Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan Chapter 9 Practice

Upon returning to his courtyard, Li Zhirui was filled with anticipation as he took out the Jade Spirit Pill recipe; he was determined to master it rapidly so he could begin the process of concocting the Jade Spirit Pill!

Over the following days, Li Zhirui remained secluded within his yard, never crossing the threshold of the gate. He concentrated entirely on interpreting the pill recipe and honing his spells.

It took ten full days before Li Zhirui felt he had gained a profound understanding of the recipe. Having developed a clear strategy for the process, he was finally prepared to attempt making the Jade Spirit Pill.

First, Li Zhirui visited the storehouse to obtain a Pill Furnace. He meticulously rinsed it with fresh water to cleanse any residual fire energy, ensuring that no conflict between water and fire would disrupt his alchemy.

Next, he emptied one-tenth of the Spirit Water from his gourd into the Pill Furnace. After laying out the various Spiritual Medicines required, he followed the recipe’s instructions, utilizing his mana to perform a preliminary extraction of the herbs and purge them of impurities.

This particular step serves as the cornerstone of Water Method Alchemy. It differs significantly from the Fire Refinement Method; rather than using Spiritual Fire to bake the ingredients, Water Refining requires the cultivator to extract the medicinal essences in the external environment.

Before long, five distinct clusters of Spiritual Medicine essence were suspended before Li Zhirui. He added them to the Spirit Water in the specific sequence dictated by the recipe and finally secured the furnace lid.

Li Zhirui projected his Divine Sense into the Pill Furnace, monitoring the shifts within the essence while casting spells to merge the five clusters together.

This specific spellwork is known as alchemy technique. From his family's "Basics of Pill Concocting," Li Zhirui had only acquired the four fundamental spells: merging, fusing, dividing, and condensing.

More advanced alchemy techniques encompass these basics along with specialized spells designed to further refine the essence, enhance medicinal potency, and minimize pill toxins.

This explains why the same pill recipe can yield vastly different results in terms of healing efficacy and toxic buildup!

Once the five essence clusters had merged into a singular whole, Li Zhirui shifted his spell. It was as if an unseen hand was churning the essence, weaving the different medicinal properties together.

The ultimate effectiveness of the Jade Spirit Pill depended entirely on this stage.

As the minutes ticked by, a faint jade hue emerged within the essence, signaling that the fusion was nearing its conclusion.

Li Zhirui felt a surge of excitement, but before he could proceed, the essence suddenly shattered and dispersed!

His expression went rigid. Although he had not truly expected to succeed on his very first alchemy attempt, the sting of failure still left him feeling frustrated.

After composing himself, Li Zhirui stood up and triggered a prepared Memory Stone to analyze his performance and identify his mistake.

After reviewing the footage several times, he finally spotted the error—his timing had been a fraction of a second too slow when casting the Pill Division Spell, which caused the collapse.

"Hoo—" Li Zhirui exhaled a long breath of turbid air and used his Hollow Gourd to collect the failed mixture from the Pill Furnace.

Even though the mixture was a failure, it was not entirely worthless.

This highlights another distinction between Water Refining and Fire Refinement; in Water Method Alchemy, a failure results in the essence blending with the Spirit Water, whereas a failure in Fire Refinement leaves nothing behind but ash.

While these mixtures contain toxins and haven't been fully refined, they still possess Spiritual Energy. Though unsuitable for cultivators, they can be fed to Spirit Beasts with robust constitutions or used as fertilizer for Spiritual Medicine.

Since Li Zhirui possessed a space storage ability, he would never give such dregs to Da Qing, but they were perfect for nourishing the Spiritual Medicines growing in his space.

...

Cleaning the Pill Furnace, adding Spirit Water, purging impurities, joining essences, and blending medicinal effects—Li Zhirui executed every step flawlessly this time.

The moment the jade color flashed, he transitioned his spell and instantly cast the Pill Division Spell. The essence, which was roughly the size of a small child's fist, split into ten segments. However, before Li Zhirui could finish, the essence dissolved once more.

Having now tried it himself, Li Zhirui realized that the path of alchemy was far more grueling than he had envisioned. After this second failure, however, his temperament became remarkably steady.

"Didn't the people in my previous life always say that failure is the mother of success?" Li Zhirui muttered to comfort himself before returning to the Memory Stone to diagnose his error.

He quickly identified the flaw: the spell had been cast with a slight inaccuracy, which meant the Spirit Pill essence lacked the necessary density after being divided!

Instead of rushing into another attempt, Li Zhirui documented every mistake and challenge he had faced, intending to seek guidance from the clan's alchemists when the chance arose.

In the meantime, he pulled out the "Basics of Pill Concocting" and the Pill Recipe once more, studying them intensely to ensure no detail had been misremembered or overlooked before returning to the furnace.

Unfortunately, even as the moon climbed to its zenith in the dark sky, success eluded him. His closest attempt at the Jade Spirit Pill failed only because his mana had been depleted by numerous repetitions, making his final Pill Condensation Spell clumsy.

"The fiftieth attempt at alchemy has ended in failure; cause: insufficient mana," Li Zhirui noted down the reason, yet a spontaneous smile crossed his lips.

This failure wasn't due to a mistake in his technique or timing, but simply a lack of mana! Had his reserves been deeper at the final moment, he likely would have succeeded!

"It appears I possess a bit of a knack for alchemy," he thought. He wouldn't have come this close to success after only fifty tries otherwise.

However...

Li Zhirui glanced at the hoard of Spiritual Medicine he had gathered over the years. Seeing how much had been burned through in a single day filled him with a mix of pain and helplessness.

The space had manifested on the day he reached the first layer of Qi Cultivation ten years ago.

Most of the Spiritual Medicines he cultivated were common varieties that matured in just a year or two, so he had a significant stockpile of standard herbs.

He had planted all the ingredients for the Jade Spirit Pill in his space, but since he had acquired one specific type quite late, his stock for it was low.

Originally, he had enough components for seventy or eighty batches, but after a day of reckless practice, he had barely twenty batches remaining.

As for why he didn't sell his herbs? The Marketplace in Bailang County was far too small. The shops that purchased Spiritual Medicine were either run by his own family or the Beast Taming Sect, and their low buying prices made him loath to sell them so cheaply.

...

Exhausted, Li Zhirui broke his usual routine and skipped his cultivation practice, heading straight to bed where he plummeted into a deep sleep.

The following morning, he woke up feeling revitalized. He spent thirty minutes feeding Da Qing and watering the Spirit Field before hurrying out of the space to sit cross-legged before the Pill Furnace.

"Huff—"

Exhaling a breath of foul air, Li Zhirui entered a state of absolute calm. He added the Spirit Water, drew in the five herbs, extracted their essences, merged them, performed the Pill Division, and finally unleashed the Pill Condensation Spell!

A unique fragrance he had never encountered before drifted from the furnace. Li Zhirui opened it eagerly to find five smooth, jade-green Spirit Pills bobbing in the clear water!

"I succeeded!" A brilliant smile lit up his face, and his eyes sparkled with triumph.

A single batch can yield ten pills at most; producing five on his first successful run was an impressive feat.

Li Zhirui produced a jade bottle and used his mana to carefully lift the Jade Spirit Pills. He handled them as if they were the rarest treasures on earth, gently placing them inside.

With the confidence of his first success, Li Zhirui only failed five or six times during his subsequent attempts.

By the time he had exhausted his supply of Spiritual Medicine, his face was pale and fatigue shadowed his eyes, yet his spirit was soaring.

"In the market, a single Jade Spirit Pill goes for three Spirit Stones. Even with a discount for a full bottle of ten, the sheer volume I've produced means I'm not just breaking even—I've actually turned a profit!" Li Zhirui whispered to himself in excitement.