Chapter 309: Fake Elixir?

“A pill!”

“This is… a Crimson Gold Pill?!”

Everyone stared, utterly bewildered, at the golden pill in Xu Xiaoshou’s hand.

A furnace explosion of that magnitude, one that even sent Yun He directly unconscious on the spot, and you’re telling me this was a normal pill refinement process?

Saying it was bad enough. But after saying it, you actually pulled out a pill from the dregs?!

Shi Ti was dumbfounded. He stared blankly at Xu Xiaoshou’s pill, then looked up at the young man’s face.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, it’s really just been refined,” Xu Xiaoshou said with a serious expression. “I told you, everything I did just now was part of a normal pill refinement process.”

Shi Ti took the pill and sniffed it; it was an unconscious action. Yet, even without this action, just by feeling the pill’s temperature and smelling its fresh aroma, he knew.

This was indeed a freshly refined pill.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn't lied!

But…

He looked up, stunned, and scanned the onlookers. Had his only outburst of swearing in decades been wrong? If he were to admit that, what would be the point of his outburst just now? Where would Guild Leader Shi Ti put his face?

This pill wasn't a Crimson Gold Pill; it was more like a resounding slap, mercilessly delivered to his own furious face from moments ago!

Shi Ti remembered. He thought again of Old Man Sang's letter…

“Tolerance is a virtue.”

“Generosity is a sign of cultivation.”

“Cough, cough!” Shi Ti suddenly clutched his chest and began coughing violently.

Everyone watched the bowed Guild Leader. Then they gazed at the pill in his hand again. Initially, everyone disbelieved, even those who, like Shi Ti, possessed the ability to discern pills. But wasn't the Guild Leader’s reaction enough to prove the matter?

“Is this really a freshly refined pill?” Fu Yinhong hesitated completely. She stepped forward and took the Crimson Gold Pill from the Guild Leader's hand.

It was warm and truly fragrant. She felt as if her soul had taken a painful blow.

“How is this possible?”

Could someone truly achieve this, amidst a furnace explosion…

Fu Yinhong suddenly realized that everyone had seemed to disbelieve Xu Xiaoshou from the very beginning. Yet, his words, though sounding outrageous, now seemed to contain not a single falsehood upon reflection!

“This pill, did you truly refine it through a normal pill refinement process?”

Xu Xiaoshou gave a wry smile: “If there’s an abnormal pill refinement process, why don’t you teach me?”

Everyone fell silent. After a long while, an uproar finally resounded in the great hall.

“How is this possible? I, Old Deng, refuse to believe it a thousand times over; this Crimson Gold Pill must have been pulled out from a spatial ring!”

“Pulled out? How would you simulate that medicinal aroma, that temperature?!”

“Heating it up? You just need to instantly apply fire-element spiritual energy to heat it.”

“What about the medicinal aroma? Didn't you smell a faint burnt scent hidden within that aroma?”

“Where?”

“No need to smell it now, it's long gone. You could only smell that when it was freshly refined. Your cultivation level isn't high enough, so naturally, you couldn’t smell it, but truly top-tier alchemists can discern it.”

“Are you insulting me?”

“Don't believe me? Go ask the Guild Leader then!”

Everyone turned their gaze back to Shi Ti, following the discussion.

Shi Ti was still hunched over, immersed in endless painful contemplation. The Crimson Gold Pill was real… Then what was the point of his roar, his alchemy room, his Pill Tower…?

“What have I done? What should I do?”

Shi Ti felt his mind go blank; he was too enraged. But at the peak of his rage, just as he wanted to vent, someone suddenly doused him with a basin of cold water, chilling him to the bone, from body to soul.

“Sigh.”

The group of old folks looked at Shi Ti's crestfallen face and couldn't help but sigh. This blow was truly a bit too much.

“Where’s Old Yun?”

“Let’s ask him when he wakes up?”

Someone suggested. This Crimson Gold Pill, no matter how genuine, still needed a witness to confirm it. And the witness was currently a bloody mess.

Upon hearing this, Shi Ti's body trembled, and a gleam returned to his eyes. With a gentle wave of his hand, Yun He's eyelids fluttered, and he awoke.

“What… did you see?” the Guild Leader asked, his voice trembling. He wanted a negative answer from Yun He, to give him a legitimate reason to vent and expel the young man from the Pill Tower.

Yun He looked at Shi Ti, then suddenly glanced back at Xu Xiaoshou, his outstretched finger trembling. “He…”

“Cheated, right?” Someone nearby leaned in, eagerly adding.

“No!”

Yun He struggled free from the hands that were supporting him, his face filled with excitement. “Technique! A pill refinement technique I've never seen before, a miraculous technique!”

Shi Ti's face turned pale.

Yun He was shouting and jumping, completely oblivious to his image. “That kid, his refining of medicinal liquids was too fast. That technique was truly terrifying; I've never seen it before. It was like stir-frying a dish; with just a few flips, the pill was formed! And that Spirit Gathering Recirculation Technique… reducing the liquid! Little brother, your description is truly too apt; it's exactly like real liquid reduction! This was an overly bold attempt! Under the premise of precise heat control, using the recirculation technique to gather the medicinal properties – it's simply a genius idea! And the Pill Condensation method, if I’m not mistaken…”

“Yun He!” Shi Ti shouted loudly. His face was already ashen, couldn't get any more ashen. “I woke you up to testify! What's the meaning of you yelling about all this nonsense as soon as you wake up? Stir-frying? Reducing liquid? Do you have any proper decorum left?! This is pill refinement, not cooking! Calm down!” Shi Ti roared.

Yun He immediately snapped out of his excitement. He looked at the crowd, who all had expressions as if looking at an idiot, and felt like crying but had no tears. Once upon a time, he, too, had worn such an expression while watching that kid refine pills. However, facts proved that all of it was wrong; everyone had been deceived. Or rather, not deceived, but trapped by their own subjective cognitive inertia. This Xu Xiaoshou truly had some real skill!

“I only ask you…” Shi Ti took a gentle breath, his lips trembling, and said, “Was this pill just refined by Xu Xiaoshou?”

Yun He glanced at the young man standing silently to the side. The latter shrugged indifferently, seemingly unconcerned about what he would say.

“Guild Leader, you truly misunderstood him.”

“Although this kid is reckless and blew me up to serious injury, frankly speaking, regarding his way of pill refinement…” As Yun He spoke, a fervent light appeared in his eyes. “I completely endorse it!”

Everyone was astonished by Yun He's resolute tone. What kind of ability could make someone who was nearly dead wake up and unequivocally defend their assailant?

Shi Ti was also stunned. He lowered his head, looked at the pill, and closed his eyes deeply.

“If everyone still needs a definitive answer…” Yun He looked around at everyone and declared resolutely, “This pill was indeed refined by Xu Xiaoshou, just now!”