Wei Chengzong immediately stood up.
His face was full of smiles, clearly excited by the presence of so many high-ranking family members today.
He looked around, first offering a slight bow to several family elders, then announced loudly, "Then I shall re-announce the rules for this alchemy competition. Ning Ruiming and Ning Fa will compete in refining the Three Yuan Pill. The family has prepared four sets of Three Yuan Pill spiritual materials for each person. Within a total of seven hours, whoever refines more Three Yuan Pills will win."
"If the number of Three Yuan Pills is the same in the end, they will refine again until a winner is decided."
The crowd showed no change in expression; the rules were very fair.
Refining a batch of Three Yuan Pills took about two hours. Subtracting the time for adjusting breathing and resting, one could basically refine at most three batches.
The family preparing four sets of spiritual materials was also to give each person an extra chance.
This actually benefited Ning Fa more.
After all, in everyone's opinion, Ning Fa was likely to fail during the process and have to start over.
However, considering Ning Ruiming was already at the late Qi Condensation stage, with more powerful mana and divine sense, he naturally had an advantage with more attempts at refining the Three Yuan Pill.
Moreover, since the competition wasn't decided by a single refinement, it also largely eliminated the factor of luck.
But this was only what others thought; the reality was the exact opposite.
Because Ning Fa was a special case, the total amount of mana in his body at this moment was even higher than Ning Ruiming's.
Even due to the special nature of the Lesser Thunder Source, the stability and refinement of his mana output far surpassed Ning Ruiming's.
Furthermore, because he possessed the Five Elements Thunder Body, his body had the characteristic of automatically recovering mana.
This gave him an advantage in prolonged alchemy.
Even in terms of divine sense strength, he was not weaker than a late Qi Condensation cultivator at this moment.
However, no one present knew about Ning Fa's special condition. Apart from Ning Shaohong, not a single person favored Ning Fa.
The only suspense seemed to be how badly Ning Fa would lose.
Ning Fa and Ning Ruiming stood up and then walked to the left and right sides respectively.
On each side were two identical yellow alchemy furnaces, over three feet tall, with three legs and two ears, engraved with complex spiritual patterns.
Judging from the spiritual pressure they emitted, they were clearly top-grade first-tier alchemy furnaces.
The reason for providing two alchemy furnaces for each person was to prevent unexpected furnace explosions and serve as a backup.
Looking at these two alchemy furnaces, a smile flickered across Ning Fa's lips.
Next to the alchemy furnaces was a long table, on which were placed various forms and colors of Three Yuan Pill spiritual materials, shimmering with spiritual light.
Placing them on the long table was also for everyone's divine sense to inspect, to show fairness.
Ning Fa's divine sense merely swept over these spiritual materials, and he nodded.
These spiritual materials were fine.
With so many high-ranking family members watching, even if Wei Chengzong and a few others had the guts, they wouldn't dare to tamper with them under these circumstances.
Below the stage, Ning Jideng looked at the two with envy.
More accurately, he envied Ning Fa.
He was extremely eager for such an opportunity to gain recognition from the family's high-ranking members.
In his opinion, Ning Fa had no chance of winning at all.
Being able to refine a few Three Yuan Pills in this competition would already be considered a great success.
Even if he lost to Ning Ruiming, it would be completely acceptable, and he might even gain the appreciation of the family's higher-ups.
Ning Jideng even had the urge to challenge Ning Ruiming himself.
But as soon as he thought of some of Ning Ruiming's past deeds, he immediately shuddered and cast aside this bold idea.
The old Pill Master Ning Shumou, with his white hair and youthful complexion, had something unusual in his slightly cloudy eyes.
Looking at the composed and self-assured Ning Fa, for some reason, a thought suddenly popped into his mind.
Perhaps Ning Fa actually had a chance to win?
This thought startled even himself.
If this were truly the case, then Ning Fa would undoubtedly be the foremost alchemist in the Ning Family.
His alchemy talent would even rival that of a past ancestor, the second-tier Pill Master Ning Chuyun.
Ning Shumou couldn't help but sit up straighter, watching Ning Fa with sharp eyes.
At this moment, Wei Chengzong formed a hand seal.
As white light swirled in his hand, seven white spiritual flames suddenly appeared, hovering in the air.
These spiritual flames were shaped like flowers, exquisitely lifelike, seven in total, arranged in a line in the air.
Immediately, the first spiritual flower from the left was ignited, and its spiritual light bloomed.
"These Phantom Flame Spirit Flowers can burn for one hour. When all seven spiritual flowers have finished burning, the competition will end."
Wei Chengzong smiled, feeling a sense of pride.
This was a secret technique he had just learned, called the [Phantom Flame Art].
Although its rank wasn't particularly high, it placed considerable demands on the caster.
It required the caster to have extremely precise mana output and to maintain stability, also demanding keen divine sense.
While this secret technique might not be much for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was quite rare for a Qi Refining cultivator.
Wei Chengzong deliberately showed off this technique in front of several high-ranking members of the family.
"What are you messing around with over there? Hurry up and start!"
At this moment, Ning Huarong, seated on the high platform, spoke impatiently, clearly showing no appreciation for Wei Chengzong's Phantom Flame Art.
Several elders, Ning Weize, and Ning Shaohong all had strange expressions flash in their eyes.
Below the stage, a alchemy apprentice couldn't help but let out a snicker before quickly covering his mouth.
A look of embarrassment flashed across Wei Chengzong's face, but he was thick-skinned. He cleared his throat and loudly declared, "The competition officially begins."
Ning Fa took a deep breath, then forcefully urged his divine sense forward.
Among the pile of spiritual materials shimmering with spiritual light on the long table beside him, over ten types of spiritual materials, with varied appearances and flashing with different colorful lights, floated up.
Ning Fa's gaze was like lightning, his eyes sharp, entering an unprecedentedly serious state.
An uplifting fighting spirit and strong self-confidence emanated from him.
The change in Ning Fa's aura immediately drew everyone's attention.
Ning Huarong, who had been impatient, immediately sat up straight, staring intently at Ning Fa, a smile of unknown meaning curving her lips.
Ning Shaohong's expression froze, and she involuntarily recalled a figure from her memories.
Ning Xiuying, seated in a corner below the stage, looked at Ning Fa, her beautiful eyes shining with brilliance.
Liu Qinghui, who had been looking down, now looked directly at Ning Fa, her expression calm, her thoughts unreadable.
At this moment, Ning Fa had completely entered a state of self-forgetfulness.
His hands moved like a spinning wheel, and in an instant, hand seals of various colors were cast, striking the corresponding spiritual materials.
Under the effect of the spiritual seals, the spiritual materials of various forms began to melt and transform.
Ning Fa's movements were incredibly swift, without the slightest hesitation or pause. They were extremely fluid, possessing a special rhythm that was dazzling to behold, yet also possessed an indescribable aesthetic beauty.
In contrast, Ning Ruiming was also processing spiritual materials rapidly.
And his movements were also extremely skilled, undoubtedly above average.
However, when compared to Ning Fa, there was no pleasing fluidity, and his progress was clearly lagging behind.
Noticing this, even the Ning Family elders, who didn't know much about the Way of Alchemy, began to show changes in their expressions.
Especially the Tenth Elder, Ning Jiannan. He, who had been leaning back in his chair, immediately sat up straight, a hint of solemnity in his eyes.
Ning Jideng's eyes widened as he watched Ning Fa's practically flawless operational technique. He asked himself, how long would it take for him to reach this level?
The answer filled him with despair.