"Yes."
Knowing the old man was being cautious, Ming Qi naturally had no objection and nodded in agreement.
After all, countless efforts had gone into preparing this vast pile of ingredients. If the elixir failed, not only would the effort be wasted, but Miss Qi's life would also be in jeopardy.
With Ming Qi's approval, the old man waved his sleeves and clapped his right hand in the air. The lid of the enormous alchemy furnace floated up and hovered above it.
With a flex of his left hand, a stream of energy was released, directly drawing a medicinal herb from another table and dropping it into the furnace. As the herb entered the furnace, puffs of green smoke immediately rose.
Seeing the old man begin, Ming Qi immediately stepped back, watching his every move intently.
Puffs of smoke rose from the alchemy furnace. The old man's eyes gleamed, and he would occasionally grab some ingredients from the side and drop them into the furnace. With his movements, the mysterious magic circle beneath the furnace began to circulate rapidly, and strands of green flames danced.
Qingmiao Heavenly Fire is also a type of Heavenly Fire. While not as powerful as Mingqi's Chilian Heavenly Fire, its gentle and flexible fire is more suitable for refining elixirs.
About ten minutes later, after the old man had added dozens of ingredients, he closed the furnace. He could be seen using his hands to channel his energy to guide and activate the Heavenly Fire at the bottom of the furnace.
Controlling fire is the most fundamental requirement for becoming an alchemist. First, one must master fire control. Then, one must adjust the temperature according to the medicinal properties of the elixir to be refined and the fluctuations of the medicinal energy within the furnace. Only when these are mastered and mastered can one have a chance of refining elixirs of excellent quality and purity.
Ming Qi watched quietly. It was clear that the old man had mastered both fire control and the potency of medicinal materials to perfection. If he could generate flames himself, his achievements would undoubtedly extend far beyond this.
The old man's face was as gloomy as water, his eyes fixed on the alchemy furnace. After a moment, he suddenly raised his right hand and shouted, "Young friend, here comes the Golden Heavenly Fire!"
Hearing the old man's words, Ming Qi also immediately took action, rapidly performing the Eight Trigrams Seal. Driven by the power of devouring and fusing, a golden dragon of fire rapidly rose from his fingertips. Then, with a flick of his finger, the golden dragon, over a foot long, coiled in the air and landed on the old man's right hand.
Sizzle!
As soon as the Golden Heavenly Fire made contact with the old man's fingers, a hissing, burning sound emanated. The old man's previously healthy fingers were charred black in the blink of an eye.
"So powerful!"
The old man's fingers on his right hand were burned black, but instead of being worried, he was actually filled with admiration.
A surge of Yuanli surged, quickly enveloping his fingertips and enveloping the golden heavenly fire.
Chi!
Seizing the perfect moment, the old man flicked his right hand, and a thinner dragon of fire flew out from the golden heavenly fire, charging towards the alchemy furnace.
The golden flames touched the furnace, instantly covering its entire surface. An unprecedented medicinal fragrance filled the alchemy room.
Chi!
Two more golden flames shot out, illuminating the entire furnace with a faint golden hue.
In this way, the old man divided Ming Qi's golden heavenly fire into several portions, intermittently casting them into the furnace. After more than ten minutes, all the golden heavenly fire had been consumed, and the furnace gradually calmed down. A refreshing medicinal fragrance could be smelled emanating from the furnace.
"Finished?"
Seeing the old man pause, Ming Qi asked.
"Not yet, but the important steps are basically complete. All that remains is the process of warming the elixir in the furnace. We just have to wait."
The old man glanced at his still slightly charred fingers, then channeled his energy to expel the fire that had seeped into his flesh.
"Warming the elixir?"
This was the first time Ming Qi had heard the term, and he was curious.
"Warming the elixir means allowing the elixir to naturally concentrate all of its emanating medicinal power. This ensures its maximum potency," the old man explained.
Ming Qi nodded. He knew little about alchemy, but ever since he could control the Red Refining Heavenly Fire, the thought of alchemy had been brewing within him. Now was a good opportunity to learn from him.
While the furnace was warming the elixir, Ming Qi began to ask the old man for advice on the basics of alchemy.
The old man was a renowned alchemist, so his foundation was naturally solid. Since he needed Ming Qi's help, he shared everything he knew without reservation.
After this conversation, Ming Qi had gained a general understanding of alchemy.
Ming Qi carefully considered the basic requirements for becoming an alchemist. Aside from his lack of sensitivity to the medicinal properties of elixirs, he possessed all the other qualities. As for the alchemy furnace, he could easily buy one; that wasn't a consideration.
After a long conversation, the old man stood up and walked over to the furnace. He sniffed it carefully, then gently tapped the lid, sending it flying again.
"It's done! The Huiyuan Pills refined with the Golden Heavenly Fire are at least thirty percent more potent than ordinary Huiyuan Pills!"
With this, the old man grabbed a jade bottle from a nearby table and, using his Yuan Power, rolled up several pale green pills from the furnace and placed them inside the bottle.
Then the old man pulled out a recipe from the side and handed it to Ming Qi, along with the bottle containing the Huiyuan Pills.
"Young friend, although this Huiyuan Pill is only a human-god-level elixir, it is of great use to cultivators, especially during training. A single pill could potentially save a life. I'm giving you the Huiyuan Pill recipe I developed myself, along with this bottle of pills. If you're interested in refining pills in the future, you might want to start with this Huiyuan Pill."
"Thank you, senior."
Ming Qi, without pretense, took the jade bottle and the recipe from the old man and placed them in his ring.
Seeing Ming Qi put away the pills and the recipe, the old man said, "I understand the power of the Golden Heavenly Fire. Now, let's begin refining the Qiankun Creation Pill."
"Yes."
As he spoke, the old man lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace again. At the same time, with a flick of his finger, he activated the fire-supplying formation beneath the furnace.
"Refining this Qiankun Creation Pill is a hundred times more difficult than the Huiyuan Pill. The Green Sprout Heavenly Fire is only used to preheat the furnace. Tempering the medicinal properties and consolidating the pill must all be done with the Golden Heavenly Fire. Prepare yourself, young friend."
After a few minutes of preheating, the old man flicked his finger, and Ming Qi saw the magic arrays on the ground extinguished, and the faint Green Sprout Heavenly Fire vanished.
"Fire!"
The old man extended his hand.
With his previous experience, Ming Qi was prepared. The moment the old man extended his hand, he unleashed a stream of Golden Heavenly Fire.
With the old man's manipulation, the flame remained steady below the furnace.
Unsure how much Golden Heavenly Fire would be needed to refine the Qiankun Creation Pill, and since Golden Heavenly Fire consumes a great deal of energy, Ming Qi summoned the Supreme Diagram shortly after the start, hiding it in the back of his mind to continuously replenish his energy.
During the day, refining Scar, the Supreme Diagram had already been infused with considerable power.
The Supreme Diagram appeared, and a faint aura immediately enveloped the entire alchemy room.
Sensing the subtle change, the old man's gaze quickly scanned the room. Seeing the mysterious white mist behind Ming Qi, he returned his attention to the alchemy furnace.
He had seen Ming Qi's mysterious magical weapon before, so naturally, he wasn't overly surprised.
A moment later, the old man gathered the first batch of ingredients for refining the Qiankun Creation Pill and carefully placed them into the alchemy furnace.
A stream of golden heavenly fire had already been used up. The old man extended his hand, and Ming Qi immediately fired a stream of heavenly fire, landing accurately in the old man's hand.
This cycle repeated itself in less than half an hour. Ming Qi had unleashed dozens of streams of golden heavenly fire. His entire energy was beginning to weaken, and the old man had only put in half the ingredients.
"It seems I must tap into the power within the Mountain and Sea Diagram."
Thinking of this, Ming Qi's mind moved, connecting directly with the Supreme Diagram, transmitting a continuous stream of pure energy.
"Big Fire!"
The old man raised his voice, dropping the last of his Heavenly Fire into the furnace, and shouted in a deep voice.
Whoosh!
Another burst of Heavenly Fire erupted.
The old man continuously poured various materials into the furnace, while Ming Qi continuously released golden Heavenly Fire, filling the entire alchemy room with a rich aura of fire.
Soon, beads of sweat began to form on Ming Qi's forehead. As the old man had said, refining the Qiankun Creation Pill was a hundred times more difficult than refining the Huiyuan Pill. Putting aside other things, the sheer demand for Heavenly Fire alone was terrifying.
Time passed slowly, and Ming Qi's mind was clear of all distractions. His only focus was the old man's voice and the position of his right hand.
One hour, two hours.
…
Finally, when Ming Qi was exhausted, the old man spoke.
"Use all your strength, this is the final moment!"
Hearing this, knowing it was the final moment, Ming Qi quickly gathered his energy, concentrating all his energy and unleashing an even more intense golden fire.
Boom!
Under the old man's control, the entire fire fell upon the alchemy furnace, igniting fiercely.
"Alright, now it's time to warm the elixir. Young friend, take a break."
Looking at the alchemy furnace, which had calmed down, Ming Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Refining the elixir was far more difficult than killing a cultivator stronger than himself.
He immediately sat down and quickly gathered his internal energy to recover.
The old man also sat aside, closing his eyes and concentrating. Refining the Qiankun Creation Pill was already his limit. Compared to Ming Qi, who was consuming vast amounts of energy, his energy consumption would only be greater.
This breath control felt like a dream.
When Ming Qi opened his eyes, he saw the old man quietly pacing around the alchemy furnace.
"How's it going?"
Ming Qi walked over and also looked at the alchemy furnace.
"It worked!"
Seeing Ming Qi awaken, the old man's slightly pale face broke into a smile. "Not only did it work, but it produced two pills in one furnace. I really don't know how to thank you, young friend."
Looking at the two golden pills in the furnace, Ming Qi smiled and said nothing, then turned and walked out of the alchemy room.