The excitement and tension were such that her hand holding the medicinal herbs trembled, her clear watery eyes sparkling, shining with a bright luster.
Inhale, exhale—at less than a second, her delicate and smooth face returned to calm, impressing Elder Fei enough for him to nod repeatedly. Such ease of control, he thought, even he could not match; it made him wonder what kind of era and environment had shaped such a unique soul.
The flames hissed in the Cauldron, and the Cold Cauldron automatically raised a thin layer of cold air around its exterior, forming a barrier that contained the heat within. With a thought from Zhiyan, a pale golden Gourd Lantern immediately flew into the Cauldron. Soul Power instantly enveloped it, leaving no part uncovered.
As the Gourd Lantern entered, the flames surged momentarily. After about a minute of burning, Zhiyan reduced the Soul Power attached to the Gourd Lantern. The golden skin of the lantern started to exude juice, then slowly softened. In less than five minutes, it completely turned into a pool of golden liquid—it was time to collect it.
Her concentration faltered for an instant, and without noticing, the scorching flames leaped up. The golden liquid, bright and eye-catching a moment before, turned into ash in the next second, scattering at the bottom of the Cauldron. Zhiyan slightly furrowed her brows and picked up another Gourd Lantern to try again.
With prior experience, it turned into liquid in less than two minutes this time. Zhiyan reduced the heat and slowly roasted it. The golden liquid reduced and thickened in the orange flames until it became a thick and sticky mass. Feeling elated, she mobilized the Yin Energy within her, instantly separating the flames, and then she threw in a fiery-red marble-sized Dragon Fruit.
Dragon Fruit looked somewhat like the almonds of the previous world—small and unique, emanating an alluring fragrance, with thin skin and soft flesh. Thrown into the Cauldron, it quickly turned into a sticky liquid. Lowering the intensity of the flames, she isolated it with Yin Energy just as she did with the Gourd Lantern, and then added a Shanhu Mushroom the size of a palm.
The Shanhu Mushroom had an umbrella shape and gray skin. Perhaps due to uneven absorption of the Spiritual Energy from the outside, its gray surface was dotted with little bumps. Soul Power locked onto it before tossing it into the Cauldron.
The orange flames did not leap at it as they had before; instead, they stayed off at a distance, as if the Shanhu Mushroom was a fierce beast in a flood. This unexpected phenomenon surprised Zhiyan, and her small face showed a trace of astonishment.
"The difficulty in refining the Qi Blood Pill lies not only in the complexity of its medicinal types, but also in the fire resistance of the Shanhu Mushroom. Don't rush, first test it with Yin Energy," Elder Fei's voice floated down from above just as Zhiyan felt unsure, reinvigorating her as a glint lit up in her pupils.
Controlled by her thoughts, a dense mass of Yin Energy probed into the midst of the flames. The burning fires dimmed significantly and as the Yin Energy approached, the Shanhu Mushroom changed visibly at an incredible speed. The little bumps opened up, revealing the tender flesh inside that absorbed the surrounding Yin Energy ravenously, as if it were quenching a thirst.
The corners of her lips slightly curved, her delicate and smooth face tinted with a hint of mockery. So it was these things causing mischief. Since they wanted to absorb, she would let them absorb to their fill.
The bumps, fueled by the continuous influx of Yin Energy, completely unfolded, revealing the mushroom flesh wide open, as if inviting butchery. Zhiyan's heart grew stern, and the flames fiercely pounced forth. The previously unapproachable fire now blazed intensely on the surface of the Shanhu Mushroom. Once ignited, it could not be controlled anymore. With a 'pfft,' in barely two seconds, it again turned into a pile of ash.
Zhiyan was speechless. The thing was first fire-resistant, and when it finally stopped resisting, it burned up in an instant, just like a strand of hair. Back and forth, just because of one Shanhu Mushroom, she had expended a considerable amount of Yin Yang Qi and Soul Power. At this rate, she feared she would not last until all the remaining herbs were calcined.
Using Yang Energy to create fire and Yin Energy to control it, this brilliant combination could probably be found only with Zhiyan across the entire Mainland. An ordinary Alchemist generated Inner Fire within their body, and as long as their Soul Power did not run out, they could continuously control the burning flames. However, the Yang Energy within Zhiyan's body diminished with use; even with abundant Soul Power, once the Yang Energy was used up, she would no longer be able to summon flames.
Therefore, while refining pills, she not only had to pay attention to the regulation of Soul Power but also to the depletion of Yin Yang Qi.
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"Let's try again." Zhiyan gathered her spirits, picked up another Shanhu Mushroom, and placed it into the Cauldron, just like before, igniting it until only ashes remained, the speed of which was so fast it was hard to catch with the eye.
Over and over again, by the time she reached the eighth attempt, Zhiyan finally managed to control the temperature before the Shanhu Mushroom was completely incinerated. Unfortunately, only half of the mushroom remained unburned, and even though it hadn't turned to complete ash, it was no longer usable.
Tossing in the ninth Shanhu Mushroom and waiting until it had almost absorbed all the Yin Energy, Zhiyan divided a part of the flame, creating threads of fire that wrapped around the mushroom, along with the Yin Energy, seeping into the flesh of the fruit. The grey flesh neither burned nor resisted, but instead softened little by little, eventually turning into a grey powder, mixed with specks of silver gleaming within it.
For three consecutive days, Zhiyan busied herself with alchemy inside her room. Since she had informed them in advance, the Sharon siblings hadn't come to disturb her. With the test day fast approaching, and a certain someone still not having left her room, Shasha was getting restless.
"It's been three days, do you think something might have happened to Yanyan? Should we go in and check?" Standing in front of Zhiyan's door, Shasha's stunningly beautiful face showed a tint of worry, as she looked at Sharon and asked.
"Disturbances are the least favored in cultivation, let's wait a little longer," Sharon, dressed in a Blue Robe, shook his head gently and calmly rejected the idea, his emerald pupils shining brightly, his handsome face tender, mixed with a bit of anticipation. From the second he heard that Zhiyan had reached the mid-grade of the mid-level Sages, he'd been profoundly interested in her. He really wondered what sort of elegance that delicate little person would show when wielding her Spiritual Power.
In the room, which was devoid of people, in the Qiankun Space, Zhiyan's alchemy had reached a critical moment. As the last Hundred Grains Grass was added, the burning flame suddenly rippled.
Under the flame's calcination, the Hundred Grains Grass turned into a green liquid, which then, under high temperature, turned into a vapor that spread out and enveloped the previously calcined herbs.
As the vapor from the Hundred Grains Grass seeped in, the tranquil powdered herbs and Medicinal Liquid began to roil and started rotating slightly.
"Follow the steps to combine, don't be careless!" The old Mr. Fei's face tightened as he watched the phenomena inside the Cauldron with seriousness, anticipating that very soon, after three days, they were finally going to solidify the pill.
Zhiyan nodded, her mind highly focused. Following the Essence Condensation Secrets that emerged in her mind, she first merged the calcined liquid of the Gourd Lantern with the powdered Shanhu Mushroom, ensuring her Soul Power enveloped it tightly without any gaps.
The golden liquid completely permeated into the powdered form of the Gourd Lantern; the purple Thousand Leaves powder was added next, merging with the now sticky Gourd Lantern mush...
After the fifteen herbs were completely fused, Zhiyan gathered the residual Yin Energy inside the Cauldron, and with a whoosh, the flames roared even greater, and the temperature inside the Cauldron rose significantly.
Boom, the Cauldron lid closed, officially beginning the Solidifying Pill process.
Floating midair, old Mr. Fei stroked his beard with one hand, nodding appreciatively. In three days, from complete ignorance of Alchemy to reaching the Solidifying Pill stage, this kid was indeed a little freak in the truest sense.
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