On the raised platform,
Luo Chen used his Nourishing Origin Hand, which had only reached Proficient Level, to work on the Returning Origin Cicada Shell with painstaking slowness.
He was slow. Very slow!
He handled it with utmost care, as though terrified of ruining this Tier 2 material.
Under the Nourishing Origin Hand's control, wisps of Primordial Qi peeled away from all parts of the shell, then slowly gathered at the center of its abdomen.
As it lost its Primordial Qi, the shell's once-golden surface gradually turned dull gray.
While using the Nourishing Origin Hand, Luo Chen confirmed his thinking.
"If I went by instinct, I'd handle this Second-Order Demon Beast material the way I first thought: start with Crimson Flame Ganoderma, burn away the Azure Star Poison, add Extreme Cold Jade Smoke, then neutralize it with Azure Aloe. The resulting Spiritual Liquid would serve much the same purpose as the two supplementary materials needed to process the Returning Origin Cicada Shell."
"But that would only be a clever shortcut, close to the real answer without being right!"
"The neutralized Spiritual Liquid might produce a similar result, but it could never make the shell clear and bright as an azure sky."
"Anyone who understood medicinal properties would avoid that mistaken instinct!"
"Danyangzi's order of adding ingredients showed he'd spotted the trap too. So he took the second path—the safest one."
"Add Crimson Flame Ganoderma and Azure Aloe first, using the most common principle in the Alchemy Dao, Water-Fire Harmony, to create a gentler environment for the medicinal properties to release."
"But according to my deductions, safe as that method is, it sacrifices speed!"
"The real method, and the best one, is mine!"
A thought stirred.
Luo Chen took out a piece of Blue Smoke Jade.
He left the Returning Origin