"I heard that Qin Xue will be returning for this year's clan martial arts competition."
"Isn't Qin Xue cultivating at the Eastern Wilderness Academy? It's said she's already at the second level of the Innate Realm. Why is she back to participate in the clan competition?"
"Don't you know this? The Cleansing Spirit Pool not only cleanses the bones and marrow of Acquired Realm martial artists, but it can also help Innate Realm martial artists strengthen their main meridians."
The discussion among the guards stirred Qin Xin's thoughts.
This Qin Xue is Qin Qianfan's daughter, two years older than Qin Xin, and is currently cultivating at the Eastern Wilderness Academy.
For a period of time when Qin Xin was a child, he lived with his third grandfather, Qin Lin. Perhaps because Qin Xin was lonely and alone, his third grandfather, Qin Lin, favored him, which is why Qin Xue would often cause trouble for Qin Xin.
Once, when he went to the inner treasury to collect pills for Qin Xin, he also collected some for Qin Xue, hoping to ease the tension between the two. However, while delivering the Qi-gathering pills, he didn't notice that she was taking a bath in the courtyard and accidentally saw some things he shouldn't have seen.
Unexpectedly, Qin Xue chased Qin Xin all over the manor, shouting that she must kill this lecherous Qin Xin.
Later, whenever the two met, tensions would rise. To avoid her, Qin Xin moved out of his third grandfather Qin Lin's house and lived alone. With fewer meetings, Qin Xin finally had some peace and quiet.
As for what happened later, Qin Xue was sent to the Eastern Wilderness Academy. It had been more than four years since the two had last seen each other.
Qin Xin pursed his lips and muttered to himself, "Hopefully this crazy woman has forgotten what happened back then, otherwise there will be a lot of trouble."
Qin Xin carried the alchemy furnace back to the courtyard. Along the way, many clansmen saw Qin Xin and couldn't help but complain, but Qin Xin ignored them. He had long been used to it over the years.
Now I just want to get back as soon as possible and see what that mysterious old man named Danqing is really up to.
~~~~
In the quiet courtyard, Qin Xin kept the door tightly closed.
He carefully took out the medicinal herbs he had purchased from the inner treasury, and placed the alchemy furnace aside.
"Master, I've prepared the medicinal herbs. What's next?"
Qin Xin asked somewhat anxiously.
"Calm your mind, control the mysterious fragment of the map, and open the passage." Danqing's voice echoed in Qin Xin's mind.
Following Danqing's instructions, Qin Xin saw a transparent old man appear in the room.
"You're trying to fool me with this broken alchemy furnace?"
Looking at the alchemy furnace beside him, Danqing complained with dissatisfaction.
For alchemists, a pill furnace is like a weapon for a martial artist. It is divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Each grade is further divided into primary, intermediate, and advanced levels. The higher the grade of the pill furnace, the higher the success rate of pill production and the better the quality of the pills produced.
The alchemy furnace that Qin Xin brought is a low-grade Yellow Rank primary alchemy furnace. The entire furnace is made of the most ordinary black iron and has not been infused with a fire control array. When using this kind of alchemy furnace to refine pills, it is very common for the furnace to explode.
However, given Qin Xin's current financial situation, he simply cannot afford some high-level alchemy furnaces. For example, a mid-level Yellow Rank alchemy furnace would cost thousands of gold coins to buy.
Seeing Qin Xin's aggrieved expression, Dan Qing helplessly shrugged and said, "Alright, since you're penniless, just make do with this alchemy furnace."
After speaking, Danqing's illusory figure slowly disappeared, along with the alchemy furnace made of black iron.
"Master, weren't we supposed to be refining pills?" Qin Xin hurriedly called out in his mind as Danqing disappeared.
"You brat, refining pills in broad daylight? How safe is your dilapidated courtyard? Let's wait until night. And this broken pill furnace of yours, I'll go and modify it first."
After being scolded by Danqing, Qin Xin rolled his eyes and his lips twitched slightly.
There were still quite a few hours until nightfall, so to pass the time, Qin Xin sat cross-legged on the bed and began to practice breathing exercises.
After swallowing the Qi-Gathering Pill, Qin Xin redirected his martial spirit to absorb it.
The medicinal power of the Qi-Gathering Pill circulated throughout his limbs and bones, slowly transforming into true qi, which flowed within his dantian. However, a considerable amount of medicinal power escaped from his dantian because it had not been absorbed in time, causing Qin Xin some heartache.
The main focus of cultivation for martial artists in the Acquired Realm is to strengthen their bodies and make them more powerful.
When a martial artist reaches the ninth level of the Acquired Realm, if they want to break through to the Innate Realm, they must condense a Martial Core.
The Martial Elixir, also known as the Martial Spirit Elixir Field, is made by using true qi to temper the dantian and incorporating the martial spirit into it, eventually transforming it into a Martial Elixir.
The Martial Elixir is also a sign that a martial artist has reached the Innate Realm.
After cultivating for about half an hour, Qin Xin's room door was suddenly pushed open by Zi Ling.
Zi Ling walked lightly into the room, placed some food on the table, and then prepared to leave quietly.
Qin Xin noticed this subtle change and immediately stopped cultivating, saying, "From now on, you don't need to have the food delivered to your room."
Upon hearing this, Zi Ling's eyes reddened slightly. "Does Brother Qin Xin want to drive Zi Ling away?"
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that I'll eat out by myself next time. It's too much trouble for you to bring it in all the time," Qin Xin quickly explained, looking at Zi Ling's pitiful face.
"It's no trouble at all. Brother Qin Xin needs to eat more now so that his body can recover quickly."
Upon hearing Qin Xin's explanation, Zi Ling's previously aggrieved face suddenly broke into a smile. After speaking, she pushed open the door and left.
Seeing Zi Ling's face change so quickly, Qin Xin smiled helplessly and said self-deprecatingly, "It's all because I'm too soft-hearted."
"Hmph, now you believe what your master said, right? If something were to happen halfway through the alchemy process, not only would all the medicinal herbs be destroyed, but you might also be injured by the backlash of the alchemical fire." Danqing's gloating voice suddenly rang out in his mind.
However, Qin Xin did not refute it, silently made a mental note, and closed his eyes to continue cultivating.
When Zi Ling returned to clean up the dishes, Qin Xin told her that he needed to cultivate that night and shouldn't come in to disturb her.
As night fell, the entire Qin Clan Manor fell silent. Qin Xin, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes, put away the few remaining Qi-gathering pills, and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Qin Xin felt somewhat helpless as he sensed the slight increase in true qi within his dantian.
She gently took out the herbs, carefully placed them aside, and asked somewhat nervously, "Teacher, is it okay now?"
"That's about right, leave the rest to your master." Danqing's ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of Qin Xin, and in the dead of night, Qin Xin couldn't help but shudder.
"Kid, watch carefully and study diligently. Once you reach the Innate Realm, I will teach you this Core Formation technique."
After saying that, Danqing waved his hand lightly, and the alchemy furnace appeared in the room.
At this moment, the alchemy furnace underwent a great change, its entire body resembling gilded gold. Qin Xin, standing to the side, could faintly feel the heat emanating from it.
"I've added a fire control array to this alchemy furnace, so it's now only comparable to a high-grade Yellow Rank alchemy furnace, since the furnace's foundation is too weak," Danqing said slowly, looking at Qin Xin's puzzled expression.
"But isn't this a bit too flashy?" Looking at the gilded alchemy furnace, Qin Xin felt it was extremely tacky.
"You brat, what do you know? This is called prestige!" Seeing Qin Xin's disdainful expression, Danqing immediately bristled and glared.
At this moment, Danqing waved his hand lightly and pointed out a golden flame, which slowly floated out and fell into the furnace, where it slowly began to burn.
After placing the Wenmai Flower into the alchemy furnace, Danqing carefully sensed the changes in the medicinal material under the scorching flames, manipulated the furnace, and adjusted the size of the flames. At the same time, she didn't forget to chat with Qin Xin.
"The alchemist's condensed flame is usually pale yellow. The higher the alchemist's rank, the darker the color of their flame."
"Of course, many martial artists will also choose to collect other flames."
"Beast fire like that of demonic beasts, lightning fire that burns trees when thunder strikes, and sparks from falling meteors are all called acquired fire, just like pill fire. They are relatively easy to control. However, there are also some innate fires in this world. These flames are born after being tempered for tens of thousands or even hundreds of millions of years in special environments, and they have a unified name—strange fire."
"The strange fire is violent, and countless powerful people have paid the price of their lives to subdue it. This is because once the strange fire is subdued and a fire seed is condensed, it will not only have great benefits for alchemy, but also give alchemists another means of attack."
His gaze was fixed on the golden flame controlled by Danqing. It seemed to have no temperature. The Wenmai Flower became very bright under the heat of the flame, and then slowly turned into a ball of red liquid.
"Teacher, is this golden flame also a strange flame?" Qin Xin asked tentatively.
"Of course." Danqing put in all the remaining medicinal herbs and separated them, a smile appearing in his eyes. "Back then, I almost lost my life trying to steal... no, borrow this strange fire."
"My strange fire is called the Fire of Life. This strange fire was born inside the alchemy furnace and was formed by the spiritual power of hundreds of millions of medicinal herbs after ten thousand years of nurturing."
"When refining pills, the medicinal materials can be accelerated to mature, making their spiritual energy more concentrated, and the grade of the pills refined will be higher."
"The fire of life?"
Qin Xin stared intently at the golden flame, muttering softly to himself.
"You brat, this is the crucial part. Watch closely, this is the Core Formation Method I created myself!"
As they spoke, the medicinal herbs thrown into the alchemy furnace had all turned into a bright green liquid. Under the scorching heat of the life-giving fire, black impurities were continuously removed, and the spiritual energy became even more concentrated.
"Squeak..."
Danqing formed a hand seal, and the medicinal liquid formed from several herbs touched each other, immediately producing a series of strange sounds. Golden flames instantly enveloped the large mass of medicinal liquid.
Under the control of the dantian, the medicinal liquid was divided into five portions. Each portion was roasted by flames, and slowly took on the shape of a pill, although the surface was somewhat rough.
"The Elixir Refining Technique for Living Beings!"
Danqing changed his hand gestures and gave a soft shout. A huge amount of life energy instantly surged into the nascent pill. The pill, which had a rough surface, instantly became smooth and round, emitting a faint blue glow, and the surface of the pill faintly appeared.
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