Watching the wisp of pale blue flame in his palm, Han Lang was overjoyed.
Although such things were familiar from the memories of the Medicine Venerable, this was Han Lang's first attempt and his first time witnessing such a wondrous sight.
"Next is the refinement!"
The refinement process involved separating the essence from the crude, burning away the herbaceous parts of the spiritual herbs to leave behind the purest medicinal liquid.
The purity of spiritual herbs varied greatly depending on their growth environment and inherent grade!
For instance, the same low-grade spiritual herb for a Spirit Gathering Pill, when grown in the wild of the Lichuan Continent, typically had a purity between thirty to fifty percent; whereas spiritual herbs cultivated within the abundant spiritual energy of the third level tower were at least twenty percent purer than those grown in the wild!
The higher the grade and rarity of a spiritual herb, the higher its purity, with it being entirely possible to reach a staggering ninety percent.
Therefore, under the burning of the spiritual energy dan fire, the Qingluo grass in Han Lang's palm was gradually stripped of impurities, leaving behind only a dark green spiritual liquid roughly the same volume as the original Qingluo grass.
"Next are the Immortal Spirit Fruit, Purple Fire Flower, Falling Blossom Flower..."
Han Lang's spiritual energy was limited at the moment, so he dared not delay even for a moment.
After completing the refinement of the first spiritual herb, he immediately started on the second, the third...
As the last spiritual herb was refined, only a palm-sized mass of spiritual liquid remained above the dan fire, rolling up and down with the rising flames.
"Alright, time to fuse!"
Having completed the first step, Han Lang could hardly contain his excitement. But to form a pill, it was imperative at this stage to fuse all the spiritual liquids.
Fusing spiritual liquids was not like cooking in a kitchen, where one could simply stir with a chopstick.
Firstly, the solubility between different spiritual liquids varied. Some spiritual liquids, once mixed, would permeate each other on their own, requiring only a moment to complete the fusion.
However, some spiritual liquids were not so simple. Not only did the temperature need to reach a certain standard, but the concentration of other spiritual liquids also had to match.
Thus, during the fusion process, the scorching of the dan fire could not cease, and the stirring of the spiritual liquids had to continue.
This greatly tested the alchemist's control over the dan fire.
Han Lang once again channeled his spiritual energy, and in an instant, the wisp of ethereal blue flame in his palm seemed to respond to a summons, transforming from static burning into a high-speed rotating fire vortex. Driven by the fire vortex, the mass of spiritual liquid continued to bubble while also spinning rapidly.
After about two minutes, the moisture gradually evaporated, and the spiritual liquid began to become increasingly viscous.
"Almost there!"
Seeing that the spiritual liquid was about to solidify, Han Lang acted swiftly, controlling the output of spiritual energy in his palm. He quickly lowered the height of the spiritual energy dan fire while increasing its range.
Simultaneously, he released his divine sense, cooperating with the centrifugal force of the rotating flames, to carefully divide the mass of spiritual liquid into more than ten portions, each about the size of a little finger.
He was about to begin the final pill formation!
The process of pill formation was arduous. The temperature of the dan fire could not deviate even slightly, and at the same time, his divine sense had to constantly tumble the forming pill to prevent uneven heating.
Therefore, the requirement for concentration was exceptionally high; a single moment of carelessness could lead to all previous efforts being in vain.
Every second felt like an eternity to Han Lang, his heart pounding in his chest.
"I absolutely cannot fail!"
As the pills gradually took shape, Han Lang's joy grew.
"Just a little longer! Just a little longer and it will be a mid-grade pill!"
He wished for it, but the dan fire in his palm suddenly extinguished with a 'puff'.
Before he could lament missing out on a mid-grade pill, the weakness from the complete depletion of his spiritual energy made Han Lang feel as if the world was spinning. He felt utterly drained, collapsing powerlessly.
The dozen or so Spirit Gathering Pills that had been floating in the air lost their support and fell.
After resting for a while and regaining some strength, Han Lang casually picked up one of the Spirit Gathering Pills, examining it as he spoke.
"This is hardly a spiritual pill; it's no different from the booger balls Xiao Ying mentioned last time!"
Looking at the dull, dark, and pitted Spirit Gathering Pill in his hand, Han Lang was filled with disappointment.
The spiritual energy of the third layer of Qi Refining was simply insufficient for him to refine higher-quality pills. Reaching low-grade was already the absolute limit.
"Never mind, let's test its effects first!"
With that, he unceremoniously popped the booger-like pill into his mouth.
The Spirit Gathering Pill melted in his mouth, and shortly thereafter, it transformed into a surge of potent spiritual energy that filled his dantian.
The previous feeling of exhaustion vanished instantly. Han Lang sat up as if injected with adrenaline, his worry turning into joy.
"Heh heh, although it doesn't look good, the effect is quite decent! It perfectly replenished my current spiritual energy capacity, so I don't have to worry about running out of spiritual energy like just now!"
Han Lang happily picked up the thirteen Spirit Gathering Pills that had fallen to the ground and also returned the remaining spiritual herbs for the pills to the third level tower.
The effect of one low-grade Spirit Gathering Pill was just enough to sustain his spiritual energy dan fire for about five minutes. With thirteen of them, plus the one he had just consumed, he could now last for over an hour!
This time was more than enough to refine the top-grade Body Tempering Pills!
"Alright, no more dilly-dallying! Let's get to it!"
Having tasted success, Han Lang immediately decided to continue refining Body Tempering Pills. With the experience of the Spirit Gathering Pills, he was now quite proficient.
He condensed the spiritual energy dan fire and directly began refining the spiritual herbs for the Body Tempering Pills.
The Body Tempering Pill was a second-tier pill, and judging by the refining time, one could see how much more difficult it was to refine compared to the Spirit Gathering Pill!
If he were to experience a shortage of spiritual energy at the final stage of pill formation again, as he had just now, there was a possibility of the pill exploding.
Han Lang still felt a lingering fear from that experience.
The last time he used natural gas to refine, he not only ended up looking like a charred lump and was ridiculed by Luo Jiaying, but he also nearly set the entire kitchen ablaze.
To prevent such a situation, this time he not only had to focus on controlling the dan fire and divine sense but also had to distract himself to consume Spirit Gathering Pills at crucial moments.
Therefore, to ensure the successful formation of the pills, he didn't mind the waste and consumed a Spirit Gathering Pill every four minutes.
After a grueling 45 minutes of high-intensity work, at the cost of consuming 9 Spirit Gathering Pills, four top-grade Body Tempering Pills gradually materialized before his eyes.
"Is this what top-grade pills look like?"
Han Lang rubbed his eyes in disbelief, staring at the four chocolate-bean-sized Body Tempering Pills in front of him, stunned into silence!
Top-grade pills were vastly different from low-grade ones.
Even without the burning dan fire, they still floated quietly in the air.
Secondly, the pills had a bright luster, were round and smooth on the surface, and even had a faint, ethereal mist swirling around them.
Compared to low-grade pills, which only emitted a faint, indescribable strange smell when brought close to the nose, the top-grade pills exuded a faint, refreshing medicinal fragrance that filled the entire room.
"No more thinking about it, let's try them out first!"
Han Lang casually found a pulsating plastic bottle in the room, tossed three of the Body Tempering Pills into it, and with a thought, placed the plastic bottle inside the third level tower. Holding the remaining pill, he quickly rushed to the bathroom, eagerly preparing a tub of warm water.
To avoid wasting the efficacy of the top-grade Body Tempering Pills, he stripped himself naked first, got into the bathtub, and then released the Body Tempering Pill into the water.
Instantly, the water in the bathtub turned dark green again, and Han Lang began circulating the 'Mortal Cultivation Technique' within his body.