Unlike the other disciples who would have to learn how to ignite an intermediate ranked Qi flame by constant practice along with refining alchemical pills, Lin Mu had directly seen it being used before.

But it was not as if the other disciples could replicate the same by just watching an intermediate ranked Qi flame. No, just in order to reach that point, they would require great control over their spirit Qi, and along with it, them having a massive store of it.

If they didn't have a large amount of spirit Qi, they would simply be unable to ignite the intermediate ranked Qi flame. Lin Mu thought had many times more spirit Qi than what an average peak stage core condensation realm cultivator had. In fact, he had enough spirit Qi that he would be able to compare with a child soul stage nascent soul realm cultivator.

The only thing he would be missing would be their ability to manipulate the spirit Qi in the environment around them and their faster regeneration of spirit Qi.

Lin Mu had confidence in himself that even if he was unable to learn how to refine alchemical pills, he would still be able to ignite an intermediate ranked Qi flame at the very least.

But then came the question. Would he even have enough time to learn how to ignite an intermediate ranked Qi flame?

"How long would this competition be available for and when would its results be announced?

" Lin Mu questioned.

"Peak master Shaoyan Qianyu has said that the competition would be available till Alchemist Bilao had his breakthrough and the heavenly tribulation came. Though it is likely most disciples would end up finishing the competition before that since they only have one chance each.

" Jiao Fang answered.

Lin Mu nodded his head and knew that if he had a few days, he would surely be able to do this.

"Alright… I'll see what I can do.

" Lin Mu said.

"So you're gonna participate in the competition?

" Jiao Fang questioned.

While he could see that Lin Mu was interested in the competition, he actually didn't know if Lin Mu could even ignite a Qi flame.

"I'll think of it.

" Lin Mu said before going away.

Jiao Fang didn't ask him any further either and went back to the front. After all, he was an alchemist too and wanted a chance at the items in the vault. While he knew it would be quite difficult to get the first place, he was sure that he could get into the top five.

Jiao Fang also didn't care that he already had a lot of resources that he had gathered from Yulong's inheritance. For him, the more he got the better it would be. Thus, there was no way he was going to let go of this opportunity.

Lin Mu had returned to his residence and sat down on the prayer mat which had the Qi gathering formation set up on it.

"Hmm… with the continuous infusion of the spirit Qi, I shouldn't have any problem…

" Lin Mu muttered to himself.

He closed his eyes and chanted the severing heart sutra before checking his Dantian. He observed every part of it and slowly guided out some spirit Qi out of his Dantian. It traveled to his meridians before leaving out of his hands.

The spirit Qi started to compress before it suddenly ignited in the air. The flame looked vigorous but after a minute of burning it started to get unstable. Another five minutes later, the flames started flickering before snuffing out.

"Hmm… I need to learn how to keep a stable output.

" Lin Mu realized.

He repeated the process and ignited the Qi flame again. And during all this, his body was also absorbing the spirit Qi that was being emanated from the prayer mat below him constantly. This kept his Dantian at its maximum capacity the entire time.

Lin Mu spent about two days like this, and his control over the Qi flame had gotten much better. But this control was only interns of keeping the flame ignited, not the kind of control that was needed for the refinement of pills.

~huu~

Lin Mu took a deep breath and relaxed his body.

"I should check what happened in these two days…

" Lin Mu thought to himself before leaving the residence.

He went around the sect and listened to the conversations of the various disciples, learning of all that occurred during these two days. Most of it was mundane except for the competition of the Herb peak.

Apparently, over eighty percent of disciples of the sect who were eligible had already taken part and were now just waiting for the final results. As for those that were remaining, they were either not going to attempt it or were still preparing.

Having learned enough, Lin Mu went to check on alchemist Bilao. While there was no news about him from the disciples, Lin Mu could just go and check how he was doing on his own. After all, he had a better way of knowing if the heavenly tribulation was close for him or not.

Lin Mu swiftly made his way to the place where Alchemist Bilao was staying at. This time Lin Mu didn't need as long to reach there as he had experienced from before. Though he could tell that the security had been lessened here.

"Did they go for the competition, too? Or something like that?

" Lin Mu wondered.

Feeling a bit strange, Lin Mu decided to check out the nearby situation as well. He went around the different blocks, including the place where Ye Zi Jin and Wu Teng lived. But the thing was, only Alchemist Bilao's residence had its security reduced.

"Something is definitely wrong.

" Lin Mu realized.

He made his way back to Alchemist Bilao's residence and phased inside. His spirit sense spread around, but it detected something else that was not there before.

"What's this… formations?

" Lin Mu said, as his brows furrowed.

He quickly entered the room where Bilao was meditating and saw the scene of a blade that was about to pierce the man's neck.