Chapter 26: Top-grade elixir
Li Yu put away the ten hemostatic pills he had refined, thinking to himself that low-level pills were just low-level pills, and he could refine them even if he was distracted. When he walked out of the alchemy room, he vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
It was not until he returned to the courtyard and sat on a stone bench that Li Yu carefully recalled the steps of alchemy and finally figured out what was wrong.
It seems understandable that when one is distracted, the magic power runs smoothly and can be used to refine pills.
But separating the liquid and condensing them into solid round pills is not something that can be done by distraction.
Without active control of magic power, the elixir will not take shape on its own.
Or had he practiced so many times over the past month that it had become muscle memory, allowing him to accomplish all of this without realizing it?
"boom……"
When Li Yu was thinking about this, he suddenly heard a faint muffled sound in his ears and the ground under his feet shook slightly. He turned his head to look at another yard and walked outside.
Not long after, Wu Tong limped out.
His hair was disheveled, his face was covered in dirt, and in his arms he was holding a furnace that had been broken into three pieces. His clothes were also tattered. Li Yu looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Did the furnace explode?"
Wu Tong said with a sad face, "I succeeded in refining the hemostatic pill in one go. I wanted to try refining a furnace of Qi-restoring pills, but I didn't expect... Alas, if I hadn't brought a Vajra Talisman with me, I would probably have died here today..."
Soon, in a hall somewhere in Danding Peak.
The old foundation-building master surnamed Han pointed at Wu Tong's nose and said angrily, "Do you have a pig brain? What grade is the hemostatic pill? What grade is the energy-recovering pill? You are just a little alchemy apprentice. You haven't even learned how to walk yet, but you want to fly. How come the furnace explosion didn't kill you..."
The old man surnamed Han was very angry. He didn't know how this idiot got the materials for the Qi-restoring pill. These little bastards really didn't know their place. If anything happened to them, he, as the deacon elder in charge of them, would also have to bear certain responsibilities.
The disciple deacon surnamed Zhao also shook his head upon hearing this. The Hemostatic Pill was just a low-level pill, but the Rejuvenating Pill was a real first-grade pill. If he could refine it successfully, he could participate in the first-grade alchemist assessment. He had been in Danding Peak for more than ten years and was still just an apprentice. Elder Han was over a hundred years old and still remained at the first grade. He had never passed the second-grade alchemist assessment. These new disciples were too ambitious...
The old man named Han pointed at Wu Tong and said, "Go to the confinement room for seven days. If you do it again, you will be expelled from Danding Peak!"
Wu Tong was taken away dejectedly. The old man surnamed Han sat back in his chair, took a sip of tea, and calmed down a little. When he looked at Li Yu, his attitude became much better and he asked, "What do you want?"
Li Yu said: "I have successfully refined the hemostatic pill. Elder Han, please help me take a look."
Elder Han nodded and said approvingly, "Not bad. Although it is just a low-level elixir, you succeeded in refining it on the first day. This shows that you have been observing carefully for the past month. Where is the elixir you refined? Let me see it. I will give you some advice..."
Li Yu took out a jade bottle from his arms, opened the lid, and poured out a pill inside.
To be on the safe side, he only brought one pill.
Elder Han just sniffed it and said with some surprise: "Not bad, the fragrance of the pill is so strong, the quality of the pill should not be too bad. It's your first time to refine the pill, and you can refine it to this level, which is already very good."
Li Yu handed the hemostatic pill to Elder Han.
Elder Han took a sip of tea, took it casually, and glanced at it. Five dan patterns were faintly visible on the dark red pill.
"puff……"
Elder Han's eyes suddenly widened, he spat out a mouthful of tea, and stood up from his chair.
Li Yu was also a little stunned for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Elder Han, is there something wrong with my pill?"
Han Tiancheng looked at the hemostatic pill with five danwen in his hand, looked at Li Yu in disbelief, and asked: "Did you make this pill?"
Li Yu nodded and said, "Yes, it's freshly baked and still hot."
The pill in his hand did still have some residual warmth, so there was no need for Li Yu to lie to him. Elder Han looked at Li Yu again with a very strange expression, as if he was looking at a monster.
The first time he made alchemy, he actually made a top-grade elixir. This was not just a matter of luck.
What kind of monster is this kid? What kind of talent in alchemy is this?
The same kind of elixir is also divided into grades.
Pills without elixir patterns are usually called waste pills. Waste pills contain too many impurities and have no medicinal effect. Taking them is very harmful to the human body.
A pill with one danwen on it is called a low-grade pill. It has about 30% of its medicinal efficacy. It is harmful to the human body when taken, but it can only be taken reluctantly if there is no better choice.
The two elixir patterns indicate a mid-grade elixir with about 50% medicinal efficacy. Although it does have elixir poison, it is within the tolerable range.
Three elixir patterns indicate a top-grade elixir with about 70% medicinal efficacy and very little elixir poison, so you can take it with confidence.
A super-grade elixir with four elixir patterns has 90% medicinal efficacy and the elixir poison is negligible. It is the dream elixir that all alchemists dream of, but it is hard to come by. High-level alchemists who can refine super-grade elixirs have extremely high status in the sect.
The five-line elixir is also known as the best elixir. The finished elixir does not have a trace of impurities, and its efficacy even exceeds the theoretical efficacy given in the elixir recipe. It is the highest realm of alchemy. For the alchemist, each best elixir is not only a elixir, but also a work of art.
Han Tiancheng was able to refine hemostatic pills a hundred years ago. With his current attainments in alchemy, he could at least refine a top-grade hemostatic pill. If he was lucky, he could occasionally produce a super-grade pill. The probability of producing one out of ten batches was about...
As for the top-grade elixir with five danwen, to be honest, he couldn't refine it.
To refine top-grade elixirs, one needs not only talent but also a certain amount of luck. Even a high-level alchemist may not be able to refine a low-level elixir.
It's not that alchemy apprentices are absolutely incapable of refining top-grade elixirs, but the alchemy geniuses who can do this are all the seeds of the sect. The future alchemy masters have been cultivated by the sect with great resources since childhood...
It was really shameful for a newly-started alchemy apprentice to be able to produce such an elixir.
Seeing that Elder Han remained silent for a long time, Li Yu was unsure for a moment and asked softly, "Elder Han?"
Elder Han came back to his senses, coughed lightly, and said, "Very good, very good, you have refined this kind of elixir for the first time. Your talent in alchemy is higher than I thought..."
He was present when Baiyun Temple was selecting disciples. At this moment, he remembered that Li Yu had cultivated three spiritual veins, which seemed to be fire, wood, and water. The combination of these three spiritual veins had a unique advantage in alchemy.
If he guessed correctly, Li Yu's soul was much stronger than that of an ordinary Qi Refining disciple. With all these factors combined, it was possible for him to produce a top-grade elixir.
Being able to refine low-level elixirs to this level...
This boy is really a talent...
However, the top-grade hemostatic pill is still a low-grade pill.
Han Tiancheng looked at Li Yu's handsome face, sighed in his heart, and couldn't help feeling sorry for him.
Such a genius is a natural master of alchemy, but unfortunately his talent is too poor. For an alchemist, the ability to refine pills is important, but cultivation is also indispensable.
With the cultivation level at the Qi Refining Stage, one can never refine a second-level pill.
With his talent, the most he could achieve in this life was the Golden Core. A third-grade alchemist at the Golden Core stage was certainly in high demand outside, but Kunlun had never lacked geniuses in alchemy, and there were innumerable third-grade alchemists within the sect. One more or one less wouldn't make much difference.
His advantage lies in the three spiritual veins. If he cultivates all three, he will definitely not be able to reach the golden elixir stage. If he only cultivates one, then there is no difference between him and other alchemists, and he will be just like everyone else.
Because of his three spiritual veins, the way for him to break through with the help of elixirs was almost blocked.
After all, he is not one of those geniuses, and the sect will not waste a lot of resources on him.
Elder Han still admired Li Yu very much. He put away the pill in his hand and said, "Leave this pill to me as a souvenir. You have completed the alchemy task for this month."
Hemostatic pills are nothing to him, but top-grade hemostatic pills are hard to come by. They are like the most perfect works of art. For him, who is only a first-level alchemist, they are still of great collection value.
He did not take Li Yu's things in vain. He walked back to a stone room with his hands behind his back. When he came out, he handed a booklet that was neither too thick nor too thin to Li Yu and said, "This is some of my experience in alchemy over the years. After you finish reading it, remember to return it to me."
Although Elder Han is only a first-grade alchemist, he has already touched the threshold of a second-grade alchemist. His experience in alchemy is very meaningful for Li Yu, who has just started to learn this art. It can help him avoid many detours.
Li Yu took it with both hands and said gratefully from the bottom of his heart: "Thank you, Elder Han..."
