Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Begin Treatment
"As for the temperature control from before, that’s even simpler. Any given Refining Array, depending on its level, is constructed from twelve to one hundred and eight basic arrays. These basic arrays merge with each other to form the complete Refining Array. By manipulating each of these basic arrays, you can adjust the temperature and heat in any part of the entire array. Of course, achieving this requires both a profound understanding of the Refining Array and exquisite control over your Profound Sense. Neither can be lacking."
"While one of you is a Third Grade Alchemist and the other is a Second Grade Alchemist, and your Profound Sense is strong enough, your control over your Profound Sense and Profound Qi is far too crude. You haven’t grasped the essence of alchemy. In a small place like the Liuyun Kingdom, you might be considered decent, but out in the wider world, you wouldn’t even count as beginners."
"Gods, so that’s how it works."
"Heavens, so a true Alchemist uses incredibly refined Profound Sense to participate in the reactions, not just brute-force it with powerful Profound Sense."
’This is the true essence of alchemy. Young Master Xuan was right to scold me. I’m such an idiot.’
Listening to Ye Xuan’s explanation, the two of them stared with wide eyes, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
Ye Xuan’s theories were like a ray of light in the darkness, instantly illuminating the path of their alchemical journey.
Only now did they realize how crude their previous methods had been. They had relied on their powerful Profound Sense to forcibly interfere with the ingredients’ reactions. No wonder their success rate was so low, and even when they succeeded, the pills they produced were all garbage.
"A true Alchemist relies on a thorough understanding of medicinal properties, using refined Profound Sense to merge with the refining process. Profound Sense is merely a lubricant between the various ingredients, used to guide the reactions, not to forcibly interfere."
"Furthermore, during refining, every wisp of Profound Sense must be used with utmost precision. Any powerful Alchemist must learn to expend the least amount of Profound Sense to participate in the most reactions."
As Ye Xuan explained, he guided their operations. The various ingredients in the three Pill Furnaces indeed seemed to attract each other, merging on their own.
Their Profound Sense only needed to participate slightly at certain junctures; there was no need to expend too much of it at all.
If their previous refining attempts were a war against the ingredients, then Ye Xuan’s alchemy today was an art form.
Every movement, every action, even every breath, was integrated with nature—so wondrous it was a pleasure to watch.
Time trickled by. Ye Xuan’s movements gradually slowed as he said calmly, "Just keep the Profound Fire in the Pill Furnaces at a stable frequency. This is the most critical point of the ingredients’ reaction and the most important stage of the pill’s formation. If you want to understand an ingredient or a pill, now is the most effective time."
As he spoke, Ye Xuan gradually withdrew some of his Profound Sense and Soul Power.
With his current Profound Sense, trying to refine three types of Third Grade Pills simultaneously was indeed a bit strenuous.
Fortunately, his understanding of medicinal properties had reached a heaven-defying level. Coupled with the help from Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong, the entire process seemed effortless.
Taking advantage of the pill formation phase, Ye Xuan rested briefly before rejoining the refining process.
「About an hour later.」
"Alright, collect the pills!" At Ye Xuan’s command, Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong, who were already drenched in sweat and barely able to hold on, quickly retracted their auras.
The Profound Fire above the array vanished, and the Pill Furnaces descended, suddenly releasing a rich, fragrant aroma.
The next moment, the lids of the furnaces opened. Three streams of light shot out from each furnace. Nine perfectly round pills radiated a brilliant glow in mid-air, spinning a few times before landing steadily in the Pill Disc to the side.
"Chongxuan Pills, Essence Strengthening Pills, and Vein Splitting Pills... I actually succeeded?" Hua Luoxuan’s eyes widened. He stared in disbelief at the nine pills on the Pill Disc, as excited as if he were on steroids. "Refining three types of Third Grade Pills at once, with a one hundred percent success rate... Did I, Hua Luoxuan, really take part in this? Am I dreaming?"
Beside him, Zhou Huarong was trembling with excitement. "I actually participated in refining Third Grade Pills? Heavens, you’re not messing with me, are you?"
The two of them had nearly exhausted their Profound Sense, yet they didn’t feel tired at all. On the contrary, they were incredibly energized, as if they could go another seven or eight rounds.
Ye Xuan walked over to the Pill Disc, picked up a pill, and frowned after a glance. "Why is the purity so low? You have the gall to celebrate after producing such garbage?"
"What? Is the purity low? That can’t be right. These nine pills are plump and round, and their fragrance is fresh and gentle. These are at least mid-grade pills with over seventy percent purity."
The two looked puzzled and quickly came to the Pill Disc. One look and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Young Master Xuan, you must be joking. These are Upper Grade Pills with over eighty percent purity. You call this low?"
"What’s so great about Upper Grade Pills?" Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Back in my day, if they weren’t extreme-grade pills, I’d sweep them all into the trash."
PFFT!
’Boss, do you have any idea what extreme-grade pills even are? An ordinary Alchemist might not produce a single batch even after refining ten cauldrons’ worth. When Upper Grade Pills appear on the market, they’re enough to cause a frenzy!’
Hua Luoxuan himself had refined countless Third Grade Chongxuan Pills, but he had never produced a single extreme-grade one. He had only ever made seven or eight Upper Grade ones in total.
Now, after creating three Upper Grade pills in a single go, they were being called garbage by Ye Xuan. It almost made his heart explode.
But on second thought, the entire refining process had been done under Ye Xuan’s guidance. Without Ye Xuan, he couldn’t have produced these three cauldrons of pills at all. He was instantly left speechless.
’This guy isn’t human. I can’t hold him to normal standards.’ He could only comfort himself with this thought.
"Fine, Upper Grade will have to do. My Profound Sense is too weak right now, so I can’t directly purify Third Grade Pills any further. I guess I’ll just have to make do with them."
Ye Xuan put away the nine pills, his expression still one of dissatisfaction, as if using an Upper Grade Pill was a kind of blasphemy to him.
At this, the exhausted Hua Luoxuan and Zhou Huarong no longer had the energy to even complain.
"Alright, you two get some rest. Chairman Hua, lend me a treatment room. I need to treat my father," Ye Xuan said nonchalantly.
"Young Master Xuan, from now on, just call me by my name. Hearing you call me Chairman makes me terribly uneasy."
After the previous refining session, Hua Luoxuan was in complete awe of Ye Xuan. Even being addressed as Chairman Hua by him felt awkward.
Soon, Ye Xuan brought his father to a treatment room in the Alchemist Association.
"Xuan’er, can my power... really be restored?"
Even at this final moment before the treatment, Ye Zhanyun was still in disbelief as he muttered the question.
The sense of loss and pain Ye Zhanyun had endured was unimaginable for an ordinary person. He had once been hailed as the number one genius of the Ye family, becoming an Earth Martial Artist Second Layer expert in his early twenties.
It was like an emperor who ruled over thousands becoming a lowly beggar overnight. The disparity was enough to drive an ordinary person mad.
No matter how resolute Ye Zhanyun’s will was, he had still suffered through countless days and nights of torment.
Although so many years had passed that he had almost grown accustomed to his powerless days, when Ye Xuan told him there was hope for recovery, he lost his composure completely.
At this moment, Ye Zhanyun was like a child, his heart filled with anxiety. He clung to that sliver of hope, yet feared it would suddenly be shattered.
"Father, if I say I can do it, I can. Besides, do you think anything could possibly be worse than your current situation?"
Ye Xuan, seeing the anxiety in his father’s heart, spoke up.
These words were like a sudden enlightenment, instantly clearing Ye Zhanyun’s mind.
’That’s right. Success or failure, the worst-case scenario is just ending up like I am now. What could be worse than this? Since that’s the case, what is there to be anxious about?’
With that thought, Ye Zhanyun quickly recovered and revealed a small smile. "Xuan’er, tell me. What do you need me to do?"
This attitude from Ye Zhanyun actually surprised Ye Xuan a little.
’It seems my father’s reputation as the Ye family’s number one genius back then was well-deserved. His mental fortitude alone is something ordinary people could never hope to match.’
"Father, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"Alright then. First, take this Vein Splitting Pill!"
At Ye Xuan’s instruction, Ye Zhanyun unhesitatingly swallowed the Vein Splitting Pill they had refined earlier.
PFFT!
The moment the Vein Splitting Pill entered his stomach, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ye Zhanyun’s face was contorted in agony. He gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl. His white teeth were flecked with blood, and his entire body convulsed.
The effect of the Vein Splitting Pill was to make an Earth Martial Artist’s meridians actively rupture when they were suffering from cultivation deviation, in order to vent their Profound Qi.
And although Ye Zhanyun had once been an Earth Martial Artist, he had been without his power for a very long time.
The moment the Third Grade Vein Splitting Pill entered his stomach, the meridians throughout his body—already broken and now tangled together from years of disuse—were immediately torn open once more.
The pain of having old wounds violently ripped open again was terrifyingly unbearable.
Seeing his father’s agonized expression, Ye Xuan remained calm. He quickly placed his palms on his father’s back, releasing his Profound Sense and Soul Power to observe carefully.
Suddenly, his brows furrowed. "Father, take the second Vein Splitting Pill."
He could sense that after only half of his father’s tangled meridians had been torn open, the effects of the first Vein Splitting Pill were already starting to fade.
