Cauldron Furnace Alchemy

"Whew, that caused quite a stir!"

Exhaling a scorching breath, Lin Yiqing looked at the raging flames surrounding him with a wry smile, then began to clean up the mess he had made.

This "Sun Qi" was truly too overbearing; the mere moment it appeared, it had turned the surroundings into a sea of fire, and that was even while it was restraining its divine might.

However, just like before, fortunately, the Mysterious Light Orb had sealed off the surrounding space, allowing the phenomenon to manifest only within a radius of a dozen or so feet without causing any trouble.

The only thing Lin Yiqing needed to tidy up was to extinguish the surrounding flames.

By nightfall, Lin Yiqing found a nearby cave to use as a base.

For a cultivator, cultivation is as much about the heart as it is about the practice.

He did not resist enjoyment, but he was not the type who refused to wear anything but fine silks or eat anything but delicacies.

He could also accept hardship; whether it was wind, frost, rain, or snow, or sleeping under the open sky, he did not care as long as it was all in the service of cultivation and refining his heart.

His only path was his intent; he lived for the Dao.

When he first stepped onto this path of cultivation, he had long since come to this realization.

The cave was not large, spanning only a few feet, and a giant rock protruding diagonally overhead provided excellent shelter from the wind.

Lin Yiqing lit a campfire, then took the Bronze Cauldron out of his Universe Bag and placed it on the ground to examine it carefully.

After several days of study, he discovered that this alchemy furnace was very similar to the ones he had seen in his past life. It had two inner chambers: the upper one for refining medicine and condensing pills, and the lower one for divine fire to assist in combustion.

As for the furnace lid, it was used to vent waste gases during alchemy, and the slots on both sides also served a purpose: to dissipate excess heat.

High heat for refining, low heat for tempering; there were specific techniques for speed and timing, and this all depended on the alchemist's control over the flames.

Having recently obtained quite a few spiritual herbs, Lin Yiqing had long been calculating how to turn them into pills.

Now that the cauldron was in place, the spiritual herbs were sufficient, and he had even obtained the introductory alchemy knowledge taught by the Heavenly Book, he could finally give it a try.

Opening the furnace mouth, he took several Yang Yuan Stones and placed them into the lower chamber of the cauldron. He channeled his overbearing and scorching Sun True Qi into them, then used a secret technique to ignite the Yang Gang Qi within the stones, instantly producing a cluster of crimson flames.

With a wave of his sleeve, his spiritual power carried the nearby box of spiritual herbs over. Lin Yiqing took out the beast crystal of the Heaven Origin Realm Black Iron Profound Leopard he had obtained earlier and sent it into the center of the flames to refine.

Lin Yiqing focused his entire attention, not daring to let his spiritual power slacken for even a second. The temperature of the flame fueled by the Yang Gang Qi in the Yang Yuan Stones was extremely high; the slightest carelessness would surely destroy the beast crystal.

Slowly, the beast crystal began to melt under the high heat. The dripping impurities were instantly consumed by the flames, and wisps of black smoke rose from the cauldron.

When the beast crystal melted into a milky white substance, Lin Yiqing slightly lifted his right hand, and a surge of spiritual power instantly sent it into the upper inner chamber to continue refining.

At the same time, his left hand produced a spiritual mushroom that was entirely purple with golden edges, and he gently sent it into the flames.

A fourth-grade spiritual herb: Purple Yang Mushroom.

When he obtained this spiritual herb, Lin Yiqing had already conceived of this pill; he wanted to use the medicinal properties of this Purple Yang Mushroom to refine a batch of pills for Heaven Origin Realm cultivators.

The beast crystal of that Heaven Origin Realm beast contained a massive amount of Yang Gang Qi, but unfortunately, it was extremely violent and impure, making it impossible for humans to consume.

This Purple Yang Mushroom also contained a trace of Yang Gang Qi, but because of its mild medicinal properties, it could combine the two, and with the addition of other herbs to neutralize them, it achieved the effect of a sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy.

This was the pill he intended to refine!

As soon as the Purple Yang Mushroom entered the fire, it was violently engulfed. Lin Yiqing remained calm and unhurried; with a movement of his mind, he channeled his Yuan power, causing the flames to shrink slightly as they began to slowly burn away the dross and leave behind the essence.

Although this was his first time using a cauldron to refine pills, Lin Yiqing's powerful spiritual energy perfectly controlled the rhythm of the entire process, and each spiritual herb was added in an orderly fashion.

A moment later, seeing that the essence of the spiritual herbs had all been extracted, Lin Yiqing moved his spiritual power to lift the essence of the Purple Yang Mushroom into the upper inner chamber.

By now, the beast crystal had long since lost its original form, leaving only a mass of milky white, viscous liquid churning and rolling in the inner chamber.

As Lin Yiqing focused his mind, the two masses of essence suddenly merged together, the milky white and purple colors intertwining and churning.

"Hiss!"

White mist rose. Lin Yiqing hurriedly waved his right hand, lifting the remaining low-grade spiritual herb essences from the lower chamber and sending them into the upper chamber one by one.

As these essences were added, the two churning masses began to fuse and solidify, their color becoming increasingly deep.

"Condense the pill!"

Seeing that the moment had arrived, Lin Yiqing let out a sharp shout in his heart. The entire mass of solidified essence inside the cauldron suddenly burst, turning into individual, irregular spherical shapes that rolled along the inner chamber of the cauldron.

As they rolled, they became rounder, finally taking on the appearance of pills.

At this point, Lin Yiqing could finally relax his entire body, and he sat cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

The entire refining process required not only his undivided attention to use his spiritual power to adjust the essences but also the continuous output of Yuan power to control the temperature. It could be said that this requirement alone barred too many people from learning alchemy.

Not to mention that the mainstream method currently involved using the Yuan power of cultivators at the corresponding realm to condense the pills!

"Whew~"

As the furnace fire slowly died out, Lin Yiqing stood up and opened the lid. A cloud of white mist rose instantly, and a rich, dense medicinal fragrance lingered in the air.

As the pill mist dissipated, Lin Yiqing looked at the seven pale purple pills, each the size of a dragon's eye, inside the inner chamber. He couldn't help but show joy on his face and thought to himself, "It worked!"

Gathering them into a porcelain bottle, Lin Yiqing couldn't resist taking one out to examine it closely in his palm before gently popping it into his mouth.

As the pill entered his stomach, a gentle medicinal power began to disperse throughout his body. After Lin Yiqing circulated his cultivation technique for a moment, he felt that his cultivation had increased by another notch.

"Hmm, the medicinal power is mild and the effect is excellent. It can restore Yuan power and heal wounds. Not bad!"

Looking at the pill in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia; the last time he had refined pills himself, he had used an iron pot to make pills for the Body Tempering Realm.

Since leaving the Lin Family, his entire being—from his strength to his skills—had undergone a heaven-turning, earth-shattering transformation in such a short span of time!

Putting away the furnace and ending his meditation, Lin Yiqing stepped out of the cave just as the sky began to brighten, and the birds and beasts within the mountain forest started to stir.

In the distance, he even spotted the tracks of a demonic beast; clearly, it had been drawn there by the fragrance of the pill.

However, Lin Yiqing couldn't be bothered with them for the moment, as he needed to make a trip to Yan City first.

After discerning his direction, he took a light leap, his sleeves fluttering as a silver ribbon of light flew beneath his feet. A closer look revealed it to be the Azure Steel Sword, which had lifted him into the air!

Although his current level of Yuan power cultivation did not yet allow him to fly through the sky, his status as a Second Seal Rune Master enabled him to ride his sword dozens of feet off the ground!

The young cultivator had already begun to reveal his sharp edge!