Chapter 18: Experiment Successful!
"You finished those pills from that day already?" Jiang Yun didn't rush to agree to Zi Yan's demand. Instead, he pulled her over and carefully examined her from head to toe, ensuring she was unhurt before speaking at a leisurely pace.
"I finished them this morning. And after I got back, I couldn't find you anywhere. I've been hungry for a whole day."
Zi Yan pouted her little lips and said pitifully. As she spoke, Jiang Yun actually caught a glimmer of crystalline moisture in her eyes.
"Sigh—"
"Hand them over!"
Jiang Yun let out a long sigh, inwardly amazed at Zi Yan's appetite. Fortunately, he had come prepared. He extended his hand, indicating.
"Hehe, I was just waiting for you to say that!" Hearing Jiang Yun agree, Zi Yan's expression immediately flipped. She giggled merrily and, in rapid succession, produced several high-tier medicinal ingredients.
By now, Jiang Yun was no longer an alchemy novice. Purple Cloud Flower, Vajra Fruit, Fire Cloud Grass... these were all primary or supplementary ingredients for refining tier 5 and tier 6 pills. One could well imagine what Zi Yan had been up to in the Demonic Beast Forest these past few days.
"I can refine them for you, but you have to stay in the academy for the next few days. No more running off into the forest."
Jiang Yun put away the ingredients and spoke to Zi Yan with a face full of stern seriousness. The moment he saw these ingredients, Jiang Yun knew Zi Yan had basically become public enemy number one on the Demonic Beast Forest's wanted list.
For Zi Yan's safety, both sides needed to cool down a bit.
"But..." Zi Yan still wanted to argue, but seeing the utter seriousness on Jiang Yun's face, she could only hang her head and say dejectedly, "Fine!"
"Cultivation can't be rushed. It needs to proceed step by step. You've eaten far too many ingredients these past few days, and some still haven't been fully digested. Give yourself a proper chance to rest."
"I've been running an experiment recently. If it succeeds, it'll be enough to make you grow up fast, plump and fair."
Jiang Yun looked at the downcast Zi Yan, reached out to rub the top of her head, and said softly.
"Really?" Zi Yan immediately brightened, her expression turning sunny again as she looked up at Jiang Yun with delighted surprise.
"Really!" Jiang Yun nodded. Once his alchemy succeeded, wouldn't he indeed be stepping onto the express lane of cultivation?
"Then hurry up and go do it!" Hearing Jiang Yun's affirmative answer, Zi Yan immediately grew excited and began pushing him, urging him to go train.
"Don't rush. First help me find a few things. Remember, don't get caught!" Faced with a Zi Yan even more impatient than himself, Jiang Yun couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself. It seemed that, for the current Zi Yan, growing up was indeed an obsession.
She raised her head and looked at Jiang Yun in puzzlement. Seeing this, Jiang Yun leaned close to Zi Yan's ear and whispered. By now, he'd already grown to the same height as her, so at least he didn't feel awkward about it.
"Leave it to me!"
Zi Yan only felt a tickling sensation in her ear and a strange feeling in her heart. Fortunately, Jiang Yun finished speaking very quickly. Having memorized Jiang Yun's request, Zi Yan patted her chest in guarantee.
"Remember, absolutely don't let anyone find out. And take this with you—consider it payment." Jiang Yun added the warning worriedly. Seeing Zi Yan nod seriously, he took out a black metal sheet. The sheet was very ordinary, yet emanated an inexplicable attraction, making one unconsciously fix their gaze upon it.
"I'm off! When I get back, I want my pills!" Zi Yan stowed the metal sheet. With a flicker of her form, she had already vanished, yet her voice still echoed by his ear.
Watching Zi Yan leave, Jiang Yun silently calculated in his heart. This time, he'd sent Zi Yan to the Alchemy Department to help him acquire a cauldron and several sets of low-tier pill ingredients—these would be enough for his experiments.
However, constantly taking things from the academy weighed on Jiang Yun's conscience. So, he'd played the part of a 'mysterious elder bestowing fortune.' That metal sheet contained a soul cultivation method. It was incomplete—much like the prize Xiao Yan had won at the Pill Gathering—yet still extremely precious.
It was the Xie Ling Clan's soul cultivation method, one of the precious few cultivation arts he had brought down from the Great Thousand World. He couldn't hand over the complete text to the academy and could only extract a single sentence as compensation for the academy.
Jiang Yun had also tampered with it. Those with stronger soul power would more easily sense that this object was extraordinary. At minimum, the soul power of a tier 5 alchemist would be required to unravel its mysteries. And within the entire academy, those with such soul power could be counted on just a few fingers—Elder Huo being one of them.
In case anyone found it and tried to keep it for themselves, how could Jiang Yun not leave a backup plan? After leaving Zi Yan's presence for a period of time, the soul power Jiang Yun had left inside would erupt. At that point, it wouldn't be something one could simply hide away if they wished.
The current strongest figure in Jia Nan Academy's Alchemy Department was Elder Huo. As the foremost alchemist of Jia Nan Academy's Alchemy Department, Elder Huo had immersed himself in alchemy for many years; his alchemical skill was absolutely sufficient. As the chief of the academy's Alchemy Department, his flame was certainly not weak, and his cultivation was also at the Dou Huang level. Therefore, the only thing he lacked was soul power.
Now, with Jiang Yun's covert assistance, it seemed quite likely that Jia Nan Academy would soon see the emergence of a tier 6 alchemist.
Taking advantage of the time Zi Yan was off fetching things, Jiang Yun busied himself refining her spoils of war one by one into tasty pellets. Only then did he pull out a book and read it carefully, waiting for Zi Yan's return.
In the blink of an eye, night descended.
At that moment, a delighted voice rang out. "Little Yunzi, I'm back!"
Hearing Zi Yan's familiar voice, Jiang Yun's attention shifted from his book. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he smiled, watching the figure that burst through the door.
His vision blurred. In the next instant, all the jade bottles placed beside Jiang Yun vanished without a trace.
Zi Yan stood before him. She pulled out a jade bottle, gave it a light sniff, and a happy smile bloomed on her face. Then she poured out several more pellets and tossed them into her mouth.
"So delicious!" While eating, Zi Yan didn't forget to pass a storage ring over to Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun took the storage ring and probed inside with his soul power. He saw a four-mouthed cauldron within, along with a dozen-plus sets of the ingredients he required. He nodded with satisfaction and looked at Zi Yan, praise in his eyes.
"You've worked hard. Get some good rest tonight. By tomorrow, this matter will yield results!"
Zi Yan didn't have a moment to spare for Jiang Yun right now. She waved her little hand, cradling the jade bottle as she walked toward her room, tipping more pills into her mouth as she went.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun also got up and returned to his own room. He took out the scarlet-red four-mouthed cauldron and the ingredients.
Taking a deep breath—his theoretical knowledge was flawless; now it was time to see how practice would go.
Jiang Yun raised his hand and gently touched the cauldron's body. The black and white vortex within him rippled faintly. White Dou Qi followed the meridians in his body to his palm and finally descended into the cauldron.
"Puff..."
With a muffled sound, the white stream of Dou Qi, after passing through the fire vent, transformed into a pure, snow-white, tangible flame that churned and blazed ceaselessly within the cauldron.
According to the steps of an ordinary alchemist, this would be the moment to introduce that single thread of wood energy, using the principle of wood fueling fire to make the flame more enduring and easier to control.
But Jiang Yun had no wood energy. Yet, he also didn't need wood energy to stabilize the flame.
"One stalk of Blood-Coagulating Grass, two Magic Poppy Flowers, one rank 1 wood-attribute monster core..."
Following the pill formula in his memory, Jiang Yun placed the ingredients into the cauldron one by one. These past few days of helping Zi Yan refine ingredients had made him thoroughly adept at this step. He made none of the rookie mistakes, like scorching the ingredients.
Under the scorching heat of the flames, the ingredients within were burned away of their outer husks one after another, condensing the juices contained within. This was the essence of these ingredients, and also the crucial component that would form the pill.
Having reached this step, what remained was to gradually fuse these essences together to form a pill.
Jiang Yun controlled the medicinal liquids, bringing them into contact one by one. The moment they touched, he felt a repellent force arise. Fusing medicinal liquids of differing natures was not so simple.
Jiang Yun knew he could not rush this. He could only slowly bathe the medicinal liquids in the flames. Finally, at a certain moment, Jiang Yun seized that sliver of opportunity. Under his guidance, the medicinal liquids slowly fused. The very instant they merged, Jiang Yun sensed a faint strand of life-force energy from the white Saint Demon Flame in his hand seep into the pill.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun slowly let out a breath of relief. He knew that at this point, his hypothesis had proven true. He truly could use the Saint Demon Flame to perform alchemy.
A pure fire-attribute cultivator's Dou Qi was filled with violent power. When fusing ingredients, without that single thread of wood energy to act as a catalyst, forming a pill was impossible.
Yet he had done it. From this day forth, the gates of alchemy would be open to him, and many things would become far more convenient.
As the nascent pill was tempered by the flames within the cauldron, it took on a cyan color. A faint medicinal fragrance wafted out from within the cauldron.
Only at this moment could this tier 1 Recovery Pill be considered truly complete.
He reached out and beckoned. The pill automatically flew into his palm. Looking at the pill in his hand, a smile involuntarily surfaced on Jiang Yun's calm face. This was his very first pill—worthy of commemoration.
He put the pill away and sensed the abundant Dou Qi within his body. Jiang Yun felt not a trace of fatigue. High-tier cultivation arts were truly wonderful—not only was the Dou Qi more refined, the recovery speed was also fast.
No wonder everyone pursued high-tier cultivation arts!
Feeling that his condition was at its peak, Jiang Yun struck while the iron was hot and tossed another set of ingredients into the cauldron. This time, it was a tier 2 pill, the Qi Recovery Pill.
As time passed, the ingredients originally arrayed beside Jiang Yun dwindled, replaced by small jade bottles one after another. From the faint, lingering medicinal fragrance, it wasn't hard to tell that the pills inside were all rare top-quality products.
The moon set, the sun rose.
The next day arrived very quickly. As the final pill was collected into a jade bottle, Jiang Yun stretched lazily. Despite nearly a full night of alchemy, he appeared full of vitality and spirit.
One could only say Jiang Yun's specifications were far beyond the standard. He was no ordinary Dou Zhe to be compared with. An entire night of alchemy not only left him feeling no fatigue, but he had also broken through an entire star level, reaching 4-star Dou Zhe.
Looking at the dozen-plus jade bottles beside him, Jiang Yun nodded with satisfaction. He raised his hand and collected them into his storage ring, then stepped outside.
The moment he opened the door, Jiang Yun's expression froze in astonishment. A small figure was seated in the living room chair. Her little head was nodding and dipping—utterly adorable.
Seeing this, ripples spread through Jiang Yun's heart. This girl might act unreliable at ordinary times, but when it truly mattered, her performance never faltered.
"Mm~~~" In her drowsy haze, Zi Yan seemed to sense movement. She immediately snapped alert, her muddled expression turning icy cold in an instant as she swept a frigid glance around.
When her gaze landed on Jiang Yun, the ice melted. Excitement bloomed on her little face. "Little Yunzi, you're out of seclusion!"
Looking at Zi Yan's silly, happy smile before him, Jiang Yun reached out and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. He said softly, "I'm out. My experiment succeeded. From now on, I can feed you until you're plump and fair."
"Really!" At these words, Zi Yan's eyes instantly lit up. She didn't even notice she'd been drooling in her sleep. She leaned close to Jiang Yun and twitched her nose. "Such a strong medicinal fragrance! You succeeded?"
Zi Yan had been the one to retrieve each and every one of these items. How could she not know what Jiang Yun was trying to accomplish? Although this matter seemed rather unbelievable, out of her trust in Jiang Yun, Zi Yan had not discouraged him. She'd even helped him at every turn. At worst, she'd just eat a few fewer meals later; she definitely wouldn't bankrupt Jiang Yun over this.
"Succeeded!" Jiang Yun met Zi Yan's delighted gaze and nodded affirmatively. "This is a tier 2 Qi Recovery Pill. It no longer has any effect at the Dou Wang level, but it's the first tier 2 pill I've ever made. Take it as a keepsake."
Taking the pill Jiang Yun offered, Zi Yan happily opened it and sniffed it, completely failing to realize just how astonishing Jiang Yun's words were.
A tier 2 pill?
This meant Jiang Yun had reached the tier 2 alchemist level. Overnight, a complete alchemy novice had become an alchemy 'big shot' of the Outer Academy. Saying this out loud wouldn't scare anyone to death—it would only make people laugh themselves to death.
Jiang Yun didn't feel there was anything extraordinary about reaching tier 2 in a single night. His soul power was even greater than Elder Liu's, having at least reached the tier 5 level. The flame in his hand was no ordinary flame either. With such a setup, learning alchemy was innately blazingly fast. Had he not run out of ingredients, he could have even challenged tier 3.
"Right, Zi Yan, don't tell anyone about me becoming an alchemist."
At this moment, Jiang Yun looked at Zi Yan and spoke seriously. An alchemist without the wood attribute—Jiang Yun wouldn't be surprised at whatever demons and monsters such a revelation might attract. On this continent, the ratio of alchemists to fire-attribute cultivators was simply too vast—they were practically one in ten thousand, if not rarer.
If this secret were exposed, even Jia Nan Academy wouldn't be able to protect him.
"I understand. I won't even tell Old Man Su Qian. This is our little secret." Listening to Jiang Yun's warning, Zi Yan nodded very seriously, her little face grave. She was not a dragon who didn't know her limits. She understood what could be said and what could not.
"Don't worry! Once we have the strength to protect ourselves, we won't have to anymore!"
"Soon enough!"
In the days that followed, Jiang Yun's life remained as peaceful as ever. Every day, he was either training or refining pills.
Thanks to the privileges Zi Yan had secured from the First Elder, she fetched quite a few ingredients from the pharmacy. Coupled with her periodic raids on the Demonic Beast Forest, Jiang Yun had no worries about running out of ingredients to practice on.
Of course, alchemy was merely an auxiliary tool in his eyes. What mattered most was his own strength.
After breaking through to Dou Zhe, he had been busy testing his alchemy hypothesis and hadn't cultivated any Dou Techniques. Now that he had proven he could walk the path of alchemy, he began training in Dou Techniques.
To his disappointment, he hadn't acquired many divine arts from his clan. Many of the ones he did possess were of immense power, not suitable for him to cultivate at his current stage. So he didn't force the matter and rush his training.
Instead, under the tower spirit's assistance, he slowly absorbed and refined the Saint Demon Flame. In the process, his cultivation also steadily rose with the tide.
(End of Chapter)