Chapter 33: Purple Cloud Copper Furnace

"Xiang Xiang, can an iron pot also be used for alchemy?"

In a waterside pavilion of the Fragrant Heaven Building, Gu Caiyi leaned on the table, watching Yu Xiang who was putting on makeup in front of her.

Under the delicate hands of the maid, Yu Xiang's already beautiful face became even more radiant.

Sometimes, Gu Caiyi couldn't understand why Yu Xiang, who had already become an inner disciple of the Joyful Union Sect, would still come to such a filthy place.

Yu Xiang kept her eyes closed, allowing the maid to apply watercolor makeup for her.

"Pot? If it's an iron pot that has been licked by spiritual ore, it can certainly be used for alchemy."

"Hmm?"

Gu Caiyi was puzzled and asked, "Don't alchemists always use cauldrons for alchemy?"

"Hehe, that's where your understanding is flawed," Yu Xiang chuckled. "The way of alchemy is profound and vast, with various methods such as water refining, fire refining, blood refining, and live refining, among others."

"And when it comes to alchemy tools, there are even more types."

"Because cauldrons can withstand sufficiently strong flames, accommodate more medicinal materials, and after the pill is formed, they can nurture the pill and lock in more pill power. That's why cauldrons have become the most mainstream alchemy tools."

"But in reality, pots, furnaces, gui (ancient Chinese vessels), and pots are also relatively common alchemy tools. I've even heard that some demonic cultivators use humans as cauldrons, employing the live refining method to create the Great Human Pill."

Gu Caiyi was stunned.

She never imagined that the way of alchemy had so many intricacies.

And from the unspoken implications in Yu Xiang's words, it seemed there was even more to it.

"Can even the lowest quality iron pot from the Ten Thousand Treasure Tower be used for alchemy?" Gu Caiyi was still somewhat incredulous.

Yu Xiang was not very familiar, "How poor is that pot?"

"The young lady, that pot only contains a trace amount of black iron, barely enough to contain the spiritual energy that escapes during the cooking of spiritual rice. The price is one low-grade spirit stone," the maid answered the question.

"Ah!"

Yu Xiang's small mouth opened in surprise as she opened her eyes.

"Such a tool probably can't produce good pills!"

"Yes, so I was very surprised, even doubting whether my decades of cultivation were in vain," Gu Caiyi said, looking at herself in the clear and smooth glass mirror, somewhat curious.

"Is the alchemist you're talking about the neighbor you mentioned before?"

Gu Caiyi nodded.

Yu Xiang said with a touch of amazement, "A mid-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator has very little spiritual power, yet he uses a low-quality iron pot that only contains a small amount of black iron to refine pills. Your neighbor must either have extraordinary talent in alchemy or a solid foundation, thoroughly understanding the characteristics of medicinal materials and mastering the fire control at each stage."

"Either of these would make him a seed alchemist that small families and minor forces would chase after."

Gu Caiyi was uncertain, "Is he that powerful?"

"Yes, very powerful," Yu Xiang nodded heavily, then her face became smudged.

The maid, helpless, had to redo her makeup for her.

"I've been a fire-watching disciple in the Joyful Union Sect's alchemy room for three years, a medicine-preparing disciple for five years, and personally refined pills for twenty years, building a solid foundation. Even so, it was only because I had some talent in alchemy that the sect was willing to cultivate me as an alchemist."

It was hard to imagine such a graceful and quiet woman spending years watching fires and preparing medicines.

Gu Caiyi just felt that her neighbor seemed really powerful.

Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, with a storage bag, but his living conditions were clearly very poor, and he had no backing from any major forces.

But he had honed alchemy skills that most cultivators wouldn't dare to think about in such a harsh environment.

"But Caiyi, there's one thing I think you should warn your neighbor about."

"What?"

"If possible, he should get a better alchemy tool! A low-quality iron pot can greatly affect the quality of the pills after they are formed. It's also very prone to exploding, which can cause serious injury or even death."

Why did cauldrons become the mainstream alchemy tools?

Besides the various advantages Yu Xiang mentioned, the biggest advantage was safety!

Even if a batch of pills was destroyed, the cauldron wouldn't easily explode due to excessive ground fire.

"He's so poor, he probably can't afford a good alchemy tool," Gu Caiyi pouted, then suddenly thought of something.

"Xiang Xiang, don't you have an extra alchemy furnace?"

The days of refining the Wondrous Pill were always monotonous and boring.

Or rather, any repetitive work would eventually feel the same way.

But not for Luo Chen!

The improvement in proficiency and the predictable spirit stone income continuously motivated him to persist in alchemy.

And recently, he had more "entertainment" activities.

Watching a bucket of nearly fifty pounds of water rise steadily from the well, Luo Chen couldn't help but grin with satisfaction.

The Traction Technique had reached the Proficient level.

The reason for such rapid progress was the inspiration he drew from Gu Caiyi's water-drawing scene.

There was no need to strictly follow the cultivation method of the Traction Technique.

This spell could be applied to all aspects of life.

From small tasks like dressing and sweeping to larger ones like moving heavy objects, releasing spiritual power whenever possible made the Traction Technique increasingly familiar.

At the Proficient level, the Traction Technique could easily control the set of Jade Green Blade magical weapons.

Besides the Traction Technique, Luo Chen had recently learned two more spells.

The Wind Control Technique and the Spirit Eye Technique.

The former was easy to master, probably due to his near-perfect level of Free and Easy Wanderer. He got the hang of it in about the time it took to burn an incense stick.

The latter was more challenging.

Because it involved the delicate eyes, and the spiritual power was too strong, it was easy to become blind if not careful.

So Luo Chen only attached the spiritual power to his eyes after the Traction Technique was upgraded.

It's worth noting that before the spiritual power entered his eyes, Luo Chen had some expectations.

"In urban novels, this would count as a superpower, having a透视 (X-ray vision) function wouldn't be too much!"

However, when Luo Chen opened his eyes to look at the world, he was disappointed.

No X-ray vision.

What he saw was only a blinding sensation, like looking at the sun, which made his eyes very sore after a while.

The drawbacks were significant!

But the reason the Spirit Eye Technique was one of the five essential basic spells for Qi Cultivation cultivators must have its merits.

The Spirit Eye Technique, which could perceive auras and discern spirits, could thoroughly see through the hidden and evil.

For low-level cultivators, what affected their survival was not their low realm or lack of a powerful background, but ignorance.

Provoking a seemingly ordinary but actually high-level enemy, failing to recognize the habitat of a beast, or encountering a ghost while walking at night could easily cost them their lives.

But the Spirit Eye Technique could help avoid these problems.

Although it had limitations, it could at least let cultivators know who they couldn't provoke and where they shouldn't go.

Filthy places could be seen through at a glance, and then avoided.

"But this technique shouldn't be used recklessly. If you see someone you shouldn't, it could cause trouble," Luo Chen mused.

It was fine for a high-level cultivator to look at a low-level one, but a low-level cultivator looking at a high-level one was likely to be noticed.

Peeping was prone to misunderstandings.

Of course, the high and low levels referred to major realms.

Like Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment, or Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.

Within the same major realm, unless someone was practicing a special cultivation method, they generally wouldn't notice others peeping.

Swish!

A bucket of water was poured into a large water tank under the influence of spiritual power. Luo Chen activated the Spirit Eye Technique and looked closely inside.

Buddha said that a drop of water contains 48,000 tiny creatures.

Modern biology also states that water contains a large number of microorganisms.

Why can't I, a cultivator, see anything?

"This beginner-level Spirit Eye Technique is not even as good as a microscope," Luo Chen muttered, looking at the thirty jade bottles in front of him.

This was the result of his efforts over the past half month, not only producing three batches of pills but also raising the proficiency of the Wondrous Pill to the Proficient level.

He still had twenty-five sets of raw materials left, and it would take nearly a month to refine them all.

Luo Chen was now considering when to sell the Wondrous Pills.

The busy period at the beginning of the month at the Fragrant Heaven Building, as mentioned by Gu Caiyi, made him realize a problem with his sales strategy.

"Selling at the market every time can save more time for alchemy, but it actually earns less money."

High-quality pills often have a market demand.

But to form a steady stream of profit, the pills must be consistently available in the market, so consumers can always notice and purchase them.

Why is the Qi Nourishing Pill so popular among low-level cultivators?

After all, there are not just Qi Nourishing Pills that can enhance the spiritual power of Qi Cultivation cultivators.

The reason is that the Spirit Medicine Pavilion always has Qi Nourishing Pills for sale.

They use a large inventory to squeeze out the market space for other similar pills.

Currently, there are not many competitors for the Wondrous Pill, but he should consider this issue.

He should try to increase production while ensuring that the Wondrous Pill is always available in the market.

"Decided, I'll set up a stall three times a month!"

Twice at the small market and once at the large market.

Luo Chen was alone and couldn't do more, but this was the best he could manage for now.

However, this plan was shaken the next morning.

"A first-grade low-quality magical tool, the Purple Cloud Copper Furnace?"

(End of Chapter)