Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

This is Purple Smoke Peak. Xu Kuzhou alone can gather enough materials for the Qi and Blood Pill, so Lu Qian doesn't need to worry about it.

However, at Lu Qian's request, he did not use earth fire to refine pills. Firstly, earth fire was not needed for refining Qi and Blood Pills, and secondly, he had never used earth fire before. Using it rashly would only cause trouble, so there was no need for it.

Processing medicinal herbs, setting up the furnace to refine pills, and finishing up the final touches... Lu Qian brought out his best performance, then looked at Xu Kuzhou beside him, waiting for the other party's evaluation.

"You must be a beginner, but you seem quite skilled at alchemy."

Xu Kuzhou crossed his arms, somewhat curious, "Have you refined Qi and Blood Pills many times before?"

Lu Qian quickly shook his head, "No, I only obtained the formula for the Qi and Blood Pill after I had already entered the sect."

"I see. Then you must be very good at summarizing. There were many basic mistakes in your alchemy process. Considering that you have only been practicing alchemy for a short time, it is understandable."

Xu Kuzhou smiled faintly, a slight ripple appearing on his calm face. "However, your grasp of timing is quite accurate. If it weren't for experience, you would be considered quite perceptive."

Lu Qian couldn't help but ask curiously, "Compared to the people from the Pill Pavilion, is my performance good or bad?"

"There's no way to compare them, because most of the disciples in the Pill Pavilion have been exposed to these things since childhood. Not many of them start learning from scratch, and I haven't seen many of them."

Xu Kuzhou seemed to be recalling something, his eyes looking to the side, "Don't be fooled by the fact that these so-called disciples of the Dao lineage seem very outstanding. In fact, they have all been trained and cultivated since childhood, and have used various spiritual herbs to lay a solid foundation. This is what makes them stronger than the newly entered outer disciples."

"So that's how it is."

Lu Qian was already aware of this and didn't intend to make any judgments; he simply echoed Xu Kuzhou's sigh.

"Alright, I have a good understanding of your level, but I'm usually very busy and not very good at teaching, so you'll have to learn on your own."

Xu Kuzhou waved his hand, and dozens of jade slips suddenly appeared on the table next to him. He smiled and said, "These are some basic knowledge. You can learn them first. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. When you can refine the Qi and Blood Pill within a quarter of an hour, come back to me to start the next stage of learning."

"To refine a Qi and Blood Pill in a quarter of an hour?"

Lu Qian found it hard to believe. He used to spend an average of two hours refining Qi and Blood Pills, and even when he was quick, it would still take more than an hour. He felt that it would take at least ten or eight years of practice to shorten such a long time to a quarter of an hour.

Moreover, shortening the time requires intense heat and very precise control; it cannot be achieved through willpower alone.

"You used unorthodox methods before, without even knowing the proper techniques for refining and collecting pills. It's indeed difficult for you to refine a Qi and Blood Pill in a quarter of an hour."

Xu Kuzhou pointed to the jade slip on the table, "However, as long as you understand what's in these jade slips, it's not difficult to refine a Qi and Blood Pill in a quarter of an hour. If you can't do it, then it means you're not suited for alchemy."

"By the way, the things in these jade slips are all quite common and not from my sect's lineage, so you don't need to feel guilty about learning them. Also, here are the materials for twenty Qi and Blood Pills. If you run out, you can come back for more."

After leaving behind a storage bag, Xu Kuzhou left directly, leaving Lu Qian still standing there in a daze.

"The materials for twenty Qi and Blood Pills. Considering that these materials are not very valuable, and that the Pill Pavilion must have internal channels, this amount of materials should not be much to him."

Lu Qian closed the secret chamber and began his seclusion. He first examined the jade slips one by one. Most of them contained descriptions of medicinal properties, taboos in the alchemy process, and common methods for processing spiritual herbs. The most crucial ones were a fire control technique and a pill-collecting technique called the Pill-Pointing Method.

According to the description in the jade slip, these two techniques are quite common. Alchemists with real skill usually have their own unique alchemy techniques. However, being common does not mean being useless; at least they can still be used for alchemy.

"No wonder controlling the fire is always so difficult. My Furnace-Filling Technique is a specialized fire-control method; it turns out I'm missing the fire-control incantation!"

As for the alchemy technique, there's not much to say. It allows the medicinal properties to solidify in advance. In other words, Lu Qian won't need to wait for the right moment to add the Heart-Solidifying Flower when refining Qi and Blood Pills in the future. He can bring that moment forward and control it at his own will.

"With these two techniques, refining a Qi and Blood Pill in a quarter of an hour won't be too difficult. Senior Brother Xu is truly generous, giving these two techniques away so readily. Wouldn't they sell for several hundred spirit stones outside?"

Of course, Lu Qian was very clear that Xu Kuzhou must have given away these two popular techniques because he didn't think much of them. He must have better ones. Even so, it would still be extremely difficult for someone without connections to obtain these things.

"I should thank Chu Liu the most. Without his help, how could I have come here to learn alchemy? It seems I need to speed up my progress in the Zhou Tian Xing Qiao technique."

Eight days later.

Within his inner world, Lu Qian cast a series of spells, causing the flames beneath the alchemy furnace to surge violently. The Crimson Blood Vine and the Mysterious Iron Fruit rapidly shattered into powder. He then pointed into the furnace, performed the alchemy technique, and added the Heart-Stabilizing Flower. The Qi and Blood Pill was now complete!

"It only took half an hour to meet the requirements."

He has refined Qi and Blood Pills at least hundreds of times in his inner world, using new methods each time. He always starts with intense fire, and sometimes he feels that the fire is not big enough. From the frequent explosions at the beginning, he can now guarantee success every time.

"We can start refining pills now, but of course we need to fail seven or eight times first, otherwise it wouldn't seem realistic enough, would it?"

If Lu Qian were refining pills in private, he certainly wouldn't be so wasteful, but when others are watching, there are some things he still has to be careful about.

Moreover, the materials for these Qi and Blood Pills were all obtained for free, so I wouldn't feel bad if they were damaged. I feel that learning more about alchemy is the right thing to do.

Not long after Lu Qian refined the Qi and Blood Pill, he went outside to wait for Xu Kuzhou. Less than half a day later, Xu Kuzhou emerged from the secret chamber and, upon seeing Lu Qian, immediately asked, "Do you have any questions?"

Xu Kuzhou had been waiting for Lu Qian for a while, but Lu Qian never came to ask him anything. He was a little puzzled. He had come to learn alchemy, but he just taught himself and didn't ask any questions.

Ten days have passed, and Lu Qian only came to inquire now. In Xu Kuzhou's mind, this is already a sign of his inability to be cultivated. The fact that it took so long to encounter a problem shows that he is too slow in mastering knowledge.

Lu Qian, of course, had no idea what Xu Kuzhou was thinking. He simply said, "I do have some questions, but... I've already managed to refine the Qi and Blood Pill in a quarter of an hour."

"What?"

Xu Kuzhou's eyes widened, and he almost couldn't control his expression. He was waiting for Lu Qian to ask him about the knowledge points, but it turned out that Lu Qian had already scored full marks ahead of time?

"Let me see it first!"

Regardless of what Lu Qian said, seeing is believing. Xu Kuzhou entered the secret chamber where Lu Qian was and saw a lot of ashes on the ground, as well as the successfully refined Qi and Blood Pills. He didn't say anything, but simply said, "Start refining pills. Let me see your skills!"