Chapter 24: The Ruler and His Ministers

  After seeing the formula brought by Nie Kong, Zhan Mu Zi suddenly became so flustered. Cheng Fei Liu, Quan Yu and Fu Er Rong couldn't help but curiously gather around, wanting to take a look. Qu Ting Yun, being a woman, naturally didn't find it convenient to squeeze together with several old men, but her eyes had already involuntarily turned over there.

  As for Nie Xingyun, seeing his old friend's strange expression, he became even more impatient and directly stepped on the chair, looking down at him from a high position. Seeing the dense but neat handwriting on the paper, the old man was first stunned, then a little dazed, the little rascal wasn't filling out the answer sheet, but was carefully analyzing those three spiritual medicine formulas.

  “…‘Seven Finger Golden Star’ is the monarch drug, ‘Iron Horn Dragon Eye’ is the minister drug, ‘Phoenix Whisker Grass’ is the assistant drug, and ‘Palmate Black Heart Lotus’ is the messenger drug……The assistant drug ‘Phoenix Whisker Grass’ can be replaced with ‘Dispelling Feather Immortal’, which can not only harmonize the toxicity of ‘Iron Horn Dragon Eye’ but also maximize the efficacy of ‘Seven Finger Golden Star’……In the messenger drug, one can add a ‘Blue Bird Fruit’ in addition to ‘Palmate Black Heart Lotus’, making it easier for the medicine to blend together…”

  Cheng Feiliu read out the note next to the first formula in a loud voice, and his face showed the same astonishment as Mu Zisi's. "Using 'Piao Yu Xian' instead of 'Feng Xu Cao', how could I not have thought of it? What a mistake! And that last 'Lan Que Guo' is even more brilliant! Wonderful! It's really wonderful!"

  Wò ěr róng unconsciously nodded and said: "That's right! And this second formula changes 'yè mó huā' to 'biān fú lán', which is even more wonderful. Especially the last added flavor of 'yīng zhǎo gēn' is obviously more suitable than the 'yú líncì máo qiú' written by other little guys."

  "This saying is also very accurate! Although the old man and others also follow these four words when matching medicine, no one has ever put it this way."

  “……”

  Several fifth-grade spiritual medicine masters began to comment on it in a lively and noisy manner.

  Upon hearing what they said, Qu Tingyun's heart was moved, and she couldn't sit still anymore. She didn't care about the distinction between men and women; after all, they were all old men and women. So she squeezed over as well. The initial curiosity on her face was replaced by excitement, and finally turned into relief.

  Lian Tianxin, who was still reviewing the formulas, also became somewhat suspicious: "How does it seem like the little guy has overturned all three formulas?"

  "Good! Good!"

  Nie Xingyun stepped on the stool, his face full of smiles, and his originally small eyes narrowed to the point where they were almost invisible. Whenever Nie Kong's answer sheet appeared with some ingenious ideas, the old man would occasionally applaud and shout loudly, feeling extremely pleased in his heart.

  Seeing the judges' unanimous praise for Nie Kong's prescription, not only were the spiritual medicine masters waiting for the second round of results stunned, but also the people in the VIP seats were speechless. Most of them were unfamiliar with medicinal herbs, yet they could tell from the expressions of Cheng Fei and others that the answer given by the last person to submit was not just excellent, but extremely excellent.

  Qianling medicine has been held so many times, which spiritual master dares to be so bold, to the judges' out of the formula, and still says it's reasonable?

  The performance of several fifth-grade spiritual medicine practitioners on the judges' seats was passed back through mouth-to-mouth, causing waves of commotion in the crowd.

  "Is this for real? Did that kid change the question given by the judge?"

  "Can this be fake? Just look at the commotion of the judges and VIPs in front, that little guy is really beyond expectations!"

  "Could it be that he's even more powerful than the few fifth-grade spiritual medicine masters, to the point where he can even modify the prescription given by the judge?"

  "It can't be said like that, those several formulas all use low-level medicine, according to my estimation, that kid should have a very thorough understanding of low-level medicine."

  “……”

  "Did you hear? Did you hear? The guy who just submitted his paper last has shocked several masters, this is the first time it has appeared in the Thousand Spirit Medicine Conference!"

  “……”

  "Tsk tsk, that guy's formula was just exchanged, and it scared all the judges, truly worthy of being a Spirit Medicine Master who has experienced variation in spiritual power!"

  “……”

  In the end, the message had become more and more distorted from reality, but this did not affect people's enthusiasm at all. For a time, the noise in the manor was like a surging wave, with voices rising and falling one after another, shaking off the snow on the trees outside the manor. The spiritual masters who were originally selecting spiritual medicines and herbs in the Lingbao Pavilion on the right side of the manor were all shocked and rushed into the left side of the manor like a swarm of bees.

  The deafening noise woke up those participating alchemists, who looked at Nie Kong standing in front of the judges' table with complex eyes.

  Mo Xinjiang's eyes shone brightly as he exclaimed excitedly, "Xiao Ling, did you see that? I didn't expect Nie Kong to have been brewing for so long and actually come up with such a powerful move. Haha, the Four Princes' formula was handed over early but it's completely useless now that Nie Kong has made his move. He immediately stole all the attention away from him. I've got to see what kind of expression the Four Princes has on his face right now, this is an opportunity that can't be missed!

  Then, Mu Xinjiang's gaze began to search among the crowd. Bai Yi Shengxue's Cheng Zixuan was too outstanding, so Mu Xinjiang didn't have to exert much effort to find his figure. At this moment, the Fourth Prince's smile had become somewhat forced, with a faint gloom between his eyebrows.

  Mo Xin Jiang's mood is extremely refreshed, and she can't help but chatter non-stop with joy.

  Mu Xiao Ling was too lazy to bother with this nagging guy, her eyes darting back and forth between Nie Kong and the several judges, a hint of admiration for Nie Kong secretly rising in her heart. She had long guessed that those three temporarily prepared prescriptions would definitely have loopholes, but she had never thought deeply about it, nor had she ever imagined that Nie Kong could mark out all the questionable parts of the prescription within such a short period of time and even provide solutions.

  In the blink of an eye, Mu Xiaoling suddenly thought that this medicine would be a big competition, and her two main opponents, Qu Xinyi and Yu Qingguan, must also be very surprised. With a glance, Mu Xiaoling saw the two slender girls in the distance, and as expected, she saw surprise on their faces.

  Now, among so many people, the calmest one is Nie Kong, the culprit.

  As for the understanding of medicinal properties, other alchemists mostly relied on oral transmission from their seniors, but Nie Kong was different. He had personally taken all the medicines in the formula.

  Although the medicinal properties were all absorbed by Xiang Xiang, with the "smell and recognize medicine" skill of the little guy, he understood some subtle aspects of the medicinal properties, even the effects that few people had discovered before. He was able to carefully analyze all three prescriptions, thanks to this.

  "Nie Kong, this third formula of yours seems to be a bit off. The medicinal properties of 'Bai Gu Qing' and 'Liu Ye Shuang Hong Zhu' will produce a subtle toxicity when combined, won't they? In my youth, I took the second-grade spiritual medicine 'Lie Yang Dan', which was mainly refined from 'Bai Gu Qing' and 'Liu Ye Shuang Hong Zhu', but I didn't exhibit any symptoms of poisoning." Fu Erhong suddenly looked up at Nie Kong, questioning him.

  Nie Kong hadn't tasted the Lianyang Dan before, but that didn't stop him from explaining his doubts to Fu'er. He smiled slightly and said, "Fu'er Master, if I'm not mistaken, the medicinal herbs used to refine the Lianyang Dan must include 'Huangji Cao'. In fact, Huangji Cao can completely dilute the toxicity generated by the fusion of Baigu Qing and Liuye Shuanghong Zhu. However, this third formula doesn't have any medicine that can eliminate the toxicity. If we were to refine the spiritual medicine according to the original formula, even if it's successful, it would still be harmful to the cultivator after consumption. If Master doesn't believe me, you can personally taste Baigu Qing and Liuye Shuanghong Zhu, best separated by an hour, so that the toxicity produced when the medicinal properties fuse is at its strongest. However, with Master's cultivation level, that bit of toxicity can be quickly expelled."

  "Oh?"

  Nie Kong was talking incessantly, while Fu Erhong fell into deep thought. This third formula was actually thought up by him, but unexpectedly it was overturned by Nie Kong in one go. What Nie Kong said must not be nonsense, after all, whether it is right or wrong, as long as it is verified, the truth can be known.

  "No need for verification, this old man can confirm it."

  "Even if he couldn't stand Nie Xingyun's smugness, it was hard to ignore Nie Kong's outstanding performance. 'Kid, you did great on the medicine matching test, especially with your concept of "Monarch, Minister, Assistant and Envoy". It's like you've opened up a new path for spiritual medicine formulas. There's no way Old Man Nie could have come up with this himself, so I'm guessing you figured out these four words all by yourself, right?'"

  Mozi praised Nie Kong and also did not forget to mock Nie Xingyun with a couple of sentences.

  Nie Lao Tou this time was not in the least bit concerned, stroking his whiskers and bursting into loud laughter: "Haha, Mu Lao Tou, you don't even see who is whose disciple."

  Seeing his complacent look, everyone was speechless, and even Nie Kong couldn't help but glance at him, clearing his throat twice. At this time, Lian Tianxin's voice cut in: "Alright, Old Mu, the result of the second round is out, have someone announce it immediately." As he spoke, he snatched away Nie Kong's answer sheet...

  ……