Chapter Seventy-Six: Supreme Pill Patterns

Pillfire Hall.

Qin Feiyang stepped into Alchemy Room No. 4.

He glanced around; the room was about the same size as the others. However, the quality of the pill furnace was clearly superior to the one that had exploded. On the stone platform lay numerous bottles, jars, and medicinal herbs—naturally left behind by Cheng Yi.

Qin Feiyang stripped off his tattered clothes, bundled all his belongings together, tossed them outside the door, then closed the stone door to the alchemy room. He gazed at the potential mark on his chest.

"If they found out I’ve already broken the martial artist’s limit, I wonder what kind of reaction there would be this time," he murmured to himself. He took out a clean hemp robe and put it on, then selected a set of ingredients for a healing pill and began his work.

First ingredient, thirty percent heat.

Second ingredient, forty percent heat.

Third ingredient, again forty percent heat.

Fourth ingredient, fifty percent heat...

With experience from his first attempt, he quickly refined the spiritual essences of all eight herbs. The entire process was effortless and hardly taxed his spirit at all.

"It seems that pillfire is the true key to alchemy," Qin Feiyang muttered. Though experience was important, the greatest credit belonged to the pillfire. High-quality pillfire not only preserved spiritual force but also greatly increased the speed of refinement.

"Time to fuse them again—this time I must succeed!"

He took a deep breath and focused all his attention, controlling the eight drops of spiritual essence with his spirit force, slowly drawing them together.

Before long, the eight drops converged. Qin Feiyang kept his mind as calm as still water, moving with gentle precision as he began the fusion.

A burst of multicolored radiance erupted from the furnace, illuminating the entire alchemy room with dazzling beauty.

Soon after, the eight drops merged into one, forming a single droplet of spiritual essence about the size of a fingertip.

"Damn!" Qin Feiyang realized he’d forgotten something—the solidifying essence!

Solidifying essence could transform the spiritual liquid into a solid form, and also protected against water, fire, and the evaporation of medicinal properties. However, if left in water or fire for too long, it would still dissolve or burn away.

"Jiang Haotian, may I come in?" At that moment, Feng Cheng’s voice rang out from outside, as timely as a spring rain.

"Yes, of course!" Qin Feiyang replied hurriedly.

Feng Cheng pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and seeing Qin Feiyang at work, asked with a smile, "How's the refining going?"

"Senior Feng, may I have a drop of solidifying essence first?" Qin Feiyang replied.

"What?" Feng Cheng was stunned. He approached the furnace, and his face twitched with exasperation. "You started refining without solidifying essence? You really are one of a kind," he muttered, pulling out a jade bottle.

It contained a transparent liquid, more than half a bottle, with a faint, misty glow—solidifying essence.

Feng Cheng poured out a drop. Qin Feiyang quickly split off a strand of spirit force, wrapped the drop, and carefully merged it into the spiritual essence within the furnace.

Instantly, the essence began to solidify.

Before long, the radiance faded, revealing a bright, lustrous pill. A rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.

"I did it," Qin Feiyang whispered, eyes fixed on the healing pill floating within the furnace. "This is the first pill I’ve ever made in my life!"

"Once the pill takes shape, don’t leave it in the furnace—the high temperature will gradually cause the medicinal properties to evaporate, even with the protection of solidifying essence," Feng Cheng reminded him.

Startled, Qin Feiyang swiftly wrapped the healing pill with his spirit force and, like a rainbow, drew it from the furnace into his hand.

It was still a bit hot to the touch. He opened his palm; the healing pill lay quietly there, about the size of a pellet, and not a single flaw could be found upon close inspection.

"My!" Feng Cheng exclaimed, taking the pill and scrutinizing it carefully. "Ninefold spirit force is truly extraordinary!"

After a moment, he couldn't help but marvel aloud.

"What is it?" Qin Feiyang asked, puzzled.

"This healing pill—its color and quality are both exceptional. I’d say its efficacy is at least two or three times that of an ordinary healing pill!" Feng Cheng declared.

Qin Feiyang scratched his head, a bit embarrassed by the praise.

"Wait!" Feng Cheng suddenly exclaimed, startling Qin Feiyang.

"Could you announce your findings a bit less dramatically?" Qin Feiyang sighed, but Feng Cheng ignored him, staring intently at a spot on the pill.

He brought the pill closer. "Look here—do you see a faint pattern?"

Qin Feiyang looked but shook his head. "I don’t see anything."

"Look carefully," Feng Cheng urged.

Obliging, Qin Feiyang peered again—and then his eyes widened in surprise.

There was indeed a pale white ring circling the pill, so faint it was almost invisible without close inspection.

Pill pattern. The term surfaced in his mind. Though he’d never refined pills before, he’d seen many, and the concept was familiar.

Pill patterns had no practical effect, but they were a symbol—recognition of excellence. Only truly superior pills bore pill patterns.

All medicinal ingredients contained impurities. Though most were eliminated during refinement, some inevitably mixed with the spiritual essence and could not be entirely purged. These impurities affected the pill’s quality; the fewer the impurities, the higher the quality and efficacy.

This pill still had traces of impurity, as evidenced by the faintness of the pill pattern. A truly flawless pill would bear a pattern that was bright and glowing, impossible to miss.

Nevertheless, this was a superior pill—none could deny it.

Qin Feiyang was overwhelmed with excitement. He hadn’t expected to produce a pill with a pattern on his first try—clearly, he had a gift for alchemy.

"Ha ha..." Feng Cheng burst out laughing, clapping Qin Feiyang on the shoulder with pride. "I've been refining pills for decades and never once have I made a superior pill, yet you succeeded on your first attempt! The younger generation will indeed surpass us!"

Qin Feiyang chuckled awkwardly, feeling a bit ill at ease.

"But don’t get carried away," Feng Cheng added. "You succeeded not because you’re so amazing, but because of your ninefold spirit force. Without that, your pill might have been worse than average. Of course, your talent is undeniable."

"I’ll keep working hard," Qin Feiyang promised.

Feng Cheng nodded. "This bottle of solidifying essence is my gift to you. As for the pill, I’ll be taking it—when the Hall Master and Elder Mo see it, they’ll be astonished!"

"Thank you, Senior Feng," Qin Feiyang said gratefully. Solidifying essence required ten types of herbs and was tedious to refine; the bottle contained hundreds of drops, saving him much effort.

"Was there something you needed from me?" Qin Feiyang asked.

Feng Cheng smiled. "Nothing in particular—just came to see how you were doing and whether you needed guidance. Clearly, you don’t. I won’t disturb you further—keep it up!"

Qin Feiyang nodded, and Feng Cheng left.

Qin Feiyang took out the recipe for Bone Renewal Pills, studied it carefully, and began refining them.

Meanwhile, Cheng Yi was snoring away, a contented smile on his face, as if lost in a beautiful dream.

"Jiang Haotian, dare to oppose me—I’ll kill you, crush you..." he muttered in his sleep. Even in dreams, he was haunted by his grudge against Qin Feiyang—how deep must that hatred run?

Suddenly, the door was kicked open. Gu Ba and He Wu strode in.

"Who’s there?" Cheng Yi jolted awake, springing out of bed and watching the door in alarm.

Gu Ba lit a fire striker, illuminating the room.

Cheng Yi paused, then asked, "Elders, what brings you here at this hour?"

"Come with us," Gu Ba ordered.

"Where to?" Cheng Yi asked, confused.

"The Pig Cage," Gu Ba replied.

"Why the Pig Cage?" Cheng Yi was even more baffled.

"The Hall Master has ordered you to face the wall in the Pig Cage for a month," Gu Ba said.

"Impossible!" Cheng Yi shouted, scrambling to dress. "I want to see the Hall Master. I want to know what I did wrong to deserve this—an entire month!"

"Don’t bother; the Hall Master doesn’t wish to see you," Gu Ba said, glancing at He Wu.

The two men stepped forward, ignoring Cheng Yi’s resistance and shouts. One on each side, they seized him and dragged him out, heading swiftly for the Pig Cage.

"It must be Jiang Haotian behind this! I swear, this isn’t over!" Cheng Yi’s furious cries echoed through the night, lingering long after they’d gone.

Time slipped by.

Dawn crept over the horizon.

Qin Feiyang exhaled deeply, extinguished the pillfire, and looked at the twenty pills on the stone platform, unable to conceal his excitement. There were five healing pills, five Bone Renewal Pills, five Body Tempering Pills, and five Qi Gathering Pills—his harvest from one night.

Though the quantity was small, each pill bore a faint pill pattern. The only regret was that no matter how he refined them, the patterns remained indistinct, never growing clearer. Qin Feiyang suspected the problem lay with the pillfire and furnace.

Yet after a night of alchemy, he still felt energetic, not the least bit drained—another benefit of ninefold spirit force.

"Boss Jiang, Fatty’s back! You in there?" came Fatty’s shout from outside.

"Boss?" Qin Feiyang paused, then chuckled and said, "Come in!"

Fatty pushed open the stone door, radiating vigor and good spirits. "How do you like using Alchemy Room No. 4?" he grinned.

"It’s fine," Qin Feiyang smiled. "Hand me a jade box."

Fatty produced a palm-sized box and handed it over, but quickly snatched up five pills. "Let Fatty have a look at your handiwork."

Seeing Fatty examine the pills so seriously, Qin Feiyang couldn’t help feeling amused. After a moment’s thought, he handed the entire jade box back. "These twenty pills are yours—as thanks for your help."