C7 Pill Refining
The gourd-shaped pill furnace stood on four red copper legs, its base cradling three scarlet Flame Crystals that burned continuously.
The Flame Crystals crackled, releasing deep red flames that danced like slender serpents at the furnace's base, their movements both graceful and eerie.
Yu Yuan, herbs in hand, watched the pill furnace with unwavering focus.
Wisps of smoke curled up from the open mouth of the furnace, carrying the distinctive spicy scent of Cruel Blood Grass.
Suddenly, Yu Yuan's nostrils flared.
He detected a faint scent of scorching, the first to notice it emanating from within the furnace.
The Ice Blue Grass pinched between his left middle and ring fingers dropped swiftly into the furnace like a streak of cool blue lightning.
"Chi la!"
Inside the furnace, a cold light and icy threads swiftly neutralized and suppressed the Cruel Blood Grass, then fully unleashed its medicinal essence!
Yu Yuan's eyes sparkled with intensity!
Close to the heat, the deep red flames from the Flame Crystals cast a serious and weighty glow on his focused face.
Refining a pill hinged on meticulous control of every detail.
The heat, the properties of the spirit herbs, the precise moment of casting into the furnace—each step was critical. A minor misstep could lead to a grossly flawed pill.
The outcome—worthless pill or successful spirit pill—could hinge on a mere second's delay.
"Hu!"
He breathed out slowly, shoulders sinking, eyes narrowing in concentration.
In this state, his attention was razor-sharp, allowing his body to relax incrementally.
Seconds later, he exhaled a long, warm breath, and with a swift motion, he tossed the Silver Moon Flower and Spirit Channeling Liquid into the furnace.
"Bang!"
The Flame Crystals at the base flared up with renewed ferocity!
Sweat beaded on Yu Yuan's face, glistening droplets tracing a path down his cheeks and neck, slipping toward his chest.
Unmoved, he remained fixated on the furnace, his face alight with fervent yearning.
The flames rising from the Flame Crystals transformed into divine strokes of ink, swirling over the pill furnace's surface, illuminating the intricate and mystical lines etched upon it.
"Swish swish!"
A trio of smokes—dark red, deep blue, and silver-white—swirled and merged mysteriously within the pill furnace.
Like spiritual snakes, bizarre pythons, and malevolent dragons, they coiled around a glob of paste, endowing it with a unique medicinal property.
Yu Yuan was soaked with sweat, his body seemingly on the brink of collapse.
"Now, it's in the hands of fate. I hope this first batch of pills since my reincarnation yields a bountiful harvest."
He retreated step by step, distancing himself from the pill furnace, watching the three Flame Crystals transition from sparkling gems to blackened charcoal, until their last glimmer of light faded away.
The flames of the pill furnace finally died down, its lid having long since sealed shut.
He sat in silence, wiping the sweat from his body with his sleeve, waiting for the moment the pills would be ready.
Refining a spirit pill requires a pill furnace and a source of fire.
The pill furnace, fire source, the alchemist's expertise, and the ingredients all contribute to the final quality and grade of the pill.
The fire source could be a fire-attribute Spirit Stone, the alchemist's own spiritual fire energy, subterranean flames, or even divine fire from the heavens.
In his past life, Yu Yuan had to rely on various fire-attribute Spirit Stones and crystals for his pill refining.
It was only later, with his master's guidance and consent, that he could use the underground fire from the Medicine God Sect.
His senior brother, Zhong Chichen, who had practiced the Spiritual Spell of Fire from a young age, didn't need Spirit Stones or crystals—he could refine pills with his innate fire.
In this regard, unable to cultivate, Yu Yuan fell short of Zhong Chichen.
His inability to cultivate and refine pills with his own fire was a source of deep regret in his previous life.
But now, reborn and following the path of cultivation with the "Glorious Heavenly Wheel," he was confident that regret would be left behind.
The grading of pills and the ranks of Refiners were aligned, divided into Mortal, Spirit, Earth, Heaven, and Divine Levels.
Each of these levels, from Mortal to Divine, was further categorized into nine grades.
Typically, alchemists use their own flames to craft pills, but they're often limited to producing only the most basic Mortal and Spiritual Pills. Crafting the more advanced Earth, Heaven, and Divine Level Spiritual Pills usually requires the assistance of Flame Crystals, subterranean fire sources, or various divine flames from the heavens.
The Yu family's selection of spiritual herbs is quite limited, both in variety and quality. Yu Yuan, therefore, can only produce the most rudimentary Channel Opening Pill. This Third Grade Mortal Pill has a singular, yet crucial purpose: it aids cultivators at the Pulse Opening Stage to swiftly expand their meridians and advance past this critical juncture with greater ease.
On the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents, Channel Opening Pills are commonplace. Influential sects routinely bestow these pills upon their elite disciples to accelerate their progression. However, such generosity is reserved for those with the right potential and connections; average sect disciples are not afforded such luxuries.
The situation is different on the Profound Sky Continent, where only the most established families or royal imperial lines can afford to provide Channel Opening Pills to their exceptional youth. Despite being the simplest of Mortal Pills, the Channel Opening Pill is in high demand due to a scarcity of alchemists, making it a rarity for the continent's ordinary families to even attract one.
Alchemists are held in high esteem on both the Heavenly Source and Quietus Continents, revered as distinguished guests by all major sects. Should an alchemist from the Profound Sky Continent demonstrate the ability to refine second-level spirit pills, they would undoubtedly receive eager invitations from sects across the other two continents.
As the saying goes, water flows downhill and people aspire upwards. Alchemists, in pursuit of the alchemical arts, are often happy to accept such offers. Over time, this has led to an even greater scarcity of alchemists on the Profound Sky Continent.
The few who remain, those who have not yet departed, are either pillars of financial powerhouses like the Su family or are directly enshrined by the imperial royal family.
"If this batch of Channel Opening Pills is successful, it could very well transform the Yu family's fortunes," Yu Yuan whispered to himself. "On the Profound Sky Continent, alchemists are a rarer find than cultivators! Given that the Yu family specializes in medicinal herbs, the emergence of even a novice alchemist could draw the attention of our patron—the Su family."
"Hmm?"
Yu Yuan's head snapped up, his eyes sparking with a strange light.
He was in a secret chamber, three meters beneath the ground, a place his grandfather, Yu Cann, had specifically prepared for him.
This chamber, once Yu Cann's own place of cultivation, was designed to block out sound and prevent disturbances from the outside world.
Yu Yuan distinctly felt a warm current stealthily sweep across the ceiling of the chamber.
The Channel Opening Pill hadn't yet been activated, and the Flame Crystal had long since been extinguished. There shouldn't have been any warm current forming in this subterranean chamber under normal circumstances.
"A Qi Practitioner at the Penetrating Stage must have used their Spiritual Sense to scout the area. They're likely practicing a Flame Spell!"
After a moment's thought, Yu Yuan realized that when he ignited the Flame Crystal, at the very moment the pill was about to form, the released energy from the Flame Crystal resonated with the rudimentary Matrix Diagram etched into the pill furnace. This caused a surge of intense heat that rebounded back into the furnace, likely alerting a practitioner in Darkmoon City.
That practitioner, engrossed in the Flame Spell, must have been in deep meditation when they keenly detected an unusual burst of fiery energy within the city and reached out with their Spiritual Sense to investigate.
At the Penetrating Stage, the upper dantian opens, giving rise to Spiritual Sense.
Practitioners of this caliber can use their Spiritual Sense to scrutinize their own bodies, perceiving flesh, bones, and organs, discerning minute details, and grasping the essence of the Earth Soul, Heaven Soul, and Human Soul.
Yet, dispersing their Spiritual Sense to perceive external changes diminishes its extraordinary capabilities.
Using Spiritual Sense to probe the external environment is akin to a blind person feeling an elephant; one can only discern temperature and rough shape, identifying whether it's a living being or a solid stone.
Even at the Penetrating Stage, a practitioner might struggle to distinguish whether the sensed presence is a person or a Demonic Beast.
However, once they advance to the Yin God Stage, their perception clears dramatically. They can project their Yin God to discern external realities as if their eyes were wide open, seeing all things as they truly are.
Moreover, the Yin God can operate silently, without leaving the slightest trace.
Unlike the practitioner from Darkmoon City who probed Yu Yuan's secret chamber with his Spiritual Sense, Yu Yuan managed to detect the disturbance and realized that his covert pill refining had inadvertently drawn the attention of an outsider.
The comforting warmth soon faded away.
Yet, with the wisdom gained from his past life, Yu Yuan had nearly figured it all out.
"This isn't the elder from the Cold Yin Sect. The Spiritual Spell practiced by this individual is at odds with that of the Cold Yin Sect; they're certainly not one and the same!"
"In places like the Heavenly Source Continent and the Quietus Continent, the Penetrating Stage might be considered mid-tier strength. But here in the Profound Sky Continent, particularly in the modest Darkmoon City, it's likely top-tier!"
"Who in the city could be cultivating the Fire Spiritual Spell and have reached the Penetrating Stage?"
Yu Yuan's face darkened.
Having recently returned with insights from the Earth Soul and Heavenly Soul, he couldn't possibly know everyone in the city, despite Ann Ziqing's extensive briefings.
Moreover, Ann Ziqing might not have comprehensive knowledge of a cultivator at the Penetrating Stage.
"Old Master, as the head of the Yu family, you ought to know who's been covertly using their Spiritual Sense to probe the cultivation levels within our family!"
"Pfft!"
Just then, a burst of heat from within the pill furnace blew the lid off.
Yu Yuan put aside his thoughts and leapt to his feet, dashing to the furnace and peering inside.
At the bottom lay eight thumb-sized, deep red pellets, radiating a medicinal scent he knew all too well.
He examined each one, assessing their shape, color, and fragrance, and determined that out of the eight Channel Opening Pills, five were of acceptable quality for immediate use.
The remaining three, lacking in potency, were not quite successful Channel Opening Pills, merely semi-finished.
"Heh! My first attempt at pill concoction, and I've produced eight pellets in one go: five finished products and three semi-finished, with none completely ruined." Yu Yuan's eyes twinkled with delight. "It seems my knack for pill-making is still intact."
"Three semi-finished pieces. With further refinement, I could even craft poison pills."
Gazing at the three Channel Opening Pills in his left palm, a cold, blade-like smile slowly crept across his lips. "Perhaps it's time to devise a plan, one that will give that cur, Yinn Jue, an unforgettable lesson!"
