Condensing the FengFu Star

Chapter 4 Condensing the FengFu Star

Nine Yin Grass, refinement complete.

Earth Dragon Root, refinement complete.

Flame Seed, refinement complete.

….

Over thirty types of medicinal herbs were refined one by one, using up over two hours of Long Chen's

time and causing him to be covered in sweat.

Refining pills was not the same as simply decocting medicine. Every single medicinal herb's essence had

to be extracted while at the same time removing the impurities, forming a powder.

However, the flame in Long Chen's hand was of far too low a quality and the refined powder still retained

too many impurities to be ideal. Still, this was the only method that he had.

First of all, Long Chen's cultivation base was nonexistent, and thus he didn't have the necessary strength

to sustain the Pill Flame, making its strength weak.

Second of all, currently, Long Chen didn't have the opportunity or capability to subdue a different flame,

so he could only settle for what he had.

But wanting to train in alchemy methods required not only a strong Pill Flame but also forceful spiritual

energy, and the most important requirement was an exceedingly powerful Spiritual Strength.

The other two requirements were not that difficult. As for the Pill Flame, as long as you made all the

proper preparations, you could seize a fire-attribute Magical Beast and gradually tame it into a house pet.

Drawing on the Magical Beast's flame, you could subdue it and cultivate it to become your own flame.

Over ninety-nine percent of capable alchemists used beast flames. Only a handful of people, who

possessed extremely ancient inheritances of powerful strength, could control those extremely mysterious

and mystical Spirit Flames found within heaven and earth.

Spirit Flames were flames that possessed their own soul and according to Long Chen's memories, he had

previously controlled an extremely formidable Spirit Flame.

But no matter how formidable he was in the past, right now he could only use this trash flame for his pill

refining. After all, the things in his memories were not things he could take out.

After resting enough, Long Chen took a deep breath. He placed a candle into his hand and a yellow flame

appeared"Not bad, after going through the refinements, the flame's strength has increased by a slight amount.

Whatever, it's better than nothing I guess."

After consecutively refining seven different medicines' essence, he threw them into the furnace. His

Spiritual Strength erupted out and the flame in Long Chen's hand suddenly fluctuated. Compared to

before, it was now several times stronger.

"Using Spiritual Strength to support the flame. If other alchemists saw this, wouldn't they be shocked to

death?" Long Chen bitterly smiled.

Spiritual Strength was the foundation of any pill refinement. At the time of refining, a large amount of

Spiritual Strength was needed in order to control the temperature. If even a slight deviation occurred, it

would waste all of your previous efforts and you would end up refining a pile of pill ashes. Moreover, if

the medicinal pill had a very large medicinal strength, then you might even cause a furnace explosion.

Most alchemists wouldn't start using their Spiritual Strength right at the beginning of the refinement.

They would only use it towards the latter stages, when the pill was about to take form in order to very

carefully control the flame's strength.

After all, that was the critical time in the formation of the pill. At that time, the flame's temperature had to

constantly change, sometimes high and sometimes low, and doing so required a large consumption of

Spiritual Strength.

If at that time, the alchemist's Spiritual Strength was already exhausted, then the furnace of pills could

basically be considered as scrapped. However, Long Chen actually started using his Spiritual Strength

right at the beginning of the refinement.

In addition, he used this precious Spiritual Strength just in order to increase the flame's power, treating it

like firewood. Any alchemist would definitely rage and curse at him for doing so. Even if someone was a

reckless and frivolous spender, no one would actually spend it like this.

But Long Chen wasn't worried. According to his memories, his Spiritual Strength was already not lacking

compared to ordinary alchemists.

Pill cultivator ranks were Pill Apprentice, Pill Adept, Pill Master, Pill King, Pill Emperor, Pill Ancestor, Pill

Venerate, Pill Saint, and Pill Sovereign.

The FengFu Pill was a first tier medicinal pill and generally, pill cultivators who had reached the Pill

Apprentice rank could refine a first tier medicinal pill.

Long Chen's current memories also included those of a Pill Sovereign, so he was completely clear on his

current capabilities. When Long Chen had awoken, his Spiritual Strength had changed to become

abnormally strong compared to his previous trash self; therefore, Long Chen was qualified to use his

Spiritual Strength in such a manner.The pill furnace in front of Long Chen faintly trembled, emitting a slight buzzing noise.

"Hehe, by increasing the power of the flame, the speed has increased by quite a bit."

He hastily threw in three more medicinal ingredients into the furnace; however, Long Chen's forehead

was already perspiring at this moment.

Hurriedly taking out a straw, he placed one end into the medicine jar which was filled with Energy

Recovery Liquid and quickly drank a mouthful.

When the Energy Recovery Liquid entered his stomach, the pores all over his body opened and began to

crazily absorb the spiritual energy between and heaven and earth. His originally about-to-be exhausted

spiritual energy rapidly recovered.

This was what Long Chen had prepared earlier. Without it, there was no way for him to refine the FengFu

Pill. With his current level, it would be a joke if he could actually refine a pill on his own without some

kind of assistance.

With the straw in his mouth, every now and then he would draw in another mouthful of Energy Recovery

Liquid to replenish his body's spiritual energy.

With Long Chen's spiritual energy being replenished, his Spiritual Strength could show off how extremely

powerful it was, and it was only two days later that Long Chen started to feel a bit exhausted. That was a

sign that his Spiritual Strength had been largely used up.

However, at this time, the medicinal ingredients had already been absorbed into the pill furnace, so all

that was left was finishing up. The medicinal aroma was also starting to fill the air.

Although Long Chen's impression of a first tier medicinal pill was that it was so easy to refine it could be

done with his eyes closed, the current him was no longer the same Pill Sovereign in his memories. His

destiny had already been completely changed and saying that he wasn't nervous would be a lie.

Buzz.

Suddenly, the pill furnace's interior started to vibrate, emitting a series of buzzing noises. The energy

within the pill furnace also started to become berserk.

Long Chen didn't become even the slightest bit panicked; on the contrary, he even started to smile. This

was the indication of the pill's formation and also the most critical time of the refinement.

His Spiritual Strength was completely activated with not even a trace of it held in reserve. The flame in

his hand suddenly exploded out, and an incorporeal strength tightly sealed the entire pill furnace. This

technique was called 'Heaven Seal Earth Lock' and was something that he had come up with from his

memories. It was something used in order to prevent pill explosions and also, furnace explosions.Moreover, this technique was very practical and could in the shortest period seal the medicinal energy

within the pill furnace, not letting much leak out.

Normal alchemists would all do this at the last step because when the medicinal pill would go berserk, it

was possible to stabilize it by taking a more gentle action.

Although doing so would decrease the danger by a lot, a large amount of the medicinal essence would be

lost, and therefore, the medicinal pill's quality would just be ordinary.

Bang!

Following the full suppression of Long Chen's Spiritual Strength, the pill furnace emitted a smothered

noise. After that, everything turned silent.

The pill furnace had already turned tranquil. Long Chen couldn't help but to gasp for breath. His whole

body was drenched in sweat, and he was so dizzy that he felt the sky was spinning.

When he felt a bit better, he excitedly opened up the furnace. His hand was even trembling as he picked

out five extremely round pills. Holding them in his hand, a dense medicinal aroma completely filled the

whole room.

"Two low-grade pills and three trash pills. Tch, saying it out loud really makes me lose enough face to

die." Long Chen's face was showing how excited he was, but he still sighed.

Staring blankly for a bit, he couldn't help but laugh. He had a mixture of a lifetime's worth of memories

from a Pill Sovereign along with the memories of his current self. Apparently, that Pill Sovereign was

truly excessively arrogant.

He himself didn't care about losing any face though, and he hastily carefully examined the pills in his

hand.

There were two low-grade medicinal pills with their bodies completely round and their pill aroma filling

the air. The aroma refreshed the mind and raised a person's spirit when smelled.

Long Chen couldn't hold back a burst of elation. After all, one successful medicinal pill could be sold in the

imperial capital for at least ten thousand gold coins.

In addition, even the three trash pills in his hand were much better than the medicinal pill his mother had

bought for him, especially since at least thirty percent of the medicinal essence had been sealed into the

pill.

A medicinal pill that had locked in fifty percent of the essence would be termed low grade, and over

eighty percent of all medicinal pills were only low gIf the medicinal essence reached sixty percent it would be middle grade, seventy percent would make it

high grade, eighty percent would make it top grade, ninety percent would make it peerless grade, and as

for one hundred percent… hehe. Right now Long Chen didn't think too much about it as it was simply too

far for his current self.

Some people might wonder about the difference between fifty and sixty percent content of medicinal

essence. Was it a significant difference?

Wouldn't consuming two low-grade medicinal pills be much more effective than one middle grade? If

someone heard you ask this question, they'd probably choke on their own spit.

Inside a medicinal pill was not only its medicinal essence but also impurities. These impurities were

unable to be absorbed by the body, and most importantly, these impurities would cancel out a portion of

the absorbed essence.

The saying that each medicine had its own side effects was not just a colloquial saying but a hard truth.

During the formation of a pill, it was difficult to avoid accumulating pill toxins. These kinds of toxins, if

not taken very often, would not have a large effect.

But for cultivators, medicinal pills were often life-saving measures, and who would know just how many

pills you would consume in one lifetime. When the body's pill toxins reached a certain degree, they would

become a life-threatening poison.

Pill toxins were one of the most difficult to eliminate poisons. They penetrated deep into the flesh and

bones and even the spirit. But the higher grade a medicinal pill was, the fewer toxins it would have.

It was for this reason that the medicinal effect of a middle-grade medicinal pill was over ten times greater

than a low-grade medicinal pill. As for the price difference, it was at least a hundred times greater.

After collecting the five medicinal pills and cleaning up the medicinal furnace, Long Chen could no longer

endure it and collapsed into slumber.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, he felt two hands caressing his cheek and could hear some

low-pitched murmurings, but he was too exhausted and incapable of waking up.

When Long Chen once again regained consciousness, it was already three days later. His stomach was

growling with hunger, and he wolfed down his food before once again starting his seclusion.

Consuming one trash pill, he used his Spiritual Strength to guide the medicinal pill's energy to enter the

YongQuan point[1] on the bottom of his foot. That was the location of the first Star of the Nine Star

Hegemon Body Art - the position of the FengFu Star.

BANG!