Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

Chapter 60 – Alchemy and Pill Refining

It's been a week already. The gatherings ended up quite boring as most Foxes weren't able to follow the Jade Fox's group pace and had to slow down and break a few thousand feathers before they made any progress.

The feathers piled up like there was no tomorrow and the 'Martial Senior' sighed.

'Those were all paid from my pockets.' He was disheartened, but couldn't protest as this was his punishment from the Enforcement guys. He stole the clothes of his Senior Sister.

Aiko was again sleeping on those fluffy tails, everyone had already gotten used to it except for the Blood Fox who was assaulted a few times by Aiko when the Jade Fox wasn't looking.

Of course, the Blood Fox didn't raise any issue as it didn't hurt her, she was just always startled.

'It's better than being beaten by her.' The Blood Fox thought. They gave them the Recording Jades which recorded their prowess and weaknesses.

At first, she was incredibly embarrassed as she noticed she just attacked everyone and she was incredibly happy that, that little cutie didn't kill her, so the issue about her sleeping on the Blood Fox's tail was suppressed.

"Today I will tell you about the Alchemy or Pill concoction sub-profession. They are very similar and might be the same in the eyes of many so most Alchemist/Pill Master don't mind either name, but it will become an issue if you say it regarding their crafts." He explained to the class.

"When someone concocts Pills he is a Pill Refiner, while if he is refining herbs for smithing he is an Alchemist, it is obvious that those who make the actual weapons are Blacksmith or better yet if you call them Forgers."

"Back to the Alchemy, there are hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of herbs. Alchemists gather herbs and make Pills out of them or prepare them for Forgers to use in their crafts. If you are an Alchemist you need to remember how the herbs look like and how to harvest them."

"That is the first part and one of the many processes you need to master to get the Title [Alchemist Apprentice], but there is an even more revered title and that is [Pill Apprentice]. This one involves a lot more steps than the previous one as you have to remember each individual effect of each herb and how they react to each other."

"Some repulse others, while merging with some. It is a very difficult craft, but revered by many as it can speed your Cultivation, ease your Breakthrough or even save your life."

"I believe most of you saw how Cultivators used small marbles on their wound and they stopped bleeding right?"

The gathering nodded.

"Those Pills are essential to Cultivators in the wild as some Pill can give you temporary immunity to poisons or even some Elements. This makes Cultivators tricky opponents to fight as most of them will be in groups."

"Are there any that are interested in alchemy or Pill Refining?" The 'Martial Senior' asked, he hoped there wouldn't be any as he didn't want to explain it. After all his crush who he stole clothes from was in the Alchemy Peak.

Unfortunately for him, that little furball with her masochistic Mate raised their hands. Encouraged by this many more raised their hands.

He frowned but didn't say anything negative.

"I will describe Alchemy in detail and then we will move on to Pill Refining and what you might need, if you still wish you continue after this you should seek the Alchemy Peak, you are all welcome there." He sighed.

"Alchemy starts with finding Herbs, the harder it is to get to that Herb the rarer that Herb is. The Herb starts very inconspicuous as any weed on the side of the road, if you give it a few months it will become a mortal Herb. These are mostly gathered by mortals and we do not interact with them as they are too weak to give us anything, but their Souls." He licked his lips.

He had a fair share of maidens he plucked and enjoyed their warmth before abandoning them once they loosened up.

"Give a few years they will become Cultivation Herb, also known as Immortal Herbs.-"

'That is false, Immortal Herbs, can be found only in the upper worlds, it's simply Herb for lower worlds.' The Queen telepathically sent it to Aiko so she would understand.

Aiko nodded as thanks.

"After a few more years the Herb starts to alter the world around itself. For example, Fire Herb would slowly drain the moisture in its surroundings and slowly turn it into dry land. Ice Herb would freeze anything, and so on."

"The more years the Herb has the greater the power to its surroundings and the harder it is to harvest. You will be burned, frozen, poisoned, trapped in illusions or possibly drained of your Souls."

"Be careful when you encounter strange unnatural phenomenons, like desert inside a lush forest. There is a high likelihood that rare Herb is there and it might cost you your life if you don't know what kind of Herb can cause those phenomenons."

"Now you know your place and you have found what kind of Herb it is. What is next?" He came back to the board and drew with his Qi.

"First you need to scout this place, if the phenomenon is large there might be Cultivators or vicious beasts guarding it, so it's better to stay hidden and scout first."

"You find that nobody is guarding it and in that case, you should harvest that Herb. First, you will need a simple shear or a small sickle, but shears are preferable as they allow more precise cutting. Then you need to either: Extract that Herb slowly and carefully so you can replant it if it's not ripe yet or you can use your shears on it, but each Herb requires a different approach with different dangers so I can't tell you the best way."

"Now you have extracted or cut the Herb, what now? You will need to store it or replant it. Storing needs to be done fast and is usually used with the help of Ice Element Boxes, but some Herbs require special containers so don't count on it. The cut Herb needs to be stored as soon as possible as its efficacy is decreasing each second."

"Meanwhile the Herb that has been extracted can last a long time before you need to urgently plant her again, BUT there are instances you should be careful about. Most Herbs are very sensitive about ambient Qi, so you can't go into places with less or more ambient Qi or the Herb might soon wither or degrade."

"As long as you stay in the same ambient zone, the herb can last anywhere between a few days to even years, but the faster to transplant it the better, as the Herb won't grow if it's not in proper soil absorbing nutrients from both the Heaven and Earth."

"Congratulations you are now [Alchemist Apprentice]... or not." He chuckled. "You need to be tested to become Alchemist Apprentices, so you better seek the guidance of the Alchemy Peak for that matter."

"I don't have enough money." The 'Martial Senior' said with a smirk. "You can become [Pill Apprentice] and you can earn money from Refining Pills all day, you don't need to risk your life going outside and you don't need to fight over resources as you will be the one creating them."

"Of course, it doesn't pay as well as being both [Alchemist Apprentice] AND [Pill Apprentice], but you won't be in danger unless you are a complete moron and blow your Cauldron up." He shook his head.

"Now I want to be a Pill Refiner, what do I need? You will need a Pill or Refining Caldron. They come in different shapes and sizes, but for the starters, you need to choose smaller ones that are very round."

"Why? Because you dumbasses won't be able to be successful with your first batches, it's important that the Caldron can take the beating. If it blows up shrapnel will fly everywhere injuring you or at the worst killing you, so it's important that the damage is more evenly distributed."

"Why small? Because they are cheaper, you wouldn't want to blow up something you spend years saving up for, right?" He chuckled, he was that dumbass...

"I got the Pill Caldron, what now? You will need other tools, you will need a special Tray that won't degrade the herbs. This Tray is important as it will slow/stop the degradation of the herbs and it will be much easier to handle when you don't have to constantly calculate their energy."

"Next up is a knife, or should I say knives. Not every herb will take it kindly if you use an improper knife on it, the most basic knives are Yin and Yang knife. One hot and one cold. There is also elemental knife as Wood and Metal, but you don't need to worry about those as it will come into play only at Pill Master Rank."

"You got the knife, but you need a place where you can cut, the Cutting Board is made out of the same material as the Tray, but with the difference that it was Inscribed. The Inscription is very simple as it allows you to retain the juices inside the herb instead of them spilling everywhere."

"Those are the most basic and most important tools for your Refining endeavour." He draws them on the board with his Qi.

"You got the tools and you want to make money, how do you do that? By making Pills. First, you need a recipe, this recipe will decide what kind of herbs you need to find/buy/prepare. You put those herbs on the tray and go over the recipe several times!" He was also the dumbass who wasted precious ingredients because of pride and 'I know what I'm doing'.

"The recipe should be close to you so you can revise it whenever you need or are uncertain about something, remember unless you put those herbs inside the Caldron there is still time to repair your mistakes."

"The next step is cutting herbs, you cut them as the recipe tells you as most of the time it's the best way to use them, but if you are wealthy enough and knowledgeable enough you should definitely experiment, but you should only experiment on Pills that are Grade lower than you are."

"You have cut your herbs, now you need to heat your Caldron, now this is where things will greatly differ as you have ways of heating. Personal and assisted."

"Personal is by using your own Fire Qi to heat the Caldron, I do not recommend this when you are starting as you need to carefully adjust the flames with each herb, but once you are proficient enough you should give it a try as it will cut down your costs."

"Assisted branches off to several others, but we will only talk about Array and Flame one."

"Array Formation, which is part permanent Array and part temporary Formation. Allows you to create flames at the cost of either your Qi or Spirit Stones. It is advised to use Spirit Stones since their energy output doesn't change and it will make it easier for you to create those wonderful Pills much faster."

"You can adjust the heat and intensity of the flames, giving you full control with basic Array Formation knowledge. It is not cheap and it will be eating into your profits, but it's the safest way to do it."

"Flames or Spirit Flames are the most wonderful and amazing things you can get your hands on, especially if they are ranked in the Top 100 in the Spirit Flame list."

"These little guys allow you to control the flames much easier than you would be able to if you were to do it alone, you could see them as small helpers that don't eat as much Qi, but what is more important is that they can give special additional effects to the Pills. It can range from something as simple as increased efficacy to something as absurd as increasing in Grade!"

"There were also rumours that some flame might be able to attract Heavenly Blessing, but those flames are in the Top 10 list and let's be honest, most of you if not all, won't be able to encounter them so soon..."

He sighed, he gave his flame to Senior Sister, but she still didn't like him...

"You have heated your Caldron and now is where all the magic happens. It is best to use Divine sense in this stage, no matter how weak as it won't pollute the herbs as much and it's quicker."

"You place those herbs into the Caldron in sequence written on the recipe, count breaths and wrap it in your Qi, the calmer your Qi is the easier it is for this step to advance! You increase or decrease the flames to melt all the Herbs, but be careful about burning them!"

"Once all the Herbs are melted you will then compress them together and slowly dissipate the excess moisture to form small pills. Efficacy and number of pills are dependent on the Herb quality and your Skills. Poor Skills will never attract Heavenly Blessing so keep that in mind!"

"Now you just need to pull them out by either slapping the Caldron or pulling them out with your Divine Sense, but you will be doing the slapping first as you might accidentally crush those Pills with your weary mind."

"Refining Pills takes anywhere between 2 hours to 10 hours, few recipes are exceeding that, but most will be around 2-3 hours."

He sighed, he explained this sub-profession so many times that he was tired of it.

"That will be all from me, now go away." He was tired and sad that his Senior Sister didn't like him.