The Rich Cultivator

Chapter 777: 777. I am not an Alchemist (2/2)

The moment Tyler said, "I’m not an alchemist," the entire square erupted into an uproar. The spectators who had been quietly listening only moments ago immediately began whispering among themselves, while many of the participating alchemists frowned as though they had misheard him. Even Qin Zhao, who had been smiling all this time, narrowed his eyes in surprise.

Winning Top three place without being an alchemist was already absurd enough, yet Tyler had calmly admitted it in front of everyone.

Tyler didn’t seem affected by the commotion. He simply rested one hand on the strange metal box beside him and waited until the discussions gradually settled.

Only then did he continue, "I’m a formation master. As for this..." He lightly patted the machine. "It isn’t a pill cauldron. It’s something I created myself— a Pill Maker."

The crowd became even noisier than before. Quite a few people looked at one another in confusion, while several older alchemists simply shook their heads. To them, pill refinement had always been one of the most profound paths of cultivation. It required years of studying medicinal herbs, controlling spiritual flames, understanding medicinal properties and balancing countless subtle changes during refinement. Calling a metal box a Pill Maker sounded no different from claiming an ordinary farmer could become an alchemist overnight.

One elder finally couldn’t hold himself back and spoke, "Young man, refining pills isn’t child’s play. Even the most talented alchemists spend years learning before they can successfully produce a single pill. Are you saying this machine can replace an alchemist?"

Tyler smiled faintly. "No amount of explanation will convince you."

He swept his gaze across the crowd before pointing toward the spectators. "I’ll simply demonstrate it."

His eyes soon settled on a timid-looking boy standing beside his parents. The child looked no older than twelve and was obviously a mortal. Judging from the patched clothes he wore, he had probably followed his family to the convention just to broaden his horizons.

"You there. Would you be willing to help me?"

The boy froze and instinctively looked toward his father. His father was equally stunned, but after realizing everyone around them was watching, he hurriedly pushed his son forward.

"Go. Don’t be afraid."

The boy nervously climbed onto the stage, looking as though his legs might give out beneath him at any moment.

Tyler’s tone remained calm. "You don’t need to understand alchemy. Just do exactly as I say."

The boy nodded repeatedly.

Tyler opened a small pouch and poured several spirit herbs onto the table. "These are the ingredients for a basic Healing Pill. Open that compartment."

The boy carefully lifted the lid.

"Put every herb inside."

He obediently followed the instructions before closing the compartment once more.

"Now turn this dial until it points to ’Healing Pill.’"

The boy slowly rotated the pointer. A series of soft clicks echoed from within the machine until the arrow stopped exactly where Tyler had indicated.

"And now?"

Tyler pointed toward a small red button.

"Press it."

"...That’s all?"

"That’s all."

Taking a deep breath, the boy reached forward and pressed the button.

The entire square fell silent.

The machine emitted a faint humming sound as dozens of tiny formation lines carved into its surface gradually lit up. Spiritual light flowed through the engraved channels like water through rivers, while the formations hidden inside quietly began operating. Unlike the previous demonstration, Tyler didn’t touch the machine again after pressing the button. The boy merely stood beside it awkwardly, and Tyler folded his arms as though waiting for the result together with everyone else.

Many of the older alchemists unconsciously stepped forward for a better look. Some narrowed their eyes, trying to understand what was happening inside the metal box, while others released strands of spiritual sense, only to discover nothing mysterious beyond several extremely ordinary formations working together.

"...Impossible."

An elderly alchemist frowned deeply.

"Those are merely heating formations, drying formations and spirit circulation formations..."

"How can such simple formations refine pills?"

No one answered him.

The humming continued.

Time slowly passed, and before anyone realized it, even Dave had forgotten why he came. His eyes remained fixed on the machine without blinking.

Then, after several minutes, a crisp chime suddenly echoed throughout the square.

Ding.

Another followed immediately after.

Then several soft metallic sounds rang out in succession.

The drawer beneath the machine slowly slid open on its own.

Tyler smiled. "Take them out."

The boy carefully pulled the tray forward. Resting neatly inside were four round Healing Pills, each identical in size and color. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately drifted through the air.

The boy stared blankly before pointing at himself.

"I... I made these?"

Tyler shook his head with a smile.

"The machine made them. You merely operated it."

Even so, the boy’s face flushed with excitement, while his father stood below the stage with reddened eyes. Neither of them had ever imagined that a mere mortal could one day stand before countless cultivators and successfully refine pills.

Meanwhile, the square had descended into complete chaos.

Several alchemists rushed onto the stage without waiting for permission. They circled the machine again and again, inspecting every formation line, every compartment and every moving part. One elderly master even crouched down to examine the underside, only to stand up again after a long while with a bitter smile.

"There are no hidden tricks."

Another slowly nodded.

"...The pills were genuinely refined inside this machine."

The third-place female alchemist looked toward Tyler with a complicated expression. "If even ordinary mortals can refine pills using this... then what have all of us spent decades learning?"

Her words struck the hearts of countless alchemists.

The square gradually became quiet once more.

Tyler understood what everyone was thinking, so he simply smiled and shook his head.

"You’re looking at it the wrong way."

He gently tapped the Pill Maker beside him.

"This machine doesn’t understand alchemy. It only repeats instructions that have already been given to it. It can’t create new formulas, improve old ones or adapt when something unexpected happens. If the ingredients change even slightly or a higher-grade pill requires adjustments during refinement, it becomes useless."

His gaze slowly swept across the alchemists.

"But an alchemist is different."

"You can observe. You can judge. You can improve. You can create entirely new pill formulas."

"This machine can only walk the road you’ve already paved."

Tyler paused for a moment before continuing, "What it replaces isn’t the Pill Dao. It replaces repetitive labor. If a machine can refine thousands of ordinary Healing Pills or Qi Restoration Pills every day, why should talented alchemists waste years repeating the same work? Wouldn’t it be better for them to spend that time researching new pills, improving ancient formulas and pursuing a higher realm of alchemy?"

This time, no one spoke.

Many of the older alchemists lowered their heads in thought, while quite a few younger ones stared silently at the Pill Maker. They still couldn’t accept what had happened, but they also couldn’t find a single flaw in Tyler’s reasoning. The machine hadn’t surpassed the Pill Dao.

It had merely changed the way the simplest pills were made.