Little Bing

Xiao Family Back Mountain, inside a quiet, secluded cave.

After sending Xiao Yan away, Xiao Bai came here alone. As for the auction, he had no interest.

In the original work, the only thing of slightly higher value at this auction seemed to be a Black Rank cultivation method, the "Wind Scroll," which was bought by the Jia Lie Family.

There was also the "shoddy" second-tier pill refined by Yao Lao—Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

He had no use for any of those things, so why would he go? With that time, he might as well practice alchemy and accumulate some experience.

After Xiao Bai sat down on the boulder where he usually cultivated, a bit of excitement stirred in his heart. He took out the Ebony Cauldron and placed it on the ground, then took out the medicinal herbs as well, arranging them one by one.

Alchemy was meticulous work and could not be rushed. During the time Xiao Bai spent arranging the herbs, his mood slowly calmed, becoming still as water.

After finishing with the herbs, he carefully read through the alchemy basics and pill formula Yao Lao had given him once more, constantly thinking about where he should start.

After all, what he was using was not any proper alchemy method.

However, after pondering for a while, Xiao Bai discovered that with his current Alchemy Knowledge, no matter how much he thought, he would not be able to come up with anything clever. He could only put aside his thoughts and plan to use the stupidest method.

—Force it!

There was a saying from his previous life that put it well: what you get from paper will always feel shallow; to truly understand, you must do it yourself! Only through practice could he discover what problems would appear.

If there were problems, then he would try to solve them bit by bit during the process. Otherwise, as a complete alchemy novice, no matter how he looked, he would not be able to see anything useful.

Xiao Bai acted as soon as he decided. He did things with swift decisiveness. Although he liked to plan before moving, once he made up his mind, he began.

The first step in alchemy was to extract the Medicinal Essence from the medicinal herbs.

Xiao Bai mobilized a thread of Bing Fire Yang Thunder from within his body and sent it into the Ebony Cauldron to maintain it. With Soul Strength, he picked up a Purple Yang Fruit and carefully placed it into the cauldron, slowly moving it closer to the flickering Bing Fire Yang Thunder inside.

Crackle!

The moment the Purple Yang Fruit in the cauldron touched the Bing Fire Yang Thunder, it was struck black. Xiao Bai took it out of the cauldron and held it in his hand. With a gentle pinch, the charred Purple Yang Fruit turned to powder and fell from between his fingers.

How was this a Purple Yang Fruit? It was clearly a piece of charcoal!

Xiao Bai's expression darkened a little. This was already the smallest amount of Bing Fire Yang Thunder he could control, yet even this tiny thread of Bing Fire Yang Thunder was more than the Purple Yang Fruit could withstand. Then what pill was he supposed to refine?

Thinking of how the alchemy basics mentioned that after Fire Attribute Dou Qi was poured into a Medicine Cauldron to produce flame, one had to mobilize the Wood Attribute within the body to neutralize the Dou Qi flame in order to make it more lasting, Xiao Bai planned to try a second time. He tossed another Purple Yang Fruit into the cauldron, first mobilizing a thread of Bing Fire Yang Thunder, then mobilizing a thread of Yi Wood Positive Thunder and merging it in.

However, the instant the Bing Fire Yang Thunder came into contact with the Yi Wood Positive Thunder, its power doubled. With double the Lightning attribute, and wood feeding fire, the Bing Fire Qi became even more violent.

After taking one look, Xiao Bai directly dispersed the lightning without sending it into the cauldron.

This was damn well even more powerful than before. There was no need to test what would happen if he put it into the cauldron. What he got would definitely be charcoal even more burnt than before, not Medicinal Essence.

"What's going on?"

Xiao Bai rubbed his chin in some confusion and fell into deep thought.

If one said that flames transformed from Dou Qi were not too powerful and would not scorch the medicinal herbs, that could still make sense. But Heavenly Flames were not weak either!

Heavenly Flames could be used for alchemy without turning medicinal herbs into charcoal, so why was this the result on his end?

"Could it be that my control over lightning isn't good enough?"

Xiao Bai mobilized a thread of Bing Fire Yang Thunder and wrapped it around his fingertip, silently watching the flickering lightning as he muttered.

For the moment, Xiao Bai was no longer in a hurry to try alchemy. He felt he should first adjust the way he controlled lightning.

The way he had controlled the lightning inside his body before was always by thinking about how to make it as powerful as possible. The Bing Fire Yang Thunder in his body had not been fully refined yet, and he had not carefully studied this Thunder Seed either.

But using that method for alchemy now was clearly not going to work. Simply put, his technique was too crude.

Soul Power at the Mortal Realm Late Stage burst forth and probed into that wisp of Bing Fire Yang Thunder at his fingertip. His Soul Strength was not harmed.

The portion of Soul Strength he released sensed a tingling, searing feeling, and it was actually quite comfortable.

Xiao Bai carefully sensed this wisp of Bing Fire Yang Thunder, wondering if he could separate the Bing Fire Qi and lightning that had merged together. If he could separate them, then alchemy would be much simpler.

But after several attempts, Xiao Bai discovered that it would not work. These two things had now merged at the source. At present, there was only one source, and with his current strength, it was impossible for him to accomplish that step.

"Since I can't separate them, then I'll try suppressing the lightning at the center and preserving the Bing Fire Qi on the outside!" Xiao Bai thought silently.

He tried to split off part of his Soul Strength to control the Lightning attribute within it, guiding it toward the center.

Then he used another portion of Soul Strength to try to control the Bing Fire Qi, gathering it toward the outer layer. This way, he would not have to separate the Bing Fire Yang Thunder and could still use the outer Bing Fire for alchemy.

At first, Xiao Bai still seemed somewhat clumsy. After all, this placed extremely high demands on his use of Soul Strength, practically requiring Using one mind for three purposes. He had to control the Lightning attribute, control the Fire Attribute, and also split off part of his mind to maintain the overall balance.

However, as time passed, he felt increasingly proficient.

Within that wisp of Bing Fire Yang Thunder on his fingertip, its surface now looked like a swaying Scarlet Flame. Only when one drew closer would they discover that at the center of the flame, there was a Red Thunder Orb bobbing within, remarkably beautiful.

A trace of lightning would also occasionally flicker over that Scarlet Flame. This was not because Xiao Bai's soul control was lacking.

Rather, the two shared one source. It was impossible for the lightning within the outer flame to disappear completely, just as it was impossible for the thunder orb at the center to turn into Silver Lightning. Reaching this point was already the limit.

Although he had successfully achieved his expectation, Xiao Bai was not happy at this moment. Instead, he was a little dumbfounded.

To maintain the Bing Fire Yang Thunder in this state, he had to keep Using one mind for three purposes, which consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy. He felt that he could not maintain this state for too long.

Next, alchemy would also require Soul Perception. That meant Using one mind for four purposes. Who the hell could stand that?!

Besides, alchemy was not something that could be accomplished overnight. It required controlling the flame temperature for long periods, sensing the state of the medicinal herbs, and it also consumed a great deal of mental energy.

"What should I do?"

Xiao Bai's thoughts raced as he tried to figure out how to solve this problem.

But after thinking for a long while, Xiao Bai still felt as if he had nowhere to start.

"If only the Bing Fire Yang Thunder could maintain this state on its own?" After getting nowhere for quite some time, Xiao Bai murmured.

Suddenly, he sensed a slight movement inside his body, and Xiao Bai hurriedly began Inspecting oneself internally.

He discovered that the Bing Fire Yang Thunder in his heart seemed to have sensed his thoughts, or perhaps sensed the state of the wisp of Bing Fire Yang Thunder at his fingertip, and had begun to change on its own.

Could this thing transform into the same state as the wisp of Bing Fire Yang Thunder at his fingertip?

Xiao Bai was a little pleasantly surprised. He watched with faint anticipation, maintaining the state of the thunder at his fingertip, and silently said, "Little Bing, good boy, you can do it!"