What left the five masters dumbfounded wasn't the strength of
Though she had reached Transcendent Stage Three, the masters hadn't given it a second thought—they simply assumed she was, like
The real issue was that the attribute of her power was neither fire nor yang.
Whether refining pills or forging artifacts, one needed scorching power to fuse the essence of medicinal ingredients and minerals—only then could pills and artifacts be tempered into the desired shape, and only then could the materials serve their full purpose.
That was why alchemists and artificers necessarily cultivated fire-attribute or yang-attribute techniques, and why the true yuan within their bodies had to carry searing heat.
But the power that surged from Xia Ningshang's body contained nothing but a gentle, nature-approaching aura.
How was she supposed to refine pills with that? All five masters froze.
Yet in the very next instant, they were struck with equal shock.
One by one, the saint-grade medicinal ingredients were enveloped by invisible power, hovering before Xia Ningshang. Under the influence of that gentle, nature-approaching force, every single ingredient decomposed—their medicinal essences condensing together to form drop after drop of extraordinarily pure medicinal liquid, while all the useless impurities were cast aside.
Xia Ningshang's body remained still, only the power within her ceaselessly flowing. Her slender jade-like fingers formed bizarre hand seals, striking toward the ingredients.
The masters' expressions shifted dramatically, each one wearing a look of utter disbelief. Their eyes were fixed on Xia Ningshang without a single blink, afraid they might miss even one of her movements.
With the discerning eyes of five seasoned masters, they could naturally see that this young girl possessed profound mastery in the art of alchemy. Her technique in condensing medicinal liquid and handling fine details had reached a level of absolute perfection—even if they were to do it themselves, they probably couldn't have done it better than Xia Ningshang.
Every trace of medicinal essence within those ingredients was extracted without the slightest waste. Under her wondrous technique, all of it was drawn out and gradually gathered together.
Drop after drop of medicinal liquid hovered before Xia Ningshang like pearls.
Her jade-like fingertip pointed forward, and the power within her body surged forth in a continuous stream. Using her finger as a brush and true yuan as ink, she traced one intricate spirit formation diagram after another in the air.
Her speed reached its absolute limit.
The crowd keenly noticed that the spirit formation diagrams she used were virtually identical to the ones Yang Kai had used—clearly stemming from the same teacher's instruction.
Gradually, the five masters were drawn in, their minds captured. They all held their breath, not daring to make the slightest sound, for fear of disturbing Xia Ningshang.
They no longer doubted whether she could refine pills. The miraculous scene before them had already answered that question abundantly.
Someone who couldn't refine pills wouldn't understand alchemy's spirit formations, nor could they condense medicinal liquid to such perfection.
Moreover, Xia Ningshang's alchemy technique possessed a kind of aesthetic beauty. It left them intoxicated and entranced, forgetting their own existence. Following her movements, all five discovered that they seemed to have fallen into a magnificent world—the world of alchemy itself.
A broad, splendid road lay beneath their feet, with radiant light stretching ahead.
In that moment, each of them felt their souls undergo a cleansing. The alchemy they had immersed themselves in for a hundred years seemed on the verge of transcendence.
Gradually, the complex and profound spirit formation diagrams took shape. Each line of the pattern shimmered with light, drawing the medicinal liquid toward the very center.
Visibly, the drops of liquid merged and clashed with one another, undergoing wondrous changes. The faint outline of a pill began to emerge.
All five masters' eyes went wide, their expressions brimming with excitement.
In all their years of refining pills, not once had they ever clearly witnessed a pill taking shape right before their eyes.
The pills they had always refined had formed inside the cauldron—invisible to the naked eye, with the pill's true appearance only revealed at the moment of completion.
Only now did they realize that the formation of a pill was so mesmerizing, so breathtakingly magnificent—like the birth of a new life, radiating vigorous energy from within.
The masters' emotions surged, nearly beyond words. They all craned their necks, as if trying to lean closer, to observe with greater precision.
The pill gradually took on its beautiful form, and the masters' minds were poured into it, tensing with every stage of its birth.
After a long while, a rich pill fragrance suddenly wafted outward, causing everyone to shudder with renewed vigor. It felt as though a heavy stone had been lifted from their hearts, leaving body and mind thoroughly at ease.
Xia Ningshang reached out and plucked the pill from the air, her slender white fingers pinching it as she examined it for a moment. Her dark brows furrowed slightly—she seemed somewhat dissatisfied—but she still placed it into a jade bottle she had prepared beforehand.
At the same time, Yang Kai had also finished refining a saint pill on his side. He gave the cauldron a light pat, and the pill flew out, dropping precisely into the bottle in his hand, which he sealed.
Two subtly different pill fragrances filled the room, refreshing the spirit.
The room fell into a silence so complete one could hear a pin drop. The only sound was the fierce pounding of heartbeats from within the five masters' chests—strong, rhythmic thumps.
Only then did Xia Ningshang emerge from the world of alchemy. Looking up, she found five pairs of eyes staring at her with the intensity of starving wolves hunting in the snow.
"Senior masters…" Xia Ningshang was startled, and quickly cast a pleading glance toward Yang Kai as she spoke.