Family and Refining the Ice Heart Pill

"Give it to me? This... Master Toso, if you refine this Flame Gold Flame, you should be able to reach the threshold of a Tier 5 Alchemist, right?" Lin Ming asked in disbelief.

"Ah! Reaching Tier 5 isn't that easy! Besides, the flame I use now was taken from a Fifth Order Flame Wind Luan Bird. It isn't much worse than this Sixth Order Flame Gold Flame. I've used it for so many years that I'm already accustomed to it. If I switched to Flame Gold Flame now, not only would I need to adapt all over again, but my current flame would also go to waste. It's not worth it!" Master Toso sighed. Thinking of Lin Ming's words about reaching the threshold of a Fifth Order Alchemist, he thought, Not everyone is a freak like you, Kid. You managed Pill Formation on your very first attempt at pill refining. After only half a year, refining First-Grade Pills is as easy for you as drinking water. Sure, you choke on occasion, but you've already produced pills with Pill Patterns many times!

Seeing Lin Ming still hesitating, Master Toso said to him again, "You don't need to think of it as too precious. This is the family's investment in you. The family raises and teaches you while you're young. Once you grow up and become capable, you give back to the family. Only through this cycle from generation to generation can the family's legacy continue. When you have the ability in the future, find me the flame of a Seventh Order magical beast, or even an Eighth Order magical beast, for me to refine. I guarantee I won't refuse. I'll refine it immediately."

Yes, this was family. There was Grandpa Liu, the Clan Leader, Master Toso, and a whole group of people devoted to passing down the family from one generation to the next. Although Lin Ming received such treatment because he had talent, they had no other choice. The family only had so many resources. It could not afford to let everyone enjoy the best resources, so it could only give the most and best resources to the few most outstanding people. Once they grew up and formed a virtuous cycle, the family could develop better and better, gain more and more resources to nurture more people, and allow more people to grow. Lin Ming had always maintained the mindset of someone who had passed through. He believed that, since he knew the plot, he would definitely dominate the continent. Thus, he had always kept some distance from others, afraid they would pester him once that time came. He hated all the nagging and bother from relatives the most. But now that he thought about it, how could he possibly cast all of this aside completely? Setting aside the ties of blood, humans were emotional, social creatures. If a person discarded familial love, romantic love, friendship, and every other emotion, what difference would there be between him and a walking corpse?

Having understood this, Lin Ming felt completely refreshed. It was as though the clouds in his heart had parted, revealing clear skies.

"Master Toso, I'm going to refine pills. Let the Flame Gold Flame stay here for another five days!" Lin Ming said confidently. Then he turned and left without the slightest reluctance.

"Why does this Kid feel different?" Master Toso muttered to himself.

Returning to the Pill Refinement Room, Lin Ming took out the pill formula again and carefully read through it from beginning to end. He studied every detail and every medicinal material described in it, occasionally closing his eyes to imagine and recall whether anything resembled or contradicted his previous pill refining experiences.

An Hour later, Lin Ming stood up and went to the medicinal material area, carefully searching for the materials he needed. He even used his Wood Attribute to sense the vitality within the medicinal materials he found, ensuring that he chose the ones most suitable for refining the Ice Heart Pill.

Lin Ming only took enough medicinal materials to refine three batches of Ice Heart Pills. Since he had fully accepted the family in his heart, he should save whatever he could. Besides, once he reached High-Grade levels in the future, there would not be so many medicinal materials available for him to practice with. Therefore, from now on, Lin Ming would treat every refinement as though he only had one set of materials. He could no longer keep the mindset that he was a beginner and could simply try again after making a mistake.

When he returned to the Pill Refinement Room, Master Toso was already sitting there. Lin Ming walked to the medicinal cauldron, took out the medicinal materials, and arranged them around himself for easy access during the refinement. Then he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, recalling the descriptions in the pill formula. A moment later, Lin Ming suddenly opened his eyes. The refinement of the Second-Grade Ice Heart Pill began.

He pressed his palm against the fire port of the medicinal cauldron, sank his focus Inside Body, and controlled his Dou Qi to travel along his Meridians toward his hand. The Dou Qi left his body and entered the medicinal cauldron through the fire port.

With a whoosh, flames surged up inside the medicinal cauldron. Lin Ming controlled the flames as they burned within it. Once the temperature inside the cauldron had risen and basically stabilized, Lin Ming glanced at Master Toso before turning back to begin extracting the medicinal materials.

He picked up a plant about a foot long from beside him. Its stem was dark green, and its leaves were covered in frost-like marks. This plant was called Frost Mark Grass. The frost-like patterns on its leaves were the essence needed for this refinement—Frost Mark—which had the effect of calming the mind.

Lin Ming tossed the Frost Mark Grass into the medicinal cauldron through its opening and used Spiritual Strength to control the flames around it. The flames suddenly surged. Refining Frost Mark Grass required extremely high-temperature flames to instantly burn away all other parts of the plant. As Frost Mark emitted frost, it would be preserved.

What Frost Mark Grass feared most during refinement was insufficient flame temperature. If the temperature was too low, the Frost Mark within the herb would spread its ice attribute through the entire plant, resisting the flames' scorching heat. In that case, all the Frost Mark in the herb would dissipate while resisting the flames, and the entire plant would be ruined.

"Phew." Lin Ming let out a breath and thought, Thankfully, the flame temperature is barely enough. Otherwise, I would have failed at the very first step. It seems I really do need another kind of flame. Otherwise, my success rate in refining Second-Grade Pills will be pitifully low.

After refining it for a while, Lin Ming sensed that only Frost Mark remained and all the other impurities had been burned away. He wrapped the extracted Frost Mark Grass essence—Frost Mark—with Spiritual Strength, then drew it into his palm with a pull. The cluster of Frost Mark floated above his hand. Lin Ming took out a Jade Bottle and placed the Frost Mark inside, intending to fuse it with the other extracted medicinal materials later for Pill Formation.

After refining the Frost Mark Grass and extracting the Frost Mark, Lin Ming began refining the remaining medicinal materials. These materials were either Ice Attribute, capable of calming the mind, or Wood Attribute, capable of providing vitality. Although he made one mistake midway and ruined one medicinal material, the next attempt went without issue, and all the extractions succeeded.

Master Toso watched Lin Ming's refinement and nodded repeatedly. Although the extracted medicinal materials were still imperfect, that was because Lin Ming's cultivation was too low, preventing his flames from reaching certain required temperatures. It was an external issue. Even under such circumstances, he had only ruined one medicinal material, while all the rest had been successfully extracted in a single attempt. Once Lin Ming refined the Flame Gold Flame, this issue of insufficient flames would be resolved. When he refined again then, these medicinal materials would surely be extracted with exceptional purity!

Lin Ming looked at the extracted Medicinal Material Essence around him and smiled knowingly. Then he closed his eyes and began recovering his Dou Qi, preparing for the hard battle of refining the Second-Order Wood-Attribute Magic Core.

This time, it took nearly half an hour before Lin Ming opened his eyes from meditation. He glanced at the Magic Core in the wooden box. At a certain moment, it was as though he had made up his mind to fight to the death. He raised his palm toward the Magic Core and pulled. The Magic Core flew toward his hand, and Lin Ming grabbed it before tossing it into the medicinal cauldron.

The moment the Second-Order Wood-Attribute Magic Core entered the medicinal cauldron, Lin Ming pressed his palm against the fire port and released a surge of Dou Qi. Flames instantly rose within the cauldron. Lin Ming controlled the flames with his Spiritual Strength and raised their temperature to the limit.

Within the flames, a dark cyan Magic Core rolled about. A cyan Energy Shield resembling a halo surrounded it, resisting the flames' heat and preventing them from burning into its interior. Lin Ming knew that the Magic Core was consuming its internal energy to resist being refined. If he could not refine the Magic Core quickly, all the Wood Attribute energy inside it would be used to resist the flames. Even if he managed to refine the Magic Core in the end, it would be useless. The Wood Attribute energy would already have been exhausted, leaving behind only scraps.

But Lin Ming had no solution. This was already the highest temperature his flames could reach; he could not raise it any further. Anxiously, Lin Ming poured Dou Qi into the medicinal cauldron to maintain the flame temperature. Now it depended on whether he could break through the outer Energy Shield before the Magic Core Energy was depleted to the amount required for refining the Ice Heart Pill. If the remaining energy inside the Magic Core was insufficient for refining the Ice Heart Pill when the shield broke, then this Magic Core refinement would be considered a failure. He would have no choice but to refine another Magic Core. However, Lin Ming guessed that the outcome would likely not differ much from this one, and failure was even more likely.

That was why those with profound cultivation were not necessarily High-Grade Alchemists, but the cultivation of High-Grade Alchemists was never too poor. Those with profound cultivation might not possess good Alchemy Talent. Many were limited by their talent, unable to control the timing of pill refining properly, and could not raise their Alchemy level. But if a High-Grade Alchemist's cultivation was too low, they would not even have enough Dou Qi to support their refinement. Their flames would be inadequate, so how could they refine medicinal materials? If they could not even extract medicinal materials or Magic Cores, then Pill Formation would be impossible.

Now it was a race against time. Would the Magic Core's Energy Shield break before or after it consumed the Magic Core Energy down to the amount needed for refining the Ice Heart Pill?

Time passed bit by bit. As Lin Ming watched the Magic Core continue resisting stubbornly, he felt as though someone were cutting flesh from his body, slicing off a piece every so often while he could not resist and could only endure it. The pain was truly unbearable.

Another quarter of an hour passed, yet the Energy Shield around the Magic Core was still resisting. Lin Ming already felt that things were looking grim. It seemed this attempt was about to fail. But suddenly, with a crack, the Energy Shield shattered completely, like glass dropped from the eighteenth floor onto the ground.

Lin Ming finally relaxed somewhat. At least he had shattered the Energy Shield, so the energy inside the Magic Core would no longer be lost. As for how much energy remained inside, that would depend on luck! Then Lin Ming controlled the flames to completely envelop the Magic Core. This time, it was not long before he sensed cracks appearing on the surface of the dark cyan Magic Core. His heart tightened again. This was like the final moment of opening a blind box. Whether he profited or lost would soon be revealed.

After a while, accompanied by a crack, the surface of the Magic Core turned to ash and fell away, revealing a thumb-sized, dark green, paste-like Energy Orb inside. At the sight of that thumb-sized dark green paste-like Energy Orb, Lin Ming could no longer hold back and burst into loud laughter. The Energy Orb had reached the amount required to refine an Ice Heart Pill. This time, Lin Ming had profited from opening the blind box.

After heating the thumb-sized dark green paste-like Energy Orb for a while longer, Lin Ming stopped supplying Dou Qi, removed the Energy Orb from the medicinal cauldron, and placed it into a Jade Bottle. Then he began regulating his breath again to Recover Dou Qi.

About another half hour later, Lin Ming opened his eyes once more. He supplied Dou Qi, and flames rose inside the medicinal cauldron.

Lin Ming picked up two Jade Bottles and drew out the two medicinal liquids within them, shooting them together into the medicinal cauldron. The moment the medicinal liquids entered, they were immediately enveloped by flames. After refining them for a while and confirming there was no problem, he picked up another Jade Bottle from outside, used Spiritual Strength to draw out the Medicinal Material Essence inside, and tossed it into the medicinal cauldron for refinement. In this way, the Jade Bottles on the ground became fewer and fewer, while the Medicinal Material Essence wrapped in flames inside the cauldron grew larger and larger.

Up to this point, Lin Ming's refinement had proceeded rather smoothly, and signs of Pill Formation had appeared inside the medicinal cauldron. Looking at the final Jade Bottle on the ground, Lin Ming thought, Whether I can obtain the Flame Gold Flame depends on this moment. Then he pulled the Jade Bottle into his hand, drew out the Magic Core Energy Orb within, and tossed it into the medicinal cauldron.

As the Magic Core Energy Orb entered the flames and came into contact with the previously refined Medicinal Material Essence, the flames trembled. It was as though a chemical reaction had occurred, releasing energy that buffeted the flames.

"Quick, use your Spiritual Strength to rapidly guide those two Energy Orbs together. Keep the flames stable at all times. Do not let them change, or everything will be ruined!" Master Toso frantically instructed from the side.

Lin Ming immediately poured in a massive amount of Spiritual Strength, mixing all the Energy Orbs within together. Then he desperately maintained the output of his Dou Qi, not daring to allow the slightest deviation. Beads of sweat poured from his forehead, but Lin Ming had no time to care about them. He strained to maintain the same amount of Dou Qi input. Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain. Once the surge of energy subsided, a Pale Cyan pill appeared inside the medicinal cauldron. Its surface was still somewhat uneven, but Pill Formation had already succeeded. All that remained was to nourish it slowly with a small flame until it became round and smooth. Once an Alchemist reached this stage, the pill was basically considered successfully refined.

"Haha, good Kid. You've obtained the Flame Gold Flame just like that. Handle the final nurturing yourself. I'll leave first. Come find me tomorrow to collect the Flame Gold Flame." After saying that, Master Toso turned and left.

Lin Ming watched Master Toso leave, then continued nurturing his pill with a small flame.

Not long after, Lin Ming saw that the pill had become round and smooth. He stopped supplying Dou Qi to the medicinal cauldron, drew the pill into his palm with a pull, and looked at the Pale Cyan pill, which was half the size of an egg. Lin Ming burst into laughter and shouted, "The Second-Grade Ice Heart Pill is complete. Flame Gold Flame, here I come!"