First Alchemy Attempt

As he waited patiently, a pale hand suddenly shot out from behind the door, quickly pulling him into the mansion before quickly sealing the door back shut.

"Was that really necessary?" Minos asked, as he patted down his wrinkled coat.

"Not really, but I thought it would be funny." Siar said with a giggle.

"... Anyways, it's good to see you as well. Shall we get to work?"

"So fast? Let's have some tea first." Siar said, guiding Minos towards the living room where she already had everything set up.

Obliging, Minos took a seat before reaching out for a glass of tea, slowly sipping as he waited for Siar to speak.

"You've already got some experience, so I thought we'd skip the boring part and get right into the fun. Here's the formula to the One-Moon Blood Mending Pill, with your memory, you should be able to memorize it fast."

"The Blood Mending Pill is one of the easiest pills to prepare, so it's usually the first pill most alchemists end up making. If you've got any questions, don't forget to ask." Siar said, handing the formula to Minos.

Taking the formula, Minos gave it a quick scan, instantly memorizing everything he needed to know.

The formula included all the information he would need to properly prepare the pill, from the basics such as the ingredients, to more nuanced information like the exact heat required during each stage.

Without this formula, it would be hundreds if not thousands of times more difficult to prepare this pill, which is another reason alchemists were so rare.

Despite it only being the formula to a One-Moon Pill, its value was close to something at the Three-Moon level, further exemplifying its value.

As he slowly enjoyed his tea, Minos pretended to continue learning the formula, despite having already memorized it all, only putting it down once he had fully finished his cup of tea.

"So, any questions?" Siar asked.

After thinking for a while, Minos decided to ask a few despite not needing it, giving Siar the feeling that he wasn't completely inhuman.

"As for the Blood Root, the reason we add it at the start is because it's considered a core ingredient, meaning we use it to bind all the other ingredients. Anything else?"

"No, I'm good." Minos responded.

"Good, then let's get to work!" Siar said somewhat excitedly.

Standing up, she guided Minos downstairs, the two soon coming to a large room with a massive alchemy furnace located at the center.

On the walls were an assortment of things, from large bookshelves to vials filled with all sorts of finished and unfinished pills.

There was also a side chamber that was sealed shut, but from the medicinal smell wafting out from the cracks, Minos guessed it was some sort of garden.

"Welcome to my little piece of paradise." Siar said with a smile.

"It really is something." Minos replied as he ran his finger across the body of the alchemy furnace, amazed at its quality that seemed to be at the Sixth-Moon, possibly even a Pseudo Seven-Moon.

"That furnace was gifted to me by my father. Don't be fooled by its ordinary appearance, most alchemy masters would kill to have a chance to use it." Siar bragged, not realizing Minos had already seen through its quality.

"Impressive." Minos said, pretending to be shocked.

"Well then, let's not waste anymore time talking. Watch me prepare the Blood Mending pill first, after that you can have a go."

"Alright."

After agreeing, Minos took a step back, giving Siar the space she needed to perform properly.

After taking a few deep breaths to prepare her state, Siar activated the ground fire underneath the furnace, causing its deep black surface to slowly turn into a molten red.

It was only once the entire body turned red did Siar finally get to work, starting by pouring a strange liquid into the body.

"As you've probably already expected, this liquid is made via a blend of Blood Root, Spiritual Liquid, and a tiny drop of Earth Essence. I prepared enough for the both of us yesterday, but it's still critical that you learn how to prepare this liquid yourself."

"This specific liquid is called Blood Root Base, but each pill has its own requirements, so don't think you can just use this stuff for everything."

"As for why we had this liquid first, it's because otherwise the temperature would directly burn our ingredients, reducing everything to ashes."

"Of course, alchemists don't call this stuff 'liquid' rather we call it base, since it's considered the base of all pills."

"Only once it reaches an adequate temperature, which you should have learnt from the formula, do we add the other ingredients in their order."

After saying this, Siar waited patiently, occasionally stirring the Blood Root Base with a large metal spoon.

It was only once the liquid started bubbling slightly, did Siar quickly pull out an actual Blood Root, before tossing it inside.

Once the Blood Root was added, Siar once again waited patiently, only adding the next ingredient after a certain amount of time had passed.

Like this, Siar spent half an hour slowly adding more and more herbs, finally tossing in the last plant after about forty minutes.

Another ten minutes passed in a flash, and as the total time spent finally hit fifty, Siar suddenly deactivated the ground fire, allowing the bubbling liquid to settle back down.

Allowing it to cool for five minutes, Siar scooped out the thick goopy liquid, pouring it out onto a large sheet filled with pill shaped indents.

After pouring out two sheets worth, she delicately but quickly sealed the two together, before once again letting it rest.

"Just like that, we're done. All that's left is to wait a few hours for it to quickly cool and we've got ourselves some Blood Mending Pills." Siar said with a wide smile as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Amazing." Minos responded, genuinely impressed by Siar's expertise.

"If you think that was amazing, just wait till you see the preparation of a Four-Moon Pill. Compared to that, this can't even be considered real alchemy."

"Is it really that much different?" Minos asked, curious to know.

"Of course, in fact a lot of alchemists don't even consider those below the Fourth-Moon to be true alchemists, rather just apprentices."

"It seems the Fourth-Moon is a cut off for all professionals." Minos said, having noticed that it was only once one entered the Inner Heaven Realm, did they truly have a chance to explore the true depths of these professions.

"You can see it that way. Anyways, it's your turn." Siar smiled, giving Minos the stage and stepping back.

Standing in front of the large furnace, Minos quickly recalled all the steps before he immediately got to work.

As if he was an exact clone of Siar, he replicated her movements perfectly, going through the entire process without a single fault.

After an hour or so, Minos scooped the thick liquid from the furnace, filling the pill molds just like Siar.

"Impressive! To think you'd master it on your first try, you really were born for this." Siar said somewhat amazed.

Of course in her perspective, a First-Moon Pill was just that, so as impressive as it was, it wasn't anything too shocking.

Now if he had done that on his first try with a Four-Moon Pill, then Siar would have truly been shocked.

Though neither Minos nor Siar planned for him to create a Four-Moon pill so early, so it seemed Siar would temporarily be spared such a surprise.

While Siar was praising Minos, he couldn't help but scratch his thin, feeling that such a process could be improved quite a lot.

"Hey Siar, haven't you ever felt that this formula is a bit… Redundant?"

"What do you mean?" Siar asked, a bit confused by his sudden question.

"For example, the Blood Root, why even add it at all, why not just increase the amount of Blood Root Base to make up for the difference?"

"Hey, you aren't the first one to ask that question, but the reality is the solid herb and the liquid herb have completely different natures, and the solid one has a certain nature that helps it neutralize the formula."

"And what is that nature?"

"Well that's a bit beyond your level, but considering your talent, it won't hurt to get into it. To put it in simple terms, when we liquidize the Blood Root, we end up destroying the skin, which is needed."

"Then why not just add the skin instead of the whole root?"

"We could do that, but what's the point? It takes about the same time to prepare, and besides, the medicinal effects of the Blood Mending Pill are slightly stronger when the whole root is added versus just the skin."

"Then how about if we found a way to spare the skin while we prepared the Blood Root Base?"

"That would probably work, but again, I'm not sure how that's possible, after all to liquidize it in the first place requires a temperature that the Blood Root's skin isn't capable of surviving."

"Unless we strengthened it…" Minos suddenly said, causing Siar's brow to raise.