"Then how can I earn your trust?" Chen Xiao pressed.
"At the very least, you must prove your strength surpasses mine before I can trust you," Zhu Hanshan said indifferently.
Chen Xiao sneered, "Since that's the case, bring it on!"
Chen Xiao assumed Zhu Hanshan simply wanted an excuse to spar with him. This was simple enough; he just needed to win.
However, to his surprise, Zhu Hanshan shook his head. "What's here is not my true body. Even if you defeat me, what does it prove? It doesn't prove your strength is above mine."
"..." Chen Xiao was speechless.
"Old man, what exactly do you want? If you're deliberately toying with me, I advise you to stay away. I have a bad temper."
Zhu Hanshan smiled slightly upon hearing this. "As I said, this is not my true body. Even if you scatter me, I wouldn't mind."
"Young man, let me advise you again. You've come at the wrong time, far too early. Don't waste your effort, hahahaha!" Zhu Hanshan roared with laughter.
His laughter greatly annoyed Chen Xiao. He threw a punch, directly smashing Zhu Hanshan's clone into a wisp of white smoke. Only then did Chen Xiao's anger subside slightly, and he resumed his task.
Yet, as the old man Zhu Hanshan had predicted, Chen Xiao toiled all night and achieved nothing. Eventually, even the Yin Yang Jade seemed to lose faith in him, ceasing its vibrations.
As dawn approached, Chu Qingbai came to pick up Chen Xiao. With no other options, and realizing further persistence would be futile, Chen Xiao left the Medicine King Valley's blessed land with Chu Qingbai. However, he was certain he would return.
Chu Qingbai kept his word and did not inquire about what Chen Xiao had been doing in the Medicine King Valley's blessed land the previous night.
"Mr. Chen, you haven't slept all night. Would you like to rest for a while?" Chu Qingbai asked.
"No need," Chen Xiao waved his hand casually. "Just find me a place. I'll give that kid Chu Luo some pointers."
"Yes, Mr. Chen." Chu Qingbai led Chen Xiao to his alchemy room, the exclusive alchemy chamber for past valley masters. This implied that Chu Qingbai had already ceded the position of valley master to Chu Luo.
It was still early when Chu Luo was brought to the alchemy room. He was still drowsy and clearly grumpy from being woken up. It was only when he heard that Chen Xiao would be guiding him in alchemy that he perked up.
"Uncle Chu, how will the life-and-death challenge tomorrow be conducted?" Chen Xiao asked Chu Qingbai.
Chu Qingbai explained, "The life-and-death challenge is decided in one round. Both sides will compete by refining the fourth-tier pill, the San Hua Dan, to determine the victor."
The San Hua Dan, as it was called, was a fourth-tier pill refined from honeysuckle, mallow flower, and trumpet vine flower. This pill itself had no special medicinal effects; its existence was purely to test the alchemist's skill. The refining process for the San Hua Dan was complex, with a low success rate. Furthermore, if successfully refined, the pill would display three flower-shaped pill patterns. The quality of these flower-shaped patterns was also a criterion for evaluating an alchemist's skill.
"This makes it even simpler. I just need to help Chu Luo refine this one pill to perfection," Chen Xiao mused, stroking his chin.
"Indeed," Chu Qingbai nodded, then hesitated. He thought to himself, aren't alchemy skills all interconnected? If you understand one, you understand them all. How can one specifically guide the refining of a single pill? However, remembering Chen Xiao's unique alchemy skills, he swallowed his words.
Chen Xiao then said to him, "Uncle Chu, please do me a favor and demonstrate the refining process of the San Hua Dan for me first."
"..." Chu Qingbai almost spat out a mouthful of blood. You yourself can't refine the San Hua Dan, yet you're going to guide Chu Luo? And you claim you can help him refine it to perfection? Is this truly the genius alchemist who could summon pill lightning just by refining the Pei Yuan Dan?
Chu Luo's heart sank. He said helplessly, "Brother Chen, why don't I demonstrate it for you instead?"
"Oh, you can refine the San Hua Dan? That's great! It'll save us a step!" Chen Xiao exclaimed with delight.
"..." Both Chu Qingbai and his son were rendered speechless. Chu Qingbai made an excuse and left, fearing he couldn't handle the stimulation and might have a heart attack. After leaving the alchemy room, he began making contingency plans. If necessary, he would have to step in himself tomorrow.
However, it wasn't long before Chu Luo experienced the terrifying extent of Chen Xiao's abilities. After Chu Luo demonstrated the refining process of the San Hua Dan, Chen Xiao refined one himself. Moreover, he improved Chu Luo's refining process. Rather than an improvement, it was more like a complete reconstruction. The San Hua Dan, originally a very complex process, became as simple as refining the Pei Yuan Dan after Chen Xiao's reconstruction.
Chu Luo's eyes widened. "This is possible too?"
"Why not?" Chen Xiao said calmly. "The purpose of alchemy is to achieve the pill. Unnecessary steps can be completely omitted. It was originally a simple matter, but you people made it complicated!"
Chu Luo was at a loss for words. He wanted to simplify things, but he couldn't! However, this was not Chu Luo's fault for being too笨 (stupid). It was simply because Chen Xiao's alchemy skills were far ahead of this world. It was like comparing primitive slash-and-burn agriculture to fully automated operations; the gap was not insignificant.
In addition to the refining process, Chen Xiao also taught Chu Luo methods for controlling flames. He had noticed that while Chu Luo was adept at utilizing flames, he couldn't control them at will, which greatly reduced alchemy efficiency. However, after teaching him, Chen Xiao realized this approach was completely unfeasible. Teaching Chu Luo to control flames was harder than teaching a pig to climb a tree. Chen Xiao suspected this was related to the secret curse within Chu Luo, something that couldn't be resolved quickly.
Since this path was blocked, he switched tactics. Chen Xiao stored his Qilin Fire into a talisman. When it was time for the competition, Chu Luo could use this talisman, perfectly solving the problem of flame control. Strictly speaking, this was cheating, but winning was the goal, and Chen Xiao didn't care if it was considered cheating.
Chen Xiao taught from early morning until nightfall. He could guarantee to Chu Qingbai that Chu Luo's refinement of the San Hua Dan was now at the level of consummate skill. Chu Qingbai, still worried, personally stepped in and sparred with Chu Luo. The result was a complete victory for Chu Luo, leaving Chu Qingbai's eyes wide with astonishment. With his knowledge, he couldn't fathom how Chen Xiao had achieved this. However, after this match, Chu Qingbai had full confidence in tomorrow's life-and-death challenge.
Now that everything was in place, they just had to wait for Chu Qingsong's arrival...