After arriving at the Divine Pill Pavilion, Li Chen followed Ink White to learn how to open and warm the Pill Furnace.
Qi Refining Realm Cultivators have weak magical power, and those who do not Cultivate fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques cannot even use their own magical power to control flames for Alchemy.
As for fire veins, Yin Mountain Market does not have any.
Therefore, in the Divine Pill Pavilion, even Pill Refiner Chen had to use iron heart wood as fuel when performing Alchemy, with two apprentices beside him to add firewood.
Li Chen possessed a Nine-Rank Spiritual Root, which leaned towards fire, and he cultivated the fire-attribute Cultivation Technique, Scarlet Flame Art.
Furthermore, because many people in the Divine Pill Pavilion rumored that Li Chen had a close relationship with Linglong Fairy, Pill Refiner Chen began to intentionally or unintentionally Cultivate Li Chen.
For one month, Li Chen followed Ink White, learning how to open the Pill Furnace, warm the Pill Furnace, and control the fire.
One day, Pill Refiner Chen summoned Li Chen to his side and asked with concern, "I heard Ink White say that you can already skillfully open and warm the Pill Furnace, and even control the size of the flames with great proficiency?"
Li Chen scratched his head, feigning modesty, "Perhaps it's because this Disciple Cultivates the Scarlet Flame Art."
Li Chen had obtained the Second-Order Pill Dao Inheritance from the System, which was equivalent to receiving the memories of countless Second-Order Alchemy Great Masters.
Opening the Pill Furnace, warming the Pill Furnace, preparing Medicinal Spirit Plants, controlling the fire, solidifying the Medicinal Pill, and retrieving the Medicinal Pill—Li Chen knew all these Alchemy details by heart; as long as he started, he would quickly become proficient.
Of course, this could not be told to outsiders.
Pill Refiner Chen gazed at Li Chen for a moment, stroking the goatee under his chin, and praised, "An ordinary apprentice, even if they Cultivate fire-attribute or wood-attribute Cultivation Techniques, cannot become familiar with the properties of Medicinal Spirit Plants and skillfully open and warm the Pill Furnace, let alone control the temperature of the flames, without five or eight years of effort.
"It seems you have considerable talent in Alchemy; you are a trainable talent.
"Although your Spiritual Root is inferior, you are naturally endowed with a powerful Divine Soul, which might also be the reason you can quickly enter the Dao.
"Since the Pavilion Master entrusted you to this old man, this old man cannot delay your Alchemy talent.
"Coincidentally, Today this old man needs to open the Pill Furnace to refine a batch of Yellow Sprout Pills, so you can stay by this old man's side to add firewood and diligently learn more Alchemy details."
Saying this, Pill Refiner Chen walked towards his exclusive Pill Refining Room.
Looking at Pill Refiner Chen's thin back, Li Chen clenched his fists, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart.
From Today onwards, he could finally begin to practice Alchemy and display his own Alchemy talent.
Even though this Alchemy talent was bestowed by the System, as long as he displayed it, Li Chen would be an Alchemy Genius in the eyes of outsiders!
The Divine Pill Pavilion had three Pill Refining Rooms.
Pill Refiner Chen and Pill Refiner Ge each had their own Pill Refining Room, and the remaining Pill Refining Room was shared by all apprentices.
The Pill Refining Room used by apprentices contained several low-grade Magical Artifact Pill Furnaces for apprentices to learn Alchemy.
Pill Refiner Chen's exclusive Pill Refining Room was different; it was clearly more high-end and grand.
In the room, there was a row of shelves, on which were bottles, jars, and boxes containing Medicinal Pills refined by Pill Refiner Chen, or Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines.
In the central area, a human-height bronze-green Pill Furnace stood, with several Phoenixes engraved on its body.
Pill Refiner Chen gently stroked the Pill Furnace and explained to Li Chen, "An Alchemist needs to possess a good Pill Furnace; this increases the chances of forming a Medicinal Pill.
"This Azure Phoenix Furnace is a first-order top-grade Magical Artifact, which has accompanied this old man for most of his life, and it was passed down by this old man's Master.
"Before refining the Yellow Sprout Pill, this old man will first refine a batch of Pigu Pills; you must watch carefully and not miss any details."
With that, Pill Refiner Chen flicked his wide sleeve and skillfully lifted the furnace lid.
"This Disciple will engrave Pill Refiner Chen's kindness in his heart."
Li Chen's eyes were solemn, and he bowed deeply to the old man before him.
Li Chen knew that Pill Refiner Chen was intentionally taking care of him, imparting Alchemy techniques, and leading him to open the door to the Dao of Alchemy.
Although Li Chen possessed the Second-Order Pill Dao Inheritance, Pill Refiner Chen did not know that.
Li Chen had to accept Pill Refiner Chen's good intentions.
"Light the fire, warm the Pill Furnace!"
After opening the Pill Furnace, Pill Refiner Chen seemed to transform into a different person, his expression indescribably serious.
Li Chen immediately formed a hand seal, raised his hand, and shot out a fist-sized fireball, igniting the iron heart wood beneath the furnace.
Blazing flames licked the Pill Furnace.
Once the Pill Furnace turned red and emitted high heat, Pill Refiner Chen took out several Golden Bone Grasses, threw them into the furnace, and said in a deep voice, "Raise the flame temperature a bit."
"Golden Bone Grass is cold in nature; its coldness needs to be removed with high temperatures. Only after it is refined into a medicinal liquid can it fuse with the essence of spiritual rice to form a Medicinal Pill.
"Raise the temperature even more!"
Li Chen's expression was serious, not daring to be negligent. He followed Pill Refiner Chen's instructions, using his magical power to control the size of the flames, periodically shoveling out furnace ash, and adding more firewood.
"We Qi Refining Realm Cultivators have not yet developed Divine Sense, so we cannot observe the internal conditions of the Pill Furnace. Therefore, Alchemy requires us to rely on experience to judge whether the spiritual materials inside the Pill Furnace have successfully been refined into medicinal liquid.
"You see, when the furnace lid begins to vibrate, it indicates that the coldness contained in the Golden Bone Grass has been removed and it has become a medicinal liquid.
"At this time, add the spiritual rice into the furnace. Remember, the spiritual rice must be added all at once, and then the furnace must be quickly sealed to prevent the loss of medicinal properties.
"Lower the heat a bit, cool it down!
"Spiritual rice cannot withstand high temperatures; if the temperature is too high, the spiritual rice will turn into charcoal, and what is refined will not be Pigu Pills, but pill ash.
"If the heat is too low, and the temperature is too low, it also won't work. If the temperature is too low, the essence contained within the spiritual rice cannot be fully extracted, and it will not be able to solidify into a Medicinal Pill after fusing with the Golden Bone Grass medicinal liquid, resulting in a batch of Waste Pill.
"Time's up!
"The Pill Furnace is vibrating; it's time to solidify the Medicinal Pill. Every Alchemist has different solidification techniques; watch carefully."
Pill Refiner Chen formed hand seals, constantly changing them, and the Pill Furnace vibrated continuously.
Finally, the Pill Furnace quieted down. Pill Refiner Chen flicked his sleeve, lifted the furnace lid, and beckoned, taking dozens of white-gold pills from the Pill Furnace, then putting them into bottles, ten pills per bottle.
Placing several jade bottles on a nearby shelf, Pill Refiner Chen continued, "For every batch of Medicinal Pills refined, the Divine Pill Pavilion will give the Alchemist a corresponding amount of Spirit Stones.
"The Pavilion Master treats us well; when we perform Alchemy, we cannot embezzle."
Li Chen glanced at Pill Refiner Chen, not expecting this Alchemist Chen to be quite principled, truly a man of noble character.
During his days in the Divine Pill Pavilion, Li Chen had heard apprentices privately discussing how many Alchemists, after refining a batch of Medicinal Pills, would always secretly keep a portion for themselves.
Pill Refiner Chen did not notice Li Chen's gaze and calmly said, "If you have any questions, ask this old man now, and this old man will answer them one by one."
Li Chen thought for a moment and asked Pill Refiner Chen two questions.
Actually, Li Chen had no questions, but he did not want to appear too outstanding.
After answering Li Chen's doubts, the admiration in Pill Refiner Chen's eyes grew even stronger. "This old man originally thought you only had a small talent in Alchemy, but your talent far exceeds this old man's expectations.
"If it weren't for your Nine-Rank Spiritual Root limiting your cultivation, you might not be unable to advance to a Second-Order Alchemy Great Master in the future.
"Starting from Tomorrow, you can try opening the Pill Furnace and refining Pigu Pills on your own. Once you can skillfully refine Pigu Pills, then you can learn to refine other Medicinal Pills."
Li Chen's heart was invigorated, and he immediately bowed respectfully to the old man before him, saying reverently, "Thank you, Pill Refiner Chen, for your guidance and support."
Being able to open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy meant having more sources of Spirit Stone income.
The apprentices of the Divine Pill Pavilion were also divided into different Ranks.
Apprentices doing odd jobs only received a fixed two Spirit Stones per month.
Apprentices who could open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy would receive a commission for each batch of Medicinal Pills successfully refined.
Take Pigu Pills, for example: for each batch of Pigu Pills successfully refined, one Spirit Stone could be earned. If one was diligent enough to refine two batches a day, that would be sixty Spirit Stones a month.
And this was just for Pigu Pills; if it were Qi Cultivation Pills, refining one batch could earn a full five Spirit Stones!
Harmonizing Qi Pills, Gathering Spirit Pills, Yellow Sprout Pills—the commissions for these Medicinal Pills were even higher!
No wonder Alchemists held a respected position in the Cultivation World.
From the moment Pill Refiner Chen allowed Li Chen to open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy independently, Li Chen knew that he could earn more Spirit Stones, and he was not far from completing the first System side quest.
Li Chen came to the Divine Pill Pavilion, chopped firewood for half a year, learned to open and warm the Pill Furnace for a month, and finally obtained the qualification to open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy independently.
Other apprentices had to chop firewood for three years alone, and open and warm the Pill Furnace for five years; they could not open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy independently without ten years of time.
If Pill Refiner Chen and Pill Refiner Ge did not give their permission, they would have to be general duty apprentices for life, never having the opportunity to engage in Alchemy.
After all, Alchemy requires costs, and even though the Divine Pill Pavilion was a large enterprise, it could not withstand apprentices wasting resources.
Li Chen was able to obtain the qualification to open the Pill Furnace and perform Alchemy within half a year, first due to Linglong Fairy's care, and second due to Pill Refiner Chen's care.
"Don't be happy yet.
"Light the fire; this old man is going to refine a batch of Yellow Sprout Pills. Watch carefully."
Li Chen suppressed his inner excitement and respectfully replied, "Yes."
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