The pill-fusing stage required neutralizing and combining the medicinal potency of the various Spirit Herbs before finally condensing it into pills.
During this process, temperature acted as the catalyst for neutralizing and combining the medicinal potency, making fire control especially important.
Chen Shi'an channeled his Mind Power, keeping close watch on the conditions inside the pill furnace at all times. Every so often, he added firewood to the stove or removed some, controlling the furnace's temperature.
Time slowly passed, from early morning to noon, then until the sun slanted westward. Chen Shi'an drank water when thirsty and ate dry rations when hungry, not daring to step away from the pill furnace.
When the sky had gone completely dark, a faint medicinal fragrance gradually wafted through the alchemy room.
A smile appeared on Chen Shi'an's face. The last time he had come to refine pills, it had been around this hour that a burnt smell had drifted from the furnace.
A medicinal fragrance meant that finished Origin-Strength Pills had condensed inside the furnace.
He hurriedly removed the firewood from the stove, letting the pill furnace cool on its own.
Time slowly passed, and the fragrance drifting from the furnace grew richer and richer.
Once the furnace had cooled completely, Chen Shi'an eagerly lifted the lid.
To his delighted surprise, three pitch-black, perfectly round pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace. They were indeed Origin-Strength Pills.
Aside from the three finished pills, there was some pill residue and a considerable number of pills that had failed to take their final shape.
Three finished pills from one batch made for a rather low success rate.
Under normal circumstances, a batch generally yielded around ten finished pills.
Still, Chen Shi'an was already thoroughly satisfied to have refined three Origin-Strength Pills by