"Mr. Ye, are you satisfied with this outcome?" Fu Song asked, turning to Ye Bufan after getting approval.
Ye Bufan did not speak, but nodded. Fu Song took this as tacit agreement to Song Mingqin's proposal and heaved a sigh of relief, a weight lifted from his heart.
The elder standing beside Fu Song still looked at Ye Bufan with displeasure.
"Grand Elder," Fu Song signaled with his eyes, but the elder remained disgruntled as he eyed Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan noticed the elder's expression and realized he was still bothered by Ye Bufan's comments about their alchemy techniques.
However, Ye Bufan was in no position to care. Under Lin Xiaoyao's tutelage, his alchemy skills were, in Lin Xiaoyao's words, unmatched below the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
As Ye Bufan's cultivation grew, the difficulty of the pills he could refine would also increase. Although he could currently concoct some Heaven-grade pills, it took a considerable amount of time. Once his cultivation reached a certain level, this time would be greatly reduced.
Ye Bufan looked down on Ruyi Sect's alchemy; in fact, he scorned most of the existing alchemy methods in the Nine Provinces, with the exception of those passed down from ancient times.
With Song Mingqin's arrangement, Ye Bufan also summoned Zhu Zizhen. Ruyi Sect was respectful, and Fu Song was willing to humble himself to apologize to Zhu Zizhen. Zhu Zizhen glanced at Ye Bufan and, receiving a nod of affirmation, accepted the apology.
This act by Fu Song somewhat improved Ye Bufan's opinion of him. At least for the sake of the sect, Fu Song could be both decisive and accommodating, willing to set aside his pride to resolve issues.
With Song Mingqin presiding, most matters were resolved. Fu Song looked for an opportunity to slip away.
However, Ruyi Sect's Grand Elder remained fixated on Ye Bufan's remarks about alchemy. Seeing the elder's unhappiness, Zhu Zizhen asked Song Mingqin and learned that he was provoked by Ye Bufan's words.
"I say, if my master says you're lacking, then you're lacking. That's the truth," Zhu Zizhen stated. "What's the point of brooding over it? Will it help you improve your alchemy skills?"
Song Mingqin gasped. He hadn't expected Zhu Zizhen, despite his aged appearance, to be so blunt.
"What did you say?" Ruyi Sect's Grand Elder turned to Zhu Zizhen. After being mocked by Ye Bufan, he was now being ridiculed by Zhu Zizhen. No one could tolerate this.
"Zhu Zizhen, is it? Don't get smug. If you didn't have Ye Bufan as your master, you'd be nothing," Ruyi Sect's Grand Elder shouted at Zhu Zizhen.
Hearing this, Zhu Zizhen's pride was piqued. "Oh really? When we fought your disciples, wasn't it your underhanded tactics that led to your defeat? Otherwise, you would have responded to me?"
Ye Bufan turned to look at Zhu Zizhen. Zhu Zizhen had mentioned this matter to him before, but the elder of Ruyi Sect seemed very unconvinced.
"Heh! Such big talk! Why don't we have a competition?" Ruyi Sect's Grand Elder challenged Zhu Zizhen.
Zhu Zizhen heard this and turned to Ye Bufan.
"Go ahead and compete. Just use the alchemy methods I taught you. If you can perform to your usual standard, winning will be a piece of cake," Ye Bufan's voice reached Zhu Zizhen's ears. With Ye Bufan's consent, Zhu Zizhen was instantly filled with confidence.
"But just competing in alchemy is too boring. Let's set some stakes," Zhu Zizhen grinned slyly.
Ruyi Sect's Grand Elder sneered and replied, "Fine! Very well! If I win, you cannot claim any of the things our Ruyi Sect promised you earlier."
"And if I win?" Zhu Zizhen inquired.
"Hmph! If you win, I, Liu Zhongsheng, will write my name backwards, and I'll even take you as my master," the elder declared. "From now on, you can use any alchemy materials I can access within Ruyi Sect. You can even move freely within Ruyi Sect."
"Deal!" Zhu Zizhen readily agreed.
"Enough talk. Let's compete now," Zhu Zizhen said. "How about we compete with that Foundation Establishment Pill your Ruyi Sect recently refined?"
"Bring it on, I'm not afraid of you?" Liu Zhongsheng coldly snorted. Then, witnessed by Ye Bufan, Song Mingqin, and the people of Ruyi Sect, both individuals produced an alchemy furnace.
With a wave of his hand, Ye Bufan conjured the medicinal ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill before both men.
At this moment, not only Fu Song, but even the previously unconvinced Grand Elder Liu Zhongsheng, felt a sense of awe upon seeing the ingredients provided by Ye Bufan.
This was not for any other reason than the fact that the ingredients provided by Ye Bufan were not only fresh but also of superior quality. Even Ruyi Sect's current Hundred Herbs Garden could not cultivate herbs of such caliber.
Little did they know that within Ye Bufan's Taiyi Ring, there was an entire spiritual vein, and the Hundred Vegetables Garden of the Taiyi Divine Sect was quite extensive. Nurtured by the spiritual vein, the herbs were of the highest quality.
Zhu Zizhen and Liu Zhongsheng exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and began igniting their furnaces to refine pills.
Liu Zhongsheng's expression was stern. When he looked at Zhu Zizhen, his eyes were filled with mockery. In his eyes, how could Zhu Zizhen be capable? A cultivator who had just begun their journey into cultivation, trying to refine a high-grade orange Foundation Establishment Pill, was like trying to ascend to heaven.
Zhu Zizhen did not even glance at Liu Zhongsheng. Instead, he took a deep breath. Ye Bufan had been away for a long time, and this alchemy competition was directly considered a test from Ye Bufan.
"Suction Palm!" After igniting the fire, Zhu Zizhen, without waiting for the flames to fully rise, used the Suction Palm technique to directly refine the medicinal ingredients into powder.
"Eh~" this maneuver stunned the people of Ruyi Sect. According to their process, they would at least wait until the fire was stable before refining the ingredients into powder, as otherwise, the powder produced would be uneven.
Zhu Zizhen's actions made the people of Ruyi Sect inwardly pleased, all believing that Zhu Zizhen was bound to lose.
But they were unaware that Zhu Zizhen was refining each herb according to its properties and the intensity of the fire. This was also taught to Zhu Zizhen by Ye Bufan, as Zhu Zizhen currently lacked the ability to control the flames and could only refine based on the laws of fire.
In a short while, Zhu Zizhen had refined all the medicinal ingredients into powder. A medicinal fragrance wafted from his alchemy furnace. In contrast, Liu Zhongsheng on the Ruyi Sect side was just beginning to refine the last ingredient into powder.
The comparison in speed, coupled with the medicinal fragrance emanating from Zhu Zizhen's furnace, immediately put Liu Zhongsheng under pressure.