323: Fusion Pills

Jiang Donghua no longer delayed. With a flip of his palm, a Medicine Cauldron, ancient in design, dark red all over, and engraved with profound flame patterns, appeared in the center of the platform.

The Medicine Cauldron landed, emitting a dull hum, clearly indicating its extraordinary quality.

He sat cross-legged in front of the cauldron, his eyes slightly closed. Powerful Soul Power spread out like a tide, precisely sensing the unique energy and properties contained within the dozens of medicinal ingredients suspended beside him.

The process of refining the yuan-shaping creation pill was extremely complex, demanding the utmost control over the soul and the temperature of the flame; any slight error could lead to failure.

"First, starting with the gentlest, ice-attributed medicinal ingredients that require long-term extraction..."

With a thought, Jiang Donghua flicked his finger, and a wisp of deep blue flame leaped from his fingertip, injecting itself into the Medicine Cauldron.

This was the strongest flame he currently possessed, a Beast Fire obtained from a sixth-tier fire-attributed magical beast. Although its power was considerable, using it to refine a seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill, especially for ingredients that were extremely potent or required extremely high temperatures to melt, felt somewhat insufficient.

He cautiously controlled the temperature of the flame and placed the first main ingredient, the Ice Spirit Fruit, into the cauldron.

The deep blue flame gently wrapped around the fruit, which was emitting bone-chilling coldness, and began slowly refining and extracting its essence.

This was a slow, meticulous process that could not be rushed.

Jiang Donghua was completely focused. His Soul Power split into countless fine threads, precisely regulating every minute change in the flame and sensing the subtle reactions of the medicinal ingredients within the fire.

Time quietly slipped away during the silent refinement.

At the edge of the platform, Xiao Zhen and his grandson, Xiao Han, were initially able to watch with full concentration.

However, the refining process was far from the earth-shattering spectacle they had imagined; it was mostly tedious waiting and Jiang Donghua's statue-like stillness.

After several hours, Xiao Han started to get restless, looking around and yawning constantly.

Although Xiao Zhen had deep self-control, watching Jiang Donghua maintain the same posture for over a dozen hours, only occasionally adjusting the flame, he couldn't help but feel a hint of boredom.

For non-Alchemists like them, this was truly an ordeal.

However, Elder Qiu, standing in a slightly closer position, was completely different from them!

This high-tier Sixth-Rank Alchemist was currently like a child who had discovered a peerless treasure. His eyes were wide and round, staring unblinkingly at Jiang Donghua's every subtle movement, even deliberately softening his breathing, afraid of disturbing him.

His face occasionally showed realization, sometimes he frowned in deep thought, and other times he trembled with excitement due to one of Jiang Donghua's exquisite flame control techniques!

In Elder Qiu's eyes, every detail of Jiang Donghua's seemingly ordinary refining process contained the supreme truth of alchemy!

The precise control of the flame using Soul Power, the profound understanding of the characteristics of different medicinal ingredients, and the grasp of heating timing all left him amazed and greatly benefited!

He wished he could grab a notebook and record everything before his eyes!

To him, these two days and two nights did not feel long at all; instead, he felt time was passing too quickly!

Just like that, Jiang Donghua, with undivided attention, fed the ingredients into the Medicine Cauldron one after another, cautiously refining and purifying them.

From the Ice Spirit Fruit to the Azure Spirit Vine, and then to the various auxiliary ingredients, his movements were fluid and carried a unique aesthetic beauty.

Above the platform, there was no other sound except for the subtle crackling of the flame burning inside the Medicine Cauldron and the strange hum emitted when the essence of the ingredients merged.

In the blink of an eye, two days and two nights had passed.

The sky above remained clear and cloudless, with no sign of Pill Lightning gathering.

The refinement of seventh-grade pills was far from an overnight success, especially for high-tier pills; the mere refining and merging of the ingredients required a long period of time.

Xiao Zhen looked at the young figure in the center of the platform, who remained as steady as a boulder, and sensed the aura of focus, confidence, and unfathomable depth emanating from him. He couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion once more.

He had lived for over a hundred years and had seen countless geniuses, but someone like Jiang Donghua, possessing such terrifying strength, profound alchemy skills, and a mountain-like temperament at such a young age, was simply unheard of!

"This child is definitely no ordinary person!"

Xiao Zhen praised him silently in his heart.

"Given time, his name is bound to resound throughout the entire Central Region!"

He increasingly felt that the Xiao Family's investment, made regardless of the cost, was absolutely the correct choice!

In the center of the platform, Jiang Donghua had completed the initial refining and purification of all the medicinal ingredients.

Next came the most crucial and dangerous step in the entire pill refinement process: merging the essences!

It was by no means easy to perfectly merge these dozens of medicinal liquids, which possessed different attributes—some violent, some gentle—to form a stable and harmonious rudimentary pill.

This required the Alchemist to possess extremely powerful Soul Power for incredibly precise micro-control, like dancing on the tip of a knife. A slight mistake could, at best, lead to medicinal properties clashing and the liquids being ruined, or, at worst, energy imbalance causing a violent explosion, with unimaginable consequences!

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath, his gaze becoming unprecedentedly solemn.

His powerful Spirit Realm Soul Power was driven to its limit, acting like countless invisible threads, precisely manipulating every drop of medicinal liquid, cautiously guiding them to slowly make contact, test, and merge according to the complex sequence and proportions recorded in the yuan-shaping creation pill Pill Formula.

This process was terrifyingly draining on Soul Power.

Jiang Donghua had to maintain the highest level of concentration at all times, sensing the minutest energy changes between the medicinal liquids, like a supremely skilled conductor leading a grand symphony composed of dozens of different instruments, where a single wrong note could cause the entire piece to collapse.

Time quietly slipped away once more under Jiang Donghua's complete control.

One day, two days... At the edge of the platform, Elder Qiu watched, not daring to breathe loudly, his forehead and the tip of his nose covered in fine beads of sweat.

As a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, he deeply understood the danger of this essence merging process!

He personally saw that when several medicinal liquids merged, the energy fluctuations were violent, almost reaching the verge of losing control. His heart was in his throat, but Jiang Donghua was always able to rely on his miraculous Soul control, smoothing the violent energy and redirecting it back onto the correct path in a way he couldn't fully comprehend, right at the critical moment.

"Too dangerous, too exquisite! This Soul control is simply unbelievable!"

Elder Qiu cried out internally, his admiration for Jiang Donghua having reached its peak.

He felt as if he were observing a master-level work of art, where every minute and every second was filled with shock and enlightenment.

Finally, after another two full days were spent, the dozens of medicinal liquids inside the Medicine Cauldron, which were originally colorful and distinctly separated, perfectly merged together, forming a fist-sized, viscous liquid that was chaotic in color but emitted dense vitality and majestic energy!

The essence merging was successful!

Having reached this stage, the prototype of the pill was formed. Next was the relatively stable pill nurturing phase, which required long-term warming with a gentle flame to allow the medicinal properties to fully settle and solidify, culminating in the final pill.

Only now did Jiang Donghua slowly let out a breath, his previously taut spirit relaxing slightly.

The difficulty of refining this seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill far exceeded his expectations.

However, an indescribable sense of accomplishment and enlightenment surged within his heart.

"I didn't expect that on my first attempt to refine a seventh grade high-tier medicinal pill, although the process was perilous, I actually managed to reach the pill nurturing stage step by step without any major mistakes!"

Jiang Donghua mused silently, gaining a new understanding of his Soul control capabilities.

While this was certainly due to the powerful foundation of his Spirit Realm Soul, it was also inseparable from his consistent, steady cultivation and the tempering gained from numerous challenges against higher levels.

"No wonder they say that between seventh-grade pills and an Eighth Grade Pill, it seems like only one rank difference, but in reality, the gap is vast!"

He recalled the records about the Eighth Grade Pill in his inherited memory—these required invoking the power of heaven and earth to bestow spirituality upon the pill. Their difficulty and profoundness were far beyond that of seventh-grade pills.

But regardless, if he could successfully refine the yuan-shaping creation pill this time, it would be a huge leap for him!

This marked his official entry into the hall of high-tier Alchemists!

He gathered his focus, not daring to slacken in the slightest, and continued to maintain a stable flame, beginning the final warming and nurturing of the medicinal liquid within the cauldron, which contained infinite vitality.

Next, he only needed to wait for the medicinal efficacy to reach perfection, for the pill to form, and for the lightning to arrive!