Chapter 18 - Spiritual Fire

"Hundred Flower Pills, no wonder Elder Long's medicine garden is full of flowers, so that's why."

Long Xuan's eyes turned, filled with excitement.

An alchemist! He realized he might become an alchemist.

Through his clairvoyance and slight perspective, he could glance at Elder Long's alchemy process effortlessly. He could completely steal the alchemy technique and occasionally acquire a few recipes. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became.

In this world, alchemists are rarer and more esteemed than Gu cultivators.

They cherish their possessions, and their skills must not be easily passed on. Alchemy recipes are practically impossible to purchase anywhere.

This leads each alchemist to generally master several unique recipes, each one representing a school of their own, with a strong sect-like view.

Now, there's a chance to pilfer the alchemy technique—how could he not be excited? He had been excited too many times today.

Because alchemists are so rare, they also hold a very lofty status.

It's worth noting that elixirs can boost the rate at which Gu cultivators progress through realms, heal Gu cultivators' injuries, or even make Gu insects reborn and complete a metamorphosis.

As a result, elixirs refined by alchemists are irresistibly attractive to every Gu cultivator, causing them to do everything possible to please alchemists, including working for them and being driven by them.

Therefore, every alchemist in this world has extremely formidable connections and a wide circle of friends. They can befriend anyone important.

Offending an alchemist could stir up a hornet's nest and attract numerous powerful enemies.

Because alchemists are so rare, elixirs are equally rare. They are much less common here than in other worlds.

Long Xuan has never seen elixirs on street stalls. It might be that this place is too desolate, and elixirs are only seen at auctions.

If he becomes an alchemist, refines the Hundred Flower Pill, and uses it daily for cultivation, he could potentially increase his cultivation speed tenfold.

Long Xuan was excited just thinking about it. He was tired of his cultivation speed.

Since he lacked qualifications, he would compensate with cultivation resources.

If he couldn't buy the elixir, he would create it himself. If the Hundred Flower Pill proved ineffective, he would create the Thousand Flower Pill and the Ten Thousand Flower Pill. Long Xuan quickly devised plans for his future cultivation path.

After making a decision, Long Xuan focused entirely on observing Long Lao's alchemy process, magnifying it and meticulously examining its details, eager to learn the alchemy technique as soon as possible.

A day soon passed, and Long Lao was exhausted. Finally, he completed a day's work and collapsed onto the ground, snoring loudly. His snores could be heard even from a distance by Long Xuan.

At this point, he finally put away the Eye of Heaven. Despite appearing fatigued, his face was beaming with excitement.

Peeking that day had brought him many benefits.

He quickly sat at the table and took out paper and pen, resuming his work.

Soon, the paper was filled with words, and he finally wrote the three words "Purple Demon Flame" at the top, then set down the pen and gazed at it with satisfaction.

The flame is the secret of every alchemist, its importance even surpassing that of the recipe.

Naturally, you can't use firewood flames for alchemy.

In the Gathering Spirit Stage, you can employ the flame generated by the fire spirit to craft a first-grade elixir.

However, to craft a second-grade or higher elixir, you must use a special flame. This is an ironclad rule. Without a special flame, you'll be restricted to concocting first-grade elixirs for your entire life.

Ignoring the legendary natural heavenly fires, most alchemists' flames derive from only three sources.

Either find a magma field and use subterranean fires for alchemy, slay a fire-attributed spirit beast and use its fire for alchemy, or use artificial spirit fires.

Spiritual fires are exotic flames created by alchemists using various magical methods and consuming various rare materials. The formulas are exceptionally valuable.

Spiritual fire formulas range in potency, with the most advanced matching the legendary heavenly fires.

Long Xuan had just recorded the spiritual fire formula called Purple Demon Flame, the exclusive secret of Elder Long and the hidden treasure of the Long family.

However, it was now in Long Xuan's possession due to Elder Long's carelessness. Why had he taken such a vital spiritual fire formula out of his storage bag? It was too careless.

Holding the memorized spiritual fire formula, Long Xuan was so excited he could hardly contain himself.

With this spiritual fire formula, he could refine the Purple Demon Flame. Using special flames for refining pills could enhance the efficacy of the elixir, further accelerating his cultivation speed. He was ecstatic.

However, his smile soon faded, his eyes clouded with hesitation, and his heart grew calmer.

In this world, stealing another's secret is taboo. Once discovered, you could be beaten to death. Even if you use it covertly and keep others from finding out, all those caught stealing had thought the same thing at the time.

Why was stealing unique Gu recipes so difficult? Could you kill and rob someone and then torture them to extract a confession? It's impossible.

Similar Gu worms can sense each other over long distances. If you dared to refine a major family's unique Gu recipe, you'd be hunted by the entire family.

Because similar Gu worms can sense each other and are extremely sensitive to their kind, might spiritual fires also have this trait?

Once he refined the Purple Demon Flame, could Elder Long immediately sense it and storm in to seize him?

Long Xuan immediately shrank back and felt a chill run down his spine.

It's a possibility, but he really couldn't take the risk. Even if there's only a 1% chance of being sensed, he'd never gamble.

It's foolish to gamble with your life, even if the odds are slim.

Long Xuan took a deep breath. There's no alternative. Since he couldn't use it, he could only create it himself. What if he created a spiritual fire of his own?

Long Xuan's eyes brightened, excitement gleaming in them.

If he hadn't obtained this spiritual fire formula, he'd never have been able to create one himself.

He knew nothing of the spiritual fire-making process. Even if he wished to, he'd have no idea where to begin.

Now, with the Purple Demon Flame formula, he had a blueprint and a format. He knew what materials to use and the methods to employ in refining them.

If he adhered to the formula's principles and imitated it, creating a spiritual fire of his own might not be an arduous task.

It was simply a matter of how long he labored.

Long Xuan's spirit surged again, taking out another blank piece of paper, his vigor unabated.

The first step to creating a spiritual fire was to contemplate the type of flame to produce, its attributes, and capabilities.

The first thing Long Xuan thought of was the frigid flames that often appeared in his previous life's novels, emanating cold air.

But this world isn't a novel; it's reality. How could there be flames that defy common sense?

There has never been a cold fire releasing cold air in this world.

Burning must generate heat; burning without producing heat is contradictory. From a scientific perspective, it's entirely impossible and falls under pseudoscience.

Still, Long Xuan wanted to try.

Regardless, he hadn't any costs to create anything of his own. At worst, he would waste some time. What's wrong with giving it a go? What if it worked?

Long Xuan first named this spiritual fire and wrote "Ice God Flame" on the paper.

This already posed a challenge. If the spiritual fire he produced next had no relation to "cold," then there would be no progress whatsoever, as it would not match the title and be self-contradictory.

Setting such parameters will undoubtedly heighten difficulty and waste more time.

After writing the title, the first thing he pondered was the process of making ice using saltpeter from his former life.

Saltpeter also exists here and is rich in spiritual power. Its ice-making effects might even surpass those of his prior life.

Thus, without a second thought, he wrote saltpeter beneath the title, specifically noting a substantial amount.

As he finished writing, he saw [0.1%] progress abruptly appear on the paper and felt overjoyed.

He realized that he had succeeded, and the fire he envisioned in novels could be realized in reality…