Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 428: Chapter 260: Third Grade_2

Li Shiming unleashed the Red Sun Spirit Fire, and a ball of flame the size of his palm appeared in his hand. Had he not restrained the ferocity of the Red Sun Spirit Fire, this ball of flame could have significantly increased the temperature inside the Dan Ding Hall.

“Fortune, fortune!” This time it was Elder Ma’s turn to be speechless, as he murmured.

I have seen those with deep fortune, but I have never seen anyone with a fortune as profound as Li Shiming’s.

It was no secret within the sect that Li Shiming had received Elder Ji’s Third Grade Spirit Tea and had advanced to the late-stage Foundation Establishment Stage after drinking it.

Now even Li Shiming’s Red Sun Spirit Fire had improved so much that it almost reached the level only attainable by mid-stage Golden Core Cultivators, so how could Elder Ma not feel emotional.

“I know your learning capacity. There is no difference in technique when refining Third-grade Spirit Pills; it only requires more intricate changes in the Spiritual Fire and Third-grade Spiritual Medicine. Today, I am going to refine a batch of ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pills.’ Just watch!” Elder Ma said after pondering.

In the following alchemy process, Elder Ma explained every step in detail, allowing Li Shiming’s Divine Thought to stay within the Pill Furnace, observing the changes inside.

He was very clear this was a pivotal learning opportunity, as once Li Shiming could refine the Third-grade ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ he would be considered an Alchemy Master.

This was a significant event both for Li Shiming himself and for the Shushan Sect.

Therefore, his explanations were extremely detailed, making an effort to pass on his years of accumulated experience.

The refinement of Third-grade Spirit Pills differed from that of first and second-grade Spirit Pills; usually, the process for a first-grade Spirit Pill would not exceed two hours, and that for a second-grade Spirit Pill would be within three hours.

However, refining Third-grade Spirit Pills required much more time, depending on the amount of Third-grade Spiritual Medicine in the elixir recipe.

For a Third-grade Spirit Pill like ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ there is only one Third-grade ingredient, the turtle marrow, while the rest are auxiliary materials of the first and second grades. Therefore, the preparation of ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill’ generally takes about six hours.

The more Third-grade Spiritual Medicines there are in the elixir recipe for Third-grade Spirit Pills, the more the alchemy time increases geometrically.

Even refining some top-grade Third-grade Spirit Pills might require around ten days, and without the capabilities of the Golden Core Stage, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s spiritual power and spirit simply aren’t sufficient.

Li Shiming listened intently to Elder Ma’s explanations. He had already mastered the theoretical knowledge.

The ‘Shushan Pill Scripture’ that Elder Ma had passed down to him was the fundamental legacy of their alchemy lineage; what he lacked was the experience in refining Third-grade Spirit Pills.

The value of Third-grade Spiritual Medicine was so high that any mishaps were almost intolerable; even for a major sect like Shushan, wanton waste of Third-grade Spiritual Medicine was avoided as much as possible.

The more detailed Elder Ma’s explanations were, the higher Li Shiming’s rate of successful pill formation would be.

Soon, six hours had passed, and a fragrant scent rose from the pill furnace.

“Harvest the pills!” Elder Ma had no time for further explanations and called out with focused expression.

Two Spirit Pills flew out of the Pill Furnace, their glows flickering rapidly before being concealed.

He stored the two Spirit Pills in a jade bottle, but his face betrayed a hint of helplessness.

To be honest, this alchemy session was quite satisfactory. The yield of refining Third-grade Spirit Pills depended on the amount of spiritual materials used, typically producing two to three pills.

The two Spirit Pills were not considered a failure, and their quality even reached the intermediate level, which was his usual standard.

But Elder Ma knew Li Shiming’s capabilities; thus, each time Li Shiming was present, he would focus more intensely on his alchemy, always striving to perform better in front of his disciple.

He deeply knew that it was only a matter of time before Li Shiming would surpass him, he simply hoped to maintain the dignity of a mentor in front of Li Shiming for as long as possible.

“Shiming, the sect has found a location for ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ which is a commonly used Cultivation Spirit Pill for Golden Core cultivators. You can waste two quantities of third-grade Turtle Marrow, but if you can’t achieve the ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill’ with those two quantities, then you will need to purchase the elixir recipe and spiritual materials through the Beishu Trading Company,” Elder Ma instructed solemnly.

“Disciple understands!” Li Shiming bowed in response.

Two quantities of third-grade Turtle Marrow were not a lot, mainly to minimize the loss during the production of third-grade Spirit Pills. Normally, an Alchemy Master would compress the materials for one batch of Spirit Pills to two or three pieces, forming an unspoken rule of considering the materials for producing three third-grade Spirit Pills as one quantity.

If all two quantities are successfully refined, that’s just six third-grade Spirit Pills. The sect was willing to accept this consumption, but any more would indicate that Li Shiming’s skill was insufficient, and the sect could not afford to use third-grade Spiritual Medicine as material for mere practice in large quantities.

Under normal circumstances, an alchemist who wants to attempt third-grade Spirit Pills must spend several years at least, under the direct guidance of a previous Alchemy Master until the master approves them for independent attempts to produce third-grade Spirit Pills.

Li Shiming’s situation was special; on one hand, his learning ability was extremely strong, which was evident from his earlier Alchemy studies and his process of becoming a high-level Alchemist.

On the other hand, it was his talent. Nowadays, with second-grade Spirit Pills, he almost suppressed all refining masters in the Beishu Continent.

Although Elder Ma did not say anything, he himself also understood that Li Shiming’s level in refining second-grade Spirit Pills had long surpassed him.

Not just Elder Ma thought so, many Alchemy Masters across the Beishu Continent considered the same; however, Alchemy Masters rarely refined second-grade Spirit Pills, and with Li Shiming generating a large amount of second-grade Spirit Pills, they were even less likely to make them.

By not producing second-grade Spirit Pills, they avoided comparison with Li Shiming.

Elder Ma wasn’t worried about Li Shiming surpassing him in alchemy. No matter how much Li Shiming grew, in terms of alchemy, he was still Li Shiming’s mentor.

Taking the materials for the ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ Li Shiming left Dan Ding Peak. Elder Ma had no mood to continue alchemy and contacted Elder Su and a group of old friends to move up the gathering he had planned.

In Elder Ma’s view, it was better to meet with his friends while waiting for news from Li Shiming.

Li Shiming returned to his cave dwelling and placed the Three-Revolution Heavenly Treasure Furnace into the Machine Room Space. He had no plans to create the ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill’ in the outside world.

The controllability of producing the ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill’ in the outside world was still lacking, far less than the micrometer-level control in the Machine Room Space, which allowed him to minimize the risk of failure.

It was somewhat difficult for the Three-Revolution Heavenly Treasure Furnace to refine third-grade Spirit Pills. He dared not use the Red Sun Spiritual Fire to its full capacity, fearing that the furnace could not withstand the flames of the Red Sun Spiritual Fire.

Li Shiming felt that the Red Sun Spiritual Fire was also the most powerful means of attack. He guessed that no cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage could withstand the heat of the Red Sun Spiritual Fire, and even a Golden Core Early Stage cultivator, if recklessly close, would be in trouble.

However, although he had collected the Red Sun Spiritual Fire, because he had not yet formed a Golden Core, he couldn’t completely control it.

If the Red Sun Spiritual Fire were to be seized, he would lose it, so his reflection on the might of the Red Sun Spiritual Fire was just a sentiment, not an actual consideration to use it as an attack mode.

When he actually refined the third-grade ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pill,’ he was very relaxed, feeling even more so than Elder Ma.

Because this was in the Machine Room Space, his micrometer-level observation, along with the IBMz15 from the side, allowed him to anticipate any changes before they even occurred.

Changes within the pill furnace at the micrometer particle level were detected by him and the IBMz15 immediately, allowing intervention at this stage which made it easy to disrupt or alter any changes in the pill furnace.

After three two-hour periods, Li Shiming repressed the urge to use the ‘Hundred One-point Pill Technique’ during this first attempt at refining third-grade Spirit Pills. It was best not to be too risky.

Three Spirit Pills flew out of the pill furnace, and just sensing their quality brought a smile to his face. Three high-grade ‘Turtle Marrow Essence Boosting Pills,’ and he also collected the resulting essence of the medicine, preparing for future refinements of top-grade third-grade Spirit Pills.