Xiao Yi Xian: Too close!
On the lakeside, the moonlight was as clear as water. Xiao Yi Xian sat down cross-legged as instructed, with her still-warm medicine cauldron placed in front of her.
Huo Yuhao then came up behind her and gently placed his hands on her slender shoulders.
"Too, too close!"
Xiao Yi Xian's body tensed instantly, her cheeks flushed red, the blush spreading all the way to her small earlobes. In this position, she could almost clearly feel the warmth of Huo Yuhao's chest against her back.
Huo Yuhao's breath brushed against her ear, his voice carrying a hint of experimental excitement. "Xian'er, don't be nervous. You'll still be in charge of controlling the medicinal effects and the flames. I'll be responsible for replenishing and controlling your Dou Qi!"
[Mental Sharing]!
An invisible divine thought instantly connected the two consciousnesses. With a thought, Huo Yuhao sent out a wisp of Nine Li Ice Flame, radiating extreme cold, leaping from his fingertip and landing steadily in Xiao Yi Xian's palm.
"Huh? Where's Xiao Bing?" Xiao Yi Xian, somewhat puzzled. Usually, when Huo Yuhao used the Nine Li Ice Flame, that little Ice Flame Phoenix would be the first to jump out.
Because this clone only carried such a Child Flame. Huo Yuhao didn't explain, his tone becoming serious. "Xian'er, concentrate, we're beginning."
"Alright!" Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath, suppressing the pounding in her heart. The necklace on her chest emitted Youyou, cold light, and her eyes instantly became incredibly focused. "Let's refine Fifth-grade Pill together first to get used to each other!"
After saying that, the storage ring on her finger flashed slightly, and several kinds of medicinal herbs and a Magic Core appeared beside her.
Then, she activated the Nine Li Ice Flame in her palm. The dark blue flames, like living things, entered the medicine cauldron and burned steadily and intensely.
"This... this is possible?!" Yao Chen, standing to the side, was extremely interested, his pupils sparkling with excitement.
In his long career as an alchemist, collaborative alchemy was always a matter of several alchemists of similar skill dividing the work and each performing their own duties. To see one person completely acting as another was simply unheard of!
One by one, the Xiao Yi Xian carefully placed the medicinal herbs into the medicine cauldron.
To familiarize herself with the unique characteristics of the Nine Li Ice Flame, a blend of Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire, she didn't move quickly. She waited until she had refined one herb and stabilized the flame's rhythm before adding the next.
Behind her, Huo Yuhao's mind stirred slightly. The surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Qi heaven and earth energy) was instantly drawn in, flowing silently like a river into the sea and surging into his body.
These energies circulated within Huo Yuhao's body along a specific pathway, rapidly transforming into pure, attribute-free Heavenly Cycle Art Dou Qi.
This Dou Qi did not linger in Huo Yuhao's body, but rather, as if it had found a new channel, it flowed continuously into Xiao Yi Xian's meridians.
This Dou Qi precisely replenished Xiao Yi Xian's energy reserves, and also flowed along her meridians into the Nine Li Ice Flame within the medicine cauldron, maintaining its stable combustion.
All the medicinal essences were finally successfully extracted and floated in the cauldron, emitting a faint glow. Next came the most challenging step: the fusion process, which required the most skillful manipulation.
Just as the idea of guiding the flames, adjusting the temperature, and fusing different medicinal powers had surfaced in Xiao Yi Xian's mind, the Nine Li Ice Flame, provided by Huo Yuhao and controlled by her, seemed to become a natural extension of her thoughts!
The shape, temperature, and angle at which the flame enveloped the medicinal liquid were instantly adjusted to the perfect state she "wanted"! There was no delay, no hesitation whatsoever!
At this moment, Xiao Yi Xian clearly felt that Huo Yuhao's consciousness behind her was completely integrated with her own, without any distinction between them.
His vast and pure Dou Qi flowed through her body as smoothly and naturally as it had been cultivated by him.
This feeling of complete synergy, of perfect harmony between body and mind, stirred her soul.
If the Spirit Artifact necklace hadn't emitted a cool, gentle light in time, calming her turbulent emotions, she probably would have been so excited that she would have forgotten she was still refining medicine.
Inside the cauldron, the essence of various medicinal powers, gently enveloped by the flames, finally began to blend into a colorful liquid!
Xiao Yi Xian breathed a slight sigh of relief. She concentrated her mental energy and began to compress the ball of liquid, guiding it to condense into the form of a pill.
At the same time, under the precise control of either Huo Yuhao or Xiao Yi Xian herself, the Nine Li Ice Flame evenly and stably surrounded the medicinal liquid, providing just the right amount of heat.
The power of the flames is controlled to the utmost precision, ensuring that the medicinal properties are never damaged by excessively high local temperatures, nor that the elixir condensation fails due to uneven heat.
With the combined efforts of Xiao Yi Xian and Huo Yuhao, the medicine's resistance was as weak as a baby's fist. The enormous volume of the medicine rapidly shrank at a visible speed, quickly condensing into a ball of essence the size of a thumb.
"Freeze!" the two shouted simultaneously.
Inside the cauldron, the essence of the medicine instantly solidified and took shape, transforming into a round, white nascent pill!
The final step of the pill-forming process was completed smoothly and without any further complications. A moment later, the lid of the cauldron opened slightly, and a pill that was entirely white with a beautiful ice-blue Pill Pattern naturally outlined on its surface flew out and landed steadily in the palm of Xiao Yi Xian.
"Success! Fifth-grade Pill, the Flash Qi Pill!" Xiao Yi Xian's face lit up with a bright smile. Although she was covered in sweat, her eyes were full of excitement.
With Huo Yuhao's powerful assistance, the process of refining this pill was quite easy, but in Xiao Yi Xian's opinion, this experience was a hundred times more exciting than normal refining!
Nearby, Yao Chen's ethereal figure drifted closer, carefully sensing the Flash Qi Pill. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent quality! Among Fifth-grade Pill, the Flash Qi Pill is one of the most difficult to refine."
"Brother Huo Yuhao! We----" Xiao Yi Xian felt the warmth still pressing against her back, her cheeks flushed, and she didn't dare to turn around, thinking to herself that this was enough for today.
However, Huo Yuhao's voice remained eager, almost whispering in her ear, "It feels pretty good! How about we try refining Sixth-Grade Pill next?"
Hearing Huo Yuhao's voice so close to hers, Xiao Yi Xian's heart skipped a beat, and the words of refusal that had just reached her lips vanished without a trace. "----Okay!"
"If we're going to try Sixth Grade pills," Yao Chen suggested, "It would be safest to start with the Rock Barrier Pill that Xiao Yan refined during the day. This pill has the lowest barrier to entry among Sixth Grade, making it perfect for getting used to the refining rhythm of Sixth-Grade Pill."
"Rock Barrier Pill?" Huo Yuhao quickly searched his mind for the list of required medicinal herbs, and simultaneously sensed Xiao Yi Xian's and his own reserves. "Hmm----I'm still missing a few key auxiliary ingredients. I'll go borrow some from Senior Hai Bodong." Before he finished speaking, his figure disappeared silently, as if blending into the night.
"Hoo--!" Only after Huo Yuhao's breath completely disappeared did Xiao Yi Xian's tense body suddenly relax, and she let out a long, trembling breath.
The burning heat on her face didn't subside; instead, it intensified, and even her ears turned bright red.
Out of the corner of her eye Xiao Yi Xian caught a glimpse of Yao Chen's undisguised mocking smile, and she was so embarrassed she wanted to disappear.
"Thump!"
She didn't even have time to put away the pills. Like a startled rabbit, she jumped up and plunged headfirst into the cool, Scenic Lake beside her! Leaving behind only ripples spreading outwards and a string of bubbles bubbling up on the surface of the lake.
Yao Chen couldn't help but chuckle, "Tsk tsk, this kind of alchemy method is actually suitable for developing feelings. When the time comes, we can make a name for ourselves in the Pill Tower and find some work for those old guys."