"Do you still believe what I say now?"
Huang Tianci looked over with a smile.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan couldn't help but fall silent. It was indeed as the other party said, no matter what else he said, he would no longer believe a single word.
Seeing this, the other party was not very surprised. He had already prepared himself and guessed all the thoughts in the other person's mind.
He glanced at the crowd in the square, then said slowly, "Go ahead. As long as you are the one who reconstructs the most pill formulas, you can leave this place safely. Otherwise, you will be forcibly erased by the formation."
As his words slowly fell, Huang Tianci turned and left with a few people. At the same time, he did not look back and loudly instructed that fighting and killing were not allowed within the white jade square, otherwise, they would also be directly erased by the formation.
When the figures of the seven people could no longer be seen, Ji Yuan stood there in silence for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
Even though he prided himself on being cautious, he still fell into the other party's trap. He had thought of all possible scenarios, but he never expected the outcome to be like this.
As for what Huang Tianci had said, he had no choice but to believe it now, because it was the only thing he could do at this moment.
Shaking his head gently, Ji Yuan turned and walked towards the nearest round pillar, then sat down cross-legged in front of it.
Although the other party had said that fighting and killing were not allowed on this white jade square, and among the more than ten people around, although some had unfriendly looks, none of them would actually make a move, which undoubtedly proved this statement.
However, he was still not completely at ease. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, each held two or three talismans. Although his spiritual power could not be used for the time being, with just a thought, it was enough to activate the talisman core that had been prepared earlier.
After making some preparations, he then focused his gaze on the white jade round pillar in front of him. As his gaze fell, a strange fluctuation spread out, and images appeared one after another in his sight.
In these images, countless runes were flying, each forming a sentence. Some explained alchemy techniques, while others recorded the properties of spiritual herbs.
If it were just one pill formula, Ji Yuan believed that with his talent, he should have no difficulty in figuring it out in a short period of time.
The troublesome part was that everything in the images that appeared from the white jade round pillar was in a state of disarray.
He now needed to piece together complete and correct pill formulas from this chaotic information!
This naturally increased the difficulty by more than tenfold, because the same ingredients, depending on the pharmacological compatibility and integration between them, as well as the refining techniques, time, and so on, would produce different results.
Sighing, Ji Yuan silently recited the general principle of the Xuan Tian Dao Sutra several times to calm his mind, and then began to quietly comprehend the runes in the white jade round pillar.
As a cultivator's realm gradually increased, they would begin to abandon mortal writing in their cultivation path and instead focus on studying various runes. Of course, Confucian cultivators were an exception.
This was because runes were the manifestation of Dao principles, evolved from the laws of the Great Dao. Often, a single rune could have dozens of meanings, and combinations of them could even harness the power of heaven and earth.
Although comprehending runes had various benefits, and even greatly improved one's cultivation realm, the fact that the pill formulas before him were all made of runes brought Ji Yuan considerable trouble.
It took him nearly half an hour to arrange all the runes in his sight, and only then did he truly begin to comprehend and piece together the complete and correct pill formulas.
Two to three hours passed in the blink of an eye. Even with his attainments comparable to a master alchemist, he still couldn't piece together a single pill formula. The runes he saw made his head ache.
If it weren't for the gradual recovery of his internal strength during this period, which he could use his spiritual power and body refining secret methods to alleviate, he would have already suffered from excessive mental exhaustion and would have had to stop and rest.
However, Ji Yuan inevitably became increasingly agitated in the process of piecing together the pill formulas.
In the end, he had no choice but to retract his gaze, a look of helplessness appearing on his face.
If he continued like this, it would take at least three to four days for him to piece together a complete pill formula, and whether it was correct would be purely a matter of luck.
Suddenly, Ji Yuan seemed to have thought of something. He flipped his wrist slightly, and an ancient book appeared in his palm.
The book looked old, its pages were already yellowed, as if it had experienced the long passage of time.
"I hope the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture left by my ancestor can be of some use..."
He murmured to himself, then quietly opened the book in his hand.
The yellowed pages immediately revealed a large number of Dao principles, which were more profound than various runes but also easier for the viewer to understand.
After all, runes were just an evolution of the laws of the Great Dao, so they were naturally inferior to directly observing the Dao principles!
As the Dao principles on the pages appeared, Ji Yuan's mind instantly calmed down, and his eyes flickered with bright light.
At this moment, he used the Dao principles revealed in the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture in his hand to compare with the runes in the white jade round pillar. His previously chaotic thoughts were instantly filled with infinite inspiration.
Although the Dao principles presented in the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture were the most basic, they were exactly what Ji Yuan needed at this moment. Using them to decipher runes and pill formulas was naturally perfect.
Not to mention that this magical book left by the ancestor of Xuan Tian Temple had the ability to reveal Dao principles that corresponded to the holder's thoughts.
This was also the fundamental reason why Ji Yuan had made rapid progress in alchemy, rune arts, and cultivation in such a short period of time.
What he was mobilizing now were the Dao principles related to alchemy, directly analyzing the pill formulas from the most fundamental level.
Unknowingly, an hour passed. In the quiet environment, buzzing sounds suddenly arose, and then a soft light spread out.
Pairs of eyes were attracted, and then they saw a white jade round pillar emitting a soft light, which finally converged into a rune at the top, representing that the pill formula within had been correctly pieced together.
Ji Yuan slowly withdrew his gaze, then silently got up and walked to another white jade round pillar, sat down, and then, using the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture in his hand, began to participate in and piece together the pill formula in the round pillar.
At the same time, he also discovered that three round pillars in the entire square had been lit up, indicating that someone had pieced together a complete and correct pill formula.
And after successfully piecing together a pill formula himself, a piece of information suddenly appeared in his mind, clearly left by the person who set up this place, the Grandmaster Alchemist who was the owner of the water mansion.
This message roughly stated that as long as someone could piece together seven pill formulas, they could enter the next level, and only by passing all the levels could they obtain the final inheritance.
However, if seven pill formulas could not be pieced together within a month, they would be forcibly erased by the formation!
At the same time, if anyone obtained the final inheritance, all participants who were still taking the challenge within the previous levels would also be erased by the formation, and only one person could leave alive.
After receiving this information, Ji Yuan immediately became nervous and seized every moment to do his best to comprehend the pill formulas in the round pillars and piece them together completely and correctly.
Because he didn't know how many people had been tricked into coming by Huang Tianci and the others before him, and how many had already passed the first level?
Although the possibility was small, he dared not take the risk. What if someone had already entered the next level, or even gone further...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Ji Yuan had successfully pieced together six pill formulas with the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture in his hand, and was now sitting in front of the seventh round pillar.
However, at this moment, he did not immediately begin to comprehend. Instead, he closed his eyes, meditating and organizing the insights he had gained.
As each pill formula was correctly pieced together, he not only obtained six precious graded pill formulas, but he also gained many insights. As long as he spent time completely absorbing them, his alchemy attainments would surely be greatly improved.
At the same time, although he had pieced together six pill formulas in three days with the help of the Grand Dao Simplification Scripture, and the gains were very rich, it also caused great damage to his mental strength.
If he continued like this, it would inevitably cause considerable harm. If it were more serious, it might lead to the inability to suppress the injury in his Sea of Consciousness and cause the collapse of his soul light, leading to a scattered soul.
Therefore, Ji Yuan was now dividing his mind to circulate the Myriad Origin Spirit Divergence True Method to recover from his soul's fatigue, while also urgently organizing the insights he had gained earlier.
There was no time for him to fully digest these insights, so he could only summarize them first, absorb them as much as possible, and at the same time, prevent them from gradually fading from his mind after some time.
While carefully adjusting and recovering, he also did not forget to divert a wisp of his consciousness, keeping the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda in his dantian in a state of readiness.
Although the rules of this place prohibited fighting and killing each other, accidents always happened. What if someone could circumvent the rules of this place, or go mad and want to take everyone down with them?
It was better to have a backup plan. Being more careful and cautious was always the right thing to do.
Especially after the incident with Huang Tianci, Ji Yuan, who was already very cautious, subconsciously became even more cautious.
As the many insights were gradually absorbed, Ji Yuan finally took a step forward, his attainments in alchemy were now firmly on par with any master alchemist.
What he lacked now was experience in repeated alchemy. Only by accumulating experience in this area could he truly become a master alchemist.
And once he became a master alchemist, setting aside his cultivation realm, he would be a welcome guest in any sect, and even in the Nine Xuan Sect, he would have a place, with a status comparable to an inner elder.
An hour passed. Ji Yuan slowly opened his eyes. Although his mental state had not fully recovered, it was enough for him to comprehend two or three pill formulas.
Taking a deep breath, his eyes blazed with light. Now, he was no longer completely forced to comprehend pill formulas, but unconsciously, he had become more proactive.
As his gaze fell, a large number of chaotic runes appeared in the round pillar in front of him. The complexity was far beyond the previous six pill formulas!
At the same time, as he continued to comprehend, the light in Ji Yuan's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and in the end, even the palm of his hand hidden in his sleeve trembled slightly.