SFS Chapter 296 Departure
Chapter 296 Departure
The sound of bells echoed in the early morning sky, and several people walked quickly on the way to the alchemy conference.
"Wait." The Saint suddenly stopped and took out a jade bottle from her sleeve. "This is for you."
Liu Ruyan took the jade bottle, opened it, and sniffed it: "Is this... a wake-up incense?"
"Well, I made it specially. It will be useful later." A hint of cunning flashed in the saint's eyes.
Zi Xiao curled her lips and said, "You are well prepared."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the venue of the alchemy conference. It was a wide square with dozens of alchemy furnaces placed around it, and an alchemist stood in front of each furnace.
"There are quite a lot of people here." Liu Ruyan opened her folding fan, covering half of her face. "It seems like everyone wants to join in the fun."
There was a high platform in the center of the square, on which sat several white-haired old men.
Leading the group was an old man in a green Taoist robe, who was none other than Xuan Qingzi, the master of Danwang Valley.
"Xuan Qingzi, that old bastard." Zi Xiao sneered, "He's just putting on an act."
The Saint glanced at her and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Find a seat first."
As he was speaking, a short young man ran over and said, "Lady Saint, your seat is over here."
The young man's name was Xiao Qi, and he was a handyman at Danwang Valley. On weekdays, he was responsible for cleaning the alchemy room and collecting medicinal herbs.
The Saint nodded and followed. Liu Ruyan also wanted to follow, but was stopped by Xiao Qi: "Fairy Liu's place is over there."
"Why?" Liu Ruyan narrowed her eyes. "I can't be with the Saint?"
Xiao Qi shrank his neck: "This is the arrangement of the Valley Master..."
"That's fine." The Saint said, "Let her come with me."
"This..." Xiao Qi looked around in embarrassment.
The Saint took out a pill from her sleeve and handed it to Xiao Qi: "Thank you for your hard work."
Xiao Qi's eyes lit up and he quickly took it: "You are so polite, Lady Saint. Please come this way."
Liu Ruyan covered her mouth and chuckled: "You are quite skilled in bribery."
"I'll learn from you." The saint said lightly.
The two came to the designated location, which was a furnace near the platform.
The alchemy furnace was pitch black, with intricate runes engraved on it.
"This alchemy furnace..." Liu Ruyan frowned, "Why does it look familiar?"
"It's Xuan Ji's natal alchemy furnace." The saint said, taking out a jade talisman from her sleeve and sticking it on the alchemy furnace.
The runes on the surface of the alchemy furnace suddenly lit up with a faint light, and then returned to normal.
"What did you do?" Liu Ruyan asked curiously.
"To prevent any accidents." The Saint said, and took out a few more jade bottles, "These are the medicinal herbs we will use later."
Liu Ruyan picked up a jade bottle and looked at it: "Soul-devouring Flower? You want to refine..."
"Shh." The Saint made a gesture to silence the voice, "Don't say it."
At this time, Xuan Qingzi on the high platform stood up and looked around: "My fellow Daoists, today is the annual alchemy conference of Danwang Valley.
The rules have changed this year. Each alchemist can freely choose to refine any elixir, but must complete it within two hours."
There was a buzz of discussion from the audience. In previous years, the alchemy conference had always assigned recipes, but this year, it was changed to free creation, which surprised many people.
"This old fox." Liu Ruyan sneered, "He wants to see who has the best pill formula."
The Saint said noncommittally: "Preparation begins."
Sure enough, as soon as Xuan Qingzi finished speaking, a bell rang across the sky.
The alchemy conference officially begins.
The alchemists in front of the furnaces immediately became busy, some were mixing medicinal materials, and some were controlling the temperature of the fire.
The entire square was filled with the aroma of medicine.
The saint took out the herbs calmly and began to put them into the furnace in a specific order.
Liu Ruyan opened her folding fan and gently waved it to add fire to the alchemy furnace.
"You two work in perfect harmony." Zi Xiao said from the side.
Liu Ruyan blinked: "Of course, we are..."
Before he could finish his words, a fragrant breeze suddenly blew over. A woman in red came slowly towards him. It was none other than Hongxiu, whom he had met earlier in Xuanji Courtyard.
"Saint." Hongxiu bowed and said, "I have made all the preparations as you instructed."
The Saint nodded: "Very good, listen to my orders later."
Hongxiu responded and turned to leave. Liu Ruyan looked at her from behind and asked, "How are you going to use this girl?"
"You'll know soon enough," the Saint said, taking out a small red bottle from her bosom. "Now, it's time to add the main ingredient."
The saint poured the liquid in the red bottle into the alchemy furnace. The liquid immediately boiled and a bloody smell filled the air.
"This is..." Liu Ruyan's eyes widened. "Real dragon blood?"
"Shh." The Saint made a gesture to silence the voice, "Don't let anyone hear."
As he was speaking, a sharp voice came: "Hey, isn't this the Saint Lady?"
An old man in a green robe walked over. It was Mo Qingshan, the elder of Danwang Valley.
He said sarcastically, "I heard that you got Xuan Ji's natal alchemy furnace. I wonder if you are used to using it?"
The Saint said without raising her head: "Thanks to the elder, it was used very well."
"Really?" Mo Qingshan sneered, "I see black air swirling around your alchemy furnace. I'm afraid something might be wrong."
Liu Ruyan clenched her folding fan tightly. "Elder Mo, are you cursing the Saint?"
"No, no." Mo Qingshan waved his hand, "I'm just reminding you kindly.
That old man Xuanji's alchemy furnace is tainted with the alchemy demon's energy, and it will backfire if you're not careful."
The Saint said calmly: "Thank you for the reminder, but I know my limits."
"Hmph." Mo Qingshan turned and left. "Don't come crying and beg me later."
After he walked away, Liu Ruyan spat, "This old man, you can tell at first glance that he's not a good person."
"It's okay." The Saint took out a packet of medicinal powder from her sleeve and sprinkled it into the alchemy furnace. "He will soon stop laughing."
As time passed, the atmosphere in the square became increasingly tense.
Some alchemists have already started collecting pills, while others are still preparing medicinal materials.
Suddenly, a scream was heard. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw an alchemist lying on the ground, his alchemy furnace blown to pieces.
"Another one." Zi Xiao said, "This is the third one."
The Saint checked the time: "It's almost time."
She winked at Liu Ruyan, who nodded knowingly and fanned the door harder.
The flames in the alchemy furnace suddenly surged.
At this moment, Hongxiu suddenly ran over and said, "Saint, something bad has happened!"
"what happened?"
"Elder Mo said there's something wrong with your alchemy furnace and wants to send someone to check it out."
The Saint's lips curled up slightly: "You came just in time."
Sure enough, Mo Qingshan came over with several disciples from Danwang Valley.
He pointed at the Saint's alchemy furnace and said, "This alchemy furnace is surrounded by black air, there is obviously something wrong.
Come, check it for me!"
Just as several disciples were about to step forward, the alchemy furnace suddenly made a roar.
A blood-red beam of light shot up into the sky and turned into a blood dragon circling in the air.
"This is..." Mo Qingshan's face changed drastically, "Blood Demon Pill!"
Xuan Qingzi on the high platform stood up and said, "Stop!"
But it was too late. The blood dragon opened its mouth and pounced towards Mo Qingshan.
Mo Qingshan quickly took out a jade talisman and tried to resist.
At this moment, the Saint suddenly made a gesture, and the blood dragon instantly split into dozens of small dragons, flying in all directions.
"Not good!" Mo Qingshan shouted, "Stop them quickly!"
But those blood dragons were extremely fast and they drilled into the other alchemists' furnaces in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, all the furnaces in the entire square began to vibrate.
"Boom!" With a loud bang, more than a dozen alchemy furnaces exploded simultaneously. Countless medicinal materials were shattered and the scene was in chaos.
"How could this happen?" Mo Qingshan panicked, "These alchemy furnaces..."
The Saint Girl sneered: "Didn't Elder Mo say that there was something wrong with my alchemy furnace?
Now it seems that the problem is not just with me."
She pointed at the exploded alchemy furnaces and said, "Are these furnaces refining forbidden elixirs?"
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar at the scene. Xuan Qingzi's face turned pale: "Mo Qingshan!
How is this going? "
Mo Qingshan knelt on the ground, trembling all over: "Valley Master, I..."
"No need to say more." Xuan Qingzi waved his hand, "Come here, take him away!"
Several guards stepped forward and dragged Mo Qingshan away. Xuan Qingzi looked at the Saint: "Saint, what is your intention in doing this?"
The Saint handed over a jade slip and said, "Valley Master, please take a look. This is the evidence left by Xuan Ji, proving that Mo Qingshan and others have been secretly refining banned elixirs."
Xuan Qingzi took the jade slip and examined it, his expression becoming increasingly grim. After a while, he sighed, "It's because I failed to discipline you properly.
Let’s leave it at that for today.”
The Saint nodded: "Valley Master is very perceptive."
After Xuan Qingzi left, Liu Ruyan came over and asked, "Have you already planned this?"
"What else?" The Saint said with a smile, "These people usually do a lot of evil, it's time to deal with them."
Zi Xiao looked at the mess on the ground and said, "It's getting lively now. I'm afraid the alchemy conference will end early."
"That's perfect." The Saint took out the map, "It's time for us to set off."
Liu Ruyan's eyes lit up: "Go treasure hunting?"
"Hmm." The Saint pointed to the mark on the map, "There's an interesting place here, it's worth a visit."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Liu Ruyan put away her folding fan. "Let's go now!"