C7 Pill Refining

The gourd-shaped furnace, propped up by four red copper legs, housed three scarlet Fire Crystals at its base, which burned without ceasing.

The Fire Crystals crackled as they released deep red flames that danced like delicate serpents at the bottom of the furnace, their movements both graceful and eerie.

Yu Yuan, with a handful of herbs and an unwavering gaze, focused intently on the furnace.

Wisps of smoke curled up from the open mouth of the furnace, carrying the distinctive, spicy scent of Cruel Blood Grass.

Suddenly, Yu Yuan's nostrils flared.

He detected a faint scent of charring emanating from within the furnace, catching it immediately.

The Ice Blue Grass, pinched between his left hand's middle and ring fingers, dropped swiftly into the furnace like a streak of cool blue lightning.

"Chi la!"

Inside the furnace, a cold gleam and threads of ice rapidly neutralized and suppressed the Cruel Blood Grass, fully unlocking its medicinal properties.

Yu Yuan's eyes shone with excitement!

The deep red flames from the Fire Crystals cast a glow on his focused face, making his expression appear all the more stern and intense.

Refining a pill is all about precision in the details: the heat, the properties of the spirit herbs, and the timing of each addition to the furnace. The slightest error could render the pill utterly useless.

It could be a waste pill or a successful Spirit Elixir, and sometimes, the difference comes down to just a second's hesitation.

"Hu!"

He took a slow, deep breath, his shoulders sinking as his eyes narrowed slightly.

In this state of heightened concentration, his body relaxed progressively.

Seconds later, he exhaled a warm breath, and with swift motion, the Silvermoon Flower and Spirit Channeling Liquid in his other hand were cast into the furnace.

"Bang!"

The Fire Crystals at the base of the furnace flared up with renewed intensity!

Sweat beaded on Yu Yuan's face, glistening as it trickled down his cheeks and neck, eventually sliding to his chest.

He remained motionless, his gaze fixed on the furnace, his face alight with fervent desire.

The flames from the Fire Crystals transformed, as if guided by the hand of a deity, their dance illuminating and tracing the intricate, mystical lines etched upon the furnace.

"Swish swish!"

Suddenly, swirls of dark red, dark blue, and silver-white smoke intertwined mysteriously within the furnace. They danced like three spiritual snakes, a bizarre python, and an evil dragon, converging around the mud pellets and infusing them with unique medicinal properties.

At this stage, Yu Yuan was soaked with sweat, his entire body on the verge of collapse. "Now, it's in the hands of fate. I hope this first batch of pills after my reincarnation yields a fruitful outcome," he murmured.

He took measured steps backward, gradually distancing himself from the furnace. His gaze followed the three Fire Crystals as they transitioned from a sparkling clarity to a charcoal black, extinguishing the last glimmer of light.

Finally, the flames died down, and the furnace lid had long since sealed shut. Yu Yuan sat in silence, casually wiping the sweat from his body with his sleeve, awaiting the moment the pill would be complete.

Refining a Spirit Elixir requires both a furnace and a fire source. The quality of the pill is contingent upon the furnace, the fire source, the herbalist's expertise, and the ingredients used.

The fire source could be a fire-attributed soulstone, the spiritual energy from within the herbalist, the flames from beneath the earth, or even divine fire from the heavens.

In his past life, lacking the aptitude for cultivation, Yu Yuan relied on various fire-attributed soulstones and Fire Crystals to begin his practice of medicine. It was only later, under his master's guidance and permission, that he was able to use the subterranean fire from the Order of Healing to refine his pills.

His senior brother, Zhong Chichen, had been practicing fire magic from a young age and did not require fire soulstones or crystals to craft Spirit Elixirs with his innate flames. In this regard, Yu Yuan, unable to cultivate, fell short of his senior brother.

The inability to cultivate and refine pills with his own flames was a source of deep regret for him in his previous life. However, after reincarnation and embracing the path of cultivation through the Nine Glories Wheel, he was confident that such regrets would be left behind.

Pills, much like the ranks of forgers and herbalists, are categorized into common, Spirit, earthly, heavenly, and Divine Levels. Each level, from common pill to Spirit Elixir, earthly pill, heavenly pill, and divine pill, is further divided into nine grades.

Herbalists typically use their own flames to craft pills, with most being able to produce only common pills and Spirit Elixirs of lower levels. Crafting Earthly, Heavenly, and Divine Spirit Elixirs often requires the use of Fire Crystals, subterranean fire sources, or various divine flames.

The Yu family's selection of spiritual herbs is limited, and the quality is relatively low. Yu Yuan could only manage to refine the most basic Channel Opening Pill. This third-level common pill's primary and sole purpose is to aid cultivators at the Spirit Channel stage to open their meridians more swiftly and advance past the Spirit Channel threshold sooner.

In both Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence, Channel Opening Pills are commonplace. Powerful sects provide these pills to their core disciples to accelerate their progression. However, this privilege is reserved for those with the right potential and connections; average sect members do not have such access.

On the Aetherius Continent, only well-established families or royal households of major empires might offer Channel Opening Pills to their exceptionally talented youth. Despite being a basic common pill, the scarcity of herbalists has made it a coveted item that ordinary families on Aetherius cannot easily obtain.

Herbalists are revered as a symbol of prestige in Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence, where they are treated as esteemed guests by the major sects. Should a herbalist from Aetherius be capable of refining a second-level Spirit Elixir, they would undoubtedly be courted by sects from those continents, eager to have them join their ranks.

Water seeks its own level, and people aspire to greater heights. Herbalists, in pursuit of mastering their craft, readily accept such offers. Over time, this has led to an even greater scarcity of herbalists on Aetherius.

Those few who remain, not yet enticed away, are either under the patronage of the Su family, a financial pillar of the nation, or are venerated by the imperial court.

"If this furnace of Channel Opening Pills turns out successfully, it could very well alter the Yu family's fortunes," Yu Yuan whispered to himself. "On the Aetherius Continent, herbalists are a rarer find than cultivators! And with the Yu family's heritage in alchemy, the emergence of even a novice herbalist could draw the attention of our patrons—the Su family."

"Eh!"

Yu Yuan's head snapped up, his eyes shining with a strange light.

He was in a secret chamber, three meters beneath the ground, a place his grandfather, Yu Cen, had specifically arranged for him.

This chamber, once Yu Cen's own place of cultivation, was designed to be soundproof, free from the disturbances of the outside world.

Inside this subterranean chamber, Yu Yuan distinctly felt a warm current stealthily sweep across the ceiling.

The Channel Opening Pill had not yet been activated, and the Fire Crystal had long since been extinguished. Logically, there should be no warm current forming in this underground chamber.

"A Qi Practitioner at the Subtlety level must have patrolled this area with their spiritual sense. They must be practicing fire magic!"

After a brief moment of contemplation, he had an epiphany. He surmised that when he ignited the Fire Crystal, at the crucial moment of the pill's formation, the fire power released by the Fire Crystal resonated with the rudimentary magic diagram in the furnace. The sudden high temperature surged back into the furnace, likely alerting a cultivator in Asvetaesi.

That practitioner, skilled in fire magic, was probably deeply engrossed in secluded cultivation when they sharply sensed an unusual burst of fiery energy within the city and probed it with their spiritual sense.

In the Subtlety Realm, the upper elixir field is opened, allowing the spiritual sense to form.

Cultivators at this level can use their spiritual sense to examine their own bodies, perceiving the intricacies of their flesh, bones, and organs, and can even grasp the presence of the earthly soul, heaven soul, and mortal soul.

However, when they extend their spiritual sense outward to detect the myriad changes in the external world, its effectiveness is significantly diminished.

Using spiritual sense to explore the outside is akin to a blind person feeling an elephant; they can discern temperature and the basic shape, knowing whether it's a living creature or a solid rock.

Even if a Subtlety cultivator detects a living creature with their spiritual sense, they might not be able to distinguish whether it is a human or a Fellbeast.

But once one advances from the Subtlety Realm into the Lunar Spirit Realm, their perception clears. They can project their Lunar Spirit to discern the external world, as if their eyes were wide open, seeing all things as they truly are.

Moreover, the Lunar Spirit could accomplish this without a sound or trace.

Unlike the practitioner of Subtlety in Asvetaesi City, who used his spiritual sense to probe Yu Yuan's secret chamber, Yu Yuan detected the disturbance and realized that his clandestine pill-making had inadvertently drawn the attention of an outsider.

The warm sensation soon vanished.

Drawing on his past life's experiences, Yu Yuan had a clear insight into the matter.

"This isn't an elder from Winter's Bite. The spell this person practices diverges completely from their ways; they're certainly not an ally."

"In the Land of Quiescence, someone of Subtlety might merely be a central force. Yet, in Aetherius, even in the modest Asvetaesi, they could well be among the elite!"

"Who in the city has mastered fire magic to the level of Subtlety?"

Yu Yuan's face was somber.

Having just reunited with his earthly soul and heaven soul, and despite Ann Ziqing's extensive explanations, it was impossible for him to know everyone in the city.

Moreover, Ann Ziqing might not fully grasp the extent of a cultivator's prowess at the Subtlety level.

"Old Master, as the head of the Yu family, surely you must know the identity of the one who covertly employed spiritual sense to scrutinize the Subtlety within our family!"

"Pfft!"

Just then, a burst of heat from the furnace popped the lid open.

Yu Yuan put aside his thoughts and immediately stood up, dashing to the furnace and peering inside.

At the bottom lay eight thumb-sized, dark red, spherical pills, emitting a medicinal scent he knew all too well.

He picked them up one by one, and by examining their shape, color, and scent, he discerned that among the eight Channel Opening Pills, five were of acceptable quality and ready for use.

The remaining three, lacking in potency, were not quite successful Channel Opening Pills but rather semi-finished products.

"Heh! For my first attempt at pill refining, to produce eight pills with five complete and three semi-finished, and none completely spoiled—that's quite the feat." Yu Yuan smiled broadly, "It appears my aptitude for pill refining remains intact."

"Three semi-finished pieces. If I further refine them, I could even create poison pills."

Gazing at the three Channel Opening Pills in his left palm, a chilling smile slowly crept across his face, sharp as a knife's edge. "It might just be time to devise a plan to give that cur, Yin Jue, a lesson he'll never forget!"

...