Alchemist

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Power Progression

Documented alchemist-rank progression of Xiao Yan, also known publicly as Yan Xiao.

Rank Standards

Method and Requirements

Refinement Process

1. Ingredient extraction — Herbs, Magic Cores, beast materials, and other components are burned into purified medicinal liquids or powders. Precise extraction determines how much usable essence remains 30 213.
2. Energy balancing — Components with different properties must be introduced in correct proportions and at the correct time; poorly balanced energies can destabilize or destroy the pill 178 214.
3. Pill condensation — The refined energies are compressed into a stable pill form through flame control, soul force, and Dou Qi 178 242.
4. Spirituality infusion — Tier 8 pills require spirituality. A Spirit Realm Soul can perform this step directly, though the Myriad Beast Cauldron and its spirit flame have also performed it autonomously 178 190.
5. Pill Lightning — High-tier pills may summon lightning upon completion. The lightning’s colors indicate the quality of a Tier 8 pill 179 215.

Advanced Practices

Formula Creation

• Xiao Yan creates formulas from available materials rather than merely searching for established prescriptions. 89
• His Ice-Fire Energy Gathering Pill uses Ice Spirit Cold Spring, fire-attributed materials, a Sixth-Rank Magic Core, and a Yin-Yang Flower to raise the cultivation of compatible users. 89
• He develops the Earth Nether Poison Pill from the Earth Nether Poison Flower for Xiao Yi Xian. 88 116
• The Blood-Melting Body-Tempering Pill is his first self-created Tier 8 medicinal pill. 215

Simultaneous Refinement

• Xiao Yan can divide his attention across numerous cauldrons, refining batches of low-tier pills concurrently. 47
• At Jia Nan Academy, he refines Tier 1 through Tier 5 medicinal pills simultaneously in dozens of cauldrons, while maintaining flawless quality. 171 172
• The demonstration allows alchemists of different levels to study a refinement process suited to their own rank. 172

Bare-Handed Refinement

• A sufficiently skilled alchemist can refine without a cauldron, but doing so quickly and reliably demands control far beyond ordinary standards. 247
• Xiao Yan refines a high-grade Tier 6 Imperial Extreme Pill barehanded with Fallen Heart Flame, confirming the gap between his actual ability and the pill’s grade. 247
• He later demonstrates a high-tier fifth-tier pill refinement to Dan Chen in only minutes. 317

Reforging

• Reforging improves an existing pill by melting it down and adding carefully selected materials that preserve its internal balance. 178
• The process is especially dangerous when the original formula is already highly optimized; simply adding more energy can destabilize the pill. 178
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao’s successful reforging of the Yin-Yang Profound Dragon Pill produces a genuine Tier 8 pill. 178 179

Unconventional Energy Sources

• Beast Flames are normally too violent to serve as alchemical energy sources and cannot be refined conventionally because they are flames themselves. 220 239
• Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames and Fire Spirit Body allow him to suppress, preserve, and refine Beast Flame energy rather than simply devouring it. 239
• Magical beast corpses, blood, souls, and Magic Cores can also be made into specialized pills, including the Myriad Beast Pill, Myriad Beast Blood Pill, and Beast Pill. 165 172 264

Pill Lightning

• Xiao Yan repeatedly uses the Earth Demon Puppet to endure Pill Lightning; the lightning purifies and strengthens the puppet rather than destroying it. 215 239
• A Tier 8 pill can possess strong spiritual resistance after formation, requiring the alchemist to suppress it with soul power or flames. 215 300

Notable Equipment

• Black Demon Cauldron — Yao Lao’s personal cauldron and the eighth-ranked Heavenly Cauldron. Its flame totem naturally gathers fire-attributed energy and can improve a refined pill’s quality by at least half a rank. 28
• Myriad Beast Cauldron — One of the thirteen Heavenly Cauldrons. It resonates with the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, manifests magical beast phantoms, and provides exceptional benefits to pills intended for magical beasts. 157
• Heavenly Flames — Greatly raise the temperature, success rate, and possible grade of pill refinement. They can allow an alchemist to refine beyond their usual rank. 28 294
• Fusion Heavenly Flame — Xiao Yan’s fusion of multiple Heavenly Flames; its extreme heat allows him to process Dou Venerate- and Semi-Saint-level materials. 213 297
• Three Thousand Burning Flame — Used by Xiao Yan during his Pill Tower appraisal to refine the Bodhi Pill with dragon-shaped flame-control techniques. 324 325

Organizations and Education

• Alchemist Guild — Provides rank appraisal and maintains medicinal ingredient vaults. Its formal appraisal may test soul strength, perception, flame control, and flame strength, or require the candidate to refine a pill personally. 88 323
• Jia Nan Academy — Appoints Yan Xiao as an elder and hosts his public demonstrations, where students and instructors study his techniques. 163 171 172
• Tian Shu Alliance Pill Hall — Serves as an alchemical center under Xiao Yan’s leadership, with Gu He as Hall Master and regular instructional exchange meetings. 242 257
• Tian Shu Alliance Alchemist Exchange Conference — Open to Fifth-Rank Alchemists and above; its three functions are pill refinement, technical discussion, and trade in alchemy-related goods. 262 263
• Pill Tower — A major alchemical institution that appoints Xiao Yan as an elder and oversees his public rank appraisal in Holy Pill City. 321 323