49.01 - Dungeon Growth Log

“滴——”(drop) Thirty beeps, precisely half a minute! Xia Ge swiftly withdrew her gaze and threw the final ingredient into the furnace. With a quick hand gesture, she activated a Dan formula. The spiritual energy surrounding her was driven by her movements, gradually flowing into the furnace and merging with the melted Dan liquid. Fighting off dizziness, Xia Ge bit her lip gently. ——Don't worry, it's definitely going to be fine! That was what she had personally said to the person on the stage. So, it had to be fine. Meanwhile, Huo Bai, who had planned to pass the test with minimal effort, noticed Xia Ge's movements and was momentarily stunned. ——Dan formula? He’s using a Dan formula?! Ye Ze, observing Xia Ge from the stage, was shocked. “What’s that kid doing? A fasting pill doesn’t require a Dan formula!” Gu Pei Jiu’s dark eyes observed the rapidly changing movements of the young man using the formula, her face expressionless, though her grip on the red ling fabric under her sleeve tightened slightly. A Dan formula could attract the world’s spiritual energy. If successful, the resulting pill would be top quality. However, if it failed— Gu Pei Jiu’s expression darkened, and her lips pressed together slightly. As things started to blur before her eyes, Xia Ge simply closed them and swiftly changed her hand gestures. For some reason, when the spiritual energy was driven by the Dan formula and began to arrange itself, the three formations she had memorized in Qin Ling’s ancestral tomb started replaying in her mind. Though Dan formulas and formations differed in their outward expressions, their essence was the same—manipulating the spiritual energy in the air and arranging it into patterns, causing it to gather or disperse. And the patterns from the ancestral tomb’s formations eerily resembled this gathering Dan formula… Huo Bai sensed the pungent smell of blood thickening in the air. Even Mao Qing, who was focused on her alchemy, felt something was off. She wrinkled her nose and, while staring intently at the furnace, couldn't help but ask, “Huo Bai, do you smell something strange… Is this furnace made of iron? Is it rusting?” It wasn’t the smell of rust. It was… the scent of blood. Huo Bai glanced over at the pale-faced youth beside him, eyes closed and hands moving swiftly through Dan gestures, his black tattered robes already soaked in bright red blood. The youth shifted slightly, leaving a thin trail of blood on the ground. Yet his expression remained focused, eyes shut, seemingly unaware of the warm blood flowing from him. Huo Bai stared at the youth's face for a long while before slowly looking away and answering calmly, "Mm, must be the furnace rusting." “Really… These competition furnaces are the worst,” Mao Qing complained but said no more. As the formation patterns continued to swirl in her mind, Xia Ge's head grew dizzy, and her fingers quivered slightly. An unintentional deviation caused the originally straight line of the Dan formula to diverge, unexpectedly aligning with the formation pattern and changing three consecutive steps! Xia Ge's eyes suddenly snapped open, her pupils constricting. She wanted to stop and switch hand gestures, but her hand movements continued uninterrupted, following the first formation pattern from the ancestral tomb and forcibly continuing the Dan formula! And as she executed the first Dan formula following this formation pattern, the spiritual energy's arrangement immediately shifted subtly. This minor difference had catastrophic consequences! The previously stable influx of spiritual energy into the furnace abruptly became torrential. In an instant, ominous winds roared, and the sky over the entire alchemy training ground darkened intensely! Xia Ge tried to halt her actions, but it was too late. The heavens and earth seemed to rage, and countless streams of spiritual energy surged violently towards the furnace! With winds howling and spiritual energy rioting, the furnace began to wobble. Huo Bai, Mao Qing, and others near Xia Ge scrambled to retreat! Mao Qing, bewildered, stared at the youth in the storm’s eye. “What on earth is he doing?! Is he really alchemizing?!” Huo Bai, struggling to maintain his stance amid the storm, responded, “...He's alchemizing!” “Is he trying to sabotage us?!” Mao Qing clenched her teeth, then slammed the table and, eyes reflecting the furnace’s blazing flames, declared, “But I won’t be distracted by such trivial matters! I am—the one who will claim first place!” In the next moment, Mao Qing’s furnace emitted a radiant golden light. Outside the spiritual storm, a completely golden shining fasting pill shot out from Mao Qing’s furnace! Yellow·Premium·Fasting Pill! Huo Bai snorted, then made a hand gesture. Using the storm’s spiritual energy, he infused his furnace before slamming the table, and in an instant, a pill with faint bloodlines emerged! Scarlet Blood Fasting Pill! However, no one paid attention to Mao Qing, who had just crafted a premium fasting pill, or Huo Bai's Scarlet Blood Fasting Pill. All onlookers were astonished, their eyes fixed on the ferocious center of spiritual energy— Xia Ge! The newly appeared contestant! Xiao Qing instinctively grabbed her sleeve and turned to look at Chu Yao. “Miss, did you see that black-clothed boy… Miss?” But turning around, Chu Yao was nowhere to be found. Xiao Qing was taken aback and looked back towards the youth but only saw a blue shadow flashing amidst the thick dark clouds! Ye Ze stared intently at Xia Ge, ready to charge down at the first sign of trouble. However, a grip on his shoulder stopped him, paralyzing his movements as if his pressure points had been sealed. “Wait.” A breeze passed by, and as Ye Ze returned to his senses, he saw a blue and a red figure already rushing towards the storm’s center! A young girl's voice, cold and indifferent, echoed faintly. ——"I'll bring him back." Alchemy Training Ground, West Side. A red-beaked bird on his shoulder chirped incessantly. Wearing the Hundred Beasts Robe, Bai Li Qing tilted his head slightly, mumbling, “Is that actually the ancient Gathering Formula?… Go, Chi Luan.” In the next second, the red-beaked bird’s eyes flashed with golden light. It spread its wings and left Bai Li Qing’s shoulder, its small form expanding mid-flight. In the blink of an eye, it turned into an immense, magnificent creature, overshadowing the sky like a phoenix’s birth. Its piercing cry echoed through the heavens! With this cry, countless spirit birds flew from the three peaks, and with a light song from Chi Luan, their cries harmonized with the wind, sweeping away the chaotic spiritual energy and absorbing it into themselves. “It’s the Chi Luan from the Beast Peak’s top disciple!!” “My word—” The audience was awestruck, but Xiao Qing clutched the platform, her mind blank— Did the lady go to save that person? Xia Ge could no longer care about the chaos outside. Her Dan gestures changed frantically, the gathered spiritual energy utterly wild and unmanageable, forcing itself into the furnace and surpassing its limits! This can’t go on— The furnace would undoubtedly explode! As this thought flashed through her mind, Xia Ge mustered all her strength to stop her hand gestures. Once the first formation-based Dan formula started, it couldn’t be stopped, and her body, driven by the rampant spiritual energy, forced her to complete every move! Her numbed body, controlled by the aligned spiritual energy, no longer responded to her commands. Her hand gestures changed unpredictably, and the spiritual energy became increasingly violent! Completion was not an option! It must stop! Her body, beyond her control… There was a way! Xia Ge slid her right foot sideways, her hand movements in sync with the spiritual energy, and, aiming her injured abdomen at the table corner, slammed down hard— Huo Bai, enduring the storm, was utterly shocked by her actions. Was this person suicidal?! Agonizing pain! The pain from forcibly tearing her wound penetrated deeply into her brain, rendering the pain relief from Su Chan’s anesthetic almost ineffective. Under the intense pain, her hand movements momentarily regained control. Xia Ge forcefully reversed the Dan formula! Reversing the Dan formula! Mao Qing gaped in confusion at Xia Ge’s actions. “Why is he slamming into the table?” However, Huo Bai, sensitively attuned to spiritual energy fluctuations, quickly moved. He grabbed Mao Qing by the collar and dashed out of the alchemy training ground! The ferocious spiritual energy paused momentarily before rebounding towards Xia Ge! Her head rang, the mental backlash from reversing the Dan formula incredibly fierce. Spiritual energy flooded the furnace— Just as the furnace was about to explode, Gu Pei Jiu's red-ling fabric wrapped around the black-robed youth and dragged him out of the storm center, pulling him into her embrace. Chu Yao, a second too late, clicked her tongue, then, leveraging her momentum, kicked the spiritually charged furnace into the air. At that moment, the furnace reached its limit, erupting with a thunderous explosion! In the sky above the alchemy training ground, the exploding furnace resembled dazzling fireworks. Amid the immense firelight, three golden streaks shot skyward, the dense Dan fragrance instantly permeating the entire ground. Accompanied by Chi Luan and countless spirit birds’ gentle song, brilliant golden light soared into the heavens! “Oh my—” “Is that a Xuan-level pill?” “Three! It’s the Three Lives Golden Pill! How can it be the Three Lives Golden Pill?” “Such spiritual energy—” “Who is he?!” Xiao Qing stared in amazement at the three heavenly pills, Chi Luan singing softly, surrounded by spirit birds, as the dense Dan fragrance filled the air. The gloomy clouds dispersed, and gentle spiritual energy summoned colorful clouds, as splendid as a majestic symphony. A pill of such caliber was actually refined by an obscure kid. The Three Lives Golden Pill is something even Xuan-level alchemists might not achieve. With the pill’s emergence, heaven and earth changed color. However, Xia Ge could no longer perceive any of this. The excruciating pain in her abdomen and the mental backlash from the spiritual energy had rendered her oblivious to everything outside. All she felt was a faintly sandalwood-scented embrace, shielding her from all the turmoil and violence. It felt stable. Warm and gentle. ——Who? Did the furnace explode? Did it fail…? No… that’s not right. Such rampant spiritual energy… it definitely exploded! It wasn’t just a failure; someone might get hurt! Someone could die! Die! Because of her! For a moment, the fear of death outweighed all the pain of living. Xia Ge clutched the other’s sleeve desperately, her body wracked by searing pain, but her heart overwhelmed by abyssal fear. Her hoarse voice, quivering with terror, pleaded, “Hel… Help… Death—” Anyone—whoever you are— ——Please… save them… I messed up… I’m sorry. Don’t let anyone die— Don’t let anyone… Please, someone, anyone, please… Just before being submerged in pain, losing consciousness, she smelled a faint trace of sandalwood. A gentle voice, clear and reassuring, whispered beside her. “No one will die,” the young girl's voice was soft, “Rest now.” …Rest. Unexplainable anxiety gradually dissipated with the soothing voice. She felt a pill placed into her mouth, instantly dissolving into a slightly bitter taste. In her hazy state, Xia Ge thought, what? Is it medicine? It’s so bitter. In both past and present lives, she had always detested taking medicine. And resting… what kind of thing was that? She wasn’t tired at all, just in a bit of pain. 【Ding! Congratulations to the host for refining the Three Lives Golden Pill, system rewards +30 points, unlocking sub-career: Alchemist!】 【Congratulations to the host for comprehending the Ancient Gathering Formation! Reward points +10!】 Author's note: This chapter is a bridge. I want to add more, but I have a lot of exams lately. There will be more updates in July =3= = = Nan Zhu threw a landmine on June 13, 2018, at 23:42:36 Xu Feng threw a landmine on June 13, 2018, at 23:46:35 An An Qing Kan threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 00:51:30 Bai Ge threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 05:39:20 Season threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 06:51:03 Xian Dai, Wuliao threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 14:30:40 Era of Judas threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 16:16:55 135 threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 17:11:06 Xia Tian threw a landmine on June 14, 2018, at 21:52:36 Thank you all for the landmines! Love you! = = Reader “Lǚtú”, irrigated with +202018-06-14 22:58:04 Reader “Xia Tian”, irrigated with +602018-06-14 21:52:49 Reader “Nangui.”, irrigated with +52018-06-14 21:52:20 Reader “Shū Chóng”, irrigated with +12018-06-14 21:48:20 Reader “Dāngnián cǎi gū liáng de xiǎo mó gū zhǎng dà le,” irrigated with +52018-06-14 20:38:49 Reader “”, irrigated with +102018-06-14 19:52:33 Reader “Dāng jí jùjué,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 17:50:58 Reader “Xuě èr Lún,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 17:24:11 Reader “Bǐ mò yì láán shān,” irrigated with +22018-06-14 17:11:59 Reader “Kōngbái,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 16:14:51 Reader “Chī chī chī,” irrigated with +52018-06-14 15:55:14 Reader “Yī rén dú diào yī jiāng qiū,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 14:54:30 Reader “Zhù shàng,” irrigated with +102018-06-14 14:13:54 Reader “Shíwàn Shuǐdiàn,” irrigated with +52018-06-14 14:13:01 Reader “Shísān,” irrigated with +102018-06-14 13:05:13 Reader “Xì jīng,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 12:17:54 Reader “Sān yuè yuè de lǎopó,” irrigated with +502018-06-14 10:37:06 Reader “Luòyè suí fēng,” irrigated with +302018-06-14 10:30:44 Reader “Shuì duō le,” irrigated with +202018-06-14 10:28:05 Reader “Xù Fēng,” irrigated with +52018-06-14 08:34:04 Reader “Qiū huǒ liǎo yuán,” irrigated with +12018-06-14 07:01:01 Reader “Rèn yí suí tā,” irrigated with +92018-06-14 06:55:30 Reader “Xiǎo hēishānyáng,” irrigated with +102018-06-14 03:13:49 Reader “Xià Yǔ Lè,” irrigated with +102018-06-14 02:58:26 Reader “Xiángyǔ,” irrigated with +62018-06-14 02:44:00 false+92018-06-14 02:27:37 Reader “Wǒ bù tài xiǎngle?d?? shìjiè,” irrigated with +102018-06-14 00:01:51 Reader “fggg,” irrigated with +52018-06-13 23:45:20 Reader “Gabriel Húli,” irrigated with +302018-06-13 23:38:57 Reader “Fēixuě tà hén,” irrigated with +52018-06-13 23:19:45 Thank you all for the nutritious liquid! I'll update daily after exams!