After leaving the room where the bird eggs were stored, Chen Shuangbai used the Wind Control Technique, flying and walking until he reached the Three Yang Peaks, four or five peaks away.
The Three Yang Peaks were not a single mountain, but a distinctive formation of three peaks clustered together, one large and two small. They were, in order, Morning Sun Peak, Noon Sun Peak, and Setting Sun Peak.
Chen Shuangbai had already heard about them from the other disciples.
A great expert of the sect had drawn upon the earth veins and stirred the earth fire to form the Three Talents True Fire Array Formation from these three peaks. Special arrays had then been laid out, and pill chambers and forge rooms of all sizes built on the mountains for the daily use of Alchemists and smiths.
Chen Shuangbai rode the wind straight down toward Morning Sun Peak.
As soon as he landed, he sensed a ripple sweep over the Jade Spring disciple jade token on his person, then silently vanish.
After Chen Shuangbai picked a pill chamber at random, he lightly swept his disciple jade token across the jade wall inside. The Merit Points for renting the chamber were deducted, and the great bluestone door slowly closed.
"Ten Merit Points a day. That's not much."
Chen Shuangbai glanced at the Merit Points deducted from his disciple jade token and nodded slightly.
"I'll rent it for five days to start."
He had chosen a third-grade pill chamber. The power of the earth fire drawn into it was only passable, but it was just enough for him to practice with.
The higher-grade pill chambers also required more Merit Points.
The Jade Spring Sect did not actually require disciples to go to the Three Yang Peaks to refine pills, forge artifacts, or do other such things. They could also carve out pill chambers in their cave abodes, but that required not only a very large cave abode but also a report to the sect.
The cave abode's owner had to have cultivated to a certain level, or reached a certain level in the corresponding cultivation craft.
Chen Shuangbai put those thoughts behind him and looked at the furnishings.
The most conspicuous thing was the Pill Furnace in the very center.
It was an ordinary standard-issue Pill Furnace, but compared with other common furnaces, those in the Jade Spring Sect were specially made by the sect's Artifact Forging Hall and better suited to Jade Spring disciples.
Beneath the Pill Furnace was a sunken fire pit, in which a faint blue-purple flame flickered.
A Pill Furnace needed constant warming and nourishment, so even when no one was refining pills, a certain amount of earth fire was kept burning to warm it.
Apart from that, wooden tables, chairs, and stools were arranged along the walls. Most importantly, there was also a small pool in the southeastern corner.
Chen Shuangbai dipped his hand into it and found the water cool. It seemed to be water from the Shattered Star River.
The Shattered Star River ran through nearly the whole of Sunken Jade Valley. Its source was controlled by the Jade Spring Sect, and its clean water contained a small amount of Spiritual Qi. It was a cold-water stream.
This was also suitable for Alchemists who practiced the Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique.
"I have to say, the sect has thought of everything," Chen Shuangbai remarked. He then took all the spirit medicines he had brought for practice out of his Storage Bag and placed them on the table.
Chen Shuangbai then sat down on the cushion in front of the Pill Furnace, with a Pill Formula at his right hand.
Low-grade pill: [Water Cloud Pill].
Main ingredient: three qian of Water Cloud Grass. Auxiliary ingredients: one qian of Light Body Flower, two sections of Flowing Wind Vine, a little mica powder, and three bowls of cold water from the Shattered Star River.
The Water Cloud Pill was derived from the Clear Water Pill, a basic pill suitable for cultivators with water and wood Spirit Roots that was widely circulated in the Jing Kingdom's cultivation world. The Water Cloud Pill had been developed by a Jade Spring Sect Alchemist as an improvement upon it.
After another glance at the Pill Formula, Chen Shuangbai circulated the Law Power of the Moon-Worshipping Clear Illumination Method and raised a hand, drawing three bowls of cold Shattered Star River water from the cold pool in the corner. He then tossed in the Water Cloud Grass, Light Body Flower, and Flowing Wind Vine one by one, in order.
He then began refining their medicinal properties according to the principles of the Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique. The spirit medicines slowly spun in the clear spirit water.
This step was the key to the Water Method Alchemy Technique.
Water served as the medium, washing the medicinal properties out of the spirit medicines and into itself.
One turn, two turns, three turns... On the ninth turn, Chen Shuangbai frowned slightly and stopped channeling Law Power, directing it instead into a large jar he had prepared nearby.
"I failed."
Chen Shuangbai walked over to the jar and looked at the medicinal liquid, which had turned from clear to black. He began to consider which step he had gotten wrong.
A moment later.
Having figured it out, he took a second batch of spirit medicines, drew over another ball of cold water, and tried again.
Time flew like a white steed flashing past a crack, and several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The fourth day of renting the pill chamber.
Chen Shuangbai slowly put down the fire-tending fan and swallowed another Grain Avoidance Pill. The Method Formula in his hand changed, reducing the strength of the earth fire that had been blazing up. With a clunk, the furnace lid opened, and he moved his Spirit Power to draw out eight jade-colored pills.
"Whew, this eighth batch finally succeeded."
As he spoke, he took out a jade bottle and put them inside.
A skilled Alchemist could generally produce around twelve Water Cloud Pills in a batch. Chen Shuangbai had managed eight, which was already quite an accomplishment and well worth boasting about.
Now that he had succeeded, Chen Shuangbai gave up the pill chamber. After receiving a day's Merit Points back, he returned to his cave abode.
After spending the night regulating his breathing in his cave abode, Chen Shuangbai slowly finished his cultivation, then left and rode the wind toward a place called Fate-Seeking Valley in the southwest of Sunken Jade Valley.
When the five of them had first attempted to refine pills, Yi Chongyue had given them instructions.
He had said that he would be cultivating in seclusion in Fate-Seeking Valley for the next half month, and that whoever succeeded in refining the pills should come find him.
Chen Shuangbai stopped and started along the way, asking for directions several times before he found the quiet, secluded valley.
There was a thatched cottage in the valley, with a pool of still water in front of it.
Yi Chongyue was in front of the cottage, with a disciple standing beside him, nodding repeatedly, apparently receiving instruction.
When Chen Shuangbai landed and approached, Yi Chongyue was not surprised to see him. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you two to be the first."
At those words, the disciple turned around, revealing a pair of thick eyebrows broader than most. He too wore the deep-blue robes of a Jade Spring disciple. With his square face and large ears, he looked thoroughly upright.
He looked at Chen Shuangbai and gave him a slightly simple, honest smile. "Junior Brother Chen, you're here."
This man was named Fan Yunsong, a fellow disciple Chen Shuangbai had met in pill arts class during this time. Since he was a year older than Chen Shuangbai, he was his senior brother.
During their time together, Chen Shuangbai had discovered that Fan Yunsong, with his thick brows and large eyes, looked quite righteous, but was in fact full of schemes-a man who could not be judged by his appearance.
"Senior Brother Fan, you really did beat me to it!"
Chen Shuangbai had to admit that Fan Yunsong was more gifted than him in the art of pill refining.
The Jade Spring Sect cultivated outstanding talents, and capable and formidable people emerged one after another, so Chen Shuangbai was not surprised in the least.
Fan Yunsong chuckled.