First Time Alchemy (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Follow-ups)

Alchemy Room!

This was a relatively sealed chamber. The chirping of insects and birds outside, along with any other sounds, could not reach this room.

The room was exceptionally spacious, with multi-tiered wooden shelves lining both sides. The shelves were piled with bottles and jars. Though their openings were sealed, faint medicinal fragrances still wafted out, showing that they contained either pills or unfinished pills.

At the center of the room stood a crimson medicinal cauldron over a person's height. A meditation cushion lay before it, which was likely where Li Fufeng meditated.

After entering the room, Li Fufeng first walked over to the medicinal cauldron. He extended his right hand and gently ran it over the dragon-shaped pattern formed by its intricate engravings. A trace of pride appeared in his eyes as he introduced it.

"This medicinal cauldron is called Flame Dragon. It is already quite rare among medicinal cauldrons. Back then, I had to use quite a few means to get my hands on it."

"By medicinal cauldron grade, this is a six-vent cauldron. Look at the six Fire Vents around it. You cannot simply punch a hole and call it a Fire Vent—the inner structure is extremely complex. Even the slightest mistake during the crafting process would ruin the entire cauldron. When refining pills, you feed Fire Attribute Dou Qi into a Fire Vent, and it ignites flames within the cauldron."

Li Fufeng turned to Xu Haoyu and continued.

"The better the medicinal cauldron, the more Fire Vents it has. But the more Fire Vents there are, the harder it is to control. For a beginner like you, controlling a two-vent cauldron is more or less your limit."

After saying that, Li Fufeng brushed his hand across his Storage Ring and took out a medicinal cauldron along with a scroll. He handed both items to Xu Haoyu and explained.

"This medicinal cauldron is one I used in the past. It is precisely a two-vent cauldron, so use it for now. This scroll records a first-grade Pill Recipe, Returning Spring Powder. It has a weak effect in treating external injuries, making it perfect for you to practice with."

Xu Haoyu accepted the two items and held them in his hands. He first thanked Li Fufeng.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Only then did Xu Haoyu carefully inspect the medicinal cauldron. It was entirely black, with a beast-head Fire Vent on each side. Its winding passages connected the inside and outside.

Looking inside the cauldron, he saw what appeared to be scorch marks, likely left behind from Li Fufeng's past pill refining.

He then set the cauldron on the ground and tore open the scroll. It had not been written with soul perception, so it could not be learned through soul perception.

Thinking about it, spending so much mental energy to write a first-grade Pill Recipe that could only be used once through soul perception was rather not worth the cost.

Precious Pill Recipes were written with soul perception for better inheritance and secrecy. A recipe meant for practice like this one could simply be written down normally.

While Xu Haoyu studied Returning Spring Powder, Li Fufeng stroked his beard and nodded. Then he called out beyond the chamber.

"Fang Cheng, Ye Xin!"

As soon as his words fell, two voices came from outside the door.

"Yes!"

Li Fufeng continued.

"You two, go to the medicine storeroom and fetch three hundred Azure Spirit Grass and three hundred Vitality Fruit. Go quickly and return quickly."

At those words, the two voices answered again.

"Understood!"

Before long, the two alchemy apprentices, Fang Cheng and Ye Xin, returned with three hundred Azure Spirit Grass and three hundred Vitality Fruit.

They had placed everything inside a Storage Ring and brought it before Li Fufeng. Li Fufeng took it, waved his hand to dismiss them, then looked at Xu Haoyu with a mischievous grin.

"Little Haoyu, as long as you have enough Dou Qi, with this much medicinal material to practice on, once you can proficiently refine Returning Spring Powder, you can be considered a first-grade alchemist."

Xu Haoyu came back to his senses as well. Refining Returning Spring Powder required only two medicinal ingredients. He had already learned the refinement temperatures and fusion techniques, and he was eager to try it himself.

Taking the Storage Ring containing the two ingredients from Li Fufeng, Xu Haoyu said eagerly.

"Teacher, then I'll begin!"

Xu Haoyu then sat down and placed his hand over one of the medicinal cauldron's Fire Vents. Closing his eyes to focus, he inspected his dantian, drew crimson Fire Attribute Dou Qi from the qi vortex, circulated it through his meridians to his palm, and sent it into the Fire Vent.

With a puff, crimson flames ignited within the medicinal cauldron, blazing fiercely as its temperature rapidly rose.

Li Fufeng stood beside him with his hands behind his back. He nodded slightly and offered guidance.

"Not bad. You ignited the flames on your first try. Now draw out your Wood Attribute Dou Qi. Your Wood Attribute Dou Qi is no weaker than your Fire Attribute Dou Qi, so use your soul perception to divide off roughly one-tenth of it."

"In a sense, isn't this a unique blessing? Other alchemists need at least an hour, or even several hours, to find that tiny trace of Wood Attribute within their bodies. Yet your Wood Attribute Dou Qi is so powerful that it does not lose out to your Fire Attribute Dou Qi at all."

Upon hearing this, Xu Haoyu once again drew Emerald Green Wood Attribute Dou Qi from the qi vortex. He mobilized his soul perception into a blade and precisely split the Wood Attribute Dou Qi into ten portions. He returned nine portions to the qi vortex and sent one portion into the medicinal cauldron.

Having completed this series of steps, Xu Haoyu remained utterly focused, his mind taut at every moment, not daring to relax in the slightest.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the Wood Attribute Dou Qi entering the medicinal cauldron had fused into the flames, immediately making them gentler and no longer as violent as before. This was true pill-refining fire.

Xu Haoyu's gaze sharpened. He took an Azure Spirit Grass and a Vitality Fruit from the Storage Ring, then tossed the Azure Spirit Grass in first. The pill-refining fire immediately surged toward it.

However, Xu Haoyu controlled the heat well. As the Azure Spirit Grass was roasted, green liquid gradually seeped from it.

Xu Haoyu had not read all those books for nothing. Though he lacked practical experience, his theoretical knowledge was already extremely extensive.

And after this attempt, he would have practical experience as well.

Very quickly, the residue of the Azure Spirit Grass was completely reduced to ash in the flames, while the remaining clump of green liquid was taken out by Xu Haoyu and collected in a jade bottle.

After finishing all this, Xu Haoyu did not pause. He tossed the Vitality Fruit into the medicinal cauldron once more.

The Guiyi True Art he cultivated had already evolved into an Earth Rank Low Level cultivation method. Not only was his Dou Qi exceptionally abundant, but it also recovered extremely quickly.

So long as he did not use powerful Dou Techniques, such a minor expenditure would almost recover after a single yawn.

After a short while, the refinement of the Vitality Fruit was complete as well. Within the ball of pill-refining fire in the medicinal cauldron, a small cluster of dark, tiny particles remained.

At that moment, Xu Haoyu poured the Azure Spirit Grass liquid back in and used the pill-refining fire to preheat it once more. Once everything was ready.

Xu Haoyu's spirits lifted as his soul perception surged forth, filling every inch of the medicine cauldron.

He controlled the alchemical flame, wrapping the tiny particles of the Vitality Fruit and blending them into the juice of the Azure Spirit Grass.

Xu Haoyu watched without even blinking, not daring to slack off in the slightest. Only when the essences of the two ingredients had fused perfectly did the azure medicinal liquid give off a faint fragrance.

Seeing this, Xu Haoyu smiled. It wasn't that difficult after all. I really am a genius.

At the same time, Li Fufeng, who had been watching as well, stared wide-eyed in utter shock. At that moment, he felt thoroughly shown up.

Even if Returning Spring Powder was simple, who succeeded on their very first attempt...?