20: Chapter 20: Refining the Lionheart Dawn Elixir! Success Rate?

White Cliff Castle.

In a room specifically arranged by Butler Henry for Rowan to use for potion refining.

On the workbench, a magical alchemy lamp emitted a steady white light.

He stood before the table.

An open giant book took up almost half of the tabletop.

cauldron of hecate: forbidden alchemy

The thick paper pages had curled corners, the ink was deep, and some sentences were accompanied by strange and eerie illustrations.

At this moment, it was open to the page for the lionheart dawn secret potion.

His gaze was solemn.

He didn't know if Level 2 Potion Making was enough to refine a secret potion of this level.

But he had no choice.

He didn't have enough free attribute points to level it up again.

Refining other low-level potions wouldn't grant him proficiency anymore.

So, he could only directly attempt to make the lionheart dawn secret potion.

Main material: Radiant Griffin heart blood.

That golden-red, amber-like crystal lay quietly in the center of a lead box, light swirling within it.

The supplementary materials were laid out one by one.

The dried vines of Silver Moon Vine shimmered with a cold moonlight glow.

Fine powder ground from Halo Stone looked as if it were mixed with stardust.

mandala flower pollen, kept in a sealed crystal bottle, was an unnervingly vivid red.

Morning Dew Condensed Water shimmered with a faint mist inside a specially made crystal bottle.

This portion of Radiant Griffin heart blood was enough to refine the lionheart dawn secret potion three times.

In other words, he had three chances.

The first attempt.

He adjusted his breathing and ignited the special magical flame.

The crucible preheated.

First, he added the Silver Moon Vine.

The vine slowly softened under the low temperature, oozing silver sap that mixed with the Morning Dew Water, turning into a pool of pale silver liquid.

He added the Halo Stone powder.

The liquid took on a pearlescent luster.

The critical step.

Adding the Radiant Griffin heart blood.

The moment the Heart's Blood fell into the liquid—

"Sizzle!"

A violent reaction!

The silver-white liquid boiled instantly, turning into a Blazing golden-red.

A wave of scorching heat rushed toward him.

Sweat appeared on Rowan's forehead as he immediately added a trace of mandala flower pollen to neutralize it.

The potion should have gradually stabilized and fused after the pollen was added.

But at that very moment!

The center of the golden-red liquid suddenly darkened, and then the color rapidly turned turbid and black.

A pungent, burnt stench filled the air.

With a muffled "thud,"

the liquid completely turned into a mass of viscous black dregs clinging to the bottom of the crucible.

Failure!

Rowan's expression was grim.

He stood quietly, looking at the failed residue, the unpleasant burnt smell lingering around his nose.

But a moment later, his brow twitched slightly.

Just now... right before it spiraled out of control, there seemed to be a split second where he felt several medicinal properties tending to fuse into one under a delicate balance.

It was just that the feeling was fleeting, and he hadn't been able to capture and control it in time.

"There is a possibility of success," he whispered to himself, light reconverging in his eyes.

At least it wasn't completely hopeless.

He cleaned the residue and prepared the vessels again.

Deep breath.

The second refining began.

The steps were repeated.

But this time, he was fully concentrated.

The timing of the Silver Moon Vine and Morning Dew Water fusion.

The angle and speed at which the Halo Stone powder was sprinkled.

Especially the moment he added the mandala flower pollen—

He held his breath.

The last failure happened right after this moment.

The pollen drifted onto the boiling golden-red liquid surface.

There was no immediate reaction.

His heart beat like a drum.

His mental focus was more concentrated than ever before, sensing every trace of energy change within the pot.

Here it comes!

That familiar restlessness and sense of separation emerged again!

But this time, he didn't panic.

Almost instinctively, his wrist gave an extremely subtle flick, lowering the flame temperature by an almost imperceptible margin.

At the same time, the glass stirring rod traced a smoother arc that was slightly different from the book's description.

"Hum..."

The boiling liquid surface suddenly calmed for a split second.

Immediately after, all the restless energy seemed to be gathered by an invisible hand, shrinking inward violently!

Golden-red, silver-white, pearlescent, eerie red... all the colors perfectly blended, swirled, and settled.

The light gradually faded.

At the bottom of the crucible remained about one standard dose of liquid, looking like molten, flowing liquid gold.

Inside the liquid, bits of brilliant starlight slowly rose and fell, and a pure, scorching, and majestic aura emanated, accompanied by faint phantom sounds like the roar of a lion and the cry of a griffin.

Success!

Rowan looked at this dream-like potion with an excited expression, a flash of intense joy in his eyes.

Level 2 Potion Making really could succeed!

He didn't dare delay.

Striking while the iron was hot, he cleaned the equipment.

He prepared for the third attempt.

The same steps. The same focus.

He even felt his state was better than the second time.

At the moment he added the mandala flower pollen to harmonize it—

He made the exact same fine adjustment as the second time.

However, the energy reaction inside the pot suddenly veered in another unpredictable direction.

"Poof!"

The liquid instantly turned grey and dull, becoming a pool of lusterless, dark sludge.

Failure?!

Rowan fell silent.

He slowly set down the vessel in his hand and stared at the product of the third failure, his brow furrowed.

He was somewhat puzzled. Why?

Was it success by probability?

Or were there still more subtle variables he hadn't fully mastered? Differences in material batches? Ambient temperature and humidity? Or pure... luck?

A moment later.

He breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to dwell on it further.

At least he had succeeded once and obtained one dose of the secret potion.

He carefully took out the secret potion from the successful second attempt. The liquid-gold-like medicinal fluid flowed slowly inside the crystal bottle.

He uncorked it, poured out about one-tenth of a standard dose, and dripped it onto the tip of his tongue.

The medicinal fluid entered his throat.

It wasn't a burning sensation, but rather like a warm and surging stream of light, crashing into his entire body!

He immediately sat cross-legged.

The Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique operated at full power!

Frost Battle Qi surged through his meridians.

When it met that scorching warm current, there was no rejection.

The warm current seemed to turn into the purest and most vital fuel, greedily absorbed and converted by the Frost Battle Qi.

The operating speed suddenly surged!

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Proficiency +2]

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique Proficiency +2]

Prompts jumped out one after another; the efficiency was staggering.

After an unknown amount of time, the medicinal effect slowly faded.

Rowan opened his eyes, and a wisp of golden light seemed to flash deep in his pupils before vanishing.

He looked at the panel.

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique LV2 (Official Knight) (268/10000)]

His heart jolted.

It was more than three or four times faster than ordinary cultivation!

The potency of this secret potion was simply too strong!

Then, he looked at the remaining secret potion in the bottle.

Taking it once would be effective for two to three days.

One dose of the secret potion would be enough for almost a month.

As his wild joy subsided slightly, reality set in.

One portion of the main material, Radiant Griffin heart blood, had cost him two hundred and sixty gold coins. Adding the other supplementary medicines, the cost was around four hundred gold coins.

And with his current alchemist level, there was a possibility of failure.

To maintain this cultivation speed, he would need a steady stream of gold coins to buy more materials.

"I need to make money and refine potions," he whispered to himself.

He needed to allocate his time well.

After all, potion refining wasn't something he could just grind for proficiency easily.

He couldn't help but think that it would be even better if a lady with a score of 90 or higher could assist him.

To maximize the effect of the secret potion, Rowan spent the next month in day-after-day of bitter cultivation.

When the last drop of the lionheart dawn secret potion was refined by his Frost Battle Qi, he slowly opened his eyes in the quiet room.

Then he let out a long breath. A few wisps of fine ice crystals condensed in the air and rustled down.

He looked at the panel.

[Myriad Furnace Breathing Technique LV2 (Official Knight) (621/10000)]

Amazing progress!

One month was comparable to three or four months of hard work in the past.

The potency of the lionheart dawn secret potion was heart-pounding and intoxicating.

Once one had tasted the flavor of such clear growth in power, it became difficult to endure the accumulation of mediocrity again.

He stood up, his bones letting out a series of slight popping sounds.

That was a sign of his physical fitness further improving.

...