The sun had just risen. After a busy night, the heat from the Alchemy Furnace made Chen Ku feel dehydrated, despite the winter air. But he had been tending the Pill Furnace all night and was finally about to open it and see the results, so his mood was still quite good.
Shang Yunfang looked expectantly at Chen Ku. "Open the furnace. Let's see how many pills you managed to form this time?"
Chen Ku nodded. Shang Yunfang also stood up.
The two of them ascended the steps on either side of the enormous Pill Furnace. Chen Ku, wearing gloves, lifted the lid, which was the size of a manhole cover. They peered down at the same time.
Inside the Pill Dew's intricate mechanism, with its many twists and turns, lay a series of grooves. Within one of these, a blood-red pill was rolling...
CLANG.
It finally fell into the pill tray in the middle of the furnace. Looking at the tray, besides that one, all that remained was charred ash.
