Qin Meng controlled his Martial Spirit and sent it inside the cauldron to heat it. He used his soul power to check the condition of the cauldron, and when it became ready he introduced the medicines into the cauldron.
Soon, however, he discovered something strange and fascinating. He did need not to control the fire, nor did he need to cover the medicines with his soul power to protect them from withering because of overheating. Everything was happening on its own!
The revelation shocked and thrilled him. He hurled all the medicines into the cauldron and none of them mixed into each other. That was the most shocking thing. Every Alchemist needed to work hard to complete this step, but at this moment, in front of Qin Meng, it was happening on its own.
The essence of the medicines extracted, mingled, and mixed with each other, transforming from five to four, four to three, three to two, and finally two to one.
The Martial Spirit that had rushed inside the cauldron also raced out, beginning its rotation around the cauldron like before. Then something else came out of the cauldron and entered Qin Meng's head. He didn't know what it was, but as soon as it entered his head, many things about the alchemy became clear. About grade 1 elixirs, more accurately. This discovery made him grin from ear to ear.
He looked in front of him and the elixir came out of the cauldron. He'd never heard of something like this in his life, where a cauldron could refine elixirs on its own.
Qin Meng placed the elixir into a vial and took out the Purity Measurement Apparatus, made by Artifact and Talisman Masters, as it needed the knowledge of both fields to build it. He took out a drop of elixir and placed it inside the apparatus, and then the numbers started to appear on it.
Forty, fifty, sixty… when it reached seventy, Qin Meng's heart raced faster and faster. He never refined an elixir with such purity ever before. When it reached eighty, the speed of increasing numbers slowed down, and when it was ninety… the number improved at the pace of a snail, but it never stopped. Number by number, slowly increasing. And then the hundred appeared on the apparatus.
Qin Meng screamed in excitement. He'd successfully refined an elixir with a hundred percent purity. Now he could evolve his Martial Spirit with no reservation. He could improve his cultivation. He could become strong. He'd not let anyone take anything from him. Never.
After calming down, he continued to experiment with the cauldron. He knew too little about it. Previously, he'd refined the healing elixir, and now he wanted to refine the grade one Brew of Enhancement. To confirm if the first time was just a fluke or a real thing.
He'd fire type Martial Spirit, so he learned to refine fire type Brew of Enhancement. Every Martial Spirit had different properties, and their process of evolution was also different.
Anyway, he began to toss medicines inside the cauldron, and the same thing happened once more. He didn't need to do anything, and the elixir was refined, with a hundred percent purity.
Qin Meng thought for a moment and then brought another batch of medicines. Until now, he refined the elixirs that he could refine on his own, but now he wanted to refine an elixir that he'd never tried before, but only knew the process.
And as expected, the refining failed. 'So I need to learn the refining in real life for the cauldron to refine it,' he muttered inside his head. However, he was not a bit disappointed. Instead, he was thrilled. This was the best thing that happened to him after getting the Martial Spirit.
He stopped his breathing technique and opened his eyes. Then a vial appeared in his hand. Brew of Enhancement. Grade one. Although he could not evolve the Martial Spirit with just a single vial, it was the beginning of the process.
After drinking the elixir, he didn't rest and once more appeared in that boundless space. This time, however, he didn't want to practice alchemy. Instead, this time he was going to train his battle techniques that he'd rented from the Scripture Pavilion.
He was not practicing the battle techniques outside, because he realized that inside the boundless space, his comprehension would increase tens of times.
***
The sun had just risen, and yellows and oranges and purples were already scattered on the horizon. The temperature was changing rapidly, from numbing cold to scorching hot, from moist humid to crisp dry.
Qin Meng walked out of the cave in his long duster and squinted towards the horizon. Only sand and dunes and mountains could be seen. Not an animal was visible. Though he didn't let down his guards, as he knew that some beasts were proficient in hiding inside the sand, revealing themselves only when their prey was within their reach.
Burning Wilds was filled with precious herbs, and the body parts of the monsters could be sold at a very high price. Although the desert was the land of risks and perils, it also undoubtedly provided precious opportunities. It's just that a few could grab those opportunities. Death would grab them faster.
Qin Meng chewed a loaf of bread that he'd brought with him and strolled towards the mountain range in the distance. Burning Mountain Range. That place had most of the medicines and herbs in the entire Burning Wilds, but it was also the most precarious place.
Qin Meng wasn't going there, he just needed a direction to continue his training. He would stop when he should stop.
Just when he sauntered on the sandy ground, sounds of hooves and braying of horses came from a distance. He was surprised at first but then hurriedly hid behind a large boulder.