Learning Alchemy (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Learning Alchemy (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Before the bookshelf, Ye Jingcheng held two Jade Slips, hesitating between them. Ye Haiping did not urge him. On the contrary, he was more curious about Ye Jingcheng's choice.

"Eighth Grandfather, may I ask how many Contribution Points the copied pill formulas for the Body Tempering Pill and Azure Spirit Pill cost?" After much deliberation, Ye Jingcheng finally picked up the two Jade Slips and asked.

"The Azure Spirit Pill costs eighty Contribution Points, and the Body Tempering Pill costs sixty!" Ye Haiping finally replied with a smile.

"What about the other pills?" Ye Jingcheng continued asking.

"The Azure Origin Pill is seventy, the Qi Blood Pill is fifty..." Ye Haiping answered them one by one.

"Eighth Grandfather, I'll choose the Azure Spirit Pill formula. Also, I'll use Contribution Points to exchange for the Body Tempering Pill formula!" Ye Jingcheng swiftly made his decision.

As another sixty points were deducted from his Family Token, two Jade Slips appeared in Ye Jingcheng's hands.

"Both Jade Slips must be returned within one month!" Ye Jingcheng nodded. One month was more than enough for him to master the pill formulas.

"Eighth Grandfather, I'd also like to exchange for materials for twenty batches of Spirit Feeding Pills, ten batches of Body Tempering Pills, and five batches of Azure Spirit Pills!" Ye Jingcheng took out his Family Token again.

Seeing this, Ye Haiping nodded as well, quite satisfied with Ye Jingcheng's choice. If it had been another cultivator, they might have directly exchanged everything for First-Order Grade-Middle materials.

But alchemy was hardly so simple. Advancing step by step was the most reliable approach.

After another seventy Contribution Points were deducted from his token, Ye Jingcheng accepted it back with an aching heart.

Once he had prepared the Spirit Herb materials and pill formulas, he headed home. After reviewing them at home for three days, he finally made his way to the Alchemy Pavilion.

Inside the Alchemy Pavilion, every Pill Room was shut tight. Ninth Elder Ye Haitian sat leisurely in his seat, with his treasured bell placed beside him.

Clearly, it was not yet time to change rooms. Those who came here to refine pills generally rented a room for three days and would not emerge until noon.

Ye Jingcheng had arrived somewhat early. Whenever he came early, he would help Ninth Elder with a few miscellaneous chores and take the chance to ask about alchemy.

That allowed him to gain a little more from every pill-refining session than the others.

Yet this time, Ye Haitian merely glanced at him before turning away to busy himself.

Ye Jingcheng was naturally somewhat puzzled.

Only after looking around did he suddenly understand.

One of the doors was half-open.

Joy instantly spilled across Ye Jingcheng's face, because this Pill Room did not belong to anyone else—it was Ye Family's Ye Haiyun's Pill Room.

The eldest of the Ye Family's Hai generation, Ye Haicheng, was a Foundation Building Cultivator. The second, Ye Haiyi, was publicly recognized as the strongest in qi-refining combat within the Ye Family and was in charge of the Demon Hunting Hall. Ye Haiyun, the fourth of the Hai generation, was the Ye Family's most formidable Alchemist.

This Pill Room was kept closed all year round! But whenever it was left half-open, one could glimpse the pill-refining scene within through the narrow crack.

Ye Jingcheng's Alchemy had reached its current level in no small part because of all the times he had secretly watched.

Other Ye Family clansmen might have thought that, without Fourth Elder's permission, it was best not to watch on their own.

But Ye Jingcheng saw things differently. If the door was left half-open, was that not a hint for them to watch? They simply were not allowed inside, since a cultivator refining pills feared nothing more than disturbance!

As Ye Jingcheng watched, he also took out a Jade Slip and began recording.

Through the half-open door, he could see that it was precisely the moment to collect the pills, and the pills being refined were Azure Spirit Pills.

There were a full ten gleaming azure Azure Spirit Pills, each one incomparably plump, Spirit Fragrance overflowing in all directions.

Ye Jingcheng's steps halted at once. The early bird catches the worm! Whether Ye Haiyun had not noticed Ye Jingcheng or for some other reason, he made no unnecessary movement. With a wave of his hand, he began nurturing the furnace again.

Like cultivation itself, alchemy involved countless particulars. The first step was to wipe away every bit of remaining Spirit Herb residue, then use precisely the right flame to bring the pill furnace to precisely the right temperature. This was called nurturing the furnace.

This was also why Ye Haitian and Ye Haiyun preferred Ye Jingcheng. Every time, Ye Jingcheng would wipe the pill furnace clean, nurture it anew, then clean the Pill Room as well, leaving everything in perfect order! The furnace nurturing continued, but unlike Ye Jingcheng's careful caution, Ye Haiyun merely formed a hand seal, and the flames surged to half a man's height, releasing terrifying waves of heat. The pill furnace instantly began glowing red-hot, and the patterns on its surface sprang vividly to life, radiating spiritual light.

Clearly, within only a few breaths, the furnace nurturing was complete.

Only then came the second step: refining the medicine. For some reason, Ye Jingcheng felt that Ye Haiyun had slowed down considerably. If nurturing the furnace had been done in one fluid sweep, then refining the medicine was cautious and deliberate, every step taken as if walking on thin ice.

Every detail was handled with utmost care.

Ye Jingcheng had happened to study the pill formula and still had many doubts in his mind. Now, he could verify them one by one.

To understand more clearly, he even took out the borrowed Azure Spirit Pill formula and compared it line by line. The sight made Ye Haitian, standing nearby, twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Still, he said nothing.

Ye Jingcheng had two Jade Slips in total. He could not alter the Ye Family's Jade Slip, but his own Jade Slip was inscribed with a long, densely packed passage. He even listed every possible variation.

Of course, his smooth progress also had to do with Ye Haiyun refining at an exceptionally slow pace today.

Ye Haiyun refined three batches of Azure Spirit Pills. Every batch produced a full ten pills, their pill patterns full and distinct, their spiritual qi rich and dense.

It was not even noon yet when Ye Haiyun began refining Body Tempering Pills!

Ye Jingcheng's heart was filled with gratitude, but his desire to learn only grew deeper.

As Ye Jingcheng studied, several cultivators emerged from their rooms.

They were somewhat puzzled, because Elder Ye Haitian had not rung his bell today to hurry them along.

It left them feeling unaccustomed to it. Moreover, cultivators were still refining inside, seemingly about to begin a new batch. They could not help regretting that they had not stayed a little longer.

The moment they came out, they saw Ye Jingcheng watching Ye Haiyun refine pills.

The two of them also moved closer to watch. But after watching for a while, they felt it was no different from what Ye Haitian taught. Most importantly, they did not possess the Body Tempering Pill formula, so they simply returned to their Pill Rooms to continue refining.

It was not until the hour of shen that Ye Haiyun put away his furnace, and the door began to close.

Ye Haitian then began ringing his bell. Ye Jingcheng could not help recalling what Ye Haiyun had said: within the family, there was no absolute fairness.

Now it seemed that the family would favor even more those who worked hard and persevered!

Cultivators emerged one after another. Ye Jingcheng paid the Spirit Stones, rented a room for three days, and rented a pill furnace as well! Then he released the Crimson Flame Fox from the Spirit Beast Bag.

The Crimson Flame Fox gave sharp cries. Sensing the high temperature, the fur on its body looked even more vividly red beneath the firelight.

"Little Flame, watch carefully. If you can provide flames like this Earth Fire in the future, I'll give you an extra meal every day at midnight, raising you from three meals to four!"