Chapter 0957: Where did this demon come from

“Senior, is there anything wrong?” Ning Cheng, on seeing this short, fat old man not speaking, asked once again.

The short, fat old man hesitated for a moment before speaking, “You are taking the pill sage assessment; why not just refine ordinary dao pills?”

Ning Cheng understood what this short, fat old man thought of him. This old man only wanted him to refine a few random dao pills and that he didn’t care whether he succeeded or not. The more common the dao pill the examinee refined, the less the Pill Union would lose. In the end, if he failed, the pill marrow would also go to the Pill Union.

“I’ve heard that in a Pill Sage’s assessment, half the dao pills refined would be returned to the examinee. Besides, are the materials for Violet Heaven Pills very precious? It’s the most ordinary one that I can refine.” Ning Cheng showed a warm smile.

The short, fat old man almost choked on Ning Cheng’s words and spat out a mouthful of blood. The Violet Heaven Pill was the most ordinary one? Wouldn’t that mean the following pills would require even more heaven-defying materials?

Ning Cheng had put up the pill marrow as collateral; as such, the short, fat old man couldn’t say it bluntly that he didn’t believe that Ning Cheng had the skills to refine such a dao pill. I let you refine ordinary dao pills because I wanted to give you a chance to succeed. Plus, I also wouldn’t lose too much if it resulted in a failure. After hesitating for a long time, he finally took out a few jade boxes and put them in front of Ning Cheng. “Alright, since you insist on refining the Violet Heaven Pill, then it’s all on you.”

As long as the Violet Heaven Pill’s refinement failed, he would come up with an excuse to not take out higher-grade dao pill materials.

Ning Cheng raised his hand and waved, bringing out a pill furnace with the words ‘First Furnace of Chaos’ engraved on it.

When the old man saw Ning Cheng’s pill furnace, he almost laughed out loud. How dare someone call a pill furnace ‘the First Furnace of Chaos’? It felt too shameless, even to him. No wonder this Dao Sculpting kid dared to come here to take the Dao Transformation Pill Sage’s assessment. This brat lived in his own little world.

The short, old man suddenly spoke up, seeing that Ning Cheng was about to reach out to grab the alchemy materials. “Wait. Show me your Dao Transformation Pill Deity qualification token first.”

Ning Cheng looked at the old man suspiciously and asked. “Do you even need a Dao Transformation Pill Deity’s qualification for taking the Dao Transformation Pill Sage’s assessment? If I had such a qualification, would I even need to come here for the examination?”

Although the short, fat old man looked stung by Ning Cheng’s words, he felt delighted internally and spoke up. “Without a Dao Transformation Pill Deity’s qualification token, you can only take the exam for a Dao Raising Pill Sage. Take out your Dao Raising Pill Deity’s qualification token, hehe……”

Ning Cheng couldn’t help but give an awkward reply. “I only have a Rank 8 Pill Emperor’s qualification token. Didn’t you say that I only needed ‘a’ qualification to take the exam?”

This time, the short, fat old man truly felt speechless. He stared at Ning Cheng for a long time before he sighed and said, “I, Sheng Huotian, lived for quite a long time. But today’s the day I finally saw what it is to dare to think big and then do big. A Tier 8 Pill Emperor actually came to me and said he wanted to take the Dao Transformation Pill Sage’s assessment. Whether in terms of boldness or thickness of one’s skin, if you said you were the second, no one else in the whole world would dare to claim the first.”

Ning Cheng replied in a calm voice, “So you don’t want to let me take the test, huh? Does it also mean that Senior Sheng wants me to forfeit my pill marrow?”

“Forfeit your pill marrow? As if. The pill marrow is an incredibly precious material for an alchemist. Still, even if I needed it, I, Sheng Huotian, am not so despicable as to snatch your pill marrow. Besides, even if I, Sheng Huotian, wanted to do so, the Pill Union wouldn’t allow it. You should go and first take the Dao Transformation Pill Deity’s assessment, and then come back to me when you’re done with it.” Sheng Huotian replied with an emotionless tone.

Ning Cheng’s tone suddenly turned cold. “You want me, a Dao Transformation Pill Sage, to stand in line with those ordinary examinees? If the treatment is the same for everyone, why the hell would I come here for the assessment of a Dao Transformation Pill Sage?”

Sheng Houtian laughed, “I don’t care if you were the number one Dao Sculpting cowhide in the entire Grand Essence Realm; you’re still not a Dao Transformation Pill Sage yet. If you were a Dao Transformation Pill Sage, I’m afraid your nose would be pointing at the sky. Well, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t want to stand in line, that’s okay with me too, but you’ll have to take the assessment from me. But if you want to take the assessment from me, you will need to take it step-by-step from the ranks of Dao Sculpting Pill Deity. Otherwise, go and stand in line with the others. As for the pill marrow, whether you take the test or not, the Pill Union has its rules. As long as you don’t pass the Dao Transformation Pill Sage’s assessment, it won’t be returned to you. If you don’t take the test, it will be returned to you.”

What Ning Cheng wanted to hear were precisely those words from Sheng Houtian. Now that Sheng Houtian said it aloud, Ning Cheng’s tone immediately softened. “Senior Sheng, it’s not impossible for me to take the assessment under you. It’s just that there is no clarity about who owns those spirit grasses and to whom do the refined pills belong?”

Sheng Houtian spoke up angrily, “The spirit grasses obviously will come from this sage, but the refined pills would all be considered yours. Satisfied?”

After hearing Sheng Huotian’s words, Ning Cheng’s expressions warmed up, “Then, many thanks for the offer, Senior Sheng.”

Sheng Houtian sneered and didn’t say anything as he raised his hand and waved, bringing out two medicinal ingredients. “The first assessment is for Dao Sculpting Pill Deity. Use these materials to refine the Burst Spirit Pill.”

Ning Cheng looked at the two ingredients speechlessly and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Can you change the pill to be refined?”

Ning Cheng still hadn’t used up the Burst Spirit Pills he had previously refined, and he also didn’t plan on continuing to use Burst Spirit Pills. What would he do with so many Burst Spirit Pills?

Sheng Houtian simply ignored Ning Cheng’s request and continued. “There are enough spirit grasses for three furnaces, and you need a success rate of 60% or more for passing. That means you must successfully refine at least two furnaces before you can become a Dao Sculpting Pill Deity.”

Seeing that this old man, Sheng Houtian, had little intention of compromising, Ning Cheng took the Burst Spirit Pill materials and threw them into the pill furnace.

When Sheng Houtian saw Ning Cheng’s actions, his face turned red with rage. How was this a Dao Sculpting Spirit Pill refinement? However, his anger disappeared a moment later.

What was there to be angry about? The faster this kid failed, the better it would be, right? At that moment, he wouldn’t have to take out any other spirit grasses at all.

A white flame suddenly manifested over Ning Cheng’s palm, and Sheng Huotian’s face immediately twisted in shock. The more he looked at it, the wider his pupils grew, and then he suddenly shouted in surprise. “That’s the Nameless Flame…..”

The Nameless Flame wasn’t truly nameless; it was the sixth-ranked flame in the Grand Essence Realm. Sheng Houtian never expected that Ning Cheng, a Dao Sculpting Holy Emperor, could take out such a precious flame.

Ning Cheng didn’t bother to pay attention to Sheng Houtian. The flame quickly enveloped the pill furnace, and a moment later, the furnace filled up with green gas.

In just a few moments, Sheng Huotian’s expressions changed once again. He was a Dao Transformation Pill Sage himself, so he naturally understood that Ning Cheng wasn’t fooling around.

Ning Cheng had almost instantly refined and purified the spirit grasses. Moreover, in less than a third of an incense stick, a unique fragrance belonging to the Burst Spirit Pill emerged from the furnace.

Between ten to twelve breaths later, twelve pills emitting a powerful aura emerged and entered the jade bottles Ning Cheng had previously prepared.

Sheng Houtian could no longer sit still and immediately stood up with eyes wide open. Twelve Burst Spirit Pills, all of them top-quality Dao Sculpting Spirit Pills. Even he couldn’t do any better than this.

It meant that Ning Cheng had indeed come for the Dao Transformation Pill Sage’s assessment and not to fool around.

Sheng Houtian immediately put away the materials that Ning Cheng hadn’t yet refined. Instead, he took out fresh materials. “There’s no need to refine the second furnace. Looking at your proficiency, you’ve clearly passed the Dao Sculpting Pill Deity assessment. Next is the Dao Raising Pill Deity assessment.”

Although he looked calm on the surface right now, his heart had long since turned upside down. When did such a heaven-defying alchemic powerhouse come out of the Grand Essence Realm? If this person hadn’t come to the Pill Union for the assessment, he would have never known that there was still such a powerful Pill Deity in the Grand Essence Realm. Maybe he was already at the Pill Sage level.

Ning Cheng internally cursed Sheng Houtian for such pettiness. However, he also didn’t care too much about it. In any case, Ning Cheng didn’t put the Burst Spirit Pill in his eyes in the first place. The second pill he had to refine was the Immortal Rain Pill, which belonged to the Dao Raising Spirit Pill category. It was essentially a healing pill and a relatively precious one at that.

As Sheng Houtian expected, Ning Cheng only used a third of an incense stick in refining a furnace of top-quality Immortal Rain Pills.

Seeing this result, Sheng Houtian decided to take out a furnace full of materials for the Green Leaves Red Flame Pills without saying a word. The Green Leaves Red Flame Pill was a Dao Transformation Spirit Pill that assisted flame-attuned cultivators to cultivate their spirit techniques. It was even more valuable than the Immortal Rain Pills.

Sheng Houtian watched Ning Cheng skilfully refine, gather and fuse the medicinal extracts, and then form the pills without a half-a-moment of pause. He couldn’t fathom just how many Dao Transformation Spirit Pills had Ning Cheng refined till now to reach such proficiency. However, the more he watched, the more shocked he became. Sheng Houtian was, at the very least, the second in command within the Pill Union. Even in terms of refining proficiency, he was only second to the Pill Union’s Union Master.

Yet, even with his vast experience and knowledge, he couldn’t determine what pill art Ning Cheng used during his refinement process. He couldn’t see any form or structure, whether he looked at the initiation, condensation, or medicinal essence collection. Truth be told, he could only watch the process at the surface level and couldn’t see or even sense the minute transformations at all. Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness screened the pill furnace from outside influence. Therefore, unless Ning Cheng gave him permission, he couldn’t forcibly probe the furnace with his spiritual consciousness.

“Ding-Ding-Ding.” Sounds of pills rumbling in the jade bottle rang out. Listening to those sounds, Sheng Houtian gave out a long sigh. This wasn’t a Pill Deity who had come to take the alchemy assessment but a demon. Twelve fiery-red Green Leaves Red Flame Pills, all of them of the highest grade without exception. Where on earth did this kid come from? Better yet, who in the heavens even taught such a demon?

Even if Ning Cheng took his time refining the Dao Transformation Spirit Pill. It took him only two incense sticks to pass the Dao Sculpting, Dao Raising and Dao Transformation Pill Deity assessments since the start of the evaluation. The Dao Transformation Pill Deity assessment required only a success rate of at least 30% to pass. Therefore, even without Ning Cheng refining a second furnace, Sheng Houtian knew that Ning Cheng most likely had a 100% success rate. Not only did Ning Cheng have a 100% success rate, but even the pills would be of top quality.

Sheng Houtian sighed. “Fellow Daoist Ning Cheng, I retract my previous underestimation of you. You are indeed qualified to take the assessment for Dao Transformation Pill Sages. You also have the qualifications to despise those pill deities outside.”

Sheng Houtian directly admitted that he had underestimated Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng also, in turn, felt somewhat better about the old man. Many experts, regardless of their professions, wouldn’t readily admit to their mistakes.

“Fellow Daoist Ning Cheng, these ingredients are for the Falling Scar Dao Pill, which also includes a Falling Scar Dao Fruit.” Sheng Houtian took out a furnace of materials and placed it in front of Ning Cheng. “I understand that you’re qualified to take the assessment for the Dao Transformation Pill Sage. However, I still have to ask you to take the assessments for the Dao Sculpting and Dao Raising Pill Sages according to the Pill Union’s rules.”

Ning Cheng nodded. It didn’t matter to him; the pills were his anyway. This time, since he was to refine a Dao Sculpting Dao Pill, he became even more careful with his actions. He even separated and refined the spirit grasses carefully. After all, it was the first time that he was refining a dao pill. Even if the Mysterious Yellow Formless provided him with powerful means, he still had to adapt to the process first.

Ning Cheng had seen the Falling Scar Fruit before. In fact, a Falling Scar Fruit had appeared in the Grand Essence Ruins’ exchange and was bought by Kong Ning. Kong Ning had even asked him to borrow points to purchase that Falling Scar Fruit, to which he agreed.

The most precious material for the Falling Scar Dao Pill was naturally the Falling Scar Fruit. After Ning Cheng placed the Falling Scar Fruit into the furnace, the dao flame immediately covered it. At that exact moment, Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness sensed a faint aura of the laws of heaven and earth from it.

Ning Cheng hadn’t misjudged it previously. The heaven and earth laws in the Falling Scar Fruit were indeed not strong. One could even say that they were weak to the point of non-existence. However, although it contained a clear law, it felt that it could break and dissipate at the first touch. As if on cue, and before Ning Cheng’s spiritual consciousness could even begin refining the Falling Scar Fruit, the laws within the Falling Scar Fruit started to collapse.

Sensing the laws collapsing within the Falling Scar Fruit, Ning Cheng’s heart turned anxious. What was the defining feature of refining a Dao Pill? It was the law. Once the laws of the dao fruit collapsed, even if he finished the refinement of the dao pill, it would be tantamount to a failure.

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