That day, Chen Jinshu had just returned from the Spiritual Food Hall on the Medicine King Peak, holding a scroll listing the top contenders for the upcoming Blind Box Alchemy Tournament.
"I didn't expect so many disciples to participate this time," Chen Jinshu murmured, recalling what Senior Sister Dai had told her. With the upcoming opening of Xuanming Cave Heaven, many inner sect personal disciples who hadn't yet formed their Foundation would be participating—making her feel a sense of urgency.
Senior Sister Dai, who had already formed her Foundation, wouldn't be competing herself, but she knew many disciples. Thus, she had specially compiled a list of top outer sect contenders, along with inner sect statistics.
Unlike the other main peaks, Medicine King Peak was dominated by spiritual herb cultivators and alchemists. When it came to raw combat power, it was always one of the least represented peaks in the top 200 during outer sect tournaments.
However, since the Medicine King Peak provided pills and elixirs to the sect, its status was exceptional. So, allowing it to host its own alchemy competition to earn slots in the cave heaven had been approved by the other peaks.
Otherwise, given the low combat abilities of alchemists, very few would have a chance to enter the Xuanming Cave Heaven.
And yet, the grotto was filled with spirit herbs and medicinal resources. If disciples of Medicine King Peak couldn't access it, the long-term growth of the sect would be impacted.
Chen Jinshu had invited Senior Sister Dai to a spirit meal partly to dig out more information about the competition. To her surprise, after they ate, her senior simply tossed her a scroll and said it contained the list of hot contenders for the tournament.
A moment later, back at Ink Plum Courtyard, Chen Jinshu began examining the scroll.
"The Outer Sect's Three Talents?"
The first thing she saw upon unrolling the scroll were those four words. Clearly highlighted by her senior sister, they couldn't be ordinary individuals. She quickly read through the content and soon understood the origin of this "Three Talents" title.
The Three Talents of the Outer Sect was a title bestowed upon the most outstanding alchemical talents in the outer sect—recognized for both their reputation and skill.
To earn this title was no easy feat. It required fame, a strong cultivation base, and exceptional alchemy. According to the scroll, each of the three held 9th-level Qi Refining cultivation, and each had obtained Grade-One High-tier Alchemist Certification.
To be certified at high-tier Grade One was incredibly difficult. The blind box would contain over 500–600 types of spiritual herbs, and the alchemist had to select the correct ones to refine a high-tier Grade One pill.
Chen Jinshu had only barely managed to obtain low-tier certification previously, and that was already a close call. To get high-tier certification, one typically needed at least level 8 or 9 in Qi Refining.
Of course, the three talents specialized in different types of pills: healing, cultivation enhancement, mental fortification, and spiritual consciousness enhancement.
Each of them dominated one of these categories.
More importantly, the elders had already decided that they would publicly accept disciples during this tournament.
"Three of the top twenty spots are already taken."
Unsurprisingly, these three were virtually guaranteed to secure top-20 positions. She then turned to her senior's stats on inner sect participants: eight people in total.
All of them were recent disciples accepted by elders in the last few years, which meant they were outstanding even without reaching Foundation Establishment. Five of them were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and high-tier alchemists—surely top contenders. One had mediocre cultivation but excellent alchemy skills, known as the alchemical prodigy Peng Qi.
The remaining two were average overall, mid-tier alchemists with late-stage Qi Refining.
These two would be her strongest rivals.
Recently, with focused effort, Chen Jinshu had made significant improvements in her alchemy and learned many new pill recipes. Though her pill quality wasn't yet high, her process was smooth and error-free. With enough practice, she had a chance to refine high-quality mid-tier pills—and thus compete for a top-20 spot.
She then browsed the profiles of nearly 100 outer sect disciples. Around 90 had low-tier certifications like hers, and 20 of them had already reached mid-tier certification. Another dozen or so were well-known for their pills despite not having formal titles.
So, her main competition was this group of 20 or so.
"Nine spots are already locked in. That leaves eleven. Still plenty of chances." Chen Jinshu felt a weight lift from her chest after reviewing the summary.
If she could continue refining her skills steadily, she might just seize one of those remaining eleven spots. Of course, the outer sect might still hide some dark horses—geniuses who had chosen to keep a low profile. But those would be rare, and at most take a few spots. There were still opportunities to fight for.
"Time to start refining!"
Even after understanding the competition's layout, her nerves hadn't settled. After all, big sects hid many who preferred to remain obscure. Who knew how many had secretly made huge breakthroughs? Senior Sister's intel might already be outdated.
"Refine carefully. The outcome will speak for itself."
She entered the pill refinement room and resumed practice. Seven days later, Chen Jinshu had been refining pills for three days straight. Spiritual herbs were neatly arranged all over the floor.
"My success rate has finally reached 40%," she said with a pleased smile.
She was currently refining Lingshen Pills, a cultivation aid for mid-stage Qi Refining. These pills were far more potent than Qi Condensing Pills and infused with powerful spiritual energy. However, they required five more ingredients than the basic pill, making them harder to craft.
To prepare for the competition, refining multiple pill types was essential—and she needed at least a 40% success rate. She didn't seek volume—just stable results. Her real goal was refining high-quality pills.
In the tournament, quality would matter more than quantity.
So over the past few days, she had targeted various pills. As long as she reached a 40% success rate, she focused on improving quality. She had read accounts in the library of contestants who made the top 20 simply due to exceptional pill quality, even if their success rate was only 40–50%.
That gave her confidence.
There were 15 different mid-tier pill recipes, far more than low-tier ones. She had tried each one. Among them, Spirit Ginseng Pills were the most difficult.
Especially the fire control—to preserve the medicinal essence of Nine-leaf Spirit Ginseng, the flames had to be precisely managed. Only then would the final quality improve.
"The pill quality is still on the lower side of average... My chances at a top-20 finish are slim."
She frowned. Many of her early batches had the same issue. It often took a dozen furnaces before noticeable improvement.
Even so, this was with her Genesis Alchemy Furnace, which resonated perfectly with her.
"If I'm forced to use a neutral, unrefined furnace during the competition, my quality will drop!"
"Time to use more Moon Spirit Nectar to deepen my understanding."
She had discovered that consuming Moon Spirit Nectar activated the lotus-petal birthmark on her forehead, enhancing her perception and deepening her comprehension of pill formulas.
However, her stash was running low—only one jar left.