Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Second attempt at alchemy, failure!"

"Third attempt at alchemy, failure!"

"The sixth attempt at alchemy...still a failure!"

Inside his personal cave dwelling, Lu Feng remained completely focused on refining pills, repeatedly pouring in various medicinal herbs and demon cores, as well as cleaning up the waste pill residue accumulated at the bottom of the furnace.

However, no matter how many times he tried, he always failed at the last minute, and the furnace exploded on the spot. He couldn't even refine a complete batch of Jade Ice Skin Pills!

Moreover, the reasons for Lu Feng's repeated failures in alchemy were almost identical: problems arose during the final fusion stage, leading to loss of control over the heat and causing the furnace to explode on the spot!

"Damn it! Why does it always go wrong at the final fusion stage? Could it be that I'm doing something wrong...?!"

After the sixth failed attempt that resulted in the furnace exploding, Lu Feng frowned deeply, his face growing increasingly grim, and he stopped adding any new medicinal herbs or demon cores to the furnace.

Because the number of medicinal herbs and demon cores he possesses is not inexhaustible; at most, he can only refine the Jade Ice Skin Pill seven times!

Lu Feng has already failed six times in a row, which means he only has one last chance left!

If the seventh attempt at alchemy fails again, Lu Feng will not only lose everything, but he will also have a hard time explaining himself to Liu Lanyu. He's so stubborn that he's stuck in two abyss!

Therefore, after six failed attempts at alchemy, Lu Feng is now extremely cautious and dares not make a move easily!

"The medicinal herbs are intact, the number of demon cores is sufficient, the pill-melting fire temperature of 999 is no problem, and even the fusion ratio is 1:1, without the slightest error..."

As Lu Feng perused the incomplete Medicine King's Manual in his hands, he frowned in deep thought. Then, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply, as if he had suddenly realized something. "Could it be that my alchemy technique is not the problem, but rather that the records in the incomplete Medicine King's Manual are inaccurate...?!"

After all, although his alchemy skills were not particularly outstanding, they were far superior to those of ordinary people. Now, with the help of the ninth-grade furnace cauldron "Four Sheep Square Cauldron", he should be able to refine a mere batch of near-seventh-grade Jade Ice Skin Pills without failing on the first try!

"Heh, you're quite confident in your alchemy skills, huh? It's just a pity your understanding and knowledge are so poor that you can't grasp the true essence..."

Just as Lu Feng realized the truth behind the failed alchemy, he saw Gu Canyang's remnant soul slowly float out of the treasure basin again, then stroke his beard and smiled, his tone playful.

"Old Gu, I'm saying, you didn't suddenly appear just to say a few sarcastic remarks, did you?"

Seeing Gu Canyang suddenly appear and speak with a playful tone, Lu Feng was also taken aback for a moment, then frowned slightly.

After all, it's one thing for the other party not to offer any help, but now they're making sarcastic remarks. It's really hard not to get angry!

"Hehe, of course I'm not that bored."

Stroking his beard and smiling again, Gu Canyang composed himself, then gradually became serious and said, "Boy, there's nothing wrong with your alchemy technique, and the records in that fragment of the Medicine King's Manual are also correct. As for the repeated failures and furnace explosions, the reason is none other than the medicinal herbs themselves..."

"What?!"

"Old man, are you implying that the medicinal herbs I bought before were all inferior or counterfeit? That can't be...!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng was dumbfounded.

"No, no, the goods are all genuine, it's just that the attributes are a bit off."

Seeing that Lu Feng's expression was somewhat excited, Gu Canyang shook his head slightly, signaling the other party to calm down. "Although I have never understood the art of alchemy and my understanding of alchemy is only so-so, I do know a little about things such as the differences in the properties of medicinal herbs."

"Medicinal properties?"

Lu Feng was still somewhat taken aback.

"good."

Gu Canyang continued unhurriedly, "Whether it's medicinal herbs, spiritual plants, or even more advanced precious medicines, all these things grow and thrive by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and therefore have different attributes. Just like that rare spiritual plant, the Candle Dragon Root, that you got for free before, its medicinal attribute is the fire element of the Five Elements."

"On the other hand, the reason you've repeatedly failed is precisely because the medicinal materials are incompatible and you're lacking the element of water in your Five Elements, which is why you ultimately failed to fuse the pills and the furnace exploded on the spot."

"Is the Five Elements lacking water?"

Lu Feng looked slightly surprised, as if he still only had a vague understanding.

"good."

Gu Canyang stroked his long beard and said in a light tone, "Back then, in order to improve the quality of the Jade Ice Skin Pill, you chose to remove the Ice Heart Grass, the main ingredient, and instead used the higher-grade Queen of the Night Flower."

"Although this operation seems fine on the surface, it can easily lead to an imbalance in the properties of the medicinal materials, thereby increasing the risk of failure and explosion."

"Because the process of alchemy itself is extremely particular about the balance of the five elements. Ice Heart Grass belongs to the water element, while Queen of the Night Flower belongs to the fire element. So, with one increasing and the other decreasing, the fire element will be too strong and the water element will be too weak, so failure is to be expected."

"Harmonizing the five elements? So there's this kind of operation in alchemy...!"

After hearing Gu Canyang's explanation, Lu Feng's eyes widened, as if a new world had suddenly opened up in his mind.

"Nonsense! Do you think those ancient alchemical formulas passed down to this day on the mainland were just randomly written down?"

Gu Canyang rolled his eyes at Lu Feng again, his beard twitching slightly, and said somewhat irritably, "If we can just randomly combine medicinal herbs without regard to the five elements, then what's the point of having pill formulas? Wouldn't everyone be a master alchemist and a giant in the art of pill making?"

"Old man, thank goodness you're here, otherwise I'm afraid I would have really lost everything today!"

After learning the real reason for his repeated failures in alchemy, Lu Feng didn't have time to think much. He immediately summoned his Yuan Power Pill Fire again and began refining the Jade Ice Skin Pill for the last time.

As for the problem of imbalance in the properties of medicinal materials, it is easy to solve. Just add a medicinal material that belongs to the water element in the Five Elements theory, and the problem of insufficient water in the final fusion stage can be made up for. It is not a difficult thing!

...

Before we knew it, another half hour had passed.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Inside the cave, it was as bright as day. Lu Feng sat cross-legged on the ground, concentrating on controlling wisps of blazing alchemical fire, burning the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron in front of him until it glowed red. From time to time, beads of sweat dripped from his forehead, clearly indicating that he was at a crucial moment in alchemy.

"That's about it...!"

Realizing that the medicinal essence inside the Four Sheep Square Cauldron was almost completely purified, Lu Feng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Then, he turned his right hand into a palm and slammed it into the center of the cauldron again, while pouring in an even purer Yuan Qi Dan fire.

"The elixir is complete!"

As a large amount of alchemical fire rose and enveloped the furnace, the medicinal essence and earth-rank demon core that were originally scattered inside the furnace gradually merged into one, until finally it turned into a small, pure white, flawless pill, while faintly emitting a refreshing alchemical fragrance!

Moreover, the entire fusion process was extremely smooth, with no signs of the heat getting out of control!

"Just a little bit more...!"

Before he could even rejoice, Lu Feng continued to release his Yuan Power, transforming it into pill fire, which simultaneously accelerated the pill-fusion process!

Swish!

Another half incense stick passed, and a stronger, more fragrant and unique elixir scent enveloped the cave. The next moment, the Four Sheep Square Cauldron, which had been as calm as still water, suddenly trembled. Then, the cauldron opened wide, radiating light, as if a celestial phenomenon had descended!

"It's done!"

Upon seeing this, Lu Feng was also overjoyed. He immediately dispersed the flames surrounding him and eagerly looked inside the Four-Sheep Square Cauldron. "This is... a precious pill?!"

"And there are a total of seven of them?!"

Upon seeing what was inside the cauldron, Lu Feng's pupils constricted slightly, followed by a look of wild joy on his face, as if he had found some extraordinary treasure.

Inside the cauldron, a fragrant aroma filled the air, and white mist swirled around. At the very bottom center, seven pure white pills, each the size of a fingernail, were quietly placed. These were none other than the near-seventh-grade pill, the Jade Ice Skin Pill!

Moreover, these Jade Ice Skin Pills are crystal clear and flawless, resembling naturally formed pearls. Faintly visible on them are strange patterns resembling swimming dragons, clearly indicating their exceptional quality—truly the legendary "precious pills!"