Learning Alchemy

"Elder Kong, you think too highly of 'me.' My talent might not be suited for alchemy," Ning Ri said humbly.

The "me" in his words wasn't referring to himself, but the Panel.

He was being humble on the Panel's behalf.

As for whether the Panel was satisfied, he didn't care.

After Ning Ri finished speaking, Elder Kong was silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, Grandmaster Ning, then let's first see if your talent can be put to use in alchemy. We can discuss other options if not."

After Elder Kong finished speaking, Ning Ri felt a slight awkwardness. He thought, Elder Kong is indeed much more serious than the other elders.

Immediately, Ning Ri began to examine the Technique Jade Slip that Elder Kong had given him.

Alchemy and artifact refining were somewhat similar.

The basic initial steps for both involved igniting the fire, melting materials, and inscribing runes.

However, artifact refining used the fire of a blacksmith's furnace, while alchemy used the fire of an alchemy furnace and cauldron.

Since artifact refining primarily forged magic treasures, the flames didn't need to contain vitality, nor was it necessary to be too concerned about the intense fire toxin remaining within the magic treasure. On the contrary, some fire-attribute magic treasures were quite willing to retain the ferocity of the artifact fire, increasing the power of fire-attribute spells.

But alchemy fire was different. This was something that would be ingested. Alchemists naturally had to pay extra attention to controlling the fire, ensuring that the fire toxin in the flames did not remain in the pills. At the same time, they had to be careful not to make the flames too ferocious. A burnt pill was a minor issue, but killing someone by ingesting it would be a disaster.

Melting materials was also similar. Artifact refining melted mineral materials, while alchemy melted medicinal ingredients.

The former could achieve miracles through brute force, rapidly refining with intense heat.

The latter could not. Simmering, boiling, and stewing all required meticulous work. Of course, some sought speed, but at most, they would use high heat to cook quickly, while still being careful not to reduce the liquid too much.

When it came to inscribing runes, pills were actually easier to handle. The melted medicinal ingredients, compared to molten iron, were more amenable to rune inscription.

Furthermore, modern alchemy furnaces had auxiliary rune inscription functions.

This involved gathering Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy into a light source within the alchemy furnace. The alchemist could control the furnace to project this light source onto the elixir liquid, completing the rune inscription on the liquid. Additionally, the residue of the melted medicinal ingredients could form a shield, allowing the runes to be inscribed more effectively.

Ning Ri was stunned when he read this part.

Damn, this is a photolithography machine... no, a photolithography furnace!

This method not only saved the alchemist's energy but also eliminated the need to open the lid to inscribe runes.

Traditional alchemists had to open the furnace when inscribing runes, which would cause gas to escape. Unless one's cultivation was powerful and their Spiritual Sense extremely honed, inscribing runes without opening the lid was extremely difficult.

However, modern alchemists now used these auxiliary alchemy furnaces.

This was the benefit of automation.

It was incredibly convenient!

Ning Ri, however, found another perspective and began to muse.

In this era of automated and intelligent cultivation, it was no wonder those people enjoyed watching his manual sword techniques.

What were they watching? They were watching the tears of the times!

A group of remnants of ancient methods, pushed forward by the tide of the era and unable to control their own fate, seeing that there were still people like him in this era who pursued their dreams with their own hands.

They would naturally be moved to tears.

Because...

This was their lingering attachment and nostalgia for the twilight of the Era of Ancient Methods!

Ning Ri made a firm decision.

From now on, he would charge a fee when practicing his sword outside.

Antiques should also increase in price!

Besides, the sword he practiced wasn't just a sword; it was emotional value.

Emotional value was priceless!

Then, Ning Ri continued to read the jade slip.

After the initial three stages, artifact refining and alchemy diverged.

In alchemy, after rune inscription was completed, came Pill Condensation, followed by Pill Separation.

If the technique for separating the pills was good, the yield rate for a batch would be quite high, and the profit margin would also increase.

But if the pill separation technique was poor, the yield for a batch might only be a few pills, which would be a significant loss.

Therefore, when alchemists traveled the world and quoted prices, they would quote based on their average pill separation skill throughout their careers. This way, customers would also find it acceptable.

And if they were lucky enough to separate more pills, the alchemist could openly keep them or ask the customer if they wanted to buy a bit more.

Alchemy, in addition to these stages, also involved maintenance, cleaning, and storage. Storage was further divided into storing medicinal ingredients, pills, and alchemy furnaces. Different types of items had different environmental requirements, such as oily, dry, cold, and so on.

Additionally, some pills were particularly tough, so hard they could injure someone. For example, if Ning Ri were to get his hands on a Golden Core stage pill now, and tried to bite it directly, he might not even be able to break through the pill's defenses. Some pills were Q-bouncy, while others were as crisp as potato chips.

Ning Ri carefully studied these jade slips.

Because there were no bandits and a maiden, and Elder Kong wasn't rushing him, he didn't have to skim through them quickly. He could read them slowly, and even have time to make comments in his mind.

As he read more and more, new skills began to appear on Ning Ri's panel--

10. [Kong's Essential Fire Starting Technique for Qi Refining and Alchemy]: 0

11. [Kong's Essential Material Melting Technique for Qi Refining and Alchemy]: 0

12. [Kong's Essential Rune Carving Technique for Qi Refining and Alchemy]: 0

13. [Cauldron Light Blazing]: 0

14. ...

Ning Ri felt that he could tell the difference between Elder Kong and Elder Mo just from the skill names.

Elder Mo appeared serious and honest, but was actually cunning and reserved, and very confident. He liked to show off, so he gave his skills proper names.

But Elder Kong's skills seemed very serious and honest, with simple and unadorned names.

Moreover, Ning Ri noticed that Elder Kong seemed to reject using external objects for alchemy. Therefore, his Rune Carving Technique did not include skills for using the light source of an alchemy furnace to carve runes.

In other words, Elder Kong was an old artist who insisted on traditional methods even in the era of automated cultivation.

However, Elder Kong knew that his disciple needed the Cauldron Control Method, so he somehow obtained a copy of [Cauldron Light Blazing]...

Meanwhile.

Opposite the Wonderful Pill Workshop, there was a tea house.

At the entrance of the tea house stood a large stone tablet inscribed with "[Azure Tea House]".

This stone tablet was not a fake set up by Li Cheng; it was a real stone tablet.

At this moment, two people were sitting at a table by the entrance of the [Azure Tea House] opposite the Wonderful Pill Workshop. They sat facing each other, but their gazes were fixed on the Wonderful Pill Workshop.

In their hands, each held a cup of iced tea.

On the table between them, there was a large bowl containing ice cubes and tea leaves. The ice was slowly melting, extracting the tea.

These two were Zhou Hai and Xun Zang.

They had been sitting here since they ran out of the Wonderful Pill Workshop in the severe cold to invite Ning Ri.

Therefore, they had naturally seen Ning Ri enter the Wonderful Pill Workshop.

At this moment, Xun Zang held his iced tea, smiled, and praised, "I knew it, Patriarch Ning is no ordinary person!"

"When I saw from the small tablet that he had a flawed spiritual root, I realized he couldn't be mediocre. Therefore, I quickly chose to keep him."

"As expected, in just a short time, he has already become a patriarch of the Heaven Defying Sect."

After taking a sip of tea, Zhou Hai said, "This is all my credit. Fortunately, I let him go find Chen Xingfeng, which allowed him to discover his own Heaven-Defying Path."

Xun Zang smiled slightly, "Okay, I'll tell the Sect Master that. Whether the Sect Master believes me or not, I don't know."

Zhou Hai didn't respond to this, revealing a slight smile similar to Xun Zang's.

Their situation was like two teachers from the admissions office already competing for credit.

At this moment, Xun Zang stared at the Wonderful Pill Workshop and suddenly thought of something, saying, "By the way, do you think Patriarch Ning has alchemy talent as powerful as his artifact refining talent?"

"Naturally," Zhou Hai said confidently, nodding. "First, his talent is clearly not limited to artifact refining. He is also very talented in other techniques, such as the Spirit Absorption Technique..."

"I've never seen any Qi Refining cultivator practice my Spirit Absorption Technique like this."

Zhou Hai left something unsaid--

Ning Ri practiced it better than he, the original creator. What was the point of him playing around?!

Xun Zang nodded slightly, "Indeed."

Zhou Hai continued, "Second, Patriarch Ning has a connection with the Grandmaster Token. Being able to gain insights from the Grandmaster Token shows that his Heaven-Defying Path is truly extraordinary. In this situation, learning alchemy is only a matter of time."

Hearing this, Xun Zang couldn't help but sigh, "Judging by this, the time it takes for Patriarch Ning to learn alchemy techniques is probably the same as the time it takes for you to fly to the Golden Osmanthus Garden right now."

Zhou Hai said calmly, "Not that slow."

Xun Zang: "?"