Eternal Life Starts from Tai Chi-Chapter 87: Earth Fire Refining Pills

A Sect’s headquarters has many requirements for its location. First, the area must be large, with terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to assault. It also needs a stable water source and land suitable for growing all sorts of rare medicinal herbs, among many other conditions.

The mountain where the Cyan Yuan Sect was established not only met these conditions but also possessed a stable, non-erupting source of Earth Fire. This Earth Fire was exceptionally suited for both Alchemy and Artifact Refining, making it remarkably effective.

Ordinary flames can be used to refine common elixirs and weapons, but Earth Fire could raise the upper limit of what was possible. Naturally, this formed a cornerstone of a Sect’s power.

Yang Chan arrived at the Earth Fire Institute. This wasn’t his first visit; over the past six months, he had come here every time he attempted to refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill.

As he drew near, he could feel a scorching temperature—the intense heat radiated by the Earth Fire. At the foot of the institute’s mountain, there were also hot springs, which were deeply loved by the female disciples of the Cyan Yuan Sect. The male disciples were no exception, of course, though it was hard to say whether they were fond of the hot springs or... something else.

Refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill required extremely high temperatures, a condition that ordinary flames could not meet. It could only be accomplished using Earth Fire. This also meant that attempts to refine the pill often ended in failure, leaving behind nothing but medicinal dregs.

With each of his previous refining attempts, Yang Chan had addressed the issues from the prior failure, yet he had never succeeded. It wasn’t until he consumed the resulting dregs that he realized he had overlooked several problems—issues that were impossible to spot through simple observation.

He came this time intending to try refining it once more. ’If I fail again, I’ll wait until my Pharmacist profession advances to Tier Three before trying again.’

’And that could take quite a long time. After all, I don’t want to spend my Potential Points on the Pharmacist profession right now.’

"Pharmacist Yang, you’ve booked Room Jia-15 on the second basement level for two hours. It’s empty now. Would you like to start?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Steward Zhou at the Earth Fire Institute saw Yang Chan and recognized him immediately. After all, not many people visited the institute lately. Most were from the Medicine Hall or the Artifact Refining Hall, so the stewards knew them well. Since Yang Chan had been here several times, Steward Zhou naturally remembered him.

"Yes, I’ll start now. Thanks, Steward Zhou. If I run late, please extend my time. It won’t be for more than an hour."

Yang Chan said to Steward Zhou with a smile. There was no cost to use the Earth Fire Institute when refining elixirs for the Sect. However, for personal use, a small fee of silver coins was required—it wasn’t much, more of a token payment.

"Alright, Pharmacist Yang. I’ve made a note of it. I wish you success with your Alchemy this time."

Steward Zhou took out a brush pen, made a note next to Yang Chan’s reservation, and offered his well wishes with a smile.

"Thank you."

Yang Chan replied with a smile, then walked inside, carrying the materials for refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill.

The upper levels of the Earth Fire Institute housed ordinary Earth Fire, where the refining conditions were average and the temperatures moderate. If one went too deep, however, the temperature of the Earth Fire would become too intense, instantly incinerating the herbs to ash before their medicinal properties could be released, resulting in a complete waste.

The deeper one descended into the Earth Fire Institute, the less suitable the environment became for Alchemy—with the exception of a few special elixirs. For Artifact Refining, however, it was a different story.

The higher the temperature of the flames, the better it was for forging high-grade weapons. However, the crafting requirements were extremely demanding, as were the physical ones. After all, even though an External Refining Expert’s various tolerances far exceeded those of ordinary people, they were still human and had their limits.

To refine the Lantian Jade Refining Pill, Yang Chan had to go to the second basement level, where the temperature was just right. This was advice he had received from Zhao Yi, and it was also recorded in the Lantian Jade Refining Pill’s Pill Formula, located on the second floor of the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion.

He was certainly not reckless enough to ignore this advice. Besides, his last few attempts had already taught him that the Earth Fire temperature on the second basement level was indeed the most suitable for refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill.

Yang Chan walked to his reserved Room Jia-15 on the second basement level. As he opened the door, a blast of heat washed over him; the temperature here was much higher than on the floors above. However, the heat had little effect on him. After his Cultivation broke through to the External Refining realm, his body’s physical tolerances had already far surpassed those of an ordinary person. Furthermore, he had cultivated his Tai Chi Health Cultivation Skill to Tier Four Masterful, making his resilience far superior to that of other cultivators at his stage.

Inside the Alchemy Room he had booked, a massive Alchemy Furnace sat to one side. Next to it was an empty, glowing red vent—the source of the room’s intense heat and the very high-temperature Earth Fire he needed for his task.

After inspecting the Alchemy Furnace, Yang Chan began to give it a simple wash with the water he had brought. This was to ensure that no medicinal dregs left behind by the previous user would interfere with his own Alchemy process.

He worked methodically. Once the cleaning was done, Yang Chan placed the Alchemy Furnace over the Earth Fire vent to preheat it.

Meanwhile, he started preparing the herbs, following the alchemy sequence. Soon, all the materials he had brought were laid out neatly in the precise order they would be used. This was to ensure he could grab each ingredient at the exact right moment during the process, preventing any delays in adding them to the furnace.

He had suffered setbacks from this simple mistake twice before and was determined not to let it happen a third time. The second instance was a problem he had only identified after testing the dregs from his last attempt.

’I reviewed my process afterward but failed to identify this point. This time, I won’t make the same mistake.’

Once the flames in the Alchemy Furnace roared to life, he added the pre-mixed herbs and a specific amount of water. He then carefully observed the changes inside. When the first fragrant aroma emerged, Yang Chan began adding the rest of the ingredients in order. He meticulously tracked the timing, the shifting scents, and the fluctuations in heat, adding each component only when he felt the moment was perfect.

’You can’t add the ingredients on a fixed schedule, or the refinement is guaranteed to fail. That’s a lesson I’ve learned the hard way.’

Throughout the process, Yang Chan periodically added more water to prevent the mixture from drying out, which would cause the herbs to spontaneously combust and turn to ash.

Refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill was a lengthy process that demanded Yang Chan’s constant attention. It was entirely different from refining the Void Spirit Pill or the Bear Gallbladder Skin-Toughening Ointment. The alchemy for those items didn’t require such precise control over the heat; in fact, their refining processes were far less complex.

When refining those, he sometimes even had enough free time to read a book or practice his fist forms, as long as he didn’t let too much time pass.

But now, while refining the Lantian Jade Refining Pill, he had to add water every few moments. He then had to observe the changes within the Alchemy Furnace, monitor the drifting Medicinal Qi, and gauge the intensity of the Earth Fire below. Based on these observations, he would make adjustments. The process required his Spirit to be completely focused; the slightest lapse in concentration would result in failure.

’And the Lantian Jade Refining Pill is just a very common elixir. Refining more advanced elixirs involves even stricter conditions and is far more difficult. This is the reality of Alchemy.’