Chapter 806: Black Chicken Alchemy Technique

On the viewing platform, almost all the representatives from the major forces had their eyes fixed on Xu Shao. This guy was practically the most entertaining one at the entire Dan Refining Conference. It wasn't about his looks; it was purely his knack for comedy.

Hua Rong watched Xu Shao's black ink fire and a flash of disappointment crossed her eyes. She had still held onto a faint hope that Zhou Tian Shen hadn't lied. But Xu Shao's every action was so at odds with the image she had in mind of a towering, mighty figure who could stand against sword immortals.

“He doesn't even have the most basic fire attribute or wood attribute!”

Hua Rong could tell that Xu Shao wasn't fire-attributed at all. This black ink fire was summoned using Ling Ji. It didn't even compare to Jin Zhao Tian Yan or Bai Yan. In fact, it was inferior to most spirit fires.

On the judges' panel, Shi Ti secretly let out a sigh of relief, his tension easing as he exhaled slowly. “It's not Jin Zhao Tian Yan…” He spotted the fundamental difference between Xu Shao and Xu Xiao Shou. At least, as Sang Lao's disciple, Xu Xiao Shou was devout when refining Dan, even if it led to explosions—those came from his intense focus. That was the quality of an artist. And art, in its focus, carried a kind of unexpected beauty. Xu Xiao Shou had simply amplified that beauty... and the surprises. But Xu Shao's attitude toward Dan refining was reckless, lacking even the slightest respect. Someone with no devotion to Dan refining at all couldn't possibly produce a good Dan!

Shi Ti felt disappointed. But he also felt a bit relieved. Thankfully, it wasn't him. Sang Lao's remaining reputation wouldn't be tarnished.

Inside the Ling Array, the black ink fire drawn by "Painting Mastery" wouldn't disappear as long as Ling Yuan was maintained. But in terms of flame quality, this ink fire was far inferior to Bai Yan. Xu Xiao Shou used this fire to warm the Dan Ding for a long time before it reached a usable temperature. He let out a breath of relief. “Honestly, I didn't expect this painted fire to be so subpar. If it took two quarters of an hour and the Dan Ding still wasn't warm, that would've been hilarious.” Xu Xiao Shou thought that if that happened, he'd have to shamelessly ask Dong Ling Hui Zhang for a "Fall Origin Purple Fire" to borrow. Luckily, warming the Ding succeeded, so the first step was done. After spending some time, the other Dan refiners in their arrays couldn't hold back any longer and started their actions.

Xu Xiao Shou glanced to his left. Yu Chu Chu was still frowning in deep thought. “This girl…” He chuckled and turned to Xiao Wanfeng: “Your Chu Chu Jie is really lagging. I've already explained the Dan Fang's exam content to her, and she still hasn't figured it out.”

“What do you mean, my Chu Chu Jie? She's not mine…” Xiao Wanfeng's face turned red as he quickly changed the subject: “Xu Shao, you think that Dan Fang is fine? Are you starting to refine Dan now? If you need any Ling Yao, just describe it, and I should be able to find it.”

He turned his head toward the wooden table. The Ling Yao had already been taken out from the ring. But among these hundreds of herbs, some looked almost identical, leaving Xiao Wanfeng utterly confused.

“No need for you to handle the herbs; just brew the tea. I'll take care of the rest.” Xu Xiao Shou smiled mysteriously, then firmly refused. He was serious about Dan refining and wouldn't let Xiao Wanfeng mess things up. Dan refining was tricky—even timing the addition of a single Ling Yao wrong could lead to failure, let alone something as difficult as "Ke Xuan Dan" for others. Xiao Wanfeng, as a tool for show, could just stand there brewing tea and gaining passive points; no need to get involved.

After being turned down, the young man just said “Oh” and stepped back with the tea, carefully observing Xu Shao's next moves. Others didn't think Xu Shao would succeed. But Xiao Wanfeng had never seen Xu Shao fail at anything. He figured Xu Shao was just putting on an act, and his Dan refining skills were probably pretty good—at least at a level where he'd dare to compete!

“What kind of technique will it be…” Xiao Wanfeng felt a secret curiosity in his heart, his eyes full of anticipation.

Dan refining begins!

Xu Shao suddenly released his aura, like a swordsman drawing his blade, swallowing mountains and rivers in his momentum. The next second, Xiao Wanfeng saw Xu Shao wave his hand, and a black ink chicken appeared out of thin air…

Wait?

Something didn't seem right…

“Cluck cluck cluck!”

The chicken's cry echoed inside the Ling Array, and once Xiao Wanfeng realized what was happening, his eyes nearly popped out. A chicken?! Xu Shao had summoned a chicken?

The young man whipped his head around, looking at Xu Shao's face, trying to spot any embarrassed expression like “Oops, I used the wrong Ling Ji.”

But there was none. All he saw was Xu Shao's solemn and devout expression.

“It's not my eyes—Xu Shao must be the one with the problem!” At that moment, Xiao Wanfeng's mind exploded. “Chicken?!”

Many in the audience outside saw this scene almost immediately. People started pointing at the black ink chicken that had appeared in the Ling Array and shouting.

“This is insane! Did Xu Shao use the wrong skill? He summoned a chicken?”

“Ha ha ha ha! A chicken! A black one! At the Dan Refining Conference, a chicken just showed up?”

“Oh my god, what am I seeing? A chicken? One that can even cluck? Is that Xu Shao's summoning Ling Ji?”

“Everyone, look at that ink chicken—it's so vivid and lifelike, just like the ink fire. I bet it's from Xu Shao's half-saint family's advanced Dan refining… pff ha ha ha, I can't keep this up!”

“Chicken! Wa ha ha ha, it's really a chicken! Damn!”

“That's wild.”

On the judges' panel, the various veteran Hui Zhangs lost all expression at the same time. It was as if some great power had suddenly drained the emotions from these eighteen esteemed elders. After a long silence, Lu Hui Zhang gritted his teeth and forced out the words through clenched jaws: “He! Is insulting Dan refining!”

Crack, crack, crack. Even though the other Hui Zhangs were used to storms, they couldn't help but clench their fists, their faces twisted in fury.

Inside that strikingly conspicuous Ling Array, the veteran Hui Zhangs could see the unruly black chicken tilting its neck and clucking wildly, while its claws shuffled along, step by step, making its way to the table. Then, the black chicken opened its beak, grabbed a stalk of Ling Yao, and leaped into the Dan Ding, turning into spiritual energy along with the herb, ending its misguided life. But then, a second black chicken appeared, went to the wooden table, grabbed another Ling Yao, and leaped into the Dan Ding… And so it repeated, endlessly. In Xu Shao's Ling Array, this “advanced Dan refining art” of chickens flying into the fire unfolded before everyone's eyes. Those graceful, plump, and tempting black chickens stepped all over the last boundaries of the veteran Hui Zhangs' respect for Dan refining, trampling and destroying it, only to choose self-destruction afterward.

“I'm going crazy!” On the judges' panel, Lu Hui Zhang slammed to his feet, his eyes bulging with rage. He couldn't watch anymore. If Xu Shao's earlier antics were tolerable because people had gotten used to the obnoxious behavior of spoiled heirs from great families, this black chicken performance… It wasn't just simple insults! Even if he couldn't refine Dan properly, Xu Shao's actions… Without a doubt, he was challenging the entire Dan refining art of Dong Tian Jie!

“Cluck cluck cluck!”

The black chicken clucked wildly, grabbing Ling Yao and heading to its own demise as it called.

Xiao Wanfeng was losing it. He clutched his head, his face a picture of shock.

The audience outside was going wild too. People burst into laughter like pigs squealing, slapping their thighs and telling everyone around them to witness this moment that would go down in Dong Tian Jie's Dan refining history.

Even the Dan refiners in the restricted area who had finished the first round were floored. They clung to the railings, stunned yet full of admiration for Xu Shao's audacity. Even as a half-saint heir, who would dare do this? There were half-saints in the Dan refining world, and rumor had it that Jin Zhao Ban Sheng was hot-tempered in his youth. He might just strike across domains and kill this insulter of Dan refining on the spot! How could Xu Shao be so bold…

It's like yawning is contagious—as soon as tens of thousands of people focused on one point, that energy could affect others, even through the Ling Array.

Next to Xu Xiao Shou, a seventh-grade Dan refiner was deeply focused on his process. Suddenly, he hit a snag with conflicting herb properties in his Dan Fang and instinctively looked up to think. By accident, he caught sight of the frenzied scene with the crowd. “What's going on?” “Did the competition end?” Startled, he followed their gaze and saw, in Xu Shao's Ling Array, several black chickens tumbling along, grabbing Ling Yao and rushing to their deaths in the Dan Ding. The Dan refiner's expression froze in astonishment. “Boom!” The next second, an explosion hit his setup, blasting him flying into the Ling Array. “Oh crap…” He didn't even have time to activate his Ling Yuan barrier, so before blacking out, all he could do was mutter a curse, sinking into darkness with endless confusion. Xu Shao… was that even refining Dan?

“Boom boom boom…” Such mishaps from distractions were countless. Too many people accidentally noticed the chaos outside, glanced at Xu Shao's Dan refining, and then their setups exploded. Explosions rang out nonstop.

On the judges' panel, Shi Ti's face darkened. He noticed another trait Xu Shao shared with Xu Xiao Shou. The only difference was… Xu Xiao Shou blew up his own furnace. Xu Shao, on the other hand, was blowing up everyone else's!

“Dammit, I can't hold back anymore…” Lu Cheng Hui shoved his chair back. At that moment, he didn't even want to call for help; he just wanted to storm into the arena, enter the Ling Array, grab Xu Shao, and toss him out of Dong Tian Jie, back to whatever North Domain he came from to practice his “black chicken Dan refining technique.”

“This is too insulting to Dan refining!”

Just as he moved to act, Dong Ling raised a hand, her eyes filled with surprise: “Wait.”

“Dong Ling Hui Zhang!” Lu Cheng Hui turned back in frustration. This time, he didn't care about passing the buck—as long as Xu Shao was removed, it was worth it. Having someone like that around was just an eyesore.

Dong Ling didn't look back, her gaze burning as she stared at Xu Shao refining Dan: “Haven't you noticed something odd about him?”

Lu Cheng Hui was about to explode: “Odd? Dong Ling Hui Zhang, are you blind? Is 'a bit odd' all you can say about this guy?”

Dong Ling finally turned, glaring at Lu Cheng Hui. Lu Cheng Hui met her gaze head-on. By then, most of the veteran Hui Zhangs were angry too, and many supported Lu Cheng Hui.

“Wait!” Shi Ti calmed down and realized something was off: “Everyone, look—yes, some people are getting distracted and exploding, but Xu Shao's setup… it hasn't blown up yet?”

“Huh?”

This remark finally calmed the veteran Hui Zhangs. When they looked back, they saw this strange phenomenon. Up to that point, Xu Shao, using his black chicken Dan refining technique, hadn't exploded. And if you ignored the black chickens and just watched the process, Xu Shao's steps flowed smoothly, without any of the hesitations other competitors had. In fact, for Ke Xuan Dan, he seemed to have refined it countless times before—utterly proficient.

Lu Cheng Hui hesitated, turning back, now unsure: “Dong Ling Hui Zhang's point is… someone leaked the questions?”

Everyone froze. Dong Ling slapped her forehead, rolling her eyes. She couldn't blame Lu Cheng Hui; that was her initial reaction too. But…

“Take a closer look at his Dan refining process. Even if someone leaked the questions, which junior could master it this well in such a short time?” Dong Ling pointed at Xu Shao.

All the Hui Zhangs caught on. True, the final version of the Dan Fang was set that morning. But tracing back to earlier viable versions, it was only a day or two. In just a day or two, even with a leak, who could handle it this effortlessly? Because of the black chickens, the veteran Hui Zhangs couldn't see Xu Shao's techniques clearly. But his timing for adding Ling Yao was spot-on. In fact, even they couldn't guarantee they'd do it so… flawlessly!

Dan refining techniques only arise from “improving heat control,” “correcting errors,” or “refining the process.” If the process itself is flawless, does it matter whether techniques are used? That's exactly what Xu Shao was doing!

“He's skipping techniques altogether, relying only on perfect timing for Ling Yao and heat control to refine Dan?” one veteran Hui Zhang said in surprise. “This is impossible… this is impossible…”

Lu Cheng Hui shook his head, murmuring, the more he watched, the more uneasy he felt: “Who can ensure their Dan refining process has no mistakes? And even if Xu Shao knew the Dan Fang, how does he time every Ling Yao so precisely?” “The Dan Fang doesn't even record it this accurately. Does that mean…”

He stopped, not daring to continue. But Shi Ti swallowed hard and finished Lu Cheng Hui's thought: “He has mastered all the properties of every Ling Yao in the Ke Xuan Dan Fang, including the hidden ones!”

As soon as he said it, the eighteen judges felt a chill run down their spines. This young man might look unreliable, but he was clearly doing something extraordinary! It was just that this masterful skill clashed so sharply with his earlier absurd behavior!

“You can't judge by appearances… you can't judge by appearances…” one Hui Zhang sighed. The black chickens… But Xu Shao's timing for adding Ling Yao was too precise; each one caused a wonderful positive reaction in the Dan Ding. Sublimation! Creation! These black chickens… If you selectively ignore them, Xu Shao's Dan refining process is art!

Shi Ti stared intently at Xu Shao refining Dan. He felt like he'd uncovered a treasure. “Not bad for a half-saint heir—his family must have an incredibly skilled Dan refiner.” “Otherwise, no one would think to teach a disciple to focus so much on the hidden traits of basic herbs.”

Glancing around at the other Dan refiners who were cursing and withdrawing after their explosions from distractions, Shi Ti felt enlightened. “For this kind of black chicken… uh, unique Dan refining art, you need a unique attitude.” “Just like when Sang Lao's Jin Zhao Dan refining technique first appeared…” “Acceptance could be another option.”

Thinking of Sang Lao, Shi Ti recalled his letter. Tolerance is a virtue. Generosity is a form of cultivation. In that moment, he gained a new understanding. Yes! Why not give this black chicken… uh, give Xu Shao some time and see what he ends up refining?