Chapter 2190 - Refining
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Anyone who dares to move, I will kill personally!” Wu Chang suddenly shouted as he flashed a fierce expression.
Murderous intent so thick it was tangible flared.
The few who were just about to move instantly froze! They could clearly feel that if they dared to act rashly, they would find themselves dead the next moment...
The aura of death was so stifling, it made their lips dry and their bodies turn cold...
At that moment, Yang Kai opened his eyes and waved his hand, “Come!”
As he spoke, the Black Jade Furnace appeared.
The Black Jade Furnace was a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace which Han Leng, the rogue disciple from Star Soul Palace, had won at an auction in Maplewood City, but in the end, Han Leng had died unexpectedly and this furnace had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands.
Such an Alchemy Furnace was a rare treasure, especially for Alchemist; after all, above it, only Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnaces were superior.
But how could it be so easy to acquire an Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnace? In general, Emperor Grade Alchemy Furnaces were even rarer and more precious than Emperor Artifacts.
When the Black Jade Furnace’s lid opened, a different fragrance from the one the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus gave off instantly spread.
Seeing this Alchemy Furnace and smelling the fragrance that wafted from it, many people’s expressions turned to shock while their confidence in Yang Kai immediately increased by leaps and bounds.
Because no ordinary Alchemist would be worthy of possessing such an Alchemy Furnace, only a Dao Source Grade Alchemist would be qualified to be its owner. What’s more, the strong pill fragrance which came from this Alchemy Furnace was proof it had been used to refine many herbs into pills.
This served as proof that Yang Kai was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist!
As soon as the Alchemy Furnace appeared, Yang Kai’s Divine Sense surged, and hot, invisible Conflagrated Spiritual Energy instantly poured into it, causing the Black Jade Furnace to hum lightly.
“Liu Yan!” Yang Kai whispered again and with a flick of his wrist, a stream of light shot out from his palm.
A loud chirping sound spread across the mountain-top as under everyone’s gaze, a strange-looking Firebird manifested in the sky before it plunged into the Alchemy Furnace.
“An Artifact Spirit!” Lan Xun’s beautiful eyes lit up as she couldn’t help calling out in surprise.
At that moment, although she had only caught a glimpse of Liu Yan, she instinctively sensed that this stream of red light was no small matter, and combined with the scene before her, she immediately deduced that it was a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit!
A Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace and a Fire Attribute Artifact Spirit...
Such a combination of treasures was something most Alchemists could only dream of. With the help of these two, an Alchemist could achieve twice the result with half the effort when refining any Spirit Pill.
Lan Xun couldn’t help but smile and say, “If there are no accidents, Brother Yang should really be able to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill. Everyone, please be patient and watch.”
Hearing what she said, many people’s expressions lifted as looks of expectation filled their faces.
At the centre of everyone’s attention, Yang Kai had already begun taking out the necessary herbs to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill one by one with a solemn expression.
Next, he methodically threw all kinds of rare herbs into the Alchemy Furnace as he formed different seals with his hands, his Conflagrated Spiritual Energy surging and rolling, portraying various Spirit Arrays inside the furnace.
As he acted, the heat in the Alchemy Furnace changed from time to time unpredictably.
Alchemy required first and foremost a calm mind, and any kind of carelessness could lead to failure. Next, one’s mastery of heat and the timing at which to add herbs was vital...
These were no skills one could acquire overnight. It took years of accumulated experience to master these steps.
Regarding the Alchemic Dao, Yang Kai never had a formal teacher.
However, he seemed to have an extraordinary aptitude and talent for this field. In his early years, he had used the True Alchemic Way left behind by Great Demon God to begin exploring the Alchemic Dao. Later, he obtained the True Alchemy Enlightenment Scripture from Yang Yan’s Emperor Garden, then the jade slip left by Gong Sun Mu after coming to the Star Boundary...
His Alchemy techniques were a combination of these three inheritances as well as his own insights and innovations.
He did not have a Special Constitution like Xia Ning Chang, who could perform Alchemy as easily as if it were eating or breathing, but Yang Kai had his own unique comprehension.
When to put in what kind of herb, what kind of heat to use, all these things had become so familiar to Yang Kai that he could almost perform them instinctually.
If one wanted to name one specific reason for his current level of skill, it would undoubtedly be the Grand Alchemic Dao Tone Yang Kai had triggered years ago!
The Grand Alchemic Dao Tone was a manifestation of the Heavenly Way.
The Heavenly Way had directly imparted its knowledge to him, allowing his Alchemy skills to obtain an unprecedented level of refinement.
But even so, Yang Kai would still put his best whenever performing Alchemy, not daring to show the slightest carelessness.
There was only one Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, and if this refining failed, there would be nothing left. If that happened, he would definitely have to bear the anger of everyone present...
He wasn’t afraid of that though, only that he would ruin this precious spirit flower in vain.
Under such tremendous pressure, his condition actually reached its peak.
*Gululu...*
As time passed, the sound of something boiling emerged from the Alchemy Furnace, which was obviously a sign of the medicinal liquids being condensed. A complex yet sweet fragrance filled the world, one that was both invigorating and refreshing.
Although Yang Kai’s movements weren’t particularly quick, there was a calmness to his gestures which made everyone feel confident in his abilities.
In particular, his ability to smoothly manipulate his Source Qi to control the heat with one hand, while portraying Spirit Arrays inside the furnace with the other, amazed everyone.
Laymen could only see the show, but experts were able to see the method.
Of the cultivators present, almost all had never refined Spirit Pills before, but even if one had never eaten pork, they would still know what a pig was.
Yang Kai’s practice of changing Spirit Arrays repeatedly caused many to be confused, but also elicited admiration.
Just his superb control over the various refinement elements was something no ordinary person could achieve and was obviously the result of a massive amount of talent and practice.
“Senior Brother, do you think Junior Brother Yang can succeed?” Murong Xiao Xiao asked Xiao Bai Yi softly.
“Before the results come out, no one would dare make an assertion,” Xiao Bai Yi replied, but after he said so, he glanced over and asked, “Why? Are you worried about what might happen if he fails?”
Murong Xiao Xiao nodded, “In this situation, if Junior Brother Yang really fails, I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to escape... Although he’s not a disciple of our Temple, he travelled together with us so I hope he does not have an accident.”
“He brought this upon himself,” Xiao Bai Yi snorted coldly, “I still haven’t figured out why he’s bringing so much trouble to himself.”
If Yang Kai had not taken the initiative to stand up and declare he was a Dao Source Grade Alchemist, no one would have guessed he was. However, he stood up and publicly acknowledged he was Dao Source Grade Alchemist and had taken on the task of refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill.
Even if everything went well though, and the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were successfully refined, Yang Kai didn’t stand to gain any benefits. According to the current situation, once the Extraordinary Treasure Pills were refined, a great battle would surely result, and at that time, who would care about him being the one who refined the Spirit Pills? If he didn’t surrender them, being punched to death was entirely possible...
On the other hand, if things didn’t go well, there would only be one result, Yang Kai being chased to death by everyone!
Doing something so troublesome with no hope of gaining any benefits was the act of a fool.
So Xiao Bai Yi could not figure out why Yang Kai had done this.
Was it just because he was an Alchemist and couldn’t bear seeing a rare spirit flower go to waste? It was true that Alchemists were an eccentric group of people. Sometimes, people would come begging them for Alchemy services but would be ignored; however, if a rare spirit medicine that caught their interest was involved, sometimes they would actually chase after and volunteer their services for free as long as they could be the ones to refine it into a pill.
The Extraordinary Treasure Lotus was undoubtedly one of the most precious spirit flowers in the world due to its extreme rarity! Only one Extraordinary Treasure Lotus would ever appear in the world at any one time.
If Yang Kai wanted to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pill for this reason, it would make sense.
But... No matter how Xiao Bai Yi looked at it, he couldn’t imagine Yang Kai being such a pedantic person, nor did he seem to be the type who would put himself into danger just for temporary interests.
[Perhaps... he has the confidence to escape under the eyes of all these Masters?]
After this thought flashed across his mind, Xiao Bai Yi couldn’t help but chuckle, secretly feeling that he was thinking too much.
It was undeniable that Yang Kai was strong, but in the end, he was just one person, so how could he escape under the watchful gazes of so many? Just Wu Chang alone would be enough to hold him down.
As the two talked, Yang Kai continued his efforts.
A total of nineteen auxiliary herbs were thrown into the Black Jade Furnace by him and condensed into medicinal liquids.
Finally, at this moment, he stood up, rushed over to the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus in a few steps, and gently sliced off the blossomed flower.
The mature spirit flower was harvested by Yang Kai in an instant.
All that remained was a delicate stem...
In that instant, everyone’s eyes locked onto this stem as greed filled their eyes.
Although they didn’t know why Yang Kai didn’t harvest the entire Extraordinary Treasure Lotus, this stem was undoubtedly an extremely precious treasure. Even if it was not refined into a pill, swallowing it might have some miraculous effects.
And in front of everyone’s eyes, the top of this stem oozed a milky white liquid, one that was pure and flawless, causing many to gulp.
Not only did the ordinary cultivators have their eyes on this stem, but even Masters like Wu Chang and Xia Sheng were focused on it. However, no one acted rashly and instead turned inquiring eyes towards Yang Kai, not knowing why he had acted this way.
Ignoring everyone, Yang Kai ran back to his Alchemy Furnace and carefully continued to control the fire. When it was time, he threw the freshly picked Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into the furnace.
These few simple actions, however, caused a lot of cold sweat to leak from his forehead, as if he had just faced down a terrifying enemy.
The moment the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus entered the furnace, Yang Kai began forming different seals in order to stabilize the situation inside.
Whistling sounds leaked out as the furnace shook, causing Yang Kai to secretly rejoice he had not hesitated to expose Liu Yan’s existence before beginning this refinement.
The difficulty of refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was beyond his expectations, and he knew that if it had not been for Liu Yan’s assistance, he might not have been able to last until the end!