The fairy forced me to marry into her family, so I retorted by throwing myself into the Pool of Fate

The book is not thick; it's a thin volume with only about thirty pages in total.

Li Ping spent three days reading it through three times from beginning to end.

The first reading is a general overview, the second a close reading, and the third a meticulous, word-by-word analysis.

The alchemical texts are nothing more than the basics of alchemy.

The identification and processing of medicinal materials, the control and adjustment of heat, the techniques and timing of alchemy, and various taboos during the condensation of the elixir.

These things, to put it bluntly, are just a thin layer of paper.

Once you break through it, it's not difficult.

If you don't expose it, it can drive people crazy.

Li Ping thought to himself that although he could not be said to have extraordinary talent, he had the advantage of being willing to put in the effort.

If you don't understand it the first time, read it twice.

If you don't understand it after two readings, read it three times.

After three days, he had thoroughly digested the contents of the alchemical text and transformed them into his own understanding.

He had memorized the basic alchemy techniques, the classification of medicinal properties, and the processing of medicinal materials.

But he didn't rush to try it.

Alchemy is something that cannot be rushed.

One sentence in the book left a deep impression on him.

"Refining elixirs is like cooking a small fish; a slight difference in the heat or the slightest difference in the medicinal properties can lead to worlds apart."

The cost of a single batch of pills can easily be as high as ten or twenty spirit stones.

If you rush into it and ruin batch after batch, even the richest family fortune can't withstand such mismanagement.

So Li Ping suppressed his eagerness and spent two more days repeatedly studying the alchemical text and the formula for the Returning Cloud Pill.

The next day, the sky was bright and clear.

Li Ping left the courtyard and headed straight for the Hundred Utensils Pavilion.

As he stepped through the door, a young cultivator greeted him with a smile; it was the same person who had received him last time.

Upon seeing Li Ping, the young man's face lit up with a smile: "Fellow Daoist, you've arrived again. How was that magical artifact you used last time?"

"It's alright." Li Ping nodded, casually brushing it off.

"That's good, that's good." The young man rubbed his hands together, his smile becoming even more ingratiating. "What would you like to buy this time, friend?"

"Alchemy furnace".

Upon hearing this, the young man's eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly, "Fellow Daoist, you've come to the right place again. Pill furnaces are the specialty of our Hundred Weapons Pavilion. The pill furnaces we make are exquisite and famous far and wide. The pill furnace used by Master Huang in the workshop was made by my family."

Li Ping knew Master Huang. He was a local rogue cultivator in Xikoufang City, and his alchemy skills were superb, making him quite famous in the area.

But what the young man said was a bit far-fetched.

Li Ping looked at him coldly and said indifferently, "Isn't your family's specialty the sword box? How come it's turned into an alchemy furnace in just a few days?"

The young man paused for a moment, then gave an embarrassed smile and explained, "I forgot to mention it last time, I forgot to mention it."

Li Ping did not call him out on his words.

Which businessperson doesn't try to make a name for themselves? Just listen to these boasts and leave them at that.

He waved his hand and said, "Bring me a few alchemy furnaces to take a look."

The young man nodded repeatedly, turned around and took three alchemy furnaces from the shelf, arranging them in a row on the counter.

"Fellow Daoist, please take a look." He pointed to the first alchemy furnace and said, "This furnace is called the Azure Flame Furnace. Its inner wall is covered with bluestone powder, which conducts heat very well and is most suitable for refining fire-attribute pills."

"This is the Hundred Herbs Furnace. Its inner walls have been tempered, so the pills refined from it naturally contain a trace of herbal spiritual energy."

"This one is the most remarkable. It is called the Three Talents Furnace, which means the three talents of heaven, earth and man. The furnace is divided into three layers: the outer layer draws in earth fire, the middle layer gathers spiritual energy, and the inner layer contains medicinal power."

Using this furnace for alchemy allows for extremely precise control of the heat, making it easy even for beginners to master.

Upon hearing this, Li Ping looked them over one by one.

Indeed, as the young man said, these three alchemy furnaces were well-made and of excellent quality.

The Azure Flame Furnace has a faint blue luster and flame patterns are engraved on its surface.

The herbal furnace has an antique color, and you can smell a faint medicinal fragrance when you get close.

The Sancai censer is the most exquisite, with three legs standing upright and gemstones inlaid on the lid, making it clear that it is very expensive.

After looking at it, Li Ping asked, "What's the price?"

The young man said, "The Azure Flame Furnace costs 1,200 spirit stones, the Hundred Herbs Furnace costs 1,800 spirit stones, and the Three Talents Furnace... costs 3,000 spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Li Ping felt a chill run down his spine.

The worst one costs 1200.

Buying a pill furnace costs so much money. If he doesn't have the talent to refine pills, he won't even have a chance to break even.

Thinking of this, Li Ping shook his head: "Too expensive."

"Fellow Daoist, what you say is true." The young man smiled and said calmly, "The alchemy furnace is not like a magic tool; it's something that can generate money."

"It's a bit expensive, but think about it, fellow Daoist, once the pills are refined, you can sell them and recoup your costs, right? This is a highly profitable business."

Li Ping wasn't fooled at all.

That sounds nice, but the prerequisite is that you can actually refine the pill.

As a novice, what is my success rate in achieving the desired pill?

One furnace was ruined, then another; the spirit stones were wasted, and it would take forever to recoup the cost of the furnaces.

"Do you have anything cheaper?" Li Ping asked directly.

The young man looked troubled: "There are cheaper ones, but those of inferior quality are not worthy of you, fellow Daoist."

Li Ping glanced at him and frowned.

Is this guy taking advantage of me because I was generous last time?

Last time, Li Ping did spend a considerable amount of spirit stones to buy the sword box for the Formless Array Flag.

But that was a last resort, so naturally, more money was spent on it.

The alchemy furnace is different.

This is just for practice, it doesn't need to be anything too fancy.

For beginners practicing, as long as the furnace works, it's fine; it won't hurt if it's ruined.

Spending a lot of money to buy a good stove can actually restrict your abilities.

Thinking of this, Li Ping waved his hand and decisively said, "Forget it, I want a used one."

The young man was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard.

"Fellow Daoist, a second-hand alchemy furnace is..." He opened his mouth, wanting to persuade him, "but second-hand alchemy furnaces usually have hidden damage, the internal energy patterns are severely worn, and the heat conduction is completely uneven..."

"If you say that again, I won't even want the secondhand alchemy furnace anymore," Li Ping interrupted.

Seeing that he looked serious and not joking, the young man had no choice but to give up.

He bent down and pulled two large wooden crates out from under the counter.

As soon as the box was opened, a musty smell wafted out.

It was completely full of second-hand religious artifacts.

Flying swords, array flags, armor, alchemy furnaces... were piled up haphazardly.

The young man rummaged through the box for a while before finally digging out three alchemy furnaces and placing them on the counter.

Perhaps because there's not much profit to be made from secondhand items, the young man lost his earlier enthusiasm when introducing the products, and only said a few casual words.

"This is an old Azure Flame Furnace. The inner wall is a bit cracked, but it doesn't affect its use."

"I don't know its name; there are repair marks on the bottom of the furnace."

"This one is alright, it's the best in condition of the three, but it's a bit old."

Li Ping ignored his attitude and glanced at the three alchemy furnaces one by one.

The cracks on the inner wall of the first Azure Flame Furnace are visible to the naked eye.

The alchemical text states that cracks in the inner wall can cause uneven heating during the refining process, which can lead to failure in condensing the elixir or even an explosion in the furnace. Li Ping immediately ruled this out.

The second repaired one had crooked and messy patches on the bottom of the furnace, clearly the work of an amateur craftsman, and unreliable.

The third one is the best looking. It's an all-black iron stove with no decorations on the body. It has a simple design, and although the stove walls show signs of age, they are well-preserved.

Li Ping reached out and tapped on the furnace wall.

The wall thickness is uniform and there are no hidden defects.

"This one," Li Ping pointed to the third alchemy furnace.

The young man glanced at it and said, "This costs seventy spirit stones."

Li Ping curled his lip: "Thirty spirit stones."

The young man was startled and his eyes widened: "Fellow Daoist, who offers to haggle down to half price?"

Li Ping pointed to the two large boxes: "The things in there are unsellable anyway, and they're just taking up space. That's enough."

The young man's expression froze.

Li Ping's words hit him right where it hurt.

The contents of these two boxes are indeed old stock that has been sitting around for many years.

The good items have already been picked over, and what's left are all defective products of poor quality, and only a few can be sold throughout the year.

Leaving it there takes up space and affects the appearance of the shop.

It's like a chicken rib – you can't bear to throw it away, but you feel reluctant to part with it.

The young man smiled helplessly and finally nodded: "Alright, alright, thirty it is."

Li Ping paid the spirit stones, put away the alchemy furnace, and turned to leave the shop.

Instead of rushing back, he went to Chen's Pharmacy again.

It was still that same round-faced little girl standing at the counter.

This time, Li Ping didn't waste any time and directly bought three sets of materials for the Returning Cloud Pill.

……

……

in the courtyard.

On the stone table, Li Ping set up the alchemy furnace.

The ancient texts state that if residual medicinal dregs are not cleaned properly and are mixed with new medicine, the quality of the medicine will be reduced, or the medicine will be rendered useless.

Li Ping channeled his magical power, and wisps of fine water vapor seeped from his fingertips, seeping into the furnace wall and peeling away the accumulated medicinal residue bit by bit.

They rinsed it three times until there was no more odor in the oven before they stopped.

After cleaning the alchemy furnace, Li Ping spread out the three portions of medicinal herbs and processed them one by one.

Conventional processing of medicinal herbs is indeed tedious.

For example, the most common Spirit Gathering Grass, according to the alchemical records, needs to be soaked in spiritual spring water for three quarters of an hour to remove impurities from the surface of the grass leaves.

Then, it is slowly dried at a low temperature to gradually draw out the moisture from the grass leaves, preserving their spiritual essence.

Finally, it is chopped into fine pieces, and the whole process takes at least half an hour.

Take Solomon's Seal as another example. The ancient texts say that it must first be peeled, then steamed, and finally sliced ​​and dried. It takes half a day to process one batch.

However, the method recorded in the Yun Dan formula was unbelievably simple.

Simply chop the Gynostemma pentaphyllum and pound the Polygonatum sibiricum into a paste.

That's it.

No soaking, no steaming, and not even complicated pretreatment.

It's that simple and straightforward.

When Li Ping first saw this, he also had some doubts.

This is completely different from what is said in the book. Isn't this too hasty?

But after thinking about it, he decided to trust Danfang.

This thing was given by the Well of Chance.

Since the prescription says to handle it this way, then let's do it this way.

He took out the Spirit Gathering Grass and spread it out one by one on the stone table.

The leaves of the Gathering Spirit Grass are dark green and covered with fine veins.

Following the instructions of the prescription, Li Ping chopped the Gathering Spirit Grass into small, fine pieces.

After chopping the Spirit Gathering Grass, I divided it into three portions.

One batch per batch, no more, no less.

Next up is Polygonatum.

Polygonatum is a rhizome-based medicinal herb with a tough texture, so it needs to be pounded into a paste using a stone mortar and pestle.

Li Ping took the stone mortar, broke the Solomon's Seal into small pieces and put them in, then picked up the pestle and pounded it bit by bit.

The pestle fell, and the Solomon's Seal was crushed and ground.

Gradually, the originally hard Solomon's Seal Root blocks turned into a viscous, mushy substance, and a faint, sweet aroma spread out.

Li Ping divided the Polygonatum sibiricum into three portions and placed them in corresponding portions with the Gathering Spirit Grass powder.

After doing all this, he stood up and went inside.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

Alchemy is not just a craft, but also a test of one's mind and spirit.

When refining elixirs, one must keep a close eye on the changes inside the furnace with one's spiritual sense, without being distracted in the slightest.

The magical power must be continuously poured into the furnace to maintain a stable temperature.

Refining a batch of pills takes anywhere from half an hour to several hours, and it consumes a great deal of mental energy and magical power.

Li Ping wanted to ensure he was in peak condition before starting to refine the first batch of pills.

The time it takes for an incense stick to burn has passed.

Li Ping opened his eyes, his gaze deep and his breathing steady.

He walked into the courtyard and stood in front of the stone table.

Take a deep breath and form a hand seal.

The magical power surged from his dantian and flowed into the fire at the bottom of the alchemy furnace through hand seals.

Whoosh, a flame ignited at the bottom of the furnace.

Li Ping probed into the furnace with his divine sense, closely observing the changes inside.

The temperature of the alchemy furnace slowly rose, first becoming warm, then scorching hot, and finally the furnace walls began to glow with a faint red light.

When the fire was ready, Li Ping waved his left hand and lifted the lid of the furnace.

He poured the prepared Spirit Gathering Grass powder into the furnace.

As soon as the Spirit Gathering Grass was crushed and put into the furnace, it made a hissing sound.

Li Ping kept a close eye on the furnace, not daring to relax for a moment.

The recipe says that after the Spirit Gathering Grass is put into the furnace, you must wait until you smell a burnt aroma before proceeding to the next step.

It has a caramelized aroma, not a burnt smell.

The degree of subtlety in this matter depends entirely on intuition.

It's not written in the scriptures, so it can't be taught; you can only rely on yourself.

As time passed, the fragments of the Spirit Gathering Grass inside the furnace gradually changed color under the high temperature, from dark green to light green, and then from light green to burnt yellow.

Just then, a faint aroma of roasting wafted from the stove.

Without hesitation, Li Ping immediately put out the fire.

At the same time, the other hand poured the water that had been prepared into the stove.

Water is poured into the hot stove, stirring up a cloud of white steam.

As the mist dissipated, the Spirit Gathering Grass inside the furnace dissolved in the water, turning into a bluish-green liquid.

The colors are correct.

It's exactly the same as described in the prescription.

The amount of water is right, and the cooking time is right.

Li Ping felt a little relieved.

Refine it in this way for a quarter of an hour.

The Spirit Gathering Grass inside the furnace had completely turned into a bluish-green liquid, viscous like paste, slowly tumbling at the bottom of the furnace.

Li Ping glanced at it to make sure the cooking time was right before adding the Polygonatum sibiricum paste.

As soon as the two medicinal herbs came into contact, a delicate fragrance rose from the stove.

It has a complex aroma, unlike the fresh scent of *Gynostemma pentaphyllum* or the sweet aroma of *Polygonatum sibiricum*.

Li Ping reduced the intensity of the fire, maintaining his magical power at a stable level.

A small flame burned gently at the bottom of the furnace, and the liquid inside slowly mingled under the low heat.

The bluish-green liquid gradually blended with the golden-yellow Solomon's seal, and the color slowly turned amber.

Time passed slowly, and the fragrance grew stronger.

Li Ping kept his divine sense focused on the furnace, not daring to relax for a moment.

After an unknown amount of time, the liquid inside the furnace had completely fused together, forming a lump of amber-colored paste.

Seeing this, Li Ping abruptly extinguished the fire, then formed a hand seal with both hands, channeling his magical power into the furnace like fine threads.

The paste-like substance was jolted violently in the furnace, and gradually contracted and solidified.

"The first batch of pills has finally been completed."

Li Ping exhaled a breath of stale air, his forehead already beaded with sweat.

The mental and magical energy expenditure of refining just one batch of pills was greater than that of fighting a battle.

He composed himself and reached out to lift the lid.

A burnt smell wafted over, and Li Ping's heart sank.

Upon closer inspection, five pills lay quietly at the bottom of the furnace, all of them blackened.

They were all useless pills; not a single one was formed.

Li Ping remained silent for a long time, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

"I followed the prescription step by step, how could this happen?"

He mentally reviewed every step of the alchemy process.

When the Spirit Gathering Grass was added, a burnt aroma was detected, which was consistent with the description in the recipe.

The liquid after adding water has the correct color, indicating that the amount of water and the heat are both correct.

When the two medicinal herbs are combined, a pleasant fragrance is released, and they do indeed eventually solidify into a paste.

Every step looks correct.

But the result was that everything was ruined.

Li Ping couldn't figure out the problem, and suddenly felt a bit frustrated.

He poured out the waste pills and placed them on the stone table.

The five discarded pills were charred black and emitted a pungent burnt smell.

I pinched it with my fingertips; the outside was as hard as a pebble and crumbled easily, while the inside was sticky.

Is the heat not right?

Or did something go wrong during the condensation of the elixir?

Li Ping shook his head, unable to find a clue for the moment.

He didn't rush to refine the second batch, but instead picked up the pill formula again and read it through from beginning to end.

After looking at it for a long time, I still couldn't find a single mistake.

That's strange.

Li Ping leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and tapped his fingers lightly.

The prescription was correct, and my procedure was also correct.

So where did the problem lie?

Li Ping suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the secondhand alchemy furnace.

Is it a problem with the stove?

Or is it that alchemy is not that easy, and you underestimated the difficulty?

Li Ping sat in the chair, his gaze shifting back and forth between the pill formula, the discarded pills, and the pill furnace.

After a long while, he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Try again."

Li Ping stood up, cleaned the stone table, and restarted the fire in the stove.