Zhou Tian nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. None of these people had let him down. As long as they continued refining at this pace without any mistakes, there wouldn't be any problems.
His gaze shifted toward Xu Yang.
He saw Xu Yang casually pick up a stalk of spirit herb and toss it into the alchemy furnace. Then, he picked up another stalk and tossed it in as well.
Moments later, Xu Yang directly threw an entire pile of spirit herbs into the furnace.
Zhou Tian's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He stared at Xu Yang with an incredulous expression, waiting for the alchemy furnace to emit green smoke and explode with a loud bang.
The number of spirit herbs Xu Yang had just thrown in was enough to refine ten pills.
It seemed certain they were going to win.
Zhou Tian remained motionless, fixating on Xu Yang's furnace, waiting for the imminent explosion.
However, what he saw next left him utterly stunned. Xu Yang's hands moved with lightning speed, skillfully manipulating the process with dexterity and precision, calmly refining the pills.
He waited a long time but never heard the anticipated explosion.
Instead, the scent of pills began wafting from Xu Yang's furnace.
This was the unique fragrance that only emerged when pills were about to be completed!
Even the Yaoshan alchemists, busy refining their own pills, couldn't help but look up at Xu Yang.
Their minds were in complete turmoil.
Earlier, Xu Yang had thrown in so many spirit herbs at once. Not only did the furnace not explode, but could it be that Xu Yang was actually going to succeed?
This was simply unbelievable. It defied all reason.
What happened next was even more astonishing. The fire beneath the furnace gradually dimmed and extinguished.
A rich, overwhelming medicinal aroma filled the air, wafting to everyone's noses.
With a pat on the furnace, ten flawless, pure white pills flew out and landed steadily in Xu Yang's hand.
These ten pills were of ten different types!
It must be noted that each type of pill requires different methods, sequences, and temperatures for refinement.
Yet, what had they just witnessed? Xu Yang had refined ten completely different types of pills in a single furnace.
This scene shattered their understanding of alchemy. Some stared dumbfounded at Xu Yang, not even noticing that their own furnaces had exploded.
Others rubbed their eyes furiously, refusing to believe what they'd just seen.
"What... what did I just witness? Oh heavens, is he a god?"
"He actually refined ten different types of pills in one furnace!"
While the crowd was still in awe, Xu Yang began again.
Just as before, he threw in a massive pile of spirit herbs.
In just a few minutes, another ten completely different pills were refined.
The other alchemists were utterly captivated. They abandoned their own pill refinement entirely, unable to tear their gaze away from Xu Yang, desperate to see how he managed it.
By the time Xu Yang had finished refining a hundred pills, the Yaoshan alchemists hadn't managed to produce a single pill.
More than half of their furnaces had exploded.
This was because they had all stopped refining to watch Xu Yang.
"It seems I've won, haven't I?" Xu Yang calmly put away his furnace and said.
Zhou Tian gave a bitter smile and replied, "Sir, you've won."
Xu Yang looked at the alchemists and said, "A bet is a bet. Now, come to my Tianlan Sect."
What could Zhou Tian say? It was bad enough that he couldn't defeat Xu Yang in combat.
Now, even in alchemy, Xu Yang had crushed them completely.
Although relocating their sect could spell the end of Yaoshan, the alternative was the death of all their alchemists.
Moreover, Zhou Tian reasoned that if they joined the Tianlan Sect and performed well, perhaps Xu Yang might share some of his techniques with them. Even a casual pointer from someone like Xu Yang, who could refine ten types of pills in one furnace, would be immensely beneficial.
With this in mind, Zhou Tian nodded and said, "Fine, a bet is a bet. We'll relocate to the Tianlan Sect tomorrow."
As he spoke, a hint of melancholy flashed in Zhou Tian's eyes.
He had never imagined that the centuries-old Yaoshan would fall in his hands.
But what could he do? Their strength wasn't enough.
Not only were they outmatched in combat, but even their proudest skill—alchemy—was inferior.
Xu Yang, noticing Zhou Tian's despondency, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry. I won't erase your legacy. When you relocate to my Tianlan Sect, you can still call yourselves Yaoshan. You will remain its leader."
The next day, when Xu Yang returned to the Tianlan Sect, the entire sect was abuzz.
The renowned Yaoshan of Qi State was actually relocating to the Tianlan Sect?
Everyone speculated that this wasn't a relocation but rather a merger, with Yaoshan being annexed by the Tianlan Sect.
After settling the Medicine Mountain members on a separate peak, Xu Yang sent them a mountain of spirit herbs for pill refinement.
These herbs were all harvested by Tianlan Sect disciples.
Xu Yang also handed over his alchemical recipes to the Medicine Mountain alchemists.
When they saw the recipes, they were completely engrossed.
"Wow, these recipes... they're incredible!"
"Exactly. These recipes can even turn weeds into pills! This is unbelievable."
Initially, the Yaoshan alchemists were reluctant and grumbling about refining pills. But upon seeing the recipes, they were instantly silenced, immersing themselves in their work.
When they succeeded in using the recipes to turn "weeds" into pills, they were utterly shocked.
It dawned on them that these recipes were priceless treasures.
If leaked, they could change the world.
And yet, Xu Yang had handed them over so casually...
This made them shudder. Would Xu Yang kill them after exploiting their skills?
In just a few days, the Yaoshan alchemists produced a massive batch of pills.
Bottles of pills were distributed to the Tianlan Sect disciples as if they were feeding pigs.
The disciples experienced a blissful period where consuming pills was like eating candy. All of them quickly advanced to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, just one step away from the Golden Core stage.
Next, Xu Yang planned to provide select outstanding disciples with pills to help them break through to the Golden Core stage.
For the rest, they would either have to break through on their own or wait for Xu Yang to gather enough spirit herbs.