Master, You Can Use Fire Like This Too?

Once Xiao Yan agreed, Bodhi flicked his sleeve, and several loose stones flew up from the ground, landing in the middle of the clearing to form a small stove.

Then an earthenware bowl settled onto it.

Xiao Yan stared at the bowl for a long moment.

"Master, don't you need a medicinal Cauldron to refine medicine?"

"A good Cauldron saves some effort. Today, I'm only teaching you to extract medicinal liquid. This will do."

As he spoke, the Grandmaster flicked a finger.

A spark fell into the stove, and slender flames sprang up at once, though there was not a single stick of firewood.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

Bodhi handed him a length of Red-Pattern Grass and had him close his eyes, guiding him to slowly bring his awareness toward the flames.

The heat suddenly became distinct in his perception.

What had seemed an ordinary fire had high and low points, swift and slow currents. He could faintly distinguish where it burned fiercely and where it was gentler.

"Your soul is stronger than those of your peers. That gives you an advantage in this art."

Bodhi looked at him and nodded slightly.

"First learn to observe, then learn to control."

An incantation entered Xiao Yan's mind.

Wind-Returning, Flame-Reversing!

The instant he saw the name, Xiao Yan almost opened his eyes.

Of all the thirty-six arts, this was the first one he would use to refine medicine?

"This art lets you Ride the Wind and direct fire. Once you master it, you can even turn an enemy's raging flames back on them. For now, we'll use only its fire control. That alone will keep you learning for a while."

Xiao Yan immediately steadied his mind and tried circulating his Dou Qi according to the incantation.

The flames in the stove swayed gently.

Delighted, he was about to put more effort into it when a tongue of flame suddenly leaped up and licked the rim of the bowl, frightening him into hastily pulling back.

"A bigger fire is not always better."

Bodhi smiled and lowered a finger, pressing the flames down.

"When refining medicine, give the ingredients exactly as much heat as they need."

Xiao Yan nodded and placed the length of Red-Pattern Grass in the bowl.

The leaves slowly curled, and a few drops of pale red juice seeped from their veins, gathering into a small pool at the bottom. Just as Xiao Yan began to find it interesting, a bitter, scorched smell reached his nose.

He looked down and saw that half the remaining leaves had already blackened.

Even the few drops of medicinal juice had darkened.

The delight froze on the boy's face.

"Can it still be used?"

"Yes, but it has lost thirty percent of its medicinal potency."

Bodhi picked up another length of the herb and had him feel its leaves first, then its roots and stem.

The roots and stem were thick and tough, while the leaves were thin.

Naturally, applying the same heat would not make them release their juices at the same time.

Understanding dawned on Xiao Yan, and he closed his eyes again to sense the flames. This time, instead of hurriedly pouring all his Dou Qi into them, he tried lowering the fire and letting the roots and stem heat up first.

Juice seeped out again.

Pale red and clear.

He carefully maintained the flames until the herb had lost its moisture, then picked out the shriveled residue as the Grandmaster instructed.

At last, the medicinal juice left at the bottom of the bowl had no scorched smell.

"Now that's more like it."

Those words made Xiao Yan even happier than his advancement had earlier.

He continued taking ingredients—Green-Bone Vine and Sinew-Nourishing Flower—and extracting them one by one. For those with gentle properties, he slowly coaxed them along; for those with more impurities, he spent extra concentration separating out the murky portions.

When it came time to combine the juices, he discovered that he also had to account for the order of their different medicinal properties.

This time, however, he had learned from his earlier mistake and did not rush.

The Grandmaster occasionally offered a reminder, but mostly sat nearby drinking tea.

The sun gradually sank westward.

By the time the final drop of medicinal juice fell into the bowl and the different colors slowly blended into a pale blue-green pool, Xiao Yan's forehead was covered in sweat.

He stared at that little pool of medicinal liquid, even softening his breathing.

"Did it work?"

"It did."

Bodhi extinguished the flames and pushed the bowl toward him.

"Some impurities remain, and the medicinal potency has not fully melded. Still, this is quite good for your first attempt."

Xiao Yan poured the liquid into a small bottle and held it up to the evening light, examining it again and again.

He had refined it himself!

It could not compare to a casual sweep of his master's sleeve, but from today onward, at least when it came to medicinal baths, he could provide for himself.

At that thought, something else suddenly struck him.

The mighty Heavenly Dipper Divine Powers had reached his hands, and the first thing he used them for was heating bathwater.

If the people of the Soul Hall knew, they would never dream that the immortal art destined to counter them was currently squatting on a mountain, simmering herbs.

The more Xiao Yan thought about it, the more amused he became. Seeing him clutch the bottle and grin foolishly, Bodhi gently waved his sleeve.

"Put everything away and come down the mountain for dinner."

"Right away, Master!"

Over the next few days, the fragrance of medicine often filled Xiao Yan's room.

The Grandmaster handed him a palm-sized Bronze Cauldron. Its body was plain and antique, with only three rounded legs and no ferocious, clawing decorations.

"Take this. Then you can stop thinking about that earthenware bowl all day."

Xiao Yan received it with both hands and immediately set the small Cauldron on the table, examining it from every angle.

"Is this an immortal treasure too?"

“At present, a medicinal Cauldron that helps you keep the heat steady is more useful to you than an alchemical furnace the size of a mountain.”

Xiao Yan smiled and nodded.

He certainly did not mind its size.

During these past few days of refining medicine, the bowl's uneven heating had sent him scrambling more than once. After he switched to the little Cauldron, the flames spread evenly beneath it, and extraction really did become much easier.

Outside his daily lessons, he spent his remaining time identifying herbs and controlling fire.

Eventually, once he picked up a length of an herb, he no longer needed to consult his herb manual to remember which part to extract first. The Azure Origin Body-Tempering Liquid also grew clearer and clearer.

One afternoon, Xun'er entered with a food basket and found Xiao Yan focused intently on the wisps of steam rising from the Cauldron's mouth.

She did not call to him immediately. Only after the flames dispersed did she set the basket aside.

"Brother Xiao Yan, if you keep refining, your meal will get cold."

Xiao Yan turned at her voice, a little ash still clinging to the tip of his nose.

"Let me bottle this first."

Xun'er took out a handkerchief and pointed to the tip of her own nose.

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose with his hand, only to smear the ash into a streak.

The girl finally could not help laughing and held the handkerchief out to him.

"You look like an expert when you cultivate. How do you manage to make your face dirtier when you wipe it?"

Xiao Yan took the handkerchief and gave a couple of awkward laughs. After putting away the medicine bottle, he sat at the table and ate half a bowl of rice in one go.

Looking at the little Cauldron on the table, Xun'er asked softly:

"Have you been learning to refine medicine all this time?"

"Yes, starting with medicinal liquids." Xiao Yan picked up one of the bottles and gently shook it. "Once I learn to refine pills, I won't have to rely entirely on others whenever I need medicine."

Xun'er did not ask who was teaching him. She simply looked at the sparkle in his eyes and smiled. "Then I'll look forward to seeing what you can do, Brother Xiao Yan."

"No problem!"

Xiao Yan answered boldly, yet when he reached for some food, he nearly picked up the little wooden spoon beside him that he used to stir medicinal residue.

Xun'er quickly replaced it with chopsticks for him.

"Eat first, before you start putting the food in the Cauldron too."

Xiao Yan glanced at the wooden spoon and laughed as well.

Busy as he was, having someone sit beside him and exchange a few words really did ease the tension in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since Xiao Yan became Bodhi's disciple.

After another cultivation session, the Dou Qi Vortex within him was much more solid than before, and his Dou Qi flowed through his meridians with less resistance.

A four-star Dou Zhe.

This time, he did not leap up and shout again. He simply sat on his meditation cushion, grinning for quite a while.

Then he took a folded sheet of paper from his drawer. Several herbs were listed on it—the prescription his father had recently been using to recuperate from his injuries.

At dinner, when Xiao Zhan raised his hand to pick up food, it still occasionally pulled at his left ribs. Slight though the movement was, Xiao Yan had noticed it several times.

He spread the paper before Bodhi.

"Master, can I learn to refine a batch of real pills now?"

The Grandmaster understood his intention at a glance.

"You want to treat your father's injuries first?"

Xiao Yan nodded and said:

"He always says he's nearly recovered, but he still has to take medicine. Since I've learned this skill, I should at least make things easier for him first."

Bodhi looked at him, a smile appearing on his face.

"Very well."

The old man lightly pointed a finger, and a pill formula he had devised himself using the herbs of the Dou Qi Continent appeared in the boy's mind. The name at the top unfolded clearly.

Origin-Restoring Meridian-Nourishing Pill.