Although Li Nanzhu's divine sense far surpassed that of other cultivators at her level, the difficulty of improving the pill recipe exceeded her expectations.
Combined with the need to precisely control clashing medicinal properties, which consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy, she was beginning to feel her strength failing her.
Beads of sweat constantly rolled down her forehead, and her hands, held in a pill seal, trembled slightly. Yet, she gritted her teeth and persisted—she still had to restore her master's name to the cultivation world.
She absolutely could not fail here!
On the judges' bench, Elder Tan's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. She couldn't help but whisper to Su Muli beside her, "Sect Leader Su, look at that girl... her spiritual energy fluctuations seem unstable."
Su Muli observed intently for a moment, his expression grave. "Indeed. Controlling two clashing medicinal properties simultaneously is far too taxing on spiritual energy. Given her Foundation Establishment stage cultivation, it's already rare that she has lasted this long."
Bu Qingwei stroked his beard and sighed. "It's a pity. If her cultivation were higher, she might have truly created a miracle."
Liu Changhe, however, held a different view. "I don't think that's necessarily true. Look, her technique is still precise, which means her divine sense can still hold on. As long as her spiritual energy can keep up..."
The reason he said this was because his own foolish son spent all day buzzing in his ear about how wonderful the Five Elements Dao Sect was.
Furthermore, the Five Elements Dao Sect had given everyone too many surprises lately, making him truly start to believe that this seemingly frail young girl might actually create another miracle.
In the audience, Duan Xianxing was standing on his tiptoes and peering out. "Junior Sister's face doesn't look good! Is she running out of spiritual energy?"
Zhu Yinxi pressed down on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Junior Sister knows what she's doing." However, his own fingertips were turning slightly white.
Feng Weilan gently squeezed Feng Qingping's hand, signaling that she didn't need to be too worried.
Mu Wenyan calmly reassured everyone, "Since Junior Sister chose to take the challenge, she must have come prepared."
Jiang Yifan silently took out a pill bottle. "This is a pill for rapid spiritual energy recovery. I'll give it to Junior Sister in a moment."
As for Feng Yi at their side, the frequency of his fingers tapping on the armrest had clearly quickened.
Though his expression remained calm, his slightly narrowed eyes revealed his internal focus.
Even the several Shenmu Sect direct disciples who had already finished their refinement couldn't help but turn their gazes toward Li Nanzhu.
Jiang Zhi's brow was locked tight. "She was too careless. Improving a pill recipe is inherently exhausting for spiritual energy; she should have prepared in advance..."
Ye Zhiqiu let out a soft sigh, her tone tinged with regret. "It's a pity. If she had enough spiritual energy, she might have really succeeded."
As she spoke, she was already wondering if she should go comfort Li Nanzhu in a moment.
She even found herself uncontrollably imagining whether she should give her a hug if the girl started crying.
After all, the girl was only fifteen. As her senior, there would be nothing wrong with offering a bit of comfort.
In reality, it was just as they thought: Li Nanzhu had indeed reached her limit.
The spiritual energy in her sea of qi was nearly exhausted, and every instance of fire control felt like squeezing out the last of her strength.
But only one thought remained in her mind—she couldn't fail; she could never betray her master's inheritance!
At the very moment she was about to collapse from exhaustion, a sudden warmth radiated from the sparrow-head hairpin in her hair.
A faint light flashed from the ruby at the head of the hairpin, and a stream of pure spiritual energy flowed into her body like a trickling stream.
This sudden boost made Li Nanzhu's spirits rally.
She didn't have time to think about the source of the spiritual energy as her hands quickly formed the final pill seal, pouring her entire mind and soul into it!
"Congeal!"
With her sharp cry, the azure and red vapors in the alchemy furnace blended perfectly, transforming into a magnificent pillar of light!
The pill slowly rotated inside the furnace, emitting a refreshing fragrance that cleared the mind.
It was done!
It was actually done!
The entire venue fell silent for a moment before erupting into thunderous cheers.
Duan Xianxing was the first to jump up, excitedly grabbing Zhu Yinxi beside him. "Junior Sister is amazing! I knew she could do it!"
The Shenmu Sect direct disciples looked at one another, seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
"Am I seeing things?" Wei Zhaoheng rubbed his eyes and grabbed Ye Zhiqiu, shaking her violently. "She actually succeeded?"
"Let go of my arm!" Ye Zhiqiu forcefully twisted the boy's arm, only nodding in satisfaction when Wei Zhaoheng let out a sharp, high-pitched squeal of pain.
The discipline elder had already hurried forward to inspect the results, his voice trembling with unbelievable excitement. "Li Nanzhu of the Five Elements Dao Sect, tier 3 mid-grade clear heart mind-concentrating pill, seven pills formed!"
On the stage, Su Muli and Elder Tan had been suppressing their emotions to avoid looking too agitated.
After all, forming the pill was already a miracle. According to their assumptions, the medicinal properties would surely have been compromised, and the grade would have likely dropped significantly.
But the moment they heard this result, the two of them couldn't hold back anymore and rushed forward to inspect it closely.
When they felt the unique medicinal properties contained within the pill, both showed expressions of shock.
"This... the efficacy of this pill..." Elder Tan's voice trembled. "It has been enhanced by at least fifty percent!"
Su Muli also looked at Li Nanzhu in disbelief. "A perfect fusion of the rigidity of the stone marrow vine and the intensity of the gold-patterned fruit. These two clashing medicinal properties have actually achieved a harmonious coexistence!"
The other judges also stepped forward to inspect the pills, and every one of them showed a shocked face.
Bu Qingwei stroked his beard and sighed deeply. "The younger generation is truly to be feared! Such innovation is enough to be recorded in the history of the Dao of alchemy!"
Liu Changhe's eyes sparkled. "To achieve such results with a tier 3 pill, this talent is truly astonishing."
During the final scoring, after intense discussion among the judges and considering the innovation and difficulty, they ranked Li Nanzhu in seventh place.
The six people ahead of her were all Shenmu Sect direct disciples; this rank was already nothing short of a miracle!
The moment the result was announced, the entire venue boiled over.
Who would have thought that a girl at the Foundation Establishment stage could stand out among so many Golden Core stage geniuses and take the seventh rank!
"Seventh place! Junior Sister is too incredible!" Duan Xianxing was so excited that he was dancing around, nearly falling off the audience stands. Fortunately, Mu Wenyan caught him in time, otherwise, it truly would have been an embarrassing scene.
Su Muli looked at the clear heart pill in Li Nanzhu's hand and finally couldn't help but ask, "Martial Niece Li, was this method of improving the pill recipe recorded in your sect's archives, or..."
Li Nanzhu smiled slightly. "It was taught by my master. This was also my first time trying it."
Elder Tan hurriedly chimed in, "Could it be that Sect Leader Feng Yi passed it down?"
Li Nanzhu shook her head. "It was not taught by my master."
The eyes of several sect leaders lit up—if it wasn't the inheritance of the Five Elements Dao Sect, then they might still have a chance to win over this expert!
Su Muli asked tentatively, "Might I ask what your master's name is..."
Li Nanzhu looked around the venue, her gaze passing over the expectant eyes of the various sect leaders on the judges' bench, over the proud faces of her seniors below the stage, and finally settling on Feng Yi's smiling eyes in the distance.
She took a deep breath, her voice clear and firm.
"My master's name is—Qingming, the Qingming Pill Venerable!"
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