Alchemy Begins!

Yao Lao was astonished. Even if Xiao Yan possessed heaven-defying talent and cultivated far faster than ordinary people, he could still turn the mundane into the miraculous even with an ordinary cultivation technique.

But this rate of absorbing the energy of heaven and earth was at least at the Xuan rank!

Could a single Peach Blossom Fire Seed possess such a level of power, or was it...

Seeing Xiao Yan open his eyes, Yao Lao could no longer suppress the doubt and shock in his heart. He grabbed Xiao Yan's wrist.

The moment he sensed the vast Dou Qi vortex within Xiao Yan, Yao Lao confirmed the rank of his cultivation technique. "Xuan rank! It's Xuan rank! A low-grade Xuan-rank Flame Mantra!"

Immediately afterward, Yao Lao let out an exceedingly surprised sound. "Didn't you fuse the Mystic Yellow Flame condensed from Dou Qi? Could fusing with a fifth-rank beast flame allow the Flame Mantra to evolve to the Xuan rank?"

Yao Lao could not help wondering whether the senior who had created the Flame Mantra had played a joke on later generations. Perhaps this miraculous Flame Mantra only needed to devour beast flames in order to rapidly advance in rank?

But that did not seem right either. How could an ordinary beast flame contain enough energy to make it evolve?

"Teacher, I already told you, this is a new Flame Mantra." Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly. Extending his right hand, he channeled Dou Qi into it, and a cluster of profound mystic-yellow flames abruptly appeared. "Could the original Flame Mantra have cultivated the Mystic Yellow Flame I possess?"

Yao Lao nodded slightly and released Xiao Yan's wrist. The Flame Mantra had indeed undergone tremendous changes in this little fellow's hands.

"Then how did your cultivation technique advance in rank?" Even as an eighth-rank alchemist, Yao Lao was utterly baffled.

Xiao Yan stood up and lazily stretched. His bones crackled loudly throughout his body.

Feeling the indescribable vigor and fullness coursing through him, Xiao Yan smiled. "Naturally, it was improved once again."

"The Flame Mantra can advance in rank by fusing with Heavenly Flames. That is indeed extremely strange, but perhaps the senior who created it had reached the end of his lifespan, so the Flame Mantra he created was somewhat incomplete."

Yao Lao greatly agreed with this. At merely low-grade Yellow rank, it was practically impossible for anyone cultivating such a technique to endure the agony of fusing with a Heavenly Flame.

Any genius capable of cultivating it successfully would hardly lack a high-level cultivation technique. Who would risk near-certain death?

Xiao Yan raised a hand and rubbed his nose. "If the Flame Mantra's initial rank could be raised to high-grade Heaven rank while retaining the effect of advancing through fusing with Heavenly Flames, allowing it to surpass the pinnacle of cultivation techniques on the Dou Qi Continent, then such a technique would be the Flame Mantra's complete form."

"Ever since I condensed the Mystic Yellow Flame, this Flame Mantra has become vastly different from before. After cultivating for the past three days, I gained many insights and made further changes. The Great Flame Mantra now begins at around high-grade Yellow rank. Advancing to the Xuan rank after fusing with a beast flame is only natural."

Yao Lao: "..."

What kind of heaven-defying comprehension of cultivation techniques was this?

He had even made such sweeping modifications to a technique as miraculous as the Flame Mantra!

"I see." Though stormy waves had already risen in Yao Lao's heart, he nodded with a calm expression.

The upcoming alchemy was the real main event.

Having powerful flames was useless if one could not control them properly. For alchemy, it would only be a disaster.

Xiao Yan naturally knew that Yao Lao was putting on an act.

This teacher of his was somewhat old-fashioned and did not want to lose face before his student.

Yao Lao said in a deep voice, "Take out the medicinal cauldron. Begin preparing to refine medicine."

He tapped his finger against his storage ring. A faint glow flashed across the pale-red ring, and a red medicinal cauldron nearly half a meter tall appeared out of thin air within the cave.

This medicinal cauldron had originally been merchandise at the Mittel Family auction house in Teran City, but due to the small number of alchemists, it had sat there for several months.

For the profit-first Mittel Family, anything that failed to sell was a loss.

The moment they heard there was demand in Wutan City, they had it escorted over overnight.

The entire medicinal cauldron was dark red, with faint gleaming specks upon its surface. Two ferocious snake heads were carved near its base, their wide-open mouths forming two interconnected fire channels.

The channels twisted and wound about. The deeper they went, the narrower their diameter became. Looking within, one could vaguely sense that they concealed some mystery.

At the top of the medicinal cauldron, a giant snake coiled into a dark-red lid. There was also a special opening in the lid, specifically meant for inserting medicinal ingredients.

Fine, dense holes forged from ice silver were scattered across the lid. They served to dissipate heat and prevent the cauldron from exploding due to excessive temperature.

A transparent panel made of ice essence was set into the middle of the medicinal cauldron. Through it, one could clearly observe every movement within while refining medicine.

The cauldron's surface was covered in exquisite Magical Beast engravings, so lifelike that they seemed almost alive.

"A two-mouth cauldron. It's not bad for a beginner like you." Yao Lao glanced at the snake mouths on the dark-red medicinal cauldron and spoke indifferently.

Turning his gaze to Xiao Yan's face, Yao Lao said sternly, "Since you have already acquired two kinds of flame, you have surpassed the vast majority of alchemists from the very start.

"You must understand that only alchemists above the fourth rank can skip the step of converting flames through a medicinal cauldron and directly summon tangible flames."

Xiao Yan smiled slightly. With this medicinal cauldron and the two flames he now controlled, his equipment had improved greatly. Things he had previously been unable to accomplish through a physician's methods would surely be gradually created.

Yao Lao directly poured cold water over him. "Don't be happy too soon. Possessing tangible flames ahead of time is not necessarily a good thing."

"How so?" Xiao Yan asked doubtfully. He had only come into contact with a physician's methods and had yet to learn actual information about alchemy. In the art of alchemy, he was still a complete novice.

Yao Lao explained, "To refine medicine directly with tangible flames, you need to control a trace of the wood attribute within your body to neutralize the violent factor in the flames.

"Tangible flames are far more violent than flames converted by a medicinal cauldron. Without the cauldron's assistance, it will also be difficult for you to find that faint trace of wood energy within your body.

"Simply put, refining medicine in your current state is like a child swinging a sledgehammer. Not only will you be unable to accomplish much, you might even injure yourself."

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. So that was how it was.

Yao Lao extended a finger and touched Xiao Yan's forehead. A stream of information entered the latter's mind.

"This is a prescription for a healing medicine I formulated myself. Try refining it. I will remind you at any time how to control the temperature of the flames and extract the ingredients from the medicinal herbs."

After absorbing the additional information in his mind, Xiao Yan finally understood just how intricate and complicated an alchemist's prescription was.

"Blood Coagulation Powder: one Blood-Coagulating Herb, one Qi-Replenishing Fruit, two Millet Poppy Flowers..."

After memorizing the quantities of the medicinal ingredients, Xiao Yan gradually extended his soul perception into the medicinal cauldron. With a flick of his finger, he sent a wisp of pink flame into the cauldron.