Chapter 168 - Above Tier Nine (2/2)

Li Xu smiled wryly. Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki were not treating alchemy seriously!

“It’s alright, Senior Brother Li. Let them have their fun.” Conversely, Ye Chen smiled and shook his head.

“In general, refining Chi-amassing Pills would need about a hundred and twenty breaths of preheating. That would be best. Preheating too early would heat up the furnace too much, causing the herb mixture to burn when you put it in. In the process of refining and producing medicinal pills, each detail has strict requirements. It’s fine to fail a few times on your first attempt. By knowing why you fail, you’ll gain experience for future endeavors in alchemy,” Li Xu admonished. Alchemy was not a simple matter!

Ye Chen was stunned and asked, “Must it be a hundred and twenty breaths?” The book had not mentioned this.Read more chapter on our novelhall.com

“It isn’t always a hundred and twenty breaths. It’s also based on the rate the alchemy assistant adds firewood. With high heat, the preheating time has to be shorter. With low heat, it needs to be longer. This is all based on experience. Also, one must consider the alchemist’s mastery of Celestial Chi, their grasp of Fire-type Celestial Chi, and so on. You’ll have to get a feel of all this yourself,” Li Xu said. “During your first attempt at alchemy, failure is common but you must learn a lesson from that failure.”

Li Xu had refined and produced Chi-amassing Pills a few thousand times. Experience was the greatest teacher, so a hundred and twenty breaths might not be completely baseless.

What one had learned on paper was superficial. To truly learn something, practical experience was necessary!

The process of alchemy was much more complicated than what was written in the books.

“Yes, Senior Brother Li.” Ye Chen nodded seriously.

Li Xu listed down each step and every necessary procedure at each point of time for refining and producing Chi-amassing Pills, explaining everything to Ye Chen. Ye Chen attentively listened to all of it. The knowledge of alchemy was not as simple as it seemed indeed!

After placing the herb mixture into the refining furnace, Ye Chen sat on the east side of the furnace. He was very close to the fire and could feel the scorching heat on his face.

“Circulate your Fire-type Celestial Chi and use it to control the flames and the inner temperature of the furnace. At this point, you may also cultivate and improve your own Fire-type Celestial Chi. Make sure not to burn the herb mixture!” Li Xu stood by one side, advising Ye Chen.

Ye Chen allowed his Fire-type Celestial Chi to exude outward and merge with the roaring flames. Gradually, he had entered meditative absorption. At this moment, Ye Chen felt that he had become a mass of ferocious flames, burning between heaven and earth.

As Ye Chen monitored the temperature in the furnace, he wondered how the herb mixture was doing in the furnace.

Whether it was Master Apothecary Xuanyi or Li Xu, they would use their Fire-type Celestial Chi to control the furnace’s temperature during the alchemy process. By allowing Fire-type Celestial Chi to enter the refining furnace and induce changes in the herb mixture, they had completed the refining of the pill. While they were releasing their Fire-type Celestial Chi, they had no inkling as to what was going on in the furnace. At this point, what one had learned from experience, thus, became a crucial factor.

With Ye Chen’s thought, his Astral Body reached into the refining furnace. It was like opening the third eye. He saw every transformation that the herb mixture in the furnace was undergoing.

“Oh no, the heat is too high!” Ye Chen saw that the herb mixture showed signs of charring and immediately used Fire-type Celestial Chi to subdue the temperature of the furnace.

Wisps of Fire-type Celestial Chi soothed the herb mixture.

When he was refining and producing pills in the armguard’s space, Ye Chen had used his Astral Body to do so. Now, he was using his Fire-type Celestial Chi. He could sense the subtle differences between these two methods of alchemy.

After some pondering, Ye Chen formed his reflections about ordinary alchemy methods.

The majority of Beginner and Intermediate Apothecaries followed a consistent set of rules while refining and producing pills but lacked personal understanding. Inadvertently, Ye Chen was now on another level compared to them.

After more than an hour, Li Xu, who had been helping Master Apothecary Xuanyi with his herb mixture cast a glance at Ye Chen. A flabbergasted look came across his face. The herb mixture which Ye Chen had placed in the refining furnace was not burnt. It was puzzling indeed. After all, Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki who were stoking the fire were both novices! Li Xu considered Ye Chen’s astonishing control over his Celestial Chi. Could it be that Ye Chen had already grasped the key to alchemy during his first attempt?

“He’ll go far in life!” On one side, Master Apothecary Xuanyi sighed ruefully. Back during his first attempt at alchemy, he had failed in merely ten minutes. It was only after a few hundred failures that he somewhat got the knack for refining and producing pills.

“Ye Chen’s powerful control over his Celestial Chi is rarely seen in this world and he has such astounding perception. Master, perhaps you may return to your sect someday!” Li Xu looked at Master Apothecary Xuanyi delightfully.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi gave a languid sigh. This sigh alone contained so much desolation and helplessness. “I no longer expect things but leave it up to fate.”

Ye Chen was now immersed in alchemy. If he wanted to successfully refine and produce a batch of Chi-amassing Pills, he would need three full days. Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu had resumed their work as well, refining and producing medicinal pills. They were working on Human Tier soul pills above Tier Nine, which were extremely valuable. The alchemy process was also much more complex.

Ordinary medicinal pills were divided into nine tiers. Anything above Tier Nine was considered a soul pill, which could be further divided into three tiers – Human Tier, Earthly Tier, and Heavenly Tier. Each soul pill, even the lowest Human Tier, was a rare treasure.