Hao Yun opened the furnace and took out the ruined herbs. He frowned slightly, but he was not discouraged. It was normal to fail the first time.
The second batch, the third batch...
Hao Yun was getting anxious after failing three times in a row, all due to temperature issues.
Discarding the charred herbs, Hao Yun didn't put any more herbs in this time. Instead, he went to the furnace and carefully observed the temperature changes inside.
After repeated attempts, Hao Yun finally figured out the reason for the failure: due to the material of the alchemy furnace, the temperature inside the furnace rose and fell very slowly.
Having found the reason for the failure, Hao Yun began his fourth attempt at alchemy. This time, he was quite successful. Precise temperature control allowed the herbs to melt and form a pool of emerald green semi-solid liquid.
After taking out the prepared herbs, Hao Yun thought he had failed again, so he threw the pile of herbs aside.
After refining it several more times, Hao Yun finally understood that the pills he refined were actually like this, and that he needed to knead them by hand to make them into pills.
Hao Yun rolled the elixir into pills, put them into a porcelain bottle, labeled it, and tossed it aside.
With the healing pill successfully refined, Hao Yun set his sights on an even higher-grade pill: the Qi-restoring pill.
Taking the Qi-restoring pill can restore a small amount of spiritual energy.
The method of refining this elixir is much more complicated than that of the healing elixir, requiring eighteen kinds of herbs alone.
After sorting and placing the herbs in front of the alchemy furnace, Hao Yun adjusted his state and began a new round of alchemy.
A loud bang echoed across the main peak of Mount Emei a dozen minutes later, even waking up the disciples cultivating in several surrounding temples, who all came out to check.
When Dan Chenzi arrived at the main peak, he immediately saw black smoke billowing out of Hao Yun's residence.
"Cough cough cough!"
Covering his mouth and nose, Hao Yun ran out of the house and squatted on the open ground to wipe his blackened cheeks with his sleeve.
Hao Yun never expected that alchemy would explode. Just now, when he added the thirteenth herb to refine the Qi-restoring pill, the herb exploded as soon as it entered the furnace.
Elder Hao! Are you alright?
Dan Chenzi landed from the air and found Hao Yun's disheveled appearance somewhat amusing.
The Seven Sons of the Clouds also arrived at this time. Duan Lei, who was quite familiar with Hao Yun, looked at Hao Yun's dark face and didn't know what to say.
"Elder, what did you do?"
The speaker was a woman who was curiously looking at Hao Yun.
The young man beside her whispered a rebuke to her.
"Yingqi, don't talk nonsense! Elder Hao, she has only recently joined Emei and doesn't know many of the rules yet, please don't mind."
Hao Yun waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care.
"The smell of herbs... Elder Hao, are you refining pills?"
Dan Chenzi had been a member of Emei for hundreds of years, and he immediately smelled the burnt herbs. He was very familiar with this smell; he used to smell it often. Unfortunately, the last elder who was skilled in alchemy passed away a hundred years ago, and no one had been able to refine pills since.
"Well, there was a slight mishap when adding the herbs, haha, everyone please don't mind, go back and cultivate."
Seeing the black smoke dissipate from the room, Hao Yun went back inside to continue refining pills.
Looking at Hao Yun's charred face, Dan Chenzi hesitated whether he should try to persuade him. Alchemy was very dangerous. The previous alchemy elder was killed in an explosion while refining pills and was publicly declared to have passed away peacefully.
Seeing that nothing was wrong, the Seven Sons of the Clouds went back to continue their cultivation, and the others also dispersed.
"Senior Brother, should we remind Elder Hao?"
The speaker was Chang Kong Wuji, the current successor of the Thunder Flame Sword of the Emei Mountain Heavenly Thunder Twin Swords.
Li Yingqi, the heir to the Heavenly Sword, who was standing beside him, tilted his head in confusion and reminded Elder Hao, reminding him of what?
"Never mind, I'll go ask Master's opinion first. You all go back first."
Dan Chenzi shook his head, preparing to inform his master first. Mount Emei hadn't had an alchemy elder for many years, and now that there was finally a daring fool to refine pills, all the sects should support him.
"Alright, Senior Brother, let's head back now. Yingqi, go back and cultivate."
After the two left, Dan Chenzi glanced at Hao Yun's house, then got up and went to find Bai Mei.
Inside the sect's main hall, Bai Mei was calculating the location of the Old Monster Youquan. Over the years, this Old Monster Youquan had caused them a lot of trouble.
Every time Bai Mei went to capture Youquan Old Monster, he managed to escape, which greatly annoyed Bai Mei.
"Master, I have something to report."
Outside the main hall, Dan Chenzi stood in place, waiting for Bai Mei's reply.
"Dan Chenzi, come in. What brings you here?"
"Master, Elder Hao is refining pills, and a batch just exploded. Should we remind him? After all, refining pills..."
Dan Chenzi didn't finish speaking, but he knew that his master understood what he meant.
Bai Mei smiled and then gestured for Dan Chenzi to stand opposite him.
"Dan Chenzi, this new elder cultivates physical body, and can even withstand attacks from magic weapons with his physical body. The explosion of the alchemy furnace will not hurt him at all; at most, he will be a little disheveled."
After listening to Bai Mei's words, Dan Chenzi nodded in agreement. Based on his observation, the explosion had not caused Hao Yun any harm.
"Dan Chenzi, the Old Monster Youquan has been quite restless lately. Go and inform the Xuantian Sect to be extra careful. If they discover any trace of the Old Monster Youquan, remember to notify all the major sects immediately."
Dan Chenzi's expression turned serious. After responding, he left Mount Emei.
boom!
Hao Yun ignited another batch of pills, and thick black smoke billowed out of the house. In the sky, the Seven Sons of the Clouds and the heirs of the Heavenly Thunder Twin Swords stood side by side.
“Chang Kong Wuji, why don’t you go and persuade Elder Hao? It’s so late at night, there’s no way to cultivate. He just entered meditation and was woken up by a loud bang.”
A group of Qingcheng disciples around them looked resentful. Their cultivation levels were low, and many of them needed to sleep at night to replenish their energy. The continuous explosions made it impossible for them to sleep.
"Let's wait and see if it explodes."
About ten minutes later, there was another loud bang. Hao Yun sat cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, casually wiped his face, and began to study the cause of the explosion.
Every time I add the thirteenth herb, the furnace explodes. This has happened three times already. Could it be that I'm putting the herbs in the wrong order? That shouldn't be the case, since that's what the recipe says.
I closed my eyes and pondered the contents of the prescription. I hadn't made any mistakes in my practice. Could it be that there was an error in the prescription?
After a moment of contemplation, Hao Yun began to recall the notes left by his predecessor, hoping to find a solution.
"Elder Hao! Elder Hao!"
Just as he was pondering the key point, Hao Yun was interrupted. He opened his eyes somewhat annoyed, only to be dumbfounded by what he saw: a large group of people were gathered outside the house.
What's wrong with you all?
Chang Kong Wuji cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said with some difficulty.
"Elder Hao, we came to check on you because we were worried about your condition. But since alchemy is so dangerous, why don't you just give up?"
Hao Yun looked around and, seeing everyone's resentful expressions, instantly understood what had happened. It turned out that the sound of his oven exploding had startled them.
Chapter 96 The Furnace
"Disciples, I'm sorry to disturb your rest."
Hao Yun stood up and bowed to everyone, showing humility. After all, he would be living here for another twenty years, and it wouldn't do to make things too awkward between them.
"Everyone, go back and rest. I'll start refining pills during the day tomorrow."
After speaking, Hao Yun put away the herbs. The disciples surrounding the house breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Hao Yun stop.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Hao Yun looked at Chang Kong Wuji beside him and said with a smile.
"Is there anything else?"
Chang Kong Wuji, who was staring blankly at the medicine bottle on the ground, picked it up casually.
"Elder Hao, is this the pill you refined?"
Hao Yun nodded. "Yes, the healing pills I just refined can be taken internally or used externally. You can take them if you like."
Chang Kong Wuji hadn't used any pills for many years, and he felt a little excited when he saw the healing pill.
"Elder Hao, could you refine a few more of these healing pills? When the disciples go down the mountain to hunt monsters, some of them are always injured, and these healing pills are very important."
Seeing Chang Kong Wuji's serious expression, Hao Yun was a little stunned. This thing is not difficult to refine, so why would the sect lack it?
"I'm sorry to have put Elder Hao in such a difficult position."
When Chang Kong Wuji saw the change in Hao Yun's expression, he assumed that this kind of pill was very difficult to refine, so he looked somewhat gloomy.
"Wait a minute, this pill is very easy to make. Does no one know how to make it?"
The Seven Masters of the Clouds walked in from outside the door, and Duan Lei rolled his eyes.
"Elder Hao, this is alchemy. Even if the healing pill is not of high grade, it is still very difficult to refine."
The other six nodded in agreement. Some of them had tried alchemy before, and nine out of ten batches of pills exploded. An explosion of an alchemy furnace was no joke; a slight mistake could kill someone.
Looking at everyone's expressions, Hao Yun thought to himself, "This healing pill is so easy to make. As long as the temperature is controlled, it can be made with ease."
“Since we need healing pills, I’ll refine some. Who will go and get the herbs? I’ve almost used up the ones I got earlier.”
Upon hearing Hao Yun's words, Chang Kong Wuji was the first to step forward.
"Elder Hao, I'll go get it. Please wait a moment."
Seeing Chang Kong Wuji leave, Hao Yun immediately started refining pills, since he still had some herbs left.
When the others saw Hao Yun start refining pills again, they cautiously took a few steps back, all worried that the pill furnace would explode.
Hao Yun, who was refining pills, was completely focused on the furnace and naturally did not notice the group's actions. Otherwise, he would have given them a good lesson.
It's just a batch of healing pills, how could I possibly explode it while refining it?
Halfway through the refining of the elixir, Chang Kong Wuji, who had gone to fetch herbs, rushed back. Just as he entered the room and was about to speak, the Seven Sons of the Clouds covered his mouth.
"Shh! Elder Hao is refining pills. Don't disturb him. What if the furnace explodes?"
Amidst the worried gazes of the crowd, a batch of emerald green medicinal mud, exuding a fresh herbal fragrance, was produced.
"You all come and make the pills, I'll continue refining the elixir."
The Seven Clouds all shrank back, and Li Yingqi also took a step back. She didn't want to end up like Hao Yun, with her face blackened by the explosion.