In the hotel room, the ghostly white Bone Spirit Cold Flame flickered faintly in the dim light, resembling a spectral flame.
The first step in refining medicine is to heat the cauldron. Yao Lao quietly watched the Bone Spirit Cold Flame rapidly rising within the cauldron. Due to the extraordinary quality of the Black Demon Cauldron, the initial heating process took longer than usual.
However, with Yao Lao's high level of alchemy skills and his control over the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, he was able to save some time.
After about a minute of the flame rising, Yao Lao waved his hand over a few medicinal herbs on the floor. The bright red Soul Melding Fruit slowly floated up and was directly placed into the cauldron.
Although the strange fire was blazing within the cauldron, Huo Yuhao could sense through his spiritual detection that the temperature of the flame was suppressed to a very low level by Yao Lao.
Thus, when the Soul Melding Fruit entered the cauldron, the flame, though fierce in appearance, did not incinerate it to ashes. Instead, the fruit began to wither, as if its essence was being extracted.
Tiny, blood-red droplets of liquid seeped out from the surface of the Soul Melding Fruit, sliding down and hovering above the flame, rolling continuously.
As the flame continued to burn and the crimson droplets continued to seep out, the bright red color of the Soul Melding Fruit quickly faded. Moments later, the fruit turned completely black, its pure medicinal power forced out by the Bone Spirit Cold Flame within the Black Demon Cauldron. Its physical form became a pile of useless residue.
With a flick of his wrist, the withered Soul Melding Fruit flew out of the cauldron and fell to the ground. Upon hitting the floor, it crumbled into a pile of black ash.
"Teacher's method of extracting the essence from medicinal herbs is truly impressive. If the alchemists of this world knew this technique, they wouldn't be producing Soul Ascension Pills full of impurities," Huo Yuhao praised silently. "Compared to the Soul Ascension Pills, the pills refined by Teacher are practically divine medicine. It seems the Douluo Continent really is quite backward."
A ball of blood-red liquid spun in the cauldron, resembling a transparent red pearl. This blood-red liquid was the initial essence extracted from the Soul Melding Fruit, containing substantial energy.
However, after these blood-red liquids condensed, they transformed into countless fine blood threads, silently spreading out. Each thread contained immense energy, producing clear metallic collision sounds as they struck the inner walls of the Black Demon Cauldron.
Huo Yuhao was amazed by the dense blood threads shooting out within the cauldron. He couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder. The attack power of these threads was formidable, and he doubted he could withstand even a few strikes.
Yet, despite the medicinal power's resistance, Yao Lao's expression remained unchanged. With a gentle wave of his hand, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame within the cauldron suddenly flared up.
The blood threads recoiled rapidly upon contact with the strange flame, and soon, the dense threads reconverged into a ball of blood-red liquid. Under the intimidating presence of the flame, they ceased all movements.
"Whoosh!"
A wisp of the ghostly white flame separated from the cauldron, hovering beneath the blood-red liquid. The flame surged, releasing intense heat. The blood-red liquid surface began to boil, with numerous tiny bubbles emerging.
As each tiny bubble appeared, wisps of thin gray smoke rose from the cauldron. These were impurities within the Soul Melding Fruit's medicinal power. To enhance the pill's quality, removing impurities is crucial. If done well, the pill's quality would be exceptional. If done poorly, excessive impurities could prevent pill formation or even cause pill toxins.
Removing impurities from common herbs typically took just a few minutes. However, the Soul Melding Fruit was different. Even under the intense heat of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, it stubbornly expelled impurities one wisp at a time. After more than ten minutes of roasting, the blood-red liquid would occasionally release another wisp of gray smoke.
Such persistent impurities left Huo Yuhao in awe. He knew that this was the result under Yao Lao's control. If it were him, a novice in alchemy, he would have lost control long ago. Such precise control of the strange fire required immense focus and energy.
Moreover, the Soul Melding Fruit was not an ordinary herb. It greatly benefited spirit-type soul masters, making it extremely rare and valuable. Without the help of Treasure Pavilion, Huo Yuhao wouldn't have been able to obtain it.
After hours of refinement, the impurities in the blood-red liquid were finally removed. The purified liquid became smoother and its color turned into a clear, vibrant red, resembling top-grade red jade.
With the refinement complete, Yao Lao's serious expression relaxed slightly. He flicked his finger, and the ball of blood-red liquid, enveloped in a wisp of ghostly white flame, floated out of the cauldron and was carefully poured into a jade bottle.
Watching Yao Lao's unique method of preservation, Huo Yuhao was surprised. He noticed a thin layer of white flame membrane at the mouth of the jade bottle.
"Using one's own Heavenly fire to seal the medicinal liquid ensures it retains its temperature and purity, preventing contamination from airborne impurities. However, this requires precise control over the flame. The jade bottle is fragile and could explode if the temperature is too high, ruining the refined liquid," Yao Lao explained.
Nodding slightly, Huo Yuhao mentally noted the valuable tip from Yao Lao. This was the significance of having a teacher—to teach and resolve doubts, far better than a worthless braggart like Yu Xiaogang, who was all talk and no substance.
Yao Lao then waved his hand again, throwing the Three-leaf Green Ganoderma into the cauldron.
The extraction of the Three-leaf Green Ganoderma was no less difficult than that of the Soul Melding Fruit. Just extracting the medicinal power from the Ganoderma took over an hour.
The subsequent refinement was even more time-consuming, taking up two entire hours. Only someone with Yao Lao's immense spiritual power could endure this.
When the Three-leaf Green Ganoderma was finally refined into a ball of green liquid and stored in the jade bottle, the sky had begun to lighten. Huo Yuhao, having taken a day off, remained in the hotel without attending classes.
After refining the Three-leaf Green Ganoderma, the next step was the most crucial—the extraction of the Snow Condensing Flower. This herb was extremely difficult to find, only growing in the core areas of the Extreme North. A mistake in the extraction process would mean another trip to the Extreme North for Huo Yuhao.
Seeing Yao Lao's serious expression, Huo Yuhao rubbed his tired eyes and regained his focus.
He knew very well that observing the process of refining such high-level pills was immensely beneficial to him, potentially saving him from many detours on his path as an alchemist. He couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.
The extraction time for the Snow Condensing Flower was similar to that of the Three-leaf Green Ganoderma. When it was finally completed, the sky had brightened to morning. The sun had risen, dispelling all darkness in the room.
Despite refining continuously for a whole day, Yao Lao showed no signs of fatigue, thanks to his formidable strength. Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, had slight dark circles under his eyes.
Next, Yao Lao took out a transparent, crystal-like spirit bone. This spirit bone, from a millennium-old spirit beast with mental attributes, was extremely rare. It was offered by Shrek Academy to entice Huo Yuhao during the Treasure Appraisal Event but was bought directly by Huo Yuhao with his wealth.
Yao Lao, proficient in refining spirit bones and possessing strong spiritual power, easily handled this task.
By noon, the spirit bone finally turned into a ball of transparent liquid. With this, the three main ingredients were extracted and combined into the Black Demon Cauldron, beginning the fusion process.
Although it was called fusion, the process was slow as a snail, almost unbearable. The interplay of the four different powers was an eye-opener for Huo Yuhao.
Fusion is the most crucial step in pill refinement. Any slight mistake could burn the carefully extracted medicinal materials to ashes. Even with Yao Lao's power, he couldn't afford any distraction at this stage.
After an entire hour of fusion, a ball of vibrant green liquid, brimming with life, slowly emerged in the cauldron. Yao Lao then withdrew the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and took out the Soul Nourishing Elixir from the Black Demon Cauldron.
Looking at the vibrant green liquid exuding life before him, Yao Lao sighed in relief. He reached out, dividing the elixir into two. One part flew out and slowly infused into Yao Lao's ethereal body.
As the elixir nourished him, Yao Lao's previously ethereal form seemed to solidify slightly, with a budding vitality emanating from it.
"Well, it's only a fifth-grade pill, so it's impressive that it restored some of my strength," Yao Lao said with satisfaction. He then smiled at Huo Yuhao and pointed to Huo Yuhao's forehead.
"Come on, Yuhao, let's awaken the one who's been sleeping in your sea of consciousness!"