Adding a Trait to Pills

Back in the world of The Outcast, Xiao Yan had learned more than just Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements from Ma Xianhong.

He had also learned some strange and unusual things.

For instance, the logic behind the Body Cultivation Furnace.

It could simulate the circuits of qi within an Outsider's body, treating anyone who entered the furnace like an artifact and imprinting those special circuits inside them, allowing them to transcend mortality and become an Outsider.

In Xiao Yan's view, this was essentially using Artifact Refining methods in reverse on the human body.

From a certain perspective, the divine abilities on artifacts bore some resemblance to the pathways through which energy circulated in the human body. Or rather, there was not much difference between them in essence.

Based on this theory, Xiao Yan had researched with Ma Xianhong for a time and successfully developed Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements further.

This included, but was not limited to, refining artifacts as people and refining people as artifacts.

Ma Xianhong had once wanted to forge growth-type artifacts that could cultivate independently like people, or refine people until they were like artifacts.

Xiao Yan did not know how effective that had been, but he felt that he had found another path.

"First, I can imprint some of the methods I have mastered into pills and create special medicinal pills."

Inside the cave, half a month had passed in a flash. Xiao Yan pointed at the pill before him, which bore eight cloud patterns, and raised an eyebrow at Yao Chen.

"The Eight Extremes Pill borrowed part of the logic behind Eight Extremes Collapse." Under Yao Chen's somewhat bewildered gaze, Xiao Yan took out two Eight Extremes Pills. He swallowed one directly, fully displaying the circulation of his Dou Qi.

"After refinement, the pill's medicinal power does not erupt all at once. Instead, it slowly circulates in layers until it encounters a bottleneck, where the multiple layers stack together and erupt all at once. If this pattern were applied to healing pills like the Spring Return Pill, it could heal hidden injuries. If it were applied to something like Qi Recovery Powder, it could clear blockages in the meridians.

"And if it were used on pills that increase cultivation, it could help one break through a realm."

Xiao Yan was animated as he looked at the dumbfounded Yao Chen.

"I only went to rest for half a month, and you came up with something this absurdly overpowered?" Yao Chen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Half a month ago, after Xiao Yan had displayed his astonishing intellect and created explosives, Yao Chen had felt his head ache. Having taught everything he needed to teach, he had simply gone to sleep for a while to recover.

Yet in only half a month, Xiao Yan had come up with something like this?

Was this reasonable?

He had to be cheating, right?!

Seeing the other man grow more and more incredulous, Xiao Yan immediately gave a dry cough.

He had merely used the Gray Mist Space at night to run repeated simulations and trials... Ahem, not worth mentioning.

Unfortunately, his Dou Qi was not yet sufficient to take shape, nor could he use energy to refine pills like in the novels he had read in his previous life. Perhaps he could study that later.

"Of course, I'm only describing the ideal effect. It's still in its early stages. This is basically just adding a trait buff to a pill.

"Overall, it can be divided into Inner Cores and Outer Cores. Inner Cores are what I described earlier, while Outer Cores..."

As he spoke, Xiao Yan flicked out the other pill.

The cave now contained an extra target specially refined by Xiao Yan, something that had not been there half a month ago.

With a thought, the pill instantly detonated. The energy was extraordinarily concentrated, and five simultaneous explosions blasted the target directly into dust.

Yao Chen's mouth twitched wildly.

Still explosives...

"Fifteen days. By my count, you've practiced Eight Extremes Collapse for less than a month, and you're already close to mastering it?

"And you can even put it into pills?

"And you're still not satisfied? What else are you trying to do?"

Although this thing was nothing remarkable at present and far inferior to the wonders of high-grade pills, and although, in his experience as a top-tier eighth-grade alchemist, this technique might lose much of its usefulness after the fifth or sixth grade, Xiao Yan was only fifteen! He had just started learning Alchemy, yet he had already created something so wildly imaginative!

"Teacher, I have two ideas for what to do next." After showing Yao Lao the results of his work over the past few days, Xiao Yan rubbed his chin.

"The most important thing in Alchemy is first to bring out the essence of the medicinal ingredients themselves, then supplement them with all manner of rare herbs and treasures so they can be elevated and produce an effect greater than one plus one.

"Being able to do that already makes one a good alchemist. The best alchemists, however, can make the same materials achieve one hundred and twenty percent of their potential.

"The alchemy tome you gave me also records that some special pill cauldrons seem capable of granting pills special effects.

"There are also alchemists whose unique Dou Qi gives their pills special effects."

The more Xiao Yan spoke, the deeper the thoughts in his eyes became.

"So, I currently have two lines of thought. The first is to broaden my enchantment methods and give pills for both internal and external use more special traits.

"The other is to search for energy or materials with special properties."

"Teacher, can pure natural energy also be used to refine pills?"

Yao Lao fell silent at those words. After thinking for a moment, he nodded.

Natural energy could indeed be used to refine medicine, but it was useless.

Pills refined that way had no effect on those who could consume them, while those for whom they would be effective could not consume them.

And when his gaze met Xiao Yan's, he understood what the latter was getting at.

"Special flames? Are you thinking of refining special flames into pills?"

Yao Lao found the idea utterly fantastical, but on further consideration, it did not seem entirely impossible.

After all, Xiao Yan had already dealt with seals and Artifact Refining. It would not hurt to treat this as a future experiment, since flames themselves were also violent energy.

Some medicinal ingredients might not be inferior to Heavenly Flames at all.

For high-grade herbs, ordinary Heavenly Flames were practically worthless. Whether in energy or effect, they could not compare.

"That is exactly what I had in mind. Teacher, you think it's feasible too?"

Xiao Yan nodded. If his life force had been sufficient, he would even have wanted to use life force to refine pills.

He had even wanted to try separating some of his spiritual strength or Dou Qi to refine into pills.

Unfortunately, he could not separate them.

And Xiao Yan was not simply thinking this up at random. He had a basis for it.

There was no reason magical beast cores, spirit fluids nurtured by heaven and earth, and jade marrow could be used in pill refinement while Heavenly Flames could not.

"Then obtaining Heavenly Flames can be put on the agenda... Your current Flame Mantra at the Low Yellow Rank is still slowing your cultivation speed too much... Uh..."

As he swept his gaze over Xiao Yan's strength, which was nearly that of a Two-Star Dou Zhe, Yao Chen stopped halfway through his sentence, and the corner of his mouth began twitching.

Relying on nothing but daily pill refinement, Xiao Yan had nearly raised his strength by one star in half a month?

That was already monstrous.

Yao Chen only wanted to say that while he himself was a genius, Xiao Yan was an even greater genius in his eyes.

It was as though cultivation had no bottlenecks for him at all. As long as there was enough energy, his realm could shoot upward like a rocket.

"Then do you have any plans, Teacher?" After sighing with emotion, Xiao Yan waited without interrupting. Old people liked reminiscing about the past.

Only after Yao Lao had finished thinking did Xiao Yan quietly speak.

As an alchemist and half an artifact refiner, Xiao Yan felt that he truly needed to obtain a special flame. Such a flame could solve many problems along his path.

Eh? Since he possessed the Flame Mantra, it seemed he could acquire special flames from other worlds. And unless something unexpected happened, he seemed to have become the nemesis of flames?

He just did not know whether any world had beings that could transform into flames, or something immune to fire...