Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Learning

"Rest assured, Pill Master Sun. We’ve already discussed it before coming, and we only hope you’ll do your utmost," one middle-aged leader said respectfully.

The other two groups also expressed they had no objections.

After all, these days, second level Pill Masters seemed to have eyes growing on the tops of their heads, and those sincerely helping refine Foundation Establishment Dan were truly rare.

Luckily, this Pill Master Sun had good character and was willing to explain these matters to them.

If it were someone else, they’d likely start refining immediately, unconcerned with success or failure.

Even if it truly failed, these Qi Refinement youngsters wouldn’t dare protest.

As for the final distribution of Foundation Establishment Dan, those three groups had probably arranged it privately.

After a few brief words, Pill Master Sun led everyone into the alchemy hall.

They all stood at a distance, silently watching him refine pills.

Zhou Luo absolutely wouldn’t miss this chance to learn.

There stood a furnace about ten feet high inside the hall, immensely majestic with runes covering its surface. It was likely designed specifically for refining second-level potions.

Since the efficacy of Second Level spiritual potion was fiercer than first-level potions, the furnace’s strength was critical—weakness risked explosion.

Pill Master Sun approached the furnace and began adding materials according to the refining sequence, while summoning flames.

The flames were deep blue, flickering beneath the furnace with a unique beauty.

Zhou Luo looked serious.

These flames clearly originated from a powerful substance; the temperature of flames was extreme, aiding the Pill Master’s heat control.

In pill refining, the furnace, herbal ingredients, and heat mastery were all indispensable.

The more powerful the Pill Master, the finer the inferno they controlled, enabling better material melting.

Pill Master Sun steadily added the ingredients.

The method for refining Foundation Establishment Dan could actually be found openly for those truly motivated.

The most valuable aspect of Foundation Establishment Dan remained its ingredients.

Zhou Luo had long memorized every detail of its refining method.

But solid theory didn’t guarantee practical skill.

Moreover, every Pill Master employed their own small techniques during refining.

Such small techniques emerged from countless refining experiments.

Back when Zhou Luo refined first-level potions, he often deployed various small techniques, astonishing observers repeatedly.

Refining Foundation Establishment Dan took longer than expected.

Perhaps due to its immense value, Pill Master Sun acted with extreme caution.

Though Zhou Luo wasn’t a second level Pill Master, he observed the man was overly prudent.

This revealed a lack of confidence.

Foundation Establishment Dan required three main ingredients and thirty-one auxiliary herbs, each demanding unique melting techniques.

These were skills Zhou Luo needed to learn, so he watched with intense focus.

The others, however, lacked knowledge of alchemy and found the process agonizing, each moment dragging like a year.

After roughly a day, the medicinal properties of these herbs were extracted one by one; next came the fusion of the medicinal liquids.

This step held the greatest peril, for the fusion of properties inevitably brought about clashes of power.

Times like these truly tested the skill of a Pill Master.

Zhou Luo observed with undivided attention, missing not the slightest detail.

As a top-level first-level Pill Master, this alchemy session presented him with an unparalleled learning opportunity.

He might even have a sudden breakthrough and touch the threshold of Second Level alchemy skill.

It would make his years of diligent effort worthwhile.

Pill Master Sun’s technique for fusing the medicine liquids was quite standard, nothing particularly remarkable, yet Zhou Luo still noted several small details and the minor techniques employed.

Another day passed, and the medicinal liquids successfully fused. Zhou Luo even heard someone nearby release a long sigh of relief.

They weren’t Pill Masters themselves, but they had some understanding of alchemy and recognized what step was currently underway.

After the fusion came the guiding of the pill formula.

Mastery of this pill formula was a key measure of a Pill Master’s skill and directly impacted the quality of the final pill.

Pill Master Sun indeed handled the pill formula with effortless grace, without the slightest hesitation.

His hands moved, spiritual energy swirling around him. A light glow enveloped the entire furnace as the flickering pale blue flames intensified.

Zhou Luo watched quietly, mentally recording his movements as he guided the pill formula.

Huh?

Yet the very next moment, a flicker of doubt rose within him.

He detected a sudden, subtle alteration in the adversary’s pill formula—an alteration not recorded in the Qinyuan Sect’s jade slips concerning the Foundation Establishment Dan.

Could this be his unique insight?

It was entirely normal for a Pill Master to have personal epiphanies during their ceaseless daily practice of alchemy.

Why else did teachers exist?

Simply following ancient texts offered only a fifty-fifty chance of success.

But incorporating these personal insights significantly boosted the odds.

Naturally, Zhou Luo didn’t overlook such details. Like an attentive student, he continually absorbed these novel findings.

The guiding of the pill formula lasted a full two days. During this time, everyone endured nail-biting tension, utterly drained both physically and mentally.

Only Zhou Luo remained invigorated, frequently spotting the various small techniques Pill Master Sun employed.

No wonder he had struggled to find the right path.

It was truly because he lacked a teacher’s guidance.

Thinking of this, Zhou Luo’s thoughts involuntarily drifted to Lin Zhi Shou, long deceased, and the deeds the main family had done to him.

Some debts… would inevitably be repaid.

He silently thought.

He withdrew his thoughts and gazed at the large furnace.

After the guidance from the pill formula, the most crucial pill-forming stage began.

At this moment, the hearts of others were in their throats.

Zhou Luo, however, had little interest, as it didn’t concern him, and he had already learned a great deal over the past few days.

Boom——

Accompanied by a dull sound, a lightly fragrant aroma of potion wafted out, making everyone exhilarated.

The potion was complete!

However, Pill Master Sun inside the hall seemed to have a strange expression.

It appeared the refinement effect of the Foundation Establishment Dan wasn’t very good.

Sure enough, Pill Master Sun soon gathered everyone into the hall and stated very helplessly.

Although the Foundation Establishment Dan was complete, only two low-grade potions had been refined.

This caused the three groups of people to look at each other blankly.

The quality of Foundation Establishment Dan directly determined the success rate of Foundation Establishment.

If it were low-grade potions, they would likely only increase the Foundation Establishment success rate by ten to twenty percent.

Not to mention there were only two potions for three groups of people.

Zhou Luo quietly watched; the distribution of the potions among these people should have been arranged in advance, probably related to the materials provided.

He hadn’t expected that in the end, not even a single medium-grade potion had been produced.

He didn’t know whether it was due to Pill Master Sun’s insufficient skill level or because refining Foundation Establishment Dan was too difficult.

It seemed that merely advancing to the second-level novice wasn’t enough.

The refining of that potion made Zhou Luo’s heart sink.

Foundation Establishment materials were inherently rare; if wasted, how terrible that would be.

Ah.

If only he could have directly drawn the Second Level alchemy skill.

Thus, with the skill level of second-level peak alchemy, even if he couldn’t refine top-grade Foundation Establishment Dan, high-grade alone would be sufficient.