Rogue Cultivators and Sects

"Induction cooker, not an alchemy furnace? You mean the induction cooker used for cooking?" Northern River Loose Cultivator felt his blood pressure rising.

"Yes," Song Shuhang replied sheepishly.

"Haha, as expected of Senior Song," Yurouzi chimed in.

"Then what about the alchemy furnace? What kind of furnace do you use?" Northern River Loose Cultivator immediately asked.

"Uh, if I had to say, the alchemy furnace would probably be a hot pot basin," Song Shuhang felt embarrassed. The style didn't match the immortal cultivation genre, and he was quite ashamed.

"A hot pot basin? What model of alchemy furnace? No... Wait, let me calm down. Don't tell me that hot pot basin is the actual pot used for eating hot pot?" Northern River Loose Cultivator typed forcefully.

"Yes, it's that one," Song Shuhang confirmed.

"..." Northern River Loose Cultivator typed a series of ellipses.

Northern River Loose Cultivator thought that all his years of alchemy experience had been wasted. This person, on his first attempt, used an induction cooker and a hot pot to concoct Body Tempering Liquid, while he still failed one or two out of ten batches.

After a long pause, he asked, "Can I swear?"

"Damn it!" Mad Saber Three Waves had already sworn first.

"Damn it!" Copper Gua Master followed suit.

"Damn it!" Drunken Moon Hermit maintained the formation. Speaking of Drunken Moon Hermit, he seemed to be an ID that appeared frequently in the group, likely a very active senior. But for some reason, every time Song Shuhang saw him post, he felt a sense of familiarity, only to forget him moments later.

"You bastards, you've all sworn. What's left for me to swear?" Northern River Loose Cultivator grumbled. "Behold my ultimate move, @Pharmacist, it's time for you to step in, Brother Pharmacist!"

"Here," Pharmacist appeared. He had been reading the chat logs.

After a while, he deleted and rewrote his message several times before finally typing, "Young friend, can you describe your alchemy process? Especially the accident you mentioned with the forty-first ingredient."

Yurouzi's eyes lit up. "Oh, oh, oh, Senior Song, I really want to know about this step too! I've failed at this step several times!"

With Yurouzi present, Song Shuhang easily joined the conversation in the Nine Provinces First Group, without any awkwardness. Of course, this was also partly because he had been lurking for over ten days and knew the personalities of everyone in the group like the back of his hand.

"No problem, I'll describe it roughly," Song Shuhang said. "First, I put sliced Ginseng in the pot, then added a ladle of water."

"Wait, water?" Pharmacist's typing speed exploded. "Why did you add water?"

"Because if I didn't add water, wouldn't the sliced Ginseng burn in the pot?" Song Shuhang replied, understanding in his heart that the others in the group clearly didn't add water when refining Body Tempering Liquid.

"Oh, right. You're using an induction cooker and a hot pot basin," Northern River Loose Cultivator sighed. "Why does my liver hurt even more now that I know the truth?"

Pharmacist nodded silently. "That makes sense. Continue. Adding water in the first step shouldn't have too much of an impact on the later stages."

As Song Shuhang began his description, a picture formed in the minds of all the seniors in the group.

A man with a scholarly aura, named 'Great Pressure of Book Mountain,' sat solemnly by an induction cooker. He placed a hot pot on it and then carefully added the medicinal ingredients for the Body Tempering Liquid, beginning to refine the elixir.

Why did it feel so strange?

Why did alchemy have to involve induction cookers and hot pots!

Song Shuhang didn't overthink it. He briefly described his subsequent alchemy steps, along with his understanding and experience of heat control and timing. He also took the opportunity to describe some of the problems he encountered while refining Body Tempering Liquid.

Listening to Song Shuhang's description and seeing him gradually unravel his improved Elixir Recipe, Pharmacist felt a sense of deep satisfaction, like finding a kindred spirit.

"When I added the forty-first ingredient, the Body Tempering Liquid in the pot suddenly emitted a foul smell and a burnt odor. The amount of medicinal liquid in the pot rapidly evaporated. In the blink of an eye, it reduced by about one-fifth," Song Shuhang replied. "At this point, I couldn't understand the reason. I could only guess it was some kind of medicinal catalyst?"

"I've encountered this situation before, and then the medicinal liquid quickly evaporated," Yurouzi exclaimed.

"This Heavenly Master also experienced the same," Copper Gua Master nodded. They weren't alchemists, but as cultivators, refining some low-level common elixirs was not a problem.

"Because this ingredient is a catalyst, its addition signifies the start of the final purification. When your initial alchemy lacked proper heat control and timing, adding the forty-first catalyst ingredient would cause this situation. Avoiding it requires accumulated experience; there are no shortcuts," Pharmacist replied.

Similarly, if this situation occurred, it could only be resolved through experience and keen observation.

"Young friend Song Shuhang, how did you overcome this hurdle?" Pharmacist asked curiously.

"Seeing the medicinal liquid evaporating rapidly, I first added a ladle of water, hoping to slow down the evaporation rate," Song Shuhang recalled.

"Added water again? Oh... perhaps that's a good way to alleviate it. Then what? Adding water can only alleviate the symptoms, not cure the root cause," Pharmacist asked. At the same time, he pondered the practicality of adding water. However, he thought more deeply – if he encountered such a situation, replacing the water with some specially formulated medicinal liquid might better alleviate the evaporation.

"Then I simply threw in the last four ingredients and increased the heat to a strong burn. Finally, the pot lid was blown off, and half a pot of Body Tempering Liquid was reduced to about five spoonfuls," Song Shuhang replied.

"Five spoonfuls. If your spoon isn't a baby's spoon, five spoonfuls is quite a lot," Northern River Loose Cultivator sighed. Normally, one batch of Body Tempering Liquid would yield about three spoonfuls.

"How does the medicinal efficacy compare to before? Oh... I forgot this is your first time refining Body Tempering Liquid," Pharmacist grumbled. "I'll go down and refine it once using your method. I'll give my opinion after I get results."

With that, Pharmacist went offline.

"Haha, Brother Pharmacist is always impatient when it comes to alchemy. Let's wait until he finishes refining. If your refining method becomes a new simplified Body Tempering Liquid as he said, then those who use your method in the future will owe you a favor. This favor would be incredibly beneficial to you," Northern River Loose Cultivator sent a smiley face.

Song Shuhang's participation in this group meant he wanted to get in touch with 'cultivation'. In fact, after refining and consuming Body Tempering Liquid, he had already taken one step into the world of cultivation.

"Then, young friend Song Shuhang, welcome to the No. 1 Group of the Nine Provinces," Northern River Loose Cultivator said. "Originally, Group Leader True Monarch Yellow Mountain should have explained these things to you. After all, he was the one who invited you and felt you had a connection with him, which is why he kept you. But today, his great demon dog is acting up again, so I'll do it on his behalf."

True Monarch Yellow Mountain's great demon dog seems to have quite a personality, Song Shuhang thought to himself.

"Since you've chosen to embark on the path of cultivation, there are some things I must tell you. The path of cultivation is not as easy as you imagine. There are countless tribulations, and the threat of utter destruction can arise at any moment."

"I have some knowledge of it. I saw that lightning tribulation in H City from afar," Song Shuhang replied.

Yurouzi added, "Senior Song's residence is close to H City and also close to J City."

"You even know about Sister Sixteen's lightning tribulation. It seems you've been paying attention to us since you joined the group?" Northern River Loose Cultivator teased.

"Haha," Song Shuhang chuckled sheepishly. He couldn't possibly say that he initially thought everyone was delusional and just watched their antics every day, could he?

"Since you're mentally prepared, I'll get straight to the point," Northern River Loose Cultivator continued. "Since young friend Song Shuhang is staying in this group, you obviously want to learn the methods of cultivation from us. Therefore, according to the tradition of our Nine Provinces group, you now have two choices: a rogue cultivator, or join a senior's sect within the group."

The No. 1 Group of the Nine Provinces had added so many people, naturally, it had its own set of rules and ways of doing things. However, a complete newcomer like Song Shuhang, who knew nothing about cultivation, was truly the first.