Chapter 141: The Midas Touch and the Harmonizing Pill

To forget both self and the world was an extraordinarily profound state. For most cultivators, it was of little use, but for alchemists it was immensely important. Yet entering such a state required a certain stroke of fortune; it was not something one could obtain merely by wishing for it. Indeed, many second-tier alchemists had never entered that mysterious realm even once.

This state could help an alchemist swiftly quiet his mind and devote himself wholly to the refinement of pills. It also had another crucial function: increasing the success rate of pill refinement. Everyone in the cultivation world knew that alchemy possessed an element of randomness and that its failure rate was extremely high. For that reason, alchemy was also an exceedingly money-burning profession.

Generally speaking, the success rate of refining pills in the alchemical world hovered around one in five. Only when refining pills far below one’s own level would the success rate rise dramatically.

Che Wuyou had entered the state of forgetting both self and world, and had even reached its second layer. This was partly due to his incomparably powerful spiritual energy, and partly to his life experiences. Although Che Wuyou knew that such a state existed, he had also read about it in some rare books of the Miao family,

he had never realized how important it was to alchemists. This was a spiritual realm capable of driving countless alchemists mad with longing! Ordinary alchemists were respected wherever they went, and their lives were extremely dull and monotonous. Aside from refining pills, they usually did nothing but study the properties of medicinal ingredients and verify pill formulas. Few of them had experienced the bitterness of the human world or struggled ceaselessly at its lowest depths as Che Wuyou had. That was the fundamental reason why so many alchemists were unable to enter the state of forgetting both self and world.

Che Wuyou closed his eyes and sensed the progress of the Three-Star Pill’s refinement. Refining a Three-Star Pill was not especially difficult for him now. For one thing, he had experience refining one before. For another, he now possessed his own crimson flame, giving him far greater control over the heat. Added to that was his powerful third-grade spiritual energy, and everything was proceeding in the most ideal direction.

“Only the final step remains!”

Che Wuyou watched as the Three-Star Pill was enveloped in a hazy mist. He knew that the most crucial moment of pill formation had arrived. Yet he felt not the slightest trace of nervousness. His expression remained calm, filled with profound confidence in himself.

Suddenly, the flame in Che Wuyou’s palm changed from its flickering, unstable state into a faint pale red. Then, following his soft cry—

“Form, pill…”

A clear ringing of the pill resounded from within the hazy mist. Che Wuyou merely smiled faintly before reaching out and taking the Three-Star Pill in his hand. After examining it carefully for a while, he shook his head slightly, apparently dissatisfied with the pill he had refined.

“A yellow-grade supreme Three-Star Pill, at the fourth rank. It only barely formed… I wonder when I’ll be able to refine a profound-grade pill?”

Next came the refinement of the Harmonizing Pill. It was an auxiliary pill. Although it too was a yellow-grade supreme pill, it was among the most difficult to refine within that grade. Moreover, he did not possess a complete set of ingredients for the Harmonizing Pill and had substituted many of them with alternatives. He had no idea whether he would succeed this time.

Unlike the relaxed ease he had shown when refining the Three-Star Pill, Che Wuyou now wore a solemn expression, weighed down by wave after wave of pressure.

This time, Che Wuyou proceeded with exceptional care, executing every step perfectly. The first step was to add the medicinal ingredients. Since he controlled the flame himself, he did not need to place them in one by one. After a brief moment of thought, he placed all the ingredients for the Harmonizing Pill above his palm.

“Hm? The second step is heating. According to Miao Shilin, when refining high-grade pills, every medicinal ingredient must have its impurities removed. But a second-tier pill cannot really be considered a high-grade pill, so there is no need to remove the impurities. Besides, even if it were necessary, that is something an alchemy master should do. I do not yet possess that ability.”

As he thought, Che Wuyou slowly adjusted the temperature. Temperature control was itself an art. Which ingredients required a higher temperature and which required a lower one—he had to keep every detail firmly in mind.

……

Time passed slowly. Che Wuyou proceeded with extreme caution at every step, not daring to relax in the slightest. He seemed to have returned to several years earlier, when he had first begun learning to refine pills, becoming as meticulous as a young apprentice. He followed every step strictly according to the instructions in the book.

“Whew…”

Che Wuyou exhaled deeply.

“It’s finally almost formed. Everything has gone fairly smoothly, but I’m exhausted. It’s been a long time since I felt that refining pills could be such a tiring task.”

Che Wuyou continued raising the temperature. The flame in his palm no longer flickered, instead becoming a faint pale red, and its color slowly deepened. The Harmonizing Pill truly required an astonishingly high temperature. He had nearly driven his flame to its limit, yet it still had not reached the temperature the pill required.

“I’m going all out!”

Sensing that the Harmonizing Pill was beginning to turn into a waste pill—a clear sign that the heat was insufficient—Che Wuyou could not help roaring. As he exerted himself harder and harder, the true essence within his Violet Palace almost began to howl, while the faint red flames within it grew increasingly distinct.

“Hiss… hiss…”

What was that sound? Shouldn’t the formation of a second-tier pill be accompanied by a clear ringing? Why was it making this kind of noise?

Che Wuyou’s expression suddenly changed drastically.

Had he failed again? It seemed he had underestimated the difficulty of refining the Harmonizing Pill. He had originally thought that with his own flame, he might not yet dare dream of refining profound-grade pills, but yellow-grade pills should have been within his grasp. Yet he had still failed.

He was simply unwilling to accept it!

“Hiss, hiss, hiss…”

The warning sounds came more and more frequently. Though they were exceedingly faint and could not be heard without careful listening, each one caused Che Wuyou’s expression to darken further.

Suddenly, Che Wuyou withdrew his right palm, and the flame required to refine the Harmonizing Pill was extinguished just like that.

Was he giving up? Any onlooker would certainly have thought so.

But naturally, that was not the case. How could Che Wuyou be someone who gave up so easily?

His right fist curved slightly, while his middle finger extended straight out. At that moment, the true essence within his body began circulating in an exceedingly strange manner. If it could have been seen, one would have discovered that the true essence within the meridians of his right arm had formed countless tiny whirlpools, all of them flowing toward his middle finger.

With a sharp hiss, the sound this time did not come from the Harmonizing Pill. Che Wuyou had directly pressed one finger against it.

This was the first time he had used the Golden Touch in alchemy, and the first time he had pushed the Golden Touch to its absolute limit. Since attaining minor mastery of the technique, this was the first time he had given it everything he had.