Shen Xiang took out the thousand-year Blood Ganoderma and said, "This is the thousand-year Blood Ganoderma."
Previously, everyone had heard that Shen Xiang possessed this thousand-year Blood Ganoderma, but seeing it in person still surprised them, as it was indeed a rare medicinal herb.
"Of course, with just this bet, wouldn't that mean I'm looking down on the Yao family? So I'll add half a piece of Hell Ganoderma!" Another piece of black ganoderma appeared in Shen Xiang's other hand.
Although half of the Hell Ganoderma had been consumed by Bai Youyou and Su Meiyao, the remaining half was still very precious.
At this moment, several elders jumped onto the stage without hesitation, while Shen Tianhu and several elders from the Shen family also flew up, as this was the legendary Hell Ganoderma!
The entire square fell into a dead silence as everyone saw the grayish-black Hell Ganoderma. However, they were still in disbelief. They knew that the knowledgeable elders had jumped up to verify it, and even the elder from the Yao family stepped onto the stage to inspect the Hell Ganoderma.
"That's right, this is the Hell Ganoderma!" the Master of the Pill Pavilion exclaimed, a hint of jealousy and envy in his voice as his old eyes stared fervently at the half piece of black ganoderma in Shen Xiang's hand.
With the confirmation, a wave of exclamations erupted from the crowd. Everyone was discussing how Shen Xiang had taken out half of the Hell Ganoderma and the thousand-year Blood Ganoderma as his bet, which was an enormous wager that not just any family could afford.
"What is your wager?" Shen Xiang looked at Yao Tianhua and the elder beside him.
Both Yao Tianhua and the elder's expressions turned grim. Anyone who was a pill-refining expert knew what the Hell Ganoderma represented. It was a profound-grade spiritual herb, and spiritual-grade herbs were already rare, so they understood the value.
"Thousand-year Beast Dan, Thousand Fruit!" the elder said.
The thousand-year Beast Dan was a pellet formed from the essence left behind by a beast that had lived for a thousand years after its death. This kind of beast dan was very helpful in alchemy, while the Thousand Fruit was also a profound-grade spiritual herb, said to bear fruit only once every thousand years, with a thousand patterns on the surface, and was a main ingredient for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.
The Yao family's wager was equally astonishing, causing the crowd to gasp again. If they won, it would definitely be a big profit!
"Alright, let's settle on that!" Shen Xiang agreed.
"Now, let me explain the rules. The main competition will be in alchemy; whoever refines the best pill in the shortest amount of time will win. The quality of the pills will be judged by everyone," the elder from the Yao family stated.
Shen Xiang had no objections, and Shen Tianhu patted his shoulder to encourage him. Shen Xiang and Yao Tianhua took out their alchemy furnaces for some elders to inspect to prevent cheating.
After the inspection, everyone else left the stage, announcing that the competition had begun.
Shen Xiang quickly placed a bag of medicinal materials into his alchemy furnace. Yao Tianhua did not see Shen Xiang's materials clearly, feeling somewhat displeased because he couldn't figure out what pill Shen Xiang was refining.
Yao Tianhua was still very confident of winning, as he was from the Yao family and had superior materials. In his opinion, no one could refine better pills than him at the same level.
Looking at Yao Tianhua's radiant alchemy furnace, Shen Xiang felt a pang of jealousy. His shabby furnace was simply too inferior, and many people believed that Shen Xiang was certain to lose.
"Using this alchemy furnace for refining pills is ridiculous! It's even worse than the soup pot my family uses!" a youth laughed, and others joined in the laughter.
Only those with some knowledge of alchemy understood that refining pills was not about the furnace but about the alchemist. A master alchemist could succeed without a furnace.
Shen Xiang was refining the Washing Marrow Pill. He had seen the medicinal materials Yao Tianhua put into the furnace and could tell he was refining a pill called "Spirit Source Pill," a low-grade ordinary pill that assisted in cultivation. This pill was among the most expensive in the low-grade category and was quite challenging to refine. Many contestants in alchemy competitions often refined this type of pill, as it tested the alchemist's grasp of the medicinal properties.
Shen Xiang had refined this pill before, but it was relatively expensive; thus, he hadn't made many.
The wait for the results was tedious, and the crowd chatted and drank while watching the two young alchemists on stage.
To successfully refine the Washing Marrow Pill, Shen Xiang was cautious and didn't pursue speed, carefully refining the ingredients.
After more than half an hour, Shen Xiang finally turned all the materials into powder. The furnace was filled with colorful "medicinal spirit energy." Now, he needed to merge the different types of medicinal spirit energy together and then combine it with the powdered herbs. This was the most laborious and critical process; any mistake could lead to an explosion.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. At this point, Shen Xiang wore a serious expression, sweat streaming down his forehead, while Yao Tianhua seemed relaxed. He occasionally glanced at Shen Xiang, feeling secretly pleased. He could tell Shen Xiang was at a critical juncture and was likely to make a mistake.
"I've finished! Five Spirit Source Pills!" Yao Tianhua suddenly shouted, prompting a wave of exclamations from the crowd. At this moment, Shen Xiang had yet to finish, and everyone could see Shen Xiang's tense expression, clearly facing a dilemma.
"Indeed, the Yao family's genius lives up to his reputation! He refined five Spirit Source Pills in just two hours! This is the best among low-grade ordinary pills. It seems that kid from the Shen family is certain to lose," someone remarked.
"I heard the Spirit Source Pill is not easy to refine. Could it be that the Shen family kid is also refining this pill? If so, it looks like he is definitely going to lose since he is lagging behind by a large margin in terms of time," another person chimed in.
The crowd buzzed with speculation about whether Shen Xiang would lose, especially since he had wagered so heavily.
Yao Tianhua waited for Shen Xiang, secretly feeling pleased. He believed Shen Xiang would surely lose, and he would soon win the thousand-year Blood Ganoderma and the Hell Ganoderma, gaining fame in the Southern Martial Kingdom.
Shen Xiang did not keep everyone waiting for long. He let out a long sigh and said, "Finally refined successfully!"
Hearing Shen Xiang speak, the crowd fell silent, only to hear Yao Tianhua mockingly say, "So what? You're still going to lose!"
Shen Xiang smiled faintly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "I've refined three Washing Marrow Pills; please check!"
Three Washing Marrow Pills! This left everyone dumbfounded, unable to believe their ears. They doubted if they had heard wrong; Shen Xiang had actually refined a mid-grade Washing Marrow Pill, which was worth much more than the Spirit Source Pill!
"Impossible! He's only sixteen; he could never have refined the Washing Marrow Pill!" the Master of the Pill Pavilion yelled, rushing onto the stage, and several elders also flew up rapidly. Shen Tianhu had already arrived at Shen Xiang's side early on.
"Shen Xiang, this isn't the time for jokes," Yao Tianhua said, equally unable to believe that Shen Xiang could refine the Washing Marrow Pill. The overwhelming majority of those present could not accept it either.
Shen Xiang smiled and calmly said, "Please check, everyone!"