Of course, the potency of the medicinal ingredients is only one of the most crucial factors determining the quality of a pill, not the decisive one.
Under Zi Lin Ling's vast divine sense, the potency of every herb selected by each participant was instantly perceived.
The time for one incense stick quickly passed. As the first round of the competition concluded, only less than five hundred participants remained on the stage.
In other words, half of the participants were eliminated in this round.
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, the competition entered its second round.
If the first round was about free expression, then the second round was a mandated task.
Each participant's table had a pill formula. Participants were required to refine the corresponding pill according to the formula within one hour, otherwise they would be deemed to have failed to advance.
Of course, to ensure fairness, the difficulty of these pill formulas was kept within the same range.
Zi Lin Ling's vast divine sense spread out once more. The pill formulas and herbs before all participants appeared within her divine sense, clear and unobstructed.
And when Zi Lin Ling saw the pill formulas, she couldn't help but freeze.
It had to be said that although Feng Ru Yi had made the Alchemist Guild a mess, he had put considerable effort into the Alchemy Convention.
This second round, which seemed simple, had a major trap for the participants.
This was because each participant's pill formula had been tampered with – an extra medicinal ingredient was added to each formula.
Zi Lin Ling's lips curved slightly, and she murmured, "Interesting! Truly unlucky children!"
Before her words had even finished, the sound of "boom" explosions echoed from the competition stage.
Immediately after, "boom, boom, boom" sounds followed in succession.
Many participants, caught completely off guard, were instantly covered in soot.
In just a moment, nearly five hundred people's furnaces exploded, without exception.
"What the hell!"
"How could this happen?"
"Why did my furnace explode?"
"Bad luck!"
"This is such an inauspicious start!"
"..."
Curses and exclamations erupted from all sides.
Zi Lin Ling watched the spectacular expressions of all the participants, her lips twitching.
If she weren't sitting in the judge's seat, she would have burst into laughter.
After venting their frustration, the participants began cleaning their pill furnaces and preparing for their second attempts.
Fortunately, each participant had three chances, otherwise they would have all been eliminated.
Half an hour later, the sounds of furnaces exploding once again echoed across the competition stage.
"Impossible! I followed the pill formula exactly, why did it explode again?"
"Right! I did exactly as the formula said, how could it explode?"
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
"Me too!"
"..."
Zi Lin Ling looked at the bewildered participants, shaking her head in disappointment.
Of course, not everyone was a fool.
After two furnace explosions, some finally turned their attention to the pill formulas.
Thus, although the second round of the competition had a slight difficulty and eliminated many people, ninety-nine individuals ultimately advanced.
Zi Lin Ling felt a hint of relief in her heart at this outcome.
Soon, the third round began.
In this round, all participants were required to refine the same pill – the Purple Heart Blood Soul Pill.
The Purple Heart Blood Soul Pill was a top-grade Heavenly tier pill that could forcibly enhance the user's strength by one major realm.
The side effect was that its efficacy only lasted for the duration of one incense stick. After the effect wore off, the user's soul and stamina would be completely drained, leading to a coma.
In the third round, each person still had three chances, and there was no time limit. The order in which the Purple Heart Blood Soul Pills were refined determined the participants' rankings. The competition would end once the thirty-third ranked participant emerged.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Three hours later, the top thirty-three were finally determined, and the Alchemy Convention drew to a close.
Zi Lin Ling presented the prizes to the top ten participants and then rushed back to the Boundless Wind and Moon Courtyard.
Upon returning to her room, she anxiously asked, "Senior Xing Hun, what happened?"
Zhan Lan Xing Hun materialized and said, "Child, something has happened at the Seal Land!"
Zi Lin Ling asked in surprise, "Seal Land? What place is that?"
Zhan Lan Xing Hun explained, "Child, ten thousand years ago, a world-shattering war occurred on Zhan Lan Star. It was this war that caused a loophole in Zhan Lan Star's inherent protective energy shield.
"Later, invaders from outside the domain used this loophole as a base, corroding it into a passage and invading Zhan Lan Star through it.
"Fortunately, the Nine Great Guardians, by sacrificing themselves, sealed that passage. This temporarily saved Zhan Lan Star from becoming a hunting ground for the extraterrestrial invaders."
Zi Lin Ling asked doubtfully, "Senior, what does this have to do with the Seal Land?"
Zhan Lan Xing Hun replied, "The Seal Land is a product of that world-shattering war."
Zi Lin Ling became even more curious and asked, "What kind of world-shattering war was it?"
Zhan Lan Xing Hun said, "When Ancestral God left Zhan Lan Star, he entrusted a Chaos Spirit Treasure to the then Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi, repeatedly admonishing her not to reveal its existence to anyone unless the world was on the brink of destruction.
"Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi solemnly stored the Chaos Spirit Treasure and, evading the other eight guardians, created a separate space to hide it within."
Zi Lin Ling asked, "And then what happened?"
"Later, Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi, War Venerable Xuanyuan Tian, and Celestial Venerable Xi Zhi He all fell in love with Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi at the same time. To gain Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi's approval, the three displayed their unique abilities and employed all their efforts.
"This caused great distress to Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi. In her heart, she had long loved Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi, but fearing she would damage the camaraderie among the Nine Great Guardians, she could only bury her feelings deep within her heart.
"Time flowed like water, and years passed like a shuttle.
"The more Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi remained unresponsive, the more intense the three's pursuit became. Until one day, Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi secretly brought Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi to the space where the Chaos Spirit Treasure was located.
"It turned out she wanted to quietly express her feelings to Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi. But as the two entered the space, the Chaos Spirit Treasure emitted a brilliant light and automatically appeared before them.
"It transpired that over these tens of thousands of years, the Chaos Spirit Treasure had developed sentience. It suddenly saw a second person besides Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi and couldn't help but leap out.
"Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi was startled. He grabbed the Chaos Spirit Treasure and asked Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi about its origin.
"Seeing that the Chaos Spirit Treasure had been discovered by Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi, Mother Venerable Feng Li Xi no longer concealed it and told Father Venerable Bao Feng Xi about Ancestral God's instructions."