Li Shen stood in front of his table, bringing out his pill furnace to prepare to refine the pill he wanted. He brought out the materials and directed them into the pill furnace. Slowly, Li Shen began to shoot fire from his hands forward.
"With his ability, it will be easy for him to refine this pill," replied Ming Gong, continuing to watch Li Shen.
There was only Li Shen in the alchemist’s hall; the other six cultivators had not yet arrived. It seemed that they were having difficulty obtaining the materials for the pills they wanted to make.
However, the situation was different for Li Shen. He was already very familiar with pill materials, and he was able to identify various materials just by looking at them. This made it easy for him to find the materials he needed.
The first process began, melting the materials to turn them into core materials. Li Shen had to remain focused, as the materials used were high-grade materials that sometimes had their own fluctuations.
The only thing he had to do was focus on purifying the pill and let everything else happen naturally. Li Shen was confident that he would easily pass this test with his abilities.
Ming Yue continued to watch Li Shen, amazed by the man’s abilities. Several hours had passed, and Li Shen was still in the first stage of pill refinement.
Everyone knew that a sixth-grade pill was not easy to make. At the very least, an alchemist would need months to refine such a pill, let alone do it alone.
While the spectators and others went to rest, Li Shen remained in place, stabilizing the fire energy in his hands. Several cultivators had already arrived and started refining pills, and they were the only ones left in the Alchemist Hall.
A week passed, then a month. Seven cultivators were in the Alchemist Hall, focused on refining their pills. However, Ming Gong and Ming Yue were suspicious of Ji Haofei’s absence.
"Where exactly is Ji Haofei?" asked Ming Gong.
"The sect elders have all been sent to the Treasure Dimension to find him. However, due to the vastness of the Treasure Dimension, they are having difficulty locating Ji Haofei," replied Yun Zhi, speaking to Ming Gong.
Ming Gong fell silent. He remembered that on the first day, there had been an issue when the participants entered the Treasure Dimension. The surveillance cameras suddenly shut down, and monitoring was lost. It was possible that this incident occurred simultaneously with Ji Haofei’s disappearance.
"Dispatch all Core Formation disciples to search for him. He is the Young Master of the Ji Family. Do not let anything happen to him!" Ming Gong said firmly.
"Yes, Ancestor Ming. Junior will do it."
Ming Yue heard those words and focused his eyes on Li Shen. At this moment, Li Shen was concentrating on refining the pill in the second stage, the fusion of the core material. If Ming Yue disturbed him, it would disrupt Li Shen’s focus.
"Could Shen Li know something about Ji’s disappearance?" Ming Yue asked.
Sect Leader Yun Zhi gathered hundreds of Core Formation disciples and ordered them all to enter the treasure dimension. They were given an important task: to find Ji Haofei.
They nodded. One by one, they entered the treasure dimension portal with more specific tasks. Yun Zhi was also anxious. He was worried that something might happen to Ji Haofei, considering the close relationship between the Ming Yuan Sect and the Ji Family.
If Ji Haofei died, the Ji Family would hold the Ming Yuan sect accountable. They would not let the Ming Yuan sect off so easily.
Although Li Shen was focused on refining the pill, he faintly heard their voices. Ming Gong sounded worried about Ji Haofei’s safety, so he ordered Yun Zhi to conduct a thorough search.
Fortunately, there was a Soul Formation among the cultivators in the Alchemist Hall. If they accused Li Shen, then Li Shen would direct the accusations toward that cultivator.
For now, it was better for him to stay focused on merging the material cores into a single pill core. Once that happened, it would not be difficult for Li Shen to refine it.
A blue pillar of light shot up into the sky, signaling the rise of the pill. Ming Gong and Ming Yue’s attention shifted to Li Shen’s pill furnace, seeing that Li Shen had successfully refined his pill.
"A thunder pill. This is a sign that Li Shen will succeed," replied Ming Gong.
Li Shen looked up, watching the black thunderclouds gather above the sect’s sky, precisely above the Alchemist’s Hall. Li Shen raised his hand to let the pill perfect itself in the sky, putting on a show for the audience.
With Li Shen’s strength, he was able to control the lightning pill’s turbulence and began to wrap the outer area of the pill into a perfect pill shape.
Li Shen saw that his Age-Increasing Pill was complete and ready to be used.
People applauded, impressed by Li Shen’s ability. Many of them praised Li Shen’s ability to perfect a level six pill in a month.
"Look! That cultivator was able to perfect a level six pill in a month."
"His talent is truly impressive. I admire him."
Ming Yue smiled broadly, stood up from her seat, and walked toward the podium railing. Her guess had been correct; she could pass this test with flying colors.
Li Shen descended from the sky while holding his pill. He placed his pill furnace back into his magic pouch and stepped forward, handing the level six life-extending pill to Ming Gong.
"Is this pill enough to meet your expectations, Ancestor Ming?" asked Li Shen.
Yun Zhi and Ming Gong were taken aback. The pill made by Li Shen could be consumed by cultivators of all levels, capable of extending one’s lifespan by 50-100 years. It would be a valuable pill for many cultivators.
"Shen Li has advanced to the semifinals!" Yun Zhi declared firmly. Ming Yue smiled and clapped her hands, congratulating Li Shen.
Just as the celebration for Li Shen began, one of the elders arrived carrying a body. He had come from the treasure dimension portal, holding Ji Haofei’s body in both hands.
"I have found Young Master Ji!" the elder Mo declared firmly.
Ming Gong and Yun Zhi were shocked. They rushed over to Elder Mo and saw Ji Haofei’s condition firsthand. They were stunned to see that Ji Haofei was dead.
"He... is dead?" Ming Gong asked in disbelief.
"Who did this?!" Ming Gong demanded, glaring at the seven cultivators.
His attention shifted to Shen Li, remembering that Shen Li had been involved in a conflict with Ji Haofei. Elder Mo also added something to Ming Gong.
"He wasn’t injured by cultivation techniques, Ancestor Ming," explained Elder Mo.
"Then?" asked Ming Gong.
"His soul has disappeared."
"What?!"
"How could the soul of a powerful Soul Formation cultivator like Ji Haofei disappear?" Ming Gong was shocked.
"It’s possible that the incident was caused by the aftermath of a Soul Formation cultivator’s battle."
"With Shen Li’s current cultivation level, it’s impossible for him to injure, kill, or even pull out Ji Haofei’s soul," Ming Yue explained.
Li Shen remained silent, keeping his head bowed in humility. He was fortunate that he had only broken through to the Perfect Nascent Soul stage, so they couldn’t suspect him.
"I can tell you what happened at that time, Ancestor Ming," said Li Shen firmly.
"What? Tell me?"
"It all happened because he tried to steal Ji Haofei’s moon dao concept," Li Shen asserted, accusing the Soul Formation cultivator who was refining the pill.
"You?!" Ming Gong snapped.
"No, it wasn’t me. I didn’t do anything."
"Explain more to us, Shen Li," Yun Zhi demanded.
"I will explain everything, Sect Leader Yun Zhi."