A First-Grade Mid-Level Alchemist (Seeking Follow-Ups and Monthly Votes)

Inside the earthfire chamber, the earthfire surged high as another spirit incantation was cast.

The spiritual patterns on the pill furnace suddenly dimmed.

The earthfire gradually receded as well.

With a beckoning gesture from Ye Jingcheng, the pill furnace landed in his hand.

The furnace lid flew up in turn, revealing ten incomparably plump Spirit Feeding Pills.

"I finally refined a full batch!"

Ye Jingcheng was overjoyed. Upon entering the earthfire chamber, he had not immediately begun refining Body Tempering Pills and Azure Spirit Pills. Instead, he had chosen the more familiar Spirit Feeding Pills to improve his feel for alchemy.

This was already his third batch. The first two had both succeeded, while this third batch had produced a full batch of pills, greatly boosting his confidence.

"See that? That's how you control the fire if you want to refine pills like this!" Ye Jingcheng took out a Spirit Feeding Pill and placed it beside the Crimson Flame Fox's mouth, then brought out a bowl of spring water.

The Crimson Flame Fox nodded with remarkable human-like understanding, then swallowed both the Spirit Feeding Pill and the spring water.

Ye Jingcheng turned around and began wiping down the pill furnace again, warming the furnace anew.

The pill furnace soon became scorching hot, its surface spiritual patterns lighting up ring by ring in a regular rhythm.

Ye Jingcheng set the pill furnace aside again and sat cross-legged to cultivate and nourish his mind.

Alchemy consumed mental energy, and it could not be rapidly restored in a short time.

Still, meditating for a while was more beneficial for the alchemy to come, and it also ensured that his rest time would not go to waste.

After cultivating through several cycles, some of his mental energy had recovered, and only then did he awaken in satisfaction.

The moment he woke, he took out a jade slip and began studying it.

This time, he intended to attempt refining Body Tempering Pills.

Although he had watched the accelerated refining processes for both Azure Spirit Pills and Body Tempering Pills, Azure Spirit Pills required five more types of spiritual herbs than Body Tempering Pills and were far more complex to refine.

He was currently at the crucial point of breaking through to become a first-grade mid-level alchemist, so naturally, it was better to choose the simpler option.

Ye Jingcheng studied the jade slip containing the pill formula for a full half-hour.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the Crimson Flame Fox had opened its mouth wide and was breathing out flames.

Yet the flames would occasionally condense into fireballs and shoot into the earthfire, turning into even higher waves of flame.

After stopping, the Crimson Flame Fox needed to gather itself for quite some time before it could begin again.

Clearly, his direction was correct, but the Crimson Flame Fox was still too young.

However, Ye Jingcheng believed that if he continued guiding it this way, it might be able to assist with alchemy even before reaching the late stage of the first grade.

Without the restrictions of the earthfire chamber, his alchemy would improve even faster.

Ye Jingcheng took out the jade slip containing his previous notes and read through it from beginning to end once more. Only after ensuring there were no mistakes did he finally begin refining.

His method of warming the furnace had grown increasingly proficient. As spiritual herbs fell into the furnace one after another, Ye Jingcheng's brow gradually furrowed.

The next moment, a burnt smell wafted out, and the pill furnace's spiritual patterns dimmed.

"Failed." Ye Jingcheng remained extremely calm. He retrieved the pill furnace and carefully examined the pill dregs within, comparing them against the records in the jade slip containing the pill formula. Finally, he stored the dregs properly in a jade bottle.

Having become an alchemist, he would inevitably need to cultivate spiritual herbs in the future. Though these pill dregs could not be consumed, mixing them into the soil could enhance the soil's spiritual properties.

Naturally, he would not waste them.

Next, Ye Jingcheng took out the jade slip again and continued recording and deducing.

Only after confirming that there were no issues did he open the furnace once more.

As the earthfire surged high again, Ye Jingcheng began his second attempt.

Yet the second attempt still failed, leaving behind a pile of useless dregs in the furnace!

Ye Jingcheng was not discouraged and refined another batch, but his third attempt also failed!

The fourth attempt failed as well!

Until the fifth attempt.

The pill furnace spun at high speed, the spiritual patterns upon it blooming like flowers, vividly alive amid the flames.

Ye Jingcheng cast the final spirit incantation. The pill furnace flew out steadily and settled above his palm with a muffled thud.

The pill cauldron opened, revealing three incomparably round and lustrous Body Tempering Pills lying within.

With a beckoning gesture, the Body Tempering Pills fell into his hand. He pinched them between his fingers and inspected them carefully before finally confirming that they matched the description in the jade slip exactly.

"I finally succeeded!" Ye Jingcheng let out a long breath, his face brimming with delight.

This also meant that he had become a first-grade mid-level alchemist. Among the Ye Family's more than one hundred cultivators, there were only three first-grade high-level alchemists, while fewer than ten had reached the first-grade mid-level!

Ye Jingcheng took out a pill bottle and stored all three Body Tempering Pills away, only to hear the sound of bells ringing outside.

Clearly, Ninth Elder Ye Haitian had already begun urging them.

Ye Jingcheng continued wiping down the pill furnace and warming it once more. After tidying up the alchemy room as well, he finally left it.

At this moment, the others had already begun selling the spiritual pills on their persons.

Ye Jingcheng also took out the Spirit Feeding Pills he had refined earlier and exchanged them for twenty contribution points in total.

This time, Ye Haitian did not ask Ye Jingcheng how many Spirit Feeding Pills he had refined.

After returning to his small courtyard, Ye Jingcheng took out the jade slip once more, comparing its contents and recording his observations.

Successfully refining a batch once did not mean he was steady at it. If he succeeded only once in five attempts, he would still be losing spirit stones overall.

Only by summing up his experience and successfully refining pills every time in the future could he truly make money.

The following year became increasingly dull. Ye Jingcheng's life remained a simple two-point line.

He cultivated for several days, then headed to the earthfire chamber, where the Crimson Flame Fox practiced controlling fire.

Meanwhile, he refined spirit pills. And whether it was coincidence or something else, he discovered that every time he went to the Earthfire Hall, Ye Haiyun was there refining pills as well.

The pills he refined were also Body Tempering Pills and Azure Spirit Pills!

Through this constant studying and summarizing, Ye Jingcheng's alchemy experience grew ever richer.

Out of every five furnaces, he could successfully refine Body Tempering Pills in three; out of every five furnaces of Azure Spirit Pills, he could successfully refine two!

As for Spirit Feeding Pills, he almost never failed!

It was precisely the Spirit Feeding Pills that supported his refinement of the other pills.

As for the two types of spirit pills, Azure Spirit Pills and Body Tempering Pills, he rarely sold them outside.

Almost all of them went into his and the Crimson Flame Fox's stomachs.

And among all these spirit pills, the Crimson Flame Fox changed the most. The little fox from before was gone; now it was a fire fox as large as an Azure Cloud Wolf!

Its fur was crimson as flame, rippling continuously in the wind like a blazing inferno.

On its forehead, two striking bars of spirit markings had begun to appear.

Its strength had reached a level close to that of a late first-rank demonic beast, making it far stronger than Ye Jingcheng. In every spar, Ye Jingcheng could only end up being sent flying by the Crimson Flame Fox's charge!

What satisfied him was that the Ye Family had never once asked about the Crimson Flame Fox's changes, as though they had already forgotten about it.

Ye Jingcheng was more than happy with this situation. Supported by Azure Spirit Pills, his cultivation progressed much faster than before. The only drawback was that pill toxins had begun accumulating within his body.

As for the ancient book's spiritual radiance, he discovered that it could now fill two whole pages, seemingly related to the blood pact he had formed with the Crimson Flame Fox!

Then, on this day, a sound-transmission talisman appeared before Ye Jingcheng. Rarely, it had been sent by the Ye Family's current patriarch, Ye Xingliu.

And its tone was exceedingly urgent!