"Just wait and see!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. Instead of explaining himself, he raised his head and bellowed, "Senior from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, please wait a moment!"
The gray-robed young man turned around and looked at Zhang Xuan with a frown.
Zhang Xuan's lips curled up as he said, "Senior, your answer isn't correct. Isn't it a little unfair for you to take the Ethereal Token and leave just like that?"
Zhang Xuan's voice was so loud that it drowned out the voices in the surroundings. Everyone turned to look at him as if they were looking at a monster.
That was an expert from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, and yet, he dared to say that he was wrong.
Was he tired of living?
The gray-robed young man also halted his footsteps with a frown.
"Dan Xiaotian, if you don't want to die, you'd better watch your servant's mouth!"
Xue Qin's face turned livid with rage.
The mummy was the one who had spouted nonsense in the Dan Clan earlier. She had not stoop to his level, but who could have thought that the other party would dare to spout nonsense here?
"He's not a servant. He's … my teacher …" Dan Xiaotian stammered in panic.
"Teacher? No matter what, the Dan Clan was once a prestigious clan. Since when did you fall to the point where even a nobody can become your teacher? "Xue Qin sneered disdainfully.
"It's none of your business who Dan Xiaotian acknowledges as his teacher, right? Could it be that... you want to be his fiancée? "Zhang Xuan asked with a smile.
"You …"
Xue Qin's body stiffened.
Noticing her reaction, the gray-robed young man glared at the mummy coldly and said, "Are you saying that my answer isn't correct?"
"That's right!" Zhang Xuan nodded. "Do you dare to make a bet with me? The loser can do whatever they want with him! "
"You sure are gutsy to speak to me in such a manner," the gray-robed young man said impassively. "I want to know the reason behind your 'incorrect' answer!"
"I don't need a reason. All you need to do is find an apothecary to gather all of the medicinal herbs and forge the pill according to the answer you just gave. Once the pill is formed, you'll know the result! "
Zhang Xuan said. "If you don't believe me, why don't you find someone to give it a try?"
"Alchemy?" Frowning, the gray-robed young man scanned the surroundings, and while the crowd did not say a word, there was a perplexed look on their faces. Thus, he paused for a moment before beckoning for an apothecary to come over.
The young man behind him turned around and left the room. Not too long later, the middle-aged man who had brought the Ethereal Token over returned with two apothecaries.
"Refine according to the method just now!"
The middle-aged man instructed.
The alchemist quickly prepared the medicinal ingredients and added them one by one according to the alchemy sequence written on it. When he added the Scorching Fire Grass Root, he changed it to Spiritual Mother Grass.
As soon as the medicinal ingredients entered the pill furnace, there was a sizzling sound. One of the alchemists could no longer control it, and the pill furnace violently shook, exploding on the spot.
Fortunately, there were protective measures in place, so no one was hurt.
However, even so, it was still extremely dangerous. Everyone was so frightened that they all retreated to the wall with worried expressions.
The second apothecary was slightly stronger, and he managed to control the reaction of the medicinal pill. An hour later, the medicinal pill came out of the cauldron, and its surface glowed brightly. His luck was extremely good, and not only was the pill formed, it was also at the level of Perfection.
"Not bad!"
The gray-robed young man nodded in satisfaction. He turned to another young man not too far away and said, "The cultivation technique you practice seems to be a pure yang cultivation technique. Give it a try!"
"Yes!"
The gray-robed young man swallowed the pill, and the medicinal energy swiftly dissolved into his body. His face immediately reddened, and he quickly sat down cross-legged. He drove his zhenqi in an attempt to neutralize the medicinal energy, but the more he tried to suppress it, the stronger the rebound became. In the blink of an eye, white smoke was already rising from his head.
Not too long later, his eyes began to redden.
"Ahhh! I can't take it anymore!"
Unable to hold it in any longer, the gray-robed young man rushed up to a middle-aged woman who was watching the commotion and tore her clothes.
Si la!
A huge chunk of her clothes was torn off, and the gray-robed young man was just about to rush over to do something indescribable when a sharp pain suddenly struck the back of his head, and he fainted onto the ground.
The gray-robed young man from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion had made a move.
The fact that the middle-aged man had ended up in such a state after consuming the pill was more than enough to show that the pill formula he had provided was unable to neutralize the hidden effects of the Yang Fostering Pill. On the contrary, it was even worse than before, resulting in an uncontrollable side effect.
"There are indeed some problems with my modified pill formula, but … how did you know? What's the correct answer? "
The gray-robed young man asked with an awful look on his face.
To be honest, he had heard of this problem before coming to Xuanjiang City, and he had studied it for a very long time.
The reason he had done so was so that he could establish a strong reputation for himself in Xuanjiang City.
Who could have thought that he would end up getting slapped in the face instead?
As displeased as he was, he knew that he couldn't fly into a rage.
Otherwise, he would only embarrass himself further.
"The correct answer is very simple …" Zhang Xuan chuckled as he whispered in Dan Xiaotian's ears. The latter looked at him with a perplexed expression, but after confirming that he wasn't joking with him, he walked up and took out his brush. Soon, he was done, and he handed it over.
The red glow shone brightly.
The gray-robed young man frowned. "The person in charge of the examination is right here. Read it out!"
The person in charge of the examination was right here, so what was the point of trying to figure out the answer?
Since the person in charge of the Hongyan Trading Firm was here, it would be better for him to just read it out loud.
"Yes!"
Dan Xiaotian shot a glance at his teacher, and after receiving the latter's confirmation, he awkwardly read out the answer he had just written. "I changed the Inferno Grass Root to the Spirit Matriarch Grass!"
"This …"
"Are my ears playing tricks on me?"
"I think it's the same answer as that expert over there!"
The crowd fell silent for a moment before a huge commotion broke out.
The gray-robed young man narrowed his eyes, and a cold glint flashed across his eyes. "Are you messing with me?"
He had confidently said that he was wrong, but the other party had come up with the same answer as well. What the heck was going on?
Not only was the crowd furious, even Dan Xiaotian felt his head spinning. He had no idea what his teacher was up to.
Playing a joke on an expert like that could cost him his life!
"You are thinking too much …" Zhang Xuan shook his head. He turned to Dan Xiaotian and said, "There's a label behind the Spirit Matriarch Grass.
"I see …" Dan Xiaotian nodded. "After the Spirit Matriarch Grass, there's a parenthesis. It's not local!"
"Not local? What does that mean? "
This time, everyone was a little confused. Even the gray-robed young man was a little confused.
Was there a difference between the Spirit Matriarch Grass and the non-local?
"Of course there's a difference!"
"This Yang Nurturing Pill is used to consolidate the pure yang attribute of the cultivator of the Pure Yang Cultivation Technique. Under normal circumstances, replacing the Inferno Grass Root with the Spiritual Matriarch Grass is indeed the most suitable method. In fact, in other places, the pill refined using this method can even resolve the hidden danger mentioned on the wall!"
Zhang Xuan walked up to the cauldron and picked up the dregs from the earlier explosion. With a faint smile, he said, "But … it won't work here!"
"Xuanjiang City is named after the Xuanjiang River. This river flows straight to the coast, and the water flowing through it isn't freshwater but saltwater. It's a true saltwater river. "
The crowd nodded in agreement.
While Xuanjiang City wasn't close to the coast, the Xuanjiang River was connected to the sea, and the saltwater flowing through it couldn't be used for irrigation or drinking. It was for this reason that despite its convenient transportation, the city had never been able to develop. In the region governed by the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, it could only be considered as a third-tier city.
It wasn't prosperous at all.
"Due to the fact that the entire Xuanjiang River is saltwater, all of the cultivated lands around the city are salty, and the plants that grow there are salty as well. Let's take the medicinal herbs that were used to forge the pill for example. Take a look and see if there's any difference between these dregs and other medicinal herbs. "
After saying those words, Zhang Xuan raised the finger that he had used to pick up the dregs.
The crowd quickly turned their gazes over, and they saw a layer of white powder on the black mark on his finger. Even though it was faint, they were all Saint realm experts, so it wasn't difficult for them to notice it.
The gray-robed young man also walked up to the dregs and touched them. There was indeed some white powder on the tip of his finger as well. He touched it with the tip of his tongue, and it tasted slightly salty.
"That's right, this is salt!"
Zhang Xuan continued. "The Spirit Matriarch Grass grows in marshlands, and it prefers yin to yang. As soon as it comes into contact with the salty nature of the other medicinal herbs, it will immediately neutralize the yin attribute of the Spirit Matriarch Grass. As such, not only will it be unable to neutralize the frenzied energy of the other medicinal herbs, it will even become even more ferocious due to the loss of the Inferno Grass! That's why that friend of yours didn't even want to make a choice! He simply couldn't wait any longer! "
"This …"
"There's actually such a thing?"
A huge commotion broke out in the crowd.
It was just pill forging, was there a need to be so meticulous?
The gray-robed young man was also taken aback.
Could it really be because of this?
Walking up to the remaining medicinal herbs, he flicked his finger, and a burst of flames burst forth, reducing them to ashes. Lowering his head to take a look, he saw that there was indeed salt in them.
"There can't be the slightest mistake in pill forging. A single mistake in a single step could result in a complete loss. Countless medicinal herbs would be destroyed in an instant. Since you know all of this, you should have considered the location, climate, cauldron, state of mind, and even the technique. A mistake is a mistake. I believe that since this Senior is from the Ascendant Cloud Sword Pavilion, you won't admit to it, right? "
Zhang Xuan said with a smile.
"A mistake is a mistake. I'll admit to it!"
Knowing that there was no way he could refute Zhang Xuan's words, the gray-robed young man flung his sleeves and harrumphed. "This jade token is yours!"
Before Xue Qin could react, the gray-robed young man flicked his wrist, and the jade token in his hand flew toward Zhang Xuan.
"I …"
Xue Qin's face twitched in agony.
It had not even been two hours since she had obtained the treasure, and it was already over.
"I'll accept it then!"
Zhang Xuan stowed the jade token into his robe before turning to look at Xue Qin once more. With a light chuckle, he said, "Right, I mentioned earlier that I would like to make a bet with you, and the loser would be able to do whatever they want with him. You didn't explicitly agree to it, but you didn't explicitly reject it either. Since that's the case, do you think that the bet is still valid?"
The gray-robed young man's face darkened, but he didn't respond. Instead, killing intent flashed in his eyes.
He didn't think that he would be defeated by a fellow from a backwater city!
Seemingly oblivious to the gray-robed young man's rage, Zhang Xuan pointed to Yan Xue and said, "My bet is very simple. Slap Xue Qin three times!"
"What?"
Xue Qin's face warped in horror.
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