After leaving the Medicine Hall, Yu Lie took a leisurely stroll through the alchemy room before returning to his quiet chamber in the Poison Hall.
Upon his return, the apprentices in the hall were still busy with their tasks, bustling about with various chores.
Fortunately, Yu Lie was no longer a low-ranking apprentice and didn’t have to deal with menial tasks every day.
With Old Hu, an experienced hand, in charge, Yu Lie could easily play the role of a hands-off manager, enjoying his newfound freedom.
Yu Lie pretended to wander around the hall, offering a few words of encouragement to the poison-extracting apprentices before retreating to his chamber.
As soon as he entered, he found that the room had already been cleaned, the incense burner lit, and the atmosphere serene and elegant—perfect for cultivation.
Sitting at his desk, Yu Lie laid out the five prescriptions he had obtained from the Medicine Hall.
Two of these were extra, acquired after he had ingratiated himself with Fang Wumu.
Although Yu Lie didn’t get along well with the Fang family, he was happy to take advantage of the situation, as it also helped to ease tensions between them.
After all, even though Yu Lie had been promoted to a mid-level apprentice, Fang Wumu’s father was still the hall master and a high-level apprentice.
Yu Lie knew he had to tread carefully to avoid direct confrontation.
Examining the five prescriptions on the table, Yu Lie tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.
These prescriptions included pills and powders, covering a wide range of medicinal categories.
They were carefully selected based on Fang Wumu’s advice.
Some involved refining tiger meat, others grinding lingzhi mushrooms, and one even used common herbs like ginseng to create a medicinal concoction.
However, the one that caught Yu Lie’s attention the most was the "Fish Belly Pearl Blood-Strengthening Pill."
This prescription was the most suitable for his needs.
The other four were merely distractions and references for practice.
Yu Lie skimmed through the other four prescriptions before focusing on the newly copied Blood-Strengthening Pill formula.
This pill was similar to the "Fish Belly Essence Pill" formula, using live fish as the foundation for a living creature alchemy method.
To refine this pill, one had to extract fish eggs from the fish’s belly, mix them with specific medicinal powders, and then steam and soak them in one’s own blood to produce pea-sized fish roe.
The roe would then be placed back into the fish’s belly, where it would absorb the fish’s flesh and blood essence, eventually forming several blood-red pills the size of longan fruits.
Just one of these Blood-Strengthening Pills could sustain a mid-level apprentice for at least three hours of cultivation, nourishing the body and providing sustenance.
There was no limit to how many one could consume daily! The only drawback was that the materials required were of high quality and expensive.
But for Yu Lie, this wasn’t a problem at all, as he had his bronze wine cup, which allowed him to substitute inferior materials for high-quality ones.
After reading through the formula, Yu Lie’s face lit up with joy.
With the help of the Blood-Strengthening Pill, he was confident he could maintain his previous progress and fully digest the Copper Tendons and Iron Bones transformation within a few months.
This filled him with excitement: "Achieving the eighth-rank apprentice level in three years is no longer a pipe dream!"
Immediately, he began planning how to acquire the necessary tools for alchemy.
There are three essential treasures for alchemy: the Altar, the Cauldron, and the Fire.
The Altar is where a cultivator performs rituals, holds ceremonies, and uses magical tools to conduct teachings, prayers, and dances.
It’s not just for alchemy but also for daily cultivation.
The most basic altar is a simple stone or earthen platform for placing items.
Better ones are made of fragrant wood and jade, with intricate designs for burning incense and placing flags to help the cultivator focus.
The highest-grade altars are inscribed with talismans, equipped with formations, and adorned with magical tools like flags, bells, and cushions, all of which increase the success rate of cultivation, alchemy, and artifact refining.
The Cauldron, naturally, is the vessel used for alchemy.
Even flesh-based alchemy requires a cauldron.
The Fire is the driving force for heating the cauldron and refining the ingredients, much like the fire used for cooking.
However, the fire used in alchemy is far more demanding than ordinary fire.
The term "Fire" in this context doesn’t just refer to flames but also to the control of heat.
In some special alchemy methods, such as water-washing or thunder-refining, spiritual water, spiritual liquids, thunder, spiritual sand, or special blood are used as "Fire" to refine the ingredients and control the heat.
However, most alchemy formulas still require fire in the form of flames.
Unfortunately, Yu Lie only had the means to acquire an Altar at the moment.
He had no chance of obtaining the other two treasures.
A true Cauldron couldn’t be an ordinary pot or pan but had to be a magical artifact, at least an eighth-rank blood vessel.
As for the Fire, even the alchemy apprentices in Blackwater Town’s alchemy room used animal charcoal, sometimes enhanced with special powders to increase the temperature and quality of the flames.
Yu Lie suspected that only the town’s abbot might possess a proper alchemy fire.
As for himself, even setting up a slightly useful Altar would cost him a fortune.
Yu Lie pondered whether he should spend a large sum to set up an Altar in his chamber to facilitate his alchemy.
For a moment, he was torn, as he had only recently become the head of the Poison Hall and hadn’t had the chance to embezzle any funds yet, leaving him still quite poor.
While studying the alchemy formula, Yu Lie continued to wrestle with his decision.
The next day, he made up his mind and went out to purchase materials for building an Altar.
After all, an Altar wasn’t just useful for alchemy but also for cultivation.
But then, a pleasant surprise arrived!
As soon as Yu Lie opened his door, Luobotou, hearing the commotion, came running over, his face beaming with excitement.
"Brother Yu, good news, good news!" he exclaimed.
Yu Lie was puzzled but allowed Luobotou to pull him toward the entrance of the alchemy room.
There, a group of apprentices carrying loads bowed to Yu Lie.
One of them held a red booklet and announced:
"By order of Master Fang, we present to Master Yu: one square of Hanmo jade, three stacks of thousand-year-old bricks and tiles, one purple sand incense burner, one gold-threaded silver cushion, five celadon candle holders, three carved porcelain vases, three golden-threaded nanmu incense tubes, one tube of Yangzi jade talismans, thirty banners, and fifty smokeless incense sticks... as a congratulatory gift for your promotion!"
In addition to the gift-bearing apprentices, several mid-level apprentices from nearby halls also approached, their eyes filled with envy as they looked at the gifts and Yu Lie.
Yu Lie was momentarily stunned but quickly realized that he had received exactly what he needed! The gifts from Old Fang were varied and numerous, but they were precisely what was needed to set up a refined Altar.
The square of Hanmo jade, in particular, could be cut to form the main body of the Altar.
Although there were no blood vessels among the gifts, if Yu Lie were to purchase these items himself, it would take him at least a year and cost him tens of thousands of work points.
Some of the items, like the thousand-year-old bricks and tiles, were rare and hard to come by, adding to the Altar’s foundation.
Yu Lie’s face lit up with joy.
He clasped his hands in gratitude to the gift-bearers and nodded to the mid-level apprentices, who were now even more enthusiastic than the day before.
He knew their newfound warmth was likely due to their realization that Old Fang was indeed his "backer."
Amid the congratulations, Yu Lie reflected on all that had happened since his promotion to a mid-level apprentice.
The difference in his status compared to when he first entered Blackwater Town and the alchemy room was like night and day.
For a moment, Yu Lie’s imagination ran wild: "If I were to advance to a high-level apprentice, or even an eighth-rank apprentice, what kind of expressions and attitudes would these people have then?"
Instantly, Yu Lie’s determination to refine pills and cultivate diligently grew even stronger.
Without any false modesty, Yu Lie accepted the gifts.
He didn’t even need to lift a finger, as the workers from the Poison Hall took care of moving Old Fang’s gifts into his chamber.
All Yu Lie had to do was stand at the entrance, exchange a few words with the visitors, and send Old Hu back with his thanks.
With everything settled, Yu Lie returned to his chamber empty-handed but with a heart full of satisfaction.
(End of Chapter)