Chapter 115: First Alchemy Session

"This isn't..." His dull gaze fell upon the woman on the undergarment. Embroidered on it was a graceful woman, who, compared to her usual coldness, now exuded a hint of allure. Her seductive eyes seemed to bewitch souls, her face flushed with shyness.

The woman in the portrait was wearing exactly the clothes in Yang Tian's hands. At her chest, the high swell was tempting with a rosy hue, radiating allure.

Her body curved in a breathtaking arc, giving Yang Tian goosebumps. This was none other than the old saintess!

"Did Gu Mo steal this undergarment? Or did that old woman give it to him? Stealing a treasure from a War Emperor, and such a hidden one at that—impossible, right?" Yang Tian rubbed his chin, a smile spreading across his face.

At that moment, Yang Tian's soul power sank into the Golden Crow Divine Furnace, observing Gu Mo's miserable state.

"Yang Tian, you little bastard, let me out!" Gu Mo's face twisted in fury, his gnashing teeth sending roars that shook the furnace body with a buzzing sound.

"Still tough, huh? I like that." A cold glint flashed in Yang Tian's eyes. The fire domain above Gu Mo descended abruptly, washing down over his head.

"Ah—" A miserable scream rolled endlessly within the furnace. Gu Mo's bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Yang Tian, but his ferocity was now completely drowned by the fire domain.

"That's more like it." Seeing this, Yang Tian smiled slightly. "Now I finally understand why that old woman protects you so much. So you two are having an affair, hooking up with your own aunt. Gu Mo, I really admire you. What do you think would happen if this got out?"

"You... you..." Gu Mo seemed to recall something, his face instantly turning red, his eyes filled with panic.

Yang Tian laughed heartily, then withdrew his soul power. He looked at the undergarment in his hand, a sly grin flashing in his eyes. If this news spread across the Eastern Continent, it would certainly be quite a spectacle, wouldn't it?

The old saintess had specially embroidered it—how intriguing...

Next, Yang Tian refined the Golden Dragon Seal, manipulated it for a while, then immersed his mind into the alchemy insights...

A day passed. The entire Ten Thousand Mountains had become lively. The old saintess of the Ancient Holy Land had stormed the Ten Thousand Mountains, fought the Purple-Eyed Essence Gold Beast, and both sides suffered heavy losses. The old saintess left in fury, vowing to kill Yang Tian.

Yang Tian's name spread throughout Demon Suppression City. Several major clans dispatched their younger generations, vowing to capture Yang Tian. The Ancient Li Family and the Yin-Yang Sect also sent their young elites, seeking the cultivation technique on Yang Tian.

The outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains buzzed with activity. Many terrifyingly powerful youths had already set out, laying a net spread across the periphery. Notably, Yang Tian had not shown his face for several days.

This result relieved many. Far away in Bluestone Town, within a martial arts hall spanning ten thousand zhang, shouts echoed, shaking the clouds!

Dragon Star Martial Arts Hall, originally in a small town, had expanded dozens of times, becoming the richest area in the surrounding region. It was now guarded by experts from the Qingyang Empire.

In a quaint little courtyard, a man in his thirties sat cross-legged on a stone stool. Lin Yuan looked much younger, his face resolute. After taking the Water of Life and a sea of pills, his cultivation had directly broken through to the Martial Artist realm.

"Xiao Tian, you must return safely." Looking at the information in the jade slip, Lin Yuan's face showed worry, and he sighed deeply.

After spending three days in the Ancestral Dragon Ring, Yang Tian slowly opened his eyes and sighed. Alchemy was far simpler than he had imagined; it required many steps.

The steps of alchemy were divided into: refining medicine, fusing pills, shaping pills, solidifying pills, and releasing pills—five stages in total, each with many points to note.

To become an alchemist, one not only needed to control the pill fire but also to manipulate soul power. In the second stage, fusing pills, precise control of the soul was required, and the soul power could not be too weak.

At that moment, Yang Tian's soul power was about to break through to its peak. At this level, he could refine first-grade high-tier pills, but success rates varied. Some people could fail even after ten batches.

Alchemy was also the most expensive profession. Only large families could afford to train a high-level alchemist. Yang Tian, with the Ancestral Dragon Ring, lacked no spiritual herbs and considered his resources abundant.

After some thought, Yang Tian immersed his mind in the Thunder Dragon Fire Control Technique. Forming the first fire mouth required thousands of hand seals. A single mistake in the seals would ruin the pill.

Yang Tian's mind sank into the hand seals. His hands occasionally moved in the void, the surrounding essence of heaven and earth gathering and dispersing, the air vibrating constantly...

Over a thousand seals had to be memorized thoroughly. Any error would risk destroying the pill.

Technique, fire seed, soul power, and a decent cauldron were all indispensable. It was said that some high-level alchemists could use heaven and earth as their cauldron to refine pills.

Alchemists were incredibly wealthy on the continent, had wide social circles, and were also terrifyingly powerful. In the Eastern Continent, there was a place called the Pill Valley, a gathering place for alchemists, but these forces were even more reclusive than the three Holy Lands, rarely emerging.

Time flew by...

Around Yang Tian, the energy vibrations grew loud. Three days had passed, and his understanding of the seals became more profound. Previously complex hand seals were now formed effortlessly.

His fingers seemed to possess intelligence, dancing in the void. In just a few breaths, he formed dozens of hand seals, incredibly fast, like a riot of blossoms, dazzling to the eye.

When Yang Tian formed the last seal, he suddenly opened his eyes. Though slightly tired, a surge of joy appeared in them.

Yang Tian summoned the fire seed. A scorching heat rose, the energy within far stronger than before, but the surrounding purple thunder arcs had not changed much.

After a moment of stillness, Yang Tian's eyes snapped open. His hands began forming seals. The fire seed hovered over his palm. As each seal was made, the surrounding essence of heaven and earth stirred.

The fire seed, originally the size of a thumb, rapidly transformed. Strands of energy emerged around it, converging and growing in luster as the hand seals continued.

After nearly a hundred seals, the energy mass in the air had grown to the size of a human head. Thunder arcs danced on its surface, and the inner heat continuously burst forth, causing the air to sizzle.

"Thunder Dragon Fire Control Technique, gather fire mouth!" Staring at the energy mass above, Yang Tian shouted. His hands instantly danced in the void, strands of mysterious light leaping from his fingertips. The entire energy mass began to change.

The energy mass was slowly molded into a dragon's head. Just as it was about to take shape, the surrounding essence of heaven and earth suddenly fluctuated, and the dragon head showed signs of bursting.

"Not good." Seeing this, Yang Tian's heart tightened. He desperately tried to suppress the explosive trend, but as he formed more seals, the fluctuation grew stronger.

"Sizzle..." Suddenly, the nearly solidified dragon head collapsed, rapidly shrinking until it dissipated completely.

"How could this happen? I didn't make a mistake in the seals?" Looking at the energy scattering in the void, Yang Tian was stunned. He carefully recalled the scene, but after a long silence, he couldn't find the error.

He observed the flame flickering in the void, with strands of thunder arcs缠绕...

"It must be a problem with the thunder. Otherwise, why would it dissipate?" After observing for a while, Yang Tian nodded. He reviewed the fire control technique again and began moving his hands once more.

Every strand of energy, upon contacting the thunder, completely changed its nature. 'Thunder' was violent and fiercely masculine; controlling it was no easy task.

After many attempts, each time just before success, the violent energy accumulated, preventing the fire mouth from forming and causing the energy to scatter.

"The Thunder Dragon Fire Control Technique is named after 'thunder.' This method should be able to suppress thunder, but with my current strength, I can't control this violent energy. If I keep trying, I'll never condense the fire mouth." Yang Tian pursed his lips, looking helpless.

After recovering his consumed energy, Yang Tian sat cross-legged, deep in thought. After an unknown time, a flash of inspiration crossed his eyes, and his fingers moved instantly.

Strands of essence gathered. As the energy mass in the void approached the size of a human head, Yang Tian's mind calmed down.

"Condense!" He shouted softly, his seals changing, driving the surrounding energy mass to form a dragon shape.

Unlike before, when he suppressed the violent thunder, Yang Tian now let the violent thunder roam within the forming dragon head.

The energy inside was extremely violent. Yang Tian constantly feared it would collapse, but he finally formed the last seal.

Roar! The dragon-shaped energy mass seemed to come alive, standing in the void, with dense thunder arcs jumping around it. The dragon head was crimson.

"Finally succeeded!" Seeing the thunder dragon head in the void, Yang Tian's eyes lit up with surprise. He laughed foolishly a few times, then took out a cauldron and poured his abundant blood energy into it.

Under the infusion of blood energy, the crimson cauldron suddenly expanded to ten zhang in size. Yang Tian tossed it into the open space ahead.

"Go." After a pause, Yang Tian clenched his hand, and the cauldron's lid flew off. Thousands of flames burst out, and a scorching wave spread.

The dragon-shaped fire mouth in the air moved, descending into the cauldron.

"Sizzle!..." The cauldron, previously calm, now blazed with fierce flames. The surrounding essence of heaven and earth also vibrated, converging into the cauldron.

"Finally, I can begin." A hint of joy appeared on his face. Yang Tian took out a large pile of spiritual herbs and a first-grade low-tier pill formula. The formula was for a Body Tempering Pill, the lowest grade, used to temper the physique.

"Seven Star Grass, Yinshan Grass, Yuanxing Flower..."

After glancing at the required herbs—eight in total for the Body Tempering Pill—Yang Tian considered it the best formula for practice.

"Go." Suddenly, Yang Tian clenched his hand, and the cauldron's lid flew open, sending a pillar of fire into the sky.

Then, he threw a Seven Star Grass into the cauldron, and the lid closed again.

Inside the cauldron, the Seven Star Grass slowly descended to the center, surrounded by flames. It suddenly emitted a luster, resisting the surrounding heat.

At that moment, the dormant fire mouth below stirred. The dragon's mouth opened wide, spewing a mouthful of scorching flame, with thunder arcs缠绕.

"Sizzle..." When the pill fire touched the Seven Star Grass, the entire herb trembled. Its luster gradually diminished, starting from the roots, as the herb slowly melted.

The thunder dragon breathed out, spewing mouthfuls of pill fire. Heat waves swept through the cauldron, accelerating the melting of the Seven Star Grass.

At that moment, Yang Tian's energy rapidly depleted. After long hours of sitting still, the initial curiosity of first-time alchemy was gradually worn away.

Alchemy required not only care but also ample patience. Some high-level pills took days to refine, and ancient records mentioned pills that could trigger heavenly tribulations, which were even more terrifying.

This refining process lasted five hours. By the time the last herb was about to be refined, Yang Tian had ruined six out of eight herb liquids. For a first attempt, this result was not bad.

Inside the cauldron, flames soared, the temperature terrifying. At the center, a large mass of liquid medicine emitted a琉璃-like luster. As mouthfuls of pill fire continued to spew, the energy in the liquid mass was compressed.

"Fuse!" Suddenly, Yang Tian opened his eyes and shouted. The liquid mass began to surge. At the same time, his soul power burst forth, flooding into the cauldron.

Yang Tian's hand seals changed. The surrounding essence of heaven and earth surged again. Inside the cauldron, his soul power drove the liquid mass, which showed signs of solidifying into a pill.