Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Chapter 590 You want to refine a Grade 5 pill? Don't humiliate yourself!

As soon as Chen Fan stood in front of his alchemy furnace, a sarcastic, cold laugh came from beside him.

"Oh, isn't this the eunuch from the Great Yu?" The speaker was the gaunt old man from the Boundless Sea. He fiddled with the medicinal herbs on the stone platform, glancing sideways at Chen Fan with undisguised sarcasm. "I've lived in the Boundless Sea for hundreds of years and seen many people, but this is the first time I've seen a eunuch participate in the alchemy selection. What, are you tired of serving your master in the palace and want to try your luck in Zhao? No offense, but alchemy isn't like serving tea and water; it requires real skill. You're a eunuch, lacking even yang energy, and you dare to try your hand at alchemy?"

Upon hearing this, several suppressed chuckles immediately echoed in the alchemy room.

Although the middle-aged Gu cultivator on the desert grassland did not speak, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes were full of contempt.

Several alchemists from Great Yan and Great Chu laughed out loud without any attempt to hide their laughter.

Only the white-haired old man from Qi remained unfazed, focusing intently on examining the medicinal herbs on the stone platform, as if everything around him was irrelevant.

Chen Fan didn't even lift his eyelids.

He picked up the prescription on the stone platform, probed it with his divine sense, and began to read it carefully.

The recipe contained the method for refining a fourth-grade Xuan Yuan Pill, with three portions of medicinal materials, meaning each person had three chances.

He was already very familiar with fourth-grade pills; he could refine this pill formula with his eyes closed.

The gaunt old man saw that Chen Fan completely ignored him, and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes, but he could not make a scene because Han Cen was present. He just snorted and looked away.

Han Cen stood with his hands behind his back before the ten alchemy furnaces, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd, and spoke:

"The rules for selecting alchemists are simple: three sets of Xuan Yuan Pill ingredients are provided, and the pills must be refined within three hours. The final evaluation is based on the pill's grade, the number of pill patterns, and the number of pills produced. Refining a Grade 4 Supreme Xuan Yuan Pill, which has four or more pill patterns, is considered qualified. If no one refines a Grade 4 Supreme, then the selection will be based on the ranking of scores, with the best performers chosen."

The highest grade is Rank 4.

This threshold was indeed not low for the alchemists present, but it was not unattainable either.

The alchemists all wore solemn expressions as they carefully examined the medicinal materials and began to devise a refining plan.

Just as everyone was about to make their move, a calm voice suddenly rang out.

Elder Han.

Han Cen was slightly taken aback and turned to look at the source of the sound.

The speaker was none other than the candidate for Yu the Great, who was ridiculed by everyone as a "eunuch."

Chen Fan put down the prescription in his hand, looked calmly at Han Cen, and said in his usual indifferent tone, "I have something to ask you."

Han Cen raised an eyebrow and nodded: "Speak."

"If someone refines a fifth-grade elixir, how should it be evaluated?"

Upon hearing this, the entire alchemy room fell silent.

Fifth-grade elixir.

These four words are like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand ripples.

The alchemists present all stopped what they were doing and stared at Chen Fan, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Even the white-haired old man from Qi, who had remained expressionless, raised his head and looked at Chen Fan with a hint of surprise and doubt.

After a brief silence, the withered old man from the boundless sea let out a sneer:

"A fifth-grade pill? Have you lost your mind? Do you even know what a fifth-grade pill means? There are no more than three alchemy masters in the entire Boundless Sea who can refine fifth-grade pills, and each of them is an old monster who has lived for thousands of years. You, a eunuch in the Core Formation stage, would struggle to even refine a fourth-grade pill, let alone a fifth-grade one?"

A blue-robed alchemist from the Great Yan also sneered:

"You're all talk and no action, just trying to please the crowd. Elder Han asked who could refine a top-grade fourth-rank pill, and you jumped straight to fifth-rank. Why didn't you just say you could refine a sixth-rank immortal pill?"

Although the middle-aged Gu cultivator on the desert grassland did not speak, his gaze toward Chen Fan was full of mockery, as if he were looking at an overconfident ant.

Chen Fan ignored the taunts and simply watched Han Cen quietly, waiting for his answer.

Han Cen was also looking at Chen Fan.

For the first time, a serious scrutiny appeared in the eyes of this fifth-grade peak alchemy master.

He had seen too many arrogant young alchemists, but the eunuch in front of him gave him a completely different feeling.

This person's eyes were so calm, so calm that it didn't seem like he was making boastful statements, but rather like he was stating a very simple fact.

"If you can refine a fifth-grade pill," Han Cen said slowly, his voice becoming more solemn, "regardless of how many pills you ultimately produce or how many pill patterns you have, you will directly enter the top three in the pill refining selection. If others can also refine fifth-grade pills, they will be ranked according to their quality."

Chen Fan nodded.

Then, unhurriedly, he pushed the ingredients for the fourth-grade Xuan Yuan Pill on the stone platform aside and looked at Han Cen, saying:

"In that case, our family needs to refine fifth-grade pills. Elder Han, please exchange the medicinal materials we need for fifth-grade pills."

The entire room fell silent.

The earth fires in the ten alchemy furnaces emitted subtle crackling sounds, which were particularly clear in the silent alchemy room.

The withered old man by the boundless sea opened his mouth, his mockery frozen on his face.

The alchemists from Great Yan and Great Chu looked at each other, at a loss for words.

The white-haired old man from Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, a meaningful glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at Chen Fan.

Han Cen remained silent for a moment, then waved to a steward behind him: "Go to the storeroom and fetch a portion of the ingredients for a Grade 5 Returning to Origin Pill."

The steward paused for a moment, then quickly left.

Before long, he returned carrying a jade plate.

The plate was neatly arranged with more than a dozen kinds of medicinal herbs, including a five-hundred-year-old Tai Xuan flower, a four-hundred-year-old Bi Han fruit, the inner core of an eighth-order demon beast, and several high-grade spiritual herbs that even Nascent Soul cultivators might not have seen before.

Each medicinal herb is sealed in an individual jade box, which is engraved with a miniature array to maintain the medicinal power.

The value of this one portion of medicinal herbs is more than the total value of the previous three portions of grade-four medicinal herbs.

Han Cen took the jade plate and placed it on the stone platform in front of Chen Fan, saying calmly, "A fifth-grade Returning Origin Pill, there's only one set of ingredients, and the time is also three hours. You only have one chance. If you fail, go back and continue refining your fourth-grade Profound Origin Pill."

Chen Fan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and said no more.

He opened the jade boxes one by one and used his divine sense to examine the quality and potency of each medicinal herb.

It should be noted that he had refined the Grade 5 Returning Origin Pill in the golden bowl no less than dozens of times, and the success rate had been stable at over 50%. His highest record was a batch of six pill patterns.

The quality of this medicinal herb was even better than those he bought from Baicaotang, which gave him more confidence in refining it.

The other alchemists around them also came to their senses. Although their eyes still held doubt and mockery, they remained silent and began to refine their own fourth-grade Xuan Yuan pills.

After all, the selection period is limited. Rather than watching others make a fool of themselves, it's better to refine your own elixir first.

Chen Fan sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, his hands forming a hand seal, and the earth fire at the bottom of the furnace slowly ignited.

Instead of immediately adding the medicine, he used his divine sense to guide the earth fire through the furnace three times, evenly raising the furnace temperature to the optimal level for refining fifth-grade pills.

This step may seem simple, but it actually tests the alchemist's control over the heat.

After all, if the furnace temperature is too high, the medicinal properties will be scorched and withered; if it is too low, the medicinal properties will not be fully integrated.

Among the alchemists present, there were probably no more than three who could control the furnace temperature with such precision.

Han Cen stood on the high platform, his gaze sweeping back and forth among the ten alchemy furnaces, but he spent significantly more time on Chen Fan's furnace than on the others.

The scrutiny in those old eyes, which had seen it all, grew stronger.