Refining Blood Qi Powder

"Crackling."

The Clearwood burned fiercely in the stove.

The temperature of the azure flame was clearly much higher than that of ordinary common wood.

The iron pot turned crimson red in an instant.

With a bang!

The iron pot burst apart on the spot.

Iron shards flew everywhere.

Fu Shaoping and Zhou Pan'er were both startled.

Zhou Pan'er blinked:

"Could it be that I stoked the fire too fiercely?"

Fu Shaoping picked up a fragment of the iron pot, his index finger exerting a tiny bit of force, and the fragment turned into powder that drifted down.

He shook his head and said:

"The pill recipe didn't mention what kind of vessel is needed for refinement. Now it seems containers forged from ordinary materials simply cannot withstand the flame temperature of Clearwood, and we must purchase an alchemy furnace."

An alchemy furnace was not cheap.

Even a First-Tier Low-Grade one required dozens of Low-Grade Essence Stones.

Calculated this way.

It was not as cost-effective as using these Origin Stones to purchase finished Blood Qi Powder.

Zhou Pan'er wore a look of disappointment.

Fu Shaoping, however, said:

"Sister Pan'er, tomorrow I will go to the Hall of Myriad Treasures at the Hundred Households Office to ask and see how many merits are required to exchange for an alchemy furnace. Currently I have eight Ninth-Rank Merits, and going on a few missions should be enough to save up for one."

If it were only for refining Blood Qi Powder.

Purchasing an alchemy furnace would inevitably mean their losses outweighed their gains.

But looking at the long term.

If they wanted to walk the path of an alchemist, then an alchemy furnace was a necessity and they would have to purchase one sooner or later.

Moreover.

Blood Qi Powder was only suitable for those in the first three tiers of the Body Tempering Realm to consume.

After hearing this, Zhou Pan'er secretly made up her mind to double her efforts in practicing martial arts, so that in the future when Shaoping went out on missions alone, she would be able to help him. It was just a pity that these ten portions of Blood Qi Powder ingredients would surely go to waste now.

Seeing Zhou Pan'er's sorrowful expression and knowing what she was thinking, Fu Shaoping smiled and comforted her:

"The Hundred Households Office has the Earthfire Hall, and inside the hall there are Alchemy Rooms equipped with free alchemy furnaces. As long as you pay the Origin Stones, you can enter and refine pills, so Sister Pan'er, you don't need to worry about these materials going to waste. In addition, if people from the Hundred Households Office ask about the origin of the Blood Qi Powder pill recipe, I will just say it is a legacy from my father, and it won't implicate you. From what I know, the Hundred Households Office does not pry into such personal secrets, so you don't need to worry too much."

That is wonderful!

Zhou Pan'er breathed a sigh of relief.

She was terrified that the Blood Qi Powder pill recipe she had brought back would end up doing more harm than good.

Early the next morning.

Fu Shaoping went to the Earthfire Hall established underground by the Hundred Households Office.

The moment he stepped into the passageway.

The heat from the stone walls on both sides rushed toward his face, but as the runes carved into the stone walls flickered slightly, it turned cool again.

The Earthfire Hall had more than a dozen Earthfire Chambers built in it, specially provided for the staff of the Hundred Households Office to carry out weapon forging and alchemy. Only two of them actually possessed earthfire, and the rental fee for each was quite substantial-something Fu Shaoping naturally could not afford to rent.

He chose to bring his own firewood.

Junior Banner Liu, who was responsible for managing the Earthfire Chamber, glanced at the two large sacks of Clearwood carried on Fu Shaoping's shoulders and spoke:

"A room without earthfire costs twenty origin shells a day. How many days do you want to enter for? Alchemy or weapon forging?"

"Three days, alchemy."

In three more days, he would complete his probation and be assigned under a commandant.

Fu Shaoping handed over sixty origin shells from his pocket to Junior Banner Liu.

"Someone will be coming out of Room Jia-10 shortly, wait for a moment."

The incense burned down by a fraction.

With a squeak.

The door of Room Jia-10 on the left was pushed open from the inside.

A disheveled young man walked out from it. Judging by his weeping, mournful face, he had clearly failed at alchemy.

Seeing that Fu Shaoping was not even wearing his Martial Suppression Saber, Junior Banner Liu knew the other was still in his probation period and could not help lecturing him with a few nagging words:

"At your age, you should properly raise your cultivation realm as the right path. One by one, you harbor unrealistic fantasies about ascending to heaven in a single bound to become an alchemist-how could such a good thing exist in this world? It is already good enough if one or two out of ten thousand martial artists possess alchemy talent. The fellow who just walked out has been obsessed with alchemy for a full year and hasn't even managed to refine the most basic Blood Qi Powder. You had better think this through clearly, it's still not too late to regret."

"Thank you for the guidance, sir!"

Fu Shaoping knew the other was also giving well-intentioned advice.

If he did not have the Mystic Mandate Codex, he naturally would have done as the other said and concentrated his efforts in a single direction.

However, after pondering the pill recipe over the past few days.

The numerical value regarding the Alchemy Arts in his sea of consciousness had clearly risen once more:

Blood Qi Powder: Beginning to Grasp (50/100)

He was only a hair's breadth away from getting started, so he naturally had to give it a try.

Junior Banner Liu said no more, waved his hand, and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Fu Shaoping opened the door of Room Jia-10 to let the burnt odor inside dissipate, and only then locked the door from the inside.

Inside the Earthfire Chamber.

One could see four long, pitch-black iron chains suspending an alchemy furnace in mid-air. By turning the mechanism on the wall, one could adjust the suspended height of the alchemy furnace, with the most suitable height being optimal for oneself. Directly beneath the alchemy furnace was a large fire pit.

Fu Shaoping piled the Clearwood from the sack into it.

Ignited the fire.

Heated the furnace!

Wait until the bottom of the alchemy furnace's pot turned slightly crimson.

Only then did he add the Clear-Sky Grass while simultaneously adjusting the heat.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle."

The Clear-Sky Grass quickly melted into a pool of green liquid.

Without hesitation, Fu Shaoping added the Sunflower. With the medicinal power of the Sunflower neutralizing it, the liquid was wrapped in a layer of pink outer skin on the outside.

Half an hour later.

A trace of bloody hue rose from the alchemy furnace, but in a flash, it directly burst apart with a bang.

The first failure was well within reason.

Fu Shaoping picked up the prepared paper and brush and quickly wrote down his insights on it.

The Mystic Mandate Codex in his sea of consciousness hummed:

Blood Qi Powder: Beginning to Grasp (89/100)

"Eh?"

Seeing the numerical value on it surge so rapidly, Fu Shaoping could not help but feel a little surprised.

He muttered to himself:

"So it turns out I am that one in ten thousand!"

Facts proved.

He clearly possessed alchemy talent.

Otherwise.

His first attempt at refinement would not have been able to increase by nearly thirty points.

This was perhaps related to his awakening of past life wisdom, which made his mental strength stronger than that of ordinary people.

Looking at the display of the Mystic Mandate Codex.

Fu Shaoping gained confidence in his heart. He figured he should be able to successfully refine Blood Qi Powder by the third furnace, so when he refined it again, he appeared much steadier.

Another hour passed.

Abruptly.

Wisps of bloody hue rose within the alchemy furnace.

Fu Shaoping turned the wall switch, and the iron chains rattled as they pulled the alchemy furnace away from the fire pit. Inside the pill furnace, the Clear-Sky Grass and Sunflower, aided by more than a dozen supplementary herbs, had already coagulated into Blood Qi Powder.

Fu Shaoping was overjoyed.

He had thought he would only succeed in the next furnace.

Never did he expect.

That he would successfully refine a portion of Blood Qi Powder on the second furnace.

This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

At the same time.

The Treasure Mirror in his sea of consciousness flashed once more:

Blood Qi Powder: Novice (20/100)

Keep up the good work!

Fu Shaoping suddenly became full of drive.

Inside the Earthfire Chamber.

Wisps of blood qi lit up from time to time.

The third furnace successfully coagulated Grade C Blood Qi Powder.

The fourth furnace, Grade B.

The fifth furnace, Grade A.

The sixth furnace, Grade A.

For three consecutive days.

Fu Shaoping spent his time refining Blood Qi Powder.

He had originally thought that three days would not be enough to finish refining the materials for the ten furnaces of Blood Qi Powder, but unexpectedly, he finished early by noon on the final day!