the Alchemy Saint Hall slammed shut once more.
Chen Mozi parted his lips. Ahead, Luo Chen was nowhere to be seen; behind, only the echo of Xin Yisheng's bitter despair lingered. In the end, all that remained was a soft sigh.
"This world has never lacked for geniuses, my old friend!"
Chu Yu blinked, then took a deep breath, pulling all her focus back to her own work. For the rest of the trial, she had to be even more cautious.
***
Identifying pills by scent sounded simple enough, yet picking out one hundred pills with flawless accuracy from among tens of thousands of mingled fragrances was monstrously difficult. It demanded a profound foundation, vast erudition, and meticulous control over the finest details.
Fortunately, Luo Chen no longer had any shortcomings in this regard.
Standing in a chamber packed with countless tools and a vast array of materials, a look of bewilderment crossed his face.
"What is the second trial testing?"
Ding-dong!
The white jade platter he had just stowed away flew out beyond his control. To Luo Chen's surprise, the hundred pills he had identified through his own knowledge began circling around him as if possessed of spiritual awareness.
As clouds of vapor drifted, a familiar line of script materialized once more:
[Trace back to the source, reverse-refine to pass.]
This time, Luo Chen's brow furrowed deeply.
Chapter 899