The farther the lift platform descended, the faster the light above receded into the distance.
The deeper they went, the hotter the wind rising from below became, while water channels of unknown purpose and thick bronze pipes ran through the rock walls.
After quite some time.
Clunk!
The lift platform shuddered lightly and came to a stop.
A vast underground space, larger than Lee Hyun had expected, spread out before him.
Dozens of massive stone pillars supported the cavern ceiling, while rows of air shafts had been bored into the ceiling.
‘No wonder the facilities are so impressive when they carried out construction on the scale of an entire kingdom...’
As he walked along the stone path, the resonant hum of pill furnaces and the scent of medicinal ingredients never ceased behind the stone doors on either side.
...
Earth Fire Cavern, Level C, No. 7.
The moment he opened the thick stone door, a wave of scorching heat struck his face.
A familiar old man's voice rang out.
"You've come?"
Wen Shenghe, whom he had met at the Alchemy Hall before, was sitting inside the stone chamber.
Around him lay medicine cases of various sizes, mortars, steelyard scales, jade knives, tongs, jade bottles, and other implements. At the center of the stone chamber stood a pill furnace as tall as a man's waist.
"It is good to see you again, my lord."
Lee Hyun cupped his hands, and Wen Shenghe gave a slight nod in return.
"I heard you rendered great service at Hui'an Fort."
"I was fortunate."
"If the man who captured a Profound Realm expert alive says he was merely fortunate, the martial artists who died at that expert's hands would feel terribly wronged in their graves."
Wen Shenghe tapped the pill furnace with his palm.
Thunk–
"You said you wanted to learn alchemy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I want to make the pills I take myself. For now, I want to refine Barrier-Breaking Pills."
"I thought as much."
Wen Shenghe did not press him further.
"Most people who want to learn alchemy think along similar lines. They imagine making pills themselves will be cheaper than buying them, and that if they can make their own pills, they will no longer have to go asking others for favors."
"Is that mistaken?"
"Half right, half wrong. It is true if you can successfully make the pills. But if you burn through ten bundles of medicinal ingredients to produce a single pill, buying a finished pill would be cheaper."
"So you mean the pill-refining success rate needs to be high? But before even discussing success rates, obtaining a pill recipe itself is far too difficult. I heard alchemy became widespread after the cultivation of spirit plants became commonplace, so why are pill recipes still so expensive? The thought of collecting five hundred merit points just to obtain the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe is daunting."
"Haha, that is a somewhat different matter."
Wen Shenghe picked up a dried medicinal herb from the table and slowly rubbed it between his fingertips.
"Have you never wondered how the Fengtian Bureau sustains itself? The Barrier-Breaking Pill is actually quite important compared to most other pills. It is used to break through a minor realm, so to exaggerate somewhat, it is similar to the Foundation Establishment Pill a Qi Refining cultivator uses when breaking through to Foundation Establishment."
"Are you saying that if the Fengtian Bureau did not monopolize the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe, no one would work for it?"
"Exactly. There is a reason so many members of the Fengtian Bureau are at Qi Refining Stage 3. In the first place, the Yunze Kingdom only obtained the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe because someone from the previous royal bloodline who possessed immortal affinity received aid from a certain cultivation faction. Normally, it is not the sort of thing that would be handed out to a mere mundane dynasty simply because it distinguished itself in war. Pill recipes are created from knowledge accumulated over thousands, even tens of thousands of years. Even a Tier 1 pill recipe is not something an individual can simply discover through research or deduction unless extraordinary fortune favors them. Think about it. Suppose you were a Foundation Establishment cultivator leading a cultivation faction. Would you sell the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe to members who had contributed to your organization?"
"I don't think I would."
"But there are times when you might make a pill recipe public. Under what circumstances do you think that would happen?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
"Haha. Let me give you an analogy. Suppose you made the laws of a kingdom and sentenced a murderer to ten years in prison, but a thief to twenty. What would happen?"
"That doesn't seem reasonable. Wouldn't a thief who was caught decide he would be better off killing the witness instead?"
"Exactly. If such a law were enacted, order in the kingdom would collapse. Now then, think about it. What do you suppose it means that obtaining the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe costs five hundred merit points?"
"That..."
"Let me put it another way. If the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe could not be exchanged for merit points, or if the number of merit points required were excessively high, what do you think a cultivator who wanted the recipe would do to the Yunze Kingdom?"
"They would simply seize it by force. Ah! Then the five hundred merit points are..."
"Exactly. A cultivator capable of accumulating five hundred merit points might not be able to take on the royal family as a whole, but there is a good chance they would possess enough strength to pose a considerable threat to the Yunze Kingdom."
"I see..."
"What the Fengtian Bureau expects from its Retainers in the first place is for them to collect one hundred merit points, obtain a Barrier-Breaking Pill, and break through to mid Qi Refining. The pill recipe is less a reward for the Retainers and more a route deliberately left open so they have no need to seize it by force."
Wen Shenghe set the dried medicinal herb back down on the table.
"Then even if I earn five hundred merit points, are you saying the royal family might refuse to hand it over if I am not strong enough for them to fear?"
"Haha! That's too much of a leap. They would most likely hand it over to a cultivator who had accumulated that much merit. Of course, if someone were gravely injured while earning those merit points and became weak enough that anyone with the inclination could easily eliminate them, the situation might be slightly different...."
Lee Hyun cleared his throat quietly.
"Goodness. I'm trying to obtain the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe, so I'd better make sure no one underestimates me."
"I'm joking. Don't worry too much. What I described was an extreme case, and there is little chance the current royal family would do such a thing to a hero of the Yunze Kingdom. If they resorted to killing to silence those who accumulated merit points, who would continue working for the Fengtian Bureau?"
"I see. A thought just occurred to me. Does the Yunze Kingdom perhaps have a pill recipe for breaking through from Qi Refining Stage 6 to Stage 7 as well?"
"Hm? We don't have anything like that."
"Then how did the late Qi Refining Retainers make their breakthroughs?"
"Most of them were already in the late Qi Refining realm when they joined the Fengtian Bureau. They probably just wanted to spend their later years in luxury."
Lee Hyun thought that perhaps Wen Shenghe or the Yunze royal family might be concealing a pill recipe for breaking through the second minor realm.
‘Even if such a pill recipe exists, there must be a reason they're hiding it. There's no need to keep probing and make them wary of me. For now, all I need is the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe.’
After thinking for a moment, Lee Hyun realized that his last question had been careless.
‘I shouldn't have asked that. If Wen Shenghe is close to the Yunze royal family, I may have already made him wary of me.’
Lee Hyun quickly spoke.
"That certainly makes sense! After being treated so well at Qingliang Villa myself, I found myself getting thoroughly spoiled. The thought of returning to a dreary cave abode and cultivating alone again is already depressing."
"Haha! I know the feeling. You said you were staying at Qingliang Villa? Is there perhaps a maidservant there who has caught your eye? If you wish, you could even take a concubine. If there are any young women you like, I could introduce you to as many as you want..."
"Ahem, I'm still at an important stage of cultivation. If possible, I'd like to preserve my primordial yang."
In general, once a cultivator's primordial yang or primordial yin was broken, reaching Foundation Establishment or forming a golden core became somewhat more difficult.
"Hah, to think you would even give up that pleasure. Perhaps because you're still young, your aspirations toward the immortal path are quite strong. Well, that's enough idle chatter. Let me teach you the fundamentals of alchemy."
As though he had prepared them in advance, Wen Shenghe pushed three books toward him titled 《Herb Identification Record》, 《Essentials of Fire Control》, and 《Introductory Guide on Alchemy》.
"You will be studying these for some time during the basic lectures. Start by opening 《Introductory Guide on Alchemy》. Alchemy can broadly be divided into four stages. Ingredient Selection, where you choose the medicinal ingredients; Refining, where you extract the necessary medicinal potency; Harmonizing, where different medicinal potencies are blended together; and lastly Pill Condensation, where everything is solidified into a single pill. We will begin with Ingredient Selection."
From that day onward, Lee Hyun began learning alchemy from Wen Shenghe.
...
A few days later.
"You know the Fireball Art? Show me."
A fist-sized fireball appeared above Lee Hyun's palm.
"An excellent flame for burning someone to death."
"...Thank you."
"That was not a compliment. If you used it for alchemy, the medicinal ingredients would be reduced to ash the instant they entered the furnace."
Wen Shenghe produced a tiny flame above his own palm.
It was smaller than a candle flame.
He placed a thin leaf over it.
The leaf did not burn.
Instead, tiny droplets of moisture on its surface slowly rose, turning into blue mist that gathered above Wen Shenghe's palm.
"In alchemy, precision matters more than power."
Wen Shenghe moved his finger slightly.
The flame changed from red to yellow.
"Every medicinal ingredient requires a different temperature, and even with the same ingredient, there are times when the heat must be raised and times when it must be lowered. Even inside the pill furnace, different areas may need different levels of heat."
Wen Shenghe pointed to the formation beneath the pill furnace.
"The burners below are connected to the earth-fire formation. By channeling true qi into it, you can adjust the intensity of each burner separately."
"Each one separately?"
"Exactly. Heating the entire pill furnace evenly is not enough. Depending on the state of the medicinal ingredients, you may need to raise the heat on one side and lower it on another. First, open three burners."
Lee Hyun sat before the pill furnace and channeled Primordial True Qi into the earth-fire formation.
Whoosh–
Flames simultaneously rose from three burners.
"Too strong."
Lee Hyun reduced his spiritual power, and the flames shrank by half.
"Still too strong. Lower it a little more."
The flames dwindled until they were as small as candle flames.
Wen Shenghe nodded.
"That's about right. Now make the three flames different sizes."
Lee Hyun focused his mind.
He raised the eastern flame slightly, lowered the western one, and thinned the central flame to a narrow tongue. The three flames burned at different heights.
"......?"
Wen Shenghe's eyes widened.
"Not bad for your first attempt."
"I've used a great many techniques."
For Lee Hyun, whose entire body was permeated with Primordial True Qi, splitting his true qi and directing it to several places at once was already familiar.
"That is no reason to become complacent. This time, gradually raise the heat of the eastern burner while keeping the other two exactly as they are."
The eastern flame slowly grew.
The western and central flames did not so much as flicker.
Wen Shenghe's gaze changed slightly.
"Could you divide the fire among nine points?"
"I'll try."
Wen Shenghe manipulated the formation beneath the pill furnace, revealing six additional burner patterns.
Lee Hyun split his Primordial True Qi into threads and connected each one to a different burner pattern.
Whoosh.
Nine flames rose to different heights.
Wen Shenghe circled the pill furnace, examining the nine flames one by one. A peculiar expression appeared on his face.
"Your control over spiritual power is already at the level of a Tier 1 alchemist."
"Then does that mean I have talent for alchemy?"
"A little."
Wen Shenghe answered coolly.
"Controlling fire well and making pills well are two different things. Just because someone can wield a knife with precision does not make them a fine chef."
He set three kinds of medicinal herbs down before Lee Hyun.
"Today, you will make a Heat-Clearing Pill. It uses medicinal ingredients from the mundane world, so there is less burden if you fail. It is a pill that suppresses mild fire toxin, but it has little effect on cultivators."
Wen Shenghe began by teaching him how to prepare the medicinal ingredients.
Lee Hyun separated the leaves and stems of the Clear Qi Grass, peeled the outer skin from the Meridian-Warming Root, and removed the seeds from the Crimson Yang Fruit, setting them aside.
Once all the preparations were complete, Lee Hyun placed the medicinal ingredients into the pill furnace one by one.
Blue medicinal liquid seeped from the leaves of the Clear Qi Grass, while the Meridian-Warming Root slowly melted and released a crimson aura.
Lee Hyun adjusted the strength of the flames according to Wen Shenghe's instructions.
"Lower the eastern burner."
Whoosh.
"Raise the central burner slightly."
Flames wrapped around the bottom of the pill furnace.
"Put in the Crimson Yang Fruit seeds now."
Lee Hyun dropped in the seeds.
Sizzle–
Red smoke rose from inside the pill furnace.
"Lower the heat!"
Lee Hyun immediately reduced the intensity of the burners.
But he was a little too late.
Pop!
A small explosion erupted inside the pill furnace, and black smoke leaked through the gap beneath the lid.
Wen Shenghe sighed.
"Burned."
Lee Hyun opened the pill furnace's lid.
Blackened medicinal residue clung to the inside, and a foul odor spread through the chamber.
"This isn't easy...."
"Even seeds from the same Crimson Yang Fruit can vary slightly in nature. The seeds you just used contained more oil than usual. You should have noticed that by sight beforehand, and after putting them into the furnace, you should have paid attention to the sound and smell so you could lower the heat sooner."
"The sound and smell...."
"Simply following the sequence and temperatures written in a pill recipe will not produce a finished pill. Medicinal ingredients are living things, not drawings in a book. Even those grown in the same field differ in nature, and the amount of moisture they contain changes depending on how long they have been stored."
Wen Shenghe pointed to the blackened residue.
"It's far more complicated than I expected. I thought there would be something like a fixed formula."
"A fixed formula... There is, of course, a general framework. But following only that will make it difficult to become a good alchemist. You've captured a Profound Realm expert alive, so surely you understand. If you swing your sword along a predetermined sword path, will your opponent simply stand there and let you hit them?"
"No. The other person is a living opponent too, so you have to adapt to the situation every time."
"Medicinal ingredients are the same. A pill recipe only shows you the path. It does not tell you the exact condition of the ingredients in front of you. In the end, you must look with your own eyes, smell them, and judge for yourself. Miss the smallest difference and you will burn an entire batch, just as you did now."
Lee Hyun stared into the pill furnace for a long while.
"May I try again?"
"We have plenty of medicinal ingredients."
...
A few days later.
"Now! Form the Pill-Condensing Seal."
Lee Hyun's fingers moved.
Hummm–
The pill furnace trembled faintly.
A moment later.
Tap. Rattle.
Six round objects dropped onto the bottom of the pill furnace.
Lee Hyun opened the lid.
Six pills, each about the size of a fingertip, lay inside.
Two had cracked surfaces, and one was scorched black.
A faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the remaining three.
"Did I succeed?"
Wen Shenghe picked up one of the pills, pressed it with his finger, then brought it beneath his nose and smelled it.
"Poor quality even by low-grade standards. Thirty percent of the medicinal potency dispersed, and there is still a trace of fire qi left."
"So it's a failure."
"If you call producing three finished pills after only a few days a failure, nine out of ten alchemists in this world ought to give up alchemy."
Wen Shenghe returned the pills to Lee Hyun.
"Your control over spiritual power is sufficient. Your way of using your senses is unusual, but it works. What you lack now is experience with medicinal ingredients."
"How long do I need to study?"
Wen Shenghe pointed to a bowl piled with blackened medicinal residue.
"Once you've gone through about a thousand more failures like those, you'll begin to get a rough feel for it."
Lee Hyun looked at the amount of residue.
"With that much experience, could I say I'm no longer a beginner?"
"A thousand attempts only means you're someone who has done it a thousand times. Compared with someone who has handled the same medicinal ingredient two thousand times, you would still be a beginner. And if you encountered a spirit herb you'd never seen before, you would become a beginner all over again."
Wen Shenghe looked at the pills resting atop the pill furnace.
"Alchemy is ultimately about countless substances and heat, and the combinations and transformations between them. Faced with all those possibilities, who could readily call themselves a master? Perhaps if one could study them for an eternity..."
"That's good advice."
***
Half a year later.
"That concludes the advanced lectures on alchemy as well. I have nothing more to teach you. If you truly manage to collect five hundred merit points and obtain the Barrier-Breaking Pill recipe someday, come back then. I will teach you until you are at least capable of refining a low-grade Barrier-Breaking Pill."