**Chapter 18: Results
In the room, as the flames roasted, the spiritual patterns on the pill furnace began to emerge one by one, glowing a bright red. Soon, the furnace was covered with them.
Ye Jingcheng let out a long sigh of relief; the furnace was successfully nourished, and the process went exceptionally smoothly!
He raised his hand, and the Scarlet Flame Fox retracted its flames.
The incense had only burned halfway, with wisps of blue smoke rising to the ceiling and then disappearing.
"It's a third faster than the Earth Fire Chamber!" Ye Jingcheng calculated the time and felt a surge of excitement.
Unlike the Earth Fire Chamber, where the temperature needed to be controlled by the cultivator's spiritual techniques, using the Scarlet Flame Fox only required a mental command through their soul bond.
The Scarlet Flame Fox's perception of the flames was far superior to his own.
Ye Jingcheng stroked the spiritual mark on the Scarlet Flame Fox's forehead, feeling a warm sensation pass through his hand.
The Scarlet Flame Fox couldn't help but squint its eyes and let out a soft sound of contentment.
[Translator: sauron]
Ye Jingcheng then began to channel the light from the treasured book.
Indeed, over the past year, he had discovered that the light from the treasured book could also restore a spirit beast's spiritual power.
Feeling the light from the treasured book, the Scarlet Flame Fox couldn't resist lying down, its eyelids drooping, and its entire body glowing red like fire. At that moment, the spiritual mark on its forehead became even clearer.
After about five breaths, Ye Jingcheng stopped channeling the light.
Since it was only a small nourishment of the furnace, he couldn't reward too much.
The Scarlet Flame Fox let out a few more sounds of contentment, evidently still wanting more!
Ye Jingcheng patted the Scarlet Flame Fox's head and then took out the spiritual herbs for the Qi Blood Pill.
After some hesitation, he switched the herbs to Spirit Feeding Pills and began the refinement.
As if sensing that Spirit Feeding Pills were also its food, the Scarlet Flame Fox's flame control became even more proficient and stable!
Before long, the aroma of the pills filled the room, and the furnace once again contained ten Spirit Feeding Pills!
Each pill was radiant and plump.
Ye Jingcheng took out two of the ten pills and placed them into the Scarlet Flame Fox's mouth as a reward.
Before eating the pills, the Scarlet Flame Fox licked Ye Jingcheng's hand with its tongue. Seeing Ye Jingcheng smile slightly, it began to happily devour the Spirit Feeding Pills.
Ye Jingcheng then began to summarize the results of using the Scarlet Flame Fox for alchemy.
He found that the success rate of refining pills with the Scarlet Flame Fox was higher, and the quality of the pills was also better.
"No wonder Foundation Establishment cultivators learn alchemy much faster than Qi Refining cultivators!" Ye Jingcheng thought of some records in books about the spiritual fire of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
His bond with the Scarlet Flame Fox was somewhat similar to the spiritual fire.
The only thing to note was that refining a low-grade Spirit Feeding Pill consumed nearly half of the Scarlet Flame Fox's spiritual power.
Fortunately, the treasured book could restore it, and the Scarlet Flame Fox could also recover its own spiritual power.
Ye Jingcheng began wiping down the pill furnace, preparing it again, and carefully took out the Qi Blood Pills.
Nourishing the furnace and melting the medicine! The red flames made the room glow with a reddish light. If not for the spirit isolation array, the room might have caught fire.
As the furnace spun rapidly, the Scarlet Flame Fox's energy also seemed to wane, and its fur lost some of its previous luster.
"Little Flame, hold on a bit longer!"
Ye Jingcheng encouraged.
Finally, as a burst of spiritual light dispersed from the furnace, Ye Jingcheng performed a spiritual technique, and the furnace flew out, landing in front of him.
The Scarlet Flame Fox quickly extinguished its flames and made a few hoarse calls, pacing back and forth beside Ye Jingcheng, eagerly watching him.
At this moment, Ye Jingcheng didn't look at the Scarlet Flame Fox but focused on the Qi Blood Pills.
Inside the furnace, two red pills lay quietly.
"Success!"
The first attempt was successful!
Ye Jingcheng was very excited. Although the Qi Blood Pill was similar in difficulty to the Body Refining Pill, it was still worth celebrating.
Ye Jingcheng channeled more light from the treasured book to the Scarlet Flame Fox, which continued to make hoarse sounds.
It was only when Ye Jingcheng presented three bowls of spring water that the Scarlet Flame Fox was fully satisfied, evidently parched from the intense fire-breathing.
After summarizing the results, Ye Jingcheng began meditating to recover his spiritual energy, with the Scarlet Flame Fox resting beside him.
In the room, both the human and the beast emitted a soft red glow, creating a harmonious atmosphere.
The days of alchemy quickly passed. After ten days, Ye Jingcheng opened the furnace again, revealing seven Qi Blood Pills.
He had averaged two furnaces a day, not counting the Spirit Feeding Pills from the first day, resulting in nineteen furnaces refined, of which four were still failures.
Ye Xinghe gathered the four of them again, sitting around a table.
Unlike the previous urgency, Ye Xinghe now watched Ye Jingcheng with a keen and expectant gaze.
It seemed that he had higher expectations and that Ye Xinghe might have found other strategies for dealing with the situation.
Otherwise, he couldn't be so calm.
"There are two weeks left until the full moon. Let's discuss our progress!" Ye Xinghe suggested.
"After ten days, I've completed eight furnaces, producing twenty Qi Blood Pills!" Ye Jingyun spoke first.
Qi Blood Pills were mid-grade pills, and he felt he had made significant progress but was still worried about the one-month deadline.
He hoped Ye Xinghe would prepare for contingencies.
Ye Xinghe nodded, seemingly unsurprised.
"I've completed eight sessions, refining eight low-grade first-tier magic weapons!" Ye Jingli also reported.
Ye Xinghe nodded again and looked towards Ye Jingcheng. At this moment, both Ye Jingli and Ye Jingyun also looked at Ye Jingcheng, eager to know if the beast fire could refine pills!
"In response to Uncle, I've refined eighty Qi Blood Pills!" Ye Jingcheng replied, not holding back.
The Qi Blood Pills also contributed spiritual stones, and with the family in a crisis, hiding his capabilities could jeopardize the clan's important matters and his future.
Having grown up in the Ye family, he still felt a strong sense of belonging.
"Excellent!" Ye Xinghe exclaimed excitedly.
After inspecting the pills Ye Jingcheng provided three times and confirming that there were no counterfeit products, he gave Ye Jingcheng a thumbs up in praise.
"Additionally, I will inform the clan about your method. They may study it to develop alchemists who don't rely on the Earth Fire Chamber!"
"If it proves viable, the clan will reward you with more contribution points!" Ye Xinghe said.
Next, Ye Xingyu also reported, having refined nine first-tier mid-grade magic weapons over the past ten days!
This pleased Ye Xinghe immensely, proving the effectiveness of using one Earth Fire Chamber per person and the additional resources from the family.
With this progress, combined with the secret support from other sources, they were no longer worried about failing the contract.
Ye Xinghe then distributed new tasks and materials to the four of them.
Ye Jingcheng was delighted to find that the ancient book recipes and spiritual herbs he had requested from the clan were included.
After a few days, with less pressing tasks, he could search for more herbs. However, finding the four main medicinal ingredients would be challenging.
The family didn't have them, so he'd need to try his luck in other shops in the market.
According to his Thirteenth Aunt, he might have to wait for the annual auction in the Taihang Market.
"You don't need to be so tense, especially Jingyun, Jingcheng, and Jingli. You can take a walk in the market and relax!" Before leaving, Ye Xinghe seemed to notice their fatigue and suggested.
After all, they had been refining pills for ten days straight.
"But only for half a day, and don't appear too relaxed. It's better to look somewhat anxious. Also, try to purchase some Qi Blood Pills or first-tier magic weapons. The spiritual stones will be reimbursed by the clan!" Ye Xinghe added.
(End of Chapter)