Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather Chapter 1317 - 852: Alchemy with True Sun Fire (Part 2)

Refining Second-Order Spirit Pills and spiritual weapons proves far more challenging.

Divine Soul is required for crafting Second-Order Spirit Pills and Divine Weapons, something Innate Martial Artists generally can't utilize. Rare geniuses born with powerful Divine Souls, even without spiritual apertures, might succeed in refining Second-Order Spirit Pills and spiritual weapons during the Innate Realm.

Another rare method exists through taking the Illusion God Pill.

By boosting Divine Soul strength, the Illusion God Pill lets Innate Martial Artists sense Divine Soul power and wield it in the Innate Realm to refine Second-Order Spirit Pills and spiritual weapons.

The roughly dozen Second-rank Alchemists and Artifact Refiners in Spirit Source Land progressed via Illusion God Pills.

This concerns martial path Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, of course; Immortal Path followers face no Divine Soul issues. Still, Immortal Cultivators' Alchemy and Artifact Refining methods dwarf those of Martial Artists in complexity by countless folds.

Hence, Yang Zhenshan remains the lone Immortal Cultivator in Spirit Source Land serving as both Second-rank Alchemist and Second-rank Talisman Master.

In the Pill Hall, a youth clad in green vestment robes sits calmly before the Golden Crow Eight Trigrams Furnace, casting spells while keenly detecting shifts inside the Pill Furnace.

At his side, the Golden Crow lazily eyes the raging ground fire under the furnace.

Upon Yang Zhenshan entering the hall, the Golden Crow spots him instantly and nearly flaps wings to approach.

Yang Zhenshan swiftly signals for quiet, so the Golden Crow stays in place tending the intense ground fire.

Yang Zhenshan's disciple Zhang Hexuan is the youth refining elixirs.

Among seven disciples, he alone studies Alchemy under Yang Zhenshan.

Currently, Zhang Hexuan refines Jade Marrow Pills. Though capable of it, his success rate stays pitifully low under thirty percent. Even aided by Golden Crow's Fire Control, it'd fall below ten percent otherwise.

Yet Zhang Hexuan is merely twenty-four, with Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivation. Refining Jade Marrow Pills already showcases his remarkable Alchemy talent.

Nearly an hour passes before Zhang Hexuan abruptly jumps up, casts a spell to collect the pills. The furnace lid lifts, over ten gray elixir pills rise and settle into a nearby jade plate.

Yang Zhenshan yields ten batches of Jade Marrow Pills per furnace run, over eighty percent success, crafting more than three hundred at once.

Zhang Hexuan naturally can't match him, managing just one batch with thirty percent success, about ten pills.

"Hmm, not bad!" Yang Zhenshan advances to check the elixirs on the jade plate.

All low-grade Jade Marrow Pills, yet far superior to Zhang Hexuan's prior batches.

"Master, when did you arrive!" Zhang Hexuan asks, soaked in sweat.

"Just a little while ago." Yang Zhenshan smiles, waving a hand to clear residue from the Pill Furnace.

"Now, let me refine a batch of Jade Marrow Pills, and watch closely!"

Today he plans to try Turtle Breath Pills. Seven years studying the recipe, endless mental rehearsals, but confidence evades him still.

Yet attempt it he must now, lest further delay lets Master Jing Shui perish from age.

Waiting till Master Jing Shui has just three or five years left to refine Turtle Breath Pill is impossible.

Effortlessly handling Jade Marrow Pills, Yang Zhenshan refines while detailing each step's essentials to Zhang Hexuan, sharing his refining insights.

Another hour later, three hundred twenty-eight Jade Marrow Pills emerge, half mid-grade, half superior-grade.

"When will my Alchemy skills reach Master’s level!" Zhang Hexuan laments enviously, sealing elixirs into porcelain bottles.

Yang Zhenshan smiles chidingly: "You silly boy, don’t aim too high. I started researching Alchemy techniques from my days as a Martial Artist, over sixty years now, while you’ve only been training for a few years, yet you aim to surpass me!"

"Hehe~~" Zhang Hexuan grins awkwardly, quickly packing all Jade Marrow Pills into porcelain bottles.

"Golden Crow, assist me with Fire Control. Hexuan, check the herbs! Next, we’ll refine the Turtle Breath Pill!" Yang Zhenshan commands.

Practice done, the true challenge of Turtle Breath Pill refining begins.

Preserving Thousand-year-old Xuan Turtle essential blood's medicinal properties poses the biggest hurdle in Turtle Breath Pills, then fusing over a dozen clashing-attribute herbs.

Yang Zhenshan prepared extensively for these over years, mastering Heart Hand to Perfect Realm.

Heart Hand ensures Thousand-year-old Xuan Turtle essential blood doesn't evaporate.

Zhang Hexuan expertly verifies required herbs; long ago memorized Turtle Breath Pill ingredients thoroughly as basics for his Alchemy assistant role under Yang Zhenshan.

Furnace ignited, Yang Zhenshan keenly tracks internal temperature shifts. Reaching ideal heat, he starts with auxiliary herbs.

Auxiliary herbs liquified, he grabs Xuan Turtle essential blood porcelain bottle, employs Heart Hand to extract and infuse it into Pill Furnace.

"Golden Crow, True Sun Fire!"

Xuan Turtle essential blood enters furnace, Yang Zhenshan instructs calmly.

Gaw~~

Golden Crow parts beak, blasts True Sun Fire at furnace base.

Yang Zhenshan's inaugural True Sun Fire use in Alchemy; its blaze vastly outstrips Second-order ground fire.

True Sun Fire erupts, searing heat singes Zhang Hexuan's hair unbearably, forcing instant retreat from hall.

Yang Zhenshan ignores Zhang Hexuan, wraps in subtle Magic Barrier, fixated on Pill Furnace changes.

True Sun Fire's ferocity nearly breaks Yang Zhenshan's hold on furnace's Xuan Turtle essential blood.

Thankfully, he recovers control, scarcely safeguarding essential blood's properties.

Time drags, Yang Zhenshan's Divine Soul Power drains alarmingly fast, like Sea of Consciousness leaking, Soul Power flooding out.

Heart Hand's voracious Divine Soul Power drain amid True Sun Fire causes the drain.

Third-order True Fire True Sun Fire strains current Yang Zhenshan sorely; Golden Crow's restrained power alone allows endurance.

Still, failure claims this try; fusion of Xuan Turtle essential blood and herbal liquid falters, black smoke explodes from furnace, reducing both to charred ash.

Yang Zhenshan breathes out deeply.

Failure!

Expected failure!

"Withdraw it!"

Golden Crow withdraws True Sun Fire.

Failure stemmed simply from delayed fusion timing of essential blood and herbal liquid. True Sun Fire too tyrannical, liquid overly condensed, Yang Zhenshan missed perfect window, straight to ruin.

Rehearsals with True Sun Fire aside, no prior actual refining, so result foreseen.

"Master!"

Zhang Hexuan calls from hall entrance, too wary to enter.

Yang Zhenshan rises leisurely, deactivates hall protection array, then sleeve-flicks hot air away.

"Come in!"

"Was it a failure?" Zhang Hexuan asks upon seeing furnace's persistent black smoke.

"Yes! I need to ponder a bit; you go clean the furnace first!"

Done speaking, Yang Zhenshan sits cross-legged nearby, mulling this Alchemy attempt's lessons.

Failure terrifies not; ignorance of why terrifies.

This flop lets Yang Zhenshan grasp Turtle Breath Pill refining's true rigor, plus yields experience.

Paradoxically, this failure heightens Yang Zhenshan's confidence for Turtle Breath Pills.

Only through actual trials does feasibility reveal itself.