ebookland Chapter 19: A False Hope
Chapter 19: A False Hope
Luo Sifan, dressed in a light green dress, was tall and elegant, with a graceful and heroic air, making her stand out among the three members of the Bai family.
At the head of the square, the woman in blue and the middle-aged man with a white face and long beard dressed in Taoist robes sitting opposite her both focused their attention on Luo Sifan at the same time.
"Fellow Daoist Qingli! This woman..."
The pale-faced Taoist's eyes darted over Luo Sifan's curvaceous figure, concealing his greed.
The fox clan leader, Qing Li, clearly disliked Luo Sifan, and said indifferently:
"They are just unexpected visitors to the human race and have nothing to do with our race."
Luo Sifan followed the three members of the Bai family to the empty chair on the right, next to Qing Li.
After Bai Wuxia bowed to Qingli, she sat down in a chair. Qingli was still annoyed and acted as if she hadn't seen her. The fox clan leaders in the room, dressed in various colors of green, red, blue, yellow, and white, couldn't help but have a more subtle expression because of this.
Qingli coughed lightly, and the women in the room became much more dignified.
"As for the people, almost everyone who was supposed to be here has arrived. In fact, there are even a few extra!"
Luo Sifan looked up at the sky, ignoring Qing Li's harsh words.
The many women of the fox clan glanced at Luo Sifan, this outsider, several times, their eyes sparkling with excitement, their gazes becoming increasingly intense.
Luo Sifan, handsome and proud, stood beside Bai Wuxia with his sleeves rolled up, as graceful as a willow in the wind. Among a group of alluring and gentle women, he was like honey among bees, stirring the hearts of all the women.
Having been a straight man for two lifetimes, Luo Sifan was completely unaware of this, while Qing Li knew the preferences of her clansmen like the back of her hand.
Frustrated, he slapped the armrest of the chair, the sound echoing through the room. Only then did the women awkwardly turn their gazes to the icy-looking clan leader, Qingli.
"Today, we are honored to have invited Fellow Daoist Feng Junchen, a sixth-realm alchemy master from the Silver Frost Alchemy Academy! On our clan's Alchemy Furnace Peak, after a hundred years, the light of alchemy has reappeared and the furnace fire has been rekindled. This is truly a grand event!"
The women obediently clapped, and Bai Wuxia, stroking her hands, did the same.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, please!"
Qingli gestured to the pale-faced Taoist priest to invite him in.
After adjusting his pale yellow-trimmed embroidered blue robe, Feng Junchen stood up slowly and magnanimously, bowed to Qing Li, and then, with his robe swaying, walked gracefully towards the center of the square.
A nearly two-meter-tall blue-green bronze furnace, with intricate patterns, is placed neatly in the center of the square. In front of the furnace are two wooden tables with the spiritual materials needed for the Elixir of Divine Essence.
One of the sets was probably purchased by Bai Moyan at Luo Sifan's expense.
After circling the furnace twice, Feng Junchen, with an exaggerated expression, clicked his tongue in admiration:
"What a fine furnace! What a fine furnace! I have long heard of the profound and extensive alchemy tradition of Limeng Mountain, and seeing this furnace today, I know it is no exaggeration! The bronze in this furnace is of pure quality, and the alchemy array is complete and ingenious! A thousand years from now, it will still bear witness to the glory of Limeng Mountain's alchemy tradition!"
Half-true, half-false, Feng Junchen's flattery pleased the fox maidens of Limeng Mountain.
"There's no need to mention the past glories, fellow Daoist. I, Li Mengshan, am well aware of my own limitations."
Qing Li smiled faintly, her expression somewhat complicated.
Feng Junchen nodded, slowly walked around the table, and began to examine the spiritual materials with a serious expression.
A look of difficulty gradually appeared on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Qingli, these two sets of spiritual materials of yours were probably not purchased from the same place, were they?"
"The difference in age and medicinal potency between these two sets of spiritual materials, one from the heavens and the other from the earth, is like heaven and earth!"
Feng Junchen pointed to the spiritual materials Bai Moyan had purchased, his face showing disdain:
"This material is so crude and useless that even with my best efforts, I, Feng Junchen, am afraid I can't produce a single mid-grade pill!"
Qingli was embarrassed by his words and glanced at the Bai family members.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, please do your best. The spiritual materials offered by the Chi family are sufficient. These inferior spiritual materials are unnecessary!"
Luo Sifan, standing to the side, rolled his eyes in exasperation. In the art of alchemy, he always aimed directly at the Great Dao and didn't care much about the potency of the medicine or the age of the ingredients.
With his alchemy skills, he refined and purified the ingredients, ensuring that the medicinal power of this set of spiritual materials was not only sufficient but far exceeded the required level for that year, deliberately leaving a considerable margin.
To Bai Wuxia's astonishment, Luo Sifan gracefully stepped forward and performed a deep bow to Qing Li, who was seated at the head of the table.
“Senior Qingli, these spiritual materials are of poor quality and unusable. I am to blame. It was I who wrote the pill formula and picked up these materials. Rather than leaving them here and offending Master Feng’s eyes, I would like to take them back and dispose of them.”
Luo Sifan spoke earnestly, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Qingli wasn't sure what Luo Sifan was thinking either. Refining pills was the priority, so she didn't bother arguing and waved her hand dismissively, like shooing away a fly.
"Take it! My Limeng Mountain doesn't need your common medicines!"
"Thank you, senior! My knowledge of alchemy is very limited, please forgive my ignorance!"
Luo Sifan looked around and bowed, then moved to the table, rolled up his sleeve, and collected the spiritual materials.
He smiled slightly at the bewildered Feng Junchen:
"Master Feng! As a junior practitioner of Daoist alchemy, I am fortunate to have this opportunity to broaden my horizons today!"
Feng Junchen's heart skipped a beat. He didn't think much of it and just stared at Luo Sifan with a smile.
"We are both practitioners of alchemy, young lady, please don't stand on ceremony! Please don't stand on ceremony!"
He took out a jade talisman from his pocket, took Luo Sifan's hand, placed it in Luo Sifan's hand, and rubbed it tightly.
"I travel the world in search of talented people. Young lady, you are exceptionally gifted. I can tell at first glance that you are worthy of the title of professor. Take this. When you come to my Silver Frost Academy in the future, just mention my name and you will be admitted without examination!"
Feng Junchen touched and wiped, and Luo Sifan felt a chill. She didn't take Feng Junchen's PUA rhetoric seriously at all.
Luo Sifan quickly pulled his hand away, pretending to be eager to admire the jade talisman:
"Master Feng, you are too kind! I will forever remember your kindness!"
After bowing and turning around, he casually tossed the jade talisman into a corner of the mirage pearl.
Gritting his teeth to suppress his murderous intent, Luo Sifan lowered his head and stood back beside Bai Wuxia.
Bai Wuxia's expression was indifferent; she deeply regretted her decision to allow Luo Sifan to come here.
After the commotion caused by Luo Sifan subsided, everyone in the Dao Palace Square began to calmly watch Feng Junchen refine pills in the furnace.
Feng Junchen walked swiftly around the furnace, his sleeves fluttering. Driven by spiritual energy, the magic array on the tall bronze furnace gradually lit up and trembled slightly.
The fox clan women were captivated by Feng Junchen's graceful and ethereal movements as he flew through the air.
Luo Sifan sneered inwardly.
Hundreds of spiritual materials were thrown into the furnace one by one by Feng Junchen. The magic array on the bronze furnace was fully activated, glowing with five colors, and the furnace roared incessantly. The spiritual energy that Feng Junchen activated overflowed and spread outwards. The yellow light of the golden core power, under Feng Junchen's full exertion, reflected on Feng Junchen's focused and serious long-bearded white face.
The complex refining process of the fifth-grade pill dazzled the fox clan women. Feng Junchen's flashy and swift movements, like those of a magician, deeply captivated a group of laymen in the art of alchemy.
More than an hour passed, and the fox women were completely absorbed in the moment, finding the time dragging on at all.
The altar, once overflowing with spiritual materials, had now been completely emptied by betting.
The bronze furnace glowed faintly and roared incessantly, emanating waves of exotic fragrance, as if the elixir was nearing completion. Even Bai Wuxia secretly clenched her jade palms.
At this moment, Feng Junchen seemed to have reached his limit. His pale face flashed with yellow light, his expression was slightly ferocious, and beads of cold sweat hung on his forehead and temples.
The figure circling the furnace seemed to be under immense pressure, gradually becoming sluggish. The five-colored magic array on the furnace body flickered and disappeared as if out of control. The bronze furnace trembled abnormally, and the shrill sound was ear-piercing, suddenly arousing a sense of fear.
"Not good! The magic array of the alchemy furnace is malfunctioning!"
Qingli's face suddenly turned pale, and a strong sense of danger swept over her spiritual consciousness.