Ling Xiao had already deduced that the materials were soaked with a special type of spring water, which an ordinary flame could never evaporate.
If the moisture couldn’t be evaporated, the pills wouldn’t take shape.
What to do?
The solution was simple: use a divine flame.
No, it didn’t necessarily have to be a divine flame; any flame of a higher grade than an ordinary flame would suffice.
Got it!
A spark of inspiration flashed through his mind, and an idea instantly took shape.
With that, he began to ignite the flame.
With the materials compromised, the subsequent steps had to be executed flawlessly, without any panic.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Qing Mu had already entered the flame control phase, and a faint herbal fragrance could be detected, the scent released from the heating process.
Ling Xiao glanced over. Under Qing Mu’s control, the Sacred Flame behaved like an obedient servant, the entire process proceeding smoothly.
For some reason, though, Ling Xiao seemed to hear an unwilling roar.
An illusion, perhaps.
He shook his head, no longer looking at Qing Mu, and returned his focus to his own alchemy furnace.
Selecting materials, forming raw pills, and then igniting the flame.
Igniting the flame sounded simple, as if just lighting it would do.
But it wasn’t that straightforward. Every pill required a different flame size and temperature, and some high-quality pills had even more specific demands.
Originally, the Superior True Essence Pill had low flame requirements, easily manageable with an ordinary flame. But after being soaked with the special spring water, a special flame was needed to resolve the issue.
Ling Xiao took a deep breath, placed a specially crafted piece of spirit wood charcoal into the furnace, and lit it.
At this point, the flame burning on the spirit wood charcoal was still an ordinary flame.
But no one noticed that Ling Xiao quietly placed his hand near the furnace, and from his palm emerged a wisp of black flame.
This flame was derived from the beast essence Ling Xiao had absorbed.
During the battle at Cloud Sky City, that wolf-shaped beast had produced such black flames.
Though not as powerful as a divine flame, this flame was far superior to an ordinary flame.
A higher-grade flame was naturally harder to control.
But for Ling Xiao, this was no issue.
With the flame ignited, the next and most critical phase of the alchemy process began: flame control!
Why bother learning it?
Because it was essential for this stage.
Ling Xiao entered a state of complete focus, able to monitor all changes inside and outside the furnace, including the precise amount of beast essence inputted, with perfect calculation and control.
Flame control required using true essence to manipulate the flame, something nearly all alchemists and pharmacists could do.
To clarify, refining medicine was much easier than refining pills. Medicine refining was the most basic level, and Ling Xiao had skipped it after learning the theory.
He went straight to studying pill refining.
The principles were the same, but pill refining was more advanced and more beneficial for martial artists.
Pharmacists generally required a minimum cultivation of early Martial Vein Seventh Layer.
Alchemists, however, had higher requirements, typically needing peak Martial Vein Ninth Layer to begin.
Ling Xiao, of course, was an exception.
Under his control, the flame started off fierce, as it needed to first evaporate the moisture from the raw pills.
After about ten breaths, the flame gradually reduced, requiring a gentle flame to avoid burning the raw pills to ash.
Once the special spring water’s moisture was evaporated, Ling Xiao withdrew the beast essence, and the black flame vanished.
From then on, relying solely on the ordinary flame posed no problem.
“Little Lan, did you notice?”
Yang Danlin’s face betrayed uncontainable joy.
“Notice what?” Lan Yuer’s eyesight wasn’t as sharp as Yang Danlin’s seasoned gaze.
“Hahaha, Little Lan, you need to train your observation skills. This kid Ling Xiao is hiding such a secret, it’s truly astonishing. This time, Qing Mu and that little punk Hei Suo are in for a fall,” Yang Danlin said. Though he wanted to laugh out loud, the alchemy process wasn’t over, so he decided not to be too ostentatious.
They could celebrate once the final results were out.
A quarter of an hour later, Ling Xiao caught a faint medicinal fragrance wafting from his furnace.
Through the furnace, he could even see the raw pills gradually taking shape and solidifying, revealing a golden sheen.
This was a sign of nearing success.
The closer to success, the easier it was to fail.
At this stage, the flame had to be controlled with extreme precision. The slightest mistake could ruin the entire batch.
Noisy chatter came from nearby, likely because Qing Mu’s pills were nearly complete.
Ling Xiao had delayed too long at the start, and with the half-hour time limit nearing its end, he had little time left.
Even so, he remained utterly focused, meticulously controlling the flame in the furnace, adding spirit wood charcoal at the exact right moments without the slightest error.
“This kid’s true essence is remarkably robust. That special black flame must have consumed a lot, yet he seems completely unfazed,” Yang Danlin remarked, growing more astonished the more he watched. He had thought his estimation of Ling Xiao was already high, but closely observing Ling Xiao’s alchemy process still managed to amaze him.
Whoosh!
The crowd erupted again as Qing Mu’s pills were completed.
When the lid of his furnace opened, more than a dozen golden beams shot out, eliciting gasps from the audience.
“Please, three elders, score the results,” Qing Mu said, casting a smug glance at Ling Xiao.
He had noticed the issue with Ling Xiao’s soaked materials but felt no shame in winning unfairly, instead finding it deeply satisfying.
Having followed Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign for so many years, he had learned to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.
“Hmm, Deputy Hall Master Qing Mu is indeed impressive. The yield is perfect, with all twenty Superior True Essence Pills successfully refined. Among them, three are perfect pills with 100% perfection, their effects twice as potent as the others!” one elder declared.
“Indeed, of the remaining seventeen pills, ten are near 90% perfection, with effects about one times stronger, and the other seven are near 80% perfection, with effects enhanced by 80 to 90%,” another added.
When a batch of pills is produced, it’s first judged as defective, substandard, or complete.
Among complete pills, there are three grades: qualified, excellent, and perfect.
Perfect pills always have enhanced effects.
Perfection rate refers to the degree of perfection in perfect pills.
Generally, an alchemist who can produce qualified pills is considered competent. If they can produce excellent pills, all their pills gain a 10% effect boost.
This already marks an outstanding alchemist.
If they can produce perfect pills, regardless of the perfection rate, they are among the elite alchemists, rare as phoenix feathers.
From this, it was clear that Qing Mu was no slouch.
