The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

Song Hongliao snorted and glanced at him sideways. "We're not short of hands, do we need you to give us orders? You just focus on refining the pills, and we'll handle the rest as needed."

"Whatever happens, happens?" Shen Yifei lifted the lid of the alchemy furnace. "Then do as you please, but don't blame me if the furnace explodes."

He crouched down and stuffed the first piece of magic ore into the furnace. The ore rolled twice inside the furnace and came to rest in the center.

Shen Yifei placed his hand on the furnace wall, and dark golden spiritual energy surged from his palm, mixed with black threads, like lightning flashing in dark clouds.

The temperature inside the furnace began to rise.

Green Ivy, who was controlling the fire, hurriedly reached out and pressed her hand on the other side of the stove. Her demonic energy surged from her palm, pitch black, just like Gu Yunyan's. The two flames met in the furnace, and with a loud bang, the stove shook.

"Take it easy," Shen Yifei glared at her. "This is alchemy, not fighting. Your demonic energy is too strong, tone it down."

Green Ivy bit her lip and withdrew half of the demonic energy, causing the fire in the furnace to subside considerably.

"Collect half again."

Half of the pothos plants have been harvested. The flames in the stove have shrunk to the size of mung beans and are about to go out.

Shen Yifei sighed softly, "Your posture is wrong, and your magic energy input is wrong. If you continue like this, the furnace will definitely explode."

After saying that, he got up, walked to the green ivy, and squatted down.

"Raise your hands."

Green Ivy raised her hand, and Shen Yifei grasped her wrist, pulling her towards the alchemy furnace.

"Press here." He placed her palm on a spot on the side of the alchemy furnace. "Send the demonic energy in from here, not directly from your palm. The force coming out from your palm is too scattered. Use your fingertips, each of your five fingers should send out a strand, and let them converge into one in the furnace. Like twisting a rope, twisting five strands into one will give you a more even force than sending one strand directly."

Green Ivy tried it out, and five wisps of black smoke emerged from her fingertips, twisting together in the furnace, which stabilized the fire considerably.

"Hmm, much better than before." Shen Yifei didn't let go, his thumb rubbing the inside of her wrist. "Here, the meridians on the inside of your wrist connect to your dantian. The demonic energy flows through here, which is a little slower than rushing directly from your fingertips, but much more stable. Try it."

The pothos tried it again, and the fire was indeed more stable.

Shen Yifei's hand moved up from her wrist and stopped in the middle of her forearm.

"Here, there's a hurdle when the demonic energy passes through; it's a bit blocked here. Do you usually feel a stuttering or jerking sensation when the demonic energy flows through your arms during cultivation?"

Green Ivy's eyes lit up. "How did you know?"

"I figured it out by feeling." Shen Yifei pressed his thumb on the inside of her forearm. "I'll help you clear it up later. Once that's done, your fire control will be about 30% more stable."

"Really?" Green Ivy's eyes were full of anticipation.

"Really." Shen Yifei let go of her hand, stood up, and walked to Huang Ying.

Huang Ying was in charge of handing out the medicinal herbs. Right now, she was holding the paper packet of the first herb in her hand and nervously watching the alchemy furnace.

"Let me see the medicinal herbs."

Huang Ying handed over the paper package, which Shen Yifei took and unfolded. Inside was a black herb with long, thin leaves and dense roots.

"Black Thread Grass, keep the roots, but remove the leaves." Shen Yifei picked off the leaves and threw them aside, leaving the roots. "It's written in the prescription, but not in detail. The medicinal properties of Black Thread Grass are in the roots; the leaves are impurities. If you refine it with the leaves in, the purity of the pill will drop by 30%."

Huang Ying nodded, her eyes fixed on the movements of his hands.

Shen Yifei handed her the prepared black thread grass, saying, "When I tell you to put it in, just put it in. Don't throw it away, put it in gently, and don't let the herb roll around in the furnace. If it rolls around, it won't heat evenly, and the medicinal properties will be affected."

"I understand." Huang Ying's voice trembled slightly.

"Don't be nervous." Shen Yifei reached out and patted her shoulder. "If the first batch is ruined, it's on me."

Huang Ying's shoulders stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.

Shen Yifei's hand lingered on her shoulder a little longer, sliding down to her upper arm and giving it a squeeze.

"Do you practice swordsmanship regularly?"

"Um."

"Practicing swordsmanship too much has made your upper arm muscles too tight, causing your magic energy to get stuck here. I'll have Green Ivy massage them for you later."

Huang Ying blushed slightly and didn't say anything.

Watching from the side, Song Hongliao finally couldn't help but yell, "Have you finished teaching yet?"

"What's the rush?" Shen Yifei walked up to her. "You're in charge of monitoring the furnace temperature. How's it going?"

"Do I even need to check the furnace temperature? I can feel it with my eyes closed."

"Then close your eyes and tell me what the temperature is in the furnace right now? High, medium, low, or simmering?"

Song Hongliao closed her eyes, then opened them again after a couple of breaths, opened her mouth but didn't say anything.

Shen Yifei chuckled, "If you can't feel the specific temperature, just keep looking here."

He pointed to the side wall of the alchemy furnace.

"See those little dots on the side of the alchemy furnace? The colors change from white to red, representing the transition from a low flame to a high flame. What color are they now?"

Song Hongliao leaned closer to take a look. "It's white, a bit dazzling."

"That's because the temperature is too low. Increase the heat by 10% for the pothos."

Song Hongliao snorted and obediently squatted down next to the alchemy furnace, staring at those few dots, her ponytail hanging down in front of her face.

Shen Yifei stood behind her, and could see the back of her neck when he looked down. Her skin was fair and delicate.

"Your hair is messy." Shen Yifei reached out and smoothed her hair back, his fingertips brushing against her skin.

Song Hongliao froze, and the hairs on her neck stood on end.

"What are you doing?" She turned around abruptly and glared at him.

"Let me smooth your hair so you can't see the temperature."

Song Hongliao stared at him for a couple of moments, then snorted coldly, turned her head back, and swung her ponytail so hard it almost slapped Shen Yifei across the face.

Shen Yifei took half a step back, curled the corners of his mouth, and sat down in front of the alchemy furnace.

"Let's begin. Green ivy, keep the fire steady. Yellow warbler, black thread grass, get ready."

Green Ivy channeled her magical energy from her five fingertips into a single stream and fed it into the furnace, keeping the fire burning steadily. Yellow Oriole held the prepared black thread grass in her palm, waiting for Shen Yifei's command.

"put."

The oriole gently placed the black-thread grass into the furnace. The grass landed in the center of the furnace, enveloped by the flames. The leaves were removed, and the roots curled up in the fire, slowly turning charred black.

Shen Yifei placed his hand on top of the alchemy furnace, probing inside with his divine sense to observe the changes in the black-lined grass. The speed at which the roots curled, the subtle changes in color—every minute movement was detected by his divine sense.

"The second ingredient is the Red Fire Mushroom. Remove the stem, keep the cap, and cut it into three slices, each slice being the same thickness."

Huang Ying frantically processed the Crimson Fire Fungus, her knife skills were poor, and the three slices looked like they were chewed by a dog, one thick and two thin.

Shen Yifei glanced at it but didn't say anything. The first batch might not turn out well, but it'll do as practice.

"The third ingredient is the Cold Marrow Flower. Place the whole flower inside, don't break it apart."

When Huang Ying placed it into the furnace, her hand trembled slightly, causing the flower to tilt and its petals to stick to the furnace wall. The petals of the Cold Marrow Flower scorched as soon as they touched the furnace wall, and a burnt smell wafted out of the furnace.

Shen Yifei reached out and pressed his hand on the side of the furnace, then probed in with his divine sense and stirred it, moving the half-burnt Cold Marrow Flower to the center of the furnace.

Half of it was saved, but the medicine's effectiveness was already compromised.

As the other herbs were added in one by one, Huang Ying's hand became increasingly steady as she handed over the herbs, and Luo Luo's control of the fire became more and more precise.

Song Hongliao squatted beside the alchemy furnace, staring at the thermometer, occasionally shouting, "The temperature is too high!" or "The temperature is too low!"

Two hours later, Shen Yifei took a deep breath.

"Turn off the fire."