**Chapter 13: First-Tier Intermediate Alchemist
Inside the Earth Fire Chamber, the earth fire flared up as another spiritual incantation was cast.
The spiritual patterns on the pill furnace suddenly dimmed.
The earth fire also gradually subsided.
With a gesture, Ye Jingcheng brought the pill furnace into his hands.
The lid of the furnace flew open, revealing ten perfectly formed Beast Nourishment Pills.
"Finally, I've managed to refine a full batch!"
Ye Jingcheng was overjoyed. Upon entering the Earth Fire Chamber, he didn't immediately begin refining Body-Tempering Pills or Green Spirit Pills. Instead, he chose the more familiar Beast Nourishment Pills to improve his alchemy skills.
This was his third batch, and like the first two, it was successful. The fact that this third batch was perfectly refined boosted his confidence immensely.
"See this? Only by controlling the fire like this can you produce this!" Ye Jingcheng took out a Beast Nourishment Pill and placed it by the mouth of the nearby Scarlet Flame Fox, then brought out a bowl of spring water.
The Scarlet Flame Fox nodded in a very human-like manner before consuming both the pill and the water.
Ye Jingcheng then turned back and began wiping down the pill furnace and re-preparing it for the next round.
The furnace quickly became hot, and the spiritual patterns on its surface began to glow in regular intervals.
Ye Jingcheng placed the furnace back down and started meditating to restore his spiritual energy.
Alchemy consumes a lot of spiritual energy, which cannot be quickly restored in a short period.
But meditating for a while is beneficial for the upcoming alchemy session and prevents wasting any resting time.
After several cycles of meditation, his spiritual energy had somewhat recovered, and he woke up satisfied.
As soon as he awoke, he took out a jade slip and began reading it.
This time, he planned to try refining Body-Tempering Pills.
Although he had studied the refining processes of both Green Spirit Pills and Body-Tempering Pills, the Green Spirit Pills required five more ingredients than the Body-Tempering Pills, making the refining process more complex.
Since he was currently at a critical stage in breaking through to become a first-tier intermediate alchemist, he naturally chose the simpler task.
Ye Jingcheng studied the alchemy recipe on the jade slip for a full half hour.
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw that the Scarlet Flame Fox had its mouth open wide, spitting out flames.
The flames occasionally turned into fireballs, which it spat into the earth fire, creating even higher waves of fire.
After a while, the Scarlet Flame Fox had to gather its strength again before it could continue.
It was clear that his direction was correct, but the Scarlet Flame Fox was still too young.
However, Ye Jingcheng believed that if he continued guiding it this way, it might be able to assist with alchemy even before reaching the late stage of first-tier.
Without the limitations of the Earth Fire Chamber, his alchemy skills would improve much faster.
Ye Jingcheng took out the jade slip he had previously summarized, reviewed it thoroughly, and only when he was sure there were no mistakes did he finally begin refining again.
His technique for preparing the furnace had become more refined, and as one spiritual herb after another was added to the furnace, Ye Jingcheng's brow furrowed slightly.
The next moment, a burnt smell wafted out, and the spiritual patterns on the furnace dimmed.
[Translator: sauron]
"Failed!" Ye Jingcheng remained remarkably calm. He retrieved the furnace, carefully examined the dregs inside, compared them with the records on the jade slip, and then properly stored the dregs in a jade bottle.
As an alchemist, he would need to cultivate spiritual herbs in the future. Although these dregs couldn't be consumed, when mixed into the soil, they could enhance its spiritual properties.
He naturally wouldn't waste them.
Ye Jingcheng then took out the jade slip again, continuing to record and simulate.
Once he was sure everything was correct, he began refining once more.
As the earth fire flared up again, Ye Jingcheng started his second attempt at refining.
But this second attempt also ended in failure, leaving a pile of waste residue inside the furnace!
Ye Jingcheng didn't get discouraged and tried again, but the third attempt also failed!
The fourth attempt failed as well!
Until the fifth attempt.
The pill furnace spun rapidly, and the spiritual patterns on it bloomed like flowers, vividly coming to life within the flames.
Ye Jingcheng cast the final spiritual incantation, and the furnace flew out steadily, landing in his hand with a muffled sound.
The lid of the furnace opened, revealing three perfectly round Body-Tempering Pills inside.
With a gesture, the Body-Tempering Pills fell into his hand. After closely examining them, he confirmed they matched the description in the jade slip.
"Finally succeeded!" Ye Jingcheng let out a long breath, his face full of joy.
This also marked his achievement as a first-tier intermediate alchemist. It's worth noting that among the hundred or so cultivators in the Ye family, only three have reached the level of a first-tier superior alchemist, and fewer than ten have become first-tier intermediate alchemists!
Ye Jingcheng took out a pill bottle and stored the three Body-Tempering Pills, but then heard the bell ringing outside.
Clearly, the Ninth Elder Ye Haitian was already urging them on.
Ye Jingcheng continued wiping down the pill furnace and preparing it, then tidied up the alchemy room before finally leaving.
At that moment, the others had already begun selling their spiritual pills.
Ye Jingcheng also took out the Beast Nourishment Pills he had previously refined, exchanging twenty pills for twenty contribution points.
This time, Ye Haitian didn't ask how many Beast Nourishment Pills Ye Jingcheng had refined.
After returning to his courtyard, Ye Jingcheng once again took out the jade slip, began comparing, and continued recording.
Successfully refining a pill once didn't mean he had mastered it. With a success rate of one in five attempts, he would still lose spirit stones overall.
Only by summarizing his experiences and consistently succeeding in future refinements could he truly profit.
The following year became increasingly monotonous as Ye Jingcheng's life continued in a routine.
After several days of cultivation, he would head to the Earth Fire Chamber where the Scarlet Flame Fox would practice controlling fire.
Meanwhile, he continued refining spiritual pills, and whether by coincidence or not, he noticed that every time he went to the Earth Fire Hall, Ye Haiyun was also there refining pills.
The pills he refined were also Body-Tempering Pills and Green Spirit Pills!
Through continuous learning and summarization, Ye Jingcheng's alchemy experience grew richer.
Out of every five batches, he could successfully refine three batches of Body-Tempering Pills, and two batches of Green Spirit Pills!
As for Beast Nourishment Pills, he almost never failed!
It was the Beast Nourishment Pills that supported his other pill refinements.
However, he rarely sold the Body-Tempering Pills and Green Spirit Pills.
Most of them ended up in his and the Scarlet Flame Fox's stomachs.
The Scarlet Flame Fox underwent the most significant transformation from consuming so many spiritual pills. It was no longer the small fox it once was, but now a fire fox the size of a Qingyun Wolf!
Its fur was bright red like fire, swaying in the wind as if it were burning flames.
Its forehead also began to show a prominent two-striped spiritual pattern.
Its strength had reached the level of a late first-tier beast, even surpassing Ye Jingcheng in power. In every sparring session, Ye Jingcheng would inevitably be knocked flying by the Scarlet Flame Fox!
What pleased him most was that the Ye family never inquired about the Scarlet Flame Fox's transformation, as if they had already forgotten about it.
Ye Jingcheng was happy with this situation. With the support of the Green Spirit Pills, his cultivation progressed much faster than before, although the downside was that he had begun accumulating pill toxins in his body.
He also discovered that the spiritual light from the ancient book could now fill two pages, seemingly related to the blood contract he had formed with the Scarlet Flame Fox!
And then one day, a communication talisman appeared before Ye Jingcheng. Surprisingly, it was from Ye Xingliu, the current head of the Ye family, summoning him urgently.
The tone was very anxious!
(End of Chapter)