Chapter 47: Summoning Card, Stirrings from All Sides
With a dreamlike glow, the shell of the Fantasy Egg began to crack bit by bit.
The Seven-Colored Tiny Snake was drawn to this strange light, its body slowly inching closer to the Fantasy Egg.
When the light faded, a peculiar card, made of an unknown material, lay quietly amidst the shattered eggshell.
As soon as Chen Mo picked up the card, a notification sounded from the system.
"Ding, Summoning Card. Using this card can randomly summon a Divine Beast of unknown strength, lasting for half an hour. The stronger the host, the stronger the summoned Divine Beast. Cooldown time: 24 hours."
"Hmm, not bad."
"Though lately, the system has been producing increasingly bizarre items. If this keeps up, the tone of this book might change."
The card was as thin as a cicada's wing, yet its hardness surpassed anything Chen Mo had ever seen.
Both sides of the card bore a large black question mark.
"Truly unknown," Chen Mo muttered, pursing his lips.
Suddenly, he noticed the Seven-Colored Tiny Snake rubbing against his thigh, its dual-colored eyes of green and purple gleaming brightly.
Chen Mo realized that the snake was very interested in the Fantasy Egg's shell. It seemed that consuming it could help the snake advance further.
"You've got good taste. Go ahead and eat it." After all, the Fantasy Egg had come from the King's Treasure Chest. Even if the shell couldn't compare to the Azure Lotus Core Flame, it was still leagues ahead of the Lotus Seat of the Azure Lotus Core Flame.
Chen Mo took the opportunity to store the larger pieces of the shell in his Storage Ring.
Lately, the Seven-Colored Tiny Snake had been sleeping more and more, often waking up only to fall back asleep after a few minutes of activity.
This time was no different. After devouring the shattered shell, the snake coiled itself around Chen Mo's arm and slipped into his sleeve.
The room returned to silence.
Chen Mo took out the Lotus Seat from his Storage Ring and began his daily cultivation.
Meanwhile, at Jia Nan Academy.
"Dean, you wanted to see me?"
In a grand hall, Ruo Lin paid her respects to Hu Qian.
"The Emperor of the Jia Ma Empire, the President of the Apothecary Association, and the Grand Elder of the Yunlan Sect have jointly sent an invitation. They've invited us to observe the once-every-eight-years Alchemist Convention, followed by a friendly competition," Hu Qian explained.
"The Yunlan Sect? A friendly competition?" Ruo Lin sensed something amiss.
"The Yunlan Sect recently recruited a prodigious talent—a sixteen-year-old Two-Star Dou Master with three attributes. This individual even defeated their Young Sect Leader, Nalan Yanran, while only being a Two-Star Dou Master."
"Three attributes? How is that possible?"
"It's true. Many factions were present that day, so it couldn't have been faked."
"So, what is the Dean's intention?"
"Select a few students from the outer academy. The Grand Elder will also choose a few disciples from the inner academy. You will lead the team, representing Jia Nan Academy, to win this friendly competition."
"I'll ensure the mission is accomplished."
"Good. Make sure not to tarnish the academy's reputation."
...
Ice Spirit Grass, Purple Lotus, Ginseng.
Chen Mo tossed these ingredients one by one into the Alchemy Cauldron, carefully controlling the heat as he began the refining process.
The elixir he was crafting was the Minor Recovery Pill, a first-grade elixir. Although it was only first-grade, its difficulty in refinement was comparable to that of a second-grade elixir.
Fortunately, he carried with him an Alchemist Handbook personally written by Gu He. It contained Gu He's experiences from his days as a first-grade Alchemy Master to his rise as a sixth-grade Alchemist.
The handbook detailed everything—what elixirs to refine, the exact heat levels at specific times, which ingredients to add first, and which to add later. It was all laid out clearly.
Chen Mo didn't aim to win first place in the alchemy competition; he only needed to secure a decent ranking.
Alchemy was a tedious and monotonous process, requiring intense concentration with no room for laziness, and it took a considerable amount of time.
Half an hour later, as the alchemy cauldron calmed down, Chen Mo knew that the elixir was about to be successfully refined.
His hand slowly moved away from the fire port, and as Chen Mo withdrew his hand, the flames within the cauldron gradually extinguished.
With a wave of his hand, the lid of the cauldron flew off, and with another gesture, dozens of greenish-red elixirs leaped out of the cauldron and landed in Chen Mo's palm.
He placed the elixirs into a jade bottle and casually set it on a stone table nearby.
On the stone table, jade bottles of the same size were neatly arranged in three rows.
Pressing the switch to the secret chamber, the stone door opened, and two burly men who were always on standby outside entered, collecting the jade bottles from the table into their storage rings.
"Wait," Chen Mo instructed one of the men as they were about to leave. "Go to the best shop in the city and buy a high-quality alchemy cauldron."
"Yes, Sect Master."
The cauldron Chen Mo was currently using was brought from the Yunlan Sect. Although it was of decent quality, it was still unranked. After a few uses, a crack had appeared on the cauldron's wall.
After one or two more uses, it would likely explode.
Therefore, he needed to prepare a backup in advance.
Chen Mo stretched his limbs, deciding to refine one more batch before the cauldron exploded.
As the saying goes, sharpening your spear before battle may not make it sharper, but it will at least shine.
Black-Corner Region.
Xiao Clan.
Secret Chamber.
On Xiao Yan's face, a small blood fissure suddenly burst open, and blood flowed out, drenching his entire face in a crimson hue, making him look particularly ferocious and terrifying.
In the next moment, a dual-colored flame, one white and one black, seeped out from the blood fissure and gradually enveloped his entire body.
The Strange Fire ranked twenty-first on the Celestial Flame Chart, the Yin-Yang Dual Flames.
Xiao Yan had unexpectedly obtained it while exploring a ruin.
Under the guidance of the Flame Mantra, the highly destructive heat released by the Yin-Yang Dual Flames slowly converged, and after a moment, the heat completely dissipated.
At that moment, Xiao Yan opened his eyes, and a black-and-white Strange Fire slowly rose from the palm of his right hand.
The Yin-Yang Dual Flames had been successfully refined.
"Not bad. It seems that after the last setback, your willpower has been further tempered. You can even endure the pain of refining a Strange Fire," Yao Lao said with a smile as he saw Xiao Yan succeed.
"Chen Mo, if I meet you during our three-year agreement, you'll..." Xiao Yan threw out the black-and-white flame, and the stone table in the secret chamber gradually turned to ashes under the flame's devouring heat.
"With your current strength, plus my assistance, we might barely win. But to completely defeat him, you must evolve the Flame Mantra and quickly advance to the Dou Grand Master level," Yao Lao advised.
"Don't worry, Master. I won't act recklessly like last time. This time, I will definitely crush him, absolutely," Xiao Yan said, staring at the ashes of the stone table. In his eyes, Chen Mo's fate would be the same as those ashes.
Jia Ma Empire.
Capital.
Miteer Family.
Night fell.
On the pavilion, a woman dressed in a luxurious, vibrant red brocade robe rested her chin on her hand, completely disregarding the exposed, fair, and slender leg beneath her robe. She gazed up at the bright, clear moonlight.
She murmured softly, "The three-year agreement is approaching, and the Alchemist Convention is about to begin. Little one, can you shine with your own brilliance?"
This chapter took a long time to write, revised and edited repeatedly. As you can probably tell, the first wave of the decisive battle is about to begin.
The Yin-Yang Dual Flames, as mentioned in the character biographies of the mobile game adaptation of "Battle Through the Heavens," are not made up.