Chapter 252: Crushing (2/2)

“You… you….” Chen Jiaxi gaped in astonishment at Meng Hao, his mind reeling. His vision began to grow dim. Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that Fang Mu’s mastery of plants and vegetation could have reached this shocking state. Had he known, he would never have attempted to compete against him.

His voice quavered, and his body trembled. He was about to say something more when suddenly a second flower appeared, then a third and a fourth….

One flower after another, rocking Chen Jiaxi’s spirit. The Cultivators in the square were thrown into a frenzy. They stared at Meng Hao with looks of complete shock and disbelief.

Six flowers. Seven flowers. Eight flowers. Nine flowers….

Every new flower sent waves of astonishment through the hearts of the onlookers, even Patriarch Violet Sieve and the two Patriarchs next to him. Their breathing was ragged as they watched Meng Hao, their eyes burning.

Finally… the tenth flower appeared!

When the tenth flower appeared, Chen Jiaxi’s vision went black. He was on the verge of passing out. Anguished howls of grief welled up in his heart. This turn of events could never have been predicted. How could he have encountered someone so… inhuman here in the Black Sieve Sect? In truth, were he to know that Fang Mu was Grandmaster Pill Cauldron, he would certainly pass out immediately.

“Inhuman…” thought Zhou Dekun, his body trembling, his vision blank.

This was not a competition between two people. Fang Mu had completely crushed Chen Jiaxi. There was simply no way for him to even fight back. He was utterly and thoroughly defeated.

Patriarch Violet Sieve and the two others were breathing heavily, staring fixedly at the calm Meng Hao, as if he were some sort of precious treasure. A massive commotion of conversation exploded among the Black Sieve Sect Cultivators.

The Cultivators in attendance all had some knowledge of the Dao of alchemy. How could they not understand the significance of what they were seeing…?

“Grandmaster Fang Mu!!”

“The dried stem blossomed ten times! The ultimate achievement, one hundred million grafting variations!!”

Amidst uproarious hubbub, Meng Hao suddenly lifted his head. Without even looking at the dried stem, he put it into his bag of holding. Obviously, he didn’t plan to return it.

“So, do you still want to compete in plants and vegetation?” he said. In front of him, Chen Jiaxi’s face was deathly pale, and his entire body was quivering.

He tilted his head back. His hair was dishevelled, and his eyes shone with demented insanity.

“YES!” he cried, staring at Meng Hao, his eyes filled with jealousy and hatred.

He hated that his opponent was so young, yet possessed such mastery of plants and vegetation. He hated that his opponent was an East Pill Furnace Lord. He hated that his opponent left him speechless, both with his words and his Dao of alchemy. He especially hated that his opponent wouldn’t let him win, wouldn’t let Chen Jiaxi trample over him to rise to prominence.

His hatred seeped into his bones, giving rise to devilish insanity.

“We will compete in Instantaneous Formula Scrying!” said Chen Jiaxi, his voice hoarse. Down below, Li Yiming had planned to pull him back. However, after seeing the wild, animalistic look in Chen Jiaxi’s eyes, he simply sighed inwardly.

“Alright, if you want another competition, you’ll have it,” said Meng Hao coolly. Glancing over at Chen Jiaxi and his maddened state, he added another thought: “However, a competition like that bores me. If you want to compete, then let’s make a bet. Any pill produced that the other party can identify, will be surrendered immediately!”

Zhou Dekun gasped at the viciousness of it. This would truly be the fatal blow.

Li Yiming’s face twisted. At the same moment, Chen Jiaxi seemed to recover some of his common sense. However, he couldn’t let go of the hatred within his heart. He pushed his common sense down, ignoring it.

“Fine! I won’t stop until I win!!” His voice rang out, causing all of the Black Sieve Sect disciples to let out a collective gasp. Li Yiming and Zhou Dekun both seemed to be shaking with anxiety.

‘I won’t stop until I win’ indicated that the competition wouldn’t be over as long as there were medicinal pills to produce. The only way it could end would be for someone to quit, and that would be the ultimate defeat.

Li Yiming was incredibly worried as he watched red-eyed Chen Jiaxi slap his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill, which he then tossed over to Meng Hao.

Meng Hao grabbed it and looked at it.

“World Mirage Pill. Heavenly Dawn sap, Hundred Tombs soil, Peace Dissemination leaf, Ninth Sexagenary grass….” Having finished speaking, Meng Hao placed the medicinal pill in his bag of holding and looked at Chen Jiaxi.

Chen Jiaxi glared at him. He wanted to say that Meng Hao was wrong. However, they were both alchemists. To do that would lose him even more face than being openly defeated, and he would lose any right to continue.

He slapped his bag of holding to produce another medicinal pill, which he threw over to Meng Hao.

“Frigid Lightning Pill,” said Meng Hao coolly. “Not many of these pills exist. It requires root of Seasonal Glory Grass, harvested amidst the snows of winter, as well as Gold and Iron sap, Lightning Fire Grass….” He continued to list out dozens of medicinal plants.

“This pill… interesting. I’m not sure of the name, but it contains power to strengthen the arms. It’s obviously a body-refining pill. It contains Indomitable Mountain flower, Containment sapling….”

“This… this is actually a magic pill which can melt the blood and transform it into explosive power. It contains crushed Green Burst, Celestial Heaven oil….”

“Fellow Daoist Chen, you have many unique pills. Excellent, excellent. I’m not sure the name of this pill, but it’s clearly a poison pill. It contains….”

Time passed by slowly. Zhou Dekun stared on in shock. Chen Jiaxi seemed to be on the verge of collapse, his face as pale as death as he tried to outdo Meng Hao. However, he really had no chance. He was essentially just handing over his medicinal pills….

In the time it takes for only half an incense stick to burn, he had already delivered nearly a hundred different medicinal pills over to Meng Hao….