In a dense forest thousands of kilometers away from the Citong.
The night was dark, and the full moon slowly peeked out from behind the dark blue clouds.
Below is a dense, dark forest.
In a cemetery in the woods, rows of tombstones stand crookedly, having endured much wind, sun and rain, and many have already shown signs of cracking.
Hiss.
A large, muscular, slightly dark hand held a bouquet of pure white flowers and gently placed it in front of a bronze tombstone.
The bouquet was stirred by the cool breeze in the woods, the petals trembled slightly, and dewdrops dripped down faintly.
The person delivering the flowers was a tall figure completely shrouded in a large black cloak.
Judging from the outline and shape, it is clearly male.
However, because he was wearing a hood and a mask, his face was completely obscured.
Only a pair of deep blue eyes gazed intently at the name on the tombstone.
"Old friend, the world is indeed getting worse and worse, just as you predicted," the man said in a low voice to the tombstone.
"Ling Ting, Great Dao Sect, True One Sect. Hehe, back then one was forcibly divided and the other was forcibly weakened. Now they have finally gotten their chance. The Buddhist School sect is weak, so it's the perfect time."
He gently pulled down his mask, revealing a hideous face that was completely burned.
"Don't worry, our shared vision will probably be realized soon."
Countless memories flashed through his eyes, and his pupils softened slightly.
After the brutal battle years ago, hatred is now the only source that keeps him from collapsing.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the shadows of the forest, caught up with him, and knelt down on one knee.
"Reporting to the Master, a letter has arrived from Feibiao, an informant from Citong."
The man reached out and took a small Bamboo Tube Sealing Wax.
He crushed the Sealing Wax, poured out the Paper Scroll inside, and gently unfolded it.
The contents of the paper made him frown slightly.
"Still not successful? What are these people doing?! Blood Road Sect and Quan Di Hall, two branches, attacked together, and they still failed?"
What on earth is Wang Xichi doing?!
The man crushed the rolled-up Paper Scroll into pieces, his eyes dark and sinister.
"Even if a mere Daozi is protected by an Internal Method Spirit Vein, wouldn't you have lured him away first before making your move?"
The subordinates remained silent behind him, afraid of provoking the cult leader, nicknamed the Demon Eagle, to vent his anger on him.
Demon Eagle Xia Long is one of the grandmasters who truly stand at the very top of the Thousand Sect Alliance.
It is the Spirit Vein achieved through Worship God after becoming a grandmaster.
Apart from the only Spirit General in the alliance, their group of Spirit Vein members has the highest strength and power.
After a moment's thought, Xia Long slowly spoke.
"Go and inform Han Ying, tell her to go to Citong immediately to investigate and ascertain the background of that Great Dao Sect Daozi."
I suspect that Yue Dewen's high regard for this person must stem from some hidden, unspeakable secret.
"Yes!"
His subordinates stood up, stepped back, and then quickly disappeared into the forest.
Demon Eagle Xia Long sighed.
If there are any problems with the arrangements made by the Great Dao Sect, all subsequent plans will have to be adjusted.
Perhaps if that doesn't work, we can try a different Daozi?
He closed his eyes and began to consider its feasibility.
***The next day.
In the hillside courtyard of Ci Tong Port.
Bright red coal fires rose from beneath the bronze Pill Furnace, and thick coal smoke was emitted from one side of the Pill Furnace through a specially designed flue, turning into wisps of blue smoke that rose into the sky.
In the center of the courtyard.
Zhang Rongfang, dressed in a Daoist robe, sat quietly cross-legged in front of him, holding a black iron shovel used to stir the materials in the Pill Furnace.
The material of this shovel is also important; a suitable alchemy setup requires at least five different types of stirring shovels.
The Pill Furnace is small, only half a person's height, exquisite and delicate, with cracks on its surface that resemble tortoise shells.
On the side facing Zhang Rongfang, there is also a black and white Taiji Diagram symbol.
"May I ask, Daozi, are you refining elixirs?" Chen Han, who was in the courtyard, finally couldn't help but ask after seeing that Zhang Rongfang had been sitting there for two hours.
"Yes, it's a very important elixir," Zhang Rongfang nodded in reply.
According to his current test.
The medicines used in martial arts training must leave a memory imprint on the body. Only then can the body use Attribute Points to move forward along the direction of this imprint.
The reason why the Golden Toad Skill cannot be continuously improved by adding points, unlike Super Grade External Medicine.
This is probably because each level of the Golden Toad Skill requires completely different medicines.
"I hope we can succeed on the first try this time, otherwise the materials are really expensive," he sighed.
He felt that his alchemy skills were fine, but for some reason, the medicinal properties always seemed unbalanced to him.
But considering that the Golden Toad Skill is a top-tier extraordinary skill, it's normal for it to have some unique aspects.
He then strictly followed the instructions recorded in the secret manual.
Every step was done to perfection.
Suddenly, a soft sound came from the Pill Furnace.
Zhang Rongfang's heart skipped a beat, his train of thought interrupted. He quickly picked up the iron pliers and Unveiling the lid of the Pill Furnace.
The moment the lid Unveiling, thick plumes of black smoke billowed out, accompanied by a foul, burnt smell.
"It failed," Zhang Rongfang sighed.
Fortunately, he had pre-ordered four Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma, and he was determined to succeed no matter how many times he tried.
Immediately, he used a shovel to remove the dregs from the Pill Furnace, washed the copper pot inside, and then prepared a new batch of washed and chopped medicinal herbs.
Reheating the fire, Zhang Rongfang returned to the Pill Furnace and continued to control the flames.
It's a rather tedious and boring process, but it's something we have to do.
Because there were no skilled Daoist disciples around to assist them.
Time slowly passed.
Two more hours passed in the blink of an eye.
The sky gradually darkened.
Pfft! Another soft sound.
Zhang Rongfang's brow twitched.
He strictly followed the key points in the basics of alchemy, and he also chose the right amount of ingredients. However, he quickly separated the fire and used large pliers to pry open the lid of the Pill Furnace.
Sure enough, inside the copper pot, there was only a clump of dark, viscous substance that was hard to identify.
It was clearly another failure.
'Something's not right.'
Zhang Rongfang frowned, carefully removed the dregs of the medicine, and examined them thoroughly.
The medicinal materials in the dregs showed absolutely no signs of mixing in the oil and water.
This means that the medicinal properties were not fully developed, and it had nothing to do with his control of the fire.
Even with poor fire control, a very small amount of medicinal herbs will still be incorporated.
But there was nothing in this clump of dregs.
After extinguishing the fire, Zhang Rongfang did not attempt to extinguish it again.
He felt that even if he continued to try, it would inevitably be in vain.
Because right now, he hasn't even seen the back of success, let alone come close to success or complete success.
Back in his room, he took out the engraving manual again and studied it carefully.
Under the lamplight, he compared each word carefully to make sure he hadn't made any mistakes.
"So, is it possible to have requirements regarding the flame temperature?"
Zhang Rongfang decided to adjust the flame and try again.
Perhaps the pill burned because the fire was too hot.
Lowering it a bit might work.
Immediately, he asked A Er to purchase a lot of coal and firewood, and slowly began to adjust the flame temperature.
After all, the prescription did not specify the temperature of the flame to be used for refining the elixir.
However, after several days and four consecutive attempts, the alchemy failed again.
Even if he divides the Hundred-Year Red Ganoderma Main Herb he purchased into ten portions and tries to refine each portion separately.
Now they've finally all been used up.
Not a single attempt was successful.
This made Zhang Rongfang fall into deep thought.
"Where exactly did the problem lie?"
In his study, he looked at the Golden Toad Skill engraving manual on the table, feeling only restlessness and frustration.
"I've tested the heat several times, but the medicinal properties show no signs of fusion. So, perhaps it's not a problem with the heat?"
Could it be...?
Suddenly, a thought struck him, as if he had just realized something.
Standing up, Zhang Rongfang paced back and forth in the room several times, recalling the time at the Heavenly Treasure Palace and comparing it with the present.
"Perhaps... that really is the problem!"
He walked quickly into the courtyard, where Chen Han was standing in front of the gate, whispering to A Yi.
Upon seeing him emerge, the two bowed to him from afar, but Zhang Rongfang had no time to speak to them.
He waved his hand in response and quickly came to the Pill Furnace.
"It seems there's only one real reason!"
He took a breath.
"Affim."
"There must be something wrong with this Pill Furnace! It's causing my failure rate to increase so much every time I refine pills!"
He immediately lit a fire again and began to use the remaining medicinal herbs to prepare a simple Qi-tonifying formula to refine pills.
Add water, oil, and powdered ingredients.
Then simmer and stir.
Soon, in less than an hour, a small pot of qi-tonifying medicine was ready.
Zhang Rongfang scooped up a little bit, examined it carefully, then dipped it in, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in his mouth to taste.
"The medicinal properties have blended perfectly." His smile froze instantly. This clearly proved that there was nothing wrong with the Pill Furnace.
"So, which part of the process went wrong?" He lifted the large Pill Furnace and placed it on a high place to cool it down, waiting for the subsequent hand-rolling of the pills.
He repeatedly replayed his previous alchemy steps.
"Could it be medicinal herbs?"
His eyes suddenly flashed.
"Is there a problem with the proportions of the medicinal herbs?"
He quickly took out the manual and examined it again.
However, the manual clearly records the proportions of medicinal ingredients. It specifies how many medicinal herbs, minerals, oils, and so on must be contained in a single pill.
"The proportions are fine too. So..."
Zhang Rongfang frowned.
"Could it be that I bought counterfeit medicinal herbs?!" He narrowed his eyes, immediately picked up the last bit of dregs, and strode out.
"A Er, you stay here and watch the house. Brother Chen Han, could you please accompany me to the pharmacy?"
"Yes!"
Chen Han nodded. Although he didn't know why Daozi looked so bad, or what kind of pill Daozi had been painstakingly refining these Daozi, as a guard, following along was the right thing to do.
The two quickly disappeared into the night, heading down the mountain.
However, just an hour later, the two returned to the courtyard.
The anger that had been on Zhang Rongfang's face was clearly gone.
The medicinal materials have been checked and there are absolutely no problems.
Because he had refined too few pills, he couldn't distinguish the authenticity of the medicinal materials. However, the pharmacists he consulted at several shops confirmed that the medicinal materials in the dregs were absolutely genuine and there was no problem with them.
For a time, Zhang Rongfang was stuck in a dead end.
He sat cross-legged in Pill Furnace in the courtyard, opening the Attribute Panel and looking at the skills listed above.
These days, he has been using ordinary alchemy skills to refine pills.
However, the Golden Toad Skill is a top-tier secondary skill, and the required elixirs may require extremely high alchemy skills to master.
'Perhaps I should add the alchemy skill first?'
Zhang Rongfang hesitated for a moment.
He originally planned to save his Attribute Points to upgrade the level of External Medicine.
But now.