Chapter 2199: A Breakthrough Needed

The number one alchemist of the God Realm indeed had supreme control over fire and understanding of medicinal properties. As long as Zhang Xuan gave the exact time and steps, Fu Jiangchen could perfectly execute them without the slightest error.

Soon, over a hundred types of medicinal herbs were all placed into the furnace, perfectly fused together into a fist-sized droplet of liquid.

At first, seeing the herbs that were usually difficult to merge fusing one after another perfectly, Fu Jiangchen found it incredible. Later, his shock turned into numbness.

It seemed that as long as he followed the method the other party described, no matter how hard it was to combine the herbs, they could be fused without a single mistake.

Initially, he was puzzled as to why this was happening, but in the end, he realized that the person before him had an understanding of various medicinal herbs that had reached the marrow of his bones.

Take the Snake-Dragon Saliva, which had puzzled him before, for example. This substance was usually extremely toxic, but if its temperature was raised to 1,300 degrees within a single breath, the toxicity would briefly disappear for half a breath. At that moment, if it was fused with Sinking Wood Flower, not only would the toxicity not recur, but the power to stimulate the body's cells would be preserved.

The same was true for the Hundred-Leaf Purple Fragrance Flower. It could freeze true qi, but when fused with specific herbs at a specific temperature, it not only had no effect on true qi but also stabilized the meridians and accelerated the flow of true qi!

The properties of every medicinal herb were perfectly brought out by the young man before him, without wasting a single bit.

His own alchemy was already very advanced, but only now did he understand that pills could be refined this way... It was as if a new world had opened in his heart, impossible to close again.

"No..."

Watching the solution in the furnace without a single step error, Fu Jiangchen was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly looked over: "We've already refined 107 types of herbs. Why haven't you taken out the main ingredient?"

He hadn't had time to think carefully during the refining process, but now that he stopped, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

He had seen the pill formula. There were a total of 108 types of herbs. Now that 107 had been refined, why hadn't the main ingredient appeared?

The so-called main ingredient was the herb around which the entire pill was centered, like the steel reinforcement and pillars in a building. Only with its presence could the framework be constructed and the final product completed.

In normal pill refining, the main ingredient was added first to neutralize and fuse with the other herbs. But now, with 107 herbs already refined, all were auxiliary ingredients...

Are you sure you really want to refine this pill?

It was like cooking a dish that was about to be served, but all you had were seasonings like garlic, ginger, scallions, Sichuan pepper, and thirteen spices, without the main ingredient... Are you sure you're not joking?

"Don't rush. Keep heating it!"

Staring intently at the furnace, Zhang Xuan said.

"Alright!" Though puzzled, Fu Jiangchen did not dare to hesitate. The power in his body surged into the furnace, and the flames immediately intensified.

The temperature of the furnace rose rapidly.

"Is it enough?"

Seeing the freshly refined droplet beginning to boil and on the verge of exploding, Fu Jiangchen's brows twitched as he hurriedly asked.

The medicinal liquid had already been fused. If it exploded due to continued heating, all the previous efforts would be wasted.

"Not enough. Continue!"

Zhang Xuan said.

Gritting his teeth, Fu Jiangchen's power surged out wildly, and the temperature of the flames beneath the furnace continued to soar.

"The temperature has reached the limit of my ability..."

In just five breaths, the number one alchemist of the God Realm had sweat on his forehead.

With his current cultivation and power, the flame temperature in the furnace had reached its limit. If it went any higher, not only would his true qi be insufficient, but he would also lose control, ultimately causing the furnace to explode.

"The temperature is still a bit low..." Zhang Xuan frowned.

Divine King Grass could survive even in flowing space without damage, so it had extremely high temperature requirements. The flames the man before him was driving were not low in temperature, but they still hadn't reached the point where they could melt it.

"But I've used all my strength..." Fu Jiangchen's face turned pale. "Moreover, my power can only last for thirty breaths before it's completely exhausted..."

Although he was powerful, this kind of full-power output consumed a great deal of true qi and mental energy. Without accident, thirty breaths was the limit.

Once his internal power was exhausted, all previous efforts would be in vain.

Zhang Xuan clenched his fist.

He had planned everything, but he never expected that Fu Jiangchen's true qi reserves would be so weak...

Moreover, if the temperature couldn't be reached, even persisting for thirty more breaths would be useless!

"There's no other way..." His eyes sharpening, Zhang Xuan looked over. "Your current cultivation is at the late stage of the Divine King realm, on the verge of breaking through to the peak... Although the amount of true qi won't increase, its purity will improve significantly. The flames you drive will then be hotter, thus meeting the requirement!"

Fu Jiangchen's cultivation was only at the late Divine King stage, still some distance from the peak. But if they wanted to avoid failure, there was only one way: to make him break through quickly!

Once he reached the peak of the Divine King realm, his true qi would be purer, and the flame temperature would naturally be hotter. Then he could melt the Divine King Grass and successfully refine the pill!

Otherwise, all previous efforts would be wasted.

"Break through?" Hearing his words, Fu Jiangchen shuddered. "This is no time for jokes..."

He knew his own cultivation level very well. If he could break through, he would have done so long ago, not waited until now.

Moreover, he was currently refining pills, maintaining his power at the limit, unable to attend to anything else... Asking him to break through?

You must be joking!

"I'm not joking. If you don't want the pill refining to fail, this is the only way..." Snorting, Zhang Xuan didn't bother with nonsense and continued, "The reason you're stuck at the late Divine King stage and unable to break through is that you've taken too many pills, and the pill toxins in your body can't be completely eliminated..."

Every medicine has three parts poison. No matter how good the pill, taking too many will leave various toxins in the body. In the short term, it's nothing, but as cultivation increases and power becomes purer, even a tiny bit becomes extremely important.

Take Fu Jiangchen, for example. As one of the most famous alchemy grandmasters in the God Realm, he had used pills to break through far more often than others. It could be said that he had completely relied on pills to reach his current realm!

Having taken so many medicines, pill toxins naturally accumulated in his body, impossible to remove.

Even using all methods, he couldn't do it.

"Now, I'll help you expel the pill toxins. Don't think about anything else; just directly assault the realm!"

Knowing the exact symptoms, Zhang Xuan flipped his wrist, and dozens of silver needles suddenly appeared at his fingertips.

Hum!

Carrying a whistling wind, they shot straight toward the acupoints all over Fu Jiangchen's body.

His brows twitching, the famous alchemy grandmaster of the God Realm was about to resist when he suddenly gritted his teeth and closed his eyes: "I'll risk it!"

He no longer resisted and allowed the needles to pierce his body.