Chapter 32: Electric Light Vine
The morning's competition ended in a burst of applause.
As soon as the result of Nian Kong's fourth trial came out, it caused a stir in the manor. Ordinary people or those who were too isolated and ignorant might not think that the data "80% fusion" was impressive, but for those spiritual masters who had some knowledge of alchemy, this degree of medicine fusion was truly astonishing.
"Refining spiritual medicine with spiritual medicine" and "refining spiritual medicine with medicinal herbs" have a world of difference in difficulty. If all medicinal herbs are used, refining a single pill to 85% is not difficult. But exchanging for two pills, wanting to synthesize new medicine at 85%, the difficulty is no less than refining fusion degree above 95%.
Moreover, Nie Kong had crushed two "Bamboo Leaf Pills" into powder before combining the medicines, which added even more difficulty to the fusion of the spiritual medicine.
The crowd in the Zhuangyuan gradually dispersed. In less than half an hour, the news of Ya's big defeat spread throughout Jicheng City through mouth to mouth.
Every street and alley could hear people talking about the six young spiritual medicine masters who entered the fifth pass, among whom the most eye-catching was Nie Kong.
Gu Qi, who broke into the fifth pass at the age of 14, and Cheng Zixuan, a three-product spiritual medicine master and fourth prince, as well as Mu Xiaoling, Qu Xinyi, and Yu Qingguan, were also very outstanding.
If it weren't for Nie Kong, they would have been the center of attention for everyone. Now, under Nie Kong's overshadowing, their brilliance has dimmed a lot.
Before the trial, almost no one paid attention to Nie Kong, but he suddenly appeared like a dark horse, stunning everyone with his appearance. As a result, Nie Kong's affairs in the Nie family were quickly dug up by the city's spiritual masters using various means, and it was only then that people realized Nie Kong was so famous in Jieyang City...
……
At noon, Nie Kong, the subject of discussion, sat quietly in a small room on the fourth floor of the Lingbao Pavilion. Beside him were various medicines, some of which he had taken out from his pet backpack, while others were borrowed by Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin from the Lingbao Pavilion.
The fourth pass of medicine, although successful in the end, left Nie Kong and Little Guy exhausted. At this moment, what they needed to do was to recover as soon as possible.
Nie Kong was operating the "Wood Spirit True Essence Technique" while chewing on some herbs, his heart filled with nostalgia for the "Snake Coiling Blood Lotus" he had snatched from the giant snake's mouth in the second layer of the Illusory Realm.
The most intense and pure Wood Spirit element in this world does not exist in the void of heaven and earth, but is condensed in various rare and precious medicinal herbs, such as Snake Plate Blood Lotus and Electric Light Vine. Their fragrance can quickly replenish the innate spiritual power of the medicine, and also absorb and refine to enhance the Wood Spirit.
Unfortunately, medicinal herbs of the "Snake Coil Blood Lotus" grade are extremely rare. The entire Nie family only has one type, "Electric Light Tendril". The Lingbao Pavilion might have more, but that's at their main store in Luocheng. This Jiuyang City branch probably only has a handful as well.
From morning till now, Nie Kong has eaten at least three catties of medicinal herbs, and the medicinal properties have all been absorbed, but the dregs still remain in his stomach, which has been bulging with discomfort. He hasn't even had lunch yet. Nie Kong estimates that he needs to eat another catty of medicinal herbs for the little guy to recover its energy.
"Psst." The door creaked softly, and a bald head poked in.
"Master?"
Nie Kong said with some surprise.
Nie Xingyun walked in with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face, and sat down cross-legged in front of Nie Kong. Just as Nie Kong couldn't help but open his mouth, the old man's right hand shook, and a jade box emitting purple light fell in front of Nie Kong, saying somewhat proudly: "Little guy, look, what is this?"
"Electric Light Vine?" Seeing the purple medicinal herb in the shape of lightning inside the box, Nie Kong couldn't help but exclaim, and looked up at Nie Xingyun with great surprise.
Nie Xingyun nodded and said: "That's right, it is indeed it, take it."
"Give it to me? Master, didn't you say that we were going to use it to refine the sixth-grade spiritual medicine 'Lei Long Dan'? Why now...?"
"Who made you my apprentice?!"
Ning Xingyun hummed, "After passing the fourth level, your 'Ling Shen San Que' will be completely dry. Relying on your 'Mu Yang Zhen Ling Jue', how long will it take to recover? You are a Mu Ling master and can't use spirit-recovering medicine like Miao Xiao Ling and those girls. No choice, Master has to take out the Blood Essence to help you recover your spiritual power early and try to win the last level."
The old man was right, if at the last moment of the fourth pass, Nie Kong hadn't restrained his spiritual power and cast the "Nine Turns Golden Needle Technique", then he would have been able to use the remaining spiritual power in the acupuncture points to quickly recover his spiritual power with the golden needle.
After some thought, Nie Kong shook his head and said, "Master, I don't want this 'Electric Light Vine', I..."
"What's wrong with you!"
The old man listened, and suddenly his eyes widened in anger, saying, "Let you eat, just eat, why so nagging. Hmph, don't think that Master doesn't know you've been eyeing this 'Electric Light Vine' all along, every time you enter the back room of the alchemy chamber, your eyes always sneak a peek at this box."
Nie Kong smiled wryly, but in fact, the main reason was that the little guy had been eyeing it, of course, he himself also had a little excitement, but he could swear that he only thought about it in his heart and never thought of taking it for himself like the little guy did.
"Take it." The old man stuffed the box into Nie Kong's arms and stood up.
"Master, th... thank you." Nie Kong estimated that if he refused again, the old man would definitely give him a few slaps.
"Haha, thanks a lot! Master is still waiting for you to bring more honor to our Nie family!"
“……”
The door slammed shut.
Nie Kong stroked the medicine box, a cool sensation seeping into his skin, and felt a little sentimental.
In his past life, he never liked to owe others a favor. After arriving at the Tianling Continent, he did not want to spend his whole life serving the Nie family like his cheap father Nie Qingyang, only to lose his life in the end. So, he thought that after his cultivation improved, he would take Huamei and leave the Nie family.
Now, Nie Kong found that the favor he owed was getting bigger and bigger. The family gave him benefits, looking at his future ability to bring strong power to the family, but Nie Xingyun and Lian Tianxin treated him as a true disciple, never having the idea of exploiting his value.
Isn't it destined for me to be tied with the Nie family for this lifetime?
Nie Kong slightly furrowed his brow, but ultimately set the issue aside and opened the medicine box. A strong medicinal fragrance wafted into his nostrils. Nie Kong took a deep breath, and it was as if a sweet rain poured into his head and flowed out from the soles of his feet. The sensation of his entire body being refreshed made him feel comfortable to the point where he hummed in satisfaction.
"Oh no, oh no......"
The little guy, like a chicken blood injection, seemed to have smelled the fishy smell of the cat, and the originally curved and soft stem suddenly stood upright. The two drooping small leaves and the listless small roots also shook happily, jumping on the dark green blood mass.
This is the real elixir!
Nie Kong's spirit was invigorated, and his physical fatigue dissipated instantly. Without further delay, he took out the "Electric Light Vine" from the box, pinched it between his palms, and quickly circulated the "Wood Yang True Spirit Technique". Strands of substantial medicinal power seeped out from the surface of the "Electric Light Vine", merging into Nie Kong's palm...
……
