After Li Taixuan came back to himself, he felt as if his face was burning out of the sudden ecstasy. Conversely, Lin Xiao retained his composure and proceeded with the elixir production step by step as if nothing had happened. "It's rather embarrassing. I shouldn't have got carried away right on hearing the existence of the lode beneath the Wonderland," Li Taixuan couldn't help but blame himself.
"Alas. I'm no equal of a young lad who is decades my junior... But that is a lode teeming with the multicolored spiritual radiant stones. How could I contain my excitement," Li Taixuan thought.
The jubilance aroused in Li Taixuan by the lode came hot on the heels of his embarrassment generated from the comparison between Lin Xiao and himself. Then Li Taixuan lapsed into a plight of self-contradiction.
Nevertheless, he soon got saved by the bell.
The gated of the Furnace hall was once again pushed open. Then a silhouette of a person drew near — Shan Chengfeng rewound.
Looking at the furnace, Shan Chengfeng burst into a startled cry with utter bafflement in his eyes, "Impossible! That's absolutely impossible! How come there is a multicolored spiritual radiant stone? And the elixirs...the elixirs..."
As the sole alchemy master who had the ability to produce the Martial Law Gestation Elixirs, Shan Chengfeng was so experienced that he could foretell the guaranteed materialization of the pills before they took shape.
What was beyond his acceptability was that there did exist someone else who was equally capable of producing the Martial Law Gestation Elixirs. And the quality even outstripped his own based on the smell giving off by the furnace.
Battered out of his wits, Shan Chengfeng's eyes turned red through and through. He yelled at Li Taixuan, "Do tell me, how did you make it?"
Before Li Taixuan could make any response, Shan Chengfeng fired all his questions at him, "Granted that you have got the hold of multicolored spiritual radiant stones, your furnace is merely an average one. It will explode because it couldn't take the flames generated by the stones. Oddly enough, it is not only in decent condition but is ready for the materialization of the pills."
What? Shan Chengfeng's questions struck Li Taixuan dumb. He wondered in bewilderment, "We're almost there? How come the hard-won Martial Law Gestation Elixir come out incredibly easily?"
It was fair to say that Li Taixuan was equally astonished as Shan Chengfeng. A young lad had what it took to produce the Martial Law Gestation Elixirs — once the news was disseminated far and wide, it would usher in a frenzy in the Fire Meteorolite Continent as a whole, let alone Chijing Prefecture.
Seeing Li Taixuan fixed his glazed eyes on himself, Lin Xiao furtively pulled Li's sleeve to wake him up from his awkward demeanor. It was just as well Shan Chengfeng was all focused on the furnace, taking no notice of Li's ridiculous look.
Coming back to himself, Li Taixuan felt flustered again as he was utterly ignorant about Shan Chengfeng's concerns. Hence he cast a wink for help at Lin Xiao again.
Nevertheless, Lin Xiao shook his head at Li Taixuan — he wanted to stay detached from it.
Though being freshly acquainted with Shan Chengfeng, Lin Xiao was aware that his obsession with alchemy was as strong as that of Chiyan the Great Master. "Once he knows I am capable of alchemy, he will not let me go," Lin Xiao wondered.
Li Taixuan got Lin Xiao's idea. He cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Esteemed Taoist, The Taixuan Sect is indeed inferior to the Danling Sect. However, as everyone knows, our sect grew out of an establishment founded by Dizun. Once upon a time, I chanced upon a prescription of the Martial Law Gestation Elixir in the scriptorium. Back then, I didn't conduct elixir production in accordance with the instruction of it because I knew it was your trademark in Chijing Prefecture. However, please forgive me for my inability to cast light upon it with further details owing to the rules of my sect."
On hearing that, Shan Chengfeng quieted down. He picked up on the implication of Li Taixuan's explanation.
Firstly, there was another alchemy master in the Taixuan Sect who was able to produce the Martial Law Gestation Elixir. However, he had never done it before for the sake of Shan Chengfeng's prestige — this was apparently a goodwill.
Secondly, a reason, which could hardly be counted as a reason, was laid bare that there was a corresponding item in the rules of the Taixuan Sect. It deterred anyone from giving any details of the elixir production. If Shan Chengfeng went on getting to the bottom of it, his behavior could be viewed as inquiring about secrets of other sects, which was a serious taboo.