Chapter 11: Beginning Alchemy
"How did that person know I had the Cloud Body Art?"
Fang Yuan sank into deep thought.
Only old man Li and he knew about this matter. If old man Li hadn't told anyone, how could someone else have found out...?
Several possibilities immediately came to mind.
First, someone had been watching the Treasure Hall and had noticed Li Chenggong's comings and goings.
Second, there was some method of spying or eavesdropping at play.
Third, Li Chenggong had let it slip by accident.
Fourth, Xiaobao had leaked the information, either willingly or unwillingly.
"But then again, the Cloud Body Art is only a Yellow Grade, Upper Tier technique. Anyone could simply exchange for it at the Scripture Repository — why go to the trouble of coming to me for it?"
"Unless the other party could gain something from that book beyond what a Yellow Grade, Upper Tier Cloud Body Art would offer. Could it be that the book truly does contain the complete text of a Heaven Grade Cloud Body Art hidden within it?"
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed!
The insights he had received contained not only the full Heaven Grade content, but also Completion Stage-level experiential comprehension. A mere Yellow Grade, Upper Tier technique book simply couldn't hold that much information!
His eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile spread across his face. "Interesting. If that's truly the case, then whenever I display a more advanced version of the Cloud Body Art in the future, I'll have a ready explanation for its origin."
"Come to think of it, there are far too many eyes within the sect. Any abnormal increase in my strength would be noticed. Even if I learned concealment techniques and breath-suppression arts, under the watchful eyes of the sect's many grand formations and powerful cultivators, there's still a very real chance of being discovered."
"In that case, it would actually be better for me to display 'talent' in Alchemy and Artifact Forging. That way, I can explain why my strength is rising so quickly, and it's far less likely to make anyone think of some rare treasure."
Fang Yuan reflected on his previous cultivation strategy and realized it had been far too simple and idealistic.
Even the most powerful concealment technique couldn't possibly hide a gap of more than two or three major realms, could it?
After all, Luoyun Sect was a massive, top-tier sect — Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators were hardly rare here.
With that thought, Fang Yuan took out his disciple token and sent a message to one of his friends.
Half an hour later.
At the entrance of the Cave Dwelling.
Yu Jin looked around at the Cave Dwelling's entrance with curiosity.
Fang Yuan walked out. "Senior Brother Yu, sorry to trouble you with the trip!"
"Ah, it's nothing — I was heading to the Treasure Pavilion anyway. But why do you suddenly need these herbs? They're not cheap, you know."
Yu Jin reached into his Storage Bag and produced several medicinal herbs — things like Qi-Gathering Grass and Twin-Color Flowers, the sort of materials used in alchemy.
"Well, I've recently discovered I have a bit of talent in Artifact Forging and Alchemy, so I figured I'd buy some herbs and give pill-making a try. Since you happen to be up on Qiyun Peak, I came straight to you. Give me a good price, will you?"
Fang Yuan said with a cheerful smile.
"Really?" Yu Jin's eyes went wide. "You actually know how to make pills?"
"A little, a little!" Fang Yuan laughed.
Yu Jin couldn't help but click his tongue. "Junior Brother Fang, if you're not joking, I can sell you these herbs at a discount. But if you're just experimenting, I'd suggest buying just one or two sets to practice with."
"Just tell me how many Spirit Stones these herbs cost," Fang Yuan said.
Yu Jin replied, "Five sets of Qi-Nurturing Pill materials, at a ten-percent discount — ninety Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Five sets of Qi-Gathering Pill materials — three hundred and sixty Spirit Stones. Four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones in total."
"Fine, let's settle it with Contribution Points."
Fang Yuan took out his identity token.
When 450 Contribution Points were transferred to Yu Jin's identity token, Yu Jin stared in disbelief. "Brother Fang, you're serious about this?"
Fang Yuan placed the materials into his Storage Bag. "Of course I am."
Yu Jin's eyes darted about as he said, "If you really can make pills, don't bother putting them in the Treasure Hall after you're done — just sell them directly to me! Give me a good price too!"
"Deal!" Fang Yuan said casually.
The two chatted for a short while, then parted ways.
After walking a few steps away, Yu Jin glanced back at Fang Yuan's Cave Dwelling, still unable to believe it. "When did that blockhead Fang learn alchemy? Wait — he actually had that many Contribution Points? Who's the clan disciple here, exactly?"
He replayed their conversation in his mind and suddenly remembered that Fang Yuan had mentioned having talent in both Artifact Forging and Alchemy. A dual-art talent?
"Whatever — I'll wait and see what results he comes up with!"
Yu Jin shook his head and left, stopping by the Treasure Hall on his way to exchange for a bottle of Qi-Gathering Pills for his own cultivation.
* * *
Inside the Cave Dwelling.
Fang Yuan casually set the herbs aside on a wooden rack.
He then took out seven Jade Slips and three books, preparing to decompose them.
He pressed his fingers one by one against each of the alchemy journals.
Before him appeared ten orbs of light, along with a number of materials.
He picked up one of the orbs and pressed it directly against his forehead.
A brief surge of experiential insight flooded into his mind.
It contained explanations about Qi-Gathering Pills. Fang Yuan sorted through the insights, but still found himself only half-understanding.
"Just as I suspected."
He had known all along — the massive amounts of experiential insight he had gained from each decomposition before had been a stroke of extraordinary luck.
He picked up the second orb and used it as well.
Another brief stream of memories flowed into his mind — this time, key points about an Antidote Pill.
Fang Yuan shook his head; no need to examine it closely. He moved on to the third orb.
When he absorbed this one, a vast and complex flood of memories and experience surged into his mind.
Fang Yuan was overjoyed and immediately began sorting through the insights.
An hour later, he had fully absorbed them.
Part of the insight covered ten thousand types of alchemy materials — the properties, medicinal value, toxicity, and side effects of herbs, Stone Dust, spirit water, spirit fire, and more. It was an encyclopedic inheritance of knowledge.
Another portion covered the refining methods and experiential insights for seven types of Pills, including four types suited for the Mid Qi Refining Stage — a tremendous windfall.
"At this point, I've truly become a first-tier, mid-grade Alchemist!"
Fang Yuan sighed with satisfaction, then picked up the fourth orb and absorbed it.
This one contained the refining techniques for another type of Pill.
This time, Fang Yuan could already understand some of the techniques within, deepening his grasp of alchemy by another degree.
"Not bad!"
Fang Yuan nodded, then picked up the fifth set of alchemy insights.
And so it went — all the way through the ninth set, each containing singular, isolated experiential insights.
The further along he went, the diminishing returns became more and more apparent.
Then came the tenth orb of experiential insight — and once again, a massive torrent of experience and comprehension came rushing in.
Fang Yuan absorbed it rapidly. Much of it overlapped with what he already knew, reinforcing his foundation once more.
Additionally, he gained knowledge of two thousand more types of alchemy materials, along with the refining methods for four more types of Pills.
Notably, one of them was the refining method for a Late Qi Refining Stage Pill!
"Qi-Condensing Pill! A Late Qi Refining Stage Pill!"
Fang Yuan was surprised. Though the refining experience was rough and the failure rate extremely high, there was genuine successful experience in refining the Qi-Condensing Pill contained within.
That was already quite something.
Combining the core experiential insights of two mid-grade Alchemists with the scattered insights of eight more mid-grade Alchemists, his theoretical knowledge was now more than sufficient. The time for practice had come.
Fang Yuan retrieved some failed pills and scrap material from storage and decomposed them.
Portions of medicinal powder appeared before him one by one.
Fang Yuan took out some Qi-Nurturing Herb Powder, Clear Spirit Leaf Powder, and Single-Color Flower Powder.
Then he activated the alchemy furnace.
Earth Fire surged up from beneath the furnace, quickly heating it to a red glow.
Unlike the forge in the Artifact Forging Chamber, the Earth Fire here was considerably gentler, and the temperature much lower.
Herbs, after all, didn't need such intense heat to melt.
With a flicker of his Spiritual Sense, Fang Yuan guided the Qi-Nurturing Herb Powder into the furnace.
Licked by the Earth Fire, the powder melted easily into a pool of pure medicinal liquid.
"The step of purifying impurities has been skipped again."
Fang Yuan had grown accustomed to this. He added the remaining two materials into the furnace as well.
They quickly melted into two separate medicinal liquids.
Fang Yuan then combined the three liquids together in the proportions he had learned from his insights.
Before long, they fused into a single blended medicinal liquid.
The color of the liquid gradually shifted under the heat of the Earth Fire, finally turning white.
"Pill formation!"
With a thought, Fang Yuan's Spiritual Sense surged forth, guiding the liquid to spin and condense into individual Pills.
He then formed the pill-collection hand seal.
One by one, the Pills were ejected from the furnace spout and landed on a jade tray.
Fang Yuan counted them — a full eight Pills.
He pressed a finger against one of them.
[Item]: Qi-Nurturing Pill
[Grade]: Yellow Grade, Lower Tier (Excellent upper grade)
[Effect]: Can be absorbed and refined into Spiritual Power
Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Upper grade quality, on the first try?"
First-time alchemy, and already upper grade quality — the Pill Toxin was already minimal. But it wasn't perfect supreme quality, and Fang Yuan was dissatisfied.
"Decompose!"
In a flash of golden light, the Qi-Nurturing Pill transformed into a slightly smaller white pill and a tiny black speck.
[Qi-Nurturing Pill (Supreme)] + [Pill Toxin]
After decomposition, the upper grade Qi-Nurturing Pill had become a Supreme Qi-Nurturing Pill — though at eighty percent of the standard quantity!
"Well then, that means I produced a supreme-grade pill on my very first attempt at alchemy! What extraordinary talent!" Fang Yuan burst out laughing.