novelraw Chapter 312 - 311 - Elixir Artifacts
Chapter 312 - 311 - Elixir Artifacts
Lind had resumed his human shape. It was taxing to remain in his dragon form no matter how much he trained in it. The ring did not seem to mind and they finally came to an area full of herbs preserved in many vials or soil boxes.
Many of them were familiar, if more potent, but there was a vast array he did not recognize.
"Are they set up in a particular fashion?" Their guide nodded as he picked up a jade slip at the end of the first shelf. After consulting it, he moved deeper into the herbal shelves until a familiar aura came to Lind.
Grade 4 herbs!
He looked them over and they were all incredibly rare. There was no sign of forked redleaf or velleri grass. Instead he saw things like serpentine violets which curled up from a soil box that ended in a bulb that looked a great deal like a snake's head.
He also saw a shimmering glow from the hyacinth of flames. It was also a flower but its petals were made of fire Qi. It was an incredibly useful and rare herb for fire cultivators or making pills for them.
Lind glanced at his guide but the man only smiled. Lind moved on and found a similar display of rare grade 3 and 2 herbs. Some he knew, others were mysterious to him.
He looked at Tal and confirmed some ideas before he selected a handful of some of the herbs. He did not take them all, just what he needed or what had some quantity to leave behind.
Those in soil boxes, he made sure to retrieve seeds and carefully plant them before infusing the soil with his Qi. The guide was stunned as tiny bulbs or leaves poked out of the area herbs had been removed.
"I assume there is a hall with much more common herbs? I would like to see that before we leave if that is all right?" The guide nodded as accessing a lower quality hall was perfectly fine after being granted to hall 2.
They moved on and Lind was pleasantly surprised to find beast cores. His question must have been obvious.
"Not all cores are compatible with us. Meat and bone are of more use for direct benefit but cores are only consumed if they are safe to eat." Lind understood. Just as Kora had difficulties with the darkness element, consuming a core with a conflicting element could have similar issues.
Still, he was far more unsure on those shelves of cores. He closed his eyes and imagined some concepts he had come up with. A few cores resonated and he examined them. Some he nodded and took, but others he left behind.
Compared to the herbs he barely took any cores. The lower quality ones might be more helpful to him.
The last stop was for some World Stones. He simply told the guide what he needed and 100 grade 4 and grade 5 stones were retrieved for him to experiment with.
Lind assumed he was done but the guide moved off to the artifact shelves they had passed earlier. He realized he should have told them he was a Forger but that could come later. Experimenting in grade 5 completely drained him as grade 4 used to.
As he advanced, it became far more difficult to jump grades. He would focus on elixirs first as he had far more confidence, but Forging could be improved as well later.
"I am fine on artifacts, the ring is already more than enough." He was not lying at all. He could Forge what he needed if it was necessary. The guide looked back confused.
"You already have a good elixir mixing pot and enhancers?" Lind now was the one to be confused. Mixing pot? Enhancers? Younger Twin never mentioned tools, not even once. The method he used was purely his own Qi and he taught others to work together.
"Please, show me." Lind was curious and followed their guide down an aisle that was seemingly very empty. Other shelves, despite how rare things seemed to be, were fairly full, but not this shelf.
There were strange items that were far above his ability so they walked past them without pause, but just as with the other areas, they reached a spot with a familiar aura.
Lind saw what looked like a modified pill cauldron. It was a fat pot with an open top but there were arrays embedded that opened 4 to 6 slots on the lower section. The metal was not one he was familiar with so it was hard to judge but a quick test with his elements found it absorbed fire like a sponge to produce heat!
He observed the options but unlike the other items, there were no decorations or profound emblems. They were all dark metals. He tried them out and frowned.
While they did work as intended, it felt more like an obstruction to his process.
"Master Frey, please try a mixing pot with some enhancers." Their guide pointed to half circles mounted on flat plates and tilted at 45 degrees. Lind saw there were all 6 elements in each one as he understood the theory.
Still, he tried it out right there.
A black mixing pot was set above with one of each element laid out. He started by infusing the enhancers and was pleasantly surprised. Unlike the rod mounted gatherers he had Forged, the enhancers started making a resonance that naturally pulled in the Qi they were set up for.
Lind's artifacts simply replicated a gathering array that required a sliver of his attention to manage. The enhancers seemed to only need a source to start the process and would continue so long as he was mixing an elixir.
He tried once more to make a simple Recovery Elixir but once more the mixing pot left a lot to be desired. While not having to regulate the heat was fine, the mixing of essence seemed to fight his instincts.
It was not a better process but just replicating, or rather forcing, him to try and make an elixir like a pill.
An idea suddenly took root in him.
"Do you know what metal this pot was made from?" He saw the guide shrug and then glanced at the mixing pot. It was not a bad idea and now that he had a comparison to his process he felt he could make it better.
He summoned his ores from his new ring and a melting pot. Before the guide could react, Lind began to use grade 3 ores. He felt confident he could make a prototype with those metals.
He chose some thermal metals, but he now understood what was wrong with the mixing pot in front of him. Concocting a pill was all about extracting the necessary traits from the herbs and merging it into a pill under intense pressure. The cultivator controls the process from beginning to end while the cauldron and fire artifacts assisted so the cultivator could focus on the pill.
These items followed that theory and would work for rigid thinking of elixirs working similar to pills, but they were capable of so much more!
The metals quickly became molten as he then pulled out crystal powder. It was a mixture of each element but he arranged it in the ratios his dantian currently held each element. It was a prototype, so once he proved his theory, the next step would be to make something as flexible as elixirs themselves.
The guide's eyes bulged as he understood what he was seeing. Lind had attempted elixirs right in front of him but seemed displeased with the tools, yet now the same human was Forging as well!
An elixir master and a Forger!
A large round shape began to emerge as Lind carefully manipulated the alloy and fused the crystals into a lattice. A pattern began to emerge that made the guide glance at the enhancers in recognition!
By the spirits, could it work?!
Lind was sweating as his use of Qi was very inefficient with a new item. Still, grade 3 was no challenge to his reserves and control of external Qi. The current environment was too rich so he pushed on as finally the elixir mixing pot firmed up.
It was twice the size of any pot and Lind would have trouble setting it up anywhere as it nearly came to his waist! A normal pill cauldron was almost the size of the old trick or treat buckets kids got for Halloween, while the current mixing pot was almost cartoonish in size.
Someone making a stew for an orphanage or a castle might need such a large pot, but no one would think it would be good for making elixirs. Even Lind, when using his process, made a fairly small orb of water to be the central point of his creation.
Still, it was more complex than he imagined so he had to adjust.
"Now, let's see if this works." Lind stuck to grade 3 herbs, Stones, and cores. The lattices lit up with each element and assumed an emerald sheen. It was unexpected but made sense as the resonance was exactly like the enhancers.
The water began to boil as the slots for each ingredient above its top level shed their essence far easier than ever before. Lind was exhausted but found his mixing pot saving a lot of effort for him!
His focus on the essence was much stronger and he could combine them far more perfectly than ever before. Comprehension burst like a dam as he understood something he could never control perfectly before!
The essence was chaotic but he had basically brought it to heel, but now he could guide it and make the ephemeral material more gently come together. Rather than smashing it in his proverbial hands, he was guiding it like a true master.
The pressure built up around them until the water began to shine with a light as bright as the sun! Lind's eyes instinctively had a darkness shield up as he followed the feeling. The sharp recovery of yellow leaf bushels was now merging far more with the Qi recovery of verellis root. The floating pieces were so much easier to follow now that his focus was not so divided!
The final step came and the melting pot suddenly had 6 leaves close over it. Lind released his control and 6 slots opened! It was not his usual 4, but 6!
A shimmering crimson fluid filled 6 vials set beneath the mixing pot until all were full. The waste was not only far less, but the glowing color revealed the results.
"P-peak Heaven grade 3!" The guide bowed reverently to Lind at that point. Lind finally understood how to do it. Resonance of Qi and essence! It was the key!
A sudden feeling came from his ring and a platinum badge with a "4" on it had changed at last after nearly a century. A crimson 3 appeared in the upper right corner. He had never seen such a change but the guide was wide eyed.
"An Immortal Badge of Office! It shows at a glance your primary skill and Heaven Grade skill. I have only seen a handful in my life!" The guide was jabbering but Lind wondered something from his words.
"What if I consistently make Heaven Grade elixirs?" The man pointed to the crimson 3.
"It will change from platinum into Heavenly Jade. Black for grade 1, yellow for grade 2, red for grade 3, and green for grade 4." Lind nodded slowly as he understood. He had opened a door and a new goal. He never understood the conditions for his badges to change but consistency had usually been his understanding.
Now he believed he was wrong. It was comprehension. Did he really understand what he was doing and what he had done? Those were the conditions to change the badge.
"So I am mortal peak grade 4 and now also Heaven grade 3. I want to get those ingredients and get to work." The guide nodded as Lind put his new artifacts away. He wanted to study the enhancers and work on a true elixir artifact for all to use in the future.
He felt hopeful on many fronts for the first time in decades and wanted to see if the Gold Tier can finally be his!