44: Chapter 44 Technological Barriers, Starting the Refining Process

In less than half a day, a tripod Pill Furnace, more than half a person tall, made entirely of bronze with an archaic design, was secretly transported back to the manor.

Along with it came the mountain of various low-year Materials that Gu Yan had purchased at the market last time and scoured from the Wang Family treasury.

The news that the Old Ancestor of the Gu Family was going to open the furnace for Alchemy did not spread.

In the eyes of the servants in the manor, the Old Ancestor had just offended the Town Mayors Office recently and was feeling vexed, so he bought this "big incense burner" back to burn incense and calm his mind.

Gu Yan did not explain.

He placed the bronze Pill Furnace in the quietest room that had been cleared out long ago.

And he ordered that without his permission, no one was to come within half a step of this place.

Inside the secret room, the light was dim.

Gu Yan sat cross-legged in front of the Pill Furnace, with more than a dozen processed Materials neatly laid out in front of him.

Green Wood Vine, Dew-Condensing Grass, Snake Saliva Fruit...

These were all the basic Materials needed to refine the lowest level, most common, and most in-demand Medicinal Pill in the Cultivator world—the Qi Gathering Powder.

Qi Gathering Powder, as the name suggests, had the sole function of helping Cultivators at the Qi Refining Early Stage to gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi faster and improve their Cultivation speed.

In Luoyun Town, this kind of unranked Medicinal Pill was a highly sought-after hard currency.

Its market was almost monopolized by the "Hundred Herbs Hall" opened by the Town Mayors Office.

A single Low Grade Qi Gathering Powder, which was of the worst quality and full of pill toxins, could sell for the sky-high price of three Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

And this was the Breakthrough point that Gu Yan had selected to break Town Mayor Zhao Hong's commercial barrier!

Gu Yan took a deep breath.

Although he possessed a massive amount of instinct-like theoretical knowledge in his mind, when he opened the furnace for the first time by himself, he was still somewhat cautious.

He stretched out his hand, and a ball of orange-red flame rose out of thin air in his palm.

Blazing Fire Art!

This Yellow Grade Medium Grade fire-attribute Cultivation Technique was simply perfect for controlling fire for Alchemy!

He flicked his finger, and the flame obediently flew into the furnace chamber of the Pill Furnace, burning fiercely.

The temperature of the Pill Furnace began to rise rapidly.

Gu Yan closed his eyes. In his mind, all the information about Qi Gathering Powder in the Basics of Alchemy floated clearly like flowing water.

[Qi Gathering Powder, First Grade Low-quality Medicinal Pill. Main ingredient: Hundred-year Green Wood Vine. Secondary ingredients: three qian of Dew-Condensing Grass, one Snake Saliva Fruit...]

[Refining key points: Fire divided into three stages. Mild fire for purification, intense fire for Fusion, and finally alternating between mild and intense fire to nourish and solidify the pill...]

[Notes: Dew-Condensing Grass has cold properties; it must be added when the furnace temperature reaches its peak to instantly stimulate its medicinal properties...]

Every step, the characteristics of every Medicinal Material, and every detail that needed attention were so clear, as if he had repeated it thousands of times!

The time had come!

Gu Yan opened his eyes abruptly!

He no longer hesitated, grabbed the already processed Green Wood Vine beside him, and precisely threw it into the Pill Furnace!

*Sss*—

Under the high temperature, the Green Wood Vine quickly withered, charred, and turned into a pool of emerald green medicinal liquid.

Gu Yan's expression was focused to the extreme.

His hands, like butterflies flitting through flowers, continuously cast one profound Cultivation Technique after another.

Purification!

Under his precise control, the Impurities in the Green Wood Vine liquid were forced out bit by bit from the slag discharge port at the bottom of the furnace, turning into plumes of foul-smelling black smoke.

And the medicinal liquid inside the furnace became purer and more crystal clear.

Next was the second ingredient, Dew-Condensing Grass!

The third, Snake Saliva Fruit!

...

One by one, the Materials were added to the Pill Furnace in an orderly manner under his perfect timing control.

The entire Alchemy process was smooth and flowing, filled with a certain indescribable rhythm, like a Great Master of the Dao of Alchemy who had been immersed in this path for decades, performing a perfect art show!

[Hehe, that was so satisfying to watch in that drama! Ahem, how about it, Host? Did you see that?]

In his mind, the System's voice of claiming credit rang out again.

[This is the S-grade skill produced by this System! No bugs, quality guaranteed! Simple operation, learn as soon as you start! Honest business, guaranteed to teach until you learn!]

[Don't forget to write a five-star review experience report for this 'product' in the System Mall afterwards! It would be best if you could attach a few cool photos of you doing Alchemy!]

Gu Yan ignored it.

All his heart and mind were immersed in the wonderful world of Alchemy.

When the last secondary ingredient perfectly merged into the colorful medicinal liquid.

He gave a low shout: "Solidify!"

He slammed both hands onto the Pill Furnace!

*Hum*—

The Pill Furnace emitted a long hum, and the archaic patterns on the furnace body seemed to come alive, lighting up with a faint shimmer!

A rush of unprecedented, extremely rich medicinal fragrance suddenly diffused from the gaps of the Pill Furnace!

This fragrance was refreshing; just by smelling it once, he felt the True Qi in his body become a bit more lively!

The pill fragrance was like fog, and soon filled the entire secret room!

It was a success!

A strong light of joy burst out in Gu Yan's eyes!

He pinched a secret formula with his hand and gently guided the flame in the furnace chamber.

"Withdraw!"

The furnace fire extinguished.

With a trace of excitement and anticipation, he slowly opened the heavy furnace lid.

The moment the lid was lifted.

A brilliant, jade-like emerald green treasure light rushed straight into the sky from the furnace mouth!

It illuminated the entire dim secret room in emerald green!

The rich pill fragrance was even more like it had turned into substance, rushing towards him!

Gu Yan quickly fixed his eyes and looked at the bottom of the furnace.

He saw five pills the size of dragon eyes, emerald green all over, round and smooth like works of art, lying quietly at the bottom of the furnace.

A faint layer of treasure light lingered on the surface of each Medicinal Pill.

And in the center of the Medicinal Pills, a very faint, yet clearly visible circle had naturally formed...

Pill patterns!

The pill produced treasure light, and the body had pill patterns!

This...

This was the sign that the Medicinal Pill had reached the legendary "Top Grade"!

Gu Yan's heart beat violently due to extreme ecstasy!

He knew that the Qi Gathering Powder sold in the "Hundred Herbs Hall" of the Town Mayors Office was mostly Low Grade with many Impurities and heavy pill toxins due to the Alchemist's rough technique and incomplete Pill Formula.

Occasionally producing a furnace of Medium Grade was already a stroke of extreme luck!

And what he had in his hand was the "Top Grade" Qi Gathering Powder, which had no pill toxins and had more than ten times the efficacy of Low Grade Medicinal Pills!

The two were simply not in the same dimension!

Gu Yan carefully put these five Medicinal Pills into a jade bottle that he had prepared long ago.

Looking at the five "Divine Pills" in the bottle that would make any Qi Refining Early Stage Cultivator go crazy, a smile of victory slowly curled up at the corners of his mouth.

Town Mayor Zhao Hong...

Your commercial Empire...

It is time to collapse!