Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

After breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

After a good day of rest, Zhang Li took out his alchemy furnace with great enthusiasm. He first refined several batches of Qi Nourishing Pills, and after warming them up, he took out a set of materials for Qi Condensation Pills from his storage bag.

Lacking a systematic lineage of alchemy, he only possessed the recipes for the spiritual herbs needed to refine the Qi Condensation Pill. Everything else, from controlling the heat to the fusion process, had to be figured out by himself.

But Zhang Li doesn't care about that. He possesses the Black Field Cave, where he can accelerate the growth of the spiritual herbs and plants he needs, and he can withstand repeated trials and errors.

"Open the furnace!"

Full of confidence, Zhang Li threw the materials one by one into the alchemy furnace, then activated the fire control array to ignite the spiritual fire.

Operating the fire control array is now second nature to Zhang Li. With his precise control, the furnace moves flexibly according to his will.

In the step of refining the essence, he used his experience accumulated when refining Qi-Nourishing Pills, combined with the changes in the medicinal liquid, to judge the extraction status of the medicinal liquid.

Since it was in the initial exploratory stage, Zhang Li intentionally controlled the quenching time, so that he could use the changes in the medicinal liquid after fusion to deduce the situation of the first step of quenching.

This was a last resort, and it was also the only method he could use.

However, to Zhang Li's surprise, the fusion had only just begun when it turned into dregs amidst a series of subtle popping sounds.

It's clear that the Qi Condensation Pill is much more difficult to refine than the Qi Nourishing Pill.

Zhang Li had anticipated this, and without changing his expression, he cleaned the dregs from the alchemy furnace, then habitually made a note in his alchemy manual.

The first attempt to refine the Qi Condensation Pill was a complete failure.

Based on the situation just now, the progress of the first step of quenching the medicinal liquid was not even halfway done, otherwise it would not have failed immediately after the fusion.

After summarizing the possible reasons for his recent failure in the alchemy manual, Zhang Li prepared to verify his deductions in the next alchemy attempt.

……

Three days later.

After enduring dozens of failures, Zhang Li's face showed distress.

During the previous batch, he was fortunate enough to successfully fuse the medicinal liquids, but just as the liquids had begun to overlap, an accident occurred.

The fused medicinal liquid actually condensed even though Zhang Li did not actively control the temperature in the furnace, which was clearly caused by the furnace temperature being too low.

Therefore, in this latest batch, he learned from his mistakes and increased the intensity of the spiritual fire under the furnace during the fusion process. Although the fusion and tempering of the medicinal liquid did not encounter any problems this time, the furnace itself did.

click-

A subtle yet clear cracking sound suddenly rang out.

A fine black crack suddenly appeared on the side wall of the alchemy furnace!

Then more and more cracks began to appear, spreading like a spider web along all sides of the furnace.

"This is bad!"

Zhang Li knew perfectly well that this was a sign that the furnace was about to explode. He hurriedly stopped channeling his magic power, but it was too late.

Boom!

A deep, loud bang suddenly exploded!

The alchemy furnace shattered and broke apart, scattering into countless tiny fragments. The scorching furnace gas, carrying with it the black medicinal dregs, roared out.

Fortunately, Zhang Li reacted extremely quickly, instantly retreating while raising his hand to create a layer of magical shield in front of him, blocking the scattered debris and heat waves without causing him any harm.

Outside on the lake, Wang Mu and Li He, who were tending to their fish farm, froze at the same time and turned their heads sharply toward the small courtyard in the middle of the lake.

The loud noise was clear and piercing; they could hear it clearly even across half the lake. The farmers tending to their crops by the lake stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the small courtyard, their faces full of surprise and doubt.

"That sound just now came from the courtyard where my senior brother lives," Li He said with a hint of worry. "Could something have happened?"

Wang Mu frowned, instinctively glancing at the tightly closed gate of the courtyard: "Judging from the noise, it sounds like something exploded. Should we go check it out?"

After a moment's hesitation, the two finally waded through the water towards the small courtyard in the center of the lake.

As the smoke and dust inside gradually dissipated, a scene of utter chaos was revealed.

Zhang Li waved his hand to dispel the magical shield protecting him, glanced down at the wreckage on the ground, and looked on with a helpless expression. He hadn't expected that the alchemy furnace, which had been working perfectly fine before, would suddenly explode.

Before he could even begin to clean up the mess inside the house, he heard two light footsteps coming from outside the courtyard gate, followed by Wang Mu's cautious voice.

"We just heard a loud noise coming from the courtyard. We were uneasy and didn't dare to disturb you. Senior Brother Zhang, are you injured?"

Zhang Li did not respond immediately. He made a hand seal, and a gentle breeze swept through the entire room. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, he piled all the sharp fragments of the alchemy furnace and the dregs of medicine scattered on the ground into an open space in the corner of the room.

After doing all this, he slowly walked to the courtyard gate and opened the wooden door.

Wang Mu and Li He, who were standing outside the door, were filled with anxiety. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhang Li appear before them unharmed.

"I'm fine." Zhang Li said calmly. He originally wanted to say that the alchemy furnace exploded, but then he thought that it was not something to be proud of, so he casually covered it up by saying, "I was practicing magic in the room just now, and I didn't control my magic power well, which caused such a commotion and disturbed you."

Li He glanced into the room subconsciously. There was a faint smell of burning in the air. Although he had doubts, he did not dare to ask any questions. He replied in a low voice, "It's good that you are alright, Senior Brother. The explosion just now was really terrifying. We thought that a cultivator had infiltrated the spiritual field to try to harm you."

Wang Mu nodded in agreement, his face still showing lingering fear.

"It's just a little commotion caused by a loss of control of magic. You don't need to worry about it. Just keep going," Zhang Li said, waving his hand.

The two bowed again, turned around, and walked away from the island in the middle of the lake. After walking a long distance, Li He lowered his voice and whispered to Wang Mu beside him, "The burnt smell in the courtyard just now didn't seem like the smell of magic going out of control."

Wang Mu glanced around and gestured for him to keep his voice down: "Senior brother knows what he's doing. We just need to guard the spirit site and not ask about things we shouldn't."

The two returned to the lake shore and explained to the anxious farmers that Zhang Li had simply made a mistake during his cultivation and was not in any danger, which calmed the commotion among the people on the shore.

After dealing with Li He and the other man, Zhang Li went into the house. Looking at the pile of slag in the corner, a hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes. He sighed and said, "This alchemy furnace exploded at just the right time. It seems I have to go and support the opening ceremony in three days no matter what."

Two months ago at a small trading meeting, Su Qinghe told Zhang Li and others that the reason she came to Yunyu Immortal City was to open a shop in the city that specializes in selling materials related to alchemy. The official opening day was in three days, and all materials in the shop would be 10% off.

While supporting the event, I can also take the opportunity to choose a suitable alchemy furnace.