This pile of dregs was the product of a failed concoction. Only when he started to concoct the medicinal ingredients did Xiao Chen realize that even if he was talented and possessed a supreme alchemy inheritance, it did not mean that he could immediately become a true alchemist. This profession was indeed not something that just anyone could handle.
Every pharmacist was fed with countless elixirs. After thousands of practices, they could be proficient in their heart and act freely.
Under this cauldron was Superior Grade Charcoal. Xiao Chen carefully fiddled with the charcoal under the cauldron. The berserk flame would inadvertently turn the herbs into ashes. Xiao Chen did not know how many times he had failed. Fortunately, Xiao Chen's strong perception was like a network attached to the flame. He could feel the berserk factor within the flame.
Whenever these violent factors gathered together and were about to erupt, the soul perception would follow like a shadow and separate them, so that the flame would always remain docile.
After Xiao Chen finished refining the first Herb, he squinted his eyes and delved into his mind, verifying the Medicinal Recipe once more.
"One Bone-Strengthening Grass, one Vigor Fruit, two Living Blood Flowers, Heavenly Star Grass …"
At this moment, Xiao Chen was concocting a Bone Strengthening Powder from the Medicine Treasury that could be used by those in the Bone Tempering Realm. This was only an elementary medicine. If Xiao Chen was able to successfully refine this medicine, then he would not be far from becoming an elementary Apothecary.
According to the memory in his mind, after once again confirming the number of herbs, Xiao Chen observed the flame through the furnace, and his soul perception tightly suppressed the violent flame.
Putting the Vigor Fruit into the furnace, with the previous experience of refining the Bone-Strengthening Grass, this time, Xiao Chen was not as flustered as before.
The verdant fruit, even if it had a hard shell, only lasted for a moment under the high temperature. The shell gradually began to melt and fall off, revealing the dark yellow flesh inside.
Not long after, the Vigor Fruit was also refined by Xiao Chen, the rookie pharmacist. The essence of the herbs turned into powder and was put into a specially made wooden box by Xiao Chen.
In the dim stone room, the flame constantly jumped under the furnace, which reflected on Xiao Chen's pale face, making him look a bit weird.
After sitting in front of the cauldron for four consecutive hours, Xiao Chen circulated his Battle Qi with all his might and transformed it into the jadeite's energy. At the same time, he had to use his mental energy to sense the state of the herbs in the cauldron. This caused Xiao Chen's physical strength to be rapidly consumed. His body was already showing signs of exhaustion. After cleaning the cauldron, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged on the ground and assumed a cultivation posture. He put all his effort into recovering his Battle Qi.
After more than two hours of recuperation, the originally dried up meridians in Xiao Chen's body glowed with light once again. Furthermore, he discovered that the flow of Battle Qi seemed to have become even smoother at this moment.
He slowly stretched his body, dispelling the feeling of powerlessness in his body. His bones even made a series of popping sounds.
Xiao Chen spat out a mouthful of turbid air and straightened his back. Then, he started to refine medicine once again.
These days, Xiao Chen had been completely immersed in the ocean of medicine. The medicine that drove numerous people crazy seemed to carry endless magic power. He would not give up until he succeeded.
Practice makes perfect. After two successes, Xiao Chen became very attentive. The berserk flame became like an obedient baby in his hands, hiding its berserk nature. The next few herbs very smoothly contributed their essence. They either turned into crystalline powder and lay in a wooden box, or they turned into liquid and stored in a porcelain bottle.
Looking at the powders in the wooden box, Xiao Chen knew that the next step was the most important one, namely, to integrate the essences of various herbs. That was to turn the rotten into the miraculous.
The last step was the finishing touch for a journey of a hundred li!
After taking a deep breath and suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xiao Chen once again put the pink liquid in the porcelain vase into the cauldron. He lowered the temperature of the charcoal and slowly baked it, causing it to boil.
His right hand quickly added the light yellow powder of the Bone-Strengthening Grass into the cauldron. The moment the yellow powder entered the cauldron, it immediately melted into the pink liquid and disappeared.
He then put another powder into the cauldron, but something unexpected happened. The powder and the pink liquid seemed to be two poles of a magnetic field; they repelled each other and could not merge together.
Staring at the two ingredients, Xiao Chen was so anxious that his forehead was covered in sweat. After a while, there was no result. He tried his best to recall the memories from the alchemy inheritance, and not long after, he finally understood the root of the problem.
Just like the melting point of each material, the fire resistance of each ingredient was different as well. Two ingredients needed to find the critical point in order to perfectly fuse them together. This was the moment when the soul's perception would truly show its power, and this was why alchemists were so rare.
With a weak soul perception, one simply couldn't find the best time to fuse the ingredients. All of his previous efforts were futile and wasted the ingredients.
After finding the root of the problem, the next step was much easier. He tried his best to control the flame's temperature while experimenting with the optimal critical point.
Just as Xiao Chen was in a fluster, there was an old man and a young man playing around amidst the bustling crowd of the tribe. The strange thing was, no matter how crowded the crowd was, whenever someone walked past the two of them, they would involuntarily change their direction and walk to the side involuntarily.
At this moment, the two seemed to be attracted by the surging flow of people. They tossed their initial unhappiness to the back of their minds. As they looked at the Ancient Origin Clansmen with their chests puffed out and faces brimming with confidence, the young man's original opinion of Xiao Chen started to waver.
Unknowingly, the two arrived near Xiao Chen's chief's mansion. As the chief of the tribe, there were two armored soldiers standing in front of Xiao Chen's residence. They stared straight ahead and motionlessly watched the passersby.
At this time, the old man suddenly stopped and took a few deep breaths, causing the young man to be very surprised.
A moment later, the old man opened his mouth and said: "Bone Strengthening Grass, Vitality Fruit, Vitality Flower, and there should be a Heavenly Star Grass. Someone should be refining the Bone Strengthening Powder, but there is no Heavenly Star Grass in it."
The old man was a great alchemist, so he was very familiar with the medicinal pills used by martial cultivators. He had memorized the recipes for the Bone Tempering Realm several decades ago.
"Elder Hu, are you right?
Is there a great alchemist in this place? "
The young man's first reaction was to not believe the old man's words. An alchemist was not something that could be found easily on the continent, let alone in such a remote place.
In the stone house, after Xiao Chen eliminated several dangers, all the medicinal ingredients had finally fused together. Under the high temperature, impurities were constantly calcined and turned into smoke.
When no more impurities were calcined, the medicinal ingredients had turned into several soybean-sized pills. However, these pills were of different sizes and shapes, and they were also black in color.
At this moment, there was a sudden change in the furnace. Several pills suddenly exploded and turned into nothingness.
Looking at the three black pills left in the furnace, Xiao Chen wanted to cry but had no tears. Fortunately, there were still three pills left, so he was somewhat comforted.
Just as Xiao Chen put away the pills, a voice came from outside. "Reporting to the chief, someone from another tribe has come to see you."