Chapter 743: Sinner of the Holy Land, My Shoulder Is Slippery

Chapter 743: Chapter 660: Sinner of the Holy Land, My Shoulder Is Slippery

The best way to deal with bad news was, of course, to stop it from ever happening.

When interests conflict, one must take action instead of simply watching. Watching is useless; you’ll just be ignored.

At the same time, Gongye Zhe saw this as an opportunity. However, it wasn’t enough to usurp Baili Xi just yet.

“When Baili Xi invited those Array Masters, a few Supreme Elders opposed it. In the end, though, Baili Xi still managed to secure their help!”

“They probably felt that successfully repairing it was impossible!”

“After all, repairing the Bloodline Sacrifice Array is incredibly difficult. Even with these Array Masters working together, they could still fail!”

Ding Yuan heard this and continued speaking.

Baili Xi’s actions served the interests of some, but naturally harmed the interests of others. Not everyone supported him.

“Whether the repairs succeed or not, we must try to stop it. At the very least, we need to make our stance clear instead of just standing by and watching.”

“If the attempt to repair the Bloodline Sacrifice Array fails, or worse, causes significant trouble, the blame will naturally fall on Baili Xi!”

“While it won’t be enough for him to lose his position as Saint Son directly, anything that shakes his foundation is a good thing!”

If Gongye Zhe wanted to replace him, he would have to find Baili Xi’s weaknesses one by one. Once he had gathered enough of them, he could deliver a fatal blow.

Gongye Zhe knew that Baili Xi’s foundation within the Holy Land ran deep and his background was far from simple, so he could only proceed one step at a time.

The Holy Land might tolerate a failure or two from Baili Xi, but if he failed too many times and it began to affect the Holy Land’s interests, his position as Saint Son would become unstable.

“You are absolutely right, Saint Son!”

“We have to deal with Baili Xi one step at a time. We can’t rush it!”

Ding Yuan nodded hastily. As Gongye Zhe’s confidant, he knew just how badly Gongye Zhe wanted to drop the “Quasi” from his title. He had even considered assassination, but the opportunity had never presented itself.

“Now that an opportunity has presented itself, I can’t let it slip by. I will…”

As Gongye Zhe spoke, a sinister, cold light flashed in his eyes.

Ding Yuan listened, nodding continuously.

…

「The Alchemy Pavilion.」

This was where the most Pharmacists in the Merak Sacred Land gathered. Not everyone could afford an Alchemy Room in their own private courtyard. Connecting to the Earth Fire required the construction of a special Array to channel it, which was no small feat. Only Third Level Alchemists were granted courtyards equipped with Earth Fire.

Yang Chan’s Yuanqing Courtyard was one such place.

Other Pharmacists who wished to practice Alchemy had to go to the Alchemy Pavilion. It housed the Earth Fire Institute, which had the most access to Earth Fire in the entire Pill Pavilion.

Most Pharmacists came to the Alchemy Pavilion to do their refining.

Only Third Level Alchemists didn’t need to come here.

Yang Chan had always known about the Alchemy Pavilion, but he had never personally visited. Today was his first time.

Ten days had passed since Lu Feng came to the Spirit Medicine Tower for the Pill Battle. During that time, Yang Chan had spent most of his time refining various elixirs, particularly the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill. This was to send a message to the outside world that he was constantly improving his Alchemy Ability.

His arrival now was, of course, to fulfill his promise.

He had been preparing for days, and now it was time to display his skills.

It was time for Lu Feng, the stepping stone, to serve his purpose.

Yang Chan’s appearance at the Alchemy Pavilion naturally drew a lot of attention. After all, news of the incident at the Spirit Medicine Tower had long since spread throughout the Pill Pavilion.

Many people throughout the Merak Sacred Land had heard about it as well.

After all, the two of them didn’t just represent themselves as Third Level Alchemists of the Pill Pavilion; they also represented the powerful factions backing them.

The clash between Lu Feng, backed by the Quasi-Saint Son, and Yang Chan, backed by the Merak Saintess, naturally drew a great deal of interest.

“Pharmacist Yang, Lu Feng is coming out now!”

Yang Chan hadn’t been walking for long when someone ran up to Han Bingyu and whispered something to her. She then hurried over to Yang Chan’s side to speak.

The Merak Saintess naturally had her people in a place like the Alchemy Pavilion, and the one who had just reported was one of her supporters.

Beside Yang Chan were quite a few people who had followed him from the Spirit Medicine Tower.

“Yang Chan of the Alchemy Pavilion accepts Pharmacist Lu Feng’s Pill Battle!”

Yang Chan said slowly, his gaze fixed on Lu Feng as he walked out of the Alchemy Pavilion.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly enough for everyone in the Alchemy Pavilion to hear, ensuring the message reached Lu Feng’s ears.

It was a technique for projecting one’s voice, one of many such skills in the Merak Sacred Land. The Martial Arts Cultivation he currently displayed was just a hair short of the Inner Refining Grandmaster level, but he was close.

In a short while, he would “successfully” break through to become an Inner Refining Grandmaster.

With the abundant Cultivation Resources provided by the Merak Sacred Land, such progress would seem perfectly normal. After all, as a Third Level Alchemist, he had no shortage of Cultivation Resources suitable for an Inner Refining Grandmaster.

‘This is all perfectly reasonable!’

“The elixir chosen for the Pill Battle: the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill!”

Yang Chan’s choice of elixir for the Pill Battle took everyone by surprise.

Some people might have guessed it—those who were close to him. Yang Chan had been diligently refining the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill for days, and he hadn’t hidden this fact from his allies. The Saintess and the people from Chiyu Peak likely had their suspicions.

But those who only knew of Yang Chan’s established Alchemy Ability were very surprised. Based on what he had demonstrated so far, choosing the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill would have been the most logical and safest choice.

That would have at least guaranteed he wouldn’t lose.

A short distance away, Lu Feng wasn’t surprised to hear Yang Chan accept the Pill Battle. Yang Chan had chosen an Inner Refining Elixir and had already produced a Top Quality version of it. The gap between them wasn’t large, so the competition would come down to proficiency. On that front, even Lu Feng couldn’t guarantee a victory.

Every Genius Pharmacist had at least some ability; otherwise, they wouldn’t deserve the title.

But when he heard which elixir Yang Chan had chosen for the Pill Battle, a look of utter surprise flashed across Lu Feng’s eyes. He had never imagined Yang Chan would choose the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Although he knew Yang Chan could refine the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill, he believed Yang Chan had only managed to produce it at a standard quality, still a ways off from reaching Top Quality.

A Genius Pharmacist’s Alchemy Ability improved quickly, but in Lu Feng’s opinion, after just a few days, Yang Chan shouldn’t be able to refine a Top Quality Level Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill yet.

Therefore, a look of confusion flashed in his eyes. He didn’t understand why Yang Chan had made such a choice.

“Perhaps he wants to use you to put himself under immense pressure, to try and achieve a breakthrough in his Alchemy Ability!”

Zhao Zizhen, who was standing next to Lu Feng, suddenly thought of a possibility and quickly offered his insight.

As one of Gongye Zhe’s men, his Martial Arts Cultivation wasn’t particularly outstanding—only at the Initial Stage of Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster—but he had a sharp mind. Because of this, he was considered a significant figure in Gongye Zhe’s circle.

He had been spending most of his time at the Alchemy Pavilion recently. Gongye Zhe had entrusted him with matters concerning the refining of certain elixirs and had also instructed him to keep an eye on the situation at the Spirit Medicine Tower.

After all, Yang Chan was supposed to give his response within half a month, so it was only natural to have someone watching him.

Zhao Zizhen was the one who had taken on this task.

Now, seeing the confused look in Lu Feng’s eyes, he offered a timely reminder.

“I see!”

“That certainly fits the personality of a Genius Pharmacist!”

Hearing this, Lu Feng nodded in sudden realization.

It was just like when Yuwen Ze had agreed to that Pill Battle back then. Wasn’t he also trying to use the pressure to force a breakthrough in his Alchemy Ability? The only difference was that Yuwen Ze had failed.

Under high pressure, a person’s spirit tightens. Sometimes, things that are ordinarily impossible can be achieved through a last-minute breakthrough under such duress. This fit the profile of a genius perfectly.

It was just that after Yuwen Ze’s failure, no one had tried such a tactic in a long time.

Now that Yang Chan was doing it, Lu Feng hadn’t immediately realized it. But with Zhao Zizhen’s reminder, he saw the possibility.

‘He wants to use me to achieve a breakthrough, to use me as a stepping stone to climb higher!’

As Lu Feng figured this out, his gaze fell on Yang Chan in the distance, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

‘But since you’re giving me this chance, I certainly won’t let such a golden opportunity pass me by!’

‘After all, my shoulders are very slippery. If you try to step on me to climb up, you’ll only fall to your death!’

Lu Feng had no intention of missing such a great opportunity. He would make Yang Chan understand what a veteran Third Level Alchemist was and show him the true gap between them.