Alchemy

"Qi Gathering Pills are commonly used by Qi Refining cultivators and are often in short supply. This time, I'll teach you how to refine Qi Gathering Pills," the refined-looking man said bluntly, clearly having no intention of introducing himself. A group of Qi Refining rogue cultivators simply did not catch the eye of a Foundation Establishment alchemist like him.

"The main ingredient for refining Qi Gathering Pills is Spirit Gathering Grass, which must be at least twenty years old. There are twelve supplementary ingredients, all requiring at least ten years of age: Green Leaf Vine, Three-Leaf Flower..."

As he explained, the refined man took out stalk after stalk of spirit herbs and arranged them on the table. Then he produced a copper cauldron and a piece of Spirit Charcoal.

He lit the Spirit Charcoal, refining pills while explaining the process to everyone.

They watched as he placed the spirit herbs into the furnace one after another, formed a hand seal, and sent out a spell. The flames immediately leaped higher, and wisps of green smoke began to rise from the furnace.

"This removes impurities. The next step is to extract the medicinal potency."

"..."

An hour later, the furnace lid flew open, and a fragrant medicinal aroma filled the air. At the bottom of the furnace, five fingertip-sized pills spun round and round.

A full furnace yielded ten pills. A fifty-percent success rate was neither high nor low—an average level.

Wang Hong pondered it. After studying for so long, he should be able to start refining pills himself.

Wang Hong made his way familiarly to the Gao Clan Artifact Workshop. The moment he entered, he saw Gao Yue's smugly grinning face.

"Brother! What wind blew you here?"

The fellow came over and grabbed Wang Hong's sleeve. Wang Hong shook him off in one motion, wondering whether this guy had some peculiar hobby.

This fellow was simply overly familiar with strangers. Wang Hong had only come here a few times in total.

"This time, I intend to buy an alchemy furnace. Do you have any?"

"Yes, of course! Our Gao Clan Artifact Workshop has specialized in artifact refinement for two hundred years. Though alchemy furnaces are difficult to refine and do not sell in great numbers, we still keep some in stock." Gao Yue introduced them with great pride. This was the deep foundation accumulated by a household over generations.

Before long, he carried out a pill furnace the size of a millstone and placed it before Wang Hong.

"Phoenix Pattern Bronze Furnace, a low-grade magic artifact."

Then he went back inside and carried out a slightly smaller crimson pill furnace.

"Crimson Copper Double Ear Furnace, a mid-grade magic artifact."

This was followed by a string of clattering introductions—self-praise, really—which went in Wang Hong's left ear and out his right. He picked up each pill furnace and examined them carefully.

In the end, he spent two thousand Spirit Stones to buy the mid-grade pill furnace.

On the way back, he bought a relatively simple Formation Disk as well. Pill refinement caused too much commotion, so it was better to conceal it with a formation.

After returning to his residence and setting up the formation, Wang Hong quietly thought everything through, considering every step until he understood it completely.

He set out the pill furnace, lit the Spirit Charcoal, and began warming it. A few breaths later, he started adding the spirit herbs, then covered the furnace. Every movement was meticulous.

Half a quarter-hour later, waves of black smoke rose up, carrying a burnt smell. When he opened the lid, every spirit herb inside had been burned to charcoal.

After cleaning out the pill furnace, Wang Hong did not rush to refine a second batch. Instead, he quietly reflected for a long time, summarizing the lessons from his failure.

The second batch did not burn this time, but the impurities had not been fully removed. In the end, it became a sticky lump.

Wang Hong reflected and summarized for another half hour.

The third batch exploded.

Reflect. Summarize.

The fourth batch was ruined.

The thirtieth batch was ruined.

Wang Hong was not discouraged. Through constant reflection, he knew he was getting closer and closer to success.

The thirty-seventh batch—when he opened the furnace lid, two finger-sized, lustrous white pills came into view.

"Hahaha! I finally succeeded! I really am a genius!" A pitch-black figure, smoked black from head to toe, rolled excitedly all over the room.

After being excited for a while, Wang Hong gradually calmed his heart and composed himself, preparing to continue refining.

He took out several pieces of homemade jerky and ate them. Cultivators had Grain Abstinence Pills; one pill could keep them from going hungry for several days. Wang Hong had tried one before and found it unpalatable. Taking big bites of meat was still far more satisfying.

It was just that Fierce Beast meat no longer did much to improve his cultivation. Wang Hong was even considering hunting down a few Demonic Beasts to eat.

After finishing the jerky, he picked several raspberries and ate them. Only after reflecting on and summarizing his experience once more did he begin the next round of pill refinement.

With one successful experience under his belt, his success rate rose sharply afterward. At first, one batch succeeded out of every five. Later, one succeeded out of every four. By the time all two hundred portions of materials had been used up, he only failed occasionally.

In the end, he obtained one hundred and eighty Qi Gathering Pills. Averaged out, his pill yield had not even reached ten percent. An alchemist needed a twenty-percent pill yield just to break even.

He had clearly suffered a loss. Those two hundred portions of spirit herbs had been worth four thousand Spirit Stones, yet he had refined them into pills worth only eighteen hundred Spirit Stones. Wang Hong could not help sighing. Training an alchemist truly consumed far too many resources.

He summoned Zhang Chunfeng and Skinny Monkey to his side and gave each of them a bottle of pills. Both were currently at Qi Refining Layer Two, though Zhang Chunfeng should soon break through to Qi Refining Layer Three. Skinny Monkey was still somewhat short of it due to his aptitude.

Over the past two years, with the aid of the pills Wang Hong had distributed, all of his forty-some soldiers, aside from the few who had already converted spiritual power, had reached the Xiantian Stage.

Wang Hong planned to wait until he broke through to Qi Refining Layer Four. Then he could cultivate several practical combat spells and lead his men outside the city to hunt Demonic Beasts, test their combat strength, and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

The cultivation world was far more perilous than the mortal world, with conflict never ceasing. Without strength, one could perish and have one's Dao vanish at any moment.

Wang Hong began cultivating in seclusion again, refining one Qi Gathering Pill each day. On the tenth day, he finally broke through to the fourth layer.

Upon reaching Qi Refining Layer Four, he could finally project his Spiritual Sense outward. With Spiritual Sense extended, even with his eyes closed, he could perceive everything around him more clearly than if he saw it with his own eyes.

He could sense an earthworm burrowing through the soil and a fly buzzing past. He could even sense that the rearmost leg on the fly's left side was injured.

Wang Hong discovered that his Spiritual Sense could extend two zhang, while the books recorded that cultivators who had just broken through to Qi Refining Layer Four could only project theirs one zhang.

Powerful Spiritual Sense held tremendous advantages in spell battles, pill refinement, talisman crafting, artifact refinement, and formations. For example, when fighting another cultivator, it allowed one to attack from farther away. Others could only use Spiritual Sense to assist precise attacks within one zhang, while you could launch precise attacks from two zhang away, naturally gaining every advantage.

Wang Hong guessed that it might be related to the space. The Spiritual Sense body that appeared within it might be his Primordial Spirit. Wang Hong still did not understand the Primordial Spirit very well. But after doing all manner of work in the space so often, he could clearly feel his Spiritual Sense body growing stronger over time.

After entering Qi Refining Layer Four, he could finally cultivate many spells.

What Wang Hong longed for most was naturally the Artifact Control Technique. Legends said that immortals could take a man's head from a thousand li away; this was the technique they used. The Artifact Control Technique used Spiritual Sense to control magic artifacts and attack enemies from afar.

Wang Hong took out his magic artifact spear and infused it with spiritual power. After it absorbed two-thirds of the spiritual power in his body, the spear slowly rose into the air. It wobbled through the air for only two breaths before draining all of Wang Hong's spiritual power. With a clang, the spear fell to the ground.

With the spiritual power of Qi Refining Layer Four, he could probably only launch a single strike. No wonder the fat Daoist they had killed that day had never activated his magic artifact for a long-range attack. He simply could not afford the expenditure.

Wang Hong drank several mouthfuls of spirit wine to replenish his magical power, then practiced again.