Chapter 23: Failed (Seeking Support)

The Qingling Pill requires only a dozen or so Spirit Herbs, making it relatively simple compared to Pills that need over a hundred Spirit Herbs to refine.

Fang Qingyan walked to the center, where a massive Dandanlu stood.

She injected a wisp of Spirit Power, and earth fire erupted beneath the Dandanlu.

Cultivators refine Pills using three types of flames: Earth Fire, Dan Fire, and Spirit Fire.

Earth Fire is a common flame found deep underground; due to its lower temperature, it is typically used to refine low-grade Pills.

Dan Fire is a higher-grade flame than Earth Fire, condensed by a cultivator from their dantian after breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage; its relatively higher temperature allows it to refine medium-grade Pills.

However, not everyone can condense Dan Fire.

"Yan Jie, rest for a while first; once you've recovered, we'll review the process."

Luo Yao frowned; this was somewhat tricky.

Next came the fusion.

Luo Yao, standing nearby, noticed this and quickly took a Pill to restore Spirit Power from her Storage Bag, feeding it to Fang Qingyan.

Thus, Spirit Fire exists almost solely in legends; no one has ever found or tamed it.

Moreover, each Spirit Herb requires a different temperature; a single slip leads to failure.

"It's fine!" Fang Qingyan shook her head. "It's not your fault; it's my own!"

She injected another wisp of Spirit Power into the Dandanlu, causing it to glow visibly red; once the temperature reached a certain point, Fang Qingyan took the Spirit Herbs from her Storage Bag and added them in order.

"Yan Jie, I was thinking that refining Pills is similar to cooking; couldn't we apply cooking methods and first refine the Spirit Herbs into Spirit Liquids?"

"We can try."

If she hadn't come over to feed Yan Jie the Pill, this wouldn't have happened...

Afterwards, she wrapped the Spirit Liquid in Spirit Power and stored it in a jade bottle.

When refining Spirit Herbs, one must also spare a thread of Spirit Power and mental focus to protect the previously refined Spirit Liquids, preventing them from evaporating while new herbs are being processed.

Fang Qingyan collapsed onto the ground, her face pale and bloodless.

"Yan Jie, I'm sorry..."

Fang Qingyan poured the previous Spirit Liquid into the Dandanlu to fuse it with the White Lotus Heart.

"That White Lotus Heart evaporates too easily, and controlling the heat is quite difficult..."

Otherwise, she could only wait until tomorrow to see if she could use her Golden Finger, but that could only be applied to one Spirit Herb at a time.

The eighth one barely counted as completed; it remained unknown whether the small quantity of White Lotus Heart would allow for a successful refinement.

Afterwards, Fang Qingyan added the second Spirit Herb, refined it into Spirit Liquid, and then fused it with the previous Spirit Liquid.

Spirit Herbs are the same.

Therefore, success is mandatory.

The third type is Spirit Fire.

Of course, the first few simple Spirit Herbs need not be separated.

Refine the Spirit Herbs into Spirit Liquid in advance, store them in jade bottles, and then add them to the Dandanlu in order to refine them into Pills.

Fang Qingyan panicked instantly and had to quickly control the flame temperature to lower it, thereby saving the White Lotus Heart Spirit Liquid.

It is said that every Spirit Fire possesses the power to destroy heaven and earth.

Thus, Fang Qingyan had to increase the injection of Spirit Power.

Afterwards, Fang Qingyan stored the Spirit Liquid in a jade bottle and then focused entirely on refining the White Lotus Heart.

"There is still one Spirit Herb left; we still have a chance," Luo Yao comforted.

The White Lotus Heart instantly melted into Spirit Liquid, while other impurities turned into green smoke and vanished.

But before Fang Qingyan could feel joy, she saw the Spirit Liquid begin to evaporate; what was originally the size of a thumbnail instantly shrank to the size of a water droplet.

"Next, we deal with this stubborn bone!"

Second is talent.

The first few Spirit Herbs were not difficult; Fang Qingyan had gained experience, so the second attempt naturally went without error.

These are high-grade flames, born naturally between heaven and earth, possessing terrifying power that ordinary people cannot tame.

The ninth is the horn of the Dijia Shou, extremely hard and requiring intense fire.

If the refinement succeeds, even if it is a flawed Pill, Elder Xu will let Yan Jie stay here to assist, thereby avoiding Zhao Yang's retaliation against Yan Jie.

Continuing like this would mean all previous efforts would be wasted.

Thus, Fang Qingyan could only use Earth Fire to refine the Pill.

Inability to condense Dan Fire means limited alchemy talent, capping one's future achievements at this level.

Fang Qingyan had to control the temperature inside the Dandanlu, melting the Spirit Herbs into Spirit Liquid without destroying their medicinal properties.

Soon, the White Lotus Heart melted, and impurities were removed; Fang Qingyan, her mind tense, quickly reduced the flame.

Fang Qingyan took a deep breath, took out the White Lotus Heart, and threw it into the Dandanlu to continue refining.

Fang Qingyan nodded, sat cross-legged, and began to restore her Spirit Power and mental state.

Luo Yao thought for a while, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

Repeating this cycle until six or seven Spirit Herbs were successfully refined, Fang Qingyan was already drenched in sweat and had consumed most of her Spirit Power.

Having already consumed more than half her Spirit Power, she now drained it like a bursting flood, yet the horn of the Dijia Shou had not even melted.

At this step, one must remove impurities from the Spirit Herbs, leaving only the purest Spirit Liquid.

Learning from her previous mistake, Fang Qingyan first used a small flame, then gradually increased the fire, raising the temperature bit by bit.

Therefore, Earth Fire is the most commonly used flame for refining Pills.

"I see..."

Moreover, Alchemists generally judge a person's alchemy talent by whether they can condense Dan Fire and by the quality of that Dan Fire.

"More importantly, the horn of the Dijia Shou is too difficult to refine; I don't know how much Spirit Power it will take to refine it."

Only when the temperature was sufficient to melt the White Lotus Heart did she stop increasing the flame, instead controlling the temperature at that level.

After quite a while, Fang Qingyan finally woke up and immediately began discussing with Luo Yao.

Fang Qingyan looked at the horn of the Dijia Shou, a trace of worry in her heart, wondering if she could succeed in refining the Dijia Shou's horn this time.

It seems simple, but in reality, this step requires patience and carefulness.

Afterwards, she used Spirit Power to wrap the White Lotus Heart liquid, only then letting out a breath of relief.

Five Spirit Herbs remained.

Fang Qingyan took a deep breath again; this was the last Spirit Herb. If she failed, there would be no chance left.

However, Fang Qingyan lost focus for a moment; under the loosening of the Spirit Power wrapping the liquid, the terrifying high temperature swallowed the liquid, evaporating it completely in an instant.

Fang Qingyan quickly understood Luo Yao's meaning: it was like cooking, washing and chopping the ingredients beforehand, then stir-frying them all together.

First, one needs cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Stage or above.

"Do you mean... to do them separately?"

Luo Yao, standing nearby, also let out a breath of relief; she was anxious but could not help, so she could only pray that Yan Jie would succeed.

Fang Qingyan also felt it was worth trying; at the very least, there was no better method.

However, Fang Qingyan had no confidence left.

"It's over!"

The first difficulty was settled.

Fang Qingyan immediately grew panicked.

"Yan Jie, let me help!"

Luo Yao seemed to think of another method.

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(End of this chapter)