Alchemy? Boiling Grass?

Chapter 034 Alchemy? Boiling Grass?

Qin Shaofeng wasn't unfamiliar with alchemy; he had seen some alchemists at work before, but they were all mere apprentices.

In Lanjiang City, most people referred to as alchemists were actually not true alchemists at all, but just alchemy apprentices.

There was only one true alchemist in the entire Lanjiang City.

That was a Junior Alchemist that the Wang Family, a prominent merchant family, had managed to invite at a great cost.

Yes, a Junior Alchemist. But even so, having such a person in the Wang Family was considered a great blessing.

When that Junior Alchemist joined the Wang Family, they had specifically organized an Alchemy Competition in Lanjiang City, refining pills in front of countless people.

Qin Shaofeng clearly remembered that the alchemist had used a large cauldron nearly three meters tall, with over a dozen alchemy apprentices adding firewood underneath to keep the cauldron burning during the refining process.

Thinking of that scene, Qin Shaofeng couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

This is the System's Alchemy skill, it shouldn't require burning wood, right?

Although he thought this, Qin Shaofeng was still uncertain.

This was one of the reasons he had chosen a large pot.

Using a large pot would make starting a fire much more convenient.

However, before that, he wanted to try and see if simply activating the skill could refine a pill.

After setting up the large pot, Qin Shaofeng began to add Qi Yuan Grass into it.

Normally, one stalk of Qi Yuan Grass could refine one Qi Replenishing Pill.

This was the pill Qin Shaofeng intended to refine this time. He didn't add much, just one stalk of Qi Yuan Grass into the large pot.

But his actions looked strange to the little girl.

Grass?

Seeing Qin Shaofeng throw something into the large pot, the little girl looked closely and discovered it was just a blade of grass. Her eyes widened, her crescent-shaped eyes turning into full moon jade plates, filled with suspicion.

Is Young Master going to boil grass?

But why isn't he starting a fire?

Boiling grass?

If Qin Shaofeng knew what the little girl was thinking at that moment, he would probably be so angry that he'd grab her and give her a good spanking.

I'm refining pills, you little brat, what do you mean boiling grass!

However, Qin Shaofeng was too nervous at the moment to notice the little girl's expression, so she escaped a scolding.

Ignoring the little girl's strange look, he put the lid on the pot, placed his right hand on it, and silently thought to the pot: Alchemy Skill!

The moment he mentally chanted "Alchemy Skill," Qin Shaofeng felt a slight movement in his Dantian. A small stream of Inner Qi instantly flowed out, entering the large pot through his right hand.

Then, something astonishing happened to Qin Shaofeng.

The Inner Qi entering the pot seemed to act as his eyes, allowing him to sense everything inside the pot as if he could see what was happening within.

Buzz!

As soon as the Inner Qi entered the pot, the pot vibrated slightly, and then...

Nothing else happened. The pill Qin Shaofeng expected did not appear. Just as he "saw" everything inside the pot, the stalk of Qi Yuan Grass instantly burst into flames and turned into a pile of black ash.

At that very moment, Qin Shaofeng lost contact with the stream of Inner Qi that had entered the pot and could no longer "see" the inside of the pot.

Uh, what is this?

Qin Shaofeng was slightly stunned, then immediately lifted the lid to check.

Indeed!

Just as he had "seen" moments before, there was no Qi Yuan Grass in the pot now, only a small pile of black ash!

Uh, did it fail?

Looking at the Qi Yuan Grass that had been burned to ash, Qin Shaofeng's eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment.

However, he quickly cheered himself up.

It's my first time, so failure is normal.

As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success. I can't give up.

His self-consolation seemed to work, and Qin Shaofeng immediately swept the ash out of the pot and placed another stalk of Qi Yuan Grass inside.

But the situation was the same as before. As soon as the Alchemy skill was activated, the vibrant green Qi Yuan Grass instantly turned into black ash.

Failed again?

Looking at the ash in the pot, Qin Shaofeng felt a bit speechless.

"Damn it, I don't believe I can't refine a Mortal-grade One-star Qi Replenishing Pill!"

He muttered softly and began to add Qi Yuan Grass again.

The next situation was no different from the previous two.

Failure!

Failure!

Still failure!

After failing several times in a row, Qin Shaofeng was a bit confused.

No way, I'm just using low-grade Qi Yuan Grass, and only refining a one-star Qi Replenishing Pill. I've tried five or six times, and I haven't succeeded once?

He exclaimed in surprise and looked again at the Alchemy attribute on his status interface.

That's right, the success rate of Alchemy is indeed based on the level of Alchemy and the pill being refined!

No matter how low the success rate of level 1 Alchemy is, it shouldn't be this bad. Refining a Mortal-grade One-star Qi Replenishing Pill and failing five or six times in a row?

Could it be because of this large pot?

Soon, Qin Shaofeng seemed to find the reason and stared intently at the large pot.

Alas, a large pot is just a large pot. It's not a proper alchemy crucible, so it's normal to fail at alchemy!

Well, the problem definitely isn't with me, it's with this large pot.

It seems I'll have to find a real alchemy crucible.

He sighed softly in his heart, muttering to himself whether he was comforting himself or making excuses, and attributed all his failed alchemy attempts to the large pot.

At this moment, the little girl beside him saw Qin Shaofeng fall silent for a while. She glanced at the large pot and then at the small pile of ashes on the ground beside it.

The little girl was a bit confused!

Young Master clearly didn't light a fire, so why did the grass get scorched?

She didn't understand!

However, the little girl didn't think too much about it. After pondering for a moment, she hesitated and finally spoke to Qin Shaofeng, "Young Master, if you're boiling grass, you should add some water. That way, the grass won't get scorched!"

Qin Shaofeng, who was contemplating where to get an alchemy crucible, suddenly heard the little girl's words and almost fell to the ground.

Boiling... boiling grass?

This girl actually thought I spent all this time boiling grass?

Qin Shaofeng couldn't take it anymore.

"You're just a little girl, you don't understand. I'm refining pills, what do you mean boiling grass? Where did you get such a bizarre idea?"

As if to defend his young master's dignity, Qin Shaofeng warned the little girl.

Where did such a bizarre idea come from?

The little girl suddenly felt wronged and muttered softly, "Isn't it because I saw you doing it that I thought that?"

Uh...

Qin Shaofeng was speechless.

However, the little girl quickly recovered and then looked at Qin Shaofeng with sudden admiration, "Refining pills? I didn't expect Young Master to be able to refine pills. Are you an alchemist too?"

Uh...

Qin Shaofeng was still speechless.

An alchemist?

I have the skill of Alchemy, so I can probably be called an alchemist.

It's just that I haven't successfully refined a single pill yet.

But the little girl didn't care about that and continued to speak excitedly.

"Little Yue'er has heard people say that alchemists are very powerful figures! Even in our Lanjiang City, only the Wang Family has an alchemist, and that person is an old man with a white beard. Young Master is much younger than him."

"However, Little Yue'er has also heard that alchemists use those large cauldrons when refining pills. Why are you using a large pot, Young Master?"

A series of crisp, pearl-like sounds rang out as the little girl started to chatter.

At first, it was fine. Listening to the little girl's tone of admiration for alchemists, Qin Shaofeng felt a little proud.

But as she continued, things started to go wrong, especially with the last sentence, which made Qin Shaofeng a bit embarrassed.

If it were anyone else, Qin Shaofeng would have taken it as mockery. But facing the little girl with her adoring gaze and starry eyes, Qin Shaofeng knew very well that she wasn't mocking him.

Even so, Qin Shaofeng's face flushed slightly, and he felt a little embarrassed.

It's not that your young master deliberately used this large pot; the problem is that I can't find an alchemy crucible!

But the more the little girl was like this, the more Qin Shaofeng wanted to successfully refine a Qi Replenishing Pill.

Seeing the little girl's excited and admiring look gave Qin Shaofeng motivation.

A large pot it is, then. I don't believe I really can't refine a Qi Replenishing Pill!

He took out another stalk of Qi Yuan Grass, threw it into the large pot, covered it, and then silently activated his Alchemy skill in his mind.

Alchemy!

With that silent thought in his mind, Qin Shaofeng's Inner Qi instantly dropped by 10 points, and then the familiar scene happened again.

Qin Shaofeng once again "saw" the situation inside the large cauldron.

However, this time, a thought stirred in Qin Shaofeng's mind.

The previous few times, he had just "watched" and let his Inner Qi act naturally. What if this time he controlled that small wisp of Inner Qi himself?

Although Qin Shaofeng didn't understand the general principle of refining pills, he figured it was simply the process of melting medicinal ingredients into a liquid, and then condensing that liquid into a pill, right?

If that was the case!

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and Qin Shaofeng moved slightly, beginning to try and control the small wisp of Inner Qi that had entered the large cauldron.

Unexpectedly, this attempt was successful.

It actually worked?

Qin Shaofeng rejoiced inwardly, but he didn't let his guard down.

Recalling how the Qi Yuan Grass had instantly turned to ash in the previous attempts, Qin Shaofeng carefully maneuvered that wisp of Inner Qi, approaching the Qi Yuan Grass in the large cauldron bit by bit.

This attempt really worked!

As just a little bit of Inner Qi approached, the Qi Yuan Grass not only didn't instantly burn to ashes, but it even began to melt little by little.

So that's how it is!

Seeing this, Qin Shaofeng finally understood.

It wasn't his problem, nor was it the cauldron's problem. The repeated failures in the past were simply because he hadn't controlled his Inner Qi, causing the Qi Yuan Grass to be directly burned to ash by the Inner Qi.

However, Qin Shaofeng didn't know that, in this regard, it was indeed the cauldron's fault.

Generally, alchemists refine pills using proper alchemy crucibles, because alchemy crucibles have the ability to moderate the Inner Qi released by the alchemist.

Therefore, an alchemy crucible is an indispensable item for an alchemist!