Chapter 131 - Reaching the Second Rank (1/2)

On a desert island of the Forgotten Ocean

A ship was anchored near the shore as it floated gently on the spot due to the ocean currents. On the beach, in front of where the artifact ship was located, two large tents had been set up. Hei came out of one of the tents. He stretched his arms toward the sky to wake up his body after a long sleep.

After leaving Ho Yeon-Hong, Hei had asked Old Tohyon to take them to a deserted island. To overcome his bottleneck and reach the second rank, he needed to enter a period of closed-door cultivation. So it was necessary to find a safe and isolated place where he could concentrate without being bothered.

Old Tohyon, thanks to his experience in navigating the Forgotten Ocean for so many years, suggested an island he knew about and was uninhabited. Having no better alternative, Hei decided to follow the old man's proposal, and therefore they camped on the island after a long ocean crossing.

'Both Lian and I are a half-step spirit soldier. Although it is closer than the peak seventh stage, it doesn't mean that we can underestimate the second rank's bottleneck. Since we are finally in an isolated area, I would say it is time to complete the pills with the remains of the whale's body. Besides, I now also have the remains of the Great Black-backed Gull available.'

Thinking to himself, Hei pulled his alchemist cauldron out of one of his space rings. It had been a while since he had used it to create an alchemical product, using it instead as a tool for cooking. So first, he cleaned up the cauldron to make sure there were no impurities during the creation process. After that, he filled the cauldron with clean water he had previously purified and lit a fire to boil the water.

”After the water has started to boil, I will put the whale's heart inside to cook it. During the high flame cooking process, the meat tends to lose the water inside and become hard. Through this process, I can extract the residues of spirit power that are contained in the heart. With that, I can deposit it in the water instead. Except that the heart of the whale is really huge, so I better cut it.”

With a slight sigh, Hei pulled out a large silk cloth made by Xing and brought out the heart of the whale, which was about 2-3 meters high. It was massive and didn't fit into the cauldron at all. So Hei had no choice but to cut it into pieces. But first, he inserted a metal tube into the whale heart while the other end of the tube was suspended above a glass container. Injecting his spirit power into the whale heart, he began to make the heart beat again, pumping the blood that still resided inside through the metal tube until it ended up inside the glass container. Once he made sure that he had extracted all the blood, he went on to cut the heart into small pieces and immerse them in boiling water.

At that point, he left the heart boiling for an hour, using the alchemical manipulation string attached to the cauldron to observe the extraction state without disturbing the cooking process. To ensure the best result, he had to make sure he would lose as little spirit power as possible of the whale's body. Only then would he be able to make a better quality pill.

”How's it going?”

A female voice rang out behind him. It was Lian who had woken up and was carrying Ye and Xing in her arms. The two little divine beasts were looking curiously at their big brother, who was struggling with processing the whale's remains. They could perceive the smell of meat being cooked.

”Well, but it's a fairly long process. Fortunately, you improved the cauldron with the formations, or it would have taken longer.”

”If you want, I can create a formation on the ground to reduce the amount of heat loss and adjust the outside temperature.”

”It would be very welcome, thanks, Lian.”

Hei stepped aside to let Lian work, who pulled out her tools and quickly created a series of symbols on the ground, arranging dust of spirit stones. Her swift and confident movements made her seem like a great expert. Hei sat on the ground as he watched her with admiration. His little sisters went to him, and both pulled one edge of his pants each.

'Big brother, we are hungry. Prepare us something to eat.' said the two little divine beasts together.

Seeing them begging desperately for food, Hei smiled and replied, ”Wait for a little. Before long, the pieces of whale heart that I put in the cauldron will have completed their purpose, and you can eat them. Instead, since you're here, help me with my next task.”

Hei pulled out a series of long bones of the whale and the Great Black-backed Gull and gently laid them on the silk cloth. Then he pulled out a large green jade mortar and pestle. Typically, a small mortar and pestle would have been used, but for alchemists, it was essential to have equipment suitable for treating the remains of spirit beasts, whether they were small or huge.

”Xing, cut the bones into thin pieces and deposit them near the mortar. Ye take the cut bones and grind them with the pestle. Then put the bone powder back into this container.” Hei ordered as he placed an oval container near Ye.

The two little divine beasts nodded their heads without making a fuss and went to work. In the meantime, Lian had finished her work and went to Hei to ask for further instructions.

”Take me a large container to put this water here and also bring me the heart of the Great Black-backed Seagull.”

Lian did as requested by Hei and placed a large cooking pot next to him. Although it wasn't suitable for alchemical reactions like a cauldron, it was okay for holding something temporarily. Hei then poured inside the water he had boiled along with the whale's heart and placed the cut organ pieces aside. He would use them as a meal for his little sisters. At that point, after cleaning the cauldron again, he repeated this procedure for the Great Black-backed Seagull. Fortunately, this time the process lasted less than before.

After boiling both the hearts and since Ye and Xing had finished grinding all the bones given to them, it was time to create the pills. Hei filled the cauldron with whale blood, after yet another wash with clean water, and added inside the four spleens he had found inside the whale's body. It should be known that beings such as whales tended to possess multiple spleens compared to human beings who possessed only one.

'The spleen has the function of cleaning up the blood. Even if it is the original body is dead, I can partially reproduce this function through spirit power.'

In order not to let the blood dry too quickly, Hei poured over the water he had boiled and patiently waited while Lian helped him maintain the temperature of the flame. In that way, the process would follow the course that Hei wanted. After the blood had thickened enough, he put inside the blood of the Great Black-backed Seagull and left everything to a slow boil, ordering Lian to lower the flame to a minimum.

”Well, now, we are almost at the end. It's time to make the body itself for the pills.” Hei said to himself as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. As he had imagined, the alchemical creation process was tiring, considering the size of the spirit beasts he was using as a basis.