Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 313 - A Bunch of Fools

There were too many images and words in the book, and Su Ji randomly picked it out.

No one paid much attention to it because they felt they would win regardless of the book.

Over a thousand pairs of eyes fixated on Liu Wuxie, eagerly awaiting his response.

Yun Lan and Fan Xi were also curious because they couldn't imagine anyone reading over thirty-seven thousand books daily.

They were all geniuses and had been members of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for over a year. Even so, they had barely read half of the books in the Book Collection Hall.

"This Miscellaneous Record, compiled by a Nascent Transformation Realm expert five hundred years ago, catalogs various peculiar phenomena. It doesn't delve into cultivation knowledge. The Fengshui Slope, more accurately named the Strange Slope, appears uphill but descends. It's situated in the west mountain range of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, perpetually enshrouded in mist," Liu Wuxie recited, his tone confident and precise.

No one knew if Liu Wuxie's words were correct, so they could only turn to look at Su Ji. They all saw Su Ji's mouth open, his eyes bulging in astonishment.

Liu Wuxie identified the location and provided a detailed description of the Fengshui Slope, including its appearance and geographical features.

"I'm done!" Liu Wuxie said, and the surroundings fell into a brief silence after he was done.

"Su Ji, say something! Is he right or wrong?" Lin Mingxu and the others ran out of patience and urged Su Ji.

Deacon Kou's face became grim. He had practically read all the books meant for outer disciples, and the information about Fengshui Slope was fresh in his mind.

"He's right, and I have read this book last week." The one who spoke wasn't Su Ji but Fan Xi. He had coincidentally read the book last week, and Liu Wuxie's answer was correct.

Gongsun Zhen snatched the Miscellaneous Record from Su Ji and began checking the book. But as he checked, his face grew increasingly grim.

The group gathered behind him could see the text in the book.

"It's impossible! How could this be? How could he possibly remember the contents!" Losing one spirit stone was trivial, but they couldn't comprehend how Liu Wuxie memorized the book's contents.

"Don't panic. He must've just finished reading this book. Let's carry on and find the books he read in the morning. He must've forgotten all of it!" Many maintained their composure because they could afford to lose a spirit stone.

"That's right. This book was on the second floor; he must've just seen it!" Everyone came to their senses as gambling addiction was a strange thing. Once entangled, it became irresistible for anyone to control themselves once they fell into it.

"Congratulations. These spirit stones are now yours!" Yun Lan handed over six hundred spirit stones to Liu Wuxie with a hint of envy. After all, no one could maintain their composure for someone to win over six hundred spirit stones with one question.

A faint smile rose on Liu Wuxie's lips after winning over six hundred mid-grade spirit stones with a few words.

"Liu Wuxie, do you dare to carry on betting?" The disciples who lost the bet were resentful and wanted to bet again to regain their losses.

"Since everyone is so eager, I'll accompany you all to the end. What do you think about betting two spirit stones now?" Liu Wuxie raised the stakes, wanting to tempt everyone into betting. The best method was to give them hope before crushing it.

After hearing Liu Wuxie's speech, everyone smiled. This was because Liu Wuxie's idea resonated with them. If they won this round, they would win a spirit stone on top of what they lost, so why wouldn't they take the bet?

Everyone reached a consensus with no objections, including Deacon Kou.

Yun Lan and Fan Xi exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with profound shock. As keen observers, they could discern Liu Wuxie's intentions clearly—it seemed he had orchestrated a trap for everyone present.

Over 1,200 spirit stones were piled up together and kept by Yun Lan and Fan Xi once again.

"Let me pick the book this time!" Lin Mingxu removed a book from the pile, and no one objected. After all, there were so many books, and no one could guarantee that Liu Wuxie could answer correctly.

Lin Mingxu wasn't hurrying to ask and spent time flipping through the books before closing it.

"This book mentioned a peculiar fragrance while refining the Heavenly Heart Pill. Why is that?"

This was a tricky question, and everyone smiled upon hearing it.

In their eyes, Liu Wuxie knew nothing about alchemy and couldn't answer this question. Moreover, the book had no correct answer, and it was ambiguous. Lin Mingxu's malicious intentions were clear to everyone.

Yun Lan furrowed his brows slightly because the Heavenly Heart Pill was common. But when refined, it produced a peculiar fragrance, and no one knew why.

Deacon Kou had read most of the books but hadn't found the specific reason.

"Liu Wuxie, what are you waiting for? Answer quickly!" Everyone urged Liu Wuxie to answer the question. If Liu Wuxie failed to answer this question, he would lose.

"This question is too difficult, and I doubt if anyone knows the answer," some disciples murmured from a distance. After all, the fragrance when refining the Heavenly Heart Pill wasn't something new, and everyone was already accustomed to it.

This question was like asking someone why they used chopsticks to eat daily.

"There are three answers to this question. Which one do you want to know?" After a brief pondering, Liu Wuxie looked at Lin Mingxu and came up with three answers.

"Three answers!" Astonished voices came from the surroundings, and even Deacon Kou didn't know the answer to this question. But Liu Wuxie said he had three answers.

"Liu Wuxie, do I look like a fool to you? Three answers? Are you trying to deceive everyone here? Let me tell you that there are disciples of the Treasure Pill Peak here. They can discern whether your answer is right or wrong!" The surroundings laughed, thinking that Liu Wuxie was rambling nonsense.

Facing their mockery, Liu Wuxie remained indifferent. He organized his memory briefly and said, "The first answer is mentioned in a book."

Liu Wuxie walked over to the pile of books and picked one out.

"The answer is here, explained in detail on page fifty-seven on why the fragrance is produced when refining the Heavenly Heart Pill."

Deacon Kou snatched the book from Liu Wuxie. He had also read this book before, but why didn't he remember the mention of the fragrance?

As he swiftly flipped to page fifty-seven, Yun Lan and Fan Xi came over, wanting to see what was recorded in the book. But after searching for a while, Deacon Kou was still baffled.

"Liu Wuxie, where are the answers you mentioned?" Deacon Kou said unhappily. He read everything on page fifty-seven, but nothing was mentioned about the fragrance produced by the Heavenly Heart Pill.

"Liu Wuxie, hand over the spirit stones! You've lost!" The surroundings became noisy, urging Liu Wuxie to hand over the spirit stones.

"Fools!" Liu Wuxie sneered. Yun Lan and Fan Xi smiled bitterly because they hadn't found the answer either.

"Junior Brother Liu, stop keeping us in suspense. Where's the answer?" Fan Xi asked curiously.

"If you string together the first word in each sentence, you'll get the answer." The answer was hidden in the text as an acrostic poem.

Deacon Kou swiftly read through the first word in each sentence, "Spirit of heaven and earth, flower of fragrance. The fragrance of cardamom, caused by Frost Dew!"

Everyone was still bewildered after hearing Deacon Kou's answer. What kind of answer was that? They couldn't find any connection to the Heavenly Heart Pill.

Many herbs were recorded in this book, along with some phenomena caused when refining certain pills.

"Liu Wuxie, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you can deceive us by making something up? You've lost this round!" Gongsun Zhen naturally wouldn't believe what Liu Wuxie said. He knew nothing about alchemy and couldn't comprehend what Deacon Kou said.

"That's right! It's utter bullshit!" More people condemned Liu Wuxie, thinking he was spouting nonsense.

However, only Yun Lan and Fan Xi remained silent, pondering the meaning behind those words.

"The Heavenly Heart Pill contains the Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom, which emits a faint fragrance. If it's combined with Frost Dew, it will produce a fragrance. This is why a fragrance is produced when refining the Heavenly Heart Pill. If you want to prevent the fragrance, you can replace Frost Dew with the blood of Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon. At the same time, the grade of the Heavenly Heart Pill will improve significantly," Liu Wuxie explained.

The Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon was a yin-attribute demonic beast, and its blood possessed similar effects to Frost Dew.

This was the first method. It could improve the Heavenly Heart Pill and remove the fragrance.

Liu Wuxie naturally would keep the other two methods secret because he just had to prove the source of the fragrance. There were countless ways to refine pills, and many herbs contradicted each other. Changing a herb or two could greatly improve the quality of the pill, but Liu Wuxie didn't want to appear too monstrous.

"Nonsense! Absolutely nonsense!" Deacon Kou finally exploded.

"You'll find out if I'm speaking nonsense once you attempt to refine the pill. Weren't there disciples from the Heavenly Treasure Peak among you? The Heavenly Heart Pill is merely a fifth-grade pill, and I trust most of you are capable of refining it." Liu Wuxie's demeanor remained composed as a crowd gathered around, eager to understand the unfolding situation.

"Let me give it a try. I killed a Silver-Circlet Emerald Dragon a few days ago, and I have some blood essence on me." A youth donning a dark green robe came out. He was an outer disciple of the Treasure Pill Peak.

"He's Wen Ling, distinguished among the outer disciples in the Treasure Pill Pavilion. I've heard he's ascended to the rank of a six-star alchemist."

The youth's identity was quickly recognized, and the surroundings exclaimed. After all, only some people from the Treasure Pill Pavilion were alchemists because most people still focused on their cultivation rather than alchemy.

An ample space was immediately cleared to make it convenient for Wen Ling to refine the Heavenly Heart Pill.

Wen Ling took out a cauldron and some ingredients and placed them around him. Liu Wuxie also took a few steps back because this was his first time seeing an alchemist from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

Liu Wuxie was unsure of his current alchemist level. He likely had reached the level of a six-star alchemist long ago, but he needed ingredients to refine sixth-grade pills.