Xiao Yan slipped away from the council hall and returned to his room. After gathering the materials needed for producing healing medicine, he crept once again to the remote mountain cave where he had been training.
Yao Lao had been explicit: alchemy demanded absolute concentration. Even a moment's interruption could ruin the process. The Xiao household was full of people — anyone might wander in unannounced, as Xiao Yu had done before, and the consequences would be disastrous.
He tiptoed into the cave and eagerly pulled the Spatial Ring from his robe. Channeling a wisp of Dou Qi into it, the pale red ring pulsed with light, and a half-meter-tall crimson cauldron materialized in the center of the cavern with a soft hum.
The cauldron was a deep, burnished red, its surface catching the light with a faint metallic sheen. At its base, two grotesque serpent heads were carved in relief, their gaping maws forming twin air channels that curved inward, narrowing as they spiraled toward the interior. The complexity of the internal structure hinted at hidden sophistication.
At the crown of the cauldron, a massive serpent coiled to form the lid. A specialized aperture in the lid served as the opening through which ingredients were introduced. Scattered across the lid's surface were numerous tiny perforations crafted from Ice Silver — a cooling mechanism designed to prevent the catastrophic explosion that could result from excessive heat buildup.
The midsection of the cauldron featured a transparent panel of Frost Crystal, allowing the alchemist to observe the process within with perfect clarity during refinement.
Its exterior was adorned with exquisite carvings of magical beasts — so lifelike they might have been alive.
Xiao Yan regarded the magnificent cauldron with open satisfaction. He touched the ancient black ring on his finger, and Yao Lao's soul form shimmered into existence.
"A two-channel cauldron — not bad for a beginner." Yao Lao cast an appraising glance at the three serpent openings and nodded.
"Two-channel?" The term was unfamiliar, and Xiao Yan blinked in confusion.
"Cauldrons have their own hierarchy. The more air channels a cauldron possesses, the higher its grade and the rarer its craftsmanship. Don't think these channels are just holes bored into metal — the engineering within is something an untrained eye could never appreciate. The channels are the essence of the cauldron. They require extremely precise fabrication; the slightest error during forging renders the entire piece a failure. The more channels, the greater the assistance the cauldron provides to the alchemist. Of course, controlling multiple channels requires formidable soul perception. At your current level, two channels are your limit." Yao Lao smiled as he explained. "A good cauldron to an alchemist is as vital as a fine sword to a warrior."
Xiao Yan nodded with a dawning understanding. He stared at the massive apparatus before him. "What do I do next?"
"First, familiarize yourself with the cauldron. Place one hand over a channel and channel your Dou Qi into it." Yao Lao settled into a cross-legged position in the cave, directing with calm authority.
Xiao Yan obeyed. He pressed his palm against one of the serpent-mouth channels, closed his eyes, and focused. Within his body, the pale-yellow vortex of energy trembled, sending wave after wave of yellowish Dou Qi streaming through his meridians until his palm glowed with a faint golden light.
The Dou Qi gathered at his palm, paused briefly, then surged outward — drawn as if by a powerful vacuum — through the channel and into the cauldron.
A muffled whoosh. The yellowish energy, upon passing through the channel, was instantly transmuted into tangible pale-yellow flame that churned and flickered within the cauldron's interior.
The sudden eruption of fire from his palm startled Xiao Yan, and he nearly jerked his hand away on reflex. Only when he felt the cool surface beneath his palm — unaffected by the heat — did he force himself to remain calm.
"Not bad. You've produced a flame on your first attempt." Yao Lao nodded at the dancing fire. "But this is not alchemical fire. Now — focus inward. Locate the trace of Wood-aspected energy within your body and channel it into the cauldron."
Xiao Yan closed his eyes again, his mind settling into stillness. His keen soul perception swept through his meridians again and again, searching for the slender thread of Wood power.
It took him over ten minutes to find it — his first time searching for such an elemental trace.
"Already?" Yao Lao sounded mildly surprised when Xiao Yan opened his eyes and nodded. He recalled that it had taken him nearly half an hour the first time. This boy's soul perception was formidable indeed.
Xiao Yan extended a second finger and pressed it against the other channel. A thin, gossamer stream of green energy flowed steadily into the cauldron.
The moment the green energy entered, the pale-yellow flames within the cauldron stilled — as if a chemical reaction had been triggered. The wild, volatile quality of the fire was instantly tempered, neutralized by the Wood energy's calming influence. And because of the natural affinity between Wood and Fire, the resulting flame burned with greater stability and endurance.
"Good." Yao Lao extended a finger to touch Xiao Yan's forehead, transmitting a stream of information into his mind. "This is a healing medicine formula of my own design. Attempt to refine it. I will guide you in controlling the flame's temperature and extracting the essential properties from each ingredient."
Xiao Yan focused on the information now embedded in his consciousness, then nodded.
"Blood-Staunching Powder: one stalk of Blood-Staunching Herb, one Vitality Fruit, two Poppy Blossoms..."
After committing the quantities to memory, he extended his soul perception into the cauldron, working to stabilize the gentled flame.
He flicked a finger against the Spatial Ring, and a dark-red stalk of Blood-Staunching Herb materialized in his palm. After a moment's hesitation, he dropped it through the serpent-head opening at the top of the cauldron.
The herb entered the interior — and before Xiao Yan could exert any control, the flames surged upward. In the blink of an eye, the Blood-Staunching Herb was reduced to blackened ash, which the cauldron's internal mechanism promptly ejected.
Xiao Yan grinned sheepishly at his first failure.
"Continue," Yao Lao said flatly.
Xiao Yan swallowed, produced another stalk, and dropped it in. This one lasted slightly longer before succumbing to the same charred fate.
"The temperature is too high."
He wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Now that he was doing this himself, he finally understood — alchemy was not a craft that anyone could master without effort.
After burning through more than twenty stalks of Blood-Staunching Herb, Xiao Yan finally began to grasp the temperature threshold at which the herb could survive.
He introduced another stalk, his expression grave. His soul perception clamped down on the flame's intensity with determined precision. Through the Frost Crystal panel, he watched the herb suspended in the fire, every fiber of his concentration fixed upon it.
The herb churned in the flames for several moments. Gradually, its outer skin began to peel away, the juices within vaporizing into fine, pale-white powder. The essential medicinal essence of the Blood-Staunching Herb — at last, successfully extracted by the bumbling novice.
Xiao Yan let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, a grin spreading across his face.
"Only twenty more ingredients to go," Yao Lao remarked dryly.
The grin faded.