Xiao Ling followed Elder Huo and soon entered the refining room.
As soon as he entered, he felt a wave of heat sweep through his body, as if he had stepped into a drying room from his previous life.
Fortunately, he was now a Battle Practitioner.
After slightly circulating his Battle Qi, the heat receded by half.
Furthermore, Fire-attribute energy was more active here; if he practiced here, he would likely progress faster.
Looking toward the center of the room, he saw a pill cauldron nearly half a meter tall.
The cauldron was entirely brown with some red stripes.
At the bottom, two ferocious wolf heads were carved.
The wide-open wolf mouths formed three interconnected fire vents.
The vents were curved and winding, and the deeper they went, the smaller the diameter became, seemingly hiding mysteries.
At the top, a giant snake coiled to form a dark red lid.
On the lid, there was a special hole; this was where medicinal materials were added.
The surface of the cauldron was painted with beautiful monster carvings, looking as vivid as living creatures.
“The refining rooms are dedicated places for the department to refine medicine.
The cauldrons provided here are the same as the one I gave you—all three-vent cauldrons.”
Elder Huo walked to the cauldron and waved his hand.
A pile of medicinal materials appeared beside him.
“Watch closely; I’ll only demonstrate once.”
Next followed Xiao Ling’s first time truly seeing the process of an alchemist refining medicine.
The ghostly black flame entered the cauldron.
One by one, the medicinal herbs were devoured by the flame, leaving behind medicinal essences in the form of powder or paste.
Finally, the various essences merged into a pitted pill prototype.
As the flame tempered it, the pill in the cauldron became smooth and green.
A faint fragrance spread from the cauldron.
Normally, an alchemist requires a quiet environment without any disturbance.
But since it was a Tier 1 pill, it was very easy for Elder Huo.
Thus, he explained every step in detail.
The pill was soon finished. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Elder Huo used Battle Qi to grab the pill, put it in a jade bottle, and threw it to Xiao Ling.
Slightly activating Vacuum Palm, the bottle landed steadily in his hand.
Before Xiao Ling could tuck it into his belt, Elder Huo spoke: “This is a Tier 1 Fire Gathering Pill; it can slightly increase the cultivation of Fire-attribute Battle Qi.
There’s a recipe in the ring; you can practice with this pill.
I demonstrated just now; now you try.” After saying that, he stepped aside, leaving the spot.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ling first cleared his mind, leaving it without distractions.
He placed his hand on a fire vent and injected beast flame into it.
“Puff!”
With a soft sound, the blue-pink beast flame appeared inside the cauldron, tumbling and burning.
Xiao Ling closed his eyes and began to sense the Wood-attribute Battle Qi in his body.
Since absorbing the 100,000-year Blue Silver Empress trunk bone, Xiao Ling’s affinity for the Wood attribute had greatly increased.
It took only a minute to lock onto that green stream.
Xiao Ling extended a finger and tapped another fire vent.
A thumb-thick stream of green gas was slowly injected.
As soon as the green gas entered the cauldron, the blue-pink flame seemed to have a chemical reaction and suddenly became quiet.
At this time, even if Xiao Ling hadn’t controlled the flame yet, he could sense that the violent factors in the flame had been neutralized by the Wood power.
Furthermore, due to the principle of Wood generating Fire, the flame now was clearly more persistent and controllable than before.
He recalled the materials for the Fire Gathering Pill and Elder Huo’s refining technique in his mind.
Soul perception entered the cauldron and began controlling the flame.
Thanks to his excellent soul perception and the neutralization of the Wood Battle Qi, Xiao Ling found controlling the flame quite natural.
He placed the required materials into the cauldron step by step, extracting the medicinal essences, merging them into a prototype, and continuing to temper them with the flame.
Following Elder Huo’s steps, Xiao Ling carefully completed every requirement.
After seven failures, he finally refined his first pill on the eighth try.
Although the surface was pitted, it made Xiao Ling show a massive smile.
He took out a specially made jade bottle, used Vacuum Palm to put the pill in, and tucked it into his belt.
He had long planned to keep this first refined pill as a collection.
Facts proved that Xiao Ling not only had extraordinary cultivation talent but his alchemy talent was also not lacking at all.
He heard Elder Huo speak: “Although the pill’s appearance is poor and the surface is pitted, to be able to complete a breakthrough from zero to one in such a short time is very rare.
I must admit, you are much stronger than I was back then.”
Xiao Ling, feeling a bit playful, spoke: “Then how long did it take for you to refine your first pill?”
Elder Huo’s smile gradually vanished, and his face turned a bit dark.
He rolled his eyes.
He thought this was a well-behaved child, but he hadn’t expected him to be so ‘black-bellied.’ He had actually misjudged him.
Coughing, Elder Huo changed the subject: “Although you’ve refined a Tier 1 pill, it doesn’t mean you’re a true Tier 1 alchemist.
There was a bit of luck in that refining process.”
“To become a true alchemist, you must also guarantee the quality and success rate of the pills.
Remember to practice diligently in the future and never slack off!”
For Xiao Ling, Elder Huo hoped he would stay grounded and not become complacent over a little achievement.
After all, he was half his student; he surely hoped Xiao Ling would go further on the path of alchemy.
After so many years at Jia Nan Academy, he had seen too many geniuses.
Although none as monstrous as Xiao Ling had appeared, there were countless geniuses one level below.
Because of arrogance and not listening to advice, they wasted their talent and couldn’t live up to their potential when they grew up.
He had seen too many of such people.
“Understood.
I will practice diligently in the future.”
Regarding Elder Huo’s earnest warning, Xiao Ling quickly agreed.
He knew the hidden meaning: he couldn’t be satisfied with small achievements, especially since he knew the Central Plains had a ‘witch’ like Cao Ying, who could refine pills at age seven.
Xiao Ling truly didn’t think his alchemy talent was stronger than the likes of Cao Ying or Dan Chen.
Seeing that Xiao Ling truly took his teaching to heart, Elder Huo nodded with satisfaction, stroked his beard, and with a wave of his right hand, a large pile of materials appeared by the cauldron.
“These are materials prepared for your practice.
If you run out in the future, go to the warehouse and give them my name; they will give you more.”
Seeing this, Xiao Ling quickly bowed and said, “Thank you, Elder.”
Elder Huo smiled, stroked his beard, and left only one sentence: “Now, keep practicing!” Then he left the room.