Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Extremely Tedious Alchemy Process

Following the instructions on the Pill Formula for the Qi Nourishing Pill, he purchased several basic Spirit Grasses that were still affordable for now.

Xiao Chen set up the Pill Furnace in his small courtyard, laid out a meditation cushion, and prepared to begin Alchemy.

The first step was to preprocess the Spiritual Materials.

This step tested an Alchemist’s knowledge and familiarity with the Spiritual Materials at hand.

However, this step could be skipped for now. The Qi Nourishing Pill used only basic Spiritual Materials, which had already been processed by the vendor.

The second step was to burn incense and calm the spirit.

This step was a test of an Alchemist’s wealth—whether they found it necessary and were willing to bear the cost.

Xiao Chen now had a full thirty sticks of Agarwood Incense, so he generously took one out and lit it. He then sat cross-legged, and before long, his mind grew calm and tranquil.

The third step was Liquid Transformation.

This step tested an Alchemist’s control over the heat, requiring the main herbs and Spiritual Spring water to be added to the Pill Furnace and simmered with a Spiritual Fire to extract their medicinal properties into a Spiritual Liquid.

Throughout the hour-long simmering process, the fire’s intensity had to be constantly adjusted based on the state of the liquid—it could be neither too high nor too low.

Fortunately, with the Three-legged Refining Furnace, Xiao Chen just had to observe the heat level indicated on the Pill Formula and activate the corresponding Artifact Pattern on the furnace. This step was easily accomplished.

The fourth step was adding the herbs.

This step tested an Alchemist’s grasp of timing, observation, and judgment.

However, the Qi Nourishing Pill was an extremely common and simple basic elixir, so the Pill Formula’s instructions for this step were also very clear.

Xiao Chen followed the procedure, adding the five supplementary herbs at the times indicated on the Pill Formula.

The fifth step was combining the herbs.

This step tested an Alchemist’s meticulousness and the precision of their Magical Power control.

As the Spiritual Liquid in the furnace gradually reduced under the constant heat of the Spiritual Fire, the Alchemist had to use Magical Power to stir, flip, or rotate it, mixing the medicinal properties and evenly dividing the Spiritual Liquid into several nascent pills.

The Pill Formula only had four words on the matter: “Mix well, divide evenly.”

The specifics of the mixing process, and how many portions to ultimately divide the liquid into, relied entirely on the Alchemist’s judgment, which was based on their own rich experience.

The reason for this ambiguity was that in every alchemy session, numerous factors were different: the origin of the medicinal herbs, their age, their state of preservation, the potency of the properties extracted in the previous steps, the current ratio of remaining Spiritual Spring water, and so on.

And this was just for a few simple Spiritual Materials. For high-level Elixirs, there were dozens more variables.

Thus, upon reaching this step, Xiao Chen could no longer rely on external aids. He had to mix the medicinal properties and divide them evenly himself.

The sixth and final step was Pill Formation.

This step tested an Alchemist’s overall proficiency and sometimes even required consideration of celestial timing and geographical advantage.

To solidify the evenly divided liquid into pills, all the preceding steps needed to be executed to near perfection.

Otherwise, the liquid would either fail to solidify, or it would barely form a pill only to shatter upon removal from the furnace. In the best-case scenario, it would become a low-quality product; in the worst, a Wasted Pill.

As for celestial timing and geographical advantage, this related to the principles of mutual generation and restraint among the Five Elements.

For example, Noon was associated with the Fire Attribute. Forming a pill at high Noon was therefore beneficial for Elixirs of the Fire and Earth Attributes but detrimental to those of the Water Attribute.

When refining certain extremely critical Elixirs, Alchemists would sometimes consciously calculate the refining time to increase the success rate by even a fraction of a percent, trying to control the Pill Formation to occur within a specific time window.

Fortunately, as a general-purpose Elixir, the Qi Nourishing Pill had no such requirements for timing or location; any hour of the day would do.

Therefore, throughout the entire, incredibly tedious refining process, the only step Xiao Chen truly needed to focus on was the fifth.

As five hours passed, the liquid in the furnace, which had been divided into ten portions, gradually solidified into ten Elixirs.

’Alchemy doesn’t seem that hard, after all.’

Xiao Chen cut off the supply of Magical Power and waited for the Pill Furnace’s temperature to drop, reviewing the process of his first attempt at Alchemy.

’Am I a one-in-a-million alchemy genius?’

’Succeeding at alchemy on the first try… That should earn me the title of genius, right?’

CRACK!

A sudden, crisp shattering sound rang out, like a sharp slap to the face.

It was immediately followed by a continuous series of pops, like a string of firecrackers going off.

Xiao Chen watched, wide-eyed, as the ten Elixirs in his furnace exploded one after another as the temperature dropped. Not a single one survived.

Failure had come so swiftly it caught him completely off guard.

In truth, failing one’s first attempt at Alchemy was perfectly normal. Alchemists were forged through repeated failures and mountains of Spirit Stones.

Xiao Chen had anticipated this, so he quickly accepted the outcome.

He slept to replenish his energy, then woke up the next day and got right back to it.

The second attempt: failure.

The third attempt: failure.

The fourth attempt: failure.

…

The tenth attempt: a total wipeout!

The Spirit Grass consumed was worth a total of forty Spirit Stones, equivalent to half a year’s cultivation stipend for an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple.

But now, after just ten days, it had all been turned into a pile of toxic waste.

At one point, Xiao Chen had taken a Wasted Pill to consult with Elder Chen.

Unsurprisingly, the diagnosis he received was “insufficient proficiency.”

Elder Chen’s exact words were: “Practice more, until it becomes second nature. There is no other way.”

Xiao Chen was receptive to the advice. He purchased a new batch of Spirit Grass and continued practicing.

Two months flew by in an instant, taking with them a grand total of two hundred and forty of Xiao Chen’s Spirit Stones.

“Seventieth batch of Qi Nourishing Pills… hmm? One successful pill!”

Xiao Chen habitually made a note for his log, but then he stared at the perfectly round Spirit Pill in the furnace and froze. ’Wait, did I succeed?’

Just then, he felt a small, round orb materialize in his robes. He pulled it out and saw it was an identical Spirit Pill.

The [Buy One, Get One Free] effect from his Augment had triggered. He had actually succeeded.

At that moment, Xiao Chen wasn’t as ecstatic as he’d imagined he would be. Instead, he just felt exhausted.

’Alchemy is so damn hard. After grinding away for so long, I can finally see a glimmer of hope.’

’If I hadn’t succeeded soon, I would’ve lost every last Spirit Stone I’d earned.’

In fact, if he hadn’t received five hundred Spirit Stones in compensation from the Grand Elder, Xiao Chen would have been broke long ago.

If that had been the case, he would have been forced to take on Sect missions, risking life and limb for a meager income.

“Fifty Spirit Stones? Why is it so much more expensive?”

On his ninth trip down the mountain to buy Spirit Grass, Xiao Chen was surprised to learn that the price of basic Spirit Grass had risen yet again.

This didn’t make any sense. The Spirit Grass for Qi Nourishing Pills didn’t rely on trade caravans; Li State was self-sufficient.

Besides, the most basic Qi Nourishing Pill is crucial for countless low-level Cultivators. A price of five Spirit Stones per bottle is already steep.

But if the price of raw materials continued to rise, the price of the Elixirs would inevitably follow suit.

Looking at the big picture, the long-term effects of such a trend would be profound.

For Xiao Chen, the most immediate consequence was that his plan to earn money by selling Qi Nourishing Pills had just become significantly more difficult.

The vendor was helpless as well. Seeing a familiar customer, he couldn’t help but complain, “Sigh, my hands are tied.”

“Not long after you bought your last batch of Spirit Grass, the market price shot up to forty-five Spirit Stones. I was hoping it would drop back down in a day or two.”

“But who could have expected a band of Tribulation Cultivators to suddenly show up in Pingyuan County to the east? They killed a lot of Spirit Plant Cultivators, and now all sorts of Spirit Grass are suddenly in short supply.”

Hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately thought of Liu Benxin; his Liu Family was based in Pingyuan County.

Pingyuan County indeed had a vast expanse of fertile plains and several natural Spiritual Springs. Most of Li State’s Spirit Medicine came from there.

The Tribulation Cultivators probably weren’t interested in the Spirit Medicine in the fields, but the deaths of the Spirit Plant Cultivators will definitely affect next year’s Spirit Grass harvest.

Add to that the severed trade routes and the halt in outside trade, and the Spirit Grass in the Marketplace has become scarce and the prices have started to climb.

Realizing this, Xiao Chen was at a loss for words.

’Some of the big families must have seen this coming and started hoarding supplies to maliciously drive up the prices.’

“I’ll take five portions of Spirit Grass, then. Here are twenty-five Spirit Stones.”

Regardless, he had to keep practicing. He’d finally seen a glimmer of hope; he couldn’t just give up now.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Junior Brother Xiao. Still buying these Spirit Grasses? With your supposedly incredible comprehension, shouldn’t you have mastered Alchemy in an instant?”

The one speaking was Jiang Cungang. As an Alchemist, he also frequented the Marketplace to buy Spirit Grass.

The last time they’d met, outside the Law Enforcement Hall, he had spoken up in defense of Jiang Shiyou. Afterward, many of his fellow disciples had whispered behind his back, believing him to be of questionable character.

On top of that, Jiang Shiyou had lost his position in the Law Enforcement Hall. The Jiang Family was furious and had cursed Xiao Chen’s name behind closed doors on many occasions. In the end, they blamed Xiao Chen for all of it.

So, upon seeing Xiao Chen purchasing Spirit Grass, he sauntered over to mock him. “Alchemy isn’t that hard, you know. How come a certain someone hasn’t had another one of his ’epiphanies’?”

“It’s been over a month now. I heard you’re dumping dregs out on Bishui Peak every single day, yet you still haven’t managed to produce a single Elixir. Is it true?”

“Letting you buy this Spirit Grass is just a waste of resources. An absolute travesty.”

Xiao Chen put away his Spirit Grass. “You sure can run your mouth. With all this nonsense you’re spouting, are you asking for a trip to the Sect’s sparring platform?”

The Li Huo Sect had sparring platforms for disciples to practice and engage in Magical Combat. While killing a fellow sect member was forbidden, injuring them was permitted.

Jiang Cungang instinctively took a step back. Most Alchemists weren’t proficient in Magical Combat, and Xiao Chen had already displayed considerable fighting ability during the Outer Sect trials. He figured he probably couldn’t win.

But he still ran his mouth, “Hmph! Xiao Chen, you’re just a common brute who only knows how to use his fists.”

“An idiot like you, with nothing but brawling on the brain, couldn’t become an Alchemist in your next life.”

’Add one to the revenge list.’

Xiao Chen walked over, pointed a finger at Jiang Cungang, and said with a smile, “Why don’t you go pound sand.”

Jiang Cungang was completely baffled. ’What is that supposed to mean?’

Xiao Chen couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him. After all, it wasn’t a good time for a real fight, and a verbal spat was pointless.

There was no reason to waste his precious time on the man. Xiao Chen turned decisively and headed back up the mountain.

The seventy-first batch. Time to begin!

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