Sit Tight
There was a simple solution that Ryu had missed. He had used his Dao before the refinement and fusion process, but shouldn't he use it during? This would solve all of these issues without him even having to take the steps that were mentioned. He could simply adapt to all these changes on the fly.
This was probably Ryu's largest oversight.
However, Ryu still didn't start right away. In fact, the first thing he did was crush his 92% pill and drop it into his 99% potion. Then, as though they weren't worth much at all, he began to pour the mixture into his cauldron.
The seasoning process was usually done with herbs. One would crush and apply them, smoothing it out into a paste and adding it to the inner surface of the cauldron. But like a blessed nouveau riche, Ryu was actually using a 99% potion and 92% pill instead!