That night, Jiang Yun rested in Jiang Shuanglan's room.
Jiang Yun believed that cultivation required a balance between work and rest, and that one had to know how to enjoy oneself in moderation.
He also helped Jiang Shuanglan relax a little. She had been far too tense in her cultivation.
The next day, after waiting for Jiang Shuanglan to wake up, Jiang Yun spent some tender time with her.
After saying a few things, Jiang Yun headed to the alchemy room.
Their relationship as husband and wife had grown better and better, but once their favorability exceeded 90, it became difficult to raise any further.
That was perfectly normal. Reaching the peak of a relationship required long-term accumulation, not something achieved overnight. Jiang Yun was in no hurry.
Watching Xia Weier cook for Xiao Nannan outside the window, Jiang Shuanglan's thoughts were in turmoil.
She had discovered that Xia Weier's talent seemed rather extraordinary. She had only brought Xia Weier into the Heavenly Cave a little over a year ago.
Among the disciples from the same batch as Xia Weier, the slower ones were still studying the Dao Scripture and sensing the Sea of Bitterness, while the faster ones had only just nurtured Divine Patterns.
Yet Xia Weier had already nurtured eight Divine Patterns within her Sea of Bitterness, far surpassing disciples of her generation.
If she had not spent all this time cultivating here with Jiang Yun and had come into contact with some elders,
the elders would likely have fought over taking her as a disciple long ago. It was not impossible for her to become an Immortal Seedling.
In one year, she had caught up to Jiang Shuanglan's three years of bitter cultivation. Although she was still far inferior to Jiang Yun, she was already at the level of an Immortal Seedling within Jade Cauldron Paradise.
Jiang Shuanglan had discovered Xia Weier's talent during this period, yet for some inexplicable reason, she had not reported it to the Heavenly Cave.
Instead, other thoughts had arisen in her heart.
Her talent for cultivation was poor. Even if she risked her life, she could not keep pace with Jiang Yun. But Xia Weier seemed like a very good choice.
Her talent had reached the level of an Immortal Seedling, and Jiang Shuanglan knew her background well. She had been her childhood companion, and her personality was good too. She could accompany Jiang Yun to the very end in her place.
At that thought, Jiang Shuanglan felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.
There was a dull ache, a trace of bitterness, and also a sense of relieved ease.
Jiang Yun knew nothing of Jiang Shuanglan's inner thoughts. He greeted Xia Weier outside before entering the alchemy room.
When there had not been enough rooms in the courtyard, Jiang Yun had never considered having anyone live in the alchemy room.
That was because there was an earthfire vent left behind by the previous owner.
It could draw upon the underground Fire Fiend. The previous owner had built the courtyard here precisely because of this resource.
Jiang Yun took out a medicine furnace and placed it atop the earthfire vent.
Using the divine power of his Sea of Bitterness to draw forth the Fire Fiend, pale azure flames rose beneath the medicine furnace.
They poured forth without end, radiating a gentle glow.
A special spiritual energy pulsed within the Fire Fiend, and holy radiance continuously flowed into the medicine cauldron.
Pale azure radiance flowed throughout the entire alchemy room, like a thin mist curling through the air. Everything looked hazy and dreamlike, like an Immortal's dwelling, suffused with spiritual energy.
This Fire Fiend was far from ordinary. Aside from possessing the proper temperature, its most important quality was that it could provide special spiritual energy, dissolving medicinal herbs, condensing life essence, and refining spirit pills.
The pale azure flames danced as milky white spiritual energy enveloped the bronze medicine furnace. It seemed to have come alive, and even the patterns on its surface appeared to stir.
Jiang Yun carefully examined the scene before him, secretly astonished. He truly had not expected this Fire Fiend to be so miraculous.
Gradually, Jiang Yun calmed himself and recalled the Alchemy Secret Art recorded in the Dao Scripture, imprinting Dao Runes into the medicine furnace one after another.
"Dao Runes" were things that ancient experts had "inscribed" after comprehending the natural world and gaining enlightenment.
Some had been passed down through the ages and remained in circulation.
The more powerful the cultivator, the more deeply they could comprehend Dao Runes.
Upon reaching the Dao Palace Realm, one could use Dao Runes to invoke Heavenly Momentum and unleash all manner of powerful techniques.
The Dao Scripture contained many Dao Texts, all inheritances left behind by a Great Emperor after comprehending the Dao.
The Alchemy Secret Art naturally came with a corresponding inheritance, and Dao Runes were its very core.
Jiang Yun had not yet reached the stage where he could study Dao Runes in depth. He was merely following the pattern and attempting to refine medicine.
Jiang Yun imprinted Dao Runes into the medicine furnace one after another, then used divine power to lift its lid.
He placed some ordinary herbs inside and began his attempt at refining Hundred-Grass Liquid.
As the temperature inside the medicine furnace rose, the dense pale azure Fire Fiend
gradually rose under Jiang Yun's guidance, enveloping the entire medicine furnace.
The spiritual energy contained within the Fire Fiend continuously seeped into the furnace. This energy could dissolve herbs, condense life essence, and refine spiritual liquid.
It was an excellent choice for the early stages of alchemy.
Under the effects of the Dao Runes Jiang Yun had inscribed, the spiritual energy within the Fire Fiend became gentler. When melting these ordinary herbs, it reduced waste, increased yield, and nurtured the medicinal properties.
Gradually, the sound of medicinal liquid boiling came from within the cauldron. Jiang Yun's initial work could be considered a success.
He removed the slurry, and waves of fragrance rushed into his nose and mouth.
Jiang Yun took a deep breath, examined the herbal slurry before him, then placed it into a porcelain jar, sealed it, and set it aside.
The Hundred-Grass Liquid had not yet been successfully refined, because no spiritual medicine had been added.
This was merely slurry from ordinary herbs. For his first attempt, Jiang Yun was reluctant to use spiritual medicine for practice.
Next, Jiang Yun continued opening the furnace and refining batch after batch of medicinal liquid.
He did not stop until he had used up all the ordinary medicinal ingredients.
Jiang Yun felt somewhat reluctant to stop, and the amount of medicinal liquid he produced with each refinement was also gradually increasing.
That showed he was wasting less and less of the herbs.
Next, Jiang Yun took out six stalks of spiritual medicine.
They were all the same kind of spiritual medicine: Black Jade Ginseng cultivated in the medicinal fields of disciples and elders within the Heavenly Cave.
Their spirituality was not particularly strong; they could only barely be considered spiritual medicine.
They could not compare with the spiritual medicines Jiang Yun had purchased to refine the One-Turn Golden Core.
Still, they were more than enough to refine Hundred-Grass Liquid. Jiang Yun took out one stalk and placed it inside the medicine furnace.
This time, he inscribed several even more profound and mysterious Dao Runes.
Sweat streamed down Jiang Yun's forehead. Inscribing such Dao Runes was still far too difficult for him at his current level.
But it was worth it in order to extract more Elixir Essence.
Jiang Yun closed his eyes and rested for ten minutes, then placed a stalk of Black Jade Ginseng into the medicine furnace for extraction.
Before long, the spiritual medicine was dissolved by the special spiritual energy contained within the Fire Fiend, becoming medicinal liquid that flowed and was refined within the furnace.
When he removed the refined medicinal liquid, a rich fragrance immediately spread through the air, filling the entire room with a fresh scent.
It felt as though every pore on his body had opened. There was an obvious difference from the essence extracted from the ordinary herbs before.
The alchemy room was even more suffused with spiritual energy. The medicinal liquid released vital essence outward, and tiny streaks of rosy light flowed through the air.
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