20: Chapter 20 Alchemy

Lu Chen did not wait until the next day.

After Sun Qian left, he sat on the bed, staring at the moonlight by the doorway for a long time.

The wind blew in, carrying the unique herbal scent of the Pharmacy, mixed with the heat of the earthly fire, circling the room before leaving again.

He reached into his robe and felt for that porcelain bottle.

Four qi gathering pills.

Four pills remained.

"I won't wait."

He poured one out into his palm.

The Medicinal Pill was small, pale cyan, with a thin layer of light on its surface.

Su Qing said this was something only an Inner Sect Disciple of the Danding Sect could use, and she had paid a great price to obtain five of them.

Lu Chen did not know what price she had paid.

He did not care either.

He put the Medicinal Pill in his mouth and bit it open.

Just like before, the moment the Medicinal Pill entered his throat, a surge of heat rushed out from his stomach and poured into his Dantian.

But this time it was different—the previous heat had been dispersed, like a basin of water splashed on the ground, flowing everywhere.

This time, the heat was concentrated, like a red-hot iron rod, stabbing straight into his Dantian.

His Dantian shuddered.

It was not the slight tremor from before, but a violent vibration, as if someone were beating a drum inside his stomach.

The speed at which the Spiritual Qi poured in was three times faster than before.

The walls of his Dantian were stretched so thin that he could feel the Spiritual Qi flowing on the other side, like water flowing under a layer of ice, ready to break through at any moment.

"Come again."

He poured out another qi gathering pill and swallowed it.

The second surge of heat rushed in and collided with the first.

The two streams of Spiritual Qi collided within his Dantian, emitting a muffled sound that shook his entire body.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth, braced his hands on the bed board, and dug his fingernails into the wood.

The Spiritual Qi churned in his Dantian like boiling water, bubbling over.

He tried to guide the Spiritual Qi into his Meridians, but there was too much, and he simply couldn't control it.

They found their own way, surging out from the Dantian and spreading along his Meridians to his limbs.

Wrists, elbows, shoulders—these already opened Meridians were stretched even wider by the Spiritual Qi.

So wide that he could feel his Meridian walls being torn; it wasn't pain, but an itch, like the itch when a wound heals.

He endured it, not scratching.

The third pill.

His Dantian was full.

Not ninety-nine percent, but one hundred percent.

There was no space left at all.

But Spiritual Qi was still pouring in.

It was like continuing to pour water into a cup that was already full, the water overflowing and running down the sides of the cup.

But the Dantian had no walls—after the Spiritual Qi overflowed, it didn't flow away, but stuck to the outside of the Dantian walls, wrapping around layer by layer.

The Dantian began to expand.

It wasn't "growing," but "stretching."

Like a balloon being inflated, its surface pulled so tight that one could see what was inside.

Lu Chen looked down at his stomach.

He couldn't see anything.

But he could feel it—his Dantian was growing.

Bit by bit, slowly, as if something was growing inside.

The fourth pill.

The last one.

Lu Chen put the qi gathering pill in his mouth and bit it open without hesitation.

The fourth surge of heat rushed in.

This was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The Dantian walls were stretched to their limit.

Then—

It cracked.

It wasn't pain.

It was relief.

Like a rope that had been taut for a long time suddenly snapping.

After the rope snapped, it didn't fall to the ground, but sprang back, coiling into a ball.

The Spiritual Qi in the Dantian didn't "pour into" a new space—that new space didn't exist at all.

It was the Dantian itself that had grown larger, so large that the original Spiritual Qi only occupied less than half of it.

Lu Chen opened his eyes.

It was not yet dawn.

Moonlight leaked in through the cracks in the window paper, drawing a thin white line on the ground.

He looked down at his hands.

The pale golden light was gone.

It hadn't disappeared; it had changed—from pale gold to deep gold, as if someone had plated a layer of gold foil under his skin.

He clenched his fist.

His strength was more than double what it had been.

"Qi Refining Level 3."

When Lu Chen said this sentence, his voice was very flat, without excitement, without agitation.

It was as if he were saying "The weather is nice today" or "The medicinal herbs are dried."

But he knew what this meant.

Qi Refining Level 3.

Six levels away from Qi Refining Level 9.

Seven levels away from Foundation Establishment.

Sixteen levels away from Golden Core.

The road was still very long.

But he had taken a step forward.

Lu Chen stood up, walked to the table, and set down the porcelain bottle.

Then he looked down at the black thread on his left wrist.

The thread was still there.

Wrapped three times, tied with two knots.

He stared at the black thread for three seconds.

The memories about Qin Wu in his mind—

Were still there.

They hadn't disappeared.

When his kinship was lost, it was only after breaking through to Qi Refining Stage 2.

Friendship, it should also be lost after a Breakthrough.

"Not lost yet."

But he didn't know when it would be lost.

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe the next time it cracks.

Lu Chen tightened the black thread and turned to push open the door.

Dawn was approaching.

The eastern sky was turning a fish-belly white, the stars hadn't completely faded, hanging sparsely in the sky.

Lights were already on in the direction of the Pharmacy.

Old Zhou was there.

Lu Chen crossed the courtyard and pushed open the door to the Pharmacy.

Old Zhou sat before the Pill Furnace, holding a cattail leaf fan, fanning it rhythmically.

Hearing the door sound, he raised his head and glanced at Lu Chen.

Then his expression changed.

"Qi Refining Level 3?"

"Mm."

"When?"

"Just now."

"Four qi gathering pills?"

"Four."

Old Zhou was silent for a few seconds, put down the cattail leaf fan, stood up, walked to Lu Chen, and stared at him for a long time.

"You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy."

"Charging with four qi gathering pills at once, your Meridians will snap."

"They didn't."

"That was just your luck."

"It wasn't luck," Lu Chen said. "It's the Grey Spirit Root. The Meridians of a Grey Spirit Root are wider than an ordinary person's and can withstand it."

Old Zhou opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't.

He turned around, walked to the cabinet, took out a porcelain bottle, and placed it on the table.

"Three peiyuan pills. To nourish yourself. Don't do Alchemy today, rest for a day."

"No need," Lu Chen said. "I'm participating in the Outer Sect Alchemy examination today."

Old Zhou's hand paused.

He turned around and looked at Lu Chen.

"You, today?"

"Yes."

"You're only at Qi Refining Level 3. The Outer Sect examination requires at least Qi Refining Level 3 to register, but you just broke through, your Spiritual Power is unstable, and Alchemy is prone to failure."

"It won't fail."

"How do you know?"

Lu Chen didn't answer.

He pulled a jade token from his robe—the one Elder Zhou had given him. It was the registration certificate for the Outer Sect examination, which she had asked Su Qing to deliver the day before yesterday.

"Elder Zhou has already registered me."

Old Zhou looked at the jade token and was silent for a long time.

"Do you know the content of the examination?"

"I do," Lu Chen said. "Three items—Alchemy, Cultivation, and understanding of the Dao of pills."

"What is the Alchemy test?"

"Refining a batch of Foundation Establishment Materials. Not real Foundation Establishment pills, but a simplified version of the Foundation Establishment pill, called 'small foundation establishment pill'. Three herbs—polygonatum, Ganoderma, and fleeceflower root. The ratio is three to two to one. One incense stick of time."

"Have you refined small foundation establishment pills before?"

"No."

"Then on what basis do you think you won't fail?"

Lu Chen put the jade token back into his robe, walked to the Pill Furnace, squatted down, and placed his palm against the furnace wall.

The furnace wall was warm.

The earthly fire hadn't been lit yet.

"Because I can feel it," Lu Chen said. "The Grey Spirit Root can feel the temperature changes inside the Pill Furnace. Where the fire is too big, where it is too small, where to add herbs, where to reduce the fire—I can feel it all."

Old Zhou looked at him, his gaze complex.

"This is your first time refining small foundation establishment pills."

"Yes."

"If you fail, you have to wait until next year."

"It won't fail."

Lu Chen stood up, walked to the herb cabinet, and opened a drawer.

polygonatum, Ganoderma, fleeceflower root.

He took one portion of each.

He weighed them. Three qian of polygonatum, two qian of Ganoderma, one qian of fleeceflower root.

The ratio was three to two to one, not a fraction more, not a fraction less.

He placed the herbs on the stone platform next to the Pill Furnace, then squatted down and placed his palm against the furnace wall.

Spiritual power poured in.

The earthly fire ignited.

A cyan-white flame danced in the furnace chamber, waves of heat hitting his face, scorching his skin until it hurt.

Lu Chen did not pull his hand back.

He closed his eyes, feeling the temperature inside the furnace chamber.

The fire was alive.

It didn't burn evenly; some places were hot, some places were cold.

The bottom of the furnace was the hottest, the furnace wall was next, and the furnace lid was the coldest.

In hot places the herbs would scorch, in cold places the herbs would not dissolve.

"I need to distribute the fire evenly."

He divided his spiritual power into three streams: one to press the furnace bottom, one to press the furnace wall, and one to pull the furnace lid.

The temperature at the furnace bottom dropped.

The temperature at the furnace wall stabilized.

The temperature at the furnace lid rose.

The temperature throughout the furnace chamber became uniform.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and poured the polygonatum into the furnace.

polygonatum required high heat to dissolve.

He withdrew a bit of spiritual power from the furnace bottom, the fire grew larger, and the temperature rose.

The polygonatum tumbled in the furnace, its surface beginning to melt, turning into a brown liquid.

Half an incense stick later, the polygonatum had completely dissolved.

Lu Chen poured in the Ganoderma.

Ganoderma required medium heat.

He increased the spiritual power to the furnace wall, the fire grew smaller, and the temperature dropped.

The Ganoderma powder slowly dissolved in the brown liquid, the color changing from brown to dark brown.

Another half an incense stick passed.

The Ganoderma had completely dissolved.

Lu Chen poured in the fleeceflower root.

Fleeceflower root required low heat.

He withdrew most of the spiritual power from the furnace lid, the fire became very small, and the temperature dropped to the lowest point.

The fleeceflower root powder slowly dispersed in the dark brown liquid, the color changing from dark brown to black.

One incense stick of time had passed.

Lu Chen withdrew his spiritual power.

The fire went out.

He opened the furnace lid.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

A wave of medicinal fragrance rushed out of the furnace. It wasn't the sweetness of the peiyuan pill, but a more complex scent—bitter yet sweet, sweet yet astringent, like something indefinable.

Old Zhou walked over and glanced into the furnace.

Then he froze.

A single Medicinal Pill lay at the bottom of the furnace.

It was black and round, with a thin layer of light on its surface. The light wasn't white, but a faint gold, just like the gold beneath Lu Chen's skin.

"It's done." Old Zhou's voice was a bit tight. "Quality—top-grade."

Lu Chen used tongs to lift the Medicinal Pill out of the furnace and placed it in his palm.

It was very small.

Even smaller than he had imagined.

Only about the size of a fingernail.

But it was heavy.

Holding it in his hand felt like holding a piece of iron.

"Is this a small foundation establishment pill?"

"Yes," Old Zhou said. "If a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator takes it, it can boost their spiritual power for a short time. If a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator takes it, it can replenish their spiritual power. If a Golden Core Stage Cultivator takes it—it's useless."

Lu Chen placed the Medicinal Pill back onto the stone platform.

"When does the examination begin?"

"Sishi," Old Zhou said. "There's still one shichen left."

"That's enough."

Lu Chen sat cross-legged, pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes, poured out the last three peiyuan pills, and swallowed them one by one.

Spiritual Qi flooded into his Dantian.

It wasn't much.

But it was enough to stabilize his current state.

The Spiritual Qi in his Dantian rotated slowly, circle after circle, neither hurried nor slow. After his Breakthrough, his Dantian was nearly half empty and needed to be refilled.

"I'll refill it after the examination is over."

He closed his eyes and began Qi Channeling.

Spiritual Qi flooded into his Dantian.

It wasn't a lot.

But it was steady.

Old Zhou stood nearby, watching him without making a sound.

The Pharmacy was very quiet.

Only the earth fire burned gently in the furnace chamber, emitting a faint humming sound.

Sishi.

Lu Chen stood at the entrance of the Outer Sect Examination Hall.

The hall wasn't large, built with blue bricks and grey tiles. A plaque hung over the lintel—'Danxin Hall.'

A dozen or so people were already standing at the entrance.

They were all Outer Sect Disciples, ranging in age from fifteen or sixteen to their thirties. Some were speaking in low voices, some were closing their eyes to rest their minds, and some were repeatedly checking the Materials in their hands.

When Lu Chen walked in, some people glanced at him, while others didn't.

But one person's gaze pricked him like a needle.

Sun Qian.

He stood on the steps of the hall entrance, holding a ledger containing the examination list.

"Lu Chen." Sun Qian called out his name; his voice wasn't loud, but everyone at the hall entrance heard it.

"Grey Spirit Root. Qi Refining Level 3. Outer Sect Laborer."

Someone in the crowd whispered something.

Lu Chen didn't hear it clearly, but he saw people smiling.

It wasn't a loud laugh, but the kind of smile where the corners of the mouth twitch and then are quickly retracted.

"Present," Lu Chen said.

Sun Qian made a checkmark in the ledger and looked up at him.

"Your examination station is in the third row, the first one on the left."

Lu Chen walked inside.

The hall was very large, with twenty Pill Furnaces set up. Beside each furnace was a stone platform with Materials laid out—one portion each of polygonatum, Lingzhi, and polygonum.

He walked to his station, crouched down, and pressed his palm against the furnace wall.

The furnace wall was cold.

The earth fire hadn't been turned on yet.

The examination hadn't started.

He closed his eyes and waited.

The person at the adjacent station glanced at him and then looked away.

"Silence."

The voice came from the front of the hall.

A white-haired old man stood on the stone platform at the front, wearing a dark green robe. Three jade pendants hung from his waist—one carved with 'Danding,' one with 'Elder,' and one with 'Chief Examiner.'

"The Outer Sect Alchemy examination begins now. You have the time it takes for one incense stick to burn to refine a small foundation establishment pill. A quality of low-grade or higher is a pass. Those who fail may try again next year."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the entire field.

"Begin."

The earth fire flared up.

Twenty Pill Furnaces hummed simultaneously, and a wave of heat rolled through the hall.

Lu Chen pressed his palm against the furnace wall, and spiritual power flooded in.

The fire ignited.

It was bluish-white.

He split his spiritual power into three streams—one to suppress the bottom of the furnace, one to suppress the furnace walls, and one to pull the furnace lid. The temperature at the bottom dropped, the temperature of the walls stabilized, and the temperature of the lid rose, making the heat inside the entire furnace chamber uniform.

It was just like his practice this morning.

But not exactly the same.

This furnace was larger than the one in the Pharmacy, the chamber was deeper, and the fire distribution was different. The Pharmacy's furnace was an old one where the fire leaned to the left, making the left wall hotter than the right. This furnace was new, and the fire was right in the center, but the lid's seal wasn't good, allowing heat to escape through the gaps.

Lu Chen increased the spiritual power at the lid to compensate for the escaping heat.

Then he poured the polygonatum into the furnace.

polygonatum required high heat. He withdrew the spiritual power from the bottom, causing the fire to grow and the temperature to rise.

The polygonatum tumbled inside the furnace, its surface beginning to melt.

Everything was going smoothly.

But Lu Chen felt something slightly off.

The polygonatum was melting too quickly.

Abnormally fast.

"Is the fire too strong?"

He tried to increase the spiritual power at the bottom to suppress the fire a bit.

But the fire didn't shrink.

Instead, it grew even stronger.

Lu Chen's fingers curled slightly.

"Someone is tampering with my furnace."

This wasn't a natural heat fluctuation; someone was injecting spiritual power into his furnace. The spiritual power was entering from the base of the furnace and mixing with the earth fire, making it impossible to distinguish between the two.

Lu Chen didn't look up.

He couldn't let anyone see that he had noticed.

He increased the spiritual power at the furnace walls, dividing the chamber into two zones—a low-temperature upper zone and a high-temperature lower zone.

The polygonatum melted in the lower zone.

The Lingzhi and polygonum needed to be dissolved in the upper zone.

He poured the Lingzhi in.

The Lingzhi powder fell into the upper zone, was enveloped by the lower temperature, and slowly dissolved.

Normal.

But Lu Chen knew this was only temporary.

If that person continued to inject spiritual power into his furnace, the fire would grow larger and larger until it spiraled out of control. The Medicinal Pill would scorch, and the examination would end in failure.

"I need to find the source."

He closed his eyes, sensing the direction of that external spiritual power.

It was coming from the bottom.

But it wasn't coming from the earth fire; it was entering through the furnace's base.

"Someone is beneath the Examination Hall."

Lu Chen didn't move.

He split his spiritual power into four streams—one to continue controlling the fire, one to protect the furnace chamber, one to travel down the furnace wall to find the source of that external spiritual power.

When the fourth stream reached the bottom of the furnace, it slammed into a wall.

It wasn't a physical wall, but a spiritual power barrier.

Someone had used spiritual power to seal off the bottom of the furnace.

The external spiritual power was seeping in from the other side of the barrier, mixing with the earth fire.

Lu Chen's spiritual power struck the barrier and was bounced back.

"I can't break through."

The barrier was stronger than him.

At least Qi Refining Level 5.

Lu Chen opened his eyes and glanced at the furnace chamber.

The fire was still burning.

The polygonatum had already melted completely, and the Lingzhi was almost finished as well.

He hadn't added the polygonum yet.

He hesitated for a second.

Then he poured the polygonum in.

polygonum required a low temperature. He withdrew most of the spiritual power from the furnace lid, the fire shrank, and the temperature dropped.

But the external spiritual power was still seeping in.

The fire flickered between small and large repeatedly, as if someone were wrestling with him.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth and merged the four streams of spiritual power into one, pressing it all into the bottom of the furnace.

He wasn't trying to smash that wall.

He was trying to envelop it.

His spiritual power acted like water, rushing in from all sides to surround the barrier. The barrier struggled, but Lu Chen's spiritual power was vast—though his Qi Refining Level 3 spiritual power wasn't as high in quality as Level 5, the quantity wasn't much different.

Once the barrier was enveloped, the external spiritual power could no longer enter.

The fire stabilized.

Lu Chen dissolved the polygonum.

The black liquid and the dark brown liquid mixed together, the color shifting from dark brown to pure black.

The incense stick finished burning.

He withdrew his spiritual power.

The fire went out.

The hall fell silent.

Lu Chen opened the furnace lid.

A black Medicinal Pill lay at the bottom of the furnace, its surface covered in a thin layer of golden light.

It wasn't faint gold, but a deep gold.

Just like the color beneath his skin.

He lifted it out and placed it on the stone platform.

The person at the adjacent station leaned over to look, then quickly pulled back.

"It's done."

The white-haired old man walked down from the front of the hall, checking the pills one by one.

When he reached Lu Chen, he stopped.

He picked up the pill, held it in his palm, and examined it.

He then held it under his nose and sniffed it.

Then he looked up and stared at Lu Chen.

"Grey Spirit Root. Qi Refining Level 3. Outer Sect Laborer," the old man listed each point. "Participating in the examination for the first time, and you've refined a top-grade quality small foundation establishment pill."

He placed the pill back on the stone platform.

"Pass."

Lu Chen didn't say anything.

He looked down at his own hands.

The deep golden light flickered beneath his skin, as if it were smiling.

"Next," the old man said.

Lu Chen stood up and turned to walk out.

As he passed Sun Qian, he stopped and gave him a look.

Sun Qian's face was expressionless.

But his fingers were trembling.

Lu Chen said nothing.

He walked out of the Examination Hall, stood at the entrance, and looked up at the sky.

The sky was very blue.

The clouds were very white.

The wind blew from the mountains, carrying the scent of medicine.

"Qi Refining Level 3."

"Outer Sect Examination passed."

"Official Disciple."

He looked down at the black line on his left wrist.

The line was still there.

Qin Wu's memories were still there.

But Lu Chen knew this was only temporary.

Friendship would be lost.

It was only a matter of time.

Before then, he needed to move forward.

Keep going.

Until the very end.