Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 40 - Chapter 40 – Alchemy Competition

When Li Yu heard the news about the purchase limit on Meridian Clearing Pills, he didn’t have much of a reaction.

After all, his large windfall was just a lucky chance; he didn’t inherit the riches of a Foundation Establishment stage elder every month. Helping Elder Han with alchemy, at most, he could earn the equivalent of three Meridian Clearing Pills per month.

Emotionally, he supported this new rule from the sect.

This measure narrowed the resource gap between ordinary disciples and the second-generation immortals, which helped unify people and was beneficial for the sect’s long-term development. It showed that those who made the rules were still considerate of the ordinary disciples.

He had bought thirty Meridian Clearing Pills before this rule was implemented, so this month he could still buy three more.

Soon, Li Yu returned to Zixiao Peak.

His arrival immediately caught everyone’s attention.

By now, he had become somewhat famous among the lower-tier disciples of the Kunlun sect.

“Look, look, that’s Li Yu!”
“The guy who bought thirty Meridian Clearing Pills in one go!”
“He’s so handsome, no wonder Junior Sister Jiang likes him…”
“Come to think of it, we should thank him. If not for him, most of the Meridian Clearing Pills each month would be bought up by the elder disciples.”
…

It seemed like everyone assumed he was being “kept” by Jiang Li and that’s how he had so many spirit coins.

Li Yu didn’t bother explaining. For him, this was actually a good thing — with people jumping to this conclusion, no matter how fast his cultivation improved, no one would find it strange.

Currently, Danxin Pavilion only had one counter selling Meridian Clearing Pills.

The attendant on duty today was Junior Sister Xu. Li Yu first gave her a bottle of beauty-enhancing pills as a thanks for her previous reminder and chatted with her briefly before saying, “Junior Sister, could you please get me three Meridian Clearing Pills?”

The girl happily accepted the gift and sweetly said, “The sect has regulations. Please show your identity jade token, Senior Brother Li.”

On the counter was a jade box about half a foot square, with a groove perfectly matching the size of the identity jade token. Junior Sister Xu placed Li Yu’s jade token into the groove. Li Yu saw the box flash with light, and the jade token was returned to him.

He was no longer surprised by all the bizarre gadgets of the cultivation world. This jade box likely contained some finely crafted formation that could read the identity token’s information and even store it in a backend system. He found it quietly impressive.

Li Yu knew a bit about pills, but was clueless about formation arrays.

The girl handed him three jade bottles and said, “Senior Brother Li’s identity has been recorded. You will only be able to purchase again on the first day of next month. Also, these three pills must be taken here. That should be no problem, right?”

Since these were for himself anyway, Li Yu nodded and said, “No problem.”

He immediately opened the bottles and took the three pills one after another, while behind him many disciples who had been saving spirit coins for a long time to buy even one Meridian Clearing Pill looked on with envy.

These three Meridian Clearing Pills cleared a total of sixty acupoints inside Li Yu’s body, exactly twelve acupoints per spiritual vein.

After returning to Danding Peak, Li Yu first delivered fifteen bottles of low level pills he had refined to Elder Han.

In the grand hall, Han Tiancheng looked at Li Yu in disbelief.

It wasn’t because of the pills he had refined, but because of his cultivation. Li Yu was wearing the Kunlun disciple uniform that blocked spiritual sense detection, so Han Tiancheng couldn’t tell his exact cultivation level, but he could vaguely feel that Li Yu had grown much stronger compared to a few days ago.

He had also vaguely heard about Li Yu’s deeds. Even as a Foundation Establishment stage elder, he couldn’t help but envy, “You’re really lucky. At this rate, you might establish your foundation within a few years. You’ll also develop well in alchemy…”

Having such a relationship with the sect’s prodigies, Li Yu’s future achievements would not be low.

If only someone had supported him like this back in the day, he probably would have already stepped onto the Golden Core path.

As Li Yu was about to leave, Han Tiancheng remembered something and asked, “By the way, Li Yu, are you interested in participating in the Alchemy Apprentice Competition? With your talent, you should do well.”

Li Yu shook his head, “I’ll pass.”

Now that Meridian Clearing Pills weren’t something you could just buy with money, he planned to take on more ghost-hunting tasks in his free time to both repair his alchemy furnace and strengthen his soul power.

Han Tiancheng shook his head, “That’s a shame. With your skills in alchemy, if you perform well, there’s a real chance you could make it into the top ten. The champion gets thirty Meridian Clearing Pills as a one-time reward. Even just making the top ten earns you some!”

Li Yu stopped in his tracks, his eyes lighting up, “Thirty Meridian Clearing Pills? Seriously?”

Han Tiancheng smiled, “Alchemy is the foundation of Kunlun Sect. Naturally, the rewards related to it are generous. The Alchemy Apprentice Competition is held annually. Outstanding performers not only get rich rewards, but might also be noticed by second or even third-tier alchemists and taken in as disciples. It’s a rare opportunity…”

Li Yu wasn’t interested in being taken as a disciple; all he cared about was those thirty Meridian Clearing Pills.

The thirty Meridian Clearing Pills were a one-time reward, not subject to purchase limits, and given immediately—much faster than earning spirit coins through tasks.

Li Yu quickly asked, “How do I sign up for this competition?”

Han Tiancheng said, “You need a recommendation from a first-tier alchemist. I have two spots available; if you want to join, I’ll save one for you.”

Li Yu clasped his fists, “Thank you, Senior Han. I’ll join.”

He stayed a bit longer and asked for more details about the competition.

Kunlun Sect was founded on alchemy. Among tens of thousands of disciples, several thousand were alchemy apprentices. The purpose of the annual competition was mainly to select those with alchemical talent for focused training. Perhaps the next great alchemy master of Kunlun Sect was among them.

The top ten each year not only received rich rewards but might also attract the attention of high-level alchemists, making their rise swift and assured.

Seeing Li Yu’s strong interest, Han Tiancheng added, “Your alchemy talent is very good, but don’t get too arrogant. Your competitors won’t just be new disciples from Danding Peak; many are disciples of high-level alchemists within the sect. Like you, they cultivate two or three spiritual veins simultaneously. Getting into the top ten won’t be easy. Many can refine superior-grade pills, and some occasionally make top-grade ones…”

Li Yu smiled, “I’ll just do my best.”

Han Tiancheng suddenly remembered, “Oh, one more thing. To participate, you’ll need an assistant. The competition has a time limit, and you’ll need someone to help check herbs, purify liquid medicine, and handle some miscellaneous tasks. If you have someone in mind from my disciples, just tell me, and I’ll arrange for them to assist you.”

Li Yu thought for a moment, “Thanks, Elder Han, but no need. I already have someone in mind.”

…

Biyun Peak.

Zhou Zixuan looked at Li Yu, surprised, “You’re joining the Alchemy Competition?”

She had known about the competition for half a month since Biyun Peak had started preparing a large supply of spirit herbs and medicines for it.

She was just surprised Li Yu was joining so early.

As far as she knew, those eligible to compete were either disciples of high-tier alchemists or senior apprentices who had been practicing alchemy for years. Li Yu had only studied alchemy for a few months and was already going to compete…

Li Yu glanced at her, “What, don’t believe me?”

Zhou Zixuan said, “No, just surprised. Well, I wish you good luck and hope you do well.”

Li Yu looked at her, “To compete, I need someone to help purify the liquid medicine. Want to help me?”

Without hesitation, Zhou Zixuan smiled, “Sure! Let me tell you, I’m really good at purifying herbal liquids. Even Senior Sister Zhang praised me for having a natural gift! I promise I won’t drag you down—just wait, I’ll show you my skills!”