Chapter 50

Inside the alchemy chamber, the floor and walls were laid with Dustless Stone, ensuring that no speck of dust could exist in the space. Han Luo had even bathed and changed into a fresh robe before beginning—after all, pills were meant to be consumed, and hygiene came first, regardless of the effect.

He carefully laid out his ingredients on the table in front of him, then began following the prescription for Spirit Tempering Pills, dividing the herbs according to precise ratios before initiating the process.

Alchemy was notoriously difficult for cultivators at the Qi Refining stage, with two main challenges.

First, the refinement required channeling spiritual energy into flame—an alchemical fire strong enough to break down each component.

Second, it demanded powerful spiritual force to guide the fusion process. Most cultivators at this level simply didn’t have the mental capacity to pull it off.

But these hurdles weren’t a problem for Han Luo.

He had already mastered the technique of converting spiritual energy into flame and had practiced it numerous times. As for spiritual strength, thanks to his two lifetimes of experience, his mental power was at least double that of the average cultivator. It was the very reason he could outperform even a natural prodigy like Jiu Li’er in formation arts.

In fact, Han Luo could’ve been using jade slips like everyone else for learning, but he chose to stick with paper books. It was part of his long-term disguise—to hide his true mental strength and avoid drawing attention.

But today, he was done holding back.

He activated the flame control technique, and a flickering red fire appeared—gentle in temperature, almost illusory. This was no ordinary flame, but one specifically created for burning spiritual materials during alchemy.

Once the furnace reached a stable temperature, Han Luo began adding ingredients, one at a time, with meticulous care. It was his first attempt, and he was understandably nervous. He figured he'd loosen up after a few more tries.

When all the materials were inside, he sealed the furnace and released his powerful spiritual force to envelop it. The cauldron began to levitate and spin slowly.

In that moment, his mind slipped into a strange trance.

He found himself in a mystical world where every herb and component appeared magnified—like they were being observed through a divine microscope. Han Luo, as a wisp of flame, passed through them one by one, stripping away impurities and preserving only the essence.

The process lasted ten minutes, and he refined all the materials once. But that wasn’t enough—not for someone as cautious as Han Luo.

His studies had taught him that the more times a material was refined, the better the resulting pill quality. One to two times might yield a low-grade pill, three to five for mid-grade, six to eight for high-grade, and nine times could possibly create a top-grade pill.

So he started a second round of refinement.

Just as he adjusted the flame’s “position,” the furnace suddenly began trembling.

Pssshhhht!

A sound like a leaky tire escaped. The furnace lid vibrated violently, and thick, acrid black smoke poured from every crack.

Han Luo instantly triggered the five protective arrays embedded in his chest. Five green turtle-shell shields encased him in the blink of an eye. Simultaneously, his robe lit up with golden light—activating a preset emergency teleportation array. In less than a breath, he vanished from the chamber, reappearing in a backup alchemy room.

This emergency sequence was something he had practiced for months—how to respond the moment something went wrong.

Through his bronze mirror, he observed the first furnace. Thankfully, it only spewed smoke and didn’t explode.

Still, the verdict was clear: his first attempt had failed.

He returned to the room, flipped on a magical smoke extractor, and cleaned out the thick haze now hanging in the air.

Han Luo had mentally prepared for failure. He calmed himself, laid out a second set of ingredients, and repeated the process.

This time, the trance world felt more natural. With greater familiarity, he moved faster and more confidently. He stopped after refining the materials three times—he’d learned his limit, and knew that pushing to a fourth would risk another failure.

When he opened the furnace, a gentle fragrance wafted out. Inside sat a thumb-sized, mid-grade Spirit Tempering Pill.

He studied it carefully with his enchanted lenses, jotted down observations in his notebook, and… paused.

He didn’t need a mid-grade pill, wouldn’t give it to Shen Xian’er either, and wasn’t about to sell it. So what now—toss it?

It felt like a waste.

After thinking it over, he shrugged. “Fine. You get to eat it.”

Han Luo summoned a large yellow dog from his mirror world. This dog, named Jiu Tong, had been raised since birth in the mirror realm, its background absolutely clean. He planned to train it as the steward of the realm—someone to manage the internal affairs while he focused on cultivation.

He had considered using a puppet, but they always felt too unreliable. A dog, he figured, would be a much more loyal and sensible choice.

“Here, Jiu Tong, eat up.”

He rubbed the dog’s head affectionately and watched as the mutt gobbled up the pill with a bark. Despite being a spirit beast of the fifth rank, the Spirit Tempering Pill wouldn’t harm him. On the contrary—it would help refine his internal spiritual energy.

As Jiu Tong lay down to absorb the pill’s effects, Han Luo took more notes. Though Jiu Tong was technically an animal, he cultivated like a proper cultivator, using a genuine immortal technique—unlike wild beasts.

With that done, Han Luo went back to his cauldron.

His third batch went smoother. He refined the materials four times and produced another mid-grade pill—fed to Jiu Tong.

Same with the fifth batch.

By the tenth attempt, he tried a fifth refinement and failed.

Alchemy was repetitive—tedious, like debugging code or filing taxes. But Han Luo was unexpectedly enjoying himself.

Why?

Because with each success or failure, he noticed his spiritual strength slowly increasing. It was a subtle growth, but real.

On the eightieth batch, after five refinements, he finally noticed something special—tiny lines etched across the surface of the pill. These were Dan Marks, a sign of a high-grade pill.

He carefully recorded the result, then tossed the pill to Jiu Tong.

“Woof woof woof!”

The dog let out a low whimper.

Han Luo turned to look.

Jiu Tong’s eyes were bloodshot, fur bristling, and body trembling. He looked… constipated?

Actually, he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Han Luo chuckled. No top-grade pills yet, but at least this dumb mutt is benefiting.

He tossed Jiu Tong into the mirror realm to finish his breakthrough, then began researching how to increase his own spiritual power. Five refinements was his current cap—even a thousand more batches wouldn’t change that.

Perhaps the answer was in the sect’s library.

Just as he stood up to leave, he felt a strange vibration from the bronze ring on his finger.

Inside, something stirred.

He reached in—and pulled out a fragment of an ancient jade.