The prolonged consumption of cultivation power had gradually sapped Lin Yifan's strength; by now, he was drenched in sweat, his complexion pale, and he felt somewhat weak.

"Keep going! Keep going! Just a little more and it'll be completed," Lin Yifan encouraged himself.

Now, being only a step away from success, he couldn't afford to give up easily.

Seeing Lin Yifan's unwavering determination, the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable nodded slightly, appreciating the young man's character and seeing a reflection of his younger self.

For an alchemist, the most basic and most important trait is perseverance. Only with patience and relentless effort can one refine good elixirs.

In his early days, to refine a top-tier elixir, he had sequestered himself for a full forty-nine days; during those days, he hardly ate or drank, relying solely on his cultivation power to sustain his body, and when he emerged, he was so exhausted he nearly collapsed.

It was because of his relentless persistence that he was able to create that extraordinary elixir; he was immensely grateful to himself for enduring those hardships.

Lin Yifan concentrated every ounce of his cultivation power to control the temperature, refining the Acacia Beans, Hydration Herb, and Sand Green Leaves.

As time slowly passed, he grew increasingly weaker.

He had barely recovered from a serious injury, and now the substantial consumption of cultivation power was truly pushing him to his limits.

Whenever he thought of giving up, he would remember the word "alchemy," because those words seemed to possess an infinite power, continually driving him forward.

In the blink of an eye, twenty minutes had passed; by then, the pill furnace began to show signs of activity.

Suddenly, a white smoke dragon emerged from the lid of the furnace, coiling and roaring with a shocking force. Besides that, the pill furnace glowed brilliantly and continuously emitted a fragrant medicinal scent that filled the entire room.

Lin Yifan knew that the elixir was about to be successfully refined; thus, he gathered his spirits, carefully monitored the process, and prepared for the final step.

Although the elixir was almost ready, the two-hour mark was also approaching. Now, whether he could complete the trial on time was still a mystery.

On the other side, Peach Blossom Valley Venerable was not in a hurry; he smiled continuously, stroking his beard and nodding in approval.

This was a sign of recognition for Lin Yifan. Despite not knowing how to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills, Lin Yifan used the knowledge he had accumulated to find the materials needed for refinement, decided the order of their addition, and controlled the refining time and temperature, all within just two hours, which was beyond Venerable's expectations.

Back in the day, it took him half a day to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills; thus, Lin Yifan had indeed surpassed his master.

Regardless of whether Lin Yifan could refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills within the allotted time, he had already earned the Venerable's approval as a disciple. Of course, it would be even better if he could succeed within the two-hour window.

Xiaofang had been secretly watching from outside the alchemy room; she had been astonished several times already.

Lin Yifan's impressive performance had left a deep impression on her. By now, she had completely fallen for this mysteriously appearing man.

"How wonderful it would be if he stayed in Peach Blossom Valley forever! Then we could live together peacefully in pastoral bliss," Xiaofang fantasized.

However, she knew that was almost impossible; because Lin Yifan would definitely need to take the thousand-year-old Blood Ginseng back to save his girlfriend.

"I wonder if he will give me a chance?" Xiaofang was somewhat worried.

Honestly, being a reserved woman, confessing her feelings, which required courage, was something difficult for her to do; she feared rejection.

While she pondered these romantic thoughts, Lin Yifan remained wholly dedicated to completing the final steps of the refinement.

He could feel that the elixir was about to coalesce successfully, just missing the last few minutes. Thus, he maintained that state, keeping the fierce fire's temperature, and slowly refined.

The more critical the moment, the less one could afford to be careless, so he did what needed to be done as it should be done.

A few minutes later, the countdown began; however, this was not the countdown to the completion of the elixir but rather the countdown to the exam time.

The two hours were quickly approaching, and whether Lin Yifan could succeed or not was a matter of the last few seconds.

"Tick, tock! Tick, tock!"

The clock in his mind kept ringing, as the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable stared intently at the pill furnace in front, to see if Lin Yifan could complete the examination question within the allotted time.

However, from the scent it emitted and the phenomena it showed, he felt that Lin Yifan could complete the refinement of the elixir within the set time.

In the final ten seconds, everyone was fully concentrating on the pill furnace, all eager to know if it could be successful.

At that moment, the surroundings of the pill furnace exhibited even more intense phenomena; sometimes dragons seemed to rise, sometimes phoenixes appeared to fly and cry, and sometimes thousands of horses charged, all appearing bizarrely wondrous.

In the last five seconds, the pill furnace overflowed with colorful light, and smoke billowed as if an elixir was about to be successfully congealed.

Three seconds later, there was a booming sound, the colorful light suddenly disappeared, and all phenomenal sights vanished, leaving the pill furnace calm once again.

At that time, Lin Yifan withdrew his cultivation power, collapsed exhausted on the ground, and murmured, "I've finally finished."

His words had two meanings: one was that the Marrow Cleansing Pills had finally been refined, and the other was that he had finally completed it within the allotted time.

Honestly, the refinement of high-level elixirs was indeed difficult, requiring a huge amount of cultivation power; thus, it was only right for alchemists to receive generous rewards.

"Heh, impressive! Impressive! You truly exceeded my expectations," praised the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable, stroking his goatee.

The herbs Lin Yifan chose were entirely correct, the control of refinement sequence, and the temperature, as well as the duration of each refinement step, were almost flawless; moreover, he had completed it within the stipulated time, which was totally beyond his expectations. Now, he could fully accept this young man.

"Venerable... Venerable, the elixir I... I refined is... is it Marrow Cleansing Pills?" Lin Yifan asked anxiously while gasping for air.

Honestly, he did not know if his refinement was correct, but his intuition told him that this was how Marrow Cleansing Pills were refined, so he was somewhat confident.

"It is Marrow Cleansing Pills, and they're even of superior quality," the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable replied.

With a clear response, Lin Yifan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, he had indeed managed to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills by sheer luck.

Now, even if Li Dafeng and others set the ingredients for Marrow Cleansing Pills in front of him, he need not panic for being unable to refine them.

Seeing that Lin Yifan had managed to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pills within the allotted time, Xiaofang outside couldn't help but rejoice; now Lin Yifan could finally be accepted as a disciple by her mentor, and working together in the same sect, they might develop feelings over time.

After catching his breath for a long while and calming his emotions, Lin Yifan finally asked, "Venerable, can I now learn your alchemy?"

"Yes, you can!" the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable answered earnestly.

Lin Yifan had passed his rigorous tests, and even if he wanted to reject Lin Yifan at the door, he could find no reason to do so; therefore, he could only accept him.

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