An Alchemist's Path to Eternity

Chapter 142: Insights from Immortal Build Residence and the Refining of the Blood-Burning Pill (II)

As Luo Chen stepped out of the Immortal Build Residence, he began doing mental calculations, his brows furrowing deeper with each step.

Ten strands of Earth Fire Fiend cost fifty spirit stones. The Heavenly Sun Fruits were relatively cheap—enough to pair with the Earth Fire Fiend only cost about ten spirit stones. One of the three main ingredients for the Blood-Burning pill, Explosive Ape Blood, was also not cheap.

He hadn't purchased it yet, but he knew the price—ten portions of Explosive Ape Blood would cost at least thirty spirit stones. Adding the cost of other supplementary materials, that would be another twenty spirit stones. Calculating everything, gathering ten portions of the main materials would cost at least hundred and ten low-grade spirit stones.

He hadn't noticed until he calculated it—the cost was absolutely sky-high! When all was said and done, just gathering enough ingredients for ten batches would cost him at least one hundred and ten low-grade spirit stones.

Not to mention other resources like manpower, materials, or even the firewood needed for alchemy, which Luo Chen hadn't factored in yet.

The Myriad Wonders pill and Jade Essence pill only cost five spirit stones each. Why is the Blood-Burning pill so expensive? Could it be because this alchemical recipe was derived by me? Luo Chen couldn't help but think about the alchemical recipe itself.

Typically, mature alchemical recipes are refined by alchemy grandmasters through countless iterations, with the main and supplementary materials meticulously chosen. This process might take decades, centuries, or even millennia of evolution.

As a result, the costs of the main and supplementary materials in such recipes are minimized.

His Blood-Burning pill recipe, however, was somewhat opportunistic. It was derived from the second-tier Blood Fiend pill through extrapolation and forced mastery using the system. The formula had yet to undergo any optimization or simplification.

"If that's the case, it means the Blood-Burning pill recipe still has room for improvement. But with my current alchemy skills, deriving a Beginner level recipe has already pushed me to the limit. How can I possibly optimize it further?"

If the production cost couldn't be reduced, the profit margin for the pill would be minimal. Even if the effects were excellent, it was still just a first-tier pill. It wouldn't work well for high-tier cultivators, and low-tier cultivators couldn't afford a high price. Naturally, the profits would remain slim.

"Forget it. Let's make it first and see.

"If the effects are mediocre and not suitable for sale, I'll just use it myself!" Luo Chen sighed and settled on this plan.

He wasn't planning to give up on making the Blood-Burning pill. After all, it was still a first-tier pill—what if it turned out to have a great market?

Moreover, refining the Blood-Burning pill would help improve his skill level, which might assist in refining the Blood Fiend pill—a case of learning by tackling a related challenge. After all, both pills originated from the same foundation.

Over the next few days, he gradually gathered the supplementary ingredients.

As for the Explosive Ape Blood, he didn't buy it himself but entrusted Duan Feng to make the purchase. The reason he had Duan Feng handle it was that it made perfect sense for him to buy such items. Explosive Ape Blood was ideal for brewing a nourishing medicinal soup, beneficial for those with depleted blood and qi. Cultivators who frequently fought in the Debate Platform often bought it to brew restorative soups.

Luo Chen had actually seen this before. Back during the duel of eighteen cultivators, Murong Qinglian had brewed tiger bone soup for Qin Liangchen. That tiger bone soup recipe was the same type of restorative medicinal soup being mentioned now. The main ingredient was different, but the principle remained the same.

With all the materials finally gathered, Luo Chen was ready to begin the refinement of the Blood-Burning pill.

He didn’t head to the Alchemy Hall this time. Instead, he chose the quiet of his own courtyard, returning to the small personal alchemy room tucked away at the side of his residence.

***

Thud!

The muffled sound of iron striking stone echoed through the small room as the Four Symbols Cauldron landed atop the fire pit.

Luo Chen frowned. His alchemy room at home was too small—housing the one zhang tall Four Symbols Cauldron made the space feel cramped.

But there was no way around it.

He couldn’t risk refining this particular pill—the Blood-Burning pill—in the Alchemy Hall at Crescent Moon Valley. Even late at night, with shadows stretched long and deep, there were still Poshan Gang night patrols that roamed the grounds. If they discovered what he was working on, it could raise questions he wasn’t ready to answer.

Therefore, he had no choice but to refine pills at home.

With no assistants, no apprentices, and no fire handlers, Luo Chen found himself once again immersed in the tedium of alchemy—something he hadn’t done alone in quite some time.

He crouched down and began feeding firewood into the pit, the dry logs crackling to life with a reluctant flame. But firewood alone wasn’t enough to heat a cauldron of this size and weight.

From time to time, he raised a hand and cast Fireball, carefully modulating its strength with spirit power. He also had to control his spirit power to ensure the fireballs weren't too powerful.

Fortunately, he was already well-versed in Flame Manipulation. His control over fire was precise, honed through countless hours at the cauldron.

As he worked, sweat forming along his brow, Luo Chen couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed.

Thankfully, I joined the Poshan Gang, he thought. If I were still working alone like before... this kind of daily alchemy would’ve drained me dry.

Nowadays, he refined pills twice a day, running three cauldrons at a time. The workload was heavier than ever before, but with the help of disciples, apprentices, and fire handlers, it was manageable.

"Next, it's time to add the supplementary ingredients," he muttered. One by one, the prepared medicinal ingredients were added into the Four Symbols Cauldron.

For those that needed to be processed on-site, he relied on his specialized alchemy technique, the Unadorned Heart, to handle the materials.

Next came the Heavenly Sun Fruit, known for its mild medicinal properties. This fruit contained a trace of innate energy—not much, but quite precious. Otherwise, the Hall of Hundred Herbs wouldn't have it for sale.

Following the Heavenly Sun Fruit was the Explosive Ape Blood. Luo Chen took out an enchanted artifact, the Swallowing Waves and Oceans Jar. This was a recent purchase; he had given his previous one to Feng Xia to store Fu Zhu Deer milk.

Surprisingly, this enchanted artifact only cost him two hundred spirit stones this time. He recalled that the Treasure Pavilion used to sell the same jar for two hundred thirty spirit stones.

Sikong Shoujia hadn't lied—enchanted artifact prices really were dropping.

As he opened the jar's mouth, a pungent, fishy smell wafted out. This ingredient didn't need any processing—it was meant to be used as is.

Luo Chen carefully measured the quantity of demon blood until he had enough for a batch of Blood-Burning pills, then put away the jar.

After adding the Explosive Ape Blood, Luo Chen paused to focus on controlling the heat. Occasionally, he used the Traction to open the cauldron lid and stirred the melting medicinal liquid inside with a specialized spatula.

According to his derived formula, the Blood-Burning pill should avoid excessive contact with the alchemist's spirit power during the refining process. Otherwise, it would affect the pill's purity.

The only necessary contact would be at the final stage when shaping the pill liquid into pellets using alchemical techniques and spirit power.

The simmering and stirring went on for a long time. Luo Chen even started to doze off.

Of course, he wouldn't let himself fully drift off.

He even started to consider how to schedule this time frame if he were to mass-produce Blood-Burning pills.

Fire handlers to control the heat would definitely be necessary. I could also specifically train a group of apprentices to oversee the different stages of medicinal liquid changes during the alchemy process.

Perhaps it wasn't just the Blood-Burning pill—there was a stage in the Jade Essence pill refinement that consumed much of his effort. Maybe this approach could be applied there as well?

These thoughts flashed through his mind. Luo Chen shifted his focus back on refining the pills.

After another incense stick's worth of time, he felt it was about right.

Luo Chen took out the honeycomb-shaped floating rock. The rock hovered above the Four Symbols Cauldron as Luo Chen extended one hand, spirit power flowing from his palm. As he formed seals with one hand, strands of spirit power intertwined like bees and burrowed into the honeycomb.

After breaking through the barrier set by the Ai Lao Mountain cultivators, Luo Chen's spirit power moved like bees gathering pollen, carefully enveloping a wisp of Earth Fire Fiend energy and gently guiding it out.

The Earth Fire Fiend energy entered the cauldron, and Luo Chen abruptly withdrew his spirit power.

The cauldron lid slammed shut in an instant. Almost immediately, the Four Symbols Cauldron began to tremble slightly.

"The gentle medicinal liquid undergoes a special transformation upon contact with the Earth Fire Fiend energy. Its overall attributes will instantly shift toward a more violent nature," he murmured.

"Moreover, the spirit power within the Explosive Ape Blood and Heavenly Sun Fruit will explode under the stimulation of the Earth Fire Fiend energy and then fuse with each other."

The formula he had derived naturally accounted for potential changes during the refinement process. It could be said that Luo Chen was the person who understood the Blood-Burning pill recipe best in this world. Even if another grandmaster alchemist were to try, they wouldn't know it better than he did.

Suddenly!

The trembling Four Symbols Cauldron abruptly stilled, becoming as quiet as before.

Luo Chen's mind focused sharply—this was the final moment of pill formation. He released his spirit power, letting it seep into the cauldron along the formation lines etched into its surface.

After roughly five breaths, Luo Chen eagerly opened the cauldron lid.

A burnt and acrid smell immediately wafted out.

"Did it fail? I'm used to it. It's my first attempt, just the Beginner level of proficiency. Failure is perfectly normal..."

Prepared for failure, Luo Chen froze when he saw five blood-red pills, each the size of a peanut, at the bottom of the cauldron.

"It hadn't failed!

"It was a complete success!"