Immortality begins with upgrading buildings

Chapter 84 [Alchemy Room: lv1] (Seeking monthly votes)

"Um."

Wen Lin took a deep breath and finally nodded. "There are some things I'd like to discuss with Brother Ji."

"Then come in and talk."

They were all neighbors and good people, so Ji Yuan couldn't very well not let them in. He first turned off the building's visual effects before the two of them went inside.

Ji Yuan also poured Wen Lin a cup of tea.

Wen Lin hurriedly got up and took it with both hands.

After the two sat down, Wen Lin pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Ji, you must also be preparing for Foundation Establishment, right?"

"Foundation Building?"

Ji Yuan smiled and shook his head. "It's still far from certain, Brother Wen, why did you bring this up?"

Wen Lin remained silent for a moment, seemingly struggling with his decision.

Ji Yuan wasn't in a hurry, and waited for a while before hearing him say, "Pseudo-spiritual root foundation building always requires foundation building pills, Brother Ji should know that, right?"

"Know."

"I once saw an incomplete formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill in my early years, and I know that there is a key ingredient in it... This ingredient is probably rare even in the Water Dragon Sect."

"Oh?"

Ji Yuan became somewhat interested.

Wen Lin followed up, saying, "But there happens to be one in Yunyu Marsh, and I know where it is."

He said this in a very low voice.

Ji Yuan remained calm after hearing the story.

"What does Brother Wen need me to do?"

Ji Yuan went straight to the point.

"This..." Wen Lin didn't expect Ji Yuan to be so direct, but now he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "I need Brother Ji to help me deal with a few people."

"several?"

"Three."

"How many are in the late-stage Qi Refining realm?"

All three are.

Ji Yuan: "..."

"Brother Wen, you really think highly of me." Ji Yuan looked both amused and exasperated. "I've only just broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, and you're already thinking of having me deal with three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators."

"No, it's just this..."

Before Wen Lin could finish speaking, Ji Yuan shook his head and interrupted:

"It's too early to say now. Since Brother Wen has been able to stay here for a year, he must be quite comfortable. In that case, let's wait a few years until my cultivation level is higher before making any decisions."

Wen Lin definitely comes from a cultivation family in a certain market in Yunyuze, just like Qin Wei from the Qin family.

Ji Yuan had already seen through this.

So it's not surprising that Ji Yuan knew these things.

As for the medicinal herbs used for Foundation Establishment... it's impossible not to be tempted, but Ji Yuan is now facing three late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and he certainly won't risk his life for them.

With the control panel, he could wait a while longer until his cultivation level increased, then use that to suppress others.

There's no need to try to win big with a small investment.

Therefore, it would be acceptable to forgo these foundation-building medicinal herbs.

Ji Yuan had considered asking Yao Jingfeng and the other two, but there was only one medicinal herb. Even if they got it, how would they distribute it?

It's troublesome either way, so I might as well wait.

"Alright..."

Wen Lin nodded silently, "That family would definitely not be willing to use such a good thing, much less give it away. They would most likely keep it for their own family members."

"But if we want to achieve Foundation Establishment..." Wen Lin shook his head, "No one in that family can do it now, so we can only wait a few decades and see the next generation."

Wen Lin seemed to know that family quite well... Ji Yuan didn't ask any further questions, but just smiled and nodded, saying, "No rush."

"Um."

Wen Lin stood up, gave a slight bow, and was about to leave when Ji Yuan smiled and said, "Brother Wen, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I also have something I'd like to ask you."

"Oh? What brings you here, Brother Ji?"

Wen Lin was slightly surprised.

He never imagined that Ji Yuan, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator, would have anything to ask him for advice.

"I would like to ask for your guidance on how to begin learning alchemy."

Ji Yuan expressed the idea that he had been pondering for a long time.

I can now skillfully draw first-tier mid-grade talismans, but I still can't get started with high-grade talismans. I'm always just a little bit short of the skill. In that case, I might as well unlock the alchemy skill tree first.

Moreover, there are Foundation Establishment Pills waiting for him ahead, so he can't let go of the path of alchemy.

Firstly, it's safer to refine Foundation Establishment Pills yourself, without worrying about any problems. Secondly, refining them yourself can save a lot of spirit stones. Not to mention the cost of materials, just finding someone to refine them is a considerable expense.

Thirdly, there's the issue of success rate.

Even if you ask another alchemist for help, they can't guarantee success on the first try. If you can succeed with four or five out of ten sets of materials, that would be considered extremely good.

If you were to find a top-tier alchemist with a higher success rate... even if you did, they might not be willing to take the plunge.

Not to mention, whether it can even be found is a question.

With this thought in mind, Ji Yuan glanced at the panel.

[Alchemy Room: lv0 (current)]

[Alchemy Room: lv1]

[Effect: Success rate of Tier 1 pills +20%, success rate of Tier 2 pills +5%]

[Upgrade Requirements: 10 low-grade spirit stones, 1 copy of "Introduction to Alchemy", successfully refine 1 "Hundred Herbs Pill" (Not yet achieved)]

The effects of the [Alchemist] and [Talisman Room] are almost identical.

Once you reach level 1, you can increase the success rate of first-tier pills by 20%. In this way, your own pill-making rate is not bad at all. Instead of asking others, you might as well spend more time on it yourself.

"Alchemy?!"

Wen Lin's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "Brother Ji, are you also interested in alchemy?"

"Exactly."

Ji Yuan smiled and nodded.

Upon hearing this, Wen Lin flipped his hand and took out a book titled "An Introduction to Alchemy." "Have you read this, scribe?"

"I've seen it."

As Ji Yuan spoke, he took out a small, double-eared bronze cauldron from his storage bag, along with a variety of medicinal herbs including Heavenly Spirit Fruit, Nine-Leaf Lingzhi, Five Willow Root, and Ashes of Rush Pith.

Wen Lin glanced at him and said, "Brother Ji, you're planning to start with the Hundred Herbs Pill."

"Exactly."

The Hundred Herbs Pill is also a low-grade first-class pill, and it is also a pill that the alchemy room clearly marks as required. Ji Yuan would naturally not choose the more distant option.

"The three steps of alchemy are fusion, purification, and pill formation. Brother Ji, which step are you struggling with?"

"The pill is formed." Ji Yuan recalled his pill-refining process and said in a deep voice, "The process before that was fine, but I always failed when it came to forming the pill."

Upon hearing this, Wen Lin smiled and cupped his hands in apology, saying, "Please forgive my bluntness..."

"Between you and me, Brother Wen, please speak frankly."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. Based on my many years of experience in alchemy, Brother Ji, the problem probably lies in one of the earlier steps."

"Oh?"

"If there are no problems ahead, completing the pill should not be a big issue."

"Too……"

That makes some sense.

"How about this, Brother Ji, if it's convenient for you, let me watch you refine a batch of Hundred Herbs Pills and see where the problem lies, what do you say?" Wen Lin suggested.

"I couldn't have gotten it."

Ji Yuan was thinking of exactly this: if he could find an expert to give him some pointers, he would surely be able to get started with the Hundred Herbs Pill.

He initially thought of going to find Limpy Li, who was also an alchemist, but then he thought that his relationship with Wen Lin's family was actually better, so there was no need to go to such lengths.

To refine a first-tier pill, one only needs to use the "Separation Fire Technique" to manipulate the flames.

Only when refining pills of the second rank or higher is it necessary to draw upon the power of the earth's veins.

So Ji Yuan started trying it at home.

He first followed the instructions in the "Hundred Herbs Elixir Formula" to remove the pit from the Heavenly Spirit Fruit with a jade knife, then soaked the Nine-Leaf Lingzhi in rootless water beforehand, and finally ground the Five Willow Roots into fine powder and mixed it with the ash of the rush pith.

Wen Lin watched the entire process of processing the medicinal herbs without uttering a sound.

Only after Ji Yuan finished processing did he say, "There were no problems with processing the medicinal herbs."

An hour later, the nine-leaf Ganoderma lucidum had been soaked for a while.

Ji Yuancai used the Fire Separation Technique to summon a ball of crimson flame, which he then suspended below the alchemy furnace.

The first step in alchemy is fusion, which means refining all the medicinal materials into a medicinal liquid.

After five breaths of fire had been released, Ji Yuan then added Heavenly Spirit Fruit, Nine-Leaf Lingzhi, and Five Willow Root Mixture Powder into the alchemy furnace in sequence.

After the medicinal herbs were added, the flame maintained its original temperature.

This continued for about half an incense stick's time, until all the medicinal herbs had turned into a medicinal liquid.

Ji Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He waited a while longer until the liquid turned amber before suddenly increasing the amount of spiritual energy he injected.

The flame, which was originally only the size of a fist, suddenly grew to the size of a human head.

As a wave of heat swept in, the medicinal liquid inside the furnace visibly shrank.

Ji Yuan kept track of the time.

According to the prescription, heating only needs to be continued for ten breaths.

By the fifth breath, he was already forming the Frostbite Technique with his other hand.

However, very little spiritual energy was used.

After ten breaths, he extinguished the fire with his left hand and placed the Frost Technique on the alchemy furnace with his right hand.

This is the second step in alchemy: removing impurities.

The temperature inside the alchemy furnace cooled down rapidly, and a layer of dark brown impurities quickly condensed on the surface of the medicinal liquid.

After waiting for three breaths, Ji Yuan once again used the Fire Separation Technique to heat the elixir.

And this is the final step in alchemy: the pill is formed.

As the liquid pills floated in the air, Ji Yuan formed the "condensing pills" hand seal, dividing the liquid pills into three portions to begin condensing them.

Just as the elixir had transformed into a pill, it shattered at the most crucial step, turning into dregs.

Seeing this, Ji Yuan simply shrugged and gave up resisting.

"Look."

He smiled helplessly.

Wen Lin breathed a sigh of relief after watching the whole thing, and smiled, "I've accomplished my mission."

"You've spotted the problem?!"

Ji Yuan said with delight.

"Hmm." Wen Lin nodded, then explained, "Actually, the problem that Brother Ji made is one that many of us water-type cultivators encounter."

"Oh?"

"It's the step of removing impurities. Because we are water-based cultivators, and Brother Ji is in the late stage of Qi Refining, the Frost Technique he used might have been too strong, causing the temperature inside the furnace to drop too quickly. Some impurities were not forced out. Next time you refine pills, Brother Ji just needs to be more careful with your spiritual energy."

"So that's how it is..."

Ji Yuan nodded knowingly. At first glance, it did seem to make sense, and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense.

"Brother Wen, are you alright? If you are, how about you help me refine another batch?"

Ji Yuan couldn't wait to take out another portion of medicinal herbs from his storage bag; he had more than ten portions of this stuff.

"It's nothing, Brother Ji, just go ahead and do it." Wen Lin still had that same smiling look on his face.

Over the next hour or so, Ji Yuan followed the same method, but when it came time to remove impurities, he also reduced the spiritual energy, which weakened the effect of the Frost Technique.

In this way, the hand seal for condensing the elixir was unleashed.

The last three Hundred Herbs Pills were reduced to two, which ended up in Ji Yuan's hands.

Seeing this, Wen Lin smiled and said, "Successfully in one go, and even produced two pills. It seems that Brother Ji's talent in alchemy is even higher than his talent in talisman making."

"It's all thanks to Brother Wen's excellent teaching."

Ji Yuan looked at the Hundred Herbs Pill in his hand, feeling somewhat pleased.

After all, this was only his first time learning the basics, and he had already succeeded in making two. Perhaps it was true, as Wen Lin had said, that his talent in alchemy might be even greater than his talent in talisman-making.

After Ji Yuandan was completed, Wen Lin gave him some more instructions on the precautions for alchemy and some common problems encountered on the path of alchemy.

The most common example is the alchemy furnace, which has to withstand the sudden drop in temperature during each alchemy process to remove impurities, as well as the subsequent temperature increase when the pill is formed.

Such alternating hot and cold temperatures actually cause great damage to the alchemy furnace.

Some lower-quality alchemy furnaces simply cannot withstand prolonged alchemy processes.

Therefore, once cracks are found in the alchemy furnace, it must be replaced in time to prevent it from exploding.

The power of a furnace explosion is immense; many alchemists have been killed by them. Be extremely careful.

He also told Ji Yuan that if he had any problems, he could come to him anytime.

Ji Yuan smiled and agreed.

After seeing Wen Lin off, Ji Yuan returned to the house and looked at the control panel.

Sure enough, three more words had appeared after "Alchemy Room".

(Upgradeable)

Since that's the case, Ji Yuan had nothing to hesitate about. After all, upgrading the [Alchemy Room] from level 0 to level 1 only required 10 low-grade spirit stones and a copy of "An Introduction to Alchemy".

As soon as he had a thought, the interface of the [Alchemy Room] refreshed.

The building has been upgraded to level 1.

Immediately following, the upgrade requirements and effects of the Level 2 [Alchemy Room] popped up on the panel.

(End of this chapter)