Chapter 46: The Choice is Made

"Here are ten ordinary-grade Great Recovery Pills. Among them, nine contain fire poison. If you can identify the one without fire poison within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, I will consider you to have passed the test!"

Xiao Yifeng glanced over all the pills. Some low-quality defective pills would reveal fire poison on the surface, forming black spots. However, just by looking, he didn't notice any abnormalities in the pills. He quickly realized that this was a trap set by the senior behind Li Qingran. These pills must have been meticulously disguised, and an ordinary person wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

But was he an ordinary person?

A cold smile curled at the corner of Xiao Yifeng's lips.

He possessed the innate Yi Wood Spirit Root, one of the most suitable spirit roots for alchemists. He was naturally sensitive to spiritual herbs. For some simpler pills, he could identify the ingredients just by their scent. This ability could also be used to detect pill toxins. Moreover, his sense of taste was even more acute than his sense of smell.

It was no exaggeration to say that he could detect pill toxins that even Nascent Soul cultivators present couldn't identify.

"Senior, if I can identify the pill toxins, what then?" he asked, neither humble nor overbearing, as he looked into the void behind Li Qingran. Today, he was determined to stand up for Yun Zimo, Zhang Hanxiao, and his junior sister, and bring honor to Chixiao Peak.

"If you pass, I will let Qingran's matter slide and not hold it against you!"

Xiao Yifeng really wanted to ask what kind of relationship this senior had with Li Qingran, to be so forgiving. But reason held him back.

He bowed respectfully, a hint of sharpness in his demeanor. "Senior, if I can identify the pill toxins, I ask that you personally heal my third and fourth junior brothers and plead with Sect Master Wu to revoke the punishment against my third junior brother. How about that?"

Wu Duantian's expression changed slightly. He thought to himself that Xiao Yifeng had really grown a spine, daring to negotiate with an old monster of unknown strength. Qingxuan Daoist, on the other hand, stroked his beard with satisfaction. He didn't believe that Xiao Yifeng had fed Li Qingran a poisonous pill, and Xiao Yifeng's current performance was very much to his liking.

This was the disciple he, Qingxuan Daoist, had taught.

Chen Huaian stared at his phone, pondering, his gaze falling on the probability of Xiao Yifeng finding the normal pill.

—Zero percent.

This was the game's assessment.

He felt both speechless and amused.

Wasn't Xiao Yifeng just asking for trouble? Did he even have a brain?

Since that was the case, he might as well let him have his way. So, he pressed the communication talisman and said, "Fine, no problem. I'll even give you three chances. If you can't find the normal pill in three tries, you'll have to eat all ten pills!"

In the square of the Qingyun Sect, everyone was eagerly waiting for the mysterious cultivator's response from the void.

On the surface, Xiao Yifeng appeared brave, but deep down, he was also panicking.

He could only hope that this mysterious cultivator wouldn't hold a grudge against a junior like him.

After all, what he had just said was indeed quite disrespectful.

"Very well!" A voice slowly emerged from the void. "You have three chances. If you fail, you must consume all these pills!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yifeng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled confidently. "Senior, you are magnanimous. I will keep my word!"

He stepped forward to the brocade box, full of confidence.

First, he sniffed each of the ten Great Recovery Pills in turn, his casual expression gradually replaced by seriousness.

From the information provided by his sense of smell, these ordinary-grade Great Recovery Pills were completely identical.

This consistency was reflected in the heat control, structure, dosage of ingredients, and the age of the materials. It felt as if these ten Great Recovery Pills were exact copies of each other.

But was this possible?

What level of alchemy could achieve such precision?

Xiao Yifeng's heart trembled, and sweat unconsciously beaded on his temples.

"Elder Qingxuan, can Xiao Yifeng really do it?" Wu Duantian didn't understand much about alchemy, but seeing Xiao Yifeng sniffing and pinching the pills, it seemed quite convincing.

"Don't worry," Qingxuan Daoist said with his eyes slightly closed, snorting through his nose. "My disciple possesses the innate Yi Wood Spirit Root. Using this method to test Xiao Yifeng is utterly meaningless!"

Wu Duantian nodded, though he couldn't remember the details. Back when Xiao Yifeng had first come to join the sect, he was supposed to be under Wu Duantian's tutelage, but Qingxuan Daoist had intercepted him halfway.

That incident had kept him awake for two nights.

Lu Changtian, hearing Qingxuan Daoist's words, also breathed a sigh of relief.

The self-detoxification ability of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was practically nonexistent. If Xiao Yifeng ended up eating all nine poisonous pills, even if he didn't die on the spot, his body would be half-ruined without proper recovery.

"This old monster is truly malicious!"

Lu Changtian stared into the void behind Li Qingran and sneered:

"With such a malicious person guiding her, even if Li Qingran achieves something in the future, she'll probably be no different from a demonic cultivator."

Mei Baishuang, hiding behind Lu Changtian, rolled her eyes but remained silent.

Had he never seen a real demonic cultivator before?

Demonic cultivators didn't bother with reasoning.

If they didn't like someone, they would just kill them. Even if they were forced to reason, in a situation like this, all ten pills would be deadly poison!

Time passed minute by minute.

Xiao Yifeng was no longer satisfied with just sniffing the pills.

He began to lick each pill, scrape off some powder with a small knife, or cut a corner to examine the cross-section. After a flurry of activity, his face grew paler, and his eyes became more and more confused.

"The time of an incense stick has passed. Have you made your choice?"

A voice suddenly rang out, startling Xiao Yifeng and making him shiver.

He paused, his throat bobbing up and down.

Finally, his gaze settled on one of the pills, and his eyes became resolute.

"I've chosen. It's this one!"

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