Alchemy and the Jia Nan Upheaval

"Xiao Li, let this Old Man see your Heavenly Flame." Fire Elder had already squeezed his way over. As an Alchemist, he naturally cared about such things.

"Mm." Xiao Li raised his right hand, and a cluster of transparent flame appeared. The transparent fire then transformed into a Fire Serpent that coiled through Xiao Li's hand.

"Can you refine an Imperial Origin Pill now? Would you let this Old Man observe? I want to see what Alchemy with a Heavenly Flame looks like." Fire Elder was a pure Alchemist, but unfortunately, his own progress in Alchemy had not been very good.

"No problem. I was just planning to test the strength of the Heavenly Flame. Let's do it here." Xiao Li directly took out a Medicine Cauldron.

The Medicine Cauldron Xiao Li used was a Rank 7 Medicine Cauldron. Its entire body was crimson, and it was engraved with ancient Cloud Patterns.

"Oh? This is the Rank 7 Medicine Cauldron, the Fire Cloud Cauldron, which this Old Man acquired years ago. Did you take it from the Library Pavilion?" Mang Tian Ruler asked as he stroked his beard.

"Yes."

"You lucky brat. If this Old Man's family fortune weren't so substantial, you might have cleaned me out." Mang Tian Ruler laughed heartily.

"I'll start by refining a Dou Spirit Pill to get a feel for it. Hmm... where are the ingredients? I'm out of ingredients. Does the Academy have ingredients for Dou Spirit Pills?"

Xiao Li suddenly discovered that he did not have enough medicinal ingredients left. Aside from several crucial ingredients, most of them had gone into Little Dragon Emperor's stomach.

"Wait here. We'll go fetch them and be right back!" Fire Elder led a group of Alchemy Department Elders to retrieve the ingredients, while Su Qian followed along. Jia Nan Academy had collected quite a few ingredients for Imperial Origin Pills and Breaking Ancestor Pills over these past days.

There were as many as fifteen sets of ingredients for Imperial Origin Pills, while there were fewer ingredients for Breaking Ancestor Pills—only six sets.

A quarter of an hour later,

Before the Heavenly Burning Refining Tower, a cluster of transparent flame was cast into the crimson Medicine Cauldron, where it began refining the medicinal ingredients.

Boom—

"Tsk! As expected of a Heavenly Flame. Its power is incredible. Before I even got used to its intensity, one slip and I ruined all the ingredients. What a waste."

Xiao Li had yet to familiarize himself with the power of the Fallen Heart Flame. Even though he was already a Rank 6 Alchemist, mistakes still happened.

"Still, that mistake just taught me how convenient a Heavenly Flame is for refining ingredients. It takes far less effort than Beast Flame. Good, let's continue!"

Xiao Li cleared the residue from the Medicine Cauldron, then tossed another set of Dou Spirit Pill ingredients inside. Afterward, the transparent Fallen Heart Flame entered the cauldron.

This time, Xiao Li controlled the flame's intensity. The Fallen Heart Flame obediently refined the ingredients, turning the many herbs into Medicine Liquid.

Because both Xiao Li's cultivation and Soul Force had improved, and with the boost of the Heavenly Flame, refining Dou Spirit Pills had become much easier. Previously, Xiao Li's success rate in refining Dou Spirit Pills had been close to fifty percent.

Calling it a perfect success rate might have been an exaggeration, but it was definitely eighty or ninety percent now!

"Open!"

Xiao Li used Dou Qi to open the Medicine Cauldron, and a heavenly phenomenon unique to Grade 6 Pills shot straight into the sky.

Then, an emerald-green pill floated before everyone's eyes.

"Heavens! Such a heavenly phenomenon—and the quality of that Dou Spirit Pill! It's top-grade!"

No one had expected Xiao Li to refine a top-grade Dou Spirit Pill on only his second attempt.

"I didn't expect the Heavenly Flame's enhancement to be this great. No wonder." Xiao Li smiled as he stroked his chin. It truly deserved to be called a treasure of the Dou Qi Continent. Its effects were excellent.

The Elders of Jia Nan Academy, especially those who had never taken a Dou Spirit Pill, nearly drooled at the sight of it.

"Ahem, mind your image! Mind your image!" Su Qian coughed. This appearance was rather damaging to Jia Nan Academy's reputation.

"I've got a good feel for it now. Let's try refining an Imperial Origin Pill directly." Xiao Li took a Jade Bottle from his Storage Ring, poured out a Qi Xiu Pill, and swallowed it.

Qi Xiu Pills were Grade 5 consumable pills. They could somewhat accelerate the recovery of Dou Qi for even Dou Emperors and Dou Zongs, making them relatively high-grade consumable pills.

Ordinary Dou Emperors might not even have the chance to consume a Qi Xiu Pill, yet Xiao Li swallowed one without a second thought. Perhaps this was the extravagance unique to Alchemists.

Afterward, Xiao Li began a long period of pill refinement. Next, he would refine the Imperial Origin Pill, which he had never successfully refined before.

The Imperial Origin Pill was a Rank 6 Top-grade Pill. Most Rank 6 Alchemists could not refine one. A Rank 6 Alchemist like Old Wang, who could refine Imperial Origin Pills, was already among the best.

Over the next several days, heavenly phenomena frequently appeared around Jia Nan Academy. The many phenomena, large and small, drew together numerous factions from the Black Horn Region, who planned to jointly attack Jia Nan Academy in pursuit of Wealth and Glory.

Led by Old Ghost of the Earth Demon from Demon Flame Valley, many powerful figures of the Black Horn Region headed straight for Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy.

But in the end, Old Ghost of the Earth Demon saw someone who could haunt his nightmares standing there. He was so terrified that he fled in utter panic, abandoning all dignity.

Then, the Black Horn Region experts with a bit of sense clasped their hands toward Jia Nan Academy and claimed that they had merely come to observe the heavenly phenomena, only to mistakenly enter Jia Nan Academy. They begged forgiveness, then immediately fled into the distance.

The remaining fools who charged ahead were beaten to death by Jia Nan Academy's Elders, and all of them were hung from the Death Spirit Tree in Peace Town.

As the saying went:

Jia Nan's phenomena shook the Black Horn lands, and the Black Horn demons raised the smoke of war. The demons gathered to plot against Jia Nan, intending to share Wealth and Glory alike. Earth Demon spotted Tian Ruler, then ran home without looking back. Those with brains all pleaded mistake, and when disaster came, each fled for himself. The brainless charged ahead in fury, where blades flashed and blood sprayed. A string of ropes hung from the Death Spirit Tree, and from then on, brothers were joined at heart.

The Black Horn demons attacked Jia Nan; the clever fled while the fools charged. Where blades flashed, blood splashed, and souls fled, sworn brothers rejoiced upon the Death Spirit Tree.

(I just wrote these silly verses for fun. The author isn't very talented, so this is all I can manage. Just have a laugh. The longer one above was written by me; the shorter one afterward was written by one of my group admins.)

"Phew—"

Xiao Li had been completely immersed in pill refinement, his attention focused entirely on the Medicine Cauldron. Only after refining an Imperial Origin Pill did he prepare to rest before refining more pills.

When Xiao Li looked up, he saw that every Elder was stained with blood, and each carried Killing Intent.

"What happened?" Xiao Li asked blankly.

"Nothing much. A few blind bugs were buzzing around, but they've all been dealt with now." Su Qian patted Xiao Li on the shoulder. At that moment, Su Qian's left cheek and clothes were covered in blood that had not yet dried, making him look somewhat frightening.

"Bugs? Forget it, I won't think about it. After absorbing the Fallen Heart Flame, my Alchemy has improved greatly. Before, I was probably only at the entry level of Rank 6. Now, my Alchemy is at least Rank 6 Advanced."

Xiao Li was still more concerned with his Alchemy. It was tied to whether he could extend Old Wang's life and whether he could raise the Xiao Clan to another level.

"Hehe, boy Xiao Li is too modest. Your Soul Force has reached the Mortal Realm Late Stage. One more step, and you'll reach the Mortal Realm Peak. Oh, perhaps you do not know how Soul Realm levels are divided.

"There are four Soul Realms: Mortal Realm, Spirit Realm, Heaven Realm, and God Realm. The Soul Realm of most people, even Alchemists below the Eighth Grade, remains in the Mortal Realm.

"Your Mortal Realm Late Stage is equivalent to a Rank 7 Intermediate Alchemist. It is only that your Alchemy and Dou Qi cultivation remain at the Rank 6 level.

"You have plenty of room to improve. At any rate, before you begin refining Rank 7 Intermediate Pills, you will not encounter the problem of insufficient Soul Realm. Moreover, once you break through to Dou Emperor, your Soul Force will rise again.

"When you break through to Dou Zong, hehe, your soul may even reach the Spirit Realm. Reaching the Spirit Realm would put you at the level of an Eighth Grade Alchemist."

Mang Tian Ruler gave Xiao Li an introduction to the knowledge of Alchemists' souls.

"Thank you for your guidance, Headmaster." Xiao Li clasped his hands in thanks.