Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 45 - Chapter 45 – Winning First Place

“I didn’t see wrong, did I?”

“Wow, ten top-grade pills! Is this really something a human can refine?”

“Didn’t he just zone out? Can someone tell me why this happened?”

“Are you stupid? Did you see the expressions of those two third-rank alchemists? Use your brain a little, it definitely wasn’t zoning out just now.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone refine ten top-grade pills in a single furnace during the competition…”

“I remember reading in a sect record that four or five hundred years ago, a senior also refined ten top-grade pills in the apprentice competition. I think he entered some kind of realm… something called the Unity of Heaven or something like that…”

“Yes, yes, I recall that too. That senior is now apparently a fourth-rank alchemist, and might even be one of the sect’s Nascent Soul ancestors!”

…

The disciples, seeing such a miraculous event for the first time, gathered and discussed it eagerly. Some knowledgeable ones helped clear up their doubts.

Only then did they realize that Li Yu wasn’t zoning out, but had entered a mysterious realm that allows alchemists to perform beyond their limits—even refining pills beyond their current rank.

Those ten top-grade pills came from that.

Li Yu might not necessarily have strength, but he certainly had luck.

“Ah, Senior Brother Zhao is really pitiful…”

“As long as he participates in the competition, there will be surprises.”

“Such rare events only happen once every four or five hundred years—he might as well accept his fate…”

Inside the formation, Zhao Wuliang stared blankly at those ten top-grade pills. After a long while, he sighed deeply, a look of acceptance appearing on his face. He cupped his fist toward Li Yu and said, “Congratulations, junior brother…”

Li Yu was still dazed, murmuring, “Can someone tell me what happened just now?”

Zhao Wuliang smiled slightly and explained, “Junior brother, you just entered a state all alchemists dream of, called the Unity of Heaven and Man. You seemed distracted, but your spirit was actually highly focused—you just didn’t realize it yourself…”

Li Yu suddenly understood, “Ah, so this is what the Unity of Heaven and Man is. I wondered why I spaced out during my first pill refinement and still made top-grade pills—I thought maybe I was just naturally talented…”

He thought to himself, The Unity of Heaven and Man—not a bad name. I’ll use it as an excuse for cheating from now on.

“What? You entered the Unity of Heaven and Man the first time you refined pills?”

Li Yu’s words completely unsettled the two third-rank alchemists. The Unity of Heaven and Man is rare and elusive; they had never experienced it in their lifetimes. Yet a mere apprentice had entered it twice in such a short time. This was not just luck—there might be some secret technique…

Li Yu nodded and said, “I refined top-grade pills on my first try. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Elder Han. He can vouch for me.”

One third-rank alchemist asked, “Which Elder Han?”

Li Yu answered, “Elder Han Tiancheng of the Danding Peak.”

The third-rank alchemist walked outside the formation and loudly called out, “Is Han Tiancheng of Danding Peak present here?”

His voice, empowered by his Golden Core cultivation, turned into a rolling wave that echoed across the entire Lingxu Peak. After a short while, a figure quickly flew out from a corner, cupping his fists and saying, “Senior, I am here.”

The third-rank alchemist looked at him and asked, “Is it true that Li Yu refined top-grade pills on his very first try?”

Han Tiancheng immediately nodded and said, “Yes, senior, I witnessed it with my own eyes. I have kept that pill until now. If you don’t believe me, you can come with me to Danding Peak to verify.”

The third-rank alchemist waved his hand and said, “No need.”

Everything Li Yu said could withstand verification, proving he was not lying. When he returned to Li Yu’s side, the third-rank alchemist now wore a friendly smile and asked, “Li Yu, do you have any secret method for zoning out those two times?”

Li Yu shook his head and said, “I don’t know either. When refining pills, I just suddenly zoned out for no reason…”

This answer was just as the two alchemists expected. He was just an alchemy apprentice who didn’t even know what the Unity of Heaven and Man was, so he naturally couldn’t explain it. However, the fact that he entered that realm twice had to have some reason behind it.

The two exchanged a glance. Aside from being somewhat good-looking, Li Yu really didn’t have any obvious advantages.

The fact that no powerful sect elder had taken him as a disciple meant his cultivation talent wasn’t high either. His cultivation was all boosted by pills. Without taking advantage of that, he was no different from an ordinary disciple.

Yet, how did such an unremarkable person manage to enter the Unity of Heaven and Man multiple times?

There had to be some reason behind repeatedly entering that realm. The two alchemists tried hard to dig up Li Yu’s strengths.

As for his strengths, there actually were some. In the final round of the alchemy competition, he wasn’t nervous at all and even had the mood to flirt with the female disciples. In hundreds of years, there was no one else like him.

Perhaps his carefree attitude was why Heaven favored him?

Very likely.

The more you want something, the harder it is to get; the less you care, the easier it is to obtain… such is the way of the world.

The two third-rank alchemists felt as if they had just had an epiphany.

If they could truly comprehend this mystery, maybe in this life they could break through the barrier to become a fourth-rank master.

One of them waved to summon a Foundation Establishment elder and said, “I will take my leave now. The remaining matters here are up to you…”

After saying this, he eagerly left, planning to enter seclusion to study the secret of the Unity realm. The other third-rank alchemist apparently thought the same, casting a deep glance at Li Yu before vanishing in a flash of light.

The two third-rank alchemists left without the competition results even being announced.

Just now, other disciples had already finished refining their pills, but everyone’s attention was on Li Yu, ignoring them.

Their results did not surpass Zhao Wuliang or Zheng Keqi.

The competition had its rules. Regardless of what realm Li Yu had entered, it was an undeniable fact that he had refined ten top-grade pills. On the water curtain both inside and outside the formation, at the very top, a line of characters soon appeared:

“Li Yu: Ten top-grade pills, 50 pill patterns.”

In this year’s alchemy apprentice competition, he claimed first place with absolute dominance, becoming the biggest dark horse.

At this moment, both inside and outside Lingxu Peak, the atmosphere had already erupted.

“He actually won first place? This kid’s got something — no, he’s got a lot of something!”

“Wuwuwu, my senior brother Zhao…”

“In the final round of the competition, he entered that mysterious realm. This kid’s luck is just too good!”

“Nonsense! If his luck wasn’t good, would Junior Sister Jiang have favored him?”

“Thirty Meridian Clearing Pills — I’m so jealous! If I had thirty pills, I could have already reached Foundation Establishment…”

…

High up on a spirit boat, several figures stood.

A middle-aged man asked the person beside him, “Brother Zhao, I heard Li Yu hasn’t taken a master yet. Are you interested in taking him as a disciple?”

Every year, the champion of the alchemy apprentice competition was fiercely contested by senior alchemists. Even third-rank alchemists would compete for a champion who had yet to find a master. Cultivating an outstanding disciple was a great honor.

The man with three pill markings on his chest shook his head and said, “Such a pity to have a promising alchemist seed with such poor cultivation talent. He might be able to shortcut the Qi Refining stage, but once he reaches Foundation Establishment, given his talent, when will he ever form a Golden Core? Where would the sect get so many Meridian Clearing Pills for him?”

The middle-aged man nodded and said, “Right. Cultivating five veins at once means it will take who knows how long for him to reach Foundation Establishment. Forming a Golden Core this lifetime is basically impossible. In the path of alchemy, the highest he can reach is second-rank. Even if he perfects second-rank pills, it won’t mean much…”

Sect resources were limited. The Qi Refining stage was somewhat easier; some geniuses could quickly reach Foundation Establishment with the sect’s strong support.

But at the Foundation Establishment stage, cultivation slowed. Pills that could help Foundation Establishment cultivators improve were already third-rank. The sect had fewer than fifty alchemists who could make third-rank pills, and with material limitations, the monthly output was very limited — far too few to share with the geniuses, let alone someone with average talent and five spiritual veins…

In the past, high-ranking alchemists would rush to Lingxu Peak to recruit immediately after the competition.

But this time, no one made a move for the champion who hadn’t yet taken a master.

Clearly, they had investigated Li Yu and didn’t see much potential. Even third-rank alchemists weren’t confident they could train someone with five spiritual veins to the Golden Core stage…

Without reaching Golden Core, one would only be a second-rank alchemist at best. There were countless second-rank alchemists in Kunlun — one more or less made no difference.

Standing on the spirit boat, the third-rank alchemist gazed at a figure below, his eyes flickering.

Though uninterested in taking Li Yu as a disciple, he was deeply curious about how this simple alchemy apprentice had entered the Unity of Heaven and Man multiple times. This might relate to his own chance to advance to fourth-rank master.

He even entertained the idea of soul searching Li Yu.

But he quickly suppressed the bold thought. For higher-level cultivators to soul search lower-level ones could gain memories, but it seriously damaged the lower-level soul. The soul-searched person might become mentally impaired or even die suddenly. This was Kunlun, not a demonic sect. The sect would never allow such things against its disciples…

If found out, even a third-rank alchemist wouldn’t escape punishment.

Also, Li Yu’s identity was a bit special. With other disciples, he might have risked it, but this person was closely connected with a newly admitted genius, a direct disciple of ancestor Xuanzhen. He was naturally wary…