novelraw Chapter 31 – Begin alchemy
Chapter 31 – Begin alchemy
Qin Yu realized he had underestimated the art of alchemy.
Watching Jiao Xiaoxiao's demonstration seemed so effortless, but when Qin Yu tried it himself, he discovered the difficulty was far greater than he had imagined.
In this world, there were no measuring tools; achieving the right temperature relied solely on experience and intuition.
Qin Yu guessed that even the 500 degrees mentioned in the alchemy recipe was merely an alchemist's rough estimate.
If the temperature was too low, he would input more spiritual energy; if too high, he would input less.
He could only use this method to experiment repeatedly.
Qin Yu gradually increased the amount of spiritual energy input, and once the temperature stabilized, he placed two Bull Tendon Flowers into the furnace again.
"The temperature is still too low!"
Controlling the amount of spiritual energy input was extremely difficult.
Qin Yu had cultivated too quickly before, and although he had plenty of spiritual energy within him, he didn't know how to use it effectively.
Whenever he encountered something, he would use all his spiritual energy at once, depleting it quickly.
This method was extremely inefficient.
Now, as he began alchemy, Qin Yu's shortcomings in this area were thoroughly exposed.
Alchemy required extremely precise control over an alchemist's spiritual energy, as even the slightest deviation could affect the quality of the elixir or result in failure.
This ability to control spiritual energy depended on the alchemist's mental power.
Mental power is a mysterious force that not only helps cultivators better control their internal spiritual energy but also allows them to perceive the outside world more clearly.
Some powerful beings can even sense every flower and tree around them with their mental power, even with their eyes closed!
...
"Lower the temperature a bit!"
"Lower it a bit more!"
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down Qin Yu's forehead, soaking his clothes completely.
Even though the weather was already cool, the continuous roasting of the furnace raised the surrounding temperature to forty or fifty degrees!
If Qin Yu hadn't reached the second level of Qi Refinement, he might have already fainted from heatstroke.
Even for a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refinement, staying in such high temperatures for a long time was still uncomfortable.
But Qin Yu was fully focused on sensing the flames within the alchemy furnace, completely forgetting the scorching sensation on his skin.
Unconsciously, Qin Yu entered a mysterious state.
He could clearly feel the rise and fall of the flames in the furnace, sensing every tiny change in the Bull Tendon Flowers inside.
Qin Yu's mental power was at work, gradually growing stronger.
‘Lower it a bit more, just a little more!’
Qin Yu exerted all his effort to control the last bit of spiritual energy within him, gradually altering the temperature in the furnace.
"Now!"
Qin Yu quickly tossed the two Bull Tendon Flowers into the furnace.
This time, the Bull Tendon Flowers didn't ignite instantly, nor did their petals curl up; instead, they spread naturally, as if they were blooming.
The flowers emitted wisps of white mist, which was the moisture being expelled from the Bull Tendon Flowers.
"Success!"
Qin Yu no longer had the strength to control the furnace and collapsed onto the ground.
It was only then he realized the sun was already hanging in the southern sky—it was noon.
And the spiritual energy within Qin Yu was completely depleted, not a drop left.
His head felt dizzy, a result of excessive mental power consumption.
Without the support of spiritual energy, the Bull Tendon Flowers in the furnace fell to the bottom, losing their value for alchemy.
Qin Yu wiped the sweat from his face and counted the materials, realizing this was his fifteenth attempt.
"I have the 'Fire Fan Boy' D-grade alchemy talent, and it took me fifteen tries to succeed. I can't imagine how many attempts those without talent would need!"
He had bought thirty sets of materials, and fifteen Bull Tendon Flowers had already been wasted.
However, Qin Yu didn't feel distressed; it was all worth it.
The benefit of enhancing his mental power alone was worth more than any contribution points.
Qin Yu first took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then began practicing the Xuantian Technique to restore his spiritual energy.
After about fifteen minutes of cultivation practice, Qin Yu's spiritual energy was fully restored, even slightly more than it had been in the morning.
‘It seems alchemy can indeed increase cultivation, though I'm not sure about the speed!’
Qin Yu opened his personal panel.
[Name: Qin Yu]
[Talent: Mid-Grade Spiritual Root (C-Rank), Fire Fan Boy (D-Rank)]
[Progress: 2% (Note: When progress reaches 100%, you will gain an opportunity to copy a talent!)]
Since the progress bar didn't display numbers beyond the decimal point, Qin Yu couldn't determine the exact increase.
But he estimated that a night's cultivation practice should increase progress by about 1.5%.
This half-day of alchemy should have increased it by 0.5%, meaning if he spent the whole day on alchemy, it could grow by 1%, which is about 0.5% slower than pure cultivation practice.
But the benefits of alchemy far outweighed that 0.5%.
‘Alchemy is indeed the right choice.’
Although his spiritual energy was replenished, Qin Yu still felt very tired.
‘I need to rest for a while!’
Qin Yu rubbed his head and fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed.
Sleep is the fastest way to recover mental power.
After about half an hour, Qin Yu woke up, feeling refreshed and full of energy.
After washing his face, Qin Yu continued with alchemy.
This time, he succeeded in refining the Bull Tendon Flowers after only two attempts.
"Next, lower the temperature to 300 degrees, crush the Broken Bone Tree Leaves, and add them to the furnace to mix with the Bull Tendon Flowers."
With previous experience, Qin Yu had a better understanding of the furnace's temperature.
But this time, Qin Yu encountered a new problem: how to fuse the Bull Tendon Flowers and Broken Bone Tree Leaves together.
Qin Yu carefully recalled the techniques Jiao Xiaoxiao had explained.
‘Under high-temperature combustion, use spiritual energy to gradually compress the Bull Tendon Flowers and Broken Bone Tree Leaves, blending them thoroughly, achieving a state where you are in me, and I am in you.’
Qin Yu imagined his spiritual energy as a pair of large hands, continuously kneading the two spiritual herbs.
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At first, Qin Yu found it difficult, having to control the furnace temperature while simultaneously manipulating the two herbs. This multitasking was very challenging for him.
But gradually, Qin Yu found the technique.
Through repeated failures, Qin Yu became increasingly proficient in controlling spiritual energy.
After the thirteenth failed attempt, Qin Yu finally...
Finally used up all the Bull Tendon Flowers.