Chapter 148: Refining [2]
In the qiankun ring, time crawled as slowly as a snail.
Fang Hao sat cross-legged, eyes closed, his brows knitted tightly together.
He didn’t rush to start the Alchemy; instead, he "played a movie" in his mind over and over—simulating every step of refining the forming golden core.
This was no child’s play.
Seven main ingredients, dozens of auxiliary ingredients; the order of addition, the intensity of the heat, the timing of the Fusion of medicinal properties, the heat for condensing the pill, the technique for extracting the pill... a single mistake, and this priceless batch of Spirit Medicine would be ruined in the cauldron.
Especially with the sun flower, blazing sun flower, and moon shadow grass—their attributes clashed, and one wrong move would lead to the cauldron exploding.
He took the complete Pill Formula he had obtained from True Person Chiyang, along with his previous experience in refining Golden Core pills, broke them down, and repeatedly simulated them in his Sea of Consciousness.
Fail, start over; fail again, start over again...
He didn’t know how many times he had simulated it, but when he felt he could perfectly complete the entire process with his eyes closed, and his confidence surged to the point of near certainty, he suddenly opened his eyes.
"Almost there!"
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he took a deep breath, adjusting his state to its Peak.
With a thought, the ancient and mysterious chaos pill cauldron hovered before him.
He didn’t use ordinary earth fire or his own true fire; instead, with a solemn expression, he spread his palm and communicated with the depths of his Dantian.
With a ’whoosh’, a wisp of pale purple flame, seemingly weak but emitting terrifying high temperatures and pure energy, slowly rose from his palm—it was the Earth Core Flame Fire!
This heaven and earth spirit fire was perfect for refining Spirit Medicine of the forming golden core level, as it could greatly increase the success rate and quality!
He carefully guided this wisp of Earth Core Flame Fire into the bottom of the chaos pill cauldron.
Hum! The pill cauldron vibrated slightly, and the inside was instantly filled with pure pale purple flames; the temperature rose sharply, but it was perfectly contained within the cauldron.
"Start!"
Fang Hao shouted in a low voice, his eyes as sharp as knives.
His hands danced like butterflies, and he added the pre-processed auxiliary ingredients into the cauldron in the order he had simulated countless times.
His Divine Sense, like the most precise tentacles, closely monitored the subtle changes as each herb melted, was purified, and its medicinal properties were extracted under the scorching heat of the Earth Core Flame Fire.
"Dew Condensing Grass, liquefy! Reduce heat by three percent!"
"Hundred-Year Stone Milk, add! Increase heat by one part, instantly force out the cold energy!"
"Jade Marrow Powder, sprinkle in! Simmer over a low fire, fuse the medicinal properties!"
He was fully focused, not even bothering to wipe the fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.
The entire refining process was like dancing on the tip of a knife, allowing for absolutely no mistakes.
Fortunately, with the assistance of the Clear Spring Spirit Eyes, he could perceive the most subtle changes in medicinal properties and adjust in time.
The Fusion of the auxiliary ingredients in the early stages went quite smoothly.
When it came time to add the main ingredients, the atmosphere suddenly became tense!
"Mysterious Ice Lotus Root, enter!" A section of lotus root exuding extreme cold energy was thrown into the fire, and the temperature inside the cauldron plummeted!
Even the Earth Core Flame Fire flickered.
"Earth Fire Ganoderma, enter!" The extremely Yang spirit ganoderma was added; cold and heat clashed, and the energy inside the cauldron fluctuated violently!
"Steady!" Fang Hao gritted his teeth, his Divine Sense desperately controlling the heat, guiding the two medicinal properties to slowly make contact and harmonize.
Immediately after, the moon shadow grass and blazing sun flower were added one after another.
The power of Yin and Yang intertwined, and the inside of the cauldron seemed to become a miniature chaotic world, with the energy becoming even more violent!
Finally, it was the grand finale: the sun flower!
When that golden flower exuding an extremely Yang aura was thrown into the cauldron, the entire chaos pill cauldron emitted a humming sound!
The medicinal power of the seven main ingredients, with completely opposite attributes yet mutually generating and overcoming each other, began the most dangerous Fusion under the smelting of the Earth Core Flame Fire!
The inside of the cauldron was colorful and chaotic, with energy rampaging, occasionally making "hissing" strange noises; several times it almost went out of control and exploded the cauldron!
Fang Hao’s heart was in his throat, his Mental Energy was heavily consumed, and his face turned pale, but his hands remained as steady as a rock.
Relying on the muscle memory formed from countless previous simulations and his powerful Divine Sense, he forcibly stabilized the situation, guiding the violent medicinal power to slowly gather along an arcane trajectory.
This process was extremely long and was the ultimate test of an Alchemist’s willpower and fire control ability!
I don’t know how much time passed, but the violent energy inside the cauldron gradually subsided, and all the medicinal power finally perfectly fused into a fist-sized, viscous liquid emitting seven-colored light!
"Condense the pill!" A brilliant light erupted in Fang Hao’s eyes, and the speed of his hand seals increased dramatically!
He cast one arcane pill-condensing seal after another!
Hum—!
The chaos pill cauldron vibrated violently, and the seven-colored liquid inside, under the compression of the seals and flames, rapidly shrank, separated into nine small points, and began to spin!
An indescribably rich medicinal fragrance permeated the air, and just one whiff made people feel refreshed!
"Extract the pill!" Fang Hao didn’t dare to be slow, and he performed the final step!
The cauldron lid opened, and nine streams of seven-colored light shot into the sky as if summoned!
Fang Hao was well-prepared; he waved a jade bottle in his hand, and a suction force was emitted, precisely collecting all nine Medicinal Pills—each the size of a Dragon’s eye, smooth and flawless, with natural cloud patterns on the surface, and emitting seven-colored treasure light—into the bottle!
The Medicinal Pills in his hand felt heavy, containing vast, sea-like pure energy!
"It’s done! Nine pills! All High Grade!"
Fang Hao looked at the nine flawless forming golden core in the jade bottle, trembling with excitement!
Success on the first try! And it was nine pills, the maximum number, at the highest quality!
This success rate, if told to others, no one would believe it!
A huge joy and sense of accomplishment overwhelmed him!
After so many years of waiting, so many years of struggling, he finally saw the hope of forming a Golden Core!
He carefully put away the jade bottle, as if holding a peerless treasure.
After a while, he calmed down from the ecstasy.
Calculating the time, he had already stayed in the qiankun ring for nearly three months (about Nine Heavens in the outside world).
"Time to prepare for the Breakthrough..."
Fang Hao sat down cross-legged, preparing to strike in one go and impact the Golden Core stage!
But when he carefully sensed the time flow of the outside world, his heart skipped a beat!
Oh no! He had been so happy that he almost forgot the big event!
The Tianyan Secret Realm was set to open in these few days! Maybe... it could even be tomorrow or the day after!
Although his state was currently adjusted to the Peak, forming a Golden Core was not like eating or drinking; it required an absolutely quiet environment and could not be disturbed in the slightest.
Moreover, the process was long—fast, a few days; slow, ten days to half a month!
If he happened to be at a critical moment of the Breakthrough when the Secret Realm opened, or if enemies came knocking, that would be a huge problem!
Best case, the Breakthrough would fail and his cultivation would be greatly damaged; worst case, he would suffer Qi Deviation and die!
"Damn it! How could I have forgotten this!" Fang Hao slapped his thigh in annoyance.
The quota for the Secret Realm was hard to come by; it was an Opportunity he had fought hard to get, and it might contain the key to solving the subsequent Cultivate problems of his Seven Spiritual Roots—he absolutely could not miss it!
But the forming golden core was right in front of him; forcing him to suppress the urge to Breakthrough immediately was truly torturous!
Conflict! Extreme conflict!
Should he take the risk and Breakthrough immediately, gambling on finishing before the Secret Realm opened? Or should he temporarily suppress the urge, enter the Secret Realm first, and find an Opportunity to go into seclusion after coming out?
Fang Hao frowned, a battle between heaven and man raging within him.
After pondering for a long time, his rationality finally gained the upper hand.
"No! Can’t gamble!" He took a deep breath and made a difficult decision.
"The Opportunity of the Secret Realm is more important! Besides, having just finished refining pills, my mental state is heavily consumed, which is not the best state for a Breakthrough."
"The forming golden core is already made, it won’t run away. After coming out of the Secret Realm, I’ll find a safe place to Breakthrough later!"
Although this decision made him feel as uncomfortable as if his heart were being scratched by a cat, it was the safest choice.
If one cannot tolerate small things, one will mess up big plans!
He suppressed the urge to immediately swallow the forming golden core, and solemnly put away the jade bottle.
Then he exited the qiankun ring and returned to the cave.
Calculating the time, the opening of the Secret Realm was within these one or two days!
He had to set off immediately and rush to a certain place in the Southern Frontier where the entrance to the Secret Realm was located!
Otherwise, if he missed the time and the Secret Realm closed, he would have to wait another ten years!
Fang Hao no longer hesitated, quickly packed his things, removed the Formation at the cave entrance, flashed out of the cave, summoned his Flying Sword, and turned into a streak of light, speeding towards the general direction of the entrance to the Tianyan Secret Realm!
Ahead of him lay the unknown Opportunity of the Secret Realm, and within him was the vast medicinal power longing to Breakthrough the barrier.
Time had become tighter than ever before!
