After receiving the gift from Elder Fang, Yu Lie immediately wanted to go into seclusion to thoroughly study the alchemy formulas and techniques.
However, the following days were filled with numerous tasks.
The mid-level apprentices in the alchemy hall, who had previously enjoyed Yu Lie's hospitality, began inviting him to their quarters in return.
As the newly appointed head of the Poison Division, Yu Lie couldn't avoid these social obligations.
He had to attend these gatherings to avoid appearing arrogant after gaining the favor of the Alchemy Hall's master.
After half a month of socializing, Yu Lie had become a familiar face throughout the alchemy hall.
Except for a few restricted areas, he could freely enter and exit various divisions without even showing his token.
Even the apprentices in the Poison Division, where Yu Lie was stationed, found their lives improving.
Whether it was exchanging medicinal materials or seeking help from other divisions, people treated them with respect, all thanks to Yu Lie's influence.
This change not only delighted the Poison Division apprentices, who became even more loyal to Yu Lie, but also pleased Yu Lie himself.
The fact that the Poison Division's situation improved so much after he "gained favor" with the hall master suggested that the division had been in a poor state under Du Liang's leadership and was generally disliked.
"The Poison Division being unpopular must mean that Du Liang, despite having some connections, didn't have enough influence to earn others' goodwill," Yu Lie thought.
He could now rest assured, no longer worried about offending any powerful figures behind Du Liang.
One day, Yu Lie stood at the entrance of the Poison Division, smiling warmly as he greeted a young apprentice.
"Brother Lu, thank you for bringing more people today. You've been a great help to the Poison Division. When I have some free time, I must properly thank you."
The young apprentice, Lu Bian, was about the same age as Yu Lie and had been the one to guide Yu Lie when he first entered the alchemy hall.
Lu Bian had come to the Poison Division to deliver a group of nearly ten apprentices assigned by the hall.
Lu Bian smiled and responded with flattery, "Not at all, Brother Yu. Since you took over, at least half the alchemy hall knows that the Poison Division has a capable leader. In less than half a month, you've organized the division so well that tasks are completed without delay. Even though it's the Poison Division, the apprentices here live as comfortably as those in the Alchemy Hall!"
Yu Lie looked surprised.
"Oh, is that so?"
The two exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways.
After seeing off Lu Bian, Yu Lie stood at the entrance, relieved.
"He should be the last person I need to personally receive to avoid being seen as disrespectful."
As he watched Lu Bian's retreating figure, Yu Lie's expression turned thoughtful.
Over the past few months, Yu Lie had advanced to a mid-level apprentice and become the head of the Poison Division.
Meanwhile, Lu Bian, who had been a low-level apprentice like Yu Lie, had also quietly risen to a mid-level apprentice, now wearing a three-striped robe and carrying a mid-level token, with attendants following him.
Yu Lie noticed that Lu Bian might have even advanced before him, making him quite an interesting figure.
"In this vast Blackwater Town, I'm not the only one whose cultivation has improved," Yu Lie mused.
With his mind settled, Yu Lie turned and walked back into the Poison Division.
On the way, he called for Old Hu and informed him that he would be going into seclusion for at least half a month.
He instructed Old Hu to handle any minor issues himself and to wait for Yu Lie's decision on more significant matters.
As a mid-level apprentice and the head of the Poison Division, Yu Lie no longer needed to make excuses or arrange time off for his cultivation.
He could simply announce his seclusion.
Old Hu was fully supportive of Yu Lie's decision and nodded eagerly.
"Don't worry, boss. I'll take care of everything!"
After bidding Old Hu farewell, Yu Lie cleared his mind and entered the quiet room in the Poison Division.
Inside, he activated a mechanism, sealing the heavy stone door behind him.
The room fell into complete silence.
Yu Lie turned and looked at the dark jade altar in the center of the room, a satisfied expression on his face.
This was the altar he had set up, made of Hanmo jade, shaped like an octagon, and engraved with intricate runes and the Taoist scripture "The Classic of Purity and Tranquility."
The altar was adorned with banners, bells, porcelain bottles, and offerings of flowers and fruits, all arranged meticulously, exuding a profound Taoist aura.
Yu Lie walked to the altar, removed his shoes and socks, washed his feet and hands, and then stepped onto the altar barefoot.
The cold surface of the jade altar sent a soothing chill through his body, calming his mind.
He sat cross-legged on the golden and silver-threaded cushion at the center of the altar, clearing his thoughts before recalling the formula for the "Fish Belly Pearl Blood-Strengthening Pill."
The text and diagrams of the formula immediately appeared in his mind, clear and precise.
Over the past half month, while Yu Lie had been busy with social engagements during the day, he hadn't neglected his studies at night.
He had spent his evenings meticulously studying the alchemy formulas and setting up the altar.
Now, not only was the altar complete, but he had also mastered the five alchemy formulas in his possession, ready to begin practical alchemy.
After a moment of contemplation, Yu Lie took out the necessary materials from his Blood Toad Pouch, along with the bronze wine cup, placing them nearby for easy access.
First, he took out two batches of fine black snake fish eggs.
One batch was dark and sticky, resembling black beans, while the other was smaller, like black sesame seeds, but translucent and glowing with a jade-like luster, clearly more spiritually potent.
The first batch hadn't been treated with the bronze cup, while the second had been purified by it.
The Fish Belly Pearl Blood-Strengthening Pill was a pill that mimicked parasitic insects.
Although the formula didn't specify why fish eggs were chosen as the base, Yu Lie guessed it was because fish eggs, even if unfertilized, still contained life force, unlike completely dead materials.
However, the bronze cup could only purify dead materials and couldn't process living things.
Yu Lie wasn't sure if the cup's purification would destroy the life force in the fish eggs, so he decided to conduct separate experiments.
Fortunately, most of the other ingredients didn't require such careful handling.
Over the past few days, Yu Lie had already prepared several batches of ingredients.
Since the Blood-Strengthening Pill was for his personal use, the purer the ingredients, the higher the success rate and potency of the pill.
He had purified all the ingredients and even recorded the optimal purification times in a notebook titled "Fish Belly Pearl Blood-Strengthening Pill," using coded language to note down his experiences and lessons.
Yu Lie didn't believe he would succeed on his first attempt, even with his foundational knowledge of alchemy.
However, he was confident that with enough practice and the right ingredients, he could eventually replicate the pill.
The next moment, Yu Lie bent slightly and began his first attempt at alchemy.
Unlike many apprentices, Yu Lie's first step was to take out a precise medicinal scale from his Blood Toad Pouch and carefully adjust it.
This scale was different from the small handheld ones; it was a balance scale placed on a table, using weights for measurement.
Although the scale's design, with its intricate carvings, seemed a bit odd to Yu Lie, he mentally labeled it as a "balance scale."
This tool wasn't a gift from Elder Fang but something Yu Lie had specifically sought out from the Artifact Hall, costing him 1,300 coins—equivalent to two black snake fish.
However, its precision amazed Yu Lie.
It could measure the weight of even a single strand of hair!
In addition to the scale, Yu Lie also took out a set of precise water bowls, finely crafted by the Artifact Hall, with proportional sizes.
These were cheaper than the scale but still far superior to ordinary ceramics.
Yu Lie then took out a mortar for grinding the ingredients.
Holding his breath, he carefully measured and ground the ingredients according to the formula, occasionally pricking his finger to add his blood as a binding agent.
Just preparing the first batch of ingredients took Yu Lie three to four hours.
Due to his inexperience, he wasted a few ingredients, which he then dissolved in the bronze cup.
Of course, most of the time was spent recording and comparing the ingredients.
Once the paste was ready, Yu Lie used a specific hand gesture to place the specially prepared paste into a bowl of black snake fish eggs.
He then used his body heat to stir and mix the ingredients carefully.
After another round of meticulous preparation, he finally finished mixing, ensuring that the fish eggs looked perfectly normal from the outside.
Next, Yu Lie, feeling excited, jumped off the altar and took out a black snake fish from a wooden box in the quiet room.
He weighed the fish, cleaned off the sawdust, and quickly placed it on the altar.
Without using a knife, Yu Lie hooked his fingers and lightly sliced open the fish's belly, revealing its internal organs.
He then took out the prepared fish eggs and placed them inside the fish's belly.
This step might have been the most challenging for other apprentices, but for Yu Lie, it was effortless.
After placing the eggs inside the fish, Yu Lie didn't return it to the wooden box.
Instead, he used a straw to tie the fish's head and gills to its tail, forming a bow shape.
This technique, known as the "Bow Fish Technique," forced the fish's gills open, allowing it to survive longer outside water, even longer than if it were kept in a bucket.
This made it easier for Yu Lie to apply the medicinal paste later.
He hung the bow-shaped fish on the edge of the altar, near a banner, and evenly sprinkled a special salt over the fish's body.
With these steps completed, the main alchemy process was done.
The next steps—controlling the "heat" and "progress"—would depend on Yu Lie's judgment and experience.
If the fish eggs were left in for too short a time, the Blood-Strengthening Pill wouldn't form.
If left too long, the pill might swell and burst, ruining the batch.
Only by timing it perfectly could Yu Lie maximize the chances of successfully creating the pill.
Moreover, the more precise the timing, the more pills a single black snake fish could produce.
The exact timing depended on factors like temperature, humidity, the size and type of fish, and even the amount of blood the alchemist mixed in.
Mastering this was no easy task.
After hanging up the first fish, Yu Lie sat cross-legged in the center of the altar, biting a charcoal pencil as he racked his brain to consider all the factors that could affect the pill's formation...
He intermittently stood up and sat down, jotting down every possible factor in his notebook, including the current room temperature, the fish's size, the amount of salt used, and the quantity of fish eggs.
Yu Lie's plan was to use the conditions of his first successful attempt as a template, systematically eliminating variables and strictly controlling the factors to replicate the success.
Although the formula didn't specify the exact conditions, Yu Lie believed he could deduce the optimal environment for pill formation through experimentation.
Yu Lie looked up, his mind set.
"This approach should be correct."
The next moment, he took out a second live fish.
This time, it wasn't a black snake fish but a flat bream called the Little Fan Bream, another spiritual fish, though less common in the Blackwater Town area than the black snake fish.
Batch after batch of fish eggs were prepared, and fish after fish were hung around the altar.
However, the next day, Yu Lie frowned as he opened his alchemy notebook to record his findings:
"First attempt: Black snake fish. Bow Fish Technique applied for twelve hours, three marks, and one hundred twenty breaths. Fish skin dried like tree bark. Upon dissection, no pill found. Possible cause: Fish eggs turned green, possibly contaminated with impurities or toxins."
"Second attempt: Little Fan Bream. Bow Fish Technique applied for twelve hours, one mark, and three hundred breaths. Fish scales turned white. Upon dissection, no pill found. Possible cause: Fish eggs turned white, possibly damaged by salt seeping into the incision."
After summarizing his lessons, Yu Lie tried again.
On the third day, he wrote:
"Third attempt: Black snake fish. Failed. Fish eggs unchanged. Highly likely that fish eggs cannot be purified with the bronze cup."
"Fourth and fifth attempts: Common fat fish. Confirmed that fish eggs cannot be purified with the bronze cup."
On the fourth day, his notebook had more entries:
"Sixth and seventh attempts..."
By the eleventh day:
"Eighteenth attempt: Significant temperature change today. Mercury column rose by five and a half marks. Upon dissection, found one Blood-Strengthening Pill, light red in color!"
"Repeated the attempt, obtained one Blood-Strengthening Pill, bright red in color! Success!"
"Took the pill. Bitter taste. Blood qi surged violently, unusable. Dissolved in bronze cup. Mixed with water and consumed. Fishy taste. Blood qi slightly increased, not as potent as described in the formula."
After more careful attempts, on the seventeenth day:
"Mercury column rose by twenty-one and a half marks. Optimal humidity. Obtained pill. Taste astringent but sweet, as described in the formula. Blood qi surged like waves!!"
That day, Yu Lie felt a hint of joy.
On the nineteenth day, Yu Lie, now with rapidly growing hair and a disheveled appearance, held a freshly extracted pill from a black snake fish's belly and wrote:
"Twenty-eighth attempt: Black snake fish. Successfully replicated. Obtained three and a half pills, all bright red in color. Taste correct... Alchemy mastery achieved!"
With that, the charcoal pencil fell from his hand.
Yu Lie's eyes glazed over for a moment before a look of pure joy spread across his face.
(End of Chapter)