Perhaps due to it being the first time concocting the “Break Calamity Pill,” even though the Pharmacist Elder’s alchemy skills were quite extraordinary, the first attempt still failed because of a miscalculation in the ingredient proportions. However, despite the failure, the Pharmacist Elder did not show any unusual expressions. In the world of alchemists, a failed attempt was as normal as eating and drinking. Even though he was proficient in alchemy, he could not guarantee a 100% success rate for every potion.
Although the first attempt failed, fortunately, only a small amount of medicinal herbs was lost, and it would not affect the subsequent attempts. With the Pharmacist Elder once again igniting the flame to refine the pill, after gaining some experience, he finally completed all the steps of the alchemy process smoothly and flawlessly.
In the tidy room, a black medicinal cauldron slowly rotated in mid-air, with a snow-white flame roaring fiercely within. As the black cauldron rotated, the surrounding space continuously emitted waves of fine energy ripples. These energy ripples, centered around the medicinal cauldron, gradually spread out in a circular pattern, dissipating just before they touched the walls…
Within the cauldron, a thumb-sized, light purple pill began to take shape under the flames. At a certain moment, a deep purple fragrance suddenly emanated from the cauldron, filling the room and lingering for a long time.
“Is the pill about to be completed?” Smelling the purple fragrance, Xiao Yan rubbed his tired eyes and asked with renewed spirit. He had witnessed the Pharmacist Elder refining a fifth-grade pill before, so he knew that the permeation of the pill’s fragrance was a sign of a high-grade pill’s imminent completion.
“Yep, although the Break Calamity Pill has some peculiar effects, the difficulty of its refinement is not very high. Moreover, with the assistance of the Black Demon, the refining time was significantly reduced,” the Pharmacist Elder nodded and said with a smile.
“Hehe, no wonder. Last time, refining the Blood Lotus Pill took over two days, but this time, refining a sixth-grade pill only took one day. It seems that your medicinal cauldron is truly extraordinary,” Xiao Yan smiled, glancing at the black medicinal cauldron in the air with a hint of surprise. An ordinary medicinal cauldron might have some enhancing effect on an alchemist, but the effect was usually quite subtle. A pill that would normally take a day to refine could save about two hours with a superior cauldron. The dark red cauldron Xiao Yan used before could only save about an hour, so comparing the two, Xiao Yan naturally felt that this black medicinal cauldron was exceptional.
The Pharmacist Elder nodded with a smile. As he relaxed his withered hand, the snow-white flame within the cauldron grew more intense.
“Cough, Teacher… don’t forget the auxiliary ingredients…” Watching the pill’s embryonic form gradually become rounder, Xiao Yan coughed and quickly reminded him.
“I know,” the Pharmacist Elder rolled his eyes at Xiao Yan, nodding slightly. Turning his left hand, the snow-white flame suddenly appeared, and then began to compress rapidly. After a moment, the human-head-sized snow-white flame was compressed to less than the size of a thumb. At this level of compression, the Bone Spirit Cold Flame had already transcended its essence and transformed into a tiny white crystal. Looking closely, it seemed as if a strange, snow-white flame still flickered within the crystal.
Holding the white crystal between his fingers, the Pharmacist Elder lightly flicked his finger, and instantly, the crystal turned into a white light, shooting into the medicinal cauldron, and directly merging into the almost fully formed pill embryo.
As the crystal entered the pill, it suddenly turned into minuscule white specks, dispersing and penetrating different parts of the pill. Seeing the small holes on the pill embryo gradually disappear, the Pharmacist Elder nodded slightly. After a brief silence, he waved his hand, and the snow-white flame surged up in the cauldron, instantly enveloping the purple pill embryo and initiating the final fierce burning.
The snow-white flame only rose for a blink of an eye before quickly disappearing. As the flame vanished, a thumb-sized, entirely light purple, lustrous pill emerged, spinning gently in the cauldron.
As the purple pill appeared, a powerful wave of energy surged out. Although the energy ripple was partially intercepted by the black cauldron, the rest still seeped through and fiercely shot out in all directions. If allowed to spread, the room would surely collapse.
Glancing at the rapidly spreading energy ripple, the Pharmacist Elder casually waved his withered hand, and in an instant, a transparent energy shield formed in the room. When the energy ripple hit the soul shield, the two collided, and the invisible energy shield rippled like a lake surface struck by a large stone, generating waves of energy ripples. The ripples gradually diminished from intense to subtle, and after a while, they completely dissipated.
When the last energy ripple disappeared, the Pharmacist Elder withdrew the soul shield and beckoned the black cauldron. The light purple pill was spat out by the cauldron and obediently landed in the Pharmacist Elder’s palm.
Holding the light purple pill, the Pharmacist Elder inspected it, nodding slightly and offering a mild evaluation of approval. Then, he casually tossed it to Xiao Yan.
Catching the pill, Xiao Yan curiously examined the purple pill in his hand. This was his first time seeing a sixth-grade pill. The pill’s surface was light purple, smooth and lustrous, and there seemed to be some non-man-made, mysterious patterns on it. These patterns, winding and twisting, resembled a profound, special picture. Observing the Break Calamity Pill closely, Xiao Yan could vaguely sense the strange power contained within. Perhaps, this was the key component that could break the seal…
“I added some special ice crystals made from Bone Spirit Cold Flame to the pill. If someone ingests these crystals, they will deeply hide within their body, showing no signs of movement. But if I, who possesses the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, trigger them, these ice crystals will quickly transform into extremely powerful Bone Spirit Cold Flame. At that point, if the other party harbors any ill intentions, they will surely suffer.”
The Pharmacist Elder stowed the black cauldron back into the pitch-black ring, turned his head, and spoke with a smile to Xiao Yan.
“Will he discover it?”
Playing with the Break Calamity Pill, Xiao Yan cautiously asked.
“Shouldn’t be, of course… I can’t guarantee it. There’s nothing absolutely certain in the world. I can only ensure that the chance of it being discovered is very low,” the Pharmacist Elder shook his head and laughed.
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, taking out a high-quality jade bottle from his storage ring and carefully placing the Break Calamity Pill inside. His gaze then swept over the remaining heap of medicinal herbs on the table, and without hesitation, he swept them all into his storage ring.
“Hehe, let’s consider this as extra payment for the alchemy.”
For these rare herbs, which could fetch millions if auctioned, Xiao Yan had no intention of returning them to Hai Bodong.
“Finally, it’s done…”
After putting everything away, Xiao Yan patted his storage ring with satisfaction and smiled at the Pharmacist Elder. “Hehe, now let’s see if that guy outside will keep his promise.”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t disappoint us,” the Pharmacist Elder smiled lightly, his body faintly shimmering before turning into a streak of light and entering the black ring.
Putting the black ring back on his finger, Xiao Yan tossed the jade bottle in his hand, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the room.
In the dimly lit corridor, Hai Bodong leaned against the wall, his aged face seemingly calm, but the incessant tapping of his fingers revealed his anxiety and restlessness. As time passed, Hai Bodong glanced at the tightly closed door at the end of the corridor, his brows furrowing involuntarily. After a moment, he sighed. The materials for the Break Calamity Pill were not easy to find; he had spent several years gathering these herbs. If Xiao Yan failed, his hope of regaining his strength would be delayed further…
Rubbing his palms, worry began to show on Hai Bodong’s usually calm face. He muttered, “Did he fail? Sigh, perhaps I was too rash. Though his strength eludes me, he’s still too young… Even if he started practicing alchemy from birth, it’s only been a few decades… How much mastery could he possibly have achieved in alchemy in such a short time?”
Punching his hand, Hai Bodong’s expression fluctuated. After a while, he dejectedly shook his head, “At this point, we can only hope that he brings a miracle. After all, he possesses that terrifying exotic flame…”
Time ticked by, and the atmosphere in the corridor gradually became tense. Hai Bodong’s fingers tapped the wall impatiently. At one moment, a burst of Dou Qi surged through his fingers, and he jabbed hard, creating a hole in the wall.
“Go and check!”
His withered face twitching, Hai Bodong could no longer bear the waiting. Drawing a deep breath, he turned around, ready to walk down the corridor.
At the moment Hai Bodong turned, his body froze, his face filled with shock. Staring dumbfounded at the smiling, black-clad youth leaning against the wall, he swallowed and hurriedly stepped forward, asking eagerly, “Young friend, did you succeed?”
Xiao Yan shrugged and slowly walked towards the anxious Hai Bodong, waving his hand and tossing the jade bottle. “Quite lucky, I managed to succeed.”
Looking at the thrown jade bottle, Hai Bodong clumsily caught it, holding it in both hands as if cradling a child. Peering at the purple pill inside, a mixture of joy and astonishment washed over his aged face.
Joy, because he had obtained the Break Calamity Pill as he wished; astonishment, because he found it hard to believe that in just one day, this young man, who seemed barely twenty, had successfully refined a sixth-grade pill, even though it was a challenge for the renowned Alchemist King, Gu He…
“Deeply hidden talent…”
At that moment, Hai Bodong’s heart was filled with a profound respect for Xiao Yan.
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