Chapter 897: Concocting the Spirit Weaving Pill

Everyone settled in, preparing for the next stage. The examiner announced, “The second question builds upon the first. Everyone here identified at least six herbs. Your task is to concoct the pill recipe you formulated based on those herbs.”

Before the examiner finished, the examination hall erupted. Ye Mo's heart sank. Had he made a poor choice? Each cultivator's pill recipe was theoretical, including his spirit weaving pill. Creating a pill solely from theory was incredibly difficult!

The other pill masters shared his apprehension, resulting in a cacophony of voices. Ye Mo frowned but remained silent. He doubted the examiners hadn't foreseen this.

Once the commotion subsided, the chief examiner spoke, “Silence! Listen carefully. Missing information is your responsibility.”

The room fell quiet; no one wished to miss instructions. The examiner nodded and continued, “This round's scoring isn't solely based on successful pill creation. Naturally, successfully concocting your described pill guarantees advancement to the third round.”

“However, the primary focus is your herbal refinement and pill concoction processes. You'll receive the herbs you identified in the first round and begin concoction. The provided cauldrons, from the Pill Association, record your entire process. Your final score reflects your skill.”

Herbal refinement using fire preceded pill concoction; thus, the second round emphasized this skill. Actual pill creation likely served to distinguish the top ten. Few could realistically concoct an impromptu recipe.

A cultivator questioned, “Does this favor those who identified more herbs? Isn't this unfair?”

The examiner calmly responded, “You know the fairness in your heart. If others could identify the herbs, why couldn't you? Furthermore, refining one herb to 100% might surpass someone refining twelve less effectively. Similarly, even with only six herbs, superior refinement and successful concoction of your devised pill would yield a higher score.”

Another cultivator asked, “If the recipe fails, is the score zero?”

The examiner replied, “You weren't listening. Your pill concoction methods are also scored. They are recorded, and judges will assess accordingly. A flawless process, even without a finished pill, will not result in a low score.”

Ye Mo identified nine herbs. Even if he failed to create the spirit weaving pill, his refinement technique, even without the Mist Lotus Heart Fire, should yield over 90% purity. The inclusion of the concoction process was advantageous; even without the pill, his score shouldn't be low.

Even the spectators debated the fairness, acknowledging everyone had a chance, but those who identified more herbs held a significant advantage.

…

Ye Mo and the others soon received their cauldrons and herbs. Ranked tenth, he was number ten. He spiritually inspected his cauldron, confirming the recording formation.

Contestants couldn't view the data, but it transmitted to the judges via a special formation. Ye Mo didn't immediately begin. With nine herbs and only one chance, he observed his competitors.

He was astonished. Among the 500 participants, he witnessed twelve Pill Fires and six Rare Fire Seeds. Pill Fires, external flames with short lifespans, were harvested by cultivators for pill concoction or forging, but inferior to Rare Heaven and Earth Fires. Still, they significantly outperformed personal chi fire.

Cai Sheng of the Heaven Pill Sect used Stone Skin Fire (ranked 30th), while another top-ten cultivator employed the Bleak Qian Bone Flame (ranked 19th). Mu Qinxin used a Blue Phoenix Flame (ranked 21st).

Ye Mo noted Zhuang Man’s Beast Heart Fire (ranked 27th) and the first-place contestant's Ken Qin Fire.

Ye Mo withdrew his spiritual sense and utilized his foundation establishment-state chi fire, forgoing the Mist Lotus Heart Fire.

Most were disappointed by his choice, assuming him a solitary cultivator. Exceptional performance would attract sects, yet he lacked a Rare Flame, crucial for a pill master's advancement and the path to becoming a pill king.

Rare Flames were exclusive to sects; few believed Ye Mo possessed one. Many competitors relaxed upon seeing his choice.

Yet, Ye Mo's skill was undeniable. He refined three herbs simultaneously. His chi fire's speed was average, but his pill formation was unmatched.

Once the nine herbal liquids were refined, he swiftly removed impurities and manipulated the liquids using his spiritual sense. Creating the spirit weaving pill was his best chance for a high score.

The pill demanded significant spiritual sense; Ye Mo dedicated over 70% to the spirit chi whirlpool, separating the spirit attraction grass's attributes. He used the remaining 30% to control the other eight herbs – a process more challenging than the cao huan pill.