3: Yidan is amazing

The Shen Family's Alchemy room was filled with the lingering, acrid scent of burnt herbs all year round.

This was the place where the Family's finances were tightest, and it was also a major consumer of Spirit Stone.

When Shen Yuanmo stepped into the Alchemy room, he saw a scene of utter chaos.

Black, charred medicinal dregs were scattered across the floor, and the walls of several bronze Pill Furnace were covered in cracks left behind after explosions.

A thin, white-haired old man was crouching on the ground, carefully cleaning up a batch of recently ruined Materials, his face full of heartache and dejection.

His name was Shen Qifa, the Shen Qifa of the Family and the only First-Grade Alchemist in the Shen Family, belonging to the Qi generation.

"Shen Qifa." Shen Yuanmo spoke up.

Hearing the movement, Shen Qifa hurriedly stood up, dusted off his hands, and bowed. "Young Lord, why have you come here? This place is filthy; be careful not to let the fumes affect you."

There was a hint of nervousness and shame on his face.

As the Family's Alchemist, he had failed repeatedly, wasting the already scarce resources, which made him feel ashamed to face the heir of the Family.

"It is fine." Shen Yuanmo's gaze swept over the pile of black medicinal dregs at his feet.

"Is it qi gathering powder again?"

"Sigh." Shen Qifa let out a long sigh, his old face flushing red.

"I am incompetent. This is already the fifth batch that has failed this month. The Spirit Stone in the treasury were already scarce, and now they have been squandered by an old good-for-nothing like me..."

qi gathering powder was only a First-Rank High Grade Medicinal Pill, the most commonly used auxiliary Medicinal Pill for Cultivators in the Late Stage of the Qi Refinement Stage.

Logically speaking, with Shen Qifa's decades of experience, even if the success rate was not high, he should not have been experiencing frequent furnace explosions.

Shen Yuanmo walked over to a table where a yellowed animal skin Pill Formula was spread out—it was the formula for "qi gathering powder."

He took only one look.

[Insight into Origin]

[Perfect Deduction]

Both abilities activated instantly.

The thirty-six types of Materials recorded on the Pill Formula, along with the complex pharmacological reactions between them, were dismantled, analyzed, and reorganized in his mind.

Within a few breaths, a brand-new Pill Formula had taken shape.

So, the problem lay here.

This standard Pill Formula passed down from the Immortal Dynasty inherently contained a trap that was difficult to detect.

There was a minute error in the ratio of three of the auxiliary medicinal ingredients.

During the process, this error would cause the medicinal liquid to become extremely unstable at a specific point in time, placing extremely high demands on the Alchemist's Divine Sense control and mastery of heat.

The slightest carelessness would result in a furnace explosion.

This was another knowledge barrier set up by high-rank powers.

They wanted lower-level Cultivators to waste a large amount of time and money on these most basic Medicinal Pill, slowing down their cultivation speed.

"Shen Qifa, when you are refining, do you always feel your spiritual power lose control at the very moment the medicinal liquid is about to form, just as you add the main ingredient, Blood Coagulation Grass?" Shen Yuanmo asked calmly.

Shen Qifa's body jolted, and he looked up at Shen Yuanmo sharply.

"Young Lord, you... how did you know?"

This was exactly the point he could never figure out! Every failure occurred at the final moment; just as the pill was about to form, the medicinal liquid inside the furnace would suddenly erupt, wasting all previous efforts.

This had been a thorn in his side for decades of Alchemy, one he had never spoken of to anyone.

"I might have a way to solve it." Shen Yuanmo pointed to three medicinal ingredients on the Pill Formula.

"Atractylodes, Poria, and Licorice—reduce the amount of these three ingredients by half."

"What?" Shen Qifa almost thought he had misheard.

"Young Lord, absolutely not! These three ingredients are used to neutralize the medicinal properties. If reduced by half, the medicinal power will become violent, and the Pill Furnace will definitely explode on the spot!"

This was common knowledge in Alchemy, an ironclad rule carved into his bones.

A twenty-one-year-old youth, even if he was the Young Lord of the Family, no matter how high his cultivation was, how could he dare to question a Pill Formula that had been passed down for thousands of years?

"Not only that." Shen Yuanmo continued.

"The order of refining must also be changed. Put the main ingredient, Blood Coagulation Grass, into the Pill Furnace last."

"Nonsense!" Shen Qifa finally could not hold back, his face flushing red.

"Young Lord, I respect you as the Young Lord, but in the Dao of Alchemy, a slight deviation leads to a great error; how can you be so reckless! Putting the main ingredient in last, this... this is simply an unheard-of fallacy! It violates the fundamental principles of the Dao of Alchemy!"

He was emotionally agitated; this was a challenge to the profession he had dedicated his life to.

Shen Yuanmo did not argue with him but simply asked another question: "Shen Qifa, how many sets of Materials for qi gathering powder do we have left?"

Shen Qifa was stunned, his Aura weakening, and he replied dejectedly: "There are only three sets left... The treasury cannot afford any more Spirit Stone to go to the market and purchase more."

"Then use one set to try my method." Shen Yuanmo's tone allowed no room for refusal.

"If it fails, I will bear all the losses myself. If it succeeds, the Family's predicament might be resolved."

He looked into Shen Qifa's eyes and spoke, word by word.

"Shen Qifa, trust me this once."

Shen Qifa looked at the youth before him.

On that young face, there was not a hint of joking, only a composure and confidence that made it impossible to doubt him.

He remembered the military order the youth had signed in the council hall yesterday.

He remembered the precarious situation of the Family.

That's right, things had come to this point, what else was there that couldn't be tried?

The worst outcome would just be one more failure.

"Alright!" Shen Qifa gritted his teeth, as if having made a huge decision.

"I will accompany you in this madness today, Young Lord! If the furnace explodes, I will discard my old face and take the blame for you!"

He walked back to the Pill Furnace, took a deep breath, and began to process the Materials.

But this time, every step he took followed Shen Yuanmo's instructions.

Atractylodes reduced by half.

Poria reduced by half.

Licorice reduced by half.

Opening the furnace, preheating, adding auxiliary ingredients.

Shen Qifa's heart was in his throat, his Divine Sense locked tightly onto the changes inside the Pill Furnace.

Time passed bit by bit. A quarter of an hour. Two quarters of an hour.

Inside the Pill Furnace, everything remained stable as usual, with no signs of the medicinal power becoming violent.

"How could this be..." Shen Qifa muttered to himself.

This completely overturned his decades of knowledge.

"Shen Qifa, increase the heat by thirty percent, prepare to add the main ingredient." Shen Yuanmo's voice rang out from the side.

"Now?" Shen Qifa was shocked again.

"No, the medicinal liquid hasn't fully undergone Fusion yet; increasing the heat now will burn away the medicinal properties!"

"Do as I say."

Shen Qifa's palms were covered in sweat, but he still did as instructed.

He channeled his magic power, and the flames at the bottom of the furnace shot up violently.

Inside the Pill Furnace, the semi-finished medicinal liquid began to churn violently.

Now!

A sharp glint flashed in Shen Yuanmo's eyes.

"Add the Blood Coagulation Grass!"

Shen Qifa tossed the last main ingredient into the Pill Furnace.

Hum— The Pill Furnace emitted a soft chime.

The anticipated violence and loss of control did not occur.

As the Blood Coagulation Grass fell into the medicinal liquid, it was as if a drop of water had merged into boiling oil, being decomposed and undergoing Fusion.

A rich, thick medicinal fragrance suddenly wafted out from the gaps in the Pill Furnace!

"This... this is..." Smelling this medicinal fragrance, Shen Qifa was completely stunned.

He had been practicing Alchemy his whole life, yet he had never smelled such a pure, such a mellow medicinal fragrance!

"Focus your mind, collect the pill!" Shen Yuanmo shouted in a low voice.

Shen Qifa jolted, hurriedly casting the pill collection technique.

A moment later, the furnace fire extinguished.

With trembling hands, he opened the furnace lid.

In an instant, the room was filled with the fragrance of the Medicinal Pill.

At the bottom of the Pill Furnace lay twelve Medicinal Pill, each the size of a dragon's eye.

Each one was round and plump, light cyan in color throughout, with strange pill patterns circling the surface, as if naturally formed.

High Grade? No!

This is... Top Grade!

Success rate, one hundred percent!

Quality, twelve pills, all Top Grade!

Shen Qifa reached out, wanting to pick one up, but his hand was shaking so violently that he couldn't pick it up after trying several times.

He simply knelt on the ground, brought his face close to the Pill Furnace, and stared fixedly at the Medicinal Pill, as if looking at a miracle.

"Divine... truly divine..."

He picked up a Top Grade qi gathering powder, and just by smelling it, he felt that his magic power, which had been stagnant for many years, showed signs of loosening.

This medicinal effect was at least three times that of ordinary qi gathering powder! No, even five times!

He turned around abruptly and looked at the youth standing with his hands behind his back.

His gaze shifted from shock to horror, and finally transformed into a near-fanatical worship.

Thump.

This old man who had passed the age of sixty, the Shen Qifa of the Shen Family, actually prostrated himself directly before Shen Yuanmo, performing a grand kowtow.

"Young Lord... no! I, Shen Qifa, pay my respects to the Grandmaster of the Dao of Alchemy!"

Shen Yuanmo helped him up.

"Shen Qifa, you and I are both of the Shen Family; there is no need for this."

"It is only right, it is only right!" Shen Qifa stood up, still incoherent with excitement.

"Young Lord, this Alchemy technique of yours is truly turning decay into magic! With this Top Grade qi gathering powder, our Shen Family is saved! Let us quickly take them to the market to sell; each one can sell for at least fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stone!"

Shen Yuanmo, however, shook his head.

"Shen Qifa, we cannot sell these Medicinal Pill in the name of the Shen Family."

The ecstasy on Shen Qifa's face froze.

"Why?"