"The Breaking Adversity Pill can remove seals and enhance the user's resistance to sealing Dou Techniques. Its refining difficulty is extremely high, reaching Sixth-Grade, and it requires a Heavenly Flame to refine."
As the introduction of the Breaking Adversity Pill flashed through Yan Qingshan's mind, his hands rapidly formed seals. A plume of Green Flame quickly ignited, and the dark, gleaming medicinal cauldron immediately turned fiery red.
Yan Qingshan had previously attempted to refine Sixth-Grade Pills many times in the Black Corner Region, but all had ended in failure. This was primarily because Sixth-Grade Pills were much more difficult to refine, and his alchemy experience was still somewhat insufficient.
Most of his time was spent cultivating, and although he had many medicinal ingredients on hand, to maximize profit, he entrusted them to the more experienced Elder Huo to attempt refining high-grade pills. He himself only tried a few times, giving up after repeated failures.
But upon arriving at the Snake-people Divine Hall, because the Snake-people Race's hundreds of years of accumulated wealth were truly substantial, he freely attempted to accumulate experience in refining high-grade pills, and his alchemy skills became even stronger than before.
Previously, the Sixth-Grade Pills he refined, such as the Dou Spirit Pill, were relatively well-known among Sixth-Grade pills. He didn't have such meticulously crafted special pill formulas. The understanding of pill formulas and refining experience had to be gained through a large volume of materials.
But now, the pill formula he obtained from Hai Bodong was thoroughly analyzed by Dawn, and the refining data and experience within it were fully grasped by him.
This refined pill formula contained the insights and experiences of previous Alchemists who had successfully refined it, greatly aiding in pill refining, giving him confidence in successful refining. After adjusting his state for several days, he finally began.
The faint green flame glowed like a miniature sun, and a subtle medicinal fragrance slowly diffused within the quiet chamber.
One by one, medicinal ingredients were thrown into the medicinal cauldron under Yan Qingshan's control. Suddenly, with a muffled boom, a burst of fire erupted from the cauldron, followed by a plume of black smoke. The medicinal liquid turned into dregs; this batch was ruined.
Yan Qingshan's expression remained unchanged. When choosing to refine pills, he naturally considered the possibility of failure. Alchemy failure was almost as normal as eating and drinking in the alchemy world, let alone this being his first time refining the Breaking Adversity Pill.
Although the first attempt failed, only a small portion of the medicinal ingredients was lost, which would not affect subsequent refining. As he rekindled the flame and resumed refining, with the experience of a warm-up, he finally systematically and perfectly completed all the refining steps.
Within the quiet chamber, the fiery red medicinal cauldron at the bottom slowly rotated in mid-air, a deep green flame violently surging within it. As the cauldron rotated, continuous small energy ripples emanated from its surroundings, spreading outwards in a circular pattern from the cauldron's center.
Inside the cauldron, where the Green Flame churned, a bowl-sized mass of medicinal liquid continuously shrank. Under the heat of the flame, the prototype of the pill was slowly forming.
At a certain moment, a deep purple, hazy medicinal fragrance, like smoke, emanated from the cauldron, filling the room and lingering for a long time.
Yan Qingshan seemed to have entered a strange, inexplicable state. He slowly closed his eyes, his hands continuously moving. He took a pill from a jade bottle and put it into his mouth, and his entire aura gradually surged.
Under his control, waves of spiritual energy remotely guided the changes in the medicinal cauldron. The Sixth-Grade Pill gradually took shape, and he also took the opportunity of his breakthrough to Sixth-Grade Alchemist to swallow a Dou Spirit Pill, attempting to break through to the Dou Emperor realm.
Breaking through from Dou King peak to Dou Emperor was not simple. It required a long accumulation of energy for the transformation.
Ordinary pills could not provide this transformative energy. In the original novel, Xiao Yan and Zi Yan also spent a full year to completely succeed in their transformation.
However, Zi Yan was a magical beast, and her advancement naturally took longer. Xiao Yan's case was even more exaggerated; before devouring the Fallen Heart Flame, he was only around a Five-Star Dou Spirit.
His cultivation was entirely elevated by the Heavenly Flame's energy, making his foundation unstable. That year could be said to have been spent solidifying his foundation.
But Yan Qingshan had been diligently cultivating before this, never having consumed a Dou Spirit Pill, nor did he directly rush to Dou King peak solely relying on a Heavenly Flame like Xiao Yan. The Dou Spirit Pill could directly increase one's cultivation by one star at the Dou King level, which now proved useful for his breakthrough.
Medicinal fragrance wafted, and energy ripples spread. These were signs that a high-grade pill was about to form.
Although the Breaking Adversity Pill had peculiar effects, its refining difficulty was not very high, at least not too great among Sixth-Grade Pills, less difficult than the Dou Spirit Pill.
That's why Yan Qingshan dared to boldly attempt to refine it himself. After all, if he failed, it would just be Hai Bodong's misfortune.
Yan Qingshan's cultivation and soul power were both undergoing transformation, making the refining process increasingly smooth. He maintained the heat control at a perfected level after trials. Under the effect of the Green Flame, the numerous medicinal liquids within the liquid mass began to thoroughly congeal.
As the liquid mass slowly shrank and congealed, after about half an hour, the surface of the liquid mass gradually hardened, and the prototype of a pill with an uneven surface finally began to appear.
Yan Qingshan, who was undergoing cultivation transformation, suddenly stirred. The gloom in his heart dissipated, and his cultivation transformation proceeded even more smoothly. The most difficult steps had been completed. Next, he only needed to maintain the heat and carefully nurture this pill prototype.
The successful refining of a Sixth-Grade Pill also greatly benefited the Alchemist. The energy fluctuations caused by the feedback would gather a large amount of pure energy, which would coincidentally become the foundation for his transformation.
Thirty-three days later, Yue Mei and Hua Shen'er, who were waiting outside, began to murmur to themselves. Yan Qingshan had never taken so long to refine pills before.
Inside the quiet chamber, Yan Qingshan's eyes were closed, a faint smile playing on his lips. A thumb-sized, entirely pale purple, smooth pill, emitting a faint glow, slowly rotated within the medicinal cauldron.
The moment the purple pill appeared, a fierce energy ripple surged out from within the pill. A purple energy ripple burst outwards in all directions, shaking the entire quiet chamber, and then an even greater commotion attracted attention.
"Sister Hua Shen'er, stop looking! Your little lover hasn't even exchanged anything yet!"
In the room outside the quiet chamber, Yue Mei was half-reclined on a long rug-bed, highlighting her figure, her eyes rolling as she teased Hua Shen'er.
"Yue Mei, don't talk nonsense! What do you mean 'my little lover'?"
Hua Shen'er was thin-skinned, but she genuinely had a good impression of Yan Qingshan, so how could she admit it? She retorted,
"I'm just wondering why he took so long this time! He didn't take this long when he refined so many Fifth-Grade Pills before!"
"Hehe... You say you're not doing anything, then why are you so eager to explain... Oh... I won't argue with you anymore..."
Yue Mei saw Hua Shen'er about to scratch her and quickly raised her hands, begging for mercy. She was most afraid of tickles. She glanced lightly at the direction of the secret chamber and said softly, "Alchemy takes time; you can't rush it. Just wait a little longer. I think it should be soon."
Hua Shen'er pouted, muttered something under her breath, and had no choice but to sit back down in her chair. However, just as she had settled down, the entire room suddenly trembled violently.
The sudden tremor caused the two beautiful snake-women to pause slightly, then their gazes involuntarily shifted towards the direction of the secret chamber. An unusually rich energy fluctuation was rapidly forming.
"This energy fluctuation is a bit off. The previous Fifth-Grade Pills weren't this terrifying."
A hint of shock flashed in Yue Mei's beautiful eyes. They had seen many pill anomalies in these two months. Yan Qingshan's success rate in refining Fifth-Grade Pills was frighteningly high.
Because some of the difficulties were not too high for Fifth-Grade pills, he had even refined two at once multiple times, but never once had the commotion been comparable to this.
"What's going on? What kind of pill did he refine?"
Colorful light suddenly flowed within the room, and Queen Medusa appeared amidst spatial ripples, her beautiful eyes fixed on the sealed door. With her extraordinary experience, she naturally knew that when some high-grade pills formed, they would cause a significant commotion.
"Queen!"
Yue Mei was about to answer when the energy fluctuation within the secret chamber suddenly surged to a terrifying degree. Immediately, there was a bang, and a pale purple light beam, about an inch thick, directly shot out from the secret chamber, piercing through the stone ceiling and soaring into the sky.
"Queen!"
Many strong practitioners within the Snake-people Divine Hall sensed the commotion and rushed over. Upon seeing Queen Medusa there, they quickly bowed in greeting.
There were indeed many strong practitioners of the Snake-people Race. Ultimately, four Dou Emperor-level elders appeared. These elders were extremely senior, and even the Queen showed them respect.
"The light beam is filled with medicinal fragrance. The grade of this pill is not low!"
"Although high-grade pills can cause some commotion, Fifth-Grade Pills definitely don't have such phenomena."
"A Sixth-Grade Pill! To think such a powerful Alchemist has come to our clan."
The Snake-people Race's strong practitioners whispered amongst themselves. Some of their eyes held a hint of greed. A pill that could cause such a commotion was certainly no ordinary item.
While most of the Snake-people Race's upper echelons were calm, there were also those driven by avarice, and many who harbored animosity towards humans. At this moment, they were already secretly stirring with ill intentions in their hearts.
"Listen, everyone! My command: intensify defenses inside and outside the Divine Hall! No one is allowed to leak today's news!
Furthermore, no one is allowed to disturb or offend Mister Yan! Upon discovery, the entire clan shall execute them!"
Queen Medusa naturally noticed that some people's gazes were amiss. She knew that many within the clan still harbored discontent due to Yan Qingshan's human identity, so she decisively issued the order. After strictly warning everyone, she turned her gaze towards the door of the quiet chamber.
At this moment, Yan Qingshan's status in her eyes rose a notch. A Sixth-Grade Alchemist was an extremely esteemed existence. If the Snake-people Race could gain his friendship, even if something happened to her, then... the situation wouldn't be too bad.
As Queen Medusa thought this, her peripheral vision glanced at her guard captain, Hua Shen'er. Her eyes held something more. Yue Mei, standing nearby, noticed this and looked at the quiet chamber with a slightly different gaze.