Alchemist

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Power Progression

Alchemists are ranked by refining ability. Xiao Yan’s documented progression illustrates the ranks shown in the story.

Ninth-Tier Profound Pills rank above Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills. Alchemists capable of refining Treasure Pills are already scarce across the continent, while those capable of refining Profound Pills are rarer still and are generally exceptionally old grandmasters 252.

Alchemy

• Training — Yao Lao begins Xiao Yan’s instruction with medicinal ingredients and their properties before guiding his first refinements. Xiao Yan’s early batches fail because he cannot yet control the heat 3 4.
• Refining — An alchemist can feed Dou Qi into a medicine cauldron to produce flame, then control the heating and combination of ingredients. Higher-grade pills demand precise control of both flame and Soul Power 4 72.
• Talent and experience — Xiao Yi Xian initially lacks the talent to become a conventional alchemist, although she later gains a Poison Master path that lets her make useful pills. Alchemists also stress that sufficient Soul Power alone does not replace refining practice 9 96 169.
• Unusual methods — Xiao Yan uses the Tiger Talisman to balance a refinement and prevent failed batches. At a later stage, he can refine pills of suitable grades directly with Heavenly Flames, without a cauldron 4 180.
• Soul requirements — Early Spirit Realm Soul Power qualifies Xiao Yan to pursue eighth-tier alchemy. A Heaven Realm soul is a strict requirement for ninth-tier alchemy, both for its keener perception and for its ability to suppress a newly formed ninth-grade pill’s sentient will 69 160.
• Flame development — Acquiring Purple Flame frees Xiao Yan from relying on a cauldron’s fire vent to generate refining flames. After he absorbs the Fallen Heart Flame and advances the Flame Mantra to mid Earth Tier, his speed at refining medicinal ingredients increases severalfold 11 72.
• Simultaneous refinement — Xiao Yan first demonstrates the ability to form two Peak Seventh-Grade Dual Origin Pills together. During his contest with Old Monster Hou, he uses Heavenly Flames as medicine cauldrons and successfully refines two Ninth-Grade Pills at once 72 171 173.
• Recipe research — Yao Lao derives insights into ninth-grade refinement from an incomplete ancient formula. Xiao Yan later seeks additional Ninth-Grade Pill Recipes for reference and, after studying medicinal properties, demonstrates the ability to create new recipes himself 157 170 177.
• Thunder-and-fire refinement — While refining a Ninth-Tier Profound Pill for the Yellow Springs Demon Saint, Xiao Yan combines thunder and fire within a thunder cauldron. The Demon Saint regards the use of these two violent energies as an unconventional approach to a craft normally dependent on delicate heat control 251.
• Poison Master alternative — The Netherworld Poison Venerable’s complete inheritance rivals a peak seventh-grade alchemist’s legacy in breadth and depth. Although it mainly broadens a conventional alchemist’s knowledge, it enables Xiao Yi Xian to pursue poison-pill refinement suited to her Woeful Poison Body 92 96.

Pills and Uses

Seventh-Grade Pill Lightning accompanies Xiao Yan’s Dual Origin Pills and Life Devouring Pills. His Ninth-Grade Treasure Pills later draw Black Demon Lightning 72 96 173.

Higher-grade pills can exhibit lifelike behavior. The Dual Origin Pills evade Xiao Yan’s hand and try to flee, while eighth-tier pills can transform into small beasts. Xiao Yan’s first Ninth-Grade Treasure Pill transforms into a duplicate of its refiner and even begs for mercy before his Soul Power forces it back into pill form 73 159 160.

Profound Pill refinement also requires an enormous supply of worldly energy. During Xiao Yan’s refinement for the Yellow Springs Demon Saint, Yao Lao discovers that the energy available within the Star Realm is insufficient 252.

Institutions and Teaching

• Jia Nan Academy — Its Alchemy Department invites Xiao Yan to demonstrate high-rank refinement and answer questions. Students and Elders subsequently improve their skills 65. Before his assistance, its most accomplished alchemy elder is only fifth-rank, leaving the academy unable to refine the high-grade pills for which several elders have already gathered ingredients. Xiao Yan subsequently refines Hu Gan’s Sect Breaking Pill and Dou Ling Pills for other elders 65 71.
• Alchemist Guild — Joins the Flame Alliance after Xiao Yan reveals his eighth-tier status and Heavenly Flame. His later public demonstration gives guild alchemists, including Gu He, a chance to study his methods 118 122. Publicizing his rank attracts outstanding alchemists and greatly raises the guild’s reputation 138.
• Pill Tower — Based in Sacred Pill City, where Fifth-, Sixth-, and Seventh-Tier Alchemists can be seen. Xiao Yan later joins the Little Pill Tower’s Elder Council 165 169. Its First Elder is also a Ninth-Tier Alchemist, while Old Monster Hou is a Peak Eighth-Tier Alchemist with Spirit Realm Grand Perfection Soul Power 169 170. Xiao Yan demonstrates his qualifications by refining two Ninth-Grade Pills during his contest with Old Monster Hou 171 172 173.
• Flame Alliance — Xiao Yan recruits ten Dan Family alchemists—three seventh-tier and seven sixth-tier—to teach its alchemists in the Northwest Continent 183. He places them under Fa Ma’s supervision; several months later, he finds Gu He, Fa Ma, and Dan Family alchemists deeply engaged in discussions beside the guild’s medicine cauldrons. He subsequently spends a full day personally guiding the gathered alchemists 192 193.
• Xiao Clan — Hires several First-Rank Alchemists at considerable expense to sustain its pill business during Xiao Yan’s absence. Their products are inferior to his own but keep the business operating 31.
• Individual instruction — Xiao Yan’s explanations resolve difficulties that Gu He, a self-taught Sixth-Tier Alchemist, had struggled with alone. Gu He nearly asks to become his disciple, but Xiao Yan declines and encourages him to contribute to the alliance instead. Xiao Yan also guides Cao Ying, whose gains from a few pointers exceed months of independent study 121 122 168.

High-tier alchemy carries considerable prestige. A Sixth-Tier Pill King stands near the top of the Northwest Continent’s alchemy community, whereas alchemists of that rank are commonplace in Sacred Pill City. Eighth-tier alchemists are described as rarer than Dou Zong or Dou Zun experts, and ninth-tier alchemists are exceptionally scarce across the continent 122 155 165.

Xiao Yan’s ninth-tier status helps him earn the friendship of Ancient Void Dragon experts. Although the dragons can gather precious medicinal ingredients, they cannot fully exploit those ingredients’ medicinal potency themselves, making an accomplished alchemist a valuable ally 160.