Chapter 27

Considering the total time required to simmer the entire set of body-tempering liquid herbs, it would be close to four hours. Would the electric cooker break down? Shuhang was a little worried in his heart.

Through the reinforced glass lid of the hot pot, he could see the slices of ginseng rolling up and down in the water. A strange excitement welled up in his heart—this is alchemy?

Yes, this is alchemy.

But why does it feel so similar to cooking noodles?

Is it because I’m not in the right mindset?

His phone was set to stopwatch mode. Shuhang stared at the ginseng slices in the pot, keeping a close eye on the time on his phone.

Five minutes later...

He immediately opened the lid and added the second herb, goji berries.

The two herbs rolled in the boiling water, quietly dyeing it a light yellow.

Fire control and timing, these all require experience.

But Shuhang had none of that.

So, all he could do was watch the time and add the herbs every five minutes. As for the fire control—let the electric cooker do its best.

"Indeed, it still feels like I’m cooking noodles."

If, after three hours, what he simmered was just a bowl of ordinary herbal soup, how would he feel?

Would this simplified version of the body-tempering liquid formula completely shatter his worldview of eighteen years? Or would it once again extinguish his recent dreams of cultivation?

As the heat in the hot pot increased, the temperature in the kitchen rose.

At this moment, a wave of coolness came from the ice bead around Shuhang’s neck, making him feel refreshed. Not only that, the ice bead made Shuhang’s mind clear, and he unknowingly entered an extremely focused state.

He gently pinched the ice bead on his chest.

This mysterious ice bead gave him more confidence in the body-tempering liquid.

"Please don’t disappoint me. If possible, even if the alchemy fails, at least let me witness the real existence of cultivation."

Shuhang held the third herb, and his calm heart stirred slightly. This third herb was something he couldn’t even find online, named ‘Morning Dew Black Grass’!

From its shape, the Morning Dew Black Grass looked similar to ordinary grass, both being green and strip-like plants. However, upon closer inspection, one could see a mist on the Morning Dew Black Grass that wouldn’t dissipate, like morning dew on the grass leaves, appearing and disappearing.

The numbers on the phone stopwatch quickly changed, and five minutes were up!

Shuhang lifted the lid, and the Morning Dew Black Grass in his fingers was thrown into the pot, and the lid was quickly closed again.

He was somewhat hopeful, after all, this was a special herb, and it might cause some special changes in the herbs in the pot.

Like the first two herbs, the Morning Dew Black Grass rolled and floated in the boiling water.

Shuhang’s eyes were still fixed on the Morning Dew Black Grass, and the coolness from the ice bead on his chest made his mental focus unprecedented!

Gradually, the three herbs in the pot seemed to enlarge in his eyes!

At this moment, Shuhang’s world was filled only with the herbs, nothing else.

Perhaps because of his extreme focus, or the special effects of the ice bead, Shuhang gradually began to notice every subtle change in the three herbs in the boiling water.

With each roll, a light yellow medicinal property was extracted from the herbs and blended into the soup. The ginseng slices swelled slightly as they released their medicinal properties.

This was truly a wondrous feeling!

"The heat seems a bit insufficient?" Shuhang suddenly had this feeling.

He felt that the herbs in the pot needed more heat, especially the Morning Dew Black Grass, which needed a higher temperature to stimulate it!

So, he pressed the temperature control on the electric cooker and increased the heat without hesitation.

Sizzle!

The water in the pot boiled even more vigorously, and the lid vibrated due to the steam.

Shuhang’s eyes widened even more—after increasing the heat, the Morning Dew Black Grass really did change!

The Morning Dew Black Grass, which had been floating on the water, suddenly melted!

Shuhang didn’t know how long it would take to cook an ordinary grass to mush or how much heat would be needed, but in just a few minutes, even with the full power of his small electric cooker, it was impossible to cook the Morning Dew Black Grass to the point of melting.

This was a special property of the Morning Dew Black Grass.

As the black grass melted, the soup was dyed a layer of emerald green. This emerald green liquid seemed to have a life of its own, wrapping around the ginseng slices and goji berries in the pot.

After being wrapped, the two herbs also began to slowly melt, mixing into the emerald green liquid.

Shuhang’s heart rate quickened slightly.

A miraculous change!

At the same time, he vaguely guessed that perhaps the body-tempering liquid didn’t need water at the beginning, but a special way to heat the ginseng and goji berries. Adding the Morning Dew Black Grass would instantly melt and form the liquid.

He didn’t know if his pot of liquid had already failed.

Fortunately, he had long been prepared for failure. The main purpose of this alchemy was to familiarize himself with the process and record any issues that arose during the process.

Five minutes passed again.

This time, Shuhang calmly took out the fourth herb and added it to the pot.

The fourth herb was also wrapped by the emerald green liquid and gradually melted into it.

"Under this level of heat, the time needed for the fourth herb to fully blend with the liquid is about five minutes. This is probably why the alchemist said ‘about’ five minutes. Because the size, shape, and age of the herbs, as well as the temperature and quality of the alchemy furnace, can all affect the ‘five minutes’." Shuhang’s eyes were still fixed on the herbs in the pot, and his understanding grew deeper.

His understanding of the alchemist’s formula deepened.

This progress was first due to the effects of the ice bead around his neck. The ice bead made Shuhang’s mind as calm as still water, his focus sharp, and his thoughts clear.

On the other hand, Shuhang seemed to have a natural sensitivity to alchemy. This was a talent he was born with, and if he were to become an alchemist in the future, this talent would make his work much easier.

As his understanding of the alchemist’s formula deepened, Shuhang began to no longer strictly adhere to the fixed ‘five minutes’ limit.

He started to decide the time for adding the next herb based on the degree of fusion of the liquid in the pot. Sometimes, he would add the next herb at around four and a half minutes, and sometimes he would extend it beyond five minutes.

Unconsciously, forty-six minutes passed...

When Shuhang added the tenth herb, he had already started to control the heat. Based on the degree of fusion of the liquid, his fingers would adjust the temperature control on the electric cooker, either increasing or decreasing it.

He was no longer rigidly adhering to the time, and he became busier.

After the sixteenth herb was added, the fusion ability of the Morning Dew Black Grass in the pot reached its limit. At this point, according to the formula, Shuhang added another special herb, the ‘Three Lives Fruit Kernel’.

Sure enough, like the Morning Dew Black Grass, the Three Lives Fruit Kernel took on the new responsibility of ‘fusing herbs’.

From the beginning, Shuhang hadn’t added any more water. After more than an hour and a half of boiling, the liquid in the hot pot didn’t dry up but increased slightly.

Adding herbs, observing the degree of fusion of the liquid, waiting, and then adding more herbs. This tedious and extremely boring process required no room for carelessness.

This is what an alchemist, a pill master, is! A profession that demands perfection, even among cultivators, only one in ten thousand can achieve it, and it is a profession that only those who can endure loneliness can undertake.