The yield was remarkably high, the quality outstanding, and most impressively, the speed of refinement was astonishing. In every single regard, it overturned everyone's understanding of the Water Moon Heart-Gazing Pill.
Jiang Chen finished his refinement and set the fifteen Water Moon Heart-Gazing Pills before the neutral judges with a faint smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, facts speak louder than words. Here are my results — please inspect them."
He deliberately raised his voice to draw the attention of the people from the Yaochi Sect.
Several alchemy grandmasters from the Yaochi Sect had participated in the wager, but not a single one had even begun to wrap up their refinement yet, let alone finish. The situation was nothing short of a colossal irony.
The very people who had been so eager to prove that others were practitioners of heretical arts had completed their refinement in the most straightforward and upright manner possible.
And they — these self-proclaimed orthodox masters who spoke so righteously — under the gaze of the entire crowd, had not yet produced a single finished pill.
Many things, when there is no comparison, no one can tell who is truly superior.
But with a side-by-side comparison, the gap became painfully obvious.
To complete the refinement so quickly, to produce so many pills, and for every single one to be of such extraordinary quality — how could this possibly be heretical art?
Jiang Chen handed over the Heart-Reflecting Water Moon Pills and returned to Zi Che Min's side. "Lord Zi Che, the refinement is complete. I trust I have not failed the mission."
Zi Che Min smiled. "Excellent. Shao Yuan, it seems I still underestimated you. Your technique, every detail — it appears simple on the surface, yet it reveals a profound understanding of the underlying principles. I believe your foundation in the Dao of Alchemy is far beyond what any ordinary young prodigy could possess. Who could have guided you to such heights? Even if you had begun studying alchemy from the womb, reaching this level at your age is nothing short of extraordinary."
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "My ancestors have passed down an alchemical lineage for generations. Moreover, when I was young, I experienced an awakening of sorts. After that awakening, on the path of alchemy, I would often receive what felt like divine guidance in my dreams. Many things — I would simply wake up and find that I understood them naturally."
Had an ordinary mortal said something like this, anyone would have dismissed him as delusional.
But in the martial world, people took such matters very seriously.
Zi Che Min sighed. "So that is how it is. It may not have been divine beings teaching you in your dreams, but rather memories from a past life. Perhaps, in one of your incarnations, you lived a truly remarkable existence. Those memories were not erased during reincarnation and carried through into this life, where they have suddenly erupted."
Jiang Chen had to admit that Zi Che Min's powers of perception were quite formidable. The truth was exactly as he had guessed — he, Jiang Chen, had arrived bearing memories of his previous life.
He had simply phrased things more delicately. Such a seemingly plausible explanation was far easier for people to accept.
Yan Qing Sang, standing behind Zi Che Min, had watched Jiang Chen complete the refinement with such ease. Astonished, he flashed Jiang Chen a thumbs-up.
The Old Immortal Ming Dou's ruddy complexion had turned utterly gloomy. Seeing Jiang Chen's speed and the results he had produced, the Old Immortal Ming Dou already knew — they had lost.
It wasn't just the Jade Pool Sect that had lost the contest. The so-called truth they had upheld for so many decades had crumbled to nothing in this single instant.
Perhaps Silvervein Grass really was the optimal choice for the Moonwater Heart Restoration Pill?
Finally, the Jade Pool Sect's alchemists completed their refinements one after another.
The results were in. The best performer had produced twelve pills, but only three were of supreme quality. In other words, even the most outstanding among them — in terms of yield, probability of producing supreme-grade pills, and refinement speed — had been thoroughly, undeniably crushed by Jiang Chen.
The venue fell dead silent.
The alchemy masters of the Jade Pool Sect sat rooted in place, their faces ashen. They had already given it everything they had.
Yet that monstrous young man had completed the refinement in a manner that utterly annihilated them. The gap between them wasn't merely a single step — it was an entire chasm.
Zi Che Min smiled leisurely. "Fellow Daoist Ming Dou, the results are plain for all to see. I don't think I need to render any verdict — everyone here has eyes and can read the outcome."
Old Immortal Ming Dou's expression was blank and emotionless. After a long pause, his hoarse voice finally rasped out: "Fellow Daoist Zi Che, the victor claims the throne while the defeated are branded rebels. This old man has nothing more to say. Let this matter be settled and forgotten. My Jade Pool Sect accepts this defeat. As for the Moonwater Heart Restoration Pill, we will maintain our reservations. However, how you choose to redefine this pill from here on out is entirely your business, Fellow Daoist Zi Che."
Old Immortal Ming Dou's tone still carried a clear note of sore-losing. The meaning was plain: we acknowledge our defeat in the contest. But whether the Moonwater Heart Restoration Pill can be definitively settled — that's your call, Zi Che Min. Just know that the Jade Pool Sect will absolutely refuse to accept it.
Zi Che Min smiled leisurely. "How to redefine the Moonwater Heart Restoration Pill — that is not for me alone to decide. So long as it is the truth, it will eventually be accepted by everyone."
However, someone raised a dissenting voice. "Fellow Daoist Zi Che, to tell the truth, I'm not the only one who has tried using Silver Vein Grass to refine the Moonwater Heart Restoration Pill in place of Phantom Spirit Grass. All of us here have attempted it. But not a single one of us succeeded — and that is precisely why we have doubts about this young man."
Jiang Chen simply smiled calmly. "Fellow cultivators, just because you cannot do something does not mean it isn't the truth. It is said that in the great worlds beyond the heavens, there exist pills capable of instantly condensing one's divine essence and advancing one from the Heavenly Rank to the Divine Path. Does the fact that you cannot make such pills mean they don't exist? Does it mean they are all heretical?"