Storm in the Sect Chapter 63 I'll Take That Bet with You

The smile on Pei Linfeng's face froze instantly as if it had been sealed in ice. His mouth hung open wide enough to stuff an egg into, and his expression was that of someone who had just seen a ghost.

Meanwhile, the usually stern Elder Chen Xuan felt his pupils constrict violently!

He took a step forward, his gaze locked relentlessly onto that single droplet of medicinal liquid. For the very first time, undisguised shock emerged across his stern face!

"You... actually managed to extract and purify it?"

He could sense that the fire-attribute elemental energy contained within that droplet of liquid was exceedingly pure. While it still could not compare to what he could refine with his own hands, for a Body Tempering realm brat who didn't even know how to conjure alchemy flames, this should have been utterly impossible to achieve!

Watching his shocked expression, Chu Xing understood everything in his heart.

His actions just now might have seemed simple, carefully manipulating the power of the Primordial Source Pearl to strip away the vast majority of impurities. Although it was still far from perfect, it was already enough to be utterly astonishing.

Pulling back his hand, he steadily cupped that droplet of medicinal liquid in his palm and spoke calmly to the doubtful Chen Xuan.

"Elder Chen, this disciple has succeeded by sheer luck. Now, does this disciple qualify to touch that piece of black jade bone?"

"Qualified?"

Pei Linfeng finally recovered from the ghost-seeing shock, his face returning to its familiar, sneering expression.

"Chu Xing, you think far too highly of yourself!"

He pointed at the Scarlet Flame Grass medicinal liquid and said with utter disdain, "You merely lucked into purifying a Mystic-grade spirit herb, and yet you dare boast about challenging the black jade bone? Do you have any idea that the difficulty of these two is simply not on the same level!"

"Though the medicinal properties of the Scarlet Flame Grass are explosive, it is ultimately a fire-attribute herb. Guided by elemental energy, there is always a possibility of success. But what about the black jade bone? Its energy is as hard as freezing ice, and it conceals bone poison within! Forget about purifying it; ordinary alchemy flames cannot even melt it! What gives you the right?"

Elder Chen Xuan also regained his composure from his initial shock.

He gave Chu Xing a deep look, stepped up to the platform, scooped up a tiny trace of the medicinal liquid from Chu Xing's palm, brought it to the tip of his nose to sniff lightly, and then probed it carefully with his spiritual sense.

A moment later, he nodded, a trace of hard-to-detect approval flashing in his eyes.

"Not bad. Over eighty percent of the medicinal properties have been retained, and the majority of impurities have been purged. For a beginner—no, for someone who has never touched the Dao of Alchemy before—being able to achieve this can be considered nothing short of a prodigy."

As soon as these words fell, an uproar erupted throughout the entire hall!

To receive a compliment of "prodigy" from Elder Chen was a supreme honor in the Hall of Alchemy!

In Elder Chen Xuan's eyes, a trace of fondness for nurturing talent actually appeared for the very first time.

"Brat, you truly have some tricks up your sleeve. But Pei Linfeng was not wrong about one thing: the difficulty of the black jade bone is far beyond that of the Scarlet Flame Grass. Your purification just now, while seemingly exquisite, was actually taking a shortcut, and your technique appeared somewhat crude. This old man can tell that this is already your absolute limit."

He advised with sincere tones, "Take this old man's advice and stop while you're ahead. You have already proven yourself today; there is no need to take such bizarre risks. That piece of black jade bone is simply not something you can touch."

Elder Chen's words stemmed from the genuine care and warning of a senior in the Dao of Alchemy toward a junior.

Yet, when heard by Pei Linfeng, these words became the absolute best opportunity for him to stir up trouble anew!

"Elder Chen is completely right! Junior Brother Chu, know when to stop while you're ahead! Elder Chen has already given his golden decree that this is your limit. Why must you stubbornly push yourself?"

Outwardly, his words seemed to follow Elder Chen's sentiment, but covertly, he was leveraging Elder Chen's authority to squeeze Chu Xing out. His intentions were extremely malicious.

Watching Pei Linfeng's smug, petty expression, Chu Xing could only find it laughable in his heart.

Ignoring Pei Linfeng entirely, he cast his gaze toward Elder Chen Xuan instead.

"Many thanks for Elder Chen's guidance. However, this disciple still wishes to try."

Meeting Elder Chen's eyes, which were filled with incomprehension, he spoke calmly.

"Since Elder Chen also believes that this disciple took a shortcut and that this is my limit..."

"How about this disciple also makes a wager with the Elder?"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire hall fell into a dead silence!

Everyone looked like a duck pinched by the neck, staring at Chu Xing with stunned horror.

He was insane! This brat was definitely out of his mind!

He actually dared to... make a wager with Elder Chen Xuan?

Even Fu Lingchuan, who had remained silent all along, raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

Chen Xuan was even more dumbfounded. He looked at the audacious youth before him, and for a moment, he was almost amused to laughter.

"Good brat, what guts! This old man has been in the Hall of Alchemy for decades, and this is the first time a disciple has ever dared to wager with me! Speak, what do you want to bet on? Medicinal pills? Contribution points? Or those few Mystic-grade martial arts manuals in this old man's collection?"

In his view, this brat simply wanted to use this opportunity to extort some benefits from him.

Chu Xing, however, shook his head.

"This disciple does not want pills, contribution points, or martial arts manuals."

Meeting Chen Xuan's astonished gaze, he said each word distinctly.

"This disciple wishes to wager solely on a personal favor from you, Elder."

"A favor?"

Chen Xuan's smile stiffened on his face.

"Yes," Chu Xing nodded. "If this disciple succeeds by some stroke of luck and purifies this piece of black jade bone, then should this disciple have a request in the future—provided it violates neither sect rules nor moral righteousness—I ask that Elder Chen extend your help just once."

This wager caused everyone present to draw in a sharp breath of cold air!

A favor from an Elder! Its value was far beyond what those medicinal pills or martial arts manuals could ever compare to! This meant that on some future day, Chu Xing would be able to mobilize the power of an Earth-grade high-tier alchemist!

Chen Xuan stared unblinkingly at Chu Xing, brilliant light bursting within his cloudy, aged eyes.

This brat was plotting quite grandly! Yet, being an Earth-grade high-tier alchemist after all, he was somewhat provoked into a fiery temper by the protagonist's words.

"Very well! This old man will take this wager with you!"

Chen Xuan slammed his palm onto the platform. "I would like to see just what kind of backing you possess to dare make such boasting claims!"

"Chu Xing," Fu Lingchuan's voice rang out right on cue. "Are you prepared?"

Chu Xing took a deep breath and nodded heavily toward both Fu Lingchuan and Mu Wanqing.

Immediately afterward, he disregarded all the outside commotion, casting his entire mind and soul onto the jet-black beast bone before him.

He did not press his hand directly onto it as he had done previously.

Instead, he first extended a single finger, cautiously touching the very edge of the black jade bone.

A wisp of elemental energy, fine to the ultimate extreme like a slender probe, was slowly injected into it.

He needed to figure out first what the internal energy structure of this bone actually looked like!

The moment the elemental energy entered, a tough and icy resistance pushed back against him, feeling as though he had stabbed into a ten-thousand-year-old glacier! Deepest within that glacier, a trace of highly corrosive chilly force lurked hidden.

*Such a complex structure...* Chu Xing felt a chill in his heart.

The interior of this black jade bone was far from being a single unified entity; rather, it was constructed from countless layers upon layers of microscopic energy crystal lattices, with the bone poison coiled deep within this labyrinth like a venomous snake.

*Ordinary alchemy flames can only scorch it forcibly from the outside, which will inevitably destroy these crystal lattices and cause a massive loss of origin energy. The only way to achieve perfect purification...*

A sharp gleam flashed in Chu Xing's eyes.

*...is to disintegrate it from the inside out!*