First Attempt at Refining Medicine

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 should know how to enjoy oneself appropriately.

He also took the opportunity to help Jiang Shuanglan relax. She had been far too tense in her cultivation.

The next day, Jiang Yun waited for Jiang Shuanglan to wake up, then spent some tender time with her.

After they talked for a while, Jiang Yun went to the alchemy room.

Their relationship as husband and wife had grown better and better, but once favorability exceeded 90, it became difficult to raise further.

That was perfectly normal. Reaching the peak of a relationship required accumulation over time; it could not be achieved overnight. Jiang Yun was in no hurry.

Watching Xia Weier cook for Xiao Nannan outside the window, Jiang Shuanglan's thoughts churned.

She had discovered that Xia Weier's talent seemed somewhat extraordinary. She had only brought Xia Weier into the Heavenly Cave a little over a year ago.

Among the disciples admitted in the same batch as her, 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 bred eight Divine Patterns within her Sea of Bitterness, far surpassing disciples of her generation.

If she had not spent all this time cultivating at Jiang Yun's place and had not come into contact with any elders,

the elders would likely have long since fought to take her as a disciple. It was not impossible for her to become an Immortal Seedling.

In a single year, she had caught up to Jiang Shuanglan's three years of bitter cultivation. Though she was still far inferior to Jiang Yun, she had already reached the standard of an Immortal Seedling within Jade Cauldron Paradise.

Jiang Shuanglan had discovered Xia Weier's talent during this time, yet as if possessed, she had not reported it to the Heavenly Cave.

Instead, other thoughts had arisen in her heart.

Her cultivation talent was poor. Even if she risked her life, she would never keep up with Jiang Yun's pace. But Xia Weier seemed like an excellent 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 she had a good personality. She could accompany Jiang Yun to the very end in her place.

At that thought, Jiang Shuanglan felt an indescribable emotion in her heart.

There was some suffocation, some bitterness, and also a sense of relief, as though a burden had been lifted.

Jiang Yun knew nothing of Jiang Shuanglan's 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 the alchemy room contained an earthfire vent left behind by the previous owner.

It could draw upon the Fire Fiend beneath the ground. The previous owner had built the courtyard here precisely because this place possessed the resource known as Fire Fiend.

Jiang Yun took out the medicinal furnace and placed it atop the earthfire vent.

Using the divine power of his Sea of Bitterness, he drew forth the Fire Fiend. Pale cyan flames rose beneath the medicinal furnace.

They flowed forth without end, giving off a soft radiance.

A special spiritual energy fluctuated within the Fire Fiend, while sacred light continuously poured into the medicine cauldron.

Pale cyan light flowed throughout the alchemy room, like thin mist curling through the air. Everything looked hazy, like the abode of an immortal, suffused with spiritual energy.

This Fire Fiend was anything but ordinary. Besides possessing a suitable 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 cyan flames flickered. The bronze medicinal furnace was enveloped in milky-white spiritual energy, seeming to come alive, while even the patterns upon it appeared to stir.

Jiang Yun carefully observed 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 medicinal furnace one after another.

Dao Runes were things that powerful experts of ancient times had "inscribed" after comprehending the heavens, the earth, and nature.

Some had been passed down through the world.

Only more powerful cultivators could comprehend Dao Runes on a deeper level.

Upon reaching the Dao Palace Realm, one could use Dao Runes to invoke Heavenly Momentum and unleash all manner of powerful methods.

The Dao Scripture contained many Dao Texts, all legacies left behind by the Great Emperor after comprehending the Dao.

The Alchemy Secret Art naturally possessed a corresponding inheritance, with Dao Runes forming its very core.

Jiang Yun had not yet reached the stage where he could deeply study Dao Runes. He was merely imitating what he had seen as he attempted to refine medicine.

Jiang Yun imprinted Dao Runes into the medicinal furnace one after another, then used divine power to lift its lid.

He placed some ordinary herbs inside and began attempting to refine Hundred-Grass Liquid.

As the temperature inside the medicinal furnace rose, the dense pale cyan Fire Fiend

gradually rose under Jiang Yun's guidance, enveloping the entire medicinal furnace.

The spiritual energy contained in the Fire Fiend continuously seeped into the medicinal 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 effect of the Dao Runes Jiang Yun had inscribed, the spiritual energy in the Fire Fiend became gentler. When melting these ordinary herbs, it reduced losses, increased yield, and nourished the medicinal properties.

Slowly, the sound of medicinal liquid boiling emerged from within the cauldron. Jiang Yun's preliminary 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 in a porcelain jar, sealed it, and set it aside.

The Hundred-Grass Liquid had not yet been successfully refined, because no spirit herbs had been added.

This was merely slurry from ordinary herbs. For his first attempt, Jiang Yun was still reluctant to use spirit herbs for practice.

Next, Jiang Yun continued firing up the furnace and refining batch after batch of medicinal liquid.

He stopped only after exhausting all the ordinary medicinal ingredients.

Jiang Yun felt that he had not had his fill, and the amount of medicinal liquid produced with each refinement had gradually increased.

That showed he was wasting less and less of the herbs.

Jiang Yun then took out six spirit herbs.

They were all the same kind of spirit herb: Black Jade Ginseng cultivated in the medicinal fields of the disciples and elders within the Heavenly Cave.

Their spiritual nature was not strong; they could only barely be called spirit herbs.

They were incomparable to the spirit herbs Jiang Yun had purchased to refine the One-Turn Golden Core.

Still, they were sufficient for refining Hundred-Grass Liquid. Jiang Yun took out one and placed it into the medicinal furnace.

This time, he inscribed some even more profound and mysterious Dao Runes.

Sweat ran down Jiang Yun's forehead. Inscribing this kind of Dao Rune was still far too difficult for him at his current level.

But it was worth it in order to extract more essence from the spirit herbs.

Jiang Yun closed his eyes and rested for ten minutes, then placed a stalk of Black Jade Ginseng into the medicinal furnace for extraction.

In a short while, the spirit herb was dissolved by the special spiritual energy contained in the Fire Fiend, turning into medicinal liquid that flowed and was refined within the medicinal furnace.

Once he removed the refined medicinal liquid, a rich fragrance immediately spread through the air, filling the entire room with fresh scent.

It felt as though every pore on his body had opened. It was clearly different from the essence extracted from ordinary medicinal herbs before.

The alchemy room became even more suffused with spiritual energy. The medicinal liquid radiated life essence outward, and thin streaks of rosy light flowed through the air.