"Whew, that made quite a racket!"
Lin Yiqing exhaled a stream of scorching breath. Looking at the raging flames all around him, he wore a wry smile, then set about cleaning up the mess he had made.
The Sun Qi was simply too domineering. The instant it appeared, it had turned the surrounding area into a sea of fire—and that was with its power restrained.
Still, just as before, fortunately, the Mysterious Light Orb had sealed off the space around him. The phenomenon had only spread a dozen or so yards, so it hadn't caused any trouble.
All Lin Yiqing needed to do afterward was put out the surrounding flames.
That night, Lin Yiqing picked a nearby cave at random and made it his base.
Cultivation was a pursuit of both strength and the heart.
He didn't reject comfort, but neither did he insist on fine clothes or delicacies.
He could endure bitter cold, too. Whether facing wind, frost, rain, or snow, or sleeping under the open sky, he didn't mind, so long as it all served his cultivation and the honing of his heart.
He held to a single thought: to live for the Dao.
He had long since come to terms with what this path of cultivation entailed.
The cave wasn't large, extending only a few yards or so. A massive stone jutting diagonally from the ceiling provided excellent protection from the wind.
Lin Yiqing lit a campfire, then took the Bronze Cauldron from his Universe Bag and set it on the ground, studying it carefully.
After several days of research, he had found that this pill cauldron closely resembled the ones he had seen in his previous life. It had two inner chambers: the upper one was for refining medicine and condensing pills, while the lower one supplied the divine flame.
The lid was used to vent waste gases produced during pill refinement. The slots on either side also served a purpose, allowing excess heat to escape.
A fierce flame for refining, a gentle flame for tempering—whether fast or slow, everything required precision. It all came down to the alchemist's control over the fire.
He had recently acquired quite a few spirit medicines, and had long been considering how to turn them into pills.
Now that the cauldron was ready and the spirit medicines plentiful—and with the Heavenly Book's introductory knowledge of the Dao of alchemy to guide him—he could finally give it a try.
He opened the cauldron and placed several Yang Yuan Stones in its lower chamber. Then, he poured in his domineering, scorching Sun True Qi and used a secret art to ignite the Yang Gang Qi within the stones. In an instant, a cluster of crimson flames sprang to life.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he drew over the box of spirit medicines with his spiritual power. Lin Yiqing took out the Monster Crystal of the Heaven Origin Realm Black Iron Profound Leopard he had obtained earlier, then sent it into the heart of the flames to refine.
Lin Yiqing remained focused throughout, not daring to let his spiritual power waver in the slightest. The flames, fueled by the Yang Gang Qi in the Yang Yuan Stones, burned at an extremely high temperature. The slightest mistake would destroy the Monster Crystal.
Gradually, the Monster Crystal began to melt under the intense heat. The impurities that dripped away were instantly devoured by the flames, and wisps of black smoke rose from the cauldron.
When the Monster Crystal had melted into a milky-white liquid, Lin Yiqing raised his right hand slightly. A surge of spiritual power carried it into the upper chamber to continue refining.
At the same time, he took out a spirit mushroom with a deep purple body and golden edges in his left hand, then gently sent it into the flames.
A fourth-grade spirit medicine: Purple Yang Mushroom.
When he had obtained it, Lin Yiqing had already begun planning this batch of pills. He intended to use the Purple Yang Mushroom's medicinal properties to refine a batch of pills for Heaven Origin Realm cultivators.
The Monster Crystal of the Heaven Origin Realm beast contained a large amount of Yang Gang Qi. Unfortunately, it was extremely violent and impure, making it unsuitable for human consumption.
The Purple Yang Mushroom also contained a trace of Yang Gang Qi. But because its medicinal properties were mild, it could be combined with the Monster Crystal, then balanced with other spirit medicines to achieve the proper harmony between principal and supporting ingredients.
That was the pill he intended to refine!
The moment the Purple Yang Mushroom entered the flames, they swallowed it up. Lin Yiqing remained unhurried. With a shift of his mind, he poured out a little of his vital essence, causing the flames to contract slightly. They began to slowly burn away its dross, leaving only its essence.
Though this was his first time refining pills with a cauldron, Lin Yiqing's formidable spiritual power let him control the entire process perfectly. One spirit medicine after another went in, each in its proper order.
A moment later, once all the medicinal essences had been extracted, Lin Yiqing moved his spiritual power and carried the Purple Yang Mushroom's essence into the upper chamber.
By then, the Monster Crystal no longer looked as it had before. All that remained was a mass of thick, milky-white liquid, churning and rolling inside the chamber.
With a shift of Lin Yiqing's mind, the two essences suddenly merged. Milky white and purple interwove and churned together.
"Pssht!"
White smoke rose. Lin Yiqing hurriedly swept his right hand, lifting the essences of the remaining low-grade spirit medicines from the lower chamber and sending them one by one into the upper chamber.
Once these medicinal essences were added, the two interwoven masses began to blend and solidify, their color growing steadily deeper.
"Condense!"
Lin Yiqing sensed the moment had come and gave a sharp command in his mind. The entire mass of solidified essence in the cauldron's inner chamber burst apart, becoming individual, irregular spheres that rolled around inside.
As they rolled, they grew rounder, finally taking on the shape of pills.
At last, Lin Yiqing could relax. He sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
The entire process required him to use his spiritual power with unwavering concentration to adjust the medicinal essences. He also had to continuously expend vital essence to control the temperature. That alone was enough to keep many people from ever learning alchemy.
And that was before even considering that the mainstream method was to condense pills using the vital essence of a cultivator at the corresponding realm!
"Whew..."
Once the flames had slowly died down, Lin Yiqing rose and opened the lid. A cloud of white vapor billowed out, carrying a remarkably rich pill fragrance that filled his nostrils.
When the vapor cleared, he saw seven pale purple pills, each about the size of a longan, inside the chamber. Unable to hide his delight, he thought, Success!
He gathered them into a porcelain bottle, then couldn't resist taking one out to examine in his palm. After a moment, he slipped it into his mouth and swallowed it.
As the pill entered his stomach, a gentle medicinal force spread through his body. After circulating his cultivation technique for a while, Lin Yiqing felt his cultivation improve once more.
"Mm, the medicinal properties are mild, and the effects are excellent. It can restore vital essence as well as heal injuries. Not bad!"
Looking at the pill in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a little wistful. The last time he had made pills, he had used an iron pot, and they had only been for the Body Tempering Realm.
In the short time since leaving the Lin Family, everything about him—from his strength to his skills—had undergone a world-shaking transformation!
After putting away the cauldron and finishing his breathing exercises, Lin Yiqing walked out of the cave. The sky had begun to brighten, and the birds and beasts in the forest were already stirring.
He even spotted traces of a beast nearby. Clearly, it had been drawn by the pill fragrance.
But for now, Lin Yiqing couldn't be bothered with them. He had to visit Yan City first.
After identifying the direction, he leaped lightly into the air. His sleeves fluttered, and a silver streak flew beneath his feet. A closer look revealed that the Azure Steel Sword was carrying him skyward!
Although his current cultivation level in vital essence wasn't enough to let him fly through the air, his cultivation as a Two-Seal Symbol Master allowed him to ride his sword dozens of yards above the ground!
The young cultivator was already beginning to show his brilliance!
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