Chapter 28 I am an Alchemist

Jiang Ning arrived home and glanced at the time, it was two o'clock in the early morning.

He summoned a basin of water, ignited a flame to heat it, poured it over himself, then used a spell to dry his clothes.

Afterwards, Jiang Ning closed his eyes to rest and recuperate.

Half an hour later, his spiritual power was fully restored, and his heart felt a sense of tranquility.

The backpack lay open beside him, with layers of herbs sealed in plastic wrap. He gently waved his hand, and the herbs orderly flew out of the backpack, arraying before him.

Jiang Ning was preparing to refine 'Qi Gathering Pills', for the purpose of rapidly increasing his cultivation level.

Alchemy was a type of craftsmanship within the Cultivation World, akin to the many professions in the real world: doctors, chefs, engineers.

However, alchemy was difficult to master, requiring not only exceptional talent but also the consumption of vast resources.

A genuine alchemist, no matter where they went, would always be held in high regard.

Jiang Ning was not a professional alchemist, but back at the Luoyun Sect, he had several dedicated alchemists at his disposal. Out of curiosity, he had learned some alchemical techniques from them, and faced with a Nascent Soul Perfect Cultivator like himself, the alchemists certainly didn't dare to put on airs.

Therefore, Jiang Ning possessed the legacy of several Pill Masters.

Jiang Ning activated his mana, flicked a finger forward, and a straight beam of spirit flame shot out.

The pure white spirit flame danced, warping the space around it with mottled patterns. Spirit flames were different from ordinary flames, as they were evolved by cultivators using cultivation techniques or from the essence of rare and precious materials.

The most notable feature was the extremely high temperature, which could instantly melt metals.

If someone were touched by it, the spirit flame, using the human body as fuel, would reduce them to ashes within seconds.

An essential tool for murder and robbery, some desperate criminals often mastered a type of spirit flame.

In his past life, Jiang Ning had mastered over a dozen types of spirit flames, making him a professional when it came to playing with fire.

Next, the refining of elixir pills required spirit flames, which were formed by spiritual power. When purifying the essence of the spirit grass, a transformation could occur, creating the conditions necessary for the production of elixir pills.

Jiang Ning watched the white spirit flame, then suddenly slapped downwards. Spiritual power formed into a shockwave, causing dozens of herbs to rise in the air.

As he watched the spirit grass in front of him, a hint of embarrassment crossed Jiang Ning's face; he had forgotten that he was no longer the Nascent Soul True Monarch of his previous life. With his current Divine Sense, attempting extraction on multiple herbs at once would surely lead to disaster.

With that thought, the herbs fell back down, leaving only one green herb floating in the air.

His Divine Sense covered the herb, and with his profound knowledge of herbs, he instantly determined the age, quality, remaining medicinal effects of the herb, as well as the suitable spirit flame temperature and technique for extracting its essence.

Each detail was crucial to get right; otherwise, the elixir pills would be greatly diminished in effectiveness or even fail to be refined altogether.

Jiang Ning flicked a finger, and the spirit flame wrapped around the herb.

As soon as the herb made contact with the spirit flame, it burned like paper into a clump of green liquid, which rolled in the spirit flame, reflecting the bright moonlight from outside.

This was the moment that truly tested one's technique. If the spirit flame temperature was too high, the liquid would evaporate. If it was too low, the spirit grass wouldn't be properly refined. Only the right temperature permitted the spiritual power within the spirit flame to infuse into the liquid, creating a harmony of water and fire.

Jiang Ning concentrated fully on controlling the spirit flame, his Divine Sense closely encircling it.

Soon, black spots began to emerge within the green liquid, appearing extremely jarring.

The spirit flame separated into a sharp needle-like form, piercing into the liquid to remove those black spots, which were impurities. If not removed, they would severely affect the alchemy process.

Black spots appeared one by one, and Jiang Ning removed them all, until finally, no more appeared within the liquid.

By now, the liquid had reduced to half its original size.

It was now as clear and sparkling as a gemstone, having undergone a qualitative transformation from its initial state.

This clump of liquid, which current human technology could not produce no matter what, was attained because it involved the domain of spiritual power.

This also meant the liquid was now qualified. Jiang Ning waved his fingers lightly, transferring the liquid to a position a bit further away.

He breathed a sigh of relief, picked up another herb, and began extracting its essence. This time, the liquid formed from the herb was crimson red, reminiscent of droplets of blood.

Then came the latter dozen or so spirit grasses, the whole process being extremely cumbersome, testing one's mental strength, mana, and Divine Sense.

By the time all the spirit grasses had been extracted, various groups of medicine liquids and medicine dust were hovering in front of Jiang Ning.

Some spirit grasses were dry, so after refinement, the essence was all contained within the medicine dust.

Next was the most skill-testing step in alchemy: the fusion into elixir pills.

Jiang Ning did not delay. His spiritual power fluttered as the medicine liquids followed a set sequence to merge. Someone inexperienced recklessly merging them would only ruin the medicine liquid.

When two groups of medicine liquid merged, the conflicting properties touched like hot oil on cold water, immediately making a "sizzling" noise. In an instant, numerous black spots appeared.

Jiang Ning did not hesitate. His spirit flame formed needles, nine Spirit Flame Needles in a row, all aimed towards the medicine liquid. With a gentle flick, he removed the impurities, his movements fluid and seamless.

Extreme skill is indeed an art form. If Xue Yuantong had been there, he would certainly not dare claim he could do it as well as Jiang Ning.

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Ning lightly smiled.

Groups of medicine liquids and medicine dust merged, steam rose, and the forming medicine liquid was the size of an egg or, perhaps more accurately, it was no longer just a liquid as it began to solidify and take on the shape of an elixir pill, often referred to as a medicine embryo.

Jiang Ning watched the last group of thick, milky medicine liquid in the air, which was the auxiliary medicine needed for the final Qi Gathering Pill.

"Enter!"

At Jiang Ning's command, the milky liquid covered the medicine embryo. As soon as they touched, a refreshing medicinal fragrance erupted, invigorating the spirit and bringing comfort to the body.

The medicinal scent lasted only a moment.

"Lock!"

Jiang Ning made use of a spell to lock in the fragrance, preventing the medicinal strength from dissipating.

He cast another magic formation and the originally egg-sized medicine embryo suddenly disassembled, scattering into twelve white medicine embryos.

The spirit flame swept them up, spinning rapidly, creating a fiery vortex.

The twelve white medicine embryos spun quickly within the vortex.

This step was called "polishing," aimed at sealing in the medicinal strength and nurturing the medicine embryos to become pills.

While continuing to spin, each of the medicine embryos gradually shrank until they were about the size of a fingertip.

The spirit flame finally extinguished, and the twelve Qi Gathering Pills hovered in midair, their surfaces flashing a white sheen, with a simple but ancient symbol inscribed on them. This was the unique signature of Jiang Ning, the Pill Master.

It signified the work of the 'Unfoolish' True Monarch Jiang Ning.

After admiring them for half a minute, Jiang Ning beckoned to an exquisitely white Jade Bottle on the table, which flew towards him, sucking in the pills one by one before being sealed with a stopper.

Only one Qi Gathering Pill remained, which Jiang Ning swallowed directly. The medicinal strength exploded, transforming into a surging spiritual power that flowed to his meridians, causing them to swell painfully.

After all, Jiang Ning possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root, making his efficiency in absorbing elixir pills extraordinarily high.

"This Qi Gathering Pill is about fifty percent less effective than those refined by the pill masters of the Luoyun Sect, not because my alchemical skills are inferior to theirs, but because Earth's medicinal herbs can't compare to those in the Cultivation World."

Even so, one pill was equivalent to three or four days of arduous practice. Taking one pill every day would mean more than triple the cultivation speed.

If only it were a Qi Gathering Pill from the Cultivation World, it could provide at least seven times the cultivation speed.

"If I want to speed up further, I'll have to focus more on the quality of the medicinal herbs." Jiang Ning already had some ideas in his mind.

While refining the medicinal strength, he pondered his future plans.

He could refine a batch of elixir pills with targeted effects, find a suitable spokesperson to introduce them to the market.

The Jiang Ning of the future knew all too well how enormous the profits from medicine could be, and the many fields it could cover: ophthalmology, beauty, hair growth – there wasn't a single direction that wouldn't allow him to amass a substantial fortune.

With such financial resources, he could purchase land, set up major formations to draw in the spiritual power of the world, and nurture medicinal herbs.

He, Jiang Ning, intended to use the resources of this world to create a Golden Core Cultivator from scratch.