Chapter 158: Concoction
Translator: _Dark_Angel_ Editor: Kurisu
“Heavens, how could merely separating the ingredients look so beautiful?”
“My goodness, to purify seven different ingredients at the same time?”
“What, I thought purifying seven different ingredients at the same time was only meant to speed up the concoction process a bit, but smelling this herbal aroma, it seems like the ingredients are far purer than those purified in the usual manner!”
“This is too shocking!”
Those who had gasped out in shock were the few Black Grade low level alchemists who had not managed to observe Ling Han’s concoction process the last time. The other Black Grade middle level alchemists all bore haughty expressions, secretly calling the people who had exclaimed in shock a group of country bumpkins who had never seen the world.
Yet they did not recall that when it had been their first time seeing Ling Han concoct an alchemical pill, their reactions were also the same as these people’s—making a fuss about nothing, one moment erupting in clamor, and the next stunned into silence.
However, as Ling Han proceeded further, all of them kept their eyes wide open, staring determinedly at Ling Han. This included Fu Yuan Sheng. Every move that Ling Han made seemed to guide along their focus, which would follow every move Ling Han made.
In their eyes, Ling Han was no longer just a wet-behind-the-ears youth, but an Almighty Alchemist of indomitable spirit. Every move he made was filled with an air of perfection, exuding a beautiful rhythm that only alchemists could feel.
That’s right. It was rhythm or what was so-called tempo.
Alchemy could be claimed as a kind of art. An art of controlling flames, an art of observing as the various ingredients transformed and merged together under high heat. It was an art filled with a very unique rhythm of its own.
However, everyone here could not manage to display that feeling of rhythm. They were only following the written instructions, doing everything as what the pill formula described. They would put in specific ingredients at the time that was written on the pill formula, use flames of a certain temperature at a certain time. Everything they did was done mechanically and stiffly.
Yet Ling Han had stepped beyond these limitations. Sometimes, he would obviously not be following the instructions of the pill formula strictly, but through a strange rhythm that linked all his actions together, it was a display that was too amazing for words.
Grandmaster Alchemist! No, no, no, Almighty Alchemist! Or even, Alchemist Emperor!
They all nodded their heads. If it was not for the fact that Ling Han was too young and his cultivation level too low, perhaps he would be able to concoct Earth Grade pills now, or even the mythical Heaven Grade pills.
When they thought this, they all could not help but experience shock. Theoretically, an alchemist in Element Gathering Tier would only be able to concoct Yellow Grade high level pills. This had nothing to do with the alchemist’s ability, but was completely determined by the alchemist’s cultivation level. There was nothing that could be done about it. If an alchemist’s cultivation level was not high enough, he would not be able to produce a high enough temperature for higher grade pills.
Thus, the only result would be Ling Han’s failure.
But when they looked at the brilliant alchemic abilities that Ling Han had already displayed, he really did not seem like someone who would try out something even though he obviously knew it would fail.
Unless, could it be…
They all stared at Ling Han closely as a possibility rose up in their minds.
Hong!
A crimson flame suddenly erupted from Ling Han’s palm. It was the Strange Fire.
As expected!
All the alchemists exhaled in shock as they finally understood why Ling Han would dare to concoct an alchemical pill so close to Earth Grade and where his confidence came from.
Strange Fire would be able to compensate for an alchemist’s shortcomings in terms of cultivation level. In fact, there were some alchemists who had found an alternative by cultivating some kind of Fire-aligned secret arts to increase the heat of their flames. This could be considered a dishonest way of doing things, but it allowed them to achieve a similar result.
Of course, when compared with a real Strange Fire, all of these secret arts could only be considered inferior.
Ling Han’s movements became faster and faster, and more and more sweat beaded on his forehead. Due to the high heat rising from the furnace, signs of dehydration once again appeared on him as even his lips cracked slightly.
It felt like a blur to the eyes of all the others. The rapid speed at which Ling Han was moving caused them to slightly feel as if they were unable to follow his moves. This was because they not only had to observe carefully each move that Ling Han made, but understand the rationale and logic behind each and every move. Just contemplate for a moment about one move in their heads, and they would have missed out on quite a number of consecutive movements from Ling Han.
But that was all right. If they were able to learn one or two moves, it would be enough for them to study for quite a while and drastically increase their own ability as alchemists.
…The million coins that they had spent was completely worth it.
Hong, hong, hong. Flames continuously flickered and appeared on Ling Han’s hand. Sometimes the flames would be extraordinarily strong, while at other times, they would appear very weak. It was not that he had lost control over his flames. On the contrary, this was proof that the level of control he had over the temperature of the flames had reached the level of perfection.
‘That’s right. When my fusion with the Strange Fire has advanced to another level, guiding it would have a kind of feeling like it was done completely freely and effortlessly,’ Ling Han thought. He actually still had the room to think of something else.
When others concocted alchemical pills, they would all be putting their whole focus on the concoction process. Being distracted for the slightest moment could mean the furnace exploding and having wasted all their previous efforts. But who asked Ling Han’s alchemy standards to be too high? He could even concoct Heaven Grade alchemical pills, so this was naturally a piece of cake to him.
In fact, he was only thinking now. If he actually wanted to, he could completely give a lecture while he was still in the midst of the concoction process. However, if he actually did that, it was likely he would be scaring everyone here to death.
Because… this was a pill that was close to Earth Grade!
After half an hour, Ling Han’s right hand suddenly trembled, and three different flames shot out. They were all of different colors, and it looked as if he was setting off fireworks.
Three Fire Guide!
This was of course not as simple as it looked. The specifics of it still lay in Ling Han’s personal techniques. This was of course not to be taught to outsiders.
Pill completed!
Ling Han did not immediately lift the lid of the furnace. The higher the grade of alchemical pills, the better their effects would be when they were allowed to stay in the still warm furnace after being completed until they had cooled naturally. Meanwhile, he began to meditate, recovering the Origin Power and mental energy that he had expended.
“How many completed pills could there be?”
“From the look of the ingredients, there should be eight completed pills in total.”
“That’s right. There should be eight completed pills, but taking into account the level of difficulty for concocting a pill so close to Earth Grade, managing to produce one completed pill would be amazing enough.”
“One completed pill with quality above five Stars could be considered successful enough.”
When they saw Ling Han had finally finished the concoction process, those alchemists who had withheld their words for such a long time finally began to talk. They were all discussing whether or not Ling Han had succeeded—if the furnace had exploded, that would mean that everything was wasted. But even if the furnace had not exploded, that did not automatically mean it was a success. Possibly, the completed pill may not even have the lowest quality of one Star.
However, because Ling Han was still meditating, none of them dared to rashly step forward and open up the furnace to find out. Some of the more impatient ones were already starting to fidget where they were standing.
After another ten plus minutes, Ling Han finally opened his eyes. He smiled softly at them, and said, “I know that you are all very curious.”
All of them smiled sheepishly. But this time also involved Ling Han getting the license of a Black Grade high level alchemist, so it was no wonder they were curious.
“Young Master Han, don’t leave us hanging anymore. I’m about to die of anxiety,” Fu Yuan Sheng said with a laugh. This was also what everyone else was thinking to say.
Ling Han pushed the alchemy furnace slightly forward, and said, “Then you may all look now!”
All of them hurriedly pressed forwards. However, there was really too many of them, and the furnace was really too small. Peng, peng, peng, peng. Suddenly, a lot of heads crashed into one another, causing those who had suffered from this accident to grab onto their heads and shout.
“Don’t cram in. One after another!” because of his cultivation level of Spiritual Pedestal Tier, Fu Yuan Sheng managed to snatch the alchemy furnace, causing the others to silently curse inwardly. However, who asked Fu Yuan Sheng to be a Black Grade high level alchemist, a powerful warrior of Spiritual Pedestal Tier, and someone that had higher status and was more powerful than them?
Fu Yuan Sheng was a bit nervous, and even the hand he stretched out was trembling slightly. All of a sudden, he lifted the lid of the furnace.
“What?!” he immediately gasped out in shock. His eyes were wide and perfectly round, and an expression of utter disbelief appeared on his face.
“Master Fu, what is it?”
“Could it be that there isn’t even one completed pill?”
All of them asked hurriedly. If it was not for the fact that they were a bit scared of Fu Yuan Sheng’s status and power, they really wanted to snatch the furnace from him.
Fu Yuan Sheng did not utter one word, and after a long time, he finally bore an expression of utter reverence as he said, “Young Master Han is almighty in alchemy. My admiration for you is incomparable.” He lowered the furnace and showed it to the others.
And inside, there shockingly lay nine perfectly round alchemical pills!