Pill Success and Passing Away (Part 2)

After resting for nearly an hour, Ye Chen opened his eyes and returned to the Medicine Cauldron.

Next, he only needed to melt that Fire Attribute Monster Core before he could begin pill fusion...

The first half of this step posed no difficulty for Ye Chen. After all, his Star Fire had grown considerably by now, and its temperature was more than enough to fuse a first-rank Monster Core.

As for pill fusion...

Pill fusion was the final and most crucial step of alchemy.

Different materials had different levels of resistance to heat. Therefore, an alchemist had to learn to control the temperature of the flames in every part of the cauldron at will...

Where low temperatures were needed, the flames had to be suppressed; where high temperatures were needed, the suppression had to be lifted to raise the flames' temperature.

This process had to be precise and swift. Otherwise, even being a second too slow could ruin materials that had already been refined.

This was also the ultimate test of an alchemist's flame control and the sensitivity of his Soul Power perception.

Ye Chen took a deep breath. Looking at the Monster Core that had already melted into a pool of liquid within the Medicine Cauldron, his expression turned grave as he glanced at the medicinal materials beside him.

The order in which the materials were added was recorded in the pill formula. All he needed to do now was add them one by one according to the instructions.

He picked up a box of black granular material and poured it directly into the Medicine Cauldron.

This was extracted from a medicinal material known as Orchid Heart Grass. Its purpose was to neutralize the violent factors within the Fire Attribute Monster Core, preventing a clash when it later fused with Flame Grass, another Fire Attribute medicinal material.

Licking his dry lips, Ye Chen separated a strand of Soul Perception and carefully controlled the flames beneath the black granules, slowly raising their temperature...

Ye Chen was not the only one tense during this step. Even Ye Zhong, watching from the side, felt his heart rise to his throat, as though he had returned to the time when his father had taught him alchemy for the first time in his teens.

Inside the Medicine Cauldron, the tiny black granules slowly drifted into the pool of Crimson Red liquid under the steadily rising heat, dyeing its color even deeper...

The first step was a success!

This was a very good start...

Next, Ye Chen cautiously continued adding materials into the Medicine Cauldron, then refined and fused them at different temperatures. He actually managed to completely merge all seven materials into that droplet in a single attempt!

The sight made all three people present breathe a sigh of relief...

Of course, Ye Chen did not relax because of this. After all, the alchemy process was not truly complete yet.

After the pill fusion succeeded, Ye Chen still had to slowly control the temperature of the flames and refine that droplet into a solid pill. Only when the pill truly formed would this alchemy session be considered finished.

He could not afford to fail at the final step.

Ye Chen had no intention of letting such a thing happen to him.

So, after relaxing slightly, he once again devoted all his focus to controlling the flames within the Medicine Cauldron.

Half an hour later, a round, fiery-red pill finally appeared in Ye Chen's hand.

The Fire Essence Pill had been successfully refined!

Even with the temperament of an adult, Ye Chen could not suppress his excitement. He hurried over to Old Ancestor Ye Xun, held the pill high in his hand like a child eagerly seeking praise, and asked anxiously, "Old Ancestor, quickly, take a look! What is the quality of the Fire Essence Pill I refined?"

Even for the same kind of pill, different people could produce subtle differences when refining it.

Generally speaking, the more experienced the alchemist, the higher the quality of the pills he refined and the stronger their Medicinal Effect.

Holding the Crimson Pill, which resembled a longan, Ye Xun saw at a glance that although this Fire Essence Pill was not top-tier, its quality had already reached the superior grade. Even veteran First Grade Alchemists who had been in the field for many years might not be able to refine one like it...

Looking at little Ye Chen's eager expression, Ye Xun's face was filled with hope and gratification.

"Good, good, good!"

Those three words of praise made Ye Chen's face bloom with a smile.

However, before he could fully give vent to his joy, the withered hand before him, which had been holding the pill, suddenly fell limply...

The Crimson Red Fire Essence Pill rolled to the ground and tumbled far away.

Yet no one cared about it now...

Little Ye Chen was already stunned by the sudden scene. His small face was filled with disbelief as he watched the old man before him slump weakly into his chair.

At that moment, his mind went blank, and everything around him disappeared...

Ye Zhong's eyes were also red, yet his expression remained calm.

He had long expected this moment, had he not?

After seeing Ye Chen finally become a formal alchemist—and a First Grade Alchemist not yet eight years old, the first in the Ye Family in hundreds of years—the old man could finally let go in peace.

Looking at his dazed grandson, Ye Zhong felt a pang of pity...

For a child not yet eight years old, this should have been his first encounter with parting in life and death. His heart must have been filled with confusion and helplessness.

He sent a voice transmission to the servants outside the courtyard. Before long, Ye Lan and his wife hurried to this small courtyard.

Seeing the gaunt figure seated at the head of the room, the two were first stunned, then their expressions changed drastically.

Ye Zhong waved his hand, stopping Ye Lan from asking any questions. Instead, he first said to his daughter-in-law, Song Chun'er, "Take Chen'er away first..."

Song Chun'er hurried forward. Seeing her son lower his head in silence, her heart immediately ached. She pulled him into her arms and said softly, "Son, come with Mother..."

Ye Chen looked up at Song Chun'er, nodded silently, and left with his mother.

In truth, he had not suffered as great a blow as Ye Zhong, Song Chun'er, and the others imagined...

But he had experienced scenes of life and death in his previous life as well—his grandpa, grandmother, and other relatives...

After all, everyone grew old.

To be honest, the sudden death of the Ye Family Old Ancestor had indeed caught him off guard.

Ever since he had been sent here at the age of five to learn alchemy from the Ye Family Old Ancestor, the old man had taught him without reservation. No matter how many mistakes he made, he had never gotten angry. He had always patiently instructed him in a gentle voice, and even when Ye Chen was occasionally at fault, he had protected him in every way...

Fortunately, Ye Chen had strong self-control. Otherwise, with that degree of indulgence, the old man would surely have raised a Trash who looked down on everyone!

Thinking of how this old man, who had devoted all his energy to him, had now passed away just like that, Ye Chen's gratitude was mixed with deep sorrow...

With a smile, Ye Chen persuaded the worried Song Chun'er to leave. Sitting alone in the room, he gazed at the gloomy sky beyond the window and silently said, Old Ancestor, watch from the heavens. The Ye Family will certainly rise to its peak again in my hands—becoming even stronger! I, Ye Chen, swear it!

Ye Chen's gaze was filled with resolve. Only at this moment did he seem to truly feel the responsibility that came with being the direct heir of the Ye Family!

A shooting star suddenly streaked across the daytime sky, trailing flames as it vanished beyond the distant horizon, as if foretelling something...

The Ye Family was about to change!