A moment later, inside the narrow cave, the flames in the medicine cauldron reflected off the stone walls, dancing wildly like clawing beasts.
Xiao Yan stared intently at the churning flames within the cauldron. His expression was calm, though his eyes were bloodshot from excessive concentration.
For an alchemist, refining medicine for long periods was an extremely Dou Qi-consuming task. If Xiao Yan's cultivation technique had still been the low-grade Yellow Tier Flame Mantra from the beginning, without the support of the Mera Mera no Mi, then lasting two hours before the medicine cauldron would already have been difficult. Both the quality and quantity of his Dou Qi would have been severely lacking.
But at this moment, Xiao Yan had long since undergone a complete transformation compared to the original timeline. His cultivation technique had advanced in rank, and controlling flames had become as easy as walking.
Two hours of medicine refinement was no more strenuous to Xiao Yan, who had broken through to Dou Zhe and was nearing Dou Shi, than a two-hour jog.
Watching Xiao Yan successfully refine another Blood-Coagulating Grass into white powder, Yao Chen narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly. It seemed Little Yan was still far from his limit. He was no longer the same as before.
His gaze shifted to several jade boxes placed near the medicine cauldron. They were filled with pale white essence extracted from Blood-Coagulating Grass, the results of Xiao Yan's previous efforts.
From left to right, the pale color grew increasingly richer. By the final jade box, the white powder had nearly reached a pure white quality, with its medicinal potency extracted to the greatest possible extent.
Practice made perfect. Nothing could have been simpler.
However, Xiao Yan had only refined the first ingredient so far. At most, it meant