With a rumble.
Instantly, blue flames blazed along the veins of the alchemy furnace, and even the patterns of the Four Divine Beasts on the furnace lit up.
Then, Qiao Yanyun waved his sleeves, placing the medicinal herbs into the alchemy furnace in sequence, and skillfully controlled the blue flames.
He extracted the essence from the medicinal herbs, and at the same time, put in more herbs.
Zhang Ergou stood by, quietly observing Qiao Yanyun's every move, staring intently, afraid of missing any detail.
Alchemy was not a simple process, but a long and arduous one.
After a long while, a medicinal fragrance drifted from the inner hall of the Bao Dan Pavilion.
"Condense the pill!" Qiao Yanyun grunted, then patted the alchemy furnace, and with a sudden wave of his hand, several green pills flew out of the furnace. Qiao Yanyun quickly caught them and put them into a jade bottle.
Seeing this, Zhang Ergou hurriedly stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the pills in Qiao Yanyun's hand.
"Take a look," Qiao Yanyun handed the jade bottle to Zhang Ergou.
Zhang Ergou quickly took it. The pills were crystal clear, with a hint of spiritual energy swirling around them. Taking a sniff, a rich medicinal fragrance rushed into his nostrils.
Besides these, faint patterns were visible on these pills.
"This is a Huiqi Dan, which can be used to replenish the body's consumption when spiritual energy is depleted," Qiao Yanyun pulled over a stool and sat down.
"This is the simplest pill to refine. Its grade is similar to the Ningqi Dan you refined earlier, both are Grade 1 pills. However, there are distinctions within pills. Do you see the patterns on it? Inferior quality pills usually have only one pattern, mid-grade pills have two, and top-grade pills have three."
"Do pills also have grades?" Zhang Ergou asked, confused.
"Of course. Generally, one is called an alchemist of a certain grade based on the grade of pills they can refine," Qiao Yanyun explained, stroking his beard.
"Then, Master, what grade alchemist are you now?"
"I was fortunate enough to refine a Grade 5 pill, so I can barely be called a Grade 5 alchemist," Qiao Yanyun's face showed a hint of pride.
Clearly, achieving such a feat made him very proud.
"Then what grade is the Five Beasts Coagulating Blood Pill?" Zhang Ergou suddenly asked.
Qiao Yanyun looked at him meaningfully.
"You know about the Five Beasts Coagulating Blood Pill?"
"Last time I went to the black market auction with Zilin and the others, I accidentally heard about the recipe for the Five Beasts Coagulating Blood Pill and was curious," Zhang Ergou quickly explained.
Qiao Yanyun nodded, no longer suspicious. "Although the recipe for the Five Beasts Coagulating Blood Pill is only a Grade 4 recipe, it is also the most complex recipe I have ever seen. Its refining difficulty is no less than that of a Grade 5 pill."
"Even Master cannot refine it?"
Zhang Ergou asked doubtfully.
"It's still a bit difficult for now, because refining the Five Beasts Coagulating Blood Pill requires many ingredients, and collecting the inner cores of just five high-level demonic beasts is very troublesome."
Qiao Yanyun glanced at Zhang Ergou, "It's not time for you to consider these things yet. What you need to do now is to study hard. Here is the recipe for the Huiqi Dan."
Saying this, he threw an ancient book to Zhang Ergou.
"Study it carefully, and don't be lazy!"
With that, he threw a storage ring and walked out of the inner hall of the Bao Dan Pavilion.
Zhang Ergou had no choice but to open the Huiqi Dan recipe.
Although the Huiqi Dan was the same grade as the Ningqi Dan, both being Grade 1 pills, it was much more complex than the Ningqi Dan.
After a rough look, Zhang Ergou had a general idea. Although the refining process of the Huiqi Dan was tedious, the requirement for flame control was not much different from that of the Ningqi Dan.
Zhang Ergou instantly gained confidence.
To become a qualified alchemist, just refining the Ningqi Dan was not enough. Zhang Ergou carefully reread the recipe.
Feeling that he had not missed any details, he picked up the storage ring left by Qiao Yanyun and prepared to start refining the Huiqi Dan.
With a thought, Zhang Ergou sent his spiritual fire into the alchemy furnace, and then threw several medicinal herbs into the furnace in sequence.
With the experience of refining the Ningqi Dan, Zhang Ergou did not panic at all during the refining process. He calmly followed the steps Qiao Yanyun had shown him.
His control over the flames was also quite skilled.
Then, he saw the herbs thrown into the alchemy furnace being refined for their essence, and then other herbs were added.
However, it was inevitable to lose steam during the first attempt at refining such a complex pill. In the end, Zhang Ergou lost his grip on the flame control.
Puff!
A wisp of green smoke emerged, and the entire batch of herbs was ruined. Zhang Ergou was also covered in black smoke.
Without bothering to clean his face, Zhang Ergou sat down and earnestly recalled every rhythm of his alchemy. Finally, he discovered where he had made a mistake.
Next, he sent his spiritual fire into the alchemy furnace again, and Zhang Ergou began to refine the pill again.
Puff!
Puff!
Puff!
Within an hour, Zhang Ergou had failed three times, which was quite different from his initial expectations.
The ground was littered with the ashes of burnt medicinal materials, and Zhang Ergou's body and face were also dirty and disheveled.
Fortunately, Qiao Yanyun had prepared plenty of medicinal materials for him, enough for him to use.
Despite repeated failures, Zhang Ergou did not give up. Instead, his eyes grew brighter. It was clear that his stubbornness had led him to challenge himself again with refining the Huiqi Dan.
Time flies when cultivating, and alchemy is the same.
As the morning sun streamed through the window into the Bao Dan Pavilion, Zhang Ergou had been continuously refining for nearly ten hours.
Even after so long, Zhang Ergou had not successfully refined a single Huiqi Dan. It seemed that his previous success in refining the Ningqi Dan had a significant element of luck.
At this moment, Zhang Ergou's face had become pale due to the immense exhaustion, and his mind was buzzing.
Clearly, the night's effort had not only drained him physically, but also his soul power.
Finally, Zhang Ergou could bear it no longer. He stood up unsteadily, leaning on the nearby stool, gasping for breath.
"Little fellow, you are too impatient. Blindly pursuing results is a major taboo in alchemy," Qiao Yanyun said as he walked into the inner hall.
"I underestimated this Huiqi Dan, thinking it wasn't much different from the Ningqi Dan."
A helpless smile appeared on Zhang Ergou's pale face.
"Alchemy, like cultivation, emphasizes a calm mind and clear thoughts," Qiao Yanyun said to Zhang Ergou with a stern expression. "You are too eager for success, which is your flaw. Impatience is a great taboo for an alchemist."
"Disciple understands. Disciple admits his mistake." Zhang Ergou quickly bowed.
The experiences of these past few days had indeed brought about some changes in Zhang Ergou's mindset.
He yearned to become stronger so much that he had forgotten the most basic original intention of cultivation.
"Eat this," Qiao Yanyun threw a pill to Zhang Ergou. "Rest for a while and then continue refining. If you fail again this time, I will have to consider whether I should truly accept you as my disciple!"
"Ah?" Zhang Ergou was taken aback.
He quickly popped the pill into his mouth. He did not want to miss such a great opportunity to latch onto a powerful figure.