Immortal Path Space

Chapter 31: Alchemy

"Condensing Qi Pill is a commonly used elixir for Qi Cultivation cultivators, often in high demand. This time, I will teach you the refining process of the Condensing Qi Pill," the refined man stated, skipping any self-introduction. A group of loose cultivators in the Qi Cultivation stage couldn't possibly catch the attention of a Foundation Building stage Alchemist like him.

"The main ingredient for crafting the Condensing Qi Pill is the Gathered Spirit Herb, with a medicinal age of over twenty years. There are twelve auxiliary herbs, each requiring a medicinal age of over ten years, including the Green Leaf Vine, Three-Leaf Flower..."

As the refined man spoke, he arranged various Spiritual Medicines on the table. Then, he took out a bronze cauldron and a piece of Spirit Charcoal.

Igniting the Spirit Charcoal, he performed alchemical operations while explaining to the audience.

He sequentially placed the Spirit Herb into the furnace, uttered an incantation, and the flames surged. Waves of blue smoke emerged from the furnace.

"This is to eliminate impurities; the next step is to refine the medicinal power..."

An hour later, the lid of the furnace flew open, and a delightful fragrance filled the air. Five elixirs, each the size of a fingertip, spun inside.

A full furnace produced ten elixirs, and a fifty percent success rate was considered moderate.

Wang Hong contemplated that, with the knowledge gained during this period, he should be able to start his own alchemical practice.

Wang Hong confidently entered Gao's Refinery Workshop and immediately saw Gao Yue's mischievous smile.

"Hey! What wind brought you here?"

As the guy approached, he grabbed Wang Hong's sleeve. Wang Hong shook him off, suspecting the guy had some peculiar habits.

This guy was overly familiar, and Wang Hong had only visited a few times.

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"This time I plan to buy an Alchemy furnace. Do you have any here?"

"We do, of course. Our Gao's Refinery Workshop has been specializing in crafting for two centuries. Although Alchemy furnaces are challenging to make and have limited sales, we still have some in stock," Gao Yue proudly introduced, a result of the family's accumulated wealth over generations.

Soon, a plate-sized alchemy furnace was presented before Wang Hong.

"Feng Patterned Bronze Furnace, a Low-Quality Magical Weapon."

Then, a slightly smaller red-copper furnace was brought out.

"Red Copper Double-Eared Furnace, a Mid-Quality Magical Weapon."

After a barrage of introductions (self-praise), Wang Hong was left dazed. He examined the two furnaces carefully.

Finally, after spending two thousand Spirit Stones, he bought the Mid-Quality furnace.

On his way back, he also purchased a relatively simple array plate. Alchemy operations could be noisy, and it was better to conceal them with a formation.

Back at his residence, after setting up the formation, Wang Hong pondered silently, meticulously planning every step of the process.

With the furnace arranged, Spirit Charcoal ignited, and the furnace preheated, he began placing the Spirit Herb, then covering the lid. Every action was precise.

Half a quarter of an hour later, black smoke billowed, accompanied by a burnt smell. Opening the lid, he found that the Spirit Herb had turned into charcoal.

Cleaning the furnace, Wang Hong didn't rush to practice the second batch. Instead, he contemplated for a long time, summarizing the lessons from the failure.

For the second batch, he avoided burning but failed to purify the impurities properly, resulting in a sticky lump.

Wang Hong spent another half hour thinking and summarizing.

The third batch exploded.

More thinking and summarizing.

The fourth batch was a waste.

...

The thirtieth batch failed.

Undeterred, Wang Hong, through continuous reflection, knew he was getting closer to success.

...

In the thirty-seventh batch, upon opening the furnace lid, two fingertip-sized, sparkling white elixirs greeted his eyes.

"Hahaha! Finally succeeded! I am truly a genius!" At this moment, a figure, blackened by smoke, rolled around the room in excitement.

After reveling for a while, Wang Hong calmed down and prepared to continue refining.

He took out some homemade meat jerky. Immortal Cultivators had fasting pills, but Wang Hong found them unappetizing. He preferred hearty meat.

However, the meat of ferocious beasts no longer aided his cultivation. Wang Hong considered hunting some Demonic Beasts for a change.

After finishing the jerky and eating a few raspberries, he pondered and summarized his experiences before starting the next round of Alchemy.

With the experience of one successful attempt, the success rate increased significantly. Initially, one success every five batches, then four batches per success, and by the end of the two hundred materials, occasional failures were the norm.

In the end, he obtained 180 Condensing Qi Pills. On average, not even reaching a ten percent pill formation rate. An Alchemist needed a twenty percent success rate to break even.

He was clearly at a loss; the two hundred Spirit Herbs were worth four thousand Spirit Stones, turned into elixirs valued at only one thousand eight hundred Spirit Stones. Wang Hong couldn't help but sigh, realizing that cultivating an Alchemist was indeed a resource-intensive endeavor.

Calling Zhang Chunfeng and Skinny Monkey over, he gave each of them a bottle of elixir. Currently at the Qi Cultivation second layer, Zhang Chunfeng was close to breaking through to the third layer, while Skinny Monkey lagged behind due to aptitude.

In the two years since he distributed elixirs, with his assistance, over forty soldiers under him, except for a few who converted Spiritual Energy, all reached the Innate Stage.

Wang Hong planned to break through to the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation and then practice various combat Magical Arts. He intended to lead his men outside the city to hunt Demonic Beasts, test their combat abilities, and assess strengths and weaknesses.

The cultivation world was far more perilous than the mortal world, with constant strife and the ever-present possibility of death.

Wang Hong immersed himself in cultivation again, refining a Condensing Qi Pill every day. On the tenth day, he finally broke through to the fourth layer.

At the fourth layer, he could release his divine sense externally. With divine sense extended, even with closed eyes, he could sense everything in the surroundings, clearer than seeing with his own eyes.

He could sense a worm burrowing through the soil, a fly buzzing by, and even detect which leg of the fly was injured.

Wang Hong discovered that his divine sense could extend up to two yards, while the books stated that a cultivator who had just broken through to the fourth layer could only reach one yard.

Powerful divine sense held a significant advantage in spellcasting, Alchemy, talisman crafting, artifact refining, and formations. For example, in a magical battle, the ability to attack from a greater distance provided a considerable advantage.

Wang Hong speculated that it might be related to Space. His appearance in Space might be related to his Nascent Soul. Wang Hong didn't fully understand Nascent Soul at the moment, but frequent activities in Space made it evident that his divine sense was strengthening.

Entering the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation finally allowed him to practice many Magical Arts.

What Wang Hong longed for the most was the Control Instrument Technique. Legend had it that immortals could take a person's head from a thousand miles away using this technique. The Control Instrument Technique allowed one to manipulate Magical Weapons with divine sense, a means of long-range attacks.

Wang Hong took out the Magical Weapon Long Spear, infused it with Spiritual Energy, and after absorbing two-thirds of his overall Spiritual Energy, the Long Spear slowly rose into the air. After swaying in the air for two breaths, it depleted all of Wang Hong's Spiritual Energy and fell to the ground with a thud.

With the Spiritual Energy of the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation, he could barely manage one attack. No wonder Fatty Daoist was killed back then; he couldn't afford long-range attacks.

Wang Hong drank a few sips of Spirit Wine to replenish his mana and began practicing again.

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