Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 239 Alchemy (Congratulations to Yanbo Gu Linchuan Alliance Hierarch!)

Chapter 239: Chapter 239 Alchemy (Congratulations to Yanbo Gu Linchuan Alliance Hierarch!)

Xuanyu City.

Inside an inn.

Zhong Shenxiu had rented a small courtyard and, through the help of Lin Xunyi, gathered some medicinal herbs to begin his grand venture into alchemy.

Speaking of which, this was his first attempt and failure was inevitable.

Fortunately, Zhang Taiyi himself was an Alchemy Master and, possessing his Divine Soul, it was as if he had a renowned master instructing him in real-time.

Beyond that, the Undying Heavenly Fire Divine Ability was also of great assistance.

And that Seven Star Alchemy Furnace was of passable quality, too.

With all these Golden Fingers at his disposal, he eventually got on the right track after initial setbacks.

Within the courtyard, a refreshing medicinal fragrance would often waft out, uplifting the spirit of anyone who breathed it in, making them feel invigorated.

Word of this remarkable event gradually spread within the inn, immediately attracting the curiosity of many.

When phenomena such as withered trees coming back to life and sweet springs bursting from the ground were discovered around the courtyard, it caused even more of a sensation.

The whole of Xuanyu City came to know of a Cultivation Expert residing in the inn, and many who envied the Immortal Dao sought an audience with him.

Thankfully, the inn’s shopkeeper was a sensible person. Knowing well enough that if outsiders disturbed the Immortal’s alchemy, he would not be spared upon the Immortal concluding his retreat, the shopkeeper promptly sought assistance from the Mystic Sky Bureau.

Lin Xunyi, being fully aware of the situation, immediately dispatched several strongmen, sealed off the inn, and stood guard outside the courtyard every day to quell the commotion.

Days flew by in the blink of an eye.

Xu Shaoling, dressed in the attire of a Xuantian Department Clerk, stood guard in front of the courtyard.

Although he was the son of a prominent family in the city, upon joining the Mystic Sky Bureau, he had to be diligent in his duties. With his colleagues also manning their posts, he could not shirk his responsibility, having just taken over the shift from another, who was rather reluctant to leave.

As he stood there, he took a deep breath of the air filled with the scent of elixirs and felt a rush of vitality, with his True Qi becoming much more lively. He thought to himself, ’No wonder, despite it being a tiresome task, everyone is eager to do it. Not to mention getting close to an Alchemy Master, just breathing in this fragrance of the elixir every day is a significant benefit on its own, equivalent to several months of hard cultivation...’

He did not know who the expert in the courtyard was. Observing his colleagues silently practicing their Inner Strength and refining their True Qi, he dared not be negligent.

After a long while, one of his colleagues opened his eyes and sighed a bit, "I’ve heard that just today, Zhang Long and his team were engulfed in an extremely rich elixir fragrance. Breathing it in for one day was equivalent to half a year’s worth of cultivation. By our turn, the fragrance has faded and is only worth about two months... Alas, it seems that the Immortal Master is nearly done with his alchemy; it’s a pity to miss such a fortuitous opportunity."

"This expert has the favor of the Law Enforcement Envoy to have us stand guard; he must be extraordinary... Getting close to him would naturally bring endless benefits."

Another’s eyes lit up.

Xu Shaoling remained silent, simply focusing on his practice.

His family was dedicated to the pursuit of the Immortal Dao, but after all these events, he was well aware of how difficult it was to find such a destiny.

Unrelated to you, and without any rare or strange treasures to pique their interest, why would anyone grant you a chance to cultivate the Immortal Dao?

Rather than envy those elusive opportunities, it was more practical to bask in the fragrance of the elixir—it was the real deal.

...

In the makeshift alchemy room.

Shelves lined with various medicinal herbs filled the room, and at the center stood a pill furnace, underneath which a tireless flame blazed fiercely, with nine fire dragons seemingly shuttling back and forth within it.

Next to it were all sorts of jade boxes, filled with precious Spirit Pills that would make any ordinary person green with envy.

Although they were of little use to Divine Power Practitioners, they were absolutely coveted by Innate Martial Practitioners and Gang Sha Cultivators.

"Hmm... this furnace of Condensing Method Pills is almost ready."

Zhong Shenxiu nodded to himself, "In the beginning, my alchemy skills were not very proficient, and the medicinal Qi scattered, resulting in a considerable loss of potency... Up to this day, my skills have become much more refined, and the loss of pill Qi has lessened by a lot, yet there’s still..."

He activated his Divine Skills, computed the timing, and suddenly slapped his palm on the Seven-star Furnace.

The lid of the furnace blasted open, and the Qi of the pills surged out, taking the shape of Lingzhi, and at the bottom of the furnace, a layer of medicinal liquid began to congeal into pills.

’Using Divine Skills for alchemy is indeed formidable. The most important aspect of alchemy is the heat control. Ordinary recipes mostly mention vague terms like strong fire, gentle fire, moderate fire, and civil-military fire... baffling and extremely difficult to control the temperature, a slight distraction could lead to the disruption of the pills...’

’However, within the Undying Heavenly Fire Divine Ability, there’s a set of fire-controlling Dharma Seals, starting from the Jiazi Seal and ending with the Guixi Seal, divided into sixty variations, each representing a different level of heat... Although there’s still some coarseness in precise temperature control, it’s nonetheless far better than those imprecise fire categories...’

’Besides heat control, other details in alchemy such as the manipulation of divine thoughts, adding the medicinal liquid, and so on, also have their meticulous handling techniques. With these enhancements, one could immediately distinguish themselves from an ordinary Pill Master.’

"Go!"

With a thought from Zhong Shenxiu, nine fire dragons emerged from the Undying Heavenly Fire and entered the Pill Furnace to begin pill collection.

This method of collecting pills was also sophisticated, representing the final challenging step in alchemy.

Zhong Shenxiu silently watched the furnace as the fire dragons emerged one by one with Elixir Pills in their mouths, flying out of the furnace and landing in front of him, transforming into Condensing Method Pills the size of dragon’s eyes and colored deep red.

The pills exuded a rich, fragrant scent, totaling nine.

Suddenly, one of the pills trembled and abruptly let out a foul smell, turning into a disgusting puddle.

Zhong Shenxiu’s expression didn’t change as he silently waited.

The next moment, pill after pill began to deteriorate, turning into waste pills, indicating the investment had been in vain.

The remaining five Elixir Pills, however, gradually concealed their Qi, and their medicinal scent almost faded to non-existence.

Seeing this, Zhong Shenxiu finally nodded, took out a jade bottle, and packed the pills, sealing them with specially made wax.

"After many days of seclusion, my alchemy should at least be considered at a beginner level, right?"

He glanced at the Heavenly Show System and saw the prompt indicating beginner level in alchemy, which brought him a surge of joy.

However, there was no need to refine any more pills at the moment, so he temporarily put aside the plan to use Heavenly Show Points for direct improvement.

Zhong Shenxiu walked out of his room and saw the Golden Finger still in the form of Da Huang the dog, lying bored under a vine trellis in the yard, tongue lolling out, looking utterly listless.

Seeing him emerge from seclusion, the dog instantly leapt up and came over wagging its tail, "Congratulations to the young master on leaving seclusion, your alchemy has greatly advanced!"

"Mm, you’ve worked hard as well."

Zhong Shenxiu nodded, slightly surprised that he was not disturbed during seclusion, especially by the Black Lotus Sect mob.

"If the young master finds it hard, why not give me those people outside to eat?" asked Da Huang, seemingly swallowing saliva, "Those pieces of fragrant meat have been tempting me every day from outside, and recently they’ve become even more alluring with the smell of Elixir Pills..."

Zhong Shenxiu chuckled, "Not allowed!"

A sweep of his divine thoughts revealed Xu Shaoling standing guard outside, and seeing that none of these people bore any bloodthirsty Evil Qi, they were not bad individuals—how could he allow the dog to eat them as it pleased?

After consideration, Zhong Shenxiu stepped out the door.

The clerks from the Mystic Sky Bureau, who had been daydreaming, jolted to attention and respectfully greeted him, "Immortal Master, you have finally left seclusion..."

Seeing Su Daoshi’s face, Xu Shaoling was even more startled and knelt down, calling him Benefactor.