[Chapter 100: Alchemy Principles]
Daniel opened the private message chat window, and Autumn Wind's message instantly popped up.
[I don't have any herbal materials to sell myself, but I know someone who does. I can introduce you, just for a small referral fee,] the message read.
Daniel thought that made perfect sense. Autumn Wind, as the Administrator of the Lightning-Struck Wood Board, must have connections in the herbal trade. It was only natural he'd know the right people.
Daniel replied, [Alright, as long as the quality of the materials meets my standards.]
Autumn Wind answered, [No problem. The person I'm referring you to comes from a family that's specialized in herbal medicine for generations.]
His interest was piqued immediately. [I'll be waiting to hear from you.]
Autumn Wind typed back, [Boss, it'd be best to discuss this in person. I can introduce you so you can talk face-to-face.]
Face to face? Daniel hesitated. [I can't travel for certain reasons,] Daniel replied. [For now, transactions have to be online.]
[Understood, Boss. I'll get back to you soon,] Autumn Wind responded.
After chatting with Autumn Wind online, Daniel searched for local herbal stores and went out the next morning to check them out. To his surprise, he actually managed to buy some fresh, unprocessed herbs. Though the quantity was limited, it was enough to produce a few batches of the most basic elixir, the Spirit Transformation Elixir.
Having some was better than having none.
...
Daniel went back to the mall and picked up a few more items. With everything gathered, he returned to his villa and prepared to attempt Alchemy.
First, he pulled out the devices he'd just bought: an induction cooker and a pressure cooker. This approach struck him as ridiculous, but on closer thought, it made quite a bit of sense.
An ordinary flame just didn't provide enough heat, but the pressure cooker could make up for that. Flames were hard to control, but the induction cooker allowed stepless adjustments and precise heat control -- and fast, at that. It might even complement a real Alchemy Furnace.
Daniel wanted to test whether these two devices could actually be used to make elixirs.
"Should I start with the induction cooker or the pressure cooker?"
He glanced between the two, then settled on the induction cooker. Plugging it in, he set its frying pan on top and placed the cleaned herb inside.
Every elixir started the same way: extracting the essence from the herbs.
He covered the pot with a lid and turned on the induction cooker.
At this point, if left alone, the cooker would simply dry out or burn the herbs to ash -- maybe even scorch the pan. This was where the alchemist's skill came in.
Daniel quickly formed an Alchemical Sign with his hand, shifting the pattern continuously. Mysterious streams of power descended into the pot. Under the dual influence of this power and the induction cooker's heat, the herb gradually melted.
Before long, the pure medicinal essence transformed into a thick, fragrant liquid.
Daniel cranked the heat to maximum and adjusted the Alchemical Sign accordingly. The liquid began churning violently. Impurities were refined out, some evaporating into steam, others sinking as sediment to the bottom of the pot.
After several minutes, only a thumb-sized amount of pure liquid remained. Daniel opened a crystal bottle, formed another Alchemical Sign, and the liquid flew smoothly into the bottle.
A smile of triumph crossed Daniel's face: he'd succeeded. The induction cooker really could be used for Alchemy. At least this first step of refining the liquid was achievable.
'The induction cooker works, but what about the pressure cooker?'
Turning off the induction cooker, Daniel swapped in the pressure cooker. But it quickly became clear it wouldn't work for this step.
The pressure cooker needed time to build up pressure, and its opaque lid made it impossible to see what was happening inside. Without being able to clearly sense the energy state of the herbs -- still unrefined -- it was like trying to navigate blind.
"Nope, the pressure cooker is no good for extracting essence from the herbs," Daniel concluded.
He went back to the induction cooker and continued extracting essence from herb after herb, filling the crystal bottle with pure herbal essence liquid.
Alchemy was simple to describe, broken down into five steps: Extraction, Fusion, Transmutation, Separation, and Retrieval. But while the theory was straightforward, no ordinary person could even complete the first step in a lifetime.
Daniel had just completed Extraction.
Next came Fusion.
Although most of the materials Daniel used were botanical, every ingredient still corresponded to one of the Five Principles: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, or Aether. These were not crude physical substances, but governing natures.
Earth represented structure and endurance.
Water governed cohesion and flow.
Air embodied motion and transmission.
Fire signified transformation and activation.
Aether, the highest principle, unified and elevated all others.
Where the Five Principles existed, so too did their laws of reinforcement and restraint.
Fire stimulated Air.
Air stirred Water.
Water nourished Earth.
Earth contained Fire.
But without Aether, the cycle remained incomplete. It bound the rest of the principles and prevented collapse during transmutation and determined whether the elixir can be successfully created.
The Fusion process was critical; there was no room for error. It had to be done deliberately, step by step. Every step was paired with a unique Alchemical Sign. One slip would doom the entire batch.
Most alchemists would turn themselves inside out trying to memorize these incantations. Performing them perfectly, perfectly timed and aligned with each step, was even harder.
Only with the System's help -- which fed the steps directly into his mind and guided his hands as if he'd performed this millions of times -- could Daniel attempt this flawlessly on his first try.
Once the liquid was successfully fused, the next step was Transmutation -- the shift from liquid to solid.
Under normal circumstances, this was pure fantasy. But alchemy made the impossible possible.
The Alchemical Signs in Daniel's hands shifted rapidly. The large mass of fused medicinal liquid churned violently.
"Transform!" Daniel whispered.
The liquid began to crystallize. But halfway through, the process stalled. No matter how he urged it, the transformation couldn't be completed.
With frustration, Daniel renewed the Alchemical Sign, only to have the liquid explode in the pot -- turning into countless tiny granules, half dry and half wet.
"It failed?" Daniel stared blankly, then began analyzing. "The temperature must not have been high enough. Even with the Alchemical Sign pushing it, the heat wasn't sufficient for transformation."
"What can I do?" he wondered, frowning.
Then Daniel's eyes landed on the pressure cooker he'd discarded nearby.
"The pressure cooker can't extract essence, true, but once pressurized, the internal heat and pressure compensate perfectly for insufficient temperature. Could I transfer the fused essence liquid into the pressure cooker?" he thought. "Since I extracted and fused the liquid myself, I can fully sense its energy and monitor its state inside the pressure cooker. That means I can fine-tune the Alchemical Signs during the transformation step. Yes... this might actually work."
Daniel's eyes brightened with hope.
*****
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