Purple Cloud Spirit-Gathering Pill

"Teacher, your disciple Xiao Yun requests an audience!"

Outside Fire Elder's private alchemy room, Xiao Yun bowed respectfully.

At first, Xiao Yun had taken Fire Elder as his master solely for the alchemy resources. He had not felt much attachment to Fire Elder.

But after spending half a year together day and night, Xiao Yun gradually changed his view. Although his teacher was extremely strict with his cultivation, in every other respect, he gave him whatever he wanted.

He believed there was nothing on him worth Fire Elder's scheming. Fire Elder treated him well purely as an elder would treat his own junior. Thus, in his heart, Xiao Yun had already regarded Fire Elder as the person closest to him.

Rumble! As soon as he finished speaking, the sealed stone door opened on its own, and a scorching aura poured out from within.

Xiao Yun looked up and saw Fire Elder floating in midair, with an enormous medicine cauldron placed at the center of the alchemy room.

"My good disciple, you came at just the right time. Your master is about to refine a Fifth-Tier Pill. Watch carefully from the side and study my refining techniques in detail. You can now be considered an entry-level alchemist, so take a good look at the difference between yourself and an alchemy grandmaster," Fire Elder said solemnly to Xiao Yun.

"Mm..." Xiao Yun hurriedly nodded. Being able to observe a Five-Tier Alchemy Grandmaster refine pills was an opportunity that could only be encountered by chance. It would be enormously helpful to low-tier alchemists. If the other students in the Alchemy Department learned of this, they would be green with envy.

"Alright, the refinement is about to begin. Find somewhere cool to sit and watch your master work." Fire Elder smiled at Xiao Yun, but his expression gradually turned grave. Though he was a veteran Fifth-Tier Alchemist, his success rate in refining Fifth-Tier Pills was only thirty to forty percent. He was not particularly confident about this attempt either.

His withered, eagle-claw-like hand lifted slightly, and a ball of purple flame appeared out of thin air.

The appearance of the purple flame made the already scorching air even hotter. The air near the purple flame even warped from the intense heat. With a wave of his hand, all the purple flames flew into the medicine cauldron, and blazing fire immediately erupted within it.

After the flames burned for about a minute, the temperature inside the medicine cauldron finally reached Fire Elder's expectations. He waved his hand toward the medicinal ingredients, and a grass-like herb with a body of brilliant gold was tossed into the cauldron.

The purple flames instantly swallowed the herb. Under the flames' effects, golden liquid continuously seeped from its surface, only to be vaporized by the high temperature moments later. In an instant, the herb itself rapidly withered.

Based on the records in the Encyclopedia of Medicinal Materials, Xiao Yun recognized the grass-like herb as Sacred Soul Grass, a fifth-tier medicinal ingredient. Outside, it was an exceedingly rare treasure worth a fortune.

His gaze fixed on the medicine cauldron. Though the flames still appeared fierce, Xiao Yun could clearly sense that Fire Elder had suppressed their temperature.

Thus, although the Sacred Soul Grass in the cauldron withered on the surface, it was not burned to ashes. Instead, under the constant roasting of the flames, the gold on its surface faded away, turning into granules of powder that floated above the fire.

A moment later, the Sacred Soul Grass had completely lost its golden color and thoroughly withered, leaving only some golden powder behind. Xiao Yun knew that this was because Fire Elder had completely forced out its medicinal potency with the flames, rendering the herb itself useless.

With a wave of Fire Elder's hand, the withered Sacred Soul Grass was moved out of the medicine cauldron by Dou Qi. The moment it touched the ground, it turned entirely to ash.

"As expected of an alchemy grandmaster. Whether in controlling flames or extracting the essence of medicinal properties, he is far beyond me."

Xiao Yun watched with burning enthusiasm and secretly praised him. When he had extracted medicinal ingredients before, he always burned them into ashes. That only showed that his control over flames had yet to reach perfection.

How could he compare to Fire Elder? With such precise, supreme temperature control, Fire Elder slowly forced out every last bit of essence from the herb without damaging it, then cast it outside the furnace once its medicinal potency had been fully exhausted. That was the bearing of a true grandmaster!

A ball of purple flame wrapped around the golden powder. Seeing Fire Elder's somewhat unconventional storage method, Xiao Yun was rather surprised. He stared at the flame and discovered that although it enveloped the powder, it did not directly touch it. He froze for a moment, then his eyes shifted as if he had gained some insight.

"When ordinary people refine pills and store medicinal properties, they place them in jade bottles. After all the medicinal properties have been extracted, they return them to the medicine cauldron for refinement. It is simple, but it can easily reduce the medicinal potency's activity."

"Therefore, your master created a Fireball Technique. After extracting the medicinal essence, I wrap it in a sphere of flame to maintain its original refining temperature. This storage method not only preserves the temperature and activity of the medicinal properties when they leave the cauldron, but also keeps them from being affected by impurities in the air.

"However, this method places extremely harsh demands on one's proficiency in controlling flames, and it also requires the ability to divide one's attention. If one's strength is insufficient, even the slightest mistake will ruin the refined medicinal essence," Fire Elder slowly explained.

Xiao Yun nodded slightly and committed this trick to memory, planning to try it once he had sufficient strength.

After sealing away the medicinal essence, Fire Elder began extracting the other ingredients. His control over the flames and his smooth, flowing movements made Xiao Yun unconsciously imitate him, his hands instinctively forming one hand seal after another.

By the time Fire Elder had extracted all the other medicinal ingredients, half a day had passed, and the sky outside had already darkened. Refining a Fifth-Tier Pill truly was an exceedingly complicated and exhausting task.

Extracting the medicinal ingredients alone took most of the day. Fortunately, Fire Elder was a powerful Dou Wang with deep reserves. Even after refining ingredients nonstop for most of the day, he remained full of energy. Instead, Xiao Yun, who had merely been observing, was beginning to wilt.

By the next day, Fire Elder had finally completely refined the final ingredient, a fifth-tier water-element Beast Core, into a pile of azure powder.

That task alone took more than ten hours. Due to the conflict between their attributes, the fifth-tier Beast Core's resistance far surpassed that of the previous medicinal ingredients. The dense water-element energy within it was also all suppressed inside the medicine cauldron by Fire Elder.

Watching Fire Elder contend with the water-element Magic Core from the side, Xiao Yun could not help feeling his heart tremble. If Fire Elder's flames had been even a little lower in tier, they might have been extinguished by that dense water-element energy.

No matter how difficult the process was, the extraction was finally complete. On the second day, after being roasted by the purple flames for an entire day, the medicinal essences and Magic Core powder gradually weakened their mutual repulsion and eventually fused together.

Fusion was the most important step in the pill-refining process. If even the slightest mistake occurred, the medicinal essences that had been extracted with such difficulty would vanish in an instant.

Therefore, Fire Elder wore a grave expression at this step and did not dare let himself be distracted in the slightest. All his Soul Power was focused inside the medicine cauldron as he stared intently at the pill's fusion.

Fortunately, Fire Elder truly was a veteran Five-Tier Alchemy Grandmaster. Though this step was fraught with danger, under the control of an alchemy grandmaster like Fire Elder, it ultimately passed without incident.

Inside the medicine cauldron, a purple pill embryo slowly appeared. As it emerged, Fire Elder increased the flame's temperature, using his Soul Power to draw upon the energy of heaven and earth and continuously fill out the pill embryo's exterior.

As time passed, the somewhat irregular pill embryo gradually became rounder. Dazzling light radiated from it, making it resemble a purple gemstone.

At the moment the pill erupted with brilliant light, Xiao Yun discovered in shock that rings of almost tangible energy ripples were continuously spreading outward from the medicine cauldron.

Pinned against the wall by the powerful energy, Xiao Yun swallowed. He had never expected that merely refining a Fifth-Tier Pill could trigger such a heavenly phenomenon. What about pills above the fifth tier?

Bang! The medicine cauldron's lid was blasted open. Amid waves of pill fragrance, a pill slowly rose from within. "Come, open your mouth!" Fire Elder waved his hand and used Dou Qi to pull Xiao Yun over from the corner. Xiao Yun obediently opened his mouth, and the purple pill flew directly into it.

The moment the pill entered his mouth, Xiao Yun felt as if he had swallowed a fireball. It slid down his throat and into his body, and then his entire body grew scorching hot. His skin turned red, making him look like a boiled shrimp.

"Circulate the Dou Qi in your body and spread the medicinal power throughout your body along your meridians!" Fire Elder shouted, jolting Xiao Yun awake. He injected his own Dou Qi into Xiao Yun's body, guiding Xiao Yun's Dou Qi through the meridians within him.

Inside the alchemy room, master and disciple both sat cross-legged. Fire Elder placed his hands on Xiao Yun's back and continuously sent Dou Qi into him.

Xiao Yun's face twisted in pain. His whole body was crimson, and steam rose from the top of his head. He was doing everything he could to circulate the Dou Qi within his body and dissolve the powerful medicinal force brought by the pill he had just swallowed. Yet even with all his effort, more than half of that medicinal power remained undissolved, rampaging through Xiao Yun's body.

After a long while, Xiao Yun finally calmed down. That medicinal power had still not been fully dissolved, but Fire Elder used Dou Qi to seal it away so Xiao Yun could slowly absorb it in the future.

"Teacher, what kind of pill did you give me? Its effects were so fierce."

Xiao Yun gave a bitter smile. Just now, he had thought his body would be burst apart by the immense medicinal force. Fortunately, Fire Elder had sent Dou Qi into him in time and helped him dissolve it. Otherwise, he truly would have been in grave danger.

"Hahaha, aren't you fine? The pill I just gave you was the Purple Cloud Spirit-Gathering Pill, a high-grade Fifth-Tier Pill! I found this pill formula in a ruin. Its effect is to increase part of your Dou Qi cultivation and Soul Power. Feel carefully. Haven't you noticed that your Dou Qi cultivation has improved and your mind has become clearer?"

Fire Elder awkwardly stroked his beard. This pill was meant to improve the talent and strength of juniors. He had no descendants, and Xiao Yun was his only disciple, so he had never refined this pill before. Naturally, he had not known its effects would be so domineering. Had he known, he would have refined some supplementary medicine to help Xiao Yun absorb its medicinal power.

Hearing this, Xiao Yun hurriedly closed his eyes and summoned the Status Panel in his mind to carefully inspect the changes within himself.

Name: Xiao Yun

Age: Seven

Status: Minor injuries

Cultivation: Nine-Star Dou Zhe (98/100)

Cultivation Art: Nine Splendors Fire Art (Earth Tier, Low Grade)

Dou Qi Attributes: Fire, Wood

Talent: Top-tier

Soul Power: Intermediate Mortal Realm

Nine-Star Dou Zhe! He was only one step away from breaking through to the Dou Shi realm!

Over the past six months, he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to alchemy. Although he still cultivated Dou Qi at night, his cultivation speed had inevitably slowed. In half a year, he had only reached the realm of an Eight-Star Dou Zhe.

Yet this pill Xiao Yun had taken today, despite more than half of its medicinal power still being unabsorbed, had directly raised him to the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe. He only needed two more progress points to break through to Dou Shi.

And most importantly, his Soul Power had also strengthened greatly. With Soul Power at the Intermediate Mortal Realm, Xiao Yun had already obtained an early ticket to advance to a Sixth-Tier Alchemist.

"Teacher, I feel that my cultivation has reached the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe. I can break through to Dou Shi at any time, and my Soul Perception has also become much stronger." Xiao Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead and truthfully told Fire Elder about his condition.

"Not bad, not bad. Refining only a small portion of the medicinal power allowed your cultivation to grow so much. Your master's great effort in refining this pill was not wasted." Fire Elder smiled as he stroked his grizzled beard. Seeing that Xiao Yun was alright also put him at ease.

Though Xiao Yun's current peak Nine-Star Dou Zhe cultivation had been raised through a pill, he did not sense any instability in the Dou Qi within his body. On the contrary, it was remarkably solid. As expected of a high-grade Fifth-Tier Pill—its effects were truly excellent!

"Teacher, do you have any more pills like this? I feel like I can eat another one."

"Get lost! Do you think the Purple Cloud Spirit-Gathering Pill has such wonderful effects that you can keep taking it? The pill formula says one can only take one in a lifetime. Taking more has no effect at all.

"Besides, refining it was so difficult it nearly cost your master his life. Where am I supposed to find you a second one?" Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Fire Elder immediately blew his beard and glared, replying irritably.

"Since you feel you can break through to Dou Shi, then break through here. I can stand guard for you as well, so you do not make any mistakes."

"Mm..."

Xiao Yun nodded, sat down wherever he pleased in the alchemy room, sensed the rapidly surging energy of heaven and earth around him, formed the cultivation hand seal, and then sank his mind into his body.