Battle Through the Heavens: The Alchemist Starting from the Ye Family

Page 74

After making sure he had a clear understanding of everything above, Ye Chen checked his Star Ring and his medicinal herb reserves. He found that he was still missing two main medicinal herbs. Helpless, he could only go to the Pill Tower's herb storehouse again to prepare a dozen more sets of materials, and then go into seclusion. He would not come out of seclusion until he succeeded!

Because it is a seventh-grade pill, the medicinal materials required are naturally much more precious, so even with Ye Chen's status, he still needs to report to his teacher.

He also wanted to tell his teacher about his cultivation progress and then ask about the precautions for refining seventh-grade pills...

As someone with an eighth-grade alchemist as a teacher, one should naturally make full use of this opportunity that others would kill for, and maximize one's advantages.

Chapter 167 Attempting the Seventh Grade

Arriving at Xuan Kongzi's office once again, I saw the same unchanging scene, and my teacher seemed to be very relaxed, still cleaning the spotless bookshelves.

Well, Ye Chen himself was well aware that at Xuan Kongzi's current level, making progress was no longer something that could be achieved through secluded cultivation.

Perhaps when the opportunity arises, he can break through even while sleeping; but if the opportunity doesn't arise, even if he secludes himself in seclusion until death, he still won't be able to break through.

This is why many people who have reached this level of cultivation often remain unchanged for decades or even centuries.

"Teacher!" Ye Chen bowed respectfully.

Upon seeing his carefully chosen disciple, Xuan Kongzi was naturally delighted. He glanced at Ye Chen and said with a smile, "You've broken through? Not bad, not bad. It seems you have quite a talent for cultivating battle qi."

Ye Chen chuckled and said modestly, "It's alright, but not as good as the teacher said."

"Ha ha……"

Seeing his disciple's expression, Xuan Kongzi laughed and pointed at him lightly before saying, "Speak, what do you want to see your master this time, kid?"

Clearly, after spending this time together, Xuan Kongzi had gained a good understanding of his disciple and knew that this kid was a cultivation fanatic who would never come to him unless there was something wrong.

Ye Chen rubbed his nose, and without any hesitation, said, "This disciple is preparing to begin refining seventh-grade pills, so I would like to ask my teacher for some guidance and hear his teachings..."

Xuan Kongzi paused, turned his head in surprise to look at Ye Chen, and said, "You're preparing to try a seventh-grade pill now? How confident are you?"

According to Xuan Kongzi's idea, at least a year should pass before this is done.

After all, his disciple was too young, only sixteen years old. How long could it take for him to become a sixth-grade alchemist?

The advancement from the sixth to the seventh rank is a significant leap for an alchemist, and therefore requires substantial accumulation of knowledge and experience.

Ye Chen thought for a moment, and to be honest, he wasn't very confident.

"Hmm... I'd say I'm about 30% sure..."

Although Ye Chen tried his best to downplay the situation, Xuan Kongzi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Thirty percent? You're really being modest..."

Xuan Kongzi looked at his disciple and said irritably, "Do you know that even many of those who have truly advanced to the seventh-grade beginner level alchemist level wouldn't dare to say they have such a high success rate in pill production!"

This left Ye Chen helpless; his success rate in refining pills was at least 70%...

In his view, a success rate of 30% was already very low.

Xuan Kongzi pondered for a moment, then said, "However, since you have such confidence, it's worth a try. How about this, I'll go with you in a bit and guide you from the side. Then you can try refining it. Even if you fail, it won't matter. It will still benefit you in your future advancement to a seventh-grade alchemist."

Xuan Kongzi's words immediately delighted Ye Chen, who quickly clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, teacher!"

There's no way around it, that's the advantage of having a great teacher. They can offer guidance at any time and impart invaluable experience in alchemy.

Especially for a peak eighth-grade alchemist like Xuan Kongzi, even a few casual words can greatly benefit Ye Chen.

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Inside the special alchemy room of the Pill Tower, since it was Ye Chen's first attempt at refining a seventh-grade pill, Xuan Kongzi brought him directly to the special alchemy room inside the Pill Tower to prevent accidents such as a furnace explosion...

Here, even the noise caused by refining a high-grade seventh-rank pill will have virtually no impact.

"Have all the medicinal herbs been prepared?" Xuan Kongzi asked his disciple softly.

Ye Chen nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and his expression became solemn.

"Alright, let's get started..."

As soon as Xuan Kongzi finished speaking, Ye Chen immediately released his Star Cauldron.

However, the moment Xuan Kongzi saw the silver, star-studded cauldron, he was completely shocked...

"This...this is..."

Although he couldn't determine which medicine cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking it was, Xuan Kongzi could clearly sense the terrifying energy contained within the cauldron in front of him.

"That kid really is lucky..."

Xuan Kongzi quickly calmed down, because he remembered what his ancestor had told him, that Ye Chen had received the inheritance of a terrifyingly powerful expert.

Now it seems that the powerful figure was likely also an alchemist, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to possess such a terrifying medicine cauldron.

"I was originally planning to prepare a high-grade medicine cauldron as a gift for this kid, but I didn't expect him to produce such a medicine cauldron so quietly, and it's even better than the medicine cauldron I have as his teacher!"

In this way, he, as the teacher, can relax and doesn't have to worry about his disciples not having good medicine cauldrons.

Ye Chen naturally had no idea what Xuan Kongzi was thinking, and he had no intention of hiding the fact that he had received the inheritance, which is why he took out the Star Cauldron directly.

He took out a box one meter long and wide from his storage ring. Inside were piles of jade boxes, which, when opened, were filled with precious high-grade medicinal herbs.

These were all medicinal herbs that Xuan Kongzi had given him to practice with. Their value was so high that even the Ye family would probably have to spend a lot of money to get them.

And now, it's all because of a single sentence from his teacher...

Ye Chen once again experienced the benefits of being affiliated with a top-tier power.

The rest of the process was straightforward, but Ye Chen clearly felt the increased difficulty when refining the medicinal herbs.

Clearly, the medicinal materials used in seventh-grade pills are of a higher grade than those used in sixth-grade pills, and the refining process is also much more difficult.

However, this was still within expectations, and Ye Chen's Starfire was no pushover either; its temperature even surpassed that of the lower-ranked Strange Flames on the Strange Flame Ranking...

However, the greatest difficulty in refining seventh-grade pill ingredients lies not only in this, but also in the addition of countless types of ingredients.

If most sixth-grade pills consist of four or five main ingredients plus several auxiliary ingredients, then seventh-grade pills simply double that number.

The more medicinal materials needed, the more terrifying the difficulty of refining them becomes, and the difficulty increases exponentially towards the end.

The reason for this lies in the energy expenditure of alchemists...

This consumption refers not only to battle qi, but also to the alchemist's soul power and mental strength. These are all comprehensive considerations for an alchemist. It is definitely not as simple as just having high soul power to become a seventh-grade alchemist!

Chapter 168 Exploding Core

With everything ready, Ye Chen let out a deep breath.

He glanced at the sparks that had been churning in the medicine cauldron for a long time, then waved his right hand. Immediately, one of the many medicinal herbs in the surrounding jade boxes flew out and resolutely threw itself into the medicine cauldron.

As soon as the medicinal herb entered the cauldron, it withered rapidly under the terrifying temperature of the silver starfire. Then, under Ye Chen's powerful soul control, it burned for a full two hours before being refined into a pure medicinal liquid. Finally, with a thought from Ye Chen, it gently floated in the corner of the cauldron...

The series of movements were fluid and smooth, clearly the result of years of experience in alchemy. Xuan Kongzi, who was standing nearby, nodded slightly, very satisfied with his disciple's performance.

Moreover, the sparks possessed by his disciple were extraordinary, as they were able to successfully refine the Golden Sun Fruit within two hours!

Ye Chen extracted the first batch of pure medicinal liquid at top speed. His expression remained unchanged as he waved his hands repeatedly, sending one medicinal herb after another into the cauldron...

Although to outsiders this process may seem monotonous and tedious, for those who practice alchemy, their minds are at their peak at this point, and they are completely isolated from the outside world.

Time passes minute by minute...

Before I knew it, a whole day had passed.

Finally, after successfully extracting all the medicinal herbs, Ye Chen, who had been focused all along, was finally able to relax.

"How do you feel?" Xuan Kongzi asked with a smile from the side.

Ye Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Well, purely from the perspective of refining medicinal herbs, although it is more difficult than refining a sixth-grade pill, it is still within my tolerance..."

Xuan Kongzi nodded slightly, and said with some emotion, "Yes. But this is also thanks to your uniquely advantageous conditions..."

His disciple not only possessed a powerful soul, but also an incredibly powerful flame. Leaving aside the control over the soul and the flame itself, what Xuan Kongzi found most incomprehensible was that his disciple's flame, known as "Starfire," not only rivaled the temperature of certain exotic flames, but also consumed far less energy than many high-level beast fires…

This doesn't seem reasonable at all!

The stronger the flames, the more terrifying the battle energy required to unleash them—this is a consensus across the entire continent.

However, Ye Chen broke this rule. Not only was the flame temperature high enough, but the energy consumption was only about one-tenth of that of a flame of the same level. This gave him a huge innate advantage when refining high-level pills.

"Although you have easily passed the stage of refining medicinal herbs, the real test is yet to come!" Xuan Kongzi withdrew his remark and reminded him with a serious expression.

"The energy of a seventh-grade pill is too immense, so one must be extremely careful when combining them. One must find the compatibility points of all the medicinal materials, and then use one's soul power as a guide to let them fuse autonomously..."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, pondering his teacher's words in his heart.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Thinking about it is no substitute for trying it yourself. With your master here, you can do as you please." Xuan Kongzi chuckled and said softly.

Just as he said, only by doing it yourself can you truly understand the key tricks; otherwise, you can't figure it out just by imagining it.

Ye Chen agreed with what he said, anyway

I still have several portions of medicinal herbs here, so even if I fail once or twice, it's not a big deal.

Of course, unless you're a super-rich tycoon with top-tier backing, it's best not to try this approach lightly. Otherwise, after a few failures, you'll have no choice but to declare bankruptcy...

Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen closed his eyes again, and then his powerful soul force surged into the medicine cauldron, enveloping all the refined medicinal essence.

Recalling the order of ingredient fusion recorded in the Instant Qi Pill formula, Ye Chen immediately began his first ingredient fusion...

Enveloped in transparent soul power, a green and a purple liquid began to slowly approach, then made contact, and finally the soul power enveloping them merged into one.

The moment the barrier between the two liquids disappeared, the expected fusion did not occur. Instead, both liquids frantically released their energy, almost bursting Ye Chen's soul barrier...

This scene made Ye Chen's heart race instantly, and he had to exert all his strength to control it so that they wouldn't break free.

Knowing he couldn't force it, Ye Chen could only control the two to slowly approach each other again, and wisps of silver flames passed through the soul barrier and began to envelop the two clumps of medicinal liquid and burn.

And so, through repeated attempts to fuse them, the two clumps of liquid finally began to combine...

"call……"

With a sigh of relief, Ye Chen was finally able to relax.

Once the fusion began, the rest was a natural progression. Under the heat of the sparks, the two clumps of liquid fused together smoothly.

Having learned from his first experience, Ye Chen became much more adept at the process, continuously blending in clusters of medicinal liquid, which grew larger and larger...

Everything seemed to be going very smoothly, and Ye Chen unconsciously increased his speed a little.

But this small change instantly triggered a chain reaction!

The previously quiet fusion formation suddenly began to erupt, with various energies rapidly intertwining. Energy continuously broke through Ye Chen's soul seal, striking the cauldron wall and producing a series of muffled sounds.

Ye Chen frowned, and then even more soul power surged out, trying to control everything...

But this was completely useless.

boom!

A loud bang blasted out Ye Chen's soul power, leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented...

Although the feeling quickly disappeared, there was nothing that could be done about the pills inside the cauldron.

Looking at the black exhaust gas coming out of the vent, Ye Chen shook his head helplessly, and could only admit the failure of this alchemy attempt.

"What? Your core exploded?" Xuan Kongzi smiled broadly, as if this was all expected.

This is indeed the case.

When Ye Chen successfully fused all the clumps of medicinal liquid together, he thought that his disciple was about to succeed.

But when he saw the sudden change in the fusion rhythm, he knew the final outcome.

Seeing Ye Chen's silence, Xuan Kongzi was afraid of discouraging the young man, so he immediately comforted him, "It's alright, one failure is nothing. The important thing is what you gained from it. Do you remember what I told you? Pay attention to your pace, don't rush..."

Chapter 169 I wish you a lifetime of loneliness

The alchemy process continued, and Ye Chen repeated the previous steps once again.

Perhaps influenced by the previous explosion of the pill, Ye Chen failed to extract two medicinal herbs in a row, which made him frown.

However, the impact is not significant...

Using his soul force, Ye Chen expelled the discarded medicinal dregs from the cauldron. He took a deep breath, cleared his mind, and focused intently.

The process went much more smoothly afterward, and Ye Chen rediscovered that smooth, effortless feeling he had before, quickly completing the refining of all the medicinal herbs.

During the subsequent pill-combining process, Ye Chen maintained his previous pace, moving at a steady and unhurried manner, and completed it smoothly...