Chapter 153: Is Your Spiritual Flame for Sale?
The previously quiet Earthly Flame suddenly turned ferocious. It morphed into raging flames that spread at an alarming speed. The herb rack closest to the furnace had already caught fire.
Soon, the raging flames were about to lick Ye Jiuge’s face.
Her fingers twitched, and a wisp of white flame quietly burrowed into the Earthly Flame’s core and was swallowed with a large ‘chomp.’
With a wave of Ye Jiuge’s hand, the Earthly Flame that had lost its core disappeared, leaving behind a charred Pill Production Furnace.
The commotion from the fire was so huge that even Ye Ruyi realized that something was not right. She ignored the Apprentice, who tried to stop her, asking anxiously, “Eldest Sister, are you alright?”
“I’m alright. What are you doing here? Get back and continue with your Pill Production now!” Ye Jiuge replied.
“Eldest Sister, why are you still bothering with Pill Production?” Ye Ruyi’s face turned red with anger. She hollered at the Apprentice, “What are you people doing? You can’t even control the Earthly Flame. What would you have done if someone were burned?”
Those who were refining stepped away. They kept their distance from the Earthly Flame after hearing Ye Ruyi’s words.
The Heart Nourishment Pill was already difficult to begin with. With this distraction, it meant that the pills had all failed. Immediately, laments and complains could be heard about how the Earthly Flame was unreliable.
“What’s going on?” Dongfang Yao rushed down from the Judges’ Observatory when the Earthly Fire lost control. Behind him, Elder Chen, Elder Xiao, and the Crown Prince also followed.
“Teacher, the Earthly Fire lost control.” Li Zijun’s facial expression was wretched. In the Pill Production Tournament’s long history, this was the first time such a large mishap had occurred.
“The other partic.i.p.ants’ Earthly Flames are fine. Why did only yours lose control? It can’t be that you did something that you shouldn’t have—can it?” The Crown Prince laughed coldly, sending Ye Jiuge a venomous look.
“If I knew how to make the Earthly Flame lose control, then I would be in the Crown Prince’s position,” Ye Jiuge shot back.
“What do you mean by that? Are you saying that the Crown Prince did something to make the Earthly Flame lose control?” Dongfang Yao asked Ye Jiuge directly.
“Imperial Uncle, I did not do that,” the Crown Prince quickly denied.
“There has to be some misunderstanding here. Eldest Miss Ye, why don’t we go to the Judges’ Observatory for a chat?” Elder Chen thought the situation was out of hand and quickly chimed in.
“No way! We should make things clear here. Eldest Sister even changed her Pill Production Furnace just now. Does that Pill Production Furnace have any issues?” Ye Ruyi was small in stature, but her manner was imposing. She looked determined to demand justice on behalf of her eldest sister.
“Yes, someone made holes in it.” Ye Jiuge nodded.
Initially, she had not wanted to address these issues. But the Earthly Flame’s loss of control had made her very angry.
Sabotaging her herbs and furnace was one thing, but she’d never thought that the Crown Prince would dare sabotage the Earthly Flame.
If it weren’t for the fact that her White Bone Flame could swallow other flames, she could have been hurt.
Just as everyone was discussing among themselves, Dongfang Yao said coldly, “During the pill production process, anything can happen. Accidents are common. However, as an Alchemist, you must maintain your original intent. Those who do not want to continue in this tournament can get lost.”
Once he’d said that, no one dared to say anything further. Everyone shrunk back to their rooms to restart their Pill Production process.
Although the medicinal pills had failed just now, there were still two more chances. They could not waste these opportunities again.
“Fourth Younger Sister, Great Master Dongfang is right. To tread the path of an Alchemist, you must ignore your surroundings. Go back!” Ye Jiuge patted Ye Ruyi on the head.
“Alright!” Although Ye Ruyi still felt a little reluctant, she obediently went back to her Pill Production Room.
“Give her a new Pill Production Room and three sets of herbs,” Dongfang Yao ordered the disciples standing behind him.
“No need.” Ye Jiuge shook her head.
“What’s the matter? A little setback, and you want to withdraw from the tournament?” Dongfang Yao had a displeased look on his face.
“With so little ability, it’s amazing that have the gall to call yourself Great Master Yun’s maternal granddaughter,” mocked the Crown Prince, who was beside Dongfang Yao.
“I never intended to withdraw from the tournament,” Ye Jiuge replied with a harmless look.
“What do you intend to do?” Dongfang Yao frowned, thinking that Ye Jiuge was trying to take advantage of the situation to make impudent demands.
“I do not intend to do anything.” Ye Jiuge gave Dongfang Yao an incredulous look, then replied, “My Heart Nourishment Pill has been produced. I do not need a new Pill Production Room or herbs.”
“Didn’t your medicinal pill fail?” Dongfang Yao looked at Ye Jiuge’s furnace in surprise.
“Who said it failed?” Ye Jiuge opened the Pill Production Furnace’s charred lid.
Inside rested three l.u.s.trous, pink medicinal pills. They emitted a sweet, fragrant scent.
She’d used her Cognitive to wrap protectively around the Heart Nourishment Pill that had already been produced. So, her pill had not been affected by the Earthly Flame when it went out of control.
“Heart Nourishment Pill, Grade One.” Dongfang Yao could discern the medicinal pill’s grade with just a single glance. When he looked at Ye Jiuge again, it was with a tinge of approval.
“Can I rest now?” Ye Jiuge expression was indifferent.
“Hold on. Come with me, I have something to ask you.” Dongfang Yao turned and headed toward the tearoom on the second floor.
Ye Jiuge carefully stowed the Heart Nourishment Pill and followed Dongfang Yao up the stairs.
The Crown Prince glared at Ye Jiuge’s back, and his expression expressed his desire to kill.
“What business does the Great Master Dongfang have with me?” Ye Jiuge stood at the door and asked.
Dongfang Yao was an odd person. Without offering Ye Jiuge a seat, he asked without hesitating, “Girl, is your spiritual flame for sale?”
For a moment, Ye Jiuge’s pupils contracted. Despite how careful she’d been, in the end, he’d still found out about the White Bone Flame.
In these situations, one should never admit the truth.
Ye Jiuge was about to play dumb when Dongfang Yao continued, “It’s useless. Even if you deny it, this old man has ways of verifying. The Earthly Flames here were all cultivated by my endless efforts. Shouldn’t you give this old man an answer after you ordered your Spiritual Flame to swallow them?”
Ye Jiuge was silent for a while. Then she opened her mouth and said, “That’s because you harmed me first.”
“The incident this time, indeed, was because of our oversight. This old man will give you answers after investigating everything.” Dongfang Yao might immerse himself in cultivation, but he was not an idiot who knew nothing about the ways of the world.
“If it turns out that Dongfang Jianming is behind everything, will you still be able to give me an answer?” Ye Jiuge raised an eyebrow. Her expression was one of skepticism.
“Even if it were Dongfang Yan, this old man would still be able to give you an answer,” Dongfang Yao declared boldly. Even the Emperor Xuanwu was a n.o.body in his eyes.
Ye Jiuge could tell that Dongfang Yao was not bluffing.
Even so, she had no intentions of selling him the White Bone Flame.
“However, these are separate issues. I am offering you 100 Spiritual Coins for your Spiritual Flame. In addition, I will also give you a Wood Elemental Flawed Spiritual Flame. You can tell me if you have any other requests. If they are within my means, I will agree.”
The price offered by Dongfang Yao was quite reasonable.
The value of one Spiritual Coin was about 10,000 gold ingots. Even if one had gold, one could not exchange it for Spiritual Coins.
Although the Wood Elemental Flawed Spiritual Flame was not a Spiritual Flame, it was still a rare flame. And it was also suitable for Ye Jiuge’s current cultivation level.
The most important factor was the fact that the promise had been offered by the Imperial Family’s Level-five Alchemist, Dongfang Yao.
Other people would most likely have accepted. But Ye Jiuge could not sell, because selling meant death.