Chapter Eighty-Four: Alchemy by the Way of Water

Noticing that Elder Zhao seemed about to refine the Earth Origin Pill, Liu Pan’s spirits lifted once more. The Earth Origin Pill was a medicinal elixir used by cultivators to break through from the Martial Apprentice realm to the Martial Master realm. Currently, Liu Pan was at the eighth stage of Martial Apprentice, not far from perfection. If he had only known about his Extreme Cold Physique, Liu Pan wouldn’t have cared much about the Earth Origin Pill. But after learning he possessed merely a mid-grade ice spiritual root, he felt that perhaps he might need this pill someday.

Liu Pan watched from the side; Elder Zhao was well aware of this, but he paid it no mind. To him, Liu Pan was just a worthless Martial Apprentice, someone who hadn’t even awakened his spiritual sense—dreaming of learning the art of alchemy as a mere medicine boy? That was pure fantasy. In truth, when Elder Zhao had previously instructed Liu Pan to wash the medicine cauldron, his intent was simply to have Liu Pan leave if the cauldron wasn’t cleaned properly.

Yet, unexpectedly, Liu Pan had managed to finish washing the cauldron in such a short time. Even after Elder Zhao swept it several times with his spiritual power, he found no trace of leftover medicine. This left him without an excuse to dismiss Liu Pan outright.

Although Elder Zhao hadn’t managed to send Liu Pan away immediately, he still intended to drive him out eventually. Allowing Liu Pan to observe his pill refinement was merely another pretext for doing so later. After all, Elder Zhao had ruined several batches of Earth Origin Pills already and felt little confidence about this attempt.

Soon, the medicinal ingredients were prepared. Despite his lack of confidence, Elder Zhao meticulously checked all his preparations. Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he retrieved a Jade Purity Bottle from his storage ring and poured clear water into the pill cauldron. The Jade Purity Bottle was obviously a refined magical item: though no larger than a fist, it filled three-quarters of the cauldron, which was nearly half a cubic meter in volume.

After stowing the bottle, Elder Zhao exhaled gently, seemingly to steady his nerves. Then, with solemn expression, he placed each spiritual herb from the white jade table into the cauldron one by one.

Liu Pan’s spiritual power remained locked onto Elder Zhao and the cauldron, his eyes unblinking as he watched every move.

For water-method alchemy, others might be baffled at first sight, but with Liu Pan’s “well-read and learned” background and a mix of guesswork, he could grasp much of what was happening.

Once all the ingredients were placed in the cauldron, Elder Zhao took out a thick, unknown-material lid from his storage ring and covered the cauldron. Then, he sat cross-legged beside it, pressed a hand against the cauldron, and closed his eyes.

At this moment, Liu Pan was fully alert, knowing the true “main event” was about to begin. He immersed his spiritual power in the cauldron, touching nothing, solely observing the transformations within and the movements of Elder Zhao’s spiritual power.

Unlike fire-method alchemy, which used heat to refine, melt, and fuse medicinal ingredients into pills, water-method alchemy relied on water to decompose, separate, and condense the ingredients into elixirs. Both methods had their merits and drawbacks; ultimately, it depended on the practitioner. Even with the same ingredients, pills refined by different methods would yield slightly different effects.

Under spiritual power’s scrutiny, Liu Pan noticed that as Elder Zhao’s spiritual power entered the cauldron, the ingredients began to decompose step by step under his control. As decomposition progressed, the cauldron gradually started to boil. The medicinal energies of various herbs surged within, making the whole cauldron seem like a “bomb.” Liu Pan now understood why water-method alchemy required the cauldron to be exceptionally sturdy.

The boiling turmoil inside didn’t last long. Guided by Elder Zhao’s spiritual power, the medicinal energies soon began to merge in twos and threes.

About a quarter of an hour later, the boiling subsided, leaving only two streams of medicinal power within. Even without a deep understanding of water-method alchemy, Liu Pan knew this was the critical moment: once these two energies fused, the medicine could condense into a pill.

Unexpectedly, Elder Zhao hesitated at this crucial juncture.

What was happening? Liu Pan was puzzled. Elder Zhao had seemed so practiced during the previous steps, even if Liu Pan couldn’t understand all the intricacies. He was certain Elder Zhao could successfully refine a pill. So what was this sudden hesitation?

Fortunately, Elder Zhao didn’t pause long before proceeding with the next steps. Under his spiritual guidance, the two energies separated a strand each and began to touch and fuse. Yet, at the moment of contact, Liu Pan was startled.

Given Elder Zhao’s skill, Liu Pan truly believed there would be no issue, but what he witnessed inside the cauldron surprised him yet again.

The two strands of medicinal energy intertwined and merged; the technique seemed proper. But as they touched, instead of a harmonious fusion, a strong repulsion erupted.

Inside the cauldron, the previously calm scene boiled again. The two energies entwined and merged, but as time passed, their fusion grew ever more unstable.

At last, Liu Pan seemed to hear a muffled thump, as the two fused strands burst apart, turning into a brownish-gray substance. This color immediately reminded Liu Pan of the liquids he’d seen when cleaning the cauldron before.

Was the fusion a failure? Liu Pan watched Elder Zhao’s brows instantly knit together and raised his own ever so slightly, surprise and curiosity flickering in his eyes.

How could this be? Liu Pan was truly at a loss. Elder Zhao’s decomposition and fusion of various medicinal energies had seemed flawless, so why had things gone awry at the final fusion?

Elder Zhao was clearly frustrated now. He’d attempted to refine the Earth Origin Pill countless times; in fact, he’d successfully refined numerous pills of the same grade before, yet the Earth Origin Pill eluded him. Though it was among the most difficult pills of its tier, after so many attempts, he hadn’t produced even a single waste pill, let alone a finished one—wasn’t that a bit excessive?

After pondering, Elder Zhao took out the Earth Origin Pill recipe from his storage ring, then produced a thick copy of the “Compendium of Spiritual Herbs and Grasses,” and began flipping through it.

When Liu Pan’s spiritual power swept over the recipe, he finally confirmed that Elder Zhao was indeed trying to refine the Earth Origin Pill.

As for the “Compendium of Spiritual Herbs and Grasses,” Elder Zhao opened to the pages introducing the herbs used in the Earth Origin Pill, clearly checking their details.

With his spiritual power, Liu Pan also examined the information on the herbs required for the Earth Origin Pill, though he still couldn’t figure out the problem.

In truth, Liu Pan wasn’t much inclined to puzzle over what had gone wrong with the pill refinement—his spiritual power was now wholly focused on the “Compendium of Spiritual Herbs and Grasses.”

A book Elder Zhao carried with him was obviously far more valuable than any volume casually left in the cellar. If he didn’t seize this opportunity to memorize its contents, he’d surely be missing out.