Chapter 2733 – Stand Higher See Farther
Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
As he observed, Ji Ying was slightly stunned. That was because he suddenly discovered that the medicinal liquid condensed by Yang Kai was no worse than his own in terms of purity...
Even more shockingly, the order and timing which Yang Kai used to add spirit herbs was identical to his own.
Spirit Pills did not have unique recipes.
Every Alchemist perceived the Alchemic Dao differently, and their comprehensions and skills were also different, leading to subtle differences between how different Alchemists refine each type of Spirit Pill. For example, the timing and order in which one added spirit herbs to their Alchemy Furnace.
Some Alchemists feel that it was better to put in one type of spirit herb first, while another Alchemist may choose another to start with, creating a scenario where many pill recipes existed for each type of Spirit Pill. Perhaps the differences may even go as far as the types of herbs used.
A pill recipe contained not only the ingredients needed to refine a pill, but also a complete refinement process. Rather than a pill recipe, it would be more accurate to describe it as a pill refinement manual.
This was the true preciousness of a pill recipe, as it was the crystallization of an Alchemist’s efforts.
Right now, Ji Ying was surprised to find that Yang Kai’s techniques and process when it came to refining this Emperor Yuan Pill were strikingly similar to his own, almost as if they were carved from the same mould.
In other words, the Emperor Yuan Pill recipe that Yang Kai mastered was the same as his own.
But how could that be?
The Emperor Yuan Pill was used by Emperor Realm cultivators to restore Emperor Qi, and was also the most common type of Emperor Grade Spirit Pill. As far as Yi Jing knew, there were at least eight different versions of this Spirit Pill’s recipe. Though they were similar, there were still differences between them.
And, the best Emperor Yuan Pill recipe was naturally the one that he mastered, because this recipe was personally created by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor many years ago. It was not an exaggeration to say that there was no better pill recipe for the Emperor Yuan Pill in the Star Boundary.
This pill recipe was only taught by Wondrous Pill Great Emperor to his few disciples, so no outsider could possibly know it.
Seeing traces of this pill recipe from Yang Kai naturally came as a surprise to Ji Ying.
But Ji Ying wasn’t the only one surprised. Everyone watching them also had strange expressions on their faces.
That was because they discovered that Yang Kai and Ji Ying’s Alchemy process was almost exactly the same, the only difference being Yang Kai moving slightly ahead of Ji Ying. This was not because Ji Ying’s skills were any worse than Yang Kai’s, but because he started after him.
Even though they understood that, it still looked off, as if Ji Ying was imitating Yang Kai’s Alchemy process. He would take whatever herb Yang Kai took, and also follow whatever timing Yang Kai used to add herbs into the Alchemy Furnace...
The suspicions in Ji Ying’s heart grew heavier and heavier. He originally thought that this situation was mere coincidence, but halfway through, he became certain that the two of them had mastered the exact same pill recipe.
“Where did you obtain this pill recipe from?” Ji Ying could not help but ask.
This was the pill recipe pa.s.sed down to him and his brothers and sister by his Honoured Master. How could it have fallen into the hands of an outsider?
“Grandmaster Ji, you’re distracted.” Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged, “If you remain so, you’ll lose this compet.i.tion.”
Ji Ying’s body shook as he broke out into a cold sweat. He had focused on his doubts about Yang Kai’s pill recipe and actually became distracted from his own Alchemy, leading to him not being able to give his all while in the process of condensing the medicinal liquids. Now, looking back to his work, his medicinal liquid seemed to be just slightly worse than Yang Kai’s.
Condensing medicinal liquid was the first step of Alchemy, and also the most foundational. If something went wrong in this step, it would definitely affect the quality of the Spirit Pills refined.
Alchemy was just like chess, one mistake will lead to many others. Failure to do one’s best at any step could lead one down a losing battle.
He couldn’t lose! This match concerned Medicine Pill Valley’s reputation and his Honoured Master’s name. Ji Ying definitely couldn’t afford to lose.
Abruptly, it was as if Ji Ying had changed into a whole other person. An indescribable aura radiated from his body, and he instantly immersed his mind into Alchemy with nothing else being able to distract him anymore.
Yang Kai’s expression was equally serious. Even though he was an Emperor Alchemist, it was his first time competing against another Emperor Alchemist. What’s more, this person was one of Wondrous Pill Great Emperor’s Legacy Disciples.
If he didn’t give it his all, then he definitely wouldn’t be able to win.
The Conflagrated Knowledge Sea that Ji Ying had seen was not the only thing Yang Kai had at his disposal. It was merely a small advantage for him. His real advantage came from the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone!
Back then, on Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce’s main star, Water Moon Star, he was able to invoke the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone one time during Alchemy, and was granted Alchemy techniques directly by the Heavenly Way. Since then, Yang Kai had been advancing through the Alchemic Dao in leaps and bounds.
Had it not been for that opportunity, how could Yang Kai’s skill in Alchemy have grown so rapidly? He hardly spent much time on Alchemy over the years, so generally speaking, it would have to be pure luck for him to even become a Dao Source Grade Alchemist by now while it should have been an impossibility for him to become an Emperor Alchemist.
But with the heritage granted to him by the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone, Yang Kai was able to easily climb to the level of Emperor Alchemist.
Even so, he could not compare himself to a veteran Emperor Alchemist like Ji Ying, so he had to go all out in this compet.i.tion.
His mind suddenly became ethereal, as if he had merged with the world. A wonderful feeling rose from his heart.
Yang Kai’s hand movements changed and suddenly his actions became erratic, his arms flailing about, as if he were having a seizure.
*Chi...*
Li Jiao and Mi Qi almost broke out in laughter at the sight of that; however, under the watchful eyes of the three Monster Kings, they could only endure it.
Looking back at Ji Ying, they could see that his movements were as smooth as flowing water. It was a pleasure just to watch him. Compared to Yang Kai’s almost possessed performance, it was simply Heaven and h.e.l.l.
[He’s still trying to win against Grandmaster Ji with such shoddy technique? He simply doesn’t know the immensity of Heaven and Earth.]
Hua Qing Si had also noticed this, and an anxious look appeared on her face. She had no idea what Yang Kai was doing at all. He seemed fine just a moment ago, so why did he suddenly change so abruptly?
“Huh?”
Out of everyone present, only a single person suddenly began staring at Yang Kai with full attention. An extremely shocked expression was revealed on his face and his eyes did not even move the slightest bit.
This person was Ji Ying’s First Disciple.
This disciple did not have a good impression of Yang Kai, not because of Li Xuan’s slanderous remarks about him, but because he was the reason that Li Xuan was expelled from the Sect by their Honoured Master. Even though he did not approve of what Li Xuan did, they had been fellow brothers for many years and more or less shared some comradery between them.
He originally thought of waiting for their Master’s anger to pa.s.s before persuading him to take Li Xuan back under his tutelage; after all, his Junior Brother was still young and mistakes were inevitable. It should be fine as long as he knew his faults and was willing to change, but Yang Kai didn’t even give him that chance.
He looked down on Yang Kai in his heart, and didn’t believe for one moment that Yang Kai would win this compet.i.tion with Ji Ying, so he kept on watching him with a hateful gaze, wanting to see how he would look when he was defeated by his Honoured Master.
But unexpectedly, he ended up seeing something astonis.h.i.+ng.
In other people’s eyes, Yang Kai was twitching about like a madman, his hands waving randomly without any sense of aesthetics, but in this young disciple’s eyes, things were very different. He was vaguely able to catch sight of something as he observed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to grasp its essence, causing sweat to form on his forehead. He watched Yang Kai carefully with his eyes wide, refusing to miss even a single moment.
Inside the hall, the medicinal fragrance had grown even more intense. All of the spirit medicines had already been added to the Alchemy Furnaces by the two Alchemists and condensed into pure medicinal liquid. The lids were now closed, and the refinement stage had begun.
As threads of power were being released, n.o.body could see inside the Alchemy Furnace, to see how each of the Spirit Arrays was drawn and extinguished or how the medicinal liquids were mixed and integrated together.
All of a sudden, Ji Ying’s First Disciple fell to his knees.
This movement startled everyone except for Yang Kai and Ji Ying.
Hua Qing Si looked over at him and could see that this young man was now sweating buckets, as if he had just been through a life or death struggle. His face was pale and his eyes were bloodshot, but still, he kept on staring at Yang Kai.
“What happened?” Hua Qing Si quickly went over to him and tried to help him up.
If something were to happen to Ji Ying’s First Disciple here, then it would be hard to give Ji Ying a confession.
“Don’t touch me!” The First Disciple shouted, veins bulging on his face, giving him a terrifying look.
Hua Qing Si’s outstretched hand froze in place as she felt irritated inside, having no idea what this boy was so mad about.
“Oh?” Yang Kai spared a glance at that moment at this disciple and grinned at him, “So, you managed to see something useful? Good, look properly, it will be up to you whether you can learn anything from this.”
To the side, both Mi Qi and Li Jiao glared when they heard what Yang Kai said, their lips curling with disdain. Where did this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d get the guts to talk so big? The young man next to them was Ji Ying’s First Disciple. Even if he were going to learn anything, it wouldn’t be from Yang Kai, so what was he so riled up about? What’s more, with Yang Kai’s lackl.u.s.tre skills, he probably couldn’t even surpa.s.s this First Disciple, yet he still dared to boast so shamelessly? Wasn’t he afraid of biting his own tongue?
But as soon as they finished that thought, they saw that disciple clench his teeth with his eyes widening even more as he loudly exclaimed, “Many thanks, Grandmaster Yang!”
“What?” Li Jiao and Mi Qi were both stunned and couldn’t help swapping glances, both of them able to see the shock in each other’s eyes.
What on earth happened to this First Disciple? Why did he thank Yang Kai? He even called him Grandmaster Yang...
This was impossible, right? His Honoured Master was right there in front of him. Wasn’t he worried about angering his Honoured Master?
What on earth is going on!
Even though Ji Ying was fully concentrated, he was still shocked at what his disciple just said. Hearing him give such deference to Yang Kai, he could not help but frown, thinking to himself that this brat was actually siding with an outsider. What had he been raising him all those years for?
Curious, he glanced over at Yang Kai’s side.
As soon as he looked over though, Ji Ying’s movements froze and his eyes bulged, even forgetting about the Spirit Pills inside his Alchemy Furnace.
His attainments in Alchemy were countless times higher than that of his own disciple, so it was naturally impossible for him not to catch what his disciple was able to see.
In Ji Ying’s eyes, what he saw was not Yang Kai’s erratic movements, but rather the pinnacle of the Alchemic Dao! Yang Kai’s movements, while outwardly random, actually contained within them a kind of resonance and harmony with the Alchemic Dao, and even seemed to contain a kind of higher truth that Ji Ying was unable to understand.
A situation like this was something he had only seen from his own Honoured Master, Wondrous Pill Great Emperor. He never thought that he would actually have the opportunity to find the same traces in another person.