Chapter 87: Li Zhuo Practices Alchemy, Little Guo Controls the Blazing Fire (Two-in-One)
Individual Information: Cultivation Technique – Alchemy True Understanding ★★
Cultivation Technique Effect:
Alchemy True Understanding (Yellow): Cultivator's comprehension of Alchemy +50%.
Pill Formula Mastery (Yellow): Cultivator's success rate in refining Medicinal Pills recorded in the Cultivation Technique +50%.
Attributes:
Cultivation Technique Effect: 126
Allocatable Attribute Points: 0
“Another two-star Cultivation Technique~”
“Hehe~ Not bad~”
“I'll learn it first~”
Little Hei was a bit stunned.
He only saw Li Zhuo take the Jade Slip, directly put it into his sleeve, and then—
There was no 'then'.
He certainly didn't think that the Senior in front of him was trying to trick him out of the wang family jade slip.
This Jade Slip was clearly uncultivatable, and the Pill Formula recorded within it was completely indecipherable.
The value of this broken Jade Slip alone was far less than the Water Spirit Fruit and xuan ling water Li Zhuo had taken out.
What did this old Senior in front of him want with this Jade Slip?
Although Little Hei was puzzled, both Li Zhuo's appearance and the treasures he produced perfectly matched the image of an old immortal living in seclusion in the mountains.
Therefore, even though Little Hei couldn't guess at all, he didn't feel anything was amiss.
He just felt that this old Senior was indeed as lofty as a high mountain.
Li Zhuo naturally didn't know what Little Hei was thinking.
At this moment, he had already probed the Jade Slip with his Divine Sense and was studying it carefully.
Similar to other Cultivation Techniques, there wasn't much textual information in the Jade Slip; instead, there were mysterious symbols.
Each symbol actually represented complex information.
Fortunately, this Cultivation Technique had no difficulty in comprehension. After Li Zhuo accepted all the symbols, he understood the content recorded in the Jade Slip thoroughly.
Of course.
The situation was urgent now, so Li Zhuo didn't study all the Medicinal Pills in detail. He only studied the part about Alchemy methods and searched carefully through the Pill Formula.
Qingyan Pill. Li Zhuo immediately found the Medicinal Pill that the brother and sister had been longing for.
He carefully looked at the Medicinal Pill's effect, then gazed deeply at the pale and emaciated girl in the room, and gently shook his head.
The subtle movement startled Little Hei. This was not a good sign.
He asked with a trembling voice, “Se-Senior?”
Li Zhuo ignored Little Hei, just frowning in thought.
No, this won't do.
Relying on the Qingyan Pill's effect, it was impossible to restore the girl's vitality; it might even have an adverse effect.
Li Zhuo sighed softly and continued his search.
A moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“In troubled times, use drastic measures; administer strong medicine—”
Li Zhuo looked up at Little Hei and asked with a smile, “Do you still have Alchemy Materials now?”
Little Hei was startled and immediately nodded: “Yes, I do! But because the Qingyan Pill's Pill Formula is missing, I'm not sure about these Materials...”
As he spoke, Little Hei immediately took out the Spiritual Plants he had collected today.
Then, he ran into another room and meticulously arranged the Family's reserves on the ground, one by one.
Li Zhuo distinguished them for a while and said, “It's acceptable, mostly complete, but still missing xuan ling water.”
As he spoke, Li Zhuo took out a jade bottle, while also clucking his tongue.
Because this jade bottle was clearly the one Little Squirrel had been licking, it should contain a lot of that guy's saliva, which was a bit disgusting.
Never mind, it's not like I'm eating it, so who cares~
Li Zhuo muttered to himself and began to examine the Pill Furnace next to him.
Little Hei looked at Li Zhuo's appearance and asked somewhat uncertainly, “Senior, you... you want to perform Alchemy?”
Li Zhuo glanced at Little Hei: “Or would you like to?”
“No, no, Senior, please, you do it!”
Perhaps it was because Li Zhuo had taken out treasures to save his little sister, or because Li Zhuo had brought hope.
At this moment, Little Hei completely trusted the old Senior in front of him.
Whatever Senior says, it is!
Looking at the Spiritual Plants and treasures that were already prepared, and then at the Pill Furnace in front of him, Li Zhuo scratched his head: “It's a pity I don't know any fire-attribute Spells—Little Guo.”
“Chirp chirp~ Master~”
“When I tell you to breathe fire, you breathe fire, okay~”
“Chirp chirp~ Yes!”
This behavior made Little Hei gape in astonishment. He asked somewhat uncertainly, “Senior, you...”
He squirmed for a long time but finally didn't speak.
Li Zhuo, however, seemed to have seen through Little Hei's thoughts. He waved his hand and said, “Of course I can, how could I not know Alchemy?”
Little Hei looked at Li Zhuo, then at the little bird, still feeling puzzled.
Looking at the Senior, he clearly didn't have a fire-attribute Spiritual Root.
If it were anyone else, Little Hei would never believe he could perform Alchemy.
But the Senior's methods were truly beyond imagination, which made Little Hei even doubt himself.
Could one become an Alchemist without being able to control fire?
Little Hei's mind was in a mess, but Li Zhuo had already begun Alchemy.
However, the Alchemy process still left Little Hei bewildered.
“Hmm, Water Sand Grass, this is useful... What was this one again? Oh, also useful, and this one—”
Distinguishing the Spiritual Plants and treasures one by one, and then throwing them all into the Pill Furnace, Li Zhuo finally clapped his hands: “Alright, that's about it.”
“Little Guo, breathe fire!”
“Chirp chirp~ Yes!”
Watching Li Zhuo perform Alchemy, Little Hei's eyes widened.
A-about it?
Alchemy could actually be “about it”?
Whether it was the Family's ancient texts or the knowledge he had absorbed since childhood, all told him that Alchemy was an extremely serious and precise matter, where any small error could lead to failure in forming the Medicinal Pill.
This should be common knowledge in the cultivation world.
But the old Senior in front of him seemed to be breaking this common knowledge.
He just casually selected Spiritual Plants and casually threw them into the Pill Furnace.
And could the Spiritual Plants chosen by this old Senior really be used to refine the Qingyan Pill?
The medicinal properties of several Spiritual Plants clearly clashed with the Qingyan Pill!
Even more incredible to Little Hei was that the old Senior in front of him indeed did not control the fire himself; instead, he let a fire-attribute Spirit Beast breathe fire.
Little Guo chirped twice, then soared into the air, gathering energy towards the Pill Furnace.
Seeing the Spirit Beast, Little Hei became anxious again.
Because he could clearly see that this little Spirit Beast's strength was very low.
Even if it was a fire-attribute Spirit Beast, how high a temperature of flame could it breathe out?
One must know that Alchemy requires using flames to refine various attributes from Spiritual Plants and treasures, and then arranging and combining them according to certain rules, only then can a Medicinal Pill truly form and exert its wondrous effects.
Even if this little bird was a Spirit Beast raised by the Senior, it shouldn't be able to breathe out extremely high-temperature flames, right?
As Little Hei thought this, he saw Little Guo take a deep breath, and then suddenly exhaled!
In an instant, a surge of purplish-red flame erupted, reaching the bottom of the Pill Furnace in a flash, immediately turning the Pill Furnace scarlet red!
Rolling heat waves boiled within the Pill Furnace, refining the Spiritual Plants and treasures inside.
Watching this scene, Little Hei's mouth fell open.
He looked at the Spirit Beast, then at Li Zhuo, and finally sighed in awe.
Both this immortal-like old Senior and this seemingly insignificant Spirit Beast had exceeded his understanding.
He couldn't have imagined that a tiny bird could breathe out terrifying Scarlet Flame Departure Fire!
Nor could he understand that there was still someone in the cultivation world who could perform Alchemy like this.
The only explanation was that the old Senior's Alchemy attainments were almost akin to the Dao!
Little sister, little sister seemed to be saved.
Thinking of this, Little Hei felt a wave of relief.
Looking up at Li Zhuo again, his eyes were filled with deep gratitude and reverence.
This Senior had pulled him and his sister back from the brink of despair. How could he and his sister repay him?
Little Hei was struggling with this, but Li Zhuo was a bit bored.
Currently, he didn't need to worry about Alchemy; he just needed to wait quietly.
After another long while, Li Zhuo sensed the state inside the Pill Furnace and finally said, “Alright, Little Guo, stop.”
“Chirp chirp~ Tired!”
Little Guo was indeed exhausted.
Li Zhuo took out a fire-attribute Spirit Fruit from his Storage Ring and handed it to Little Guo: “Eat it~ Get some good rest.”
“Chirp chirp~ Yes!”
Then, Li Zhuo directly reached out and opened the lid of the Pill Furnace, took out half a bottle of xuan ling water, and poured it in!
Bang!
With a loud bang from inside the Pill Furnace, Li Zhuo immediately closed the lid.
To maintain his persona as a graceful old immortal, Li Zhuo forcefully suppressed the urge to stretch and said, “Wait a little longer.”
“Yes!”
Although Li Zhuo's Alchemy technique was completely different from what Little Hei understood, at this point, he dared not have any doubts.
In fact, he felt that Li Zhuo's Alchemy technique was the orthodox one, and all other Alchemists in the entire cultivation world were unorthodox!
After another while, a hazy glow rose from inside the Pill Furnace.
Little Hei knew this was a sign of the Medicinal Pill forming, and it made him so excited he was at a loss.
The Medicinal Pill is formed? Is little sister saved?
But, but the fire poison on little sister's body was already too deep. Little Hei felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, one thought leading to heaven, one thought leading to Hell.
He had seen Li Zhuo's methods and instinctively believed that the Medicinal Pill Li Zhuo refined would definitely save his sister.
But too many experiences of despair forced him to face reality: his sister had no fire Spiritual Root to suppress the fire poison, and relying solely on the Qingyan Pill would make it very difficult to save her.
After gaining immense hope, it felt as if he was about to fall into an abyss again, and this feeling terrified him.
Li Zhuo naturally didn't know Little Hei's complex feelings; he just felt that this dark young man was a bit dull.
However, he didn't care, and he liked people who spoke little.
After another long while, the hazy glow inside the Pill Furnace completely dissipated, replaced by a rich Medicinal Pill fragrance.
Even just a whiff felt refreshing.
“It's done!”
Li Zhuo smiled and lifted the lid, only to see seven or eight Medicinal Pills lying quietly inside the Pill Furnace, each perfectly round and ancient, and one or two of them even had faint golden patterns.
Seeing this batch of Medicinal Pills, Little Hei's eyes widened, and he stammered, “Eight, eight Medicinal Pills?”
He looked at Li Zhuo in disbelief, his inner shock already beyond words.
Feeling Little Hei's gaze, Li Zhuo asked somewhat puzzled, “What's wrong?”
Little Hei opened his mouth, but finally said nothing, only focusing his gaze inside the Pill Furnace.
Li Zhuo took out the Medicinal Pills and frowned slightly: “So many Spiritual Plants and treasures, and only eight Medicinal Pills were refined, that's a bit few.”
Little Hei swallowed his saliva, not knowing what to say.
However, he was also very puzzled, were the Medicinal Pills that the old immortal in front of him took out really Qingyan Pills?
Although he had never eaten a true Qingyan Pill, when his parents were alive, they had also refined some substitutes for Qingyan Pills, which looked very different from these Medicinal Pills.
Little Hei didn't know what was going on, but he dared not ask.
Li Zhuo also ignored him, just pinched out one of the Medicinal Pills and tossed it into the air.
Little Guo flapped its wings and swallowed it in one gulp.
“Chirp chirp~ Delicious!”
“Chirp chirp~ Hot!”
“Chirp chirp~ My flames are so powerful!”
After swallowing the Medicinal Pill, Little Guo's body suddenly emitted a reddish-purple light!
The little guy seemed to be unbearably hot, flapping up and down and breathing out scorching flames.
To Little Hei's surprise, the flames Little Guo breathed out this time were even more intense than the Scarlet Flame Departure Fire from when he was just performing Alchemy.
“This—”
As a descendant of an Alchemy Family, Little Hei naturally saw that the old immortal was not refining Qingyan Pills at this moment, but “Fire Control Pills!”
Sensing Little Hei's confusion, Li Zhuo explained, “In Little Guo's current state, the effect of the Qingyan Pill is even less than my Water Spirit Fruit and xuan ling water.”
Little Hei certainly knew that the old Senior in front of him was right.
His little sister's fire poison had already spread. His attempts to refine Qingyan Pills were only to prolong his sister's life, to find another way. Li Zhuo's sharp eyesight naturally saw this.
Little Hei just didn't understand why this old Senior wanted to refine Fire Control Pills? This was a forbidden Medicinal Pill of the Wang Family, because the effect of this Medicinal Pill was clearly—
Li Zhuo looked at Little Hei, and this time his expression was very serious: “Do you believe in your sister?”
Little Hei didn't hesitate at all: “I believe!”
Li Zhuo nodded and took out a Medicinal Pill with golden patterns: “The effect of the Fire Control Pill is to greatly enhance fire attributes, but it can make volatile flames controllable—you should understand what the prerequisite for 'controllable' is, right?”
“It's, it's a superb Heart-Nature and willpower to overcome the scorching flames.”
“It can be willpower, Cultivation, talent, or some miraculous Physique—but looking at Little Guo, she can only rely on her Heart-Nature and willpower.”
Li Zhuo looked at the pale and emaciated girl in the room, and sighed softly: “Swallowing this Medicinal Pill will immediately make the calm flames within Little Guo's body become volatile. There is only this one chance; once it fails, it will definitely—”
“Senior, I believe in my sister.”
Little Hei knelt on the ground, his voice heavy but firm: “If there wasn't a glimmer of illusory hope before us, my sister and I would have died long ago.”
Li Zhuo remained silent; he naturally knew that Little Hei was telling the truth.
In fact, not only Little Guo, but Little Hei also suffered deeply from fire poison, but he possessed a fire-attribute Spiritual Root and could barely suppress it, but it would surely erupt soon.
Little Hei remained kneeling on the ground, his voice incredibly firm: “Now that true hope is before us, how could my little sister not seize it?”
Li Zhuo suddenly felt that he had underestimated this brother and sister.
“Haha, good!”
He smiled and handed over a Medicinal Pill with golden patterns: “Go, let me see.”
“Yes!”
Little Hei took the Medicinal Pill with both hands and quickly walked into the room.
Looking at his little sister, whose breathing was slightly steadier but whose face was still pale, Little Hei gently leaned into her ear and whispered, “Little sister, we have fought against the fire poison in our bodies for so long. This is the last time. You can suppress the fire poison, right?”
Little Guo's brows slightly relaxed, and her eyelashes gently trembled, seemingly in response to her brother.
Seeing this, Little Hei no longer hesitated and directly put the precious Fire Control Pill into Little Guo's mouth.
Gulp—the Medicinal Pill was swallowed, and flames surged!
A soaring flame instantly incinerated all the houses, while also engulfing Little Hei and Little Guo.
Li Zhuo felt the blazing fire close at hand, unmoved.
Little Guo chirped beside him: “Master, this flame is too strong, and neither of them has any Cultivation, they might...”
Li Zhuo remained silent.
Within the blazing fire, there was no struggle, no painful screams, only two extremely calm figures.
One day, two days, three days... The blazing fire finally gradually receded, re-entering Little Guo's body.
But this time, it wasn't the blazing fire consuming Little Guo, but Little Guo completely controlling the blazing fire.
The Wang Family siblings quietly embraced for a while, then walked together to Li Zhuo.
They knelt down deeply.