The pill Zhu Ziyang was preparing to refine was called the Juyuan Pill.
The Juyuan Pill, a low-grade pill, could assist in spirit power cultivation, accelerate the circulation speed of spirit power, and was extremely helpful for Spirit Masters below the Spirit Ancestor rank. It was one of the basic cultivation resources for Spirit Masters in ancient times, but has since been lost.
The refining method for the Juyuan Pill was very simple, and the required materials were also common, making it a very suitable pill for beginners to practice with.
This Juyuan Pill was currently the most suitable for Zhu Ziyang, as it could both meet his needs for cultivation resources and be sold for money.
He took out his spirit tool pill furnace and injected spirit power into it to activate the flame core within the furnace.
This spirit tool pill furnace was a fourth-grade spirit tool. Although called a spirit tool pill furnace, it was actually an ordinary pill furnace with a built-in flame core.
The flame core was a fourth-grade spirit tool. When spirit power was injected, the burning flame could reach a temperature of 1500℃, which was more than enough to refine a low-grade pill like the Juyuan Pill.
After the temperature inside the furnace rose to an appropriate level, Zhu Ziyang began to add the spiritual herbs to start the first step of alchemy: purification.
First was the Spirit Gathering Flower, the main ingredient of the Juyuan Pill, which had the effect of gathering essence and qi. The pill formula recommended using a hundred-year-old Spirit Gathering Flower, but Zhu Ziyang added a thousand-year-old Spirit Gathering Flower, which could enhance the effect of the refined Juyuan Pill by several tenths.
After about ten minutes, Zhu Ziyang felt that the essence of the Spirit Gathering Flower was almost extracted. He then opened the pill furnace, took out the Spirit Gathering Flower essence, and immediately began the next step.
This step was to add the Sacred Essence Fruit, which was the second most important material after the Spirit Gathering Flower, and had the effect of increasing spirit power. A hundred-year-old Sacred Essence Fruit cost at least ten thousand gold coins, making it the most valuable ingredient in the Juyuan Pill formula.
He performed the same operation, purifying the Sacred Essence Fruit essence.
Then, he added the Spirit Gathering Flower essence and Sacred Essence Fruit essence for high-temperature condensation, to remove impurities remaining in the concentrated essence liquid.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, he successively added Jade Ganoderma, Astragalus Grass, and Green Harvest Spirit Beast blood essence. Jade Ganoderma and Astragalus Grass were common spiritual herbs, serving as auxiliary ingredients in the pill formula. It is worth mentioning the Green Harvest Spirit Beast blood essence. The Green Harvest Spirit Beast was a docile small Spirit Beast, and its blood essence had the effect of smoothing qi and calming the mind, while also serving as an aid to harmonization, essentially acting as a catalyst and harmonizer for refining the Juyuan Pill.
After placing the essences of the two main ingredients and the other auxiliary materials into the pill furnace, Zhu Ziyang increased the spirit power injection, causing the furnace flame temperature to surge. This was the second step of alchemy: melting and refining.
This step required extremely high temperatures. Through this high temperature, all materials in the pill furnace were violently fused, refined, then fused again, and refined again, repeating this several times, finally melting all materials into a nearly solid liquid. This was the most important step in the alchemy process, requiring the alchemist's exquisite fire control techniques. Alchemists using spirit tool pill furnaces like Zhu Ziyang needed to pay attention to spirit power control.
The second step took about two hours and was finally completed.
Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile appearing on his face. So far, everything was progressing smoothly.
Now, he began the final step of alchemy: pill formation!
Pill formation, as the name suggests, is the process of solidifying the medicinal liquid refined in the second step into individual pills. This step seems simple, but it is actually very prone to failure, making it the most cautious and time-consuming step in the entire alchemy process.
Zhu Ziyang's expression was solemn as he began pill formation. He changed the amount of spirit power injected into the pill furnace to control the temperature of the furnace flame. After careful attempts, he finally found the most suitable temperature for pill formation.
Maintaining this flame, he slowly controlled a small mass of medicinal liquid, gradually compressing it with the flame, as time quietly passed.
——
Just as Zhu Ziyang was focused on alchemy, in the Yunhe Grand Canyon of the Tianhun Empire.
A young man, a young woman, and a white-haired, robust elder stood together.
"Xiaoya, have you really decided? It's still not too late to regret it," Yu Beibei said to Tang Ya.
"Yes! I've decided. The ancestors of the Tang Sect, my parents, their lives now seem to be crying out to me that the path we once firmly believed in was wrong. In fact, we already knew this path was wrong, but no one was willing to believe it.
Now, with Zhu Ziyang pointing it out, it's actually a good thing!" Tang Ya said, her pretty face filled with pain and determination, "Rather than walk a path destined for failure, why not be willful and walk a path no one else has taken! Besides, didn't you say that your family elders also agree with Zhu Ziyang's view?"
As Tang Ya spoke, her gaze involuntarily fell upon the expressionless elder beside her.
"Since that's the case, I won't say more. Remember, I will always support you!" Yu Beibei said with a solemn expression upon hearing this.
"En! Thank you, Bei Bei!" Tang Ya revealed a heartfelt smile and said.
Afterward, her gaze fell upon the uprooted green vine with yellow spots in front of her. She sat down without hesitation and began to draw in the yellow spirit ring floating on the vine.
——
Just as Tang Ya was absorbing her second spirit ring, in a place inaccessible to mortals.
A soft halo, like a mother's hand, gently touched the delicate, maiden-like clouds, and the ethereal space had an unusually captivating substantial feel. Vaguely, there seemed to be a majestic palace, ethereal yet real under the caress of this gentle halo.
A figure stood silently amidst the clouds, gazing into the endless distance, not knowing what he was looking at.
He had a waterfall-like, sky-blue long hair that cascaded down to his feet. If it weren't for his imposing figure and broad shoulders, one might mistake him for a woman if only looking from behind. On his luxurious blue robe, water ripples seemed to shimmer. If one looked closely, their eyes would instantly be drawn to the deep azure, and even their entire soul would be sucked into that profound, endless blue like the ocean.
On his handsome face, which appeared to be in his early twenties, were a pair of deep eyes. His gaze seemed empty, yet it also seemed to encompass everything, occasionally flashing with a hint of purple, which was even more captivating. It had a quality of fleeting beauty, of instantaneous life and death.
"Why?" A hint of doubt flashed in the man's eyes as he murmured, "Why has the connection between me and the Tang Sect suddenly become so weak? Has something else happened? It shouldn't be?"
The man was very puzzled. His slender fingers moved rhythmically in the air, as if unraveling silk, searching for something.
"Eh? There's no problem! All deployments are fine, but why... Could it be that He noticed?" A peculiar light suddenly flickered in the man's eyes.
"Damn it, my perception of the Douluo Continent is starting to blur? Could it be... it really was He who acted? Was I too hasty after all?...Forget it, my deployment is complete. I'll be quiet for a while now."
The man's hand began to stir something in the clouds again, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his deep eyes. He whispered, "Soon, it's almost time. The fate of that new star is already intertwined with the Tang Sect. Now, I just need to wait quietly. I hope the person with great destiny you chose won't disappoint me, otherwise, hehe... Sun Moon Empire, spirit tools, won't they all eventually become my chess pieces? Hehe... I even sacrificed Xiaoji..."
The man let out an inexplicable laugh, extending a hand. A light blue orb appeared in his palm. A small girl was vaguely visible within the orb. He murmured, "My dear daughter, just a little longer. The coming-of-age gift I prepared for you is almost complete, just waiting for that beast to take the bait..."
"...Enjoy your last moments! World Will? Tsk~"