Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 180: Reversal of Stars

The fire was blazing, reflecting Gao Xingchen's resolute face. Sweat dripped from his forehead, dripped onto the hot ground, and evaporated instantly. His hands danced like a butterfly, and mysterious runes flew out from his fingertips and merged into the furnace in front of him.

The furnace hummed, as if it was under tremendous pressure and could burst at any time. Gao Xingchen did not dare to relax at all. He mobilized all the spiritual power in his body and injected it into the furnace frantically, trying to activate the last step of the Nine-Turn Alchemy Technique.

Time passed by, and the game entered a fierce stage. The audience outside the stadium held their breath and watched the changes on the field nervously.

“Hahaha, Gao Xingchen, don’t waste your energy!” Pharmacist Sun’s arrogant voice echoed in the arena, “I’m afraid you can’t even smell the fragrance of the elixir with this broken furnace of yours!”

Gao Xingchen turned a deaf ear to her and stared at the alchemy furnace, his eyes full of determination and resoluteness. He believed Nan Li's words and believed that he would succeed!

At this moment, a strange energy wave came out from Pharmacist Sun's furnace, and Gao Xingchen keenly caught this strangeness. He frowned slightly, and a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

"Something's wrong!" Gao Xingchen thought to himself, "This energy fluctuation doesn't seem to be produced by alchemy, but rather..."

A bold guess emerged in Gao Xingchen's mind. He took a deep breath and approached Master Sun's alchemy furnace calmly.

When Gao Xingchen was less than three steps away from the alchemy furnace, he suddenly moved. He flashed and appeared beside Pharmacist Sun's alchemy furnace like a ghost, and stretched out his hand to gently press the furnace.

"Click!"

With a slight sound, a secret compartment suddenly popped out from the bottom of Pharmacist Sun's furnace, and a round ball emitting a faint fluorescent light rolled out.

“What is this?!” Elder Lin’s face darkened upon seeing this and he asked in a stern voice.

Pharmacist Sun's face turned pale, he stammered and couldn't speak. Gao Xingchen sneered, picked up the ball on the ground, and said loudly: "Elder Lin, if I'm not mistaken, this should be a 'Gathering Spirit Bead', which can continuously supply spiritual power to the alchemy furnace to improve the quality of the pill."

"what?!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Elder Lin took the Spirit Gathering Pearl and examined it carefully. His face turned livid. He turned around abruptly, glared at Pharmacist Sun, and said sternly, "Pharmacist Sun, do you have anything else to say?!"

Pharmacist Sun fell to his knees with a thud, trembling all over and sweating profusely. He knew that he was finished.

“Someone come!” Elder Lin roared, “Take Pharmacist Sun away, disqualify him from the competition, and wait for your punishment!”

Several law enforcement disciples stepped forward and dragged Pharmacist Sun away. There was an uproar on the field, and everyone was talking about it. They looked at Gao Xingchen with admiration and awe.

Elder Lin returned to the judging panel and announced, "After verification, Pharmacist Sun used illegal means to disrupt the order of the competition. He is now disqualified and will be handed over to the Law Enforcement Hall for disposal. Now, the competition continues!"

Gao Xingchen looked at the figure of Pharmacist Sun being taken away, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. He knew that he had won this game!

When Pharmacist Sun was exposed for cheating, it was like a huge rock was thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up thousands of waves. The audience seats immediately went wild, with discussions and exclamations rising one after another, almost overturning the entire stadium.

"Oh my god, Pharmacist Sun actually cheated. How disappointing!"

"I knew it. How could a little-known person like him refine a pill of higher quality than Gao Xingchen's? It turns out he used some shameful means!"

"Gao Xingchen is so amazing. He was able to discover Pharmacist Sun's cheating method. He really has a keen eye!"

……

Listening to the discussions around him, Gao Xingchen looked calm, as if everything was within his expectations. He was not happy about Pharmacist Sun's defeat, but became more alert. He knew that the game was far from over, and his final opponent was the silent but unfathomable Fairy Zhao.

After Pharmacist Sun was taken away by the law enforcement disciples, the arena returned to calm. Elder Lin announced that the game would continue, and everyone's attention was once again focused on Gao Xingchen and Fairy Zhao.

Fairy Zhao was still dressed in white, floating like a fairy from heaven, but there was a hint of pride in her cold eyes. The defeat of Pharmacist Sun was undoubtedly great news for her, as it meant that she had one less strong opponent and was one step closer to the final victory.

She glanced at Gao Xingchen, and a barely perceptible sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth. In her opinion, although Gao Xingchen had some talent, he was too young and lacked experience, so he was not worth worrying about.

"Gao Xingchen, I admit that you have some skills. You were able to discover Pharmacist Sun's cheating methods." Fairy Zhao said in a cold tone with a hint of contempt. "But do you think you can beat me like this? You are too naive!"

Gao Xingchen ignored Fairy Zhao's provocation, his eyes always on the alchemy furnace in front of him, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him. His fingers tapped lightly on the table, and he kept deducing various alchemy plans in his mind.

He knew that Fairy Zhao was no ordinary person. She must have some extraordinary qualities to have come this far. If he wanted to defeat her, he would have to use all his strength, and even a little luck.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the competition entered the final sprint stage. Gao Xingchen and Fairy Zhao both entered a state of ecstasy, devoting themselves to alchemy, like two statues motionless.

The atmosphere on the field became increasingly tense, and the audience held their breath, fearing to miss any exciting moments. Everyone wanted to know who would be the final winner.

Gao Xingchen, on the other hand, raised his lips in a barely perceptible arc when Fairy Zhao relaxed her guard. He thought to himself, "Fairy Zhao, do you think you have won? Next, I will give you an unexpected surprise!"

Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and put all distracting thoughts behind him. He stared at the furnace in front of him with a sharp gaze. Fairy Zhao's underestimation of the enemy gave him a glimmer of hope. He originally planned to refine the fourth-grade elixir "Purple Cloud Pill", which was already his limit, but facing the powerful Fairy Zhao, his chances of winning were slim.

At this moment, he decided to take a risk and refine the fifth-grade elixir "Star Soul Pill"!

The Star Soul Pill is extremely difficult to refine, and it has very strict requirements on the alchemist's mental strength and control over the flames. If you are not careful, you will fail, and may even suffer a backlash. But Gao Xingchen can't care about that, he must give it a try!

He took a deep breath, and his hands quickly formed a series of complicated seals, and pure spiritual power poured into the furnace like a flood. The temperature in the furnace suddenly rose, and the color of the flame changed from red to dazzling gold. A strange fragrance of the elixir began to spread in the arena.

Fairy Zhao was originally refining her own elixir nonchalantly. In her opinion, victory in this competition was already in her pocket. But when she smelled the strange fragrance of the elixir, her face suddenly changed, and she turned her head sharply to look at Gao Xingchen.

I saw the alchemy furnace in front of Gao Xingchen shining brightly with golden light, and a powerful energy wave emanated from the furnace and rushed straight into the sky!

"What, what kind of medicine is this?!" Fairy Zhao screamed in shock. She had never seen such a powerful energy fluctuation, and an ominous premonition suddenly arose in her heart.

Elder Lin and other judges were also alarmed by the powerful energy fluctuations. They all stood up and stared at the alchemy furnace in front of Gao Xingchen with burning eyes, their faces full of shock and anticipation.

Gao Xingchen was completely immersed in the state of refining the elixir at this moment, and turned a deaf ear to everything outside. He was concentrating on controlling the flames and constantly refining the essence of the elixir. Every minute and every second was like walking on the edge of a knife. If he was not careful, he would be doomed.

Finally, at the last moment of the game, Gao Xingchen suddenly opened his eyes, put his hands together, and shouted in a low voice: "Concentrate!"

A dazzling golden light shot up from the alchemy furnace, turning into a golden pill, which slowly fell into Gao Xingchen's hands. The surface of the pill was shining brightly, exuding a refreshing pill fragrance, and a powerful energy wave emanated from the pill, which was heart-pounding!

"Fifth, fifth-grade elixir! This is actually a fifth-grade elixir!" Elder Lin was so excited that he was incoherent. He took the elixir with trembling hands, looked at it carefully, his face full of disbelief.

The other judges also gathered around, vying to get a glimpse of this fifth-grade elixir. The audience was in an uproar, everyone was stunned by Gao Xingchen's feat, and the discussions and exclamations were so loud that they almost overturned the entire arena!

Fairy Zhao, on the other hand, looked pale, as if struck by lightning. The elixir she had carefully refined was eclipsed by Gao Xingchen's fifth-grade elixir. It was like the light of a firefly; how could it compete with the bright moon?

Fairy Zhao looked pale, looking at the fifth-grade elixir in Gao Xingchen's hand in disbelief, and a feeling of powerlessness surged in her heart. The fourth-grade elixir she had carefully refined was eclipsed by Gao Xingchen's dazzling Star Soul Pill, like the light of a firefly, how could it compete with the bright moon?

She smiled bitterly and had to admit her failure. "I lost." She whispered, her tone full of bitterness and unwillingness.

Gao Xingchen put away the pills and turned to look at Fairy Zhao. There was no triumphant victory in his eyes, but a hint of admiration. "Fairy Zhao has an extraordinary talent in alchemy. Given time, she will become a great talent."

Fairy Zhao shook her head and forced a smile: "You are the real genius, I underestimated you."

Elder Lin excitedly announced the result of the competition: "The champion of this alchemy competition is—Gao Xingchen!"

The audience suddenly erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, and Gao Xingchen's name resounded throughout the arena. He stood on the stage, bathed in the gazes of the crowd, but he did not feel a trace of pride or complacency in his heart, but instead felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

At this moment, Gao Xingchen keenly caught a glimpse of something strange. He found that Pharmacist Sun's face looked a little strange, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be deliberately avoiding his gaze.

Gao Xingchen's heart moved, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind. He walked up to Pharmacist Sun, stared at him with a sharp gaze, and said in a deep voice: "Pharmacist Sun, it seems that you have participated in this game a lot, right?"

Pharmacist Sun's face changed, and he said calmly, "Gao Xingchen, what do you mean? I don't understand."

Gao Xingchen sneered, pointed at Pharmacist Sun's cuffs, and said, "Pharmacist Sun, there is a special kind of powder on your cuffs. This powder can interfere with the alchemist's mental power and cause the alchemy to fail. And I happened to smell this powder on Fairy Zhao."

Pharmacist Sun's face changed drastically, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He wanted to argue, but found himself speechless.

Gao Xingchen continued, "You resorted to such despicable means to make Fairy Zhao lose the game. Do you think you are worthy of your status as an alchemist by doing this?"

Pharmacist Sun's conspiracy was exposed and he immediately became the target of public criticism. Everyone looked at him with anger and contempt.

Elder Lin's face turned pale, and he angrily shouted, "Pharmacist Sun, as an alchemist, you actually did such a dirty thing. It's simply a disgrace to us alchemists!"

Pharmacist Sun looked ashen, knowing that he had been disgraced. He collapsed to the ground powerlessly, his eyes empty, as if he had lost his soul.

Gao Xingchen's victory not only proved his strength, but also exposed the conspiracy of Pharmacist Sun and maintained the dignity of the alchemist. He became a hero respected by everyone in the star field.

However, Gao Xingchen knew in his heart that this victory was just the beginning, and he still had a long way to go and more challenges to face.

At this moment, Nan Li, who had been silently paying attention to Gao Xingchen, curled up a barely perceptible smile at the corner of her mouth.