«Fire control techniques?»
Wei Yang picked up the manual, examining it with great interest.
As an alchemist, dealing with flames was a daily routine, and naturally, he had a profound understanding of fire control.
The technique of controlling fire could be considered a type of combat skill. It was essential for both refining medicine and fighting enemies.
Of course, alchemists studied advanced fire control techniques primarily for refining medicine. A good fire control technique allowed an alchemist to better manage the flames during the refining process, making the task easier, reducing consumption, and increasing the success rate of forming pills.
As for using it in combat? Certainly possible. But as a noble alchemist, it was rare to engage in physical confrontations. That would be beneath their dignity. They usually let others fight on their behalf, offering a few pills as compensation—no big deal.
Wei Yang quickly scanned through the fire control technique and felt its significance immediately. It seemed to be quite impressive, considering it was produced by Dan King Gu He.
Wei Yang was quite impressed. He hadn't realized there were so many variations and intricacies in playing with fire. He couldn't help but recall the time in the magma world when the two-headed fire spirit snake had shown off its fire control technique, completely outclassing him. It was embarrassing for Wei Yang, who aspired to be an alchemist, to be outdone by a beast of the same level in fire control.
He figured this event would stick with him for a long time. Wei Yang smacked his lips, putting away the fire control technique to study later.
Next were some less important miscellaneous items. There were also three waist-high cauldrons. Wei Yang inspected them briefly but didn't understand much about their quality. However, since they were kept by Gu Te in his storage ring, they were likely of good quality. At least, they were sufficient for Wei Yang and his partner to practice in the early stages.
He gave a small, intricately designed dark red cauldron to Xian'er and kept the other two for himself. Then there were some gold coins and jewels worth about a hundred thousand. Wei Yang handed all of this to Xian'er to manage. He kept a gold coin card with a balance of two hundred thousand for himself.
Not bad. Wei Yang happily pocketed it. Alchemists were indeed wealthy, especially the brother of Dan King Gu He. Speaking of Dan King Gu He, his fate was rather tragic.
As the top alchemist of the Jia Ma Empire, renowned throughout the empire, he was a Dou King and a sixth-grade alchemist, handsome and talented. But, unfortunately, he encountered Xiao Yan, the protagonist blessed with great fortune. He tried to court Yun Yun but failed, only for Xiao Yan to swoop in and take her. And to make it worse, Xiao Yan didn't even end up with her, adding insult to injury. The most humiliating part was that Gu He eventually joined the Yan Alliance, becoming a subordinate of Xiao Yan.
What a ridiculous twist of fate.
Wei Yang sighed and continued sorting through the items. The remaining were some metal ores, empty jade bottles, jade boxes, and other miscellaneous objects. His soul scan didn't find anything particularly valuable, so he casually put them away.
For the next half month, Wei Yang and Xian'er stayed home, diligently studying various books and notes on alchemy, learning the basics thoroughly.
After half a month, Wei Yang went out to the Xiao family's market, where he procured a large batch of first-grade herbs.
Then, he began to practice alchemy, alternating between studying and hands-on practice. With his strength and soul power, refining first-grade pills was not particularly difficult. After a few initial failures due to inexperience, he soon became proficient.
However, Wei Yang did not rush into refining second-grade pills. Instead, he continued to refine and study first-grade pills to familiarize himself with the properties and combinations of various herbs, as well as their counteractive principles.
This foundational learning process was crucial and could not be rushed. Only by building a solid foundation could he aspire to greater heights. Fortunately, he was wealthy and had an ample supply of inexpensive herbs for practice.
Xian'er also progressed smoothly. Initially, she experienced a few failures, followed by some half-formed medicinal powders, and then successfully refined complete pills. Given that one of them was a Dou Ling with strong soul power and the other a nine-star Dou Shi, their strengths were apparent.
With good cauldrons and the assistance of fourth-tier peak beast fire, combined with their prior knowledge as physicians, they didn't need to start from scratch.
Another month passed.
Wei Yang had essentially mastered everything he could with first-grade pills. He had studied all the available first-grade recipes, understood their medicinal properties, and successfully refined each one multiple times, feeling confident in his foundational skills.
Xian'er had similar achievements.
They decided it was time to start refining second-grade pills.
In the hall, Wei Yang said, «Refining second-grade pills shouldn't be too difficult for us. But collecting a large quantity of second-grade herbs and magic cores in Wutan City might take some time.»
Looking at the table piled with jade bottles, Wei Yang continued, «These are all the first-grade pills Xian'er and I have refined over this period. There are over a hundred, all common first-grade pills on the market.»
«There's nothing special about first-grade pills. Generally, pills below fourth grade are quite common, except for those with special purposes. The rest are mostly for replenishing energy, healing, detoxifying, and assisting in cultivation.»
«We have a collaboration with the Xiao family's market. We previously purchased a large batch of low-cost herbs from them. This time, we can ask them to help us collect second-grade herbs and magic cores,» Xian'er suggested.
«Second and third-grade herbs and magic cores are considered relatively high-end items in Wutan City. Small quantities are manageable, but large quantities might be difficult for the Xiao family to supply quickly,» Wei Yang said, shaking his head.
«How about the Mittel Auction House? They might be able to supply our needs given their resources,» Xian'er proposed.
«That's a good idea. If the Xiao family and the Mittel Auction House both supply us, we should be able to meet our needs,» Wei Yang agreed. «We won't stay at the second-grade level for long. It's just a phase for learning and gaining experience.»
«You might reach your limit at third-grade pills for now, given your soul power,» Wei Yang analyzed.
Xian'er nodded. She acknowledged that third-grade pills would indeed be her bottleneck for the time being, limited by her soul power. Even after advancing to Dou Ling, it would take time to reach the peak of third-grade.
Moreover, because she had fire poison, she needed to divert some of her focus to control and separate the fire poison while refining pills, which required additional effort.
She had to invest more effort than a normal alchemist when refining pills, which was the price she had to pay. At least for now, this problem couldn't be resolved quickly, and it might continue in the future.
But she never complained and was content with her progress.
«I believe I can reach fourth-grade quickly without much trouble,» Wei Yang said. Of course, this referred to ordinary fourth-grade pills. Pills like the Three-Lined Green Spirit Pill and the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, which were fourth-grade peak pills comparable to fifth-grade, were beyond his reach in the short term.
The weather is getting cooler, brothers. Remember to dress warmly and cover up at night. Feeling a bit excited, Guangdong has finally cooled down today!
Bring me my long-sleeve shirt. A few days ago, I was still writing shirtless.
(End of Chapter)