Mastering elixir refinent is not easy; without guidance, the difficulty of alchemy significantly increases.
Jia Ren sat cross-legged before a half-zhang tall, bronze-colored Pill Furnace, periodically adding a slender piece of Sunfire Wood to its interior to control the heat and temperature.
He activated the Spirit Eye Technique, observing the changes inside the Alchemy Furnace.
Inside the Alchemy Furnace, the dicinal ingredients converged but never fused, let alone condensed into an elixir.
The dicinal ingredients gradually dried out, turning into dregs.
Failed again.
Slling the scorched scent emanating from the Pill Furnace, he opened it to find no desired elixirs, only a large amount of charred, charcoal-like substance.
Alchemy? This is clearly just producing charcoal dregs.
This was not the first ti Jia Ren had failed. Ever since he started attempting the Blood Ignition Pill, he had already failed fifteen batches to date.
After each failure, he would summarize the experience, striving for success the next ti.
Why hasn’t an elixir ford?
Jia Ren picked up the Jade Slip that recorded the Forbidden Pill, pondering it carefully.
The Jade Slip for the Blood Ignition Pill detailed the alchemy recipe and corresponding refinent techniques. However, it provided no information on controlling the heat and temperature; this had to be learned solely by accumulating experience.
Theoretically, refining ungraded Miscellaneous Pills should not be highly difficult.
Jia Ren wanted to use the Blood Ignition Pill to get started in alchemy, accumulate experience, and use that as a springboard to produce the Profound Water Pill.
It was similar to practicing the Seeking Demon Talisman Technique: once he reached the Grandmaster Level, he would possess both experience and a solid foundation. Then, starting to learn other talisman crafting techniques, both entry and learning would beco much easier.
Otherwise, with not even a hint of alchemy experience, directly attempting a First Order, Superior Grade elixir, he feared that out of hundreds of attempts, not even one furnace would yield success.
It was purely burning money.
Unlike talisman crafting, where he was guided by Elder Wu, alchemy relied solely on pondering over alchemy recipes.
Why is there no sign of elixir condensation?
The dosages and thods for the dicinal ingredients are correct; I’ve strictly followed the steps.
Jia Ren was not discouraged. He re-examined the Jade Slip, considering whether the problem might be insufficient temperature.
He cleared the ash from the furnace, ignited the Sunfire Wood at the bottom, and heated the Alchemy Furnace.
Refining low-level elixirs took less ti and had fewer requirents; they could even be made without Earth Fire.
Ordinary flas could not provide a long and stable heat source. Since refining graded elixirs took a long ti, Sunfire Wood couldn’t provide a consistently stable supply of heat. Any slight mistake could lead to alchemy failure.
Using Earth Fire for alchemy was relatively stable—a practice based on experience accumulated by countless alchemists over many years.
Jia Ren had already prepared and sorted his dicinal ingredients. He precisely asured out the corresponding dosages and added them according to the recipe’s proportions.
As the flas heated the Pill Furnace and the temperature was sufficient, he placed the dicinal ingredients into the furnace sequentially.
What followed was the crucial process of fire control. Alchemists all had their own corresponding Fire Control thod Gates; Jia Ren, this kind of half-baked alchemist, didn’t possess such a thod Gate. He could only rely on experience, adding or reducing the Sunfire Wood supply to control the fla’s temperature.
This was also why alchemy was so prone to failure.
A few monts later, the scorched sll returned.
Failed again...
Without a Fire Control thod Gate, mastering the heat was very difficult.
He then attempted refinent several more tis, constantly altering the temperature, from high to low.
The results, without exception, showed no sign of elixir condensation.
Alchemy was inherently difficult; its entry barrier was even higher than that of talisman crafting.
Whether a Sect or a family, cultivating a qualified Alchemist required consuming a vast amount of Spiritual dicine.
The success rate in alchemy was built upon countless failed attempts and wasted Spiritual dicine. The level one could achieve also depended on their talent for alchemy.
Good talent ant an easier start and a higher potential ceiling.
Poor talent ant losses would outweigh profits. In the long run, even a family could not bear such costs.
In the Great Wilderness Market, there were not many Loose Cultivators skilled in alchemy; those who were usually specialized in specific elixirs.
Without the backing of a family or Sect, every attempt by a Loose Cultivator to create a new type of elixir ant needing a large quantity of Spiritual dicine for practice, easily leading to expenses exceeding inco.
Jia Ren was not worried about the slow improvent of his Alchemy Skills. Once he truly got started with alchemy, his Proficiency Level would skyrocket. In no ti, he could reach a level that others might not achieve in decades, or even centuries.
The successive failures in alchemy were a significant blow, but Jia Ren didn’t dwell on them. Instead, he began reading the Hundred Poisons Scripture.
The Hundred Poisons Scripture was also related to dicinal substances; perhaps he could gain so insights from it by way of analogy.
He examined the poison formulas and their pharmacological interactions.
The primary and auxiliary ingredients of the Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke were combined to maximize its effects.
Although Elder Hundred Poisons’s character was poor, his teachings were unreserved, explaining many concepts of poison crafting in considerable detail.
Each reading brought considerable gains.
He benefited greatly from understanding the interactions of dicinal properties.
Alchemy and poison, in so aspects, share the sa fundantal principles.
Both are concerned with the intricate combination of dicinal properties.
Understanding the core of the Burning Spirit Pill—that is, the interaction of its dicinal properties and the hierarchy of its ingredients—should reduce the difficulty of getting started.
dicinal properties...
Without having studied a vast number of books on dicinal herbs, how could one possibly understand the properties of Spiritual dicine?
For instance, Jia Ren only knew that Wolfsbane Herb was the main ingredient for Bewildering Five-Colored Smoke. He was in the dark about its other effects and principles of combination.
To be precise, he was currently engaged in rote learning.
He had not deeply studied or understood alchemy, hoping instead to use the shortcut offered by the Proficiency Panel to boost his Proficiency Level as quickly as possible.
This won’t do!
In the future, if I want to make bait for Evolving Spirit Insects, I must be well-versed in and understand dicinal properties.
Learning without true understanding, just chanically doing, one cannot beco an innovator.
Studying dicinal herbs...
Information in this knowledge category was severely monopolized. The miscellaneous records on Spiritual dicine sold in the Market only detailed how to identify them, offering little insight into their dicinal properties.
The best approach was still to learn from professionals.
Finding an Alchemist was difficult, but physicians and apothecaries should be much easier to find.
This reminded Jia Ren of the physician who had once wanted to buy the Hundred Poisons Scripture. Could he exchange the Hundred Poisons Scripture for the knowledge of Spiritual dicine he desired?
At this thought, a smile appeared on his face.
Physicians were mostly well-known figures, so finding one wouldn’t be difficult.
Jia Ren headed to the West Street dical Hall and quickly found the physician.
"Are you here for treatnt or consultation?" Old Doctor Liu asked, sizing up Jia Ren to see if he showed any signs of illness.
"I wish to understand the properties of dicines and grasp pharmacological principles," Jia Ren stated.
"I wonder if Elder Liu would be willing to help."
"I have no intention of taking on disciples," Old Doctor Liu replied.
Teach a disciple, and the master starves—that was an unchanging truth.
One’s character is evident at three, and their future set by seven. The younger one is, the more malleable.
The most important criterion for accepting a disciple was youth; older candidates were generally not considered.
"Elder Liu, I’m not seeking to beco a disciple, but to make an exchange."
Jia Ren raised his hand and presented the Hundred Poisons Scripture. Elder Liu looked surprised for a mont, then smiled.
"So it was you who bought the Hundred Poisons Scripture."
"If you wish to exchange this item, teaching you about dicinal properties and pharmacological principles wouldn’t be difficult."
The Hundred Poisons Scripture was quite valuable; using it for an exchange was certainly feasible.
To be precise, Jia Ren had even gotten the better end of the deal.
Jia Ren didn’t care much about that. What mattered was whether it was worth it or not.
Exchanging the Hundred Poisons Scripture for knowledge of Spiritual dicine would make it easier to refine the Profound Water Pill and create the future insect-luring bait.
This would lay the foundation for his alchemy.
dicinal ingredients were the bedrock of alchemy, and this was what Jia Ren currently lacked most.
Without a foundation, how could a skyscraper rise from the ground?
He received a text titled "Thousand Herb Solutions."
Having acquired the desired item, Jia Ren returned to his dwelling.
Following that, he devoted all his energy and ti to the Thousand Herb Solutions, learning and understanding the properties of various Spiritual dicines.
Thanks to a cultivator’s ability to rember everything they see, his learning progress was rapid; he managed to read through it completely in seven days.
Now that he understood dicinal properties and pharmacological principles, he re-examined the Burning Spirit Pill.
He observed the combination of ingredients, confird the hierarchy of primary and auxiliary components, and tried to understand the original Alchemist’s thought process.
Understanding the creator’s mindset and alchemical reasoning was the quickest way to master the basics.
Won’t the combination of these dicinal properties result in a clash?
Jia Ren looked at the thod of combining ingredients for the Burning Spirit Pill, carefully feeling and scrutinizing it.
The more closely he looked, the deeper his frown beca.
The recipe’s formula and auxiliary ingredients were fine, but there seed to be a problem with the thod of combination.
Alchemy was a ticulous craft; the slightest error could lead to failure.
Although the Burning Spirit Pill was a Forbidden Pill of low quality, and its requirents were minimal, this didn’t an such issues had no impact.
Based on his understanding of dicinal properties and pharmacology, Jia Ren tried changing the order in which the ingredients were added.
A mont later, a faint dicinal fragrance filled the air.
This is the first ti this has happened—is the elixir refinent going to succeed?
BOOM!
The sll of sothing scorched wafted out.
The elixir refinent had failed. Opening the lid of the furnace, he could see a Burning Spirit Pill that had already ford.
This ti, the issue wasn’t the combination of dicinal properties but the control of the alchemical fire.
The problem of pill condensation was finally solved. This bolstered Jia Ren’s confidence in his deductions, and he continued to experint.
After failing three more tis in a row, perseverance paid off.
The fourth furnace finally emitted a dicinal fragrance, albeit mixed with a faint burnt sll.
Opening the Pill Furnace, he found one rather impure Burning Spirit Pill and two dreg pills.
The quality of the elixir was very poor, containing an excessive amount of pill toxins. Consuming such an elixir was tantamount to suicide.
The Burning Spirit Pill finally appeared on the Proficiency Panel, signifying his official entry into alchemy.
There’s a problem with the refinent thod for the Burning Spirit Pill!
Soone deliberately altered the order. Following this erroneous thod, one could strive for a lifeti and never succeed.
Jia Ren felt a wave of disgust. This was undoubtedly the intentional work of the cultivator who had recorded the alchemy recipe.
No wonder the Forbidden Pills leaked by the Chang Le Gang didn’t include the Blood Ignition Pill. The Jade Slip they had obtained for its alchemy was inherently flawed.
The Cultivation World is indeed fraught with danger everywhere; even Jade Slips recording alchemy techniques can be faulty.
Jia Ren couldn’t help but think of the Mysterious Water Pill Recipe he had obtained. After carefully scrutinizing its pharmacology for a mont, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Jade Cauldron Sect Female Cultivator was an honest person and had not played any tricks with the alchemy recipe.
Continue with alchemy!
For the subsequent period, Jia Ren focused mainly on refining the Blood Ignition Pill, and his Proficiency Level rose rapidly.
In a short ti, he had already advanced to the Master Level.
Upon revisiting the Mysterious Water Pill Recipe, he had new insights.
I’ve used up all the dicinal ingredients again; ti to restock.
Jia Ren went to the Market stalls as usual, purchasing the necessary dicinal ingredients. He also looked for other poisons he hadn’t yet attempted to concoct.
Before long, Jia Ren saw a familiar figure at a nearby stall.
It was Elder Talisman Master Mo, whom the Talisman Cultivators’ Association had specifically used a Heart-Questioning Charm to trouble.
"Why have Evil Warding Talismans been out of stock lately? Yet they still want us to mass-produce talismans with no change in price. It’s truly infuriating!"
"The Talisman Cultivators’ Association’s Evil Warding Talismans are to be supplied to the Five Elents Sect."
"The Five Elents Sect? How could they be short of Evil Warding Talismans?"
"They aren’t planning to continue pioneering in the Great Wilderness, are they?"
"Be careful what you say; words can bring disaster."
The two Talisman Masters whispered a few more words, then switched to communicating via voice transmission.
The Five Elents Sect has a large demand for Evil Warding Talismans?
Could it be that sothing unexpected has happened in the Great Wilderness?
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