Condensing the Wind Mansion Star

Nine Yin Grass, refinement complete.

Earth Dragon Root, refinement complete.

Flame Flavor Seed, refinement complete.

After more than thirty types of herbs, Long Chen spent a full several hours to refine them one by one, sweating profusely from exhaustion.

Alchemy is different from brewing medicine; it requires extracting the essence of each herb, removing impurities, and refining it into powder.

However, the fire in Long Chen's hand was too trashy, and the refined powder contained too many impurities. But there was no other way.

First, Long Chen's cultivation was not high enough to continuously stimulate the Pill Fire, hence the weak flame power.

Second, Long Chen currently had no opportunity or ability to tame other flames, so he had to make do with this.

The Wind Mansion Pill is a Tier 1 Pill, and usually, only Pill Apprentices can refine Tier 1 Pills.

However, to practice the art of alchemy, besides possessing a powerful Pill Fire, one also needs abundant Spiritual Energy, and most importantly, extremely powerful Soul Force.

The other two aspects are not difficult. As for Pill Fire, if conditions permit, one can capture fire-elemental magical beasts and tame them as pets, using the beast's fire to cultivate one's own flame, which can also be very powerful.

Over ninety-nine percent of alchemists use Beast Fire. Only some alchemists with extremely ancient lineages and profound strength can control a type of mysterious and ethereal Spirit Fire found between heaven and earth.

Spirit Fire is a flame with a soul. In Long Chen's memories, it seems he once mastered an incredibly formidable Spirit Fire.

Unfortunately, no matter how formidable it was, he had to use his wretched, trashy fire to continue refining pills now. He couldn't bring out what was only in his memories.

Having rested enough, Long Chen took a deep breath.

"Hoo"

A half-foot-long, pale yellow flame leaped from his palm, and a wave of heat washed over him.

"Not bad, after the previous refinement, the flame power has increased by a tiny bit. Oh well, it's better than nothing."

He continuously threw seven types of medicinal essences into the furnace, unleashing his Soul Force. The flame in Long Chen's hand suddenly flickered, becoming several times stronger than before.

"Using Soul Force to control the flame... if other alchemists saw this, would they be scared to death?" Long Chen gave a wry smile.

The most precious thing for an alchemist is Soul Force. A person's Soul Force is basically innate and grows passively with the increase in cultivation.

Soul Force is the foundation of alchemy. During alchemy, a large amount of Soul Force is needed to control the heat. Even the slightest mistake can lead to complete failure, resulting in a pile of pill ash. If the pill is potent, it could even cause the furnace to explode.

Normally, alchemists do not invest their Soul Force at the very beginning. They usually do so in the middle to late stages, when the pill is about to form, using their Soul Force to meticulously control the heat output.

After all, that is the critical moment for pill formation. The flame temperature needs to change constantly, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, which consumes a lot of Soul Force.

If Soul Force is depleted at that time, the entire batch of pills is essentially ruined. Yet, Long Chen used his Soul Force from the very beginning.

Furthermore, he used his incredibly precious Soul Force just to increase the heat, burning it like firewood. Any alchemist would absolutely curse him, calling it the most wasteful way to be wasteful.

But Long Chen wasn't afraid. According to his memories, his current Soul Force was no less than that of an ordinary alchemist.

The cultivation levels for alchemists are Pill Apprentice, Pill Scholar, Pill Master, Pill King, Pill Emperor, Pill Ancestor, Pill Venerable, Pill Saint, and Pill Emperor.

In Long Chen's memories, he possessed the memories of a Pill Emperor, so he was very clear about his own energy.

When Long Chen woke up this time, his Soul Force had mutated and become exceptionally powerful, so Long Chen was qualified to do this.

"Buzz"

The pill furnace in front of Long Chen trembled slightly, emitting a soft sound.

"Hehe, adding fuel to the fire, the speed has increased considerably."

He hurriedly threw three more medicinal ingredients into the furnace, but sweat had already appeared on Long Chen's forehead.

He quickly took out a grass stalk more than two feet long, put one end into a medicine jar filled with Qi Recovery Fluid, and inserted the other end into his mouth, taking a deep gulp.

After the Qi Recovery Fluid entered his abdomen, his pores rapidly opened, absorbing Spiritual Energy from heaven and earth at a frantic pace. His spiritual power, which was about to be depleted, was rapidly recovering.

This was something Long Chen had prepared long ago and was a necessary step for refining the Wind Mansion Pill. Otherwise, with his current spiritual power, attempting alchemy would be a joke.

Holding the grass stalk in his mouth, he occasionally took a sip of Qi Recovery Fluid to supply the spiritual energy output within his body.

Compared to Long Chen's spiritual power, his Soul Force was incredibly abundant. It was only after two days that Long Chen felt a hint of fatigue, a sign of immense Soul Force consumption.

By this time, all the medicinal ingredients in the pill furnace had been added, leaving only the final steps. The medicinal aroma had already begun to permeate the air.

Although in Long Chen's memory, a Tier 1 pill like this could be refined with his eyes closed, it was different now. This was something that could change his destiny, so it was impossible not to be nervous.

"Buzz"

Suddenly, the pill furnace vibrated within, emitting a buzzing sound. The aura inside the furnace began to become violent.

Long Chen showed no panic; instead, a smile appeared on his lips. This was the precursor to pill formation, the most critical moment of alchemy.

He circulated all his Soul Force without reservation. The flame in his hand suddenly surged, and an invisible force tightly locked onto the entire pill furnace.

This technique was called "Heaven Sealing Earth Locking," a move Long Chen had created from his memories to prevent the pill from exploding and the furnace from blowing up.

Moreover, this technique was very practical, capable of locking all the medicinal power within the furnace in the shortest possible time, preventing excessive loss.

Ordinary alchemists would use this in the final step, where the pill was violent, employing gentle methods to stabilize it.

Although this reduced the risk, it resulted in a significant loss of medicinal essence, hence the pill's effect was very mediocre.

"Bang"

As Long Chen suppressed it with all his Soul Force, the entire alchemy furnace let out a muffled sound before falling completely silent.

Long Chen looked at the now calm alchemy furnace before him, panting wildly. Sweat soaked him through, and he felt dizzy, his whole body spinning.

After a long while, Long Chen recovered slightly. With trembling hands and an excited heart, he opened the furnace lid.

Five perfectly round pellets appeared before Long Chen's eyes, their rich medicinal fragrance filling the entire room.

"Two low-grade, three duds. Sigh, if this got out, I'd be utterly humiliated," Long Chen said, his face filled with excitement, though he sighed.

Long Chen paused, then burst into laughter. He had integrated the memories of a generation's Pill Emperor, and it seemed that Pill Emperor had been far too arrogant.

He didn't care about humiliation. He quickly took the five pills into his hands and examined them closely.

The two low-grade pills were smooth and round, their medicinal fragrance overflowing, refreshing the mind and spirit.

Long Chen's heart was filled with joy. A finished pill like this could fetch at least a hundred thousand Gold Coins in the capital.

The three duds in his hand were still much better than the pills his mother had begged for. At the very least, thirty percent of their medicinal essence was locked within the pill.

Pills with fifty percent medicinal essence were called low-grade pills, and they made up over eighty percent of the entire pill world.

Pills with sixty percent medicinal essence were called mid-grade pills, seventy percent were high-grade, eighty percent were top-grade, and ninety percent were peerless. As for one hundred percent... hehe.

Long Chen didn't think about that now. It was too far off. Some might wonder, what's the difference between fifty and sixty percent medicinal essence?

Wouldn't eating two low-grade pills be better than one mid-grade pill? Anyone who asked such a question would be spat to death.

Besides the essence, pills also contained impurities. Impurities were things the body couldn't absorb. Most importantly, these impurities would counteract some of the essence's absorption.

The saying "all medicine has a degree of poison" wasn't just a common saying; it was a truth. When pills condensed, Pill Toxin was inevitably produced. This poison wouldn't have much of an effect if taken long-term.

However, for cultivators, pills were often life-saving. They would consume countless pills throughout their lives. When the Pill Toxin in their bodies accumulated to a certain extent, it would become a deadly poison.

Pill Toxin was the hardest poison to remove, penetrating flesh, bone marrow, and even the soul. The higher the grade of the pill, the fewer side effects it had.

Therefore, the difference in efficacy between low-grade and mid-grade pills could be more than tenfold, while their prices differed by more than a hundredfold.

Long Chen put away the five pills and cleaned up the alchemy furnace and everything else. He could no longer stay awake and collapsed into sleep.

He didn't know how long he slept before he felt a warm hand caressing his cheek. He vaguely heard some murmurs, but he was too exhausted to wake up.

When Long Chen woke again, three days had passed. Starving, he wolfed down a meal and immediately went back into seclusion.

He swallowed a dud pill, using his Soul Force to activate its power. It entered the Yongquan acupoint beneath his feet, the location where the first star—the Wind Mansion Star—was formed.

"Bang!"

Long Chen's right foot trembled, and the ground beneath him let out a loud crack, spreading across the entire room.

"Very good. I've found the meridian route and the exact location. Now, I can truly begin the breakthrough."

Long Chen smiled slightly, a low-grade Wind Mansion Pill appearing in his hand. He threw it into his mouth. A stream of incredibly pure energy erupted, and under Long Chen's guidance, it surged directly towards the Yongquan acupoint beneath his feet.

The Yongquan acupoint at the sole of his foot stirred, like a parched riverbed receiving nourishment. As the medicinal power poured in, it was like a flood dragon rampaging wildly there.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion echoed, and terrifying energy surged outward. Long Chen's clothes moved without wind, and a fearsome aura erupted. The entire room was shattered, dust and smoke billowed, and waves of energy rolled.

As the dust slowly settled, Long Chen's handsome face was revealed. His star-like eyes were filled with excitement. Feeling a small, bean-sized mass beneath his foot, endless energy flowed from his sole throughout his body. Long Chen felt an urge to roar to the heavens.

The commotion Long Chen was causing immediately attracted the attention of the entire Marquis's mansion, and everyone rushed over.

Seeing his mother had also arrived, Long Chen quickly said, "Mother, today is the day the Heir enters the Imperial Academy to study. I must hurry."

With that, he left a group of stunned people and a pile of ruins behind. He changed into clean clothes and rushed straight to the Imperial Academy.