“This is so complicated,” Yang Hao immediately lost his enthusiasm. “Then I’d rather not practice it. Even if I do, it might not be useful anyway.”
“How can it not be useful?!” Hun Yuanzi reacted as if someone had stepped on his foot, instantly furious. “Other cultivators progress gradually. Only when their energy reaches a certain level inside their bodies can they advance to the next stage. But our method is much simpler. As long as you can create the primary pill and consume the main pill of each level, you can directly ascend to that level of cultivation.”
At first, Yang Hao didn’t quite understand. His mind felt foggy, and he couldn’t grasp how powerful Hun Yuanzi’s words were. But gradually, some inspiration began to form in Yang Hao’s mind. Recalling the cultivation novels he had read before, he suddenly realized, “You mean the Spring Tonic Sect doesn’t require cultivating internal energy or building a foundation step by step? All you need to do is take the right pills, and you can ascend directly to immortality?”
“Precisely!” Hun Yuanzi sounded very pleased, as if Yang Hao finally understood, making him quite happy. “This is where the Pill and Cauldron Dual Cultivation Sect shines. Others cultivate slowly and painfully, while we can ascend directly to immortality just by taking pills. How simple is that?”
Yang Hao’s eyes began to sparkle. By now, he finally saw some benefits in this Spring Tonic Sect cultivation. Speaking of attaining immortality, who wouldn’t want that? Especially someone like Yang Hao, who came from a poor family, longing to rise to the heavens in one step and turn stones into gold. But previously, when he read books, he found the methods of immortality were always vague and complicated, so Yang Hao naturally lacked confidence.
But now, hearing how simple Hun Yuanzi described it, Yang Hao’s interest was instantly sparked. “So it’s that easy? That’s actually pretty good. Hurry up and teach me, let me create all nine primary pills, and I can become immortal.”
“Hmm… Hmm…” Hun Yuanzi began to hesitate again. “You should first focus on producing the auxiliary pills you need to take daily, and then I’ll teach you gradually.”
Unfortunately, Yang Hao was too caught up in his own excitement to notice the hesitation and uncertainty in Hun Yuanzi’s voice. This oversight would likely make him regret it for a very long time.
As Yang Hao and Hun Yuanzi chatted intermittently, Amanda had actually finished making the furnace within three hours. When Yang Hao saw the so-called pill furnace, he immediately felt doubtful.
This device looked a lot like an old outdoor camping stove. It had a torch-like heat source at the bottom and a small pot on top, no bigger than two palms. The pot wasn’t as sturdy and heavy as he had imagined. It felt light in his hand and was pitch black on the outside, with only the inner layer polished into a curved surface.
Yang Hao lifted the pot with three fingers. “This thing? Did you cut corners or something?”
“It’s made exactly according to the blueprint, without even the slightest deviation,” Amanda assured him, raising both hands.
“But I still don’t think it looks right…” Since this concerned his life, Yang Hao couldn’t help but be cautious. He leaned over to look at the blueprint. The pill furnace in the drawing appeared to be made of thick bronze, elaborately carved with dragons and phoenixes, very delicate and exquisite. However, the one in his hand looked more like a cheap trinket from a roadside stall.
Clearing his throat, Yang Hao reluctantly shook his head. “I don’t think this will work. The materials are completely different.”
“You don’t know anything!” Amanda frowned again. “Where can I find ancient bronze these days? The alloy I used for you is currently the most heat-resistant material available. Even spacecraft are made from it, capable of withstanding temperatures over ten thousand degrees. Why wouldn’t it work as a substitute?”
“But then you said there wouldn’t be any errors at all,” Yang Hao muttered. “Besides, these two things don’t even look similar. The blueprint shows carvings on the outside too.”
Amanda became very angry at Yang Hao’s nitpicking. “Those carvings are just useless decorations. With such limited time, why would I add them? Don’t I do this all for you?!!”
Scared by Amanda’s anger, Yang Hao dared not voice further objections. He tapped his stomach and quietly asked, “Uncle Hun Yuanzi, do you think this will work?”
Hun Yuanzi had been observing all along. “This thing… Why don’t you give it a try?”
“A try?” Yang Hao was even more startled. So Hun Yuanzi himself wasn’t very confident either. But at this point, Yang Hao had no choice but to reluctantly ask, “How do I try? What should I do?”
“Divide the herbs into five portions. Put one portion into the pill furnace first, then light the fire,” Hun Yuanzi instructed Yang Hao.
Amanda saw Yang Hao clumsily loading the herbs into the furnace. Of course, she didn’t know there was an old immortal inside his belly giving directions. She kindly reminded him, “Underneath this pot, I installed a fuel torch that can raise the temperature inside to 1000 degrees.”
“1000 degrees isn’t enough; it needs to at least double,” Hun Yuanzi suddenly shouted from inside.
Yang Hao quickly relayed the message. “I need the pot to reach a temperature of 2000 degrees.”
“That’s impossible,” Amanda immediately rejected the idea. Frowning, she looked back at the blueprint. “It doesn’t specify that here. With the current equipment, the maximum temperature we can reach is only 1000 degrees. To go beyond that, we would need nuclear power, which isn’t something simple to arrange.”
“What should I do now?” Caught between the two, Yang Hao felt completely at a loss, like a clueless child.
“Don’t worry, my good apprentice. Our Pill and Cauldron Dual Cultivation Sect naturally has its own methods. Light the fire first, and I’ll tell you how to raise the temperature,” Hun Yuanzi remained calm and unconcerned.
Yang Hao properly placed the herbs and had Amanda ignite the fuel torch. Instantly, blue flames kissed the bottom of the pot. Although this pot looked a bit different from the blueprint, its effectiveness was undeniable. The inner walls of the pill furnace quickly turned red, and the heat concentrated toward a tiny point in the center. The herbs placed at this point rapidly dehydrated and curled up. However, clearly, the heat wasn’t sufficient to create the required immortal pill.
“It’s time, my good apprentice. Do exactly as I say,” Hun Yuanzi excitedly shouted. “Place both hands around the fire and push the energy within your body outward.”
Yang Hao obediently positioned his hands but was confused. “What energy? Push what outward?”
“You idiot!!” Hun Yuanzi became furious. “The force currently inside you, we call it ‘true energy,’ you call it ‘the Force.’ Push this power to your palms.”
“I feel it, I feel it!!!” Yang Hao sensed a warm current slowly gathering from his body to the joint between his thumb and index finger on his palm. It became increasingly hot, accompanied by a tearing sensation. “Oh no, it’s going to tear through, it’s going to burst out!”
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