I Am an Alchemist

I Am an Alchemist

After Jiang Ning got home, he checked the time. It was two in the morning.

He drew over a basin of water, cast a flame to heat it, and poured it over himself before using a Spell to dry his clothes.

Then Jiang Ning closed his eyes and rested.

Half an hour later, his Spiritual Energy had fully recovered, and his heart was calm.

His backpack lay open beside him, piled with herbs sealed in plastic wrap. With a light wave of his hand, the herbs flew out of the bag in an orderly fashion and lined up before him.

Jiang Ning was preparing to refine Qi Gathering Pills to rapidly increase his cultivation.

Pill refinement was a craft of cultivation, much like the many professions in the real world—doctors, chefs, engineers.

But pill refinement was difficult to master. It required not only exceptional talent, but also vast resources.

A genuine Alchemist would be held in high regard wherever they went.

Jiang Ning was not a professional Alchemist, but back at the Fallen Cloud Sect, he had several personal Alchemists. Whenever he was bored, he would ask them about pill-refining techniques. Faced with a Nascent Soul Great Perfection cultivator like Jiang Ning, the Alchemists naturally did not dare put on airs.

As a result, Jiang Ning possessed several Alchemist inheritances.

Jiang Ning activated his Mana and flicked a finger forward. A straight streak of Spirit Flame shot out.

The pure white Spirit Flame danced, warping and mottling the surrounding space. Unlike ordinary fire, Spirit Flame was formed by cultivators through cultivation techniques or heavenly treasures.

Its most notable trait was its extreme heat, enough to melt metal in an instant.

If it touched a person, the Spirit Flame would use the human body as fuel and burn them into a cloud of ash within seconds.

It was essential for killing and robbing. Many desperate criminals would master a kind of Spirit Flame to keep on hand.

In his previous life, Jiang Ning had mastered more than a dozen kinds of Spirit Flame. When it came to playing with fire, he was a professional.

Furthermore, refining Pills required Spirit Flame. Formed from Spiritual Energy, Spirit Flame could bring about a qualitative change when purifying the essence of herbs, creating the conditions necessary for Pills to form.

Jiang Ning stared at the white Spirit Flame, then suddenly slapped downward. Spiritual Energy formed a wave of air, lifting more than a dozen herbs into the air.

Looking at the herbs before him, an awkward expression flashed across Jiang Ning's face. He had forgotten that he was no longer the Nascent Soul True Lord of his previous life. With his current Spiritual Sense, trying to extract the essence of multiple herbs at once would definitely end in disaster.

With that thought, the herbs fell back down, leaving only one green herb floating in the air.

His Spiritual Sense enveloped the herb. Jiang Ning's vast knowledge of herbs instantly allowed him to determine its age, quality, remaining medicinal potency, as well as the proper Spirit Flame temperature and method for extracting its essence.

Not a single one of these could go wrong. Otherwise, the effectiveness of the refined Pills would be greatly reduced, or the refinement might fail altogether.

Jiang Ning flicked his finger, and the Spirit Flame swept over the herb, completely wrapping it up.

The instant the herb touched the Spirit Flame, it burned like paper into a mass of green medicinal liquid. The liquid rolled within the flame, reflecting the bright moonlight outside.

This was when technique was tested the most. If the Spirit Flame was too hot, it would evaporate the medicinal liquid. If it was too cold, it could not refine the herb. Only the proper temperature could allow the Spiritual Energy within the Spirit Flame to seep into the liquid, blending water and fire.

Jiang Ning focused completely on controlling the Spirit Flame, his Spiritual Sense circling tightly around it.

Soon, black specks began appearing in the green medicinal liquid, standing out sharply.

A strand of Spirit Flame separated and transformed into a sharp needle, piercing the liquid and removing the black specks. These black spots were impurities. If they were not removed, they would greatly affect the subsequent pill refinement.

The black specks appeared one by one and were removed by Jiang Ning one by one, until no more spots emerged in the liquid.

By then, the medicinal liquid had shrunk to half its original size.

Crystal clear like a gemstone, it had undergone a qualitative transformation from its initial state.

Human technology could not produce this medicinal liquid no matter what, because it involved the domain of Spiritual Energy.

This meant the batch was qualified. Jiang Ning lightly moved his finger, transferring the liquid a little farther away.

He let out a breath, picked up another herb, and began extracting its essence. This time, the herb formed a vermilion medicinal liquid, like a drop of blood.

Then came the remaining dozen or so herbs. The entire process was extremely tedious, testing his mental strength, Mana, and Spiritual Sense.

Once all the herbs had been extracted, clumps of medicinal liquid and medicinal powder floated before Jiang Ning.

Some of the herbs were dried grass, so after refinement, their essence was contained within the medicinal powder.

Next came the most technique-intensive step of pill refinement: fusing them into Pills.

Jiang Ning did not delay. Spiritual Energy swept forth, and the medicinal liquids began fusing according to a fixed sequence. Anyone ignorant enough to fuse them carelessly would only destroy the medicinal liquids for nothing.

As two clumps of medicinal liquid merged, their differing properties met like hot oil splashing into cold water, immediately producing a sizzling sound. In an instant, countless black specks appeared.

Jiang Ning did not hesitate. Spirit Flame formed into needles—nine Spirit Flame needles in a row—piercing the medicinal liquid together. With a light flick, he removed the impurities in one fluid motion.

The pinnacle of technique was art. If Xue Yuantong had been there, she definitely would not have dared say she could do it too.

Thinking of that, Jiang Ning smiled faintly.

Clumps of medicinal liquid and medicinal powder fused together, steam rising as the resulting liquid grew to the size of an egg. Or rather, it was no longer medicinal liquid, because it had begun transforming into a solid. It already possessed the rudimentary form of a Pill, commonly known as a Pill Embryo.

Jiang Ning looked at the final clump of thick, milky medicinal liquid in the air. This was the final auxiliary medicinal liquid needed for the Qi Gathering Pill.

"Enter!"

At Jiang Ning's command, the milky medicinal liquid covered the Pill Embryo. The instant they touched, a fresh medicinal fragrance spread out, invigorating anyone who smelled it and making their whole body feel at ease.

The medicinal fragrance lasted only a moment.

"Seal!"

Jiang Ning used a Spell to lock in the medicinal fragrance and prevent the medicinal potency from dissipating.

He cast another Magic Art. The egg-sized Pill Embryo suddenly broke apart, splitting into twelve white Pill Embryos.

The Spirit Flame swept over them and gathered them together, spinning rapidly to form a vortex of fire.

The twelve white Pill Embryos spun rapidly within the vortex.

This step was called "Polishing." Its purpose was to seal in the medicinal potency and nurture the Pill Embryos until they formed Pills.

As they continued spinning, the Pill Embryos gradually shrank until they were roughly the size of fingertips.

The Spirit Flame finally went out. Twelve Qi Gathering Pills floated in midair, white radiance gleaming around them. An ancient symbol was inscribed on their surfaces—the Jiang Ning Symbol, exclusive to master Alchemists.

It signified a creation of True Lord Not Foolish, Jiang Ning.

After admiring them for half a minute, Jiang Ning beckoned through the air. An exquisite white jade bottle flew over from the table, drawing the Pills into itself one by one before sealing shut with its stopper.

Only one Qi Gathering Pill remained. Jiang Ning swallowed it directly. The medicinal potency exploded in his abdomen, transforming into surging Spiritual Energy that rushed into his meridians, swelling them with pain.

Jiang Ning possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root, so his efficiency in absorbing Pills was exceptionally high.

"This Qi Gathering Pill is about fifty percent less effective than the ones refined by the Alchemists of the Fallen Cloud Sect. It isn't because my pill-refining technique is inferior, but because the medicinal potency of herbs in this world cannot compare to those of the cultivation world."

Even so, one Pill was equivalent to three or four days of arduous cultivation. Taking one each day meant more than triple the cultivation speed.

What a pity. If it were a Qi Gathering Pill from the cultivation world, it could increase his cultivation speed by at least sevenfold.

"If I want to go any faster, I'll have to put more thought into the quality of the herbs." Jiang Ning already had an idea.

As he refined the medicinal potency, Jiang Ning considered his future plans.

Later, he could refine a batch of Pills with targeted effects, find someone to serve as a spokesperson, and launch them on the market.

The Jiang Ning of the future knew just how great the profits from medicine could be and how many fields it could reach—ophthalmology, cosmetics, hair growth. Any one direction could let him amass enormous wealth.

With that capital, he could purchase land, set up a grand formation, draw in the Spiritual Energy of the world, and nourish medicinal herbs.

He, Jiang Ning, would use the resources of this world to forcibly support a Golden Core Cultivator.