Seated cross-legged before the Medicine Cauldron, Xiao Heng released a scorching heat that made even space ripple. Yet to him, such heat was exceptionally comfortable. He and these flames shared the same origin; they would not harm him, only protect him.
With a wave of his hand, over a thousand medicinal herbs appeared. Their fragrances mingled together, refreshing the spirit.
With another wave, every herb was swept into the flame Medicine Cauldron before him, barely a zhang tall. The flames blazed fiercely like enormous fire dragons, swallowing the herbs whole.
Refined by the Heavenly Flames, the emerald-green leaves began to wither. Once a leaf had completely dried up, a drop of jade-green liquid fell, and with it, the leaf itself turned entirely to ash.
This was merely one small part of what was happening throughout Xiao Heng's Medicine Cauldron. Removing impurities and refining the essence was the first step of pill refinement, but it was far from something that could be accomplished casually.
It required perfect control over the flames' temperature and intensity. Every medicinal herb was different; their age and growing environment varied. Even herbs of the same kind, grown in the same place under identical conditions, would not be exactly alike once mature.
Refining herbs with such differences required different temperatures. A little too much, and the herb might turn completely to ash. A little too little, and its essence could not be extracted or its impurities removed, likewise resulting in failure for the entire pill-refining process.
Turning a medicinal herb into the essence one needed required absolute knowledge of medicinal herbs, vast reserves of knowledge, control over flames, and more... Above all, it demanded immense Soul Power.
The increase in the flames' power allowed Xiao Heng to complete this first step faster and better. Take Starbrow Grass,