Chapter 47: Imperial Capital

Xiao Yan placed the white flame from his palm into the medicine cauldron, using his Soul Perception to control the flame's temperature within an appropriate range. He took a portion of Energy Accumulation Pill ingredients from his side and tossed them all into the cauldron at once.

Because Xiao Yan possessed the experience of refining thousands of Blood Coagulation Powders and could control the temperature of any part of the flame at will, refining three types of medicinal ingredients simultaneously was not the least bit strenuous for him.

Under the scorching of the Exotic Fire, the three types of ingredients were refined at a speed visible to the naked eye. Xiao Yan continuously observed the state of the ingredients through the ice mirror surface of the medicine cauldron; the Green Spirit Grass and Purple Profound Flower gradually turned into juice, while the Purple Essence Fruit was refined into a black powder.

After the preliminary refining was complete, Xiao Yan once again controlled the flame's temperature, continuously scorching the three ingredients in the medicine cauldron. Under the prolonged, continuous roasting of the Exotic Fire, the three ingredients gradually began to produce some impurities.

Xiao Yan used his Soul Perception to continuously expel these impurities until no more impurities appeared in the refined ingredients.

After all the ingredients were fully refined, Xiao Yan once again used his Soul Perception to control the three ingredients to fuse together. After the three ingredients merged, a pockmarked pill appeared in the medicine cauldron. Xiao Yan controlled the flame to continuously nourish this pill. In a short while, the embryonic form of this pill turned into a crystal-clear medicinal pill.

Xiao Yan continued to nourish it with the Exotic Fire for a while, and the pill became rounder and smoother, emitting a faint fragrance. He extinguished the flame in the medicine cauldron and slapped the side of the cauldron; the pill instantly flew out.

Xiao Yan's internal cultivation method could operate on its own, allowing for self-cultivation and fast Dou Qi recovery. But Xiao Yan was, after all, a creature of flesh and blood, and he would still feel tired. Now, with the Energy Accumulation Pill, Xiao Yan had truly become a combat machine.

Xiao Yan only trained on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where the most powerful magical beasts were only Second Rank.

"Hehe, since you don't mind the fatigue, I cannot dampen your spirits. This is the pill recipe for the Fire Condensing Pill; it is much more complex than the refining method for the Energy Accumulation Pill. You should try refining this as well!" Yao Lao transmitted the Fire Condensing Pill recipe to Xiao Yan once again.

Xiao Yan casually took one and put it into his mouth. After swallowing it, he felt the fire-attribute energy around his body become even denser, and his efficiency in refining Dou Qi improved significantly.

Although Xiao Yan's cultivation method could operate on its own, allowing for twenty-four-hour cultivation, Yao Lao estimated that Xiao Yan could improve by one star of strength in a month. This cultivation speed was already terrifying, but who would complain about their cultivation speed being too fast?

Xiao Yan stood up and stretched, loosened his muscles and bones, put away the medicine cauldron on the ground, walked to the cave entrance, and used a Cloud-Parting Palm, blasting all the giant rocks at the entrance away.

Xiao Yan felt his entire body was full of vitality, and his strength had increased significantly. Although this bit of strength was negligible for Xiao Yan, he was currently lacking this kind of pill that could restore physical strength.

"That's right! Don't look at who I am; refining this kind of pill is easy!" Xiao Yan said with slight smugness.

"Not bad! My cultivation speed has increased quite a bit." Xiao Yan nodded with satisfaction.

"What's so boring about alchemy?" Xiao Yan said indifferently.

"You haven't stayed on Earth. That kind of work lasts for twelve hours, and sometimes even longer; working through the night is also very common. During work, apart from eating, there is no time to rest at all. They even regulate the time for going to the bathroom, and if you exceed it, you get fined. Compared to that work intensity, what is alchemy?" Xiao Yan despised in his heart.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Xiao Yan continued to refine. Only after all fifty-plus portions of ingredients were refined into Energy Accumulation Pills did he nod with satisfaction. After putting these pills into a jade bottle, Xiao Yan stretched, but he didn't feel very tired; instead, he felt spirited.

After Xiao Yan took out the ingredients, he continued to refine. Except for the first time, when he failed once because the refining technique was somewhat complex, he never failed again.

Xiao Yan walked out of the cave, and the dazzling sunlight shone on his face, making him squint his eyes. He covered the sun with his right hand, and with a wave of his left hand, a vine was sucked into his palm. Then, he followed the vine all the way down, returning directly to the ground to continue his training journey.

Although Second Rank magical beasts were much stronger than First Rank ones, Xiao Yan's recovery speed for both injuries and Dou Qi was very fast, and with the Energy Accumulation Pill supporting his physical strength, he could adopt a war of attrition. However, these magical beasts were not like bosses in a game that would fight you to the end; their intelligence was very high. Seeing Xiao Yan was so difficult to deal with, most would directly flee.

Xiao Yan casually tossed the Energy Accumulation Pill in his hand into his mouth. After swallowing it, the pill instantly turned into a mass of pure energy, dispersing into Xiao Yan's limbs and bones.

If a Second Rank magical beast truly wanted to escape, Xiao Yan had no way to stop it, even if he used the Dragon-Catching Hand, because the Second Rank magical beast's body was already very huge, and with Xiao Yan's current strength, he still couldn't suck it in.

"Teacher, are there any other pills I can refine? I'll refine for a while longer." Xiao Yan asked with a smile.

"Hehe, you brat, others find alchemy boring and tedious, but you are getting more and more enthusiastic the more you refine." Yao Lao said with a smile.

"Yo! I speak of you being fat, and you start panting! What are you showing off for after refining a low-level pill! You possess an Exotic Fire and your Soul Perception is very strong; even if a fool possessed these two things, they could refine it successfully!" Yao Lao said with disdain.

After Xiao Yan received the refining method and required ingredients for the Fire Condensing Pill, he once again found the necessary ingredients for the Fire Condensing Pill in his storage ring. The Fire Condensing Pill was more advanced than the Energy Accumulation Pill, so there weren't as many materials, only thirty-plus portions.

"Not bad! You actually succeeded on the first try. Congratulations, from today on, you are also an Alchemist." Yao Lao said with a smile.

Reaching out, the pill fell into Xiao Yan's hand. Feeling the slightly hot pill in his hand, his heart couldn't help but feel happy; this was the first pill he had refined.

Looking at the thirty-plus light red pills in his hand, a satisfied smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face. This pill was worthy of being able to improve the absorption efficiency of fire-attribute energy for fire-attribute cultivators; just by smelling it, Xiao Yan felt very comfortable.

With Xiao Yan's strength, encountering a Second Rank magical beast, although he couldn't beat it, escaping was easy. However, Xiao Yan would only directly flee when encountering a high-level Second Rank magical beast; when encountering a newly entered Second Rank magical beast, he would fight it to the death.

Xiao Yan fought magical beasts during the day to improve his strength and refined pills at night to improve his alchemy skills.

Xiao Yan walked along the Magical Beast Mountain Range in one direction like this until, three months later, Xiao Yan arrived at the capital of the Gama Empire—the Imperial Capital.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 48 =====