Raise a sword!

Three days later.

Inside the cultivation room.

A pill furnace appeared in Jiang Peng's eyes and then in front of him, hovering in mid-air.

Since obtaining the formula for the Dragon-Tiger Pill three days ago, Jiang Peng did not rush to try refining the pill, but instead tried refining a magical artifact for the first time.

The original Xuan Tie furnace was a first-grade high-quality pill furnace. After incorporating the piece of purple copper given to him by Ah Huang, it took Jiang Peng three full days to finally refine the pill furnace in his mind.

During these three days, because the Purple Gold Cauldron was constantly drawing on Jiang Peng's spiritual energy, Jiang Peng dared not be distracted in the slightest and maintained a seated posture, observing the condition within her body.

In hindsight, caution was necessary.

The spiritual energy required to refine a first-grade superior item into a first-grade supreme item is simply beyond what Jiang Peng's fourth-level Qi Refining cultivation can withstand.

During these three days, Jiang Peng had to take a Qi Condensation Pill every two or three hours to replenish the spiritual power that the Purple Gold Cauldron had drawn away.

Even so, after three days, Jiang Peng was still exhausted.

"Even with ample elixirs, I still couldn't maintain the balance of spiritual energy. Upgrading the elixir furnace this time has already consumed some of my life force... The price of refining beyond one's level is indeed shortening one's lifespan."

He reminded himself to be even more cautious when using the Purple Gold Cauldron.

Then, Jiang Peng raised her hand and touched the refined pill furnace in front of her.

[Purple Copper Alchemy Furnace: Tier 1 Top Grade, increases pill-forming speed, reduces pill-refining losses]

Jiang Peng's eyes brightened slightly.

Before refining, this alchemy furnace only had the entry for "slightly increasing the speed of pill formation".

After refining, the alchemy furnace not only further enhances the speed of pill formation, but also adds new features to reduce losses.

Judging by the common standards for judging magical artifacts in the cultivation world, the value of the black iron alchemy furnace in the past and the purple copper alchemy furnace in front of us is at least ten times different, even though they are only one grade apart.

All that was given in the process was a piece of copper.

Jiang Peng also developed some interest in weapon crafting.

The Purple Gold Cauldron in his mind has many uses. Learning how to refine weapons early will definitely help Jiang Peng utilize the Purple Gold Cauldron.

At least he would know exactly what materials his magical artifacts needed to be refined, instead of relying entirely on the hints from the Purple Gold Cauldron and being completely clueless about the rest.

"Among miscellaneous arts, weapon crafting and alchemy can be compared, but it's not easy for a rogue cultivator to obtain a lineage," Jiang Peng thought to himself.

The Cangshan Sect is not good at weapon crafting, and consequently, there are no skilled weapon crafters in the Cangshan Market.

In this area at the northern foot of the Earthly Roaring Mountains, the Jade Pavilion Sword Pavilion is the most skilled in weapon crafting.

Jiang Peng then thought of the "Jade Pavilion Sword Nourishing Technique" that she had been practicing.

This method is not only a way to control a sword, but more importantly, it requires sword cultivators to begin nurturing a magical sword that resonates with their own will from the Qi Refining stage onwards.

This involved the use of numerous weapon-refining techniques.

"The Jade Pavilion Sword Cultivation Technique not only has a subsequent Foundation Establishment chapter and even a higher Golden Core chapter, but it should also have a matching weapon crafting inheritance."

Unfortunately, Dan Laomo only possessed the Qi Refining Chapter of this technique, leaving Jiang Peng with no way to obtain the subsequent parts.

After a short period of rest, Jiang Peng's spiritual energy recovered somewhat.

With these distracting thoughts gone, Jiang Peng took out the materials for the Dragon-Tiger Pill.

"Since my cultivation has just reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining, I will use this pill as proof of my status as a mid-grade first-level alchemist."

Weapon forging is just a later plan; for now, let's focus on alchemy.

......

Researching a completely new elixir without any precedent was far more difficult than Jiang Peng had imagined.

Before encountering the Dragon Tiger Pill, Jiang Peng always felt that she had a good talent for alchemy.

But Jiang Peng overlooked one thing.

Before the Dragon Tiger Pill, all the pills he refined were not only low-grade first-level pills, belonging to the beginner category, but he had also consumed the finished pills before refining them.

After consuming the pill, a scene will appear in your mind showing the pill being refined in the Purple Gold Cauldron.

Jiang Peng watched those scenes again and again, and they had long been imprinted in her mind.

When it came to actually refining the pills, he had already successfully rehearsed the process countless times in his mind, which is why it was so easy for him.

This time, however, Jiang Peng failed to complete the Dragon-Tiger Pill.

Although the recipe also contains details about controlling the fire, the state of the spiritual materials at each stage, etc.

However, written descriptions can never compare to seeing it with one's own eyes.

In two months, Jiang Peng tried to start the furnace three times, and the first two attempts both ended in failure.

And this is the third time.

Jiang Peng carefully opened the alchemy furnace, which contained five pills.

The first four were fairly round, but the last one was rough and looked like a waste pill.

Jiang Peng took out the pills from the furnace and examined them carefully.

Soon, he let out a soft sigh of disappointment.

[Discarded Elixir: Low-grade, Tier 1; provides minor replenishment of Qi and Blood, and helps condense spiritual consciousness]

"The demon tiger bone wasn't ground fine enough during processing, resulting in uneven medicinal effects during pill condensation... The Dragon Tiger Pill takes nine hours to form, which is also a great test for my spiritual sense. In the end, my spiritual sense was unstable when the pill was formed, leading to excessive poisoning."

Jiang Peng summarized several shortcomings.

Knowing this is one thing, but the details of how to improve it still need further consideration.

After resting for a while, Jiang Peng purified and refined the waste pills.

Soon, a perfectly round, bright yellow pill appeared in his hand.

[Simplified Dragon-Tiger Pill: Mid-grade, Tier 1, Amplifies Qi and Blood, Refines Divine Sense]

"Huh?" Jiang Peng raised an eyebrow.

He used the same method to refine the failed pills twice before, but they didn't become Dragon Tiger Pills; instead, they became 'unknown pills'.

Jiang Peng took the unknown pill twice, using the same ingredients, but the images that appeared in her mind were different each time.

"So this is the third type of failed pill that I improved upon by absorbing the experience of the previous two failed pills. It is very close to the Dragon Tiger Pill, so after being refined in the Purple Gold Cauldron, it directly became a successful pill."

Meanwhile, Jiang Peng also noticed that the name of the pill given by the golden text was "Simple Dragon and Tiger Pill".

"So, the current mid-grade pill is still a simplified version?"

Jiang Peng couldn't wait to swallow the simple Dragon Tiger Pill. While refining the medicinal power, she began to watch the newly appearing pill-refining scene in her mind.

Sure enough, what appeared in my mind was the actual process of refining the Dragon Tiger Pill.

Not only were there several more types of spiritual materials, but even the main ingredient for alchemy had become second-tier demon bones.

One day later.

Having recovered to his peak condition, Jiang Peng confidently began refining pills for the fourth time.

He had rehearsed the complete process of the Dragon Tiger Pill countless times in his mind, and now he was handling the simplified version with ease.

After most of the day, the elixir was condensed.

Jiang Peng opened the lid of the alchemy furnace, revealing six bright yellow pills lying quietly at the bottom.

[Simplified Dragon-Tiger Pill: Mid-grade, Tier 1, Amplifies Qi and Blood, Refines Divine Sense]

Without refining, the actual finished product is obtained.

"Six pills were formed, each perfectly round and full, and their quality can be described as top-grade."

Even though she had anticipated this outcome, Jiang Peng was still overwhelmed with emotion when she finally achieved a satisfactory result after more than two months of hard work.

"Only now can I be considered a true first-tier mid-grade alchemist."