A Small Test of Skill (2)

Smelling the various fragrances of spiritual herbs in the Alchemy Chamber, Yue Qianchou had been standing there for a long time and felt a little drowsy. Just as he yawned, he heard a "bang" as the lid of the Pill Furnace was opened, and a refreshing fragrance wafted out. Yue Qianchou wiped his face to wake himself up and saw that his master, Guan Wei Wu, had already collected the pills.

"Master, how is it?" Yue Qianchou asked as he approached.

Guan Wei Wu frowned and shook his head as he looked at the twenty Qi Replenishing Pill, some black and some white, in his hand. "I tried a different method, but it still didn't work. This time, there are actually eight useless pills." As he spoke, he removed the black useless pills from his hand.

Yue Qianchou scratched his head and said, "Master, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Hmm?" Guan Wei Wu put the completed pill into his Storage Bag, turned around and asked, "What is it?"

Yue Qianchou ran over and picked up the four portions of spiritual herbs from the ground. He chuckled and said, "Master, every move you make while refining pills shows the demeanor of a grandmaster. I'm so envious and eager to try it myself. Master, could you please grant me a pill -Alchemy Chamber so I can try it out and experience what it's like to refine pills?"

Guan Wei Wu, still somewhat displeased due to the poor results of his first batch of pills, stroked his beard with a sense of smug satisfaction upon hearing his disciple praise his masterful pill-refining skills. In the entire Cultivation World, who didn't know the name "Alchemy Fanatic" Guan Wei Wu? When it came to pill-refining techniques, if he claimed second place, who dared to claim first? He hadn't expected even his disciple, who knew nothing about pill refining, to recognize his masterful aura. But what he said was certainly true; this disciple was an honest and reliable person! Guan Wei Wu's gaze towards Yue Qianchou grew increasingly appreciative.

Yue Qianchou stood aside, smiling cautiously. Little did he know that his casual flattery had pleased his master to the core; he had simply been habitually offering a compliment.

"You also want to refine pills?" Guan Wei Wu stared at the four portions of spiritual herbs in his hand, which were clearly the herbs for refining Qi Replenishing Pill. He thought to himself that this disciple did indeed have some talent for refining pills. He had memorized the prescription he had picked up after just one glance.

"Yes, yes, Master is the head elder of the Alchemy Pavilion, and his alchemy skills are unparalleled. As a disciple, how can I let such a good learning opportunity slip by? Even if I am ignorant, I must give it a try. In the future, when people go out and know that I am your personal disciple, if they ask, I can at least say that I have refined pills. I can't say that my master is the head elder of the Alchemy Pavilion, and I have never even touched Pill Furnace! Master, do you think I am right?" Yue Qianchou said sincerely.

"Hmm." Guan Wei Wu nodded. It would be a joke if word got out that the 'Alchemy Fanatic's' personal disciple couldn't refine pills, and he would definitely lose face. Besides, the spiritual herbs used to refine Qi Replenishing Pill weren't particularly precious. He could give it a try and learn something.

"Alright! Take these four portions of spiritual herbs to broaden your horizons and experience the process of refining them in the Pill Furnace. If you need more, come back to me. When I have time, I'll teach you a few more alchemy techniques." After Guan Wei Wu finished speaking, he shouted loudly outside, "Yang Qian!"

"When you have time? You can't resist the sight of the Pill Furnace. Who knows when you'll have time?" Yue Qianchou smiled inwardly and said respectfully, "Thank you for your kindness, Master."

A moment later, an old man rushed in, bowed, and said, "Elder Guan, what are your orders?"

This man was the manager of the Alchemy Chamber in the Alchemy Pavilion, and his cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul Middle Stage. Yue Qianchou had heard of his great name and immediately bowed and said, "Steward Yang." He addressed him this way to avoid conflicting with the rules of Fu Xian Island. According to the rules, one should call someone "Grandmaster," but it was naturally inconvenient to do so when one's master was in front of them. In fact, others did the same in this situation.

Guan Wei Wu pointed at Yue Qianchou and said, "This is my disciple Yue Qianchou. Arrange an Alchemy Chamber for him."

"Understood, Elder Guan." Yang Qian smiled at Yue Qianchou and said, "Come with me." Guan Wei Wu also waved to him and said, "Go! Go! Be careful." Yue Qianchou thanked him, picked up the spiritual herb, and followed Yang Qian.

Stepping outside, Yang Qian glanced at Yue Qianchou. Guan Wei Wu had taken in more than a dozen disciples, but some died, while others switched to other masters. The reason was naturally that after Guan Wei Wu excitedly took in his disciples, he neglected them. Some disciples had never even seen their master again after their first meeting. It was quite an anomaly that Yue Qianchou Guan Wei Wu.

Yang Qian hesitated for a moment, then led Yue Qianchou to an empty Alchemy Chamber and asked him, "Yue Qianchou, what do you think of this room? If you don't like it, we can change to another one."

Yue Qianchou glanced inside. As long as he could refine pills, that was enough. Why bother with all the fancy fuss? He bowed and said, "Thank you, Grandmaster Yang. This room is fine. No need to trouble yourself further."

"Alright, call me if you need anything. I have to go now," Yang Qian said with a smile. Yue Qianchou saw him out.

Back in the Alchemy Chamber, he stepped on a protruding stone on the ground. A sound came from under the Pill Furnace, and red light spilled out, instantly illuminating the room. The temperature gradually rose as the Pill Furnace was fueled by earth fire.

Yue Qianchou separated one portion of the spiritual herbs and threw the remaining three portions into his Storage Bag. After the Pill Furnace finished preheating, he opened the lid, added the herbs, and quickly closed it. He then guided the airflow with his Divine Sense to rapidly refine the herbs.

Upon trying it, Yue Qianchou was pleasantly surprised to find that controlling the flow of energy with his Divine Sense was a thousand times easier. Compared to when he had to use Spirit Stone to recover while refining Foundation Establishment Pill, it was far superior. No wonder it is said that it is only suitable for pill refining after the Foundation Establishment Realm; the difference between the two stages is simply too great.

There are differences in alchemy using different Pill Furnace, and it has little to do with whether you are used to it or not. This Pill Furnace is obviously much worse than the one that Grandma Ma Jiu used. The heat inside is not evenly distributed and it is easy to suddenly go berserk.

Fortunately, he had honed his skills through suffering, becoming incredibly adept at manipulating airflow with his Divine Sense. No matter how turbulent or uncontrollable the airflow was, he could easily tame it with his Divine Sense, directing, blocking, or drawing a small circle. It would obey his commands without batting an eye.

This was the first time Yue Qianchou had ever enjoyed such complete control. The smooth and effortless comfort was amazing. He thought to himself smugly, "You little brat, trying to mess with me."

Following the Qi Replenishing Pill refining technique memorized in his mind, the essence of several spiritual herbs circulated smoothly in the Pill Furnace, sometimes separating and sometimes combining, drawing beautiful arcs. Sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes flying all over the furnace, sometimes separating and combining, the beauty between movement and stillness even captivated Yue Qianchou himself.

Inside the furnace, a large, translucent, pale Blue Crystal clump of spiritual herb essence slowly floated in the center, surrounded by several clumps of other colored crystals. A gust of air blew by, causing the swirling crystals to spin faster and faster. Yue Qianchou's Divine Sense stirred. "Merge."

Suddenly, the swirling crystals crashed into the central blue crystalline mass like meteorites hitting the earth. In an instant, only a swirling, multicolored crystalline mass remained inside the furnace. Yue Qianchou's Divine Sense stirred once more. "Divide."

The five-colored crystal in the center of the furnace, under the control of the airflow, flung out droplets of water like a spinning umbrella, eventually disappearing from sight. In the end, it formed twenty much smaller, average-sized five-colored crystals in the furnace, which, under the control of the airflow, were arranged in an orderly manner in the center and rotated, receiving the baptism of the highest temperature in the furnace evenly.

Yue Qianchou breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first time he had ever controlled more than twenty pills simultaneously with his Divine Sense, but now that his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, it was clearly a piece of cake. He had worried for nothing. Checking the activity inside the furnace, he felt that there shouldn't be any more problems.

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