Wu Shattered Star River

Jiang Han wasn't in a hurry to refine the Soul-Seizing Pill because it only took him an incense stick's worth of time to refine pills; there was no need to rush.

He was afraid someone would investigate him, so he slowly took out the pill furnace, flint, and raw materials from the wooden box, starting a normal pill refinement process.

Madam Yu had prepared a furnace and a square cauldron for him. He started both at the same time, not afraid of wasting materials since they weren't provided by him.

Unsurprisingly, after a little over half an hour, both attempts at refining pills failed, with two clumps of black paste appearing in the furnace and square cauldron.

While refining the pills, he was constantly sensing the surroundings to see if there were any strong individuals spying on him.

He knew in his heart that even if there were strong individuals spying, he might not be able to detect them; he was just trying his best to investigate.

As time passed, he began his second attempt at refining pills, still using one furnace and one cauldron simultaneously. This time was different from the last; he used the Little Sky Beast Cauldron to refine pills.

He threw in a portion of the raw materials and then ignored it, focusing on refining the other side.

After an incense stick's worth of time, the pill took shape. A look of "joy" appeared on Jiang Han's face, and he quickly took out a jade box to store the pill, then waited for the other furnace of pills to finish refining.

Without any surprise, this furnace of pills was ruined. Jiang Han put all the raw materials and the furnace into the wooden box, and with the other hand holding the jade box, he walked out.

Many alchemists outside had already successfully refined their pills, and the doors of the pagoda were open.

As soon as Jiang Han came out, Madam Yu's gaze immediately fell on him. Jiang Han nodded slightly, and a faint smile appeared on Madam Yu's face.

Jiang Han handed the pill to the soldier next to him. This soldier immediately stamped it with a mark and asked Jiang Han's name.

Jiang Han used the false name "Jiang Xie." After the soldier recorded it, he issued Jiang Han a token.

Jiang Han put the wooden box into his spatial ring and walked back. Madam Yu nodded and said, "You didn't come out too late, which is a bonus. It's basically guaranteed that you'll enter the second round."

Jiang Han nodded and looked at the soldier holding his pill. This soldier sent the pill to a row of elders to the north. That group of elders began to examine Jiang Han's pill and give it a rating, and finally advanced him based on the rating.

Jiang Han glanced around. Although he saw many beautiful fairies, he didn't feel like any of them were Fairy Firefly. He curiously inquired via voice transmission, "Madam, which one is Fairy Firefly?"

"Hehe!"

Madam Yu smiled and transmitted her voice, "Fairy Firefly is ranked fourth on the Heavenly Maiden List, and her status is extraordinary. Do you think you can see her just because you want to?"

"Fairy Firefly won't come out unless you enter the final round. Even in the final round, you won't be able to see her beautiful face; at most, you'll see a shadow."

"So arrogant?"

Jiang Han was secretly amazed and couldn't help but ask, "Could she be the Jade Emperor's daughter?"

"Hehe!"

Madam Yu smiled and didn't reply, instead looking at the square, waiting for the final result.

The pagoda continued to shine with light, and alchemists walked out one after another. After about an hour of refining pills, more than half of them had come out. After another hour, another two thousand people came out, and after another hour, another one thousand people came out.

There were still more than two thousand who hadn't come out, possibly because they failed to refine the pills? Or were they refining more precious and unique pills?

After four hours had passed and the sky began to darken, another one thousand people came out.

Lord Cang spoke, "Time is up. Those who haven't come out are automatically eliminated."

"Buzz~"

The alchemists remaining in the pagoda walked out one after another, their faces full of frustration.

On the north viewing platform, those elders had finished their evaluations. An elder nodded slightly towards Lord Cang, took out a list, and handed it to Lord Cang.

Lord Cang glanced at it. Suddenly, streams of light flashed in her hand. Those streams of light flew out and shot directly onto a blank stone tablet to the north.

Then, names quickly appeared on the stone tablet. This miraculous technique left many immortals dumbfounded.

In just over ten breaths of time, one thousand names appeared on the stone tablet. Lord Cang said, "The first round is over. One thousand alchemists have advanced, and the second round of competition will begin the day after tomorrow."

After speaking, Lord Cang flashed and disappeared from the spot. The arena suddenly became lively, with discussions buzzing.

Jiang Han and Madam Yu immediately looked at the stone tablet. When they saw the words "Jiang Xie," they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Madam Yu stood up and said, "Let's go, let's go back!"

Madam Yu led Jiang Han and Aunt Zhen away from the square. Xing Gu, who was sitting in the north, hadn't moved. After Madam Yu stood up, he looked at Madam Yu, watching her leave.

After Madam Yu left, he stood up and took his people away, completely ignoring anyone along the way, exceptionally aloof.

Back at the small courtyard, Madam Yu didn't say anything and turned to enter her room.

Although Jiang Han was very curious about Xing Gu's affairs, he knew his limits and didn't ask anything, returning to his room. He looked at pill refining books while deducing the incomplete immortal techniques.

On the third day, Jiang Han came out early. After waiting for a while, Aunt Zhen came out, and after waiting for a while, Madam Yu came out, then led them to the square.

Today, many of the pagodas in the square had been removed, leaving only one thousand. However, some square tables had been placed on both sides, probably for those eliminated alchemists to watch the excitement.

Madam Yu led Jiang Han and Aunt Zhen to the same location on the second floor as the day before, but they didn't see Xing Gu today.

After waiting for a while, the place was basically full. Lord Cang appeared out of thin air and began the second round of competition.

The pill refining time for the second round had increased; they could stay inside for a day and a night. However, the shorter the pill refining time, the more points they could get.

As before, Jiang Han entered a pagoda. A soldier came in to check and, after confirming there were no problems, retreated. After waiting for a while, Lord Cang announced the start of pill refining.

Jiang Han still didn't rush to refine the Soul-Guiding Pill, but instead busied himself with ordinary cauldrons for a while. He dragged it out for a full four or five hours before refining the Soul-Guiding Pill.

Despite this!

After he walked out of the pagoda, he discovered that most of the pagoda doors were still closed, with only a hundred or so alchemists having come out.

The soldier stamped Jiang Han's jade talisman and handed the Soul-Guiding Pill over.

"Eh... this is a Soul-Guiding Pill?"

An old man with brown hair above opened the jade box and said in surprise, "Wasn't this pill formula lost? To think I'd see it again today."

"Let me see!"

Another old man, from an unknown race with two huge ears, took the pill.

He sensed it and said, "It is indeed a Soul-Guiding Pill, and its medicinal power is strong and stable. This pill is a masterpiece."

"Who refined this? To be able to refine a fifth-grade Soul-Guiding Pill, this is a high-level alchemist!"

"Jiang Xie? I haven't heard of him. Have you heard of this alchemist?"

"I haven't heard of him. This person was brought by Yu Xi, so he should be... a hidden alchemy expert from the Heavenly Concealment Pavilion!"

The group of high-level alchemists above looked at it for a while and nodded in agreement. They gave the pill a very high evaluation, and the final rating was also very high.

Madam Yu's hearing was very keen. She heard the words of that group of high-level elders, a smile appearing on her face as she transmitted her voice, "Jiang Han, it's stable. It depends on whether you can refine the Dream Soul Pill in the final round."

"Right... news has come from my family that they've bought a very peculiar ancient pill formula and are sending people over with it."

"We don't know what kind of pill formula it is yet, but they say that this pill is very complex and several times more difficult to refine than the Dream Soul Pill."