Chapter 8 Alchemy

The training room was empty, with only a simple defensive array set up. It couldn't withstand much external attack, but it could prevent others from entering at will and also isolate the room from sound.

Zhong Cai placed the alchemy furnace on the ground, circulated his cultivation technique, and drew upon the energy of heaven and earth to inject into the furnace.

In the blink of an eye, the palm-sized alchemy furnace quickly returned to its original form—about three feet tall, with a furnace chamber one foot tall and the main furnace two feet tall, standing in front of Zhong Cai.

Wu Shaogan took out a soft couch, placed it against the wall, and lay down on it, focusing intently on Zhong Cai.

Zhong Cai was a little nervous at first, but after noticing Wu Shaogan's actions, she immediately rolled her eyes: "I feel like I'm the performer, and you feel like the audience."

Wu Shaogan pretended to ponder for a moment, then frankly said, "How could it not be?"

Zhong Cai: "..." She raised her eyebrows and said, "Shut up!"

However, after this joke, Zhong Cai's anxiety subsided somewhat. He calmed himself down and gently patted the outer shell of the alchemy furnace, causing a soft fire-repelling mesh to spread out inside the furnace. He then took out more than ten pieces of green firewood and placed them into the mesh, and then took a tinderstone and threw it into the furnace, striking the green firewood. In an instant, several sparks burst forth, igniting all the green firewood.

Below the right ear of the alchemy furnace is a small handle. Zhong Cai can control the shrinking and expanding of the silk net by sliding the handle. At the same time, the flame will shrink and expand accordingly, producing corresponding temperature changes.

Zhong Cai carefully adjusted the temperature, and when it felt about right, she took out a Qi-cultivating fruit and put it into the main furnace cavity.

The fruit melted almost instantly in the furnace, turning into a pool of white liquid. At that very moment, Zhong Cai threw in a piece of white reeds about a foot long, which was quickly enveloped by the white liquid, making a sizzling sound.

Zhong Cai turned the handle to open the mesh port a little.

In an instant, the flames shot upwards, scorching the white thorn bushes. The white thorn bushes began to melt slowly, and with each melted strand, it would permeate with the white fruit juice, turning into a milky white gel.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhong Cai poured the juice from the crushed Qingling grass into the pot and accurately poured it onto the white thatch.

The next moment—

"Bang!"

The juice of the grass and the white thatch sizzled together, emitting a burnt smell.

Zhong Cai put down the bowl of herbal juice that he hadn't finished using and said sullenly, "I poured too much, which disrupted the balance of the medicinal properties..." He calculated the costs with great regret, "Qi-Nourishing Fruit costs one tael of silver and two mace, White Imperata costs two mace and thirty copper coins, and Green Spirit Grass costs twenty copper coins per stalk. The amount I just poured out was at least five stalks, which is one hundred copper coins! I wasted a full one tael of silver and five mace and thirty copper coins for this one failure! No wonder everyone says that alchemy is expensive, it really is expensive!"

Wu Shaogan had grown up in luxury since childhood, never lacking money, whether from his family or his own earnings. Even though times had changed, he still had his savings and didn't think that less than two taels of silver was a lot. However, having known Zhong Cai for many years, he knew his personality and naturally comforted him, saying, "It's alright. You only made a mistake at this step, which is already better than many alchemists. Try a few more times, and you'll definitely succeed."

Zhong Cai: "I knew I was bad, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. Look, you're calling me 'Cai' again..."

Wu Shaogan: "..." In all honesty, it was just something he said offhand; he really didn't mean it that way.

Seeing Wu Shaogan's helpless expression, Zhong Cai grinned and said, "I was just kidding you. Okay, I'll continue!"

Wu Shaogan was even more helpless, but it was good that Zhong Cai was no longer so resentful.

"Go and think about where you went wrong, and I'll clean the alchemy furnace for you."

Zhong Cai immediately beamed and quickly went to reflect on her mistake.

Wu Shaogan worked diligently and conscientiously, dealing with the waste residue in the alchemy furnace.

·

Zhong Cai chose to refine a Qi-replenishing pill, used to replenish the profound energy of secret cultivators in the Heavenly Guidance Realm. Usually, when cultivators' profound energy/profound power is exhausted, taking it will immediately restore a great deal. In addition, cultivators can also use it for cultivation, which is much faster than absorbing the energy of heaven and earth themselves—of course, the better the aptitude, the less useful it is.

Although Wu Shaogan's soul injury has not fully healed, it does not prevent him from using the strength of the twelfth level of the Heavenly Guidance Realm. However, after his profound energy is used up, he cannot absorb the energy of heaven and earth on his own and can only replenish it with pills.

Zhong Cai didn't want his best friend to be restricted, so he had long planned to refine a large batch of Qi-replenishing pills. He would sell the low-grade ones and let his friend eat the high-grade ones for fun when he had nothing to do. It was quite an ambitious plan.

Besides, the more pills he refines, the more pill essence he accumulates, and the more items he can obtain through sacrifices. Although those items are all random, who knows, maybe one day he'll get lucky and get something useful for his buddy? If that happens by chance, and his buddy recovers, then we'll see him looking so spirited again!

However, since the hope was slim, Zhong Cai secretly worked hard without saying it out loud.

If it works out, that would be a pleasant surprise; if not, at least it won't disappoint his friend.

·

The formula for the Qi-Boosting Pill is relatively rare among first-grade pills. It requires only one main ingredient, the precious Qi-Boosting Fruit, while the others are all common medicinal materials, consisting of only five: Vitex negundo, Aristolochia debilis, Rhizoma Pinelliae, Semen Mori, and Herba Epimedii.

The entire prescription costs around two taels of silver, making it a relatively inexpensive prescription.

However, in terms of the difficulty of refining, it is not the lowest. The most difficult step is to blend the juice of the Qingling grass into the white thatch.

Zhong Cai pondered for a while, then gestured with the empty bowl for a bit. Just then, Wu Shaogan finished cleaning up, so they readjusted the flames and added the Qi-cultivating fruit, white thatch, and Qingling grass juice in sequence...

"Bang!"

The furnace exploded again, but fortunately, the level two alchemy furnace is sturdy enough. It only refines level one pills, so it wasn't damaged by the explosion.

Unfortunately, another half of the medicinal herbs was destroyed.

Zhong Cai: "..."

It breaks my heart!

Wu Shaogan patted him on the shoulder and said, "You lasted longer than before. Think about your mistakes again. I'll take care of the alchemy furnace."

Zhong Cai took a deep breath and began to rack her brains, trying to recall where she had gone wrong.

After a cup of tea, Zhong Cai began the third refining process.

"Bang!"

Wu Shaogan cleaned the alchemy furnace.

Zhong Cai reflected on her mistakes.

After another cup of tea, Zhong Cai began the fourth refining process.

"Bang!"

The fifth time...

"Bang!"

The sixth time...

"Bang!"

Seventh...Eighth...Ninth...

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Zhong Cai counted the silver on his fingers, his eyes flashing with anger: "I! I've wasted over ten taels of silver! And the furnace still exploded!!"

Seeing his grief-stricken and indignant appearance, Wu Shaogan couldn't help but want to laugh.

Zhong Cai looked over blankly, her anger growing even stronger: "It's a lot of money, what are you laughing at!"

Wu Shaogan was taken aback: "Huh? Did I laugh?"

A vein bulged on Zhong Cai's forehead.

Wu Shaogan coughed lightly, quickly walked over and stood beside Zhong Cai, ruffled his hair and said, "Alright, don't rush. You've only practiced it a few times. If you succeed, you're a peerless genius; if you don't, you're just a normal person."

“You’ve only used half a day. As far as I know, when alchemists first started refining pills, it took them ten days to half a month to succeed. And that doesn’t even include the time spent identifying medicinal herbs and getting familiar with the heat.”

“If you can’t succeed today, try tomorrow; if you can’t succeed tomorrow, try the day after. Take your time. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to calm down, and the more likely you are to make mistakes.” Wu Shaogan ruffled Zhong Cai’s hair. “Wu Zhaohong studied alchemy for ten years, but the only pill she could make was a very ordinary one… probably a Bone Tempering Pill? The Qi-Replenishing Pill you’re making now is very difficult to make. She tried it no less than a hundred times but failed, so she gave up and only chose something simpler.”

Zhong Cai felt a little dizzy from being shaken around, but she eventually calmed down.

"Is it true? You're not lying to me?" he asked, somewhat incredulous. "I've never inquired about alchemists before, so don't try to fool me."

Wu Shaogan cupped his head again to bring him back to his senses before smiling and saying, "I'm not lying to you. You're making really good progress. I noticed just now that you almost used up the bowl of Qingling grass juice you prepared before you started the explosion. Are you close to success? I reckon you'll be able to finish it smoothly in three or four days at most."

Zhong Cai said sullenly, "Is it because of your kind words?"

Wu Shaogan solemnly replied, "Borrow."

Zhong Cai punched him in the chest, finally feeling better, and snorted, "You have a big face."

Wu Shaogan laughed again: "It is quite big."

Zhong Cai laughed too: "Get lost, go clean the alchemy furnace!"

Wu Shaogan left quickly.

Zhong Cai glanced at Wu Shaogan's back and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

He seemed to have gotten a little too angry just now... But this guy is in the mood to laugh at him, so it seems he really doesn't care about being crippled anymore. That's pretty good, isn't it?

·

Heeding Wu Shaogan's advice, Zhong Cai suppressed her increasingly anxious emotions, ate three meals a day as usual, went to bed early and got up early, and was in great health. She spent about seven hours a day refining pills, and did whatever she needed to do the rest of the time.

With this adjusted mindset, Zhong Cai successfully overcame the most difficult hurdle in obtaining the Qi-replenishing pill.

All the juice from the Qingling Grass was poured onto the White Imperata, accelerating the fusion of the White Imperata and the Qi-Nourishing Fruit juice. The moment all the juice from the twenty Qingling Grass plants was used up, the three herbs formed a pale green gel, which was evenly spread on the bottom of the main furnace.

Zhong Cai quickly added the bitter water chestnuts, watching as the gelatinous substance absorbed them, becoming more solid and thicker. Next came the mulberry seeds; these pale yellow mulberry shoots quickly curled up and mixed into the gelatinous substance, causing it to gradually solidify... Finally, there were the yellow cattail seeds, which were quickly burned into powder by the high temperature as they fell to the bottom of the furnace, all disappearing into the gelatinous substance...

Once all the medicinal herbs were combined, the gelatinous substance was already the size of an adult's fist.

This period was not without its challenges.

When bitter water chestnuts were added, the gelatinous substance was once roasted into smoke; when mulberry rice was added, the tender shoots were burned black; when yellow pepper was added, the temperature was incorrect, causing it not to turn into powder, and when it was added to the gelatinous substance, it was stimulated to burst wildly and could not solidify at all.

In total, it took Zhong Cai five days to complete all the procedures.

On the sixth day, Zhong Cai tried several times in a row, starting in the morning, and finally succeeded again in the evening, and could begin to condense the elixir.

Zhong Cai controlled the size of the flames, causing the gelatinous substance to rotate rapidly at the bottom of the furnace. With each rotation, some dust-like material was thrown out and accumulated in the corner of the main furnace.

After about a quarter of an hour, the gelatinous substance finally stopped rotating. After shaking violently several times, it seemed to burst apart, breaking into many small clumps that scattered in all directions, hitting the furnace wall and making a continuous sound.

After the dull thud, another layer of dust would accumulate at the bottom of the furnace; after the crisp thud, small, round beads would roll around at the bottom of the furnace.

At the same time, a faint fragrance begins to permeate the air.

...Finally, it was a complete success.

·

Zhong Cai stared at the alchemy furnace in front of her, listening to the clanging sounds coming from inside, and a look of tension appeared on her face.

Wu Shaogan was pleasantly surprised: "You've condensed your core! Ah Cai, you're actually not bad at all!"

Zhong Cai's lips twitched, and she muttered to herself, "I'm just worried that the balance of the various medicinal herbs isn't good enough. If they all break on the alchemy furnace, we won't be able to get a single pill."

Wu Shaogan comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I heard the sound clearly just now. At least three or four of them are intact."

Zhong Cai's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, "Really?"

Wu Shaogan answered without hesitation, "Really."

Zhong Caiwei felt slightly relieved and was able to wait patiently.

Only after all the sounds had disappeared did he nervously walk over and lift the stove lid.

Wu Shaogan walked beside Zhong Cai and looked into the main furnace with him.

There were many impurities and soot at the bottom of the furnace, but there were also six round, snow-white pills rolling around—among them, there were even some with a more vibrant color.

Wu Shaogan pressed Zhong Cai's shoulder and said happily, "Amazing! I heard that the total number is between five and eight, including mid-grade pills... You've already surpassed the ordinary level and reached the 'extraordinary' level on your first try."

Zhong Cai was also very happy. She picked the pills out of the furnace and carefully examined their quality in her hands.

Wu Shaogan gently fiddled with his fingers, separating the pills to both sides. His eyes and brows were filled with joy as he praised, "Four low-grade pills and two mid-grade pills! Your talent is much higher than you thought." He couldn't help but tease, "Although you can't be called a peerless genius, you are indeed a genius."

Zhong Caicai didn't care about the teasing. Instead, he said proudly, "That's right! I'm such a genius. I got eight strands of elixir essence in just one batch. I'm not far from being able to offer it as a sacrifice."

As he spoke, he summoned the altar and pointed to the colorful light floating above the "card pool" for Wu Shaogan to see.

Wu Shaogan counted them and found that they were indeed eight beams of colorful light.

Zhong Cai excitedly stuffed all six Qi-replenishing pills into Wu Shaogan's hands, then went to clean the furnace herself, loudly proclaiming, "Please separate these for me. But they have a lot of impurities, so don't eat them yet. I'll give them to you later when I've refined better ones. Just wait and see! What's a transcendent alchemist? I don't even care about top-tier alchemists. I'm going to be a great man who becomes a Grand Alchemist!"

Wu Shaogan suppressed a laugh: "Alright, great man."

Zhong Cai suddenly remembered something, turned her head and winked at Wu Shaogan, saying, "By the way, I'm not a 'vegetarian' anymore, so can you stop calling me 'A-Cai' from now on?"

Wu Shaogan tried to make faces, but it was too difficult, so he gave up and calmly said, "No."

Zhong Cai glared at him.

Wu Shaogan smiled broadly, looking absolutely stunning.

"What did you tell me before? This is called an affectionate nickname, proving that our friendship is strong, solid, and unbreakable..."

Zhong Cai couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright, alright..."

·

Because of his outstanding performance, Zhong Cai became a little carried away, and when he started refining another batch, the furnace inevitably exploded. After that, Zhong Cai dared not get carried away again, quickly composed himself, and diligently continued refining.

After frying two more batches, Zhong Cai finally succeeded in frying another batch.

This time, only five Qi-replenishing pills were refined, one of medium grade and four of low grade.

Wu Shaogan praised, "Your skill level is consistently high, still exceptional."

Zhong Cai was initially a little disappointed because of the missing one, but Wu Shaogan's words cheered her up considerably, and she immediately regained her confidence: "That's right, the quantity is a little less, but the quality is still there, so it's not a regression."

Wu Shaogan smiled and continued to help Zhong Cai clean the alchemy furnace.

After meditating for a while to recover and adjust her mood, Zhong Cai continued refining.

Fortunately, this batch was a success again.

There are still six, three of which are of medium quality and three of which are of low quality.

Zhong Cai is bursting with confidence!

Success! Two medium-grade and three low-grade stones were obtained.

fail.

fail.

Success! Three mid-grade and four low-grade! You've improved!

fail.

fail.

fail.

Zhong Cai continued refining until her head was buzzing and she felt dizzy and lightheaded, then she stopped and plopped down on the floor... onto the soft chair that Wu Shaogan had promptly pushed over for her.

"So tiring." Zhong Cai wiped her sweat. "It's only the first-level pill I'm refining now. When I refine the second-level pills later, I'll have to use my Xuan Qi to control the size of the flame. Oh right, I still need to buy a Wood Flame, otherwise I won't be able to melt the second-level medicinal herbs. Those things aren't cheap either..."

Wu Shao chuckled dryly, picked up two palm-sized bottles, and stuffed them into Zhong Cai's hands.

"Let me tell you something to make you happy. Look, today you refined a total of eighteen low-grade first-level pills and eleven mid-grade first-level pills." He pointed to the altar that always stood to one side of the cultivation room. "I counted them for you, forty strands of spiritual energy."

Zhong Cai turned her head.

The altar was bathed in colorful light, and there really were that many.

Zhong Cai suddenly became excited and shouted, "Offer the sacrifice immediately! I can offer sacrifices four times in total!"

Wu Shaogan turned his gaze to the altar, a hint of anticipation creeping in.