Michael and Elena moved through the shadows, careful not to make any sound as they approached the door to one of the pill refining rooms. They had managed to sneak in undetected and now stood before the Pill Furnace. The Soaring Dragon Sect provided tier-1 alchemists with resources as well as these pill refining rooms free of charge, so long as they were selling the pills to the sect.
Elena turned to Michael, her eyes shining with excitement. "This is it," she said in a hushed voice. "We can finally refine the Meridian-healing pills."
Michael nodded, his heart racing with anticipation. He had been waiting for this moment for the past week. They had finally obtained all the necessary ingredients, and now, they were ready to refine the pills.
Elena walked over to the Pill Furnace and began to examine it closely. "Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "First, we need to light the furnace. Then, we add the ingredients in the correct order and at the correct time."
"This can be done by anybody, however the latter steps will require a cultivator." She said succinctly.
Michael nodded. To avoid being caught, he chose not to breakthrough until they arrived undetected into the pill refining room. Without a word he sat down in meditation and within 5 minutes a muffled *crack* was heard, as he successfully reached the first level of Qi Condensation.
Elena watched on from the side in awe, no matter how many times she witnessed Michael breakthrough, it still filled her with agitation.
Opening his eyes, Michael sent Elena a quick thumbs up, affirming his readiness.
Elena carefully opened the furnace and began to light the flames beneath it. She then pulled out a small pouch containing the ingredients and began to add them one by one, reciting each step as she went.
Archie had conveniently provided the ingredient list as well as the refinement method to Michael beforehand. As long as the steps were followed and Michael could successfully fuse the ingredients, there should be no issues.
"First, we add the Spirit-reviving Grass," she said, dropping the herb into the furnace. "Then, we add the Meridian-opening Flower and the Qi-enhancing Crystal."
As she added each ingredient, Michael could feel the energy in the room growing more and more intense. The furnace began to glow with a bright, golden light, and the air was filled with a sweet, floral scent.
Elena continued to add the remaining ingredients, her movements precise and practiced. Finally, she stepped back and gestured for Michael to step in.
"Use your Qi to wrap around the ingredients, as they melt begin to piece them together like a puzzle." She said. As Michael stepped toward the furnace, Elena put her hand on his shoulder, reminding him, "Don't use too much Qi, it may offset the balance of the pill and ruin the end result."
Michael nodded, he could hardly contain his excitement as he watched the furnace continue to glow. He knew that the Meridian-healing pills were from an ancient recipe, boasting far greater healing powers than the ones Grandpa Yin gave him some time ago.
But he also knew that they had to be careful. If they were caught refining pills without permission, they could be severely punished, or even expelled from the sect.
Michael took a deep breath and began to control his Qi outwards, slowly wrapping it around the ingredients inside the furnace. He felt the heat intensify as the ingredients melted and began to fuse together.
As the fusion continued, Michael could sense the energy within the furnace reaching its peak. He carefully adjusted his Qi, ensuring that the balance was maintained, and the fusion progressed smoothly.
Minutes passed as Michael carefully guided the fusion, his mind focused on nothing else but the process at hand. Finally, the fusion was complete, and he withdrew his Qi, allowing the furnace to cool.
Elena opened the furnace and peered inside, a smile spreading across her face. "Perfect," she whispered, pulling out a handful of small, white pills. "We did it, Michael." Her face lit up with adulation.
Michael couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, his heart swelling with pride. They had successfully refined the Meridian-healing pills, the first step in their plan to fix Elena's meridians.
He counted that there were 8 pills produced in this batch. 'Archie will this be enough to get me to silver tier Celestial Meridians?' he asked hastily.
Archie was silent for a moment, considering the question carefully. 'I daresay you'll need close to 40 pills before I can guarantee reaching silver tier. And that's with nearly destroying your meridians every session.'
Michael paled visibly "I think we need a few more sets." He said to Elena gingerly.
Elena looked at the pale Michael questioningly before nodding her head. "I guess it's better to be safe than sorry" she said.
Elena and Michael continued to sneak into the pill refining room every night for the next week. They were determined to refine as many Meridian-healing pills as possible before their luck ran out.
Each night, they would carefully follow the same routine, setting up the Pill Furnace and adding the ingredients with utmost care. Michael would use his Qi to fuse the ingredients together, while Elena closely monitored the process, making sure everything was going smoothly.
As the week wore on, they grew bolder, refining more and more pills each night. They were getting faster and more adept at the process, and Michael was amazed at how much he had learned from Elena.
Despite the danger and the risk of getting caught, there was a thrill to their nightly escapades. Michael found himself looking forward to their nightly sessions, eager to see what they could achieve together.
However, their luck eventually ran out. On the eighth night, they were caught sneaking around by none other than Master Shen who had stayed late to complete one of his own batch of pills. Fortunately, Michael had continued to remain vigilant and had not broken through to the first level of Qi condensation beforehand.
Master Shen's face turned stern as he looked at Michael and Elena, who were frozen in fear. "What are you doing here after curfew?" he demanded.
Michael and Elena exchanged a quick glance, their minds racing for an excuse. "We were just looking for a quiet place to study," Elena said, her voice shaking slightly.
Master Shen narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing their story. "I smell something odd. What were you really doing?"
Michael and Elena exchanged another look before Michael stepped forward and bowed "I-I'm sorry Master Shen, it's my fault." He confessed bravely. "I asked Elena to teach me how to refine the Red Flame flower so I wouldn't be a burden tomorrow."
Master Shen sighed heavily, still not believing his words. He remembered the happenings in his herb refinement room with Master Yi and Randolph where Michael seemed to be the root cause. Seeing how Master Yi had an inclination toward him, he decided not to be too harsh.
"I am disappointed in you both. Trespassing after curfew is a serious offense in our sect." his face soften slightly, and he continued. "Because of this being your first transgression, I will not expel you from the sect, but you will receive a punishment."
Michael and Elena let out sighs of relief, the worst-case scenario had not happened. If they were expelled from the sect, any chances of Michael's revenge would be turned to moot. Both Elena and Michael bowed sincerely, thanking Master Shen.
Master Shen continued, "Don't thank me just yet" he said, sternly. "You will both be confined to your rooms for a week, and you will not be allowed to participate in any activities during that time. Use this time to reflect on your actions and the consequences they could have brought."
Michael and Elena nodded, accepting their punishment. They knew that they had been lucky to escape with only a week of confinement.
'I need to come up with another way of refining pills, I can't be caught again.' Michael thought internally.
Thankfully the two had managed to produce over 60 of the meridian-healing pills before being caught, meaning during the 1 week of confinement he would have plenty of time to refine his meridians.
However now that their access to the pill furnace was now cut off, they would have to find another way.