Chapter 73: Invitation

Though the cauldron I got from Xi Song's holding bag was good, it was already contaminated with my poison Qi and I can't use it to create anything but poison pills.

"How about now, do you not need me to provide you with a cauldron of your own?" the emperor said to me through a telepathic message.

Man, I hate the fact that I can't use telepathic messaging, I'll need to be at least at Core Creating to have my own spiritual sea and access to divine sense.

I pulled my brush and wrote on a paper for the emperor's eyes only.

"I could use a Dragon Brass cauldron."

"Just that? I can get you some of the best cauldrons the empire has to offer, and you wish for a Dragon Brass cauldron? Heck if  my little knowledge about alchemy could serve, that's on an even lower quality than Meteorite Steel cauldron."

"Yes," I wrote, "But it can contain heat better, even if it has bad Qi distribution. Also, it would work wonders, I'll put on a show for you that you'll be sure to enjoy."

"So be it," said the emperor, and a moment later a royal guard wearing red and silver armors flew towards me.

He placed the Dragon Brass cauldron that looked nothing more than a cooking pot in front of me.

"Please check this pot," I said to the administrator who was next to me. The man frowned but immediately understood my meaning.

Once he checked it, he spoke up for all to hear, "This is a regulation respecting cauldron, it has nothing added to it, it's purely made of Dragon Brass. Are you sure you wish to use this, Shen Bao?"

"Yes," I replied, the man nodded and I had the cauldron in my hand.

"Foolish, that's going to cost you dearly, no one in their right mind would ever use Dragon Brass to make a Soul Condensing Pill," Ming Du scoffed.

"Aren't you tired of having your face being dragged through the mud the whole day? Just wait and I'll show you how foolish it is to speak before you see results." I replied at the kid who hmphed like a teenage girl once again.

The administrators began by giving the participants the herbs they needed for the pill.

Then the oldest of the administrators spoke, "You have up to five incense time to make a soul-cleansing pill, you'll be graded by the time, purity, and quality of your pill." The administrator spoke.

Everyone began their extraction phase, as for I, I pulled out my Drowsy Inkberry quill and my brush and began inscribing the pot as fast as I could. To the amazement of everyone present, my hands were moving at a speed that could only be described as blurringly fast.

I wrote as fast as I could, painting inscriptions, regulation of heat, distribution of mass, heat conversion, liquid preservation, and more inscriptions than I could count, I needed to finish this as fast as I can at least I'll have time to create the pill.

Seeing that I won't be able to fully finish the inscriptions in time, I made a risky gambit, I placed my brush within the pot and began writing the extraction inscription on the pot. Then placed an herb inside and slapped the pot while I still wrote on it. I was using alchemy and inscription making at the same time, to the amazement of myself and everyone in the audience. The whole process looked like a mad man's dream attempting to do two things at once. How can a person split their mind between alchemy and craftsmanship and do them both at the same time? I didn't know but I was doing it still and I was grinning as I inscribed and did alchemy.

Though the pot was extremely hot, and I feared that it would actually impact the pill if I were to have bits of my burnt hand falling into the pot, I managed to write the final inscription within the pot right before my hand became a charred mess.

Once everything was in place, I continued slapping the pot until the whole spiritual herbal extract amassed itself in the middle of the pot.

I had a few seconds to look up, only to notice everyone looking at me. The time was almost up, and everyone had either finished or had their pot blow up. And they were all waiting for me or hoping that I won't make it before the time was up.

I slapped the cauldron one last time and three pills shot up towards a pill bottle and I grinned as I definitely had a good pill among those three.

"Humph, you barely made it in time," Ming Du said.

"You talk too much," Meng Hao said.

"Little brat, do you know who I am?" Ming Du shouted.

"Meng Hao, no need to shout at barking dogs, one would think you both dogs," I said and Meng Hao nodded and ignored the brat who now was fuming at being compared to a dog.

The administrators came and began collecting the pills, nodding at cultivators and shaking their heads at others. More than two-thirds of the participants had their pills rejected, either they were cracked or of low quality.

And when the administrator took my pill bottle the administrator sighed, frustrated even.

"Once again, Shen Bao scores first place."

"WHAT?!" Ming Du shouted. "How the hell is that even possible I made a perfect bright hell even this brat made a good pill," he said pointing at Meng Hao, how come Shen Bao who was the last to finish be first? Isn't this test based on time? Or are your rules so fickle that you can change them whenever you want!"

"Such audacious claims!" the 'punishment' administrator the guy who was gonna execute anyone for cheating, this is the name I decided for him as I don't know his name. "You think our rules are so haphazardly made we change them at our whims? If you can claim yourself better than Shen Bao, can you make this!" the punishment cultivator pulled a pill from my pill bottle and showed it to everyone.

The moment the pill was out in the open, a strange atmosphere began gathering around it, as the world's natural Qi began amassing itself alongside it. The pill was cultivating spiritual Qi, and I grinned.

"P-Pill veins!" Ming Du stuttered as he looked at me.

"And he made a pill veined Spirit Condensing Pill while multi-tasking, creating inscriptions while doing alchemy, and still suffering through the heat from his pot. Do you believe you have his focus? His commitment and sheer power of will! Not even a thousand more years you'll need to be half of what he is if you continue with your attitude." The man said and turned.

"Does anyone has an objection to Shen Bao taking first place!"

No one spoke, it was clear who the victor was.

"Shen Bao," the administrator turned to me. "It would be but a waste of time for you to continue playing with these kids, even I don't dare say I have greater alchemical knowledge than you, you're hereby the prime winner of today's event and don't need to partake in the next challenge as you have proved that anything we throw at you would be treated as a joke. I'm not degrading your achievements, but if you really did only start alchemy a few months ago, then I don't believe that the alchemy guild even has people capable of mentoring you." The punishment administrator said.

"That's no issue," one man said as he flew down the audience.

He was wearing golden robes and looked majestic like a man sent from heaven to witness mortal's strife. A man of grandeur and a presence that cowed everyone. Not even the emperor's cultivation was a match to this person.

"I find Shen Bao's talents to be extraordinary, we of the Seven Mountain Peaks Sect wish to invite you as an honored guest, we will not force you to join us, but our doors are open to you if you wish to join our sect."

I heard mutters around me and among the words I could capture, were "Isn't the Seven Mountain Peaks sect a fifth level Cultivation sect?"

This was huge, this sect was actually only one grade lower than the Purple Cloud sect, and if I remember correctly, it has higher standing than the Imperial Clan. I could get better information from them on the Sect that attacked the Purple Cloud Sect.

"I'll be honored, to be a guest within your sect, I'll make sure to pay you a visit as soon as I can."

"The way to the Seven Mountain Peaks is far, you'll need guidance, though I'll respect your wishes if you don't want me escorting you, I'll leave you with a map to our sect and this token that you can present when you're at our gates."

The man threw the token towards me and I pocketed it right after I read, "Esteemed Guest" written on it.

I nodded at the man who then disappeared out of sight.

Suddenly everyone began congratulating me on the opportunity I just received. And among them was even the emperor, though I felt a hint of apprehension on his face.

"Shen Bao, that invitation. I don't think it of pure intentions, come meet me at my palace, I'll send someone over to pick you up."

Well, that doesn't bode well…