Chapter 898: Shocking the Scene

Not all judges overlooked Ye Mo. Ming Xin, the Immortal Herb Valley's sect leader, recognized his spirit weaving pill, crafted with nine herbs. Three of these—supplied by Tong Wusheng, and included in the test solely due to their provision—were exceptionally rare. Even Ming Xin knew only two, from a unique prior encounter. Ye Mo identified nine, missing only Tong Wusheng's three. In Ming Xin's estimation, his knowledge was already remarkably extensive, particularly given her keen interest in his spirit weaving pill, a testament to his genius.

She had been observing Ye Mo, sighing at Zhuang Man's attempt to connect with him. Two of her sect's disciples, Qin Muxin and Guang Wei, had passed the first round, yet chose to converse with Ye Chengjun, ignoring Ye Mo. Ming Xin considered Cheng Yejun, despite his fame as the pill concoction hall's number one and a Level 1 Pill King, ultimately unimportant to their sect. Near the end of his lifespan, a Level 1 Pill King was likely his peak. Moreover, she herself was a Level 2 Pill King.

Ye Mo's initial use of chi fire initially disappointed her, but she maintained her focus. He didn't disappoint. Upon checking his refinement level, she discovered all nine herbs were refined to over 93%. Impressed, she silently marveled at his skill, refining herbs to such a degree with an ordinary foundation establishment state chi fire. When he began pill concoction without pause, she nearly leaped from her seat, realizing he was actually attempting the spirit weaving pill.

Ye Mo utilized his spirit sense to manipulate the herbal liquid within the cauldron, weaving pill signs. He disregarded the lack of recording, understanding they could capture only his hand signs, not the crucial pill signs. He focused on performing to his best ability; even failure would secure a decent mark.

His pill signs shaped and separated the herbal liquid. After fifteen minutes, the liquid exhibited spiritual attributes. He then incorporated the Illusion Cloud's Illusion Cloud Whirlpool Strike spirit chi technique, a pivotal step determining the spirit weaving pill's success; failure likely excluded him from the top ten. He knew mastery would require ample practice, but this tournament offered only one chance.

Witnessing Ye Mo form and control spirit chi whirlpools within the cauldron, directing the spirit attraction grass's herbal attributes, Ming Xin was astounded. The reality surpassed belief. She stared at the surveillance formation, bewildered by this cultivator's ability to manipulate multiple spirit chi whirlpools simultaneously while guiding herbal attributes with his spirit sense. She wondered if he'd previously concocted such pills; unbeknownst to her, he'd only employed similar techniques in combat, possibly pioneering this sword-technique approach to pill concoction.

Ye Mo sweated profusely; his cultivation essence sufficed, but his spirit sense strained. Aiming for nine spirit chi whirlpools, he felt agonizing pain when controlling the fifth, pushing his sea of consciousness to its limit. He cried out, instinctively reaching for a spirit recovery pill; usually, he would have yielded.

The pill enabled the completion of all nine whirlpools, to his immense relief. Stabilizing the eddies and extracting the pill would determine ultimate success. He initially intended a whirlpool per pill but adjusted, using three per pill for a total of three pills from nine whirlpools. He knew with more experience, he could create nine pills per cauldron, one whirlpool per pill.

Extracting a pill was usually simple, but the spirit weaving pill proved different. The slightest error rendered it useless. When extracting the first liquid, his spirit shook. A crack echoed, one pill disintegrating into dust. Without hesitation, he swiftly employed pill signs, separating the remaining liquid and yielding two spirit weaving pills.

While his cauldron wasn't a complete success, the spirit recovery pill, strong pill extraction technique, and excellent pill signs secured two pills. However, he wasn't entirely satisfied; the spirit attraction grass suffered herbal quality loss during refinement and the whirlpool infusion.

Ming Xin was utterly shocked. Ye Mo had concocted the spirit weaving pill using an ordinary cauldron and chi fire. With better tools and practice, he could easily replicate the feat.

"Genius," Ming Xin whispered. "Do such geniuses truly exist?" She longed to examine his spirit weaving pills, wondering if they truly possessed spirit sense recovery properties.