After splitting up with Tao Ru, Shu He wandered about the Alchemy Tower for a while out of curiosity, since he was part of the division now he was allowed to do so after all; There were many facilities he had no idea the use of littered in the massive variety of rooms, he would ask anyone nearby about them if he got the chance but usually there wasn't.
It appeared despite the size of the Alchemy Tower they didn't have the population to fill it.
Eventually he headed down, planning to head home but he stopped by a floor that seemed like a meeting plaza, there were many alchemists and other disciples that weren't yet at that status chatting or reading from the bookshelves that were placed around.
He was spotted by a small group as he wandered in as he was a unfamiliar face, he explained to them that he had just been inducted and they politely gave him a tip.
That he should use one of the meditation rooms when trying to form an Alchemic Gate, the ambient Alchemic Qi would help greatly.
He thanked them and headed off, unfortunately he couldn't join the on-going discussions quite yet because he had yet to even perform alchemy.
The floors with meditations rooms were near the lower half of the tower, closer to the Alchemic Reactor, all he needed to do was swipe his token and it would open and allow him in, from what he learned no-one else is allowed in once he does this unless something goes wrong, the rooms formation would pick up on such things and ring an alarm while unlocking the door.
And so Shu He slipped in and sat comfortably on a green cushion that was placed in the middle of the floor with a small, low wooden desk set out to the side of it.
He quickly laid out the scroll and read through it, before rolling it back up and placing it on the desk to the side.
In concept, it was simple enough.
The process of Qi conversion is technically included in each and every elemental technique, the first step in all of them is converting standard Qi to elemental Qi, however the process used is fast and crude meaning it's inefficient, that's why cultivators that specialise in one element convert their core flame into the same type, like the Bai clan with the Ice element for example.
Mathematically it would look something like this, with some variation based on the talents of the cultivator.
Elemental technique with standard Qi = (100 Qi * 0.8 Potency) * 0.5 Conversion efficiency = 40 Power.
Elemental technique with an Elemental Gate = (100 Qi * 1.0 Potency) * 0.9 Conversion efficiency = 90 Power.
Elemental technique with an Elemental Core Flame = (100 Qi * 1.5 Potency) * 1.0 Conversion efficiency = 150 Power.
The elemental gate was made as a step between solution for those that didn't want to attune their core flame to a specific element, which is a very widespread problem a lot of cultivators have, after all if you have a mismatched element when using a technique their potency and conversion values would drop significantly.
The elemental gate is, in essence, a 'Cultivation Technique', it makes a semi-permanent change to ones core of cultivation, it can be removed but as a risk of damaging the core flame.
And the alchemic gate is essentially the same thing.
To create an alchemic gate, one must absorb Alchemic Qi, attune with it, cycle it in ones body, learn to control it and then compress it into a ring around the core flame, there were mantras written on the scroll that assisted with the creation and compression, but the rest was up to the comprehension of the cultivator.
Shu He had quickly memorised everything, eager to get started, he didn't know how serious Tao Ru was with her 3-day limit, but he didn't feel like testing her.
So he got to work.
And 2 days quickly passed, he hadn't left the room as he bathed in the pale green light of the Alchemic Qi congregating in his room.
And, surprisingly, he managed to form an Alchemic Gate without too much trouble.
Yes, he formed it.
He formed it but…
"…What the hell?!"
He was laid on his back with his mouth drooped open as he stared at the ceiling, he had just dropped on to the floor from his sitting position after receiving a great shock.
He had quickly picked up on the Alchemic Qi within the first day, gaining great control over it, he assumed his practice at controlling the Gold Qi paid into his success here, and by the second day he was steadily working on constructing the ring.
Although his core flame was odd, he felt what he was doing would still work as the ring grew, wrapped around the tip of the golden orb wrapped by blue petal like flames.
Nothing had gone wrong yet.
And, just a few minutes ago he had finally succeeded, he stopped chanting the mantra and let the ring he constructed settle, he felt it humming slightly in his core of cultivation, the sign that he had completed its construction.
'Great! That wasn't too bad!' He thought. He would soon regret thinking this.
Eager to test it's abilities, he activated the gate to attempt to create some Alchemic Qi, and immediately something went wrong, the Gold Qi in the orb stirred and swirled as the azure petals grew larger and twisted like the petals of a red spider lily, closing in on the pale green ring.
And then-
*CRACK*
Shu He felt a slight pain deep inside of him as he stared in disbelief.
The ring he had just made was now filled with hairline cracks!
'What?!'
But that wasn't the end of it-
*SHATTER*
He felt like a hammer had just smacked him across the head as his heart clenched from shock.
*Thud*
His body made a dull noise as it collapsed on to the wooden flooring.
And so we get to the present.
He looked at his core flame as the shards of the Alchemic Gate he had just spent 2 days creating fell into the golden sphere that seemed to guzzle it up like a greedy child, soon there wasn't a single fragment left.
He closed his eyes.
"God… fucking… damnit!" He swore as his words bounced off the walls of the enclosed room.
'Does this mean I can't have an Alchemic Gate? Am I going to have to stick with the conversion technique?' He wanted to cry, did this damn core flame really have to go and ruin things for him?'
He seethed for a few minutes before he started to take some deep breaths to calm himself down.
'No, Shu He, stop and think' He thought to himself.
'This core flame isn't normal, I know that, but what DO I know about this core flame?'
He recalled all the memories he had, every moment this core flame did something odd.
'I know it holds a special Qi that's strong beyond belief, but remember what properties it has'.
The memories he recalled were two moments, the 5 elements formation test and most recently, the moment he channelled all his Qi into his fire element spirit knife.
'It holds an almost sickening affinity for the elements, so if it can do that, then can't it also convert itself to Alchemic Qi?' He felt his mind spark alive; the possibility was there.
No matter what, the core flame acted to benefit him, it followed his desire.
His core flame didn't merely break the Alchemic Gate and leave it to dissipate, no.
It absorbed it.
DEVOURED IT!
He sat up suddenly, returning to the meditative position as he looked inside his core of cultivation.
In there, there was no longer any sign of the Alchemic Gate he had made.
The golden sphere dressed in fluctuating azure petals seemed to be waiting patiently for something, Shu He could feel something was different, but he couldn't tell at first glance, so he spent a while observing.
And then he realised something, something that sent an even greater shock down his spine.
On one of the many azure petals embracing the golden core… was a very time, insignificant tinge of pale green!
Alchemic Qi!
A smirk grew on Shu He's face as he resisted the urge to laugh.
And then an idea formed in his mind.
'If the Alchemic Gate served as a trigger… then maybe…'
He began circulating his Qi, drawing the surrounding Qi closer to him, more specifically the Alchemic Qi that existed in copious amounts, and then drew it directly in to his Core Flame!
Normally, sending so much Qi into it would be suicide, it would be like trying to fill a balloon with a pressure washer, but Shu He felt that this would work!
And it did.
The moment the stream of Alchemic Qi collided with his Core Flame, it became active, whirling and storming, the petals around the core flame began wildly dancing as if they were chicks waiting to be fed.
And then the feast began, like it had opened a gigantic endless maw the Alchemic Qi was sucked into the endless gold, once it started it couldn't be stopped, even Shu He started to become nervous as he felt the Alchemic Qi in the room disappear before the formation began desperately moving more in.
It was good that the output of the Qi Reactor was ridiculously high, and that the amount of people consuming the Qi at the moment was small, or everyone would have definitely noticed the sudden mass decrease in Qi stores.
Shu He watched with rapt attention, that one petal that only had a spec of pale green Qi before began to change, it grew in size standing out among its peers and its azure colour became more and more dyed in pale green.
This process went on for a full hour, Shu He couldn't move an inch as it all happened, yet he didn't want to, the sight before him captured his heart so much that it didn't even occur to him.
And eventually it ended, like someone had pulled the plug.
There was still Alchemic Qi in the air, yet his core flame didn't want to consume any more, it was done.
The golden core flame turned dormant, the azure petals no longer flickering as they closed up, seemingly resting.
And one petal remained, dancing and flickering like it was celebrating its triumphant victory, its pale green colour existing in great contrast to the others.
Shu He opened his eyes and steadily held his hand up, unable to keep himself from shaking slightly his hand quivered.
He accessed his core flame like any other time he wanted to channel his Qi, but this time he focused specifically on that pale green petal.
And before he knew it, a small ball formed in his palm, flickering with a worldly green light.
It was Alchemic Qi, and it felt incredibly vibrant and strong too!
This time, Shu He couldn't hold himself back.
He laughed.