Chapter Fifty-Three: Refining the Elixir
Gan Ping bowed deeply and slowly said, "I was just trying to test my newly broken through control of the Seven Fire Veins, but I didn't expect it to be so fast. I wasn't careful for a moment, and it ended up like this." As he tidied up his clothes, Gan Ping had already thought of an excuse. Sure enough, Wu Yunzi nodded in approval upon hearing his words, "En, after breaking through the Tai Chong line, your control over fire will increase greatly. With your current cultivation, it's normal to lose control for a moment, but..." Wu Yunzi's voice became slightly stern at this point, and Gan Ping looked up in surprise to see Wu Yunzi looking at him with a serious expression, but his eyes betrayed his concern.
"You're being too reckless, this place is scorching hot and overbearing. Next time, if Master isn't by your side, don't try to control the fire on your own, do you understand?" Wu Yunzi was quite fond of the young disciple in front of him, who was diligent, studious, and mature beyond his years. Even in this awkward situation, he remained calm and composed. Wu Yunzi was convinced that this child would become a great talent one day. Although his words were severe, the concern and care behind them couldn't be hidden. Since leaving Ma's village, Gan Ping had never heard such caring words before, and suddenly felt a lump in his throat, with a surge of guilt rising up in his heart. The old man in front of him was so concerned about him, but he had still deceived him. Gan Ping had an urge to reveal the whole truth, but his rationality stopped him from speaking out. Some things were better left unsaid. He bowed deeply and said: "I will follow Master's teachings."
Wu Yunzi heard his voice choked with emotion, slightly surprised, and saw Gan Ping raise his head, his eyes still moist, immediately understanding what Gan Ping was thinking. He smiled and waved his hand: "This dress is not suitable for you to be in the Dan room either. Go back and change into a suitable outfit before coming back. Then go find Gu Senran to ask for a few Therapeutic Fire Pills, lest the fire poison enter your body and accumulate, hindering your future cultivation." Gan Ping responded with a "yes" and exited the Dan chamber.
Dragging a wide long gown, Gan Ping returned to his residence under the medical gaze of astonishment, changed into a set of his own clothes, brushed off the dust from the gown he had taken off, folded it neatly and carried the clothes back to the Earth Fire Temple. He first went to find his senior brother Gu Senran, asked for several Therapeutic Fire Pills, although somewhat astonished, Gu Senran still gave him a small jade bottle, this senior brother was extremely kind but not very good at talking, after listening to a few words of advice from Senior Brother Gu, Gan Ping retreated, playing with the jade bottle in his hand while heading towards the seventh floor.
This Li Huo Dan is not a rare object, it's just the lowest grade of spiritual dan. A few ordinary medicinal materials that drive out fire poison can be refined into a furnace. Because the grade is low, one furnace of Li Huo Dan can produce hundreds of dan. Gan Ping has also seen Wu Yunzi refine this dan, and with a casual refining of one furnace, there are already nearly a thousand dan. In the eyes of Wu Yunzi, this spiritual dan is indeed too low-grade, so he didn't leave any stock on his body, which is why he let Gan Ping go find Gu Senran to ask for it.
They rushed to the seventh floor, where Wuyan Zi had been standing beside the dan furnace for a long time. After returning their clothes, they didn't say much and began today's lesson. The current situation is different from before. Although Wuyan Zi was also teaching Gan Ping like a master in the past month or so, it wasn't official. Today, the two of them have established a formal master-disciple relationship, which has brought their relationship closer, but there are some differences. Not every cultivator has a dao companion, and many people cultivate alone, so this disciple becomes the closest person. Many cultivators treat their disciples like their own children, and now that Wuyan Zi has such an excellent disciple in Gan Ping, how can he not do his best? For a moment, it seemed as if he wanted to pass on all his skills to Gan Ping.
This alchemy is all about practice, so Wuyunzi casually refined a Clear Mind Pill as a demonstration. This Clear Mind Pill is also a kind of primary elixir that has the effect of stabilizing one's mind and keeping the spiritual platform clear. Primary disciples often have difficulty entering meditation calmly, but with this pill's assistance, they can achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Gan Ping stared intently at Wuyunzi's every move, afraid to miss a single detail. Meanwhile, Wuyunzi pointed his hand, and a flame rose from under the alchemy furnace. He said, "This is the first step in refining elixirs, warming the furnace. Warming the furnace means laying the foundation, and if you want to refine high-quality elixirs, this foundational work must be done well. This is the root of alchemy, and it also conforms to the Heavenly Way. Cultivation is also like this - if the foundation is solid, even if progress is slow at first, as long as the foundation is solid, there will definitely be rapid progress later."
After saying this, Wuyunzi looked at Gan Ping with a profound gaze.
Gan Ping's heart skipped a beat as he heard the words, knowing they were meant for him. He hastily nodded in agreement and was met with a satisfied glance from Wuyunzi, who then swiftly turned to grab the nearby medicinal materials and threw them into the alchemy furnace. This disciple was truly becoming more pleasing by the minute. Earlier, Wuyunzi had seen Gan Ping's rapid progress and thought to use this opportunity to teach him a lesson, making him understand the importance of a solid foundation and tempering his character. But he hadn't expected this young disciple to be so clever, with a heart that was not arrogant or proud despite his quick advancement in cultivation. This kind of temperament could indeed withstand the loneliness of cultivation.
"After this warm furnace, it's time to refine the medicine. Refining medicine is not refining Dan, using a gentle fire to warm the furnace, and the fire energy inside the furnace is just right and harmonious, which can force out the medicinal properties of the medicinal materials and turn them into mist. The remaining residue sinks to the bottom of the furnace. At this time, it's necessary to hold the top of the furnace with magical powers, and everyone's method is different. The best way is to use the power of flames to protect it, and what Master used was Li Huo Tian Kang Li Bing Yan, which is also one of the Time Qi Fires. I remember that when Master traveled through the Heavenly Continent, he accidentally obtained it and spent a hundred years refining it into his true fire divine ability, and also broke through the Yuan Ying realm boundary."
Gan Ping heard this and was greatly surprised, tiptoeing to look inside the furnace, and indeed saw a thin layer of blue light membrane covering the inside of the furnace, with colorful mist swirling below, which must be the vaporized medicinal properties.
Gan Ping's face was filled with curiosity and envy, but Wu Yunzi chuckled and said, "Don't be impatient, Ping. With your current cultivation level, you can't even refine this strange flame, let alone if it were placed right in front of you." Only then did Gan Ping withdraw his curious gaze, continuing to stare at Wu Yunzi. "The reason I'm renowned for my alchemy skills within the sect is largely due to the contribution of this Kanli Ice Flame," Wu Yunzi explained. "When refining medicinal properties, the most troublesome part is always the dispersal of the medicine's energy. With this strange fire as an auxiliary aid, the quality of the refined elixir will naturally be a notch higher than with other methods."
"Ha ha, you're asking the right question! Besides me, a few of your senior masters have also refined some extraordinary fire, but the quality is still inferior to mine. I suffered a lot back then to refine this Ice Flame." At this point, Wuyunzi seemed to recall something unpleasant and shook his head before continuing: "As for other alchemists, they usually use the earth fire from the Earth Fire Temple." As he spoke, Wuyunzi pointed with his hand, and a palm-sized flame flew out from under the furnace, entering the dan furnace. Gan Ping was shocked to see that the flame transformed into a thin layer of fire membrane, covering the Li Huo Ice Flame on top of the furnace.
"As a master, your control of the seven methods of fire manipulation is not just about controlling the flames under the furnace, but also includes the method of transforming fire into a cover. Only pure and refined fire energy can tightly seal the medicinal properties inside the alchemical furnace without leaking out even half a bit. The power of this earthly fire is far inferior to your master's extraordinary fire." Gan Ping didn't expect that the seven methods of fire manipulation could be applied in such a way, and suddenly had an epiphany: "Master, if these flames can be controlled like this, then they must also be able to control the transformation of flames into weapons for battle with others, right?" Wu Yangzi looked at him with approval and said: "The child is indeed teachable. The seven methods of fire manipulation are a technique for manipulating flames, as for what you want to use it for, that depends on your own intentions. However, your current cultivation is still shallow, don't engage in random battles with others."
Wan Ping continued to win, and Wu Yunzi didn't say anything. He continued to demonstrate the method of refining Dan medicine: "In this earth fire, there is a distinction between orthodox fire and toxic fire. Although the earth fire in the Earth Fire Temple was divided by Master Miao Cheng using his great divine power, and the toxic fire was led elsewhere, there are still residual toxic fires in the orthodox fire. When refining Dan medicine, it will also affect the quality of the Dan medicine, so the use of earth fire to protect this level of Dan medicine has been reduced." As he spoke, Wu Yunzi waved his hand, and the thin layer of flame that had condensed into a palm-sized fire flew back under the Dan furnace.
"After the gentle fire has refined the medicine, it's time to change the fire. The medicinal properties in the medicine will be extracted and they won't merge together in the alchemy furnace. They each form a cluster and repel each other." Gan Ping gazed at the colorful mist churning under the blue light membrane inside the alchemy furnace, nodding thoughtfully. "So for now, the most important thing is to change the gentle fire of the warm furnace into a fierce and powerful martial fire. This fierce martial fire can use its overbearing flames to disperse each cluster of medicinal properties, allowing them to merge together." As he spoke, Wu Yangzi made a hand seal, and the flames under the alchemy furnace immediately surged up, with long tongues of flame enveloping half of the furnace, burning fiercely.
That Wuhuo suddenly burst into flames, filling the room with a fierce blaze. Gan Ping saw the intense fire and involuntarily took a step back. Wu Yanzi was indeed a master of alchemy, as his transformation from gentle to fierce was seamless and natural, without any warning signs. This skillful technique made Gan Ping feel envious. Just as he was admiring it, a loud shout came from beside him: "Gan Ping, don't retreat! Observe carefully, the key to the quality of this elixir lies in this transformation!"
