My Unique Alchemy Furnace

After finishing his last class peacefully, Song Shuhang put away his textbook and stretched.

Beside him, the curvaceous female classmate reluctantly left his side again. At the same time, the thought of confessing to Shuhang surfaced in her mind again—at least she could be Song Shuhang's girlfriend this scorching summer and enjoy a human air conditioner.

Shuhang felt creeped out by the girl's reluctant gaze, feeling a bit awkward.

Fortunately, at this moment, Tu Bo and his other two roommates walked over.

"Damn it, I almost shed a layer of skin from the heat," Tu Bo fanned himself with a notebook, but large beads of sweat still trickled down his forehead. "By the way, Shuhang, do you want to go out this afternoon?"

"You guys are still in the mood to go out in this heat?" Shuhang chuckled. The sun was particularly brutal today, definitely not good weather for shopping.

"Hehe, Yang De just developed a program recently and made some money. So, he's planning to rent a two-bedroom apartment outside of school to hide away undisturbed. We're going to help him check it out, find a good place, and maybe it can be our second base—and we can extort a meal from him tonight," Tu Bo chuckled.

Shuhang gave his slightly dark and thin roommate a thumbs-up. "Yang De, you're promising. We're both tinkerers, but you're much better than Tu Bo. You can make money, while Tu Bo only knows how to spend it!"

Tu Bo: "..."

Yang De grinned, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Despite his youth, he already possessed the aura of a seasoned programmer. He wasn't talkative, as they spent more time communicating through keyboards than mouths.

"However, I have something to do at noon. I need to handle two large boxes that were just delivered. Just call me when you guys find a place, and I'll head straight over!" Song Shuhang replied quickly—it was great that his roommates were going out, so he could try alchemy alone with peace of mind.

"You, you want to freeload without contributing!" Tu Bo tilted his head back and snorted. "I'm telling you, no way! But there's a window. Introduce your beautiful sister!"

"Get lost," Song Shuhang said. "No door, but there's a window. Treat me to a late-night snack tonight!"

Song Shuhang had plenty of beautiful sisters. As for the girl Tu Bo wanted, Yurouzi—sorry, she wasn't his sister.

Tu Bo immediately acted like he was clinging to Shuhang's leg. "Deal!"

"Don't we know Shuhang's beautiful sister?" Yang De wondered. They had all met his sister, Zhao Yaya, when she brought Shuhang to Jiangnan University Town at the beginning of last semester. Could Tu Bo be trying to hit on Shuhang's cousin?

"That seems a bit difficult. That Sister Zhao's 'crippling leg' technique is legendary."

Recalling the beginning of the semester, when Sister Zhao was dropping Shuhang off at school, they encountered some unruly delinquents.

Later, Tu Bo and Yang De witnessed Sister Zhao's prowess. Her slender legs casually kicked out, hitting their targets precisely—Sister Zhao had definitely trained, and she must have used her 'crippling leg' skill frequently. The delinquents quickly fell to the ground, clutching their groins and screaming. As bystanders, they could feel the pain.

After lunch, the three roommates wandered out of the dorm, leaving Song Shuhang alone.

"Hoo." He took a deep breath, the ice bead hanging around his neck keeping his mind cool—a good state to be in.

Opening a small box of medicinal ingredients, Song Shuhang compared the 'Body Tempering Liquid Elixir Recipe' from 'Pharmacist' with the contents.

The small box was also divided into four layers, with about ten types of medicinal ingredients on each layer.

"Ginseng, Goji Berry, Yangqi Stone, Daughter Fragrance..." Shuhang quickly matched the first thirty or so ingredients that could be found online.

Morning Dew Mysterious Grass, and later items like Fresh Overlord Branch and Nine Yang Red Flame Bamboo slices, couldn't be found online. Even if they were, they would be items from games.

Fortunately, Yurouzi was a very meticulous girl. As Shuhang checked the ingredients, he discovered that the medicinal herbs in the small box were already arranged in the order specified in the Elixir Recipe, from left to right, top to bottom.

Even the quantities of the ingredients were pre-portioned.

"A meticulous and gentle girl is the best," Shuhang breathed a sigh of relief. "This way, I won't have to ask the Kyushu No. 1 group."

When refining the 'Body Tempering Liquid,' ingredients needed to be added to the cauldron sequentially according to the recipe. If the order was wrong, it would fail. If the materials Yurouzi sent were mixed together, Song Shuhang would have a headache.

[Add ingredients to the cauldron sequentially according to the recipe ratio, simmer for about five minutes, add new ingredients, and continue simmering for about five minutes. Pay attention to the heat! Repeat this cycle until the liquid thickens into a paste. The finished Body Tempering Liquid will be black, transparent, and have a pungent smell.] This was Pharmacist's original wording.

It sounded simple enough, as if anyone could refine a liquid if they were careful?

Indeed, Body Tempering Liquid was merely the lowest grade 'elixir liquid,' not even comparable to pills or dregs. Refining it didn't require consuming one's own spiritual energy or true qi. It didn't require special earth fire, heavenly fire, or alchemical fire.

Even a mortal could refine it with focus!

But succeeding was not that easy.

The heat, and the word 'about' before 'five minutes,' indicated that the time wasn't fixed at five minutes but required the alchemist to adjust it based on their experience and the quality of the ingredients.

Moreover, the entire Body Tempering Liquid required forty-five types of ingredients, totaling nearly four hours, demanding constant concentration without a moment's lapse. For a mortal to refine this 'Body Tempering Liquid,' it would require immense perseverance and experience.

Song Shuhang opened the hot pot and placed the sliced Ginseng into it.

"By the way, the Elixir Recipe didn't mention whether to add water?" Shuhang scratched his head.

He probably should add water, right? If not, in five minutes, let alone the Ginseng slices, even the pot would be scorched?

But how much water should he add?

"Should I ask in the group?" Shuhang pulled out his phone, then paused and calmly put it back.

This was his first time refining Body Tempering Liquid, and there would surely be many questions during the process. He couldn't be boiling the ingredients here and immediately ask the group every time a problem arose, could he?

People in the group weren't online all the time. If he asked the group for every issue, it would exceed five minutes, and the refining would fail. In that case, thirty-two portions of ingredients wouldn't be enough for him to experiment with.

So, it was best for him to try it once with the mindset of inevitable failure, following Pharmacist's Elixir Recipe. Then, he would record all the problems encountered during the refining process and ask them all at once in the group.

"I'll add a ladle of water first." He added a ladle of water to the pot and pressed the button on the induction cooker.

The induction cooker... was also a last resort.

Because there was no open flame in the school dormitories, and to prevent fires, all ignition sources were prohibited. Having an induction cooker was already quite good.

Since it was all about heating and simmering, induction heating and fire heating should be fine, right?

Then, he pressed the 'stew' option. The induction cooker provided in the dorm had four options: 'stir-fry,' 'simmer,' 'stew,' and 'fry.' It also had a function to adjust the temperature freely.

If 'cultivation' truly existed, then he would definitely be the first person in history to refine medicine using an induction cooker and a hot pot. Song Shuhang thought wryly.