Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top

Although the materials available for Alchemy were innumerable, with the Federal Pharmaceutical Research Institute discovering new medicinal ingredients daily, this basic stage of the competition still used more conventional and common ones. Ning Xuan had thoroughly studied all known ingredients, so this round was naturally no challenge for her.

However, it was clear that not every contestant had such a solid foundation. As time passed, a steady stream of contestants who lacked the basic knowledge were eliminated. The ingredient identification round was merely a screening process before the blind test began. Approximately 200 people were filtered out, leaving 2,800 to officially enter the blind test stage.

Ning Xuan examined the unknown Exotic Plant she had received. These "unknown" specimens were Exotic Plants that had only recently been discovered and had not yet been thoroughly researched. She held three of them: a spiky, durian-shaped plant with mottled skin; a plant bearing a single, ethereal blue flower; and a vine that was bright red and covered in a scale-like pattern.

The spiky plant’s husk was thick, hard, and prickly to the touch. Ning Xuan rummaged through her toolbox, modified a few of the available implements, and fashioned a crescent-shaped blade. With her new tool, she pried open the plant’s thick shell, revealing smooth, pure-white flesh inside.

Next, she switched her multi-functional protective gloves to component-analysis mode, which could rapidly analyze biological makeup. Her fingertips brushed across the starchy, white flesh. Through the gloves, she channeled her Fire Element Energy into the plant. The pure-white pulp was quickly roasted until tender, and the outer layer began to ooze a gelatinous liquid as a cloyingly sweet aroma filled the air.

’It smells a bit like a sweet potato.’

A total of 2,800 people were participating in this preliminary test, divided into seven groups. Each group of 400 contestants received the same set of Exotic Plants.

Ning Xuan’s work went unnoticed at first, but the cloying aroma soon drew the attention of a patrolling examiner. He came from the Natural Food Research Institute, a subordinate department of the Exotic Plant Research Institute, and specialized in studying natural foods. The scent immediately pulled him in. Without a word, he walked up, tore off a piece of the tender flesh, and popped it into his mouth. "Hey, Han Group Leader!" another proctor cried out anxiously. "That plant has a neuroparalytic toxin! What are you doing eating it? Spit it out, now!"

"Haha! It’s not poisonous," Han Group Leader said with a sigh of immense satisfaction. "In fact, it’s a rare delicacy! This is fantastic! The institute has been studying this thing for over a month. We tried freeze-drying it into powder, crushing it for juice, flash-freezing it, roasting it at high heat—we tried everything. At best, we could barely neutralize the toxins, but nothing we made tasted anywhere near this good. And to think she did it so quickly!"

They simply had never imagined the plant had such an internal structure.

Excited, Han Group Leader went to review the video feed of Ning Xuan processing the Exotic Plant.

Next was the second plant, the ethereal blue flower, which sat in a pot of reddish-brown soil. ’It looks like an Illusion Spirit Flower,’ Ning Xuan thought. She gently touched its calyx with a pair of tweezers, and the entire plant instantly shrank to the size of a fist. She examined the small, dark-green, bud-like object left on her tweezers before dropping it into a nearby test tube. HISS! The liquid in the tube turned an inky black. The reaction was so fast that before Ning Xuan could seal the tube, a black mist had already escaped. Fortunately, she was wearing an anti-toxin mask and was unaffected by the poisonous vapor.

Once the toxin was removed, the rest of the alchemy process went smoothly. The flower’s nectar could be used to soothe rampaging spiritual power, making it the key ingredient for a rare Spiritual Calming Potion.

The third specimen was a poisonous vine, scarlet from end to end. The venom congealing on its barbs was so potent it corroded a test tube. A splash of the toxic juice SIZZLED against the Protective Shield covering Ning Xuan’s face. She opened the High-speed Crusher on her table and tossed the entire vine inside. As the crusher whirled to life, she infused two of the Ghost Vine’s black-red branches with her Fire Element Energy. Under her control, the liquified vine separated into two distinct extracts: a vivid, crimson liquid containing a corrosive, deadly toxin, and a sediment of pale pink crystals—a top-grade Antidote ingredient. It reminded her of the pufferfish from Earth, where the deadliest poison often coexists with its cure.

Suddenly, an explosion erupted from the neighboring station. A contestant handling the ethereal blue flower had accidentally ruptured its Poison Sac, causing the entire plant to detonate. A black mist instantly billowed out, blanketing the area. However, each workstation was sealed by a Protective Shield, so there was no danger of the toxic fumes spreading.

After that, a series of accidents occurred at various other stations. The patrolling staff rescued the contestants involved, but those contestants were consequently disqualified from the competition.

For this round, the Alchemists were given three Exotic Plants and only needed to successfully refine one safe substance to pass. The time limit was 180 minutes. Ning Xuan finished her assessment in just 25 minutes and left the examination hall. She was unaware that three-quarters of the Alchemists in her group had been eliminated during this stage.

Later, because the plants assigned to their group were deemed too difficult and the elimination rate was so high, the disqualified contestants protested, resulting in a make-up test being held for them.

「The next day」The second round was the Purity Challenge. Contestants had three hours to purify a randomly assigned medicinal liquid. The higher the purity, the higher the score. Once again, Ning Xuan completed the challenge in a remarkably short time.

「The third day」The challenge was to create a High-level Compound Potion. Contestants had three hours, and the required success rate was over 30%—in other words, they had to complete at least one potion. To ensure fairness and avoid the issues from the first day, all contestants were required to create the exact same High-level Compound Potion.

With the competition being broadcast live on the Star Network, every contestant’s performance was on full display. After the first two days, the most powerful and prominent participants were already garnering significant attention, and Ning Xuan was among them.

Ning Xuan had primarily gained attention for being the fastest contestant to complete each task. However, not far from her at Station 594 was a handsome young man, a top student from the Federal First Comprehensive Academy. During his Alchemy, he skillfully wielded an Abnormal Fire. The brilliant, multicolored flames made his process a magnificent spectacle, capturing the attention of many viewers.

In contrast, Ning Xuan—who processed the Exotic Plants so quickly that most people didn’t even see her methods before she was finished—was largely overlooked by the Star Network audience.