Because the ghost lotus favored the shade and feared the heat, its refinement demanded extremely precise control over the furnace temperature.
To ensure the process was foolproof, Zi Lingling adjusted herself to her optimal state before placing the ghost lotus into the alchemy furnace.
Her soul power delved into the furnace, and with unwavering focus, she observed the ghost lotus's transformation, meticulously controlling the furnace temperature.
An hour passed, then two. As the ghost lotus neared successful refinement, Zi Lingling allowed a knowing smile to grace her lips.
But at that very moment, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. Her soul power suddenly receded, and the furnace temperature, no longer under her control, spiked. The nearly formed ghost lotus liquid instantly evaporated, losing one-fifth of its volume.
"This is not good!" Zi Lingling cried inwardly and quickly regained control of her mind and soul.
Fortunately, her swift reaction prevented the remaining liquid from being incinerated. However, even so, only two-thirds of the original liquid remained.
With a pang of regret, Zi Lingling bottled the remaining two-thirds of the liquid, then instructed Huang Yi to watch the furnace while she examined her own body.
Strange! She found nothing amiss!
Zi Lingling frowned, falling into deep thought.
What exactly happened? That sudden sharp pain felt as if a piece of her own flesh had been cut away, accompanied by a sense of blood connection emanating from the depths of her heart.
...
In a dark prison cell, a woman was bleeding profusely. Yet, her eyes were filled with tenderness as she whispered as if piercing through time and space, "Ling'er..."
Simultaneously, at the bottom of a bottomless cliff, a handsome, burly man staggered as he withdrew a blood-red long sword from the body of a dark demon tiger.
The dark demon tiger's blood splattered all over him, but he paid it no mind.
His gaze fixed on the distance, he murmured, "Wait for me! I will definitely take you back to see Ling'er!"
...
Zi Lingling pondered for a long time without discovering anything, and the strange sensation had vanished without a trace.
Never mind, she would focus on alchemy for now!
Finding no answers, Zi Lingling refocused her mind, recovering the soul power she had lost.
Two hours later, her soul power had fully replenished.
She encouraged herself, placed the Coiled Dragon Ginseng into the alchemy furnace, and began the tedious and monotonous process of refining the medicinal ingredients.
Fortunately, no further incidents occurred. It took her a full three days to complete the refinement of the six main ingredients. Su Dan Novel Net.
Zi Lingling stood up, stretching her stiff body. She once again entrusted the alchemy furnace to Huang Yi's care and fell asleep on the spot.
When she awoke, it was already the morning of the eighth day, meaning Xue Ying and Ye Lingyuan at the Goddess Temple had been waiting for two and a half days.
Condensing the pill was the most challenging step in alchemy. It involved fusing ingredients of different properties, and the slightest mistake could result in the destruction of the medicine and the pill.
Zi Lingling divided the liquid of the Bone-Mending Pill into three portions, meaning she had three opportunities to refine it.
Even so, she had to exert her utmost concentration.
Pill condensation differed from ingredient refinement. Refinement primarily required controlling the heat, while condensation involved forming hand seals and imbuing them into the medicinal liquid.
Although Zi Lingling had memorized the "Great Dao Alchemy Scripture" verbatim, forming hand seals was not merely a matter of memory. It required synchronized action of the hands and mind; any misstep would render the ingredients useless.
The first batch failed due to Zi Lingling's unfamiliarity with the hand seals, resulting in excessive slowness.
In the second batch, she learned from her mistakes but faltered in the timing of the seal formation, leading to another failure.
Zi Lingling meticulously reviewed and analyzed the condensation process of the first two batches, then gritted her teeth and declared, "I refuse to believe I can't succeed!"
She adjusted her soul power to its optimal state and placed the third portion of liquid into the alchemy furnace.
Then, she closed her eyes, relying solely on her senses to control the alchemy furnace and form the hand seals.
Slowly, she seemed to merge with the heavens and earth, as if only she and the alchemy furnace existed.
Her hand seal movements became increasingly fluid, and wave after wave of seals were imbued into the medicinal liquid within the furnace.
Soon, the liquid condensed into a perfectly round pill, which, after being subjected to the high-temperature vaporization within the furnace, gradually solidified.
An hour later, a rich medicinal aroma wafted from the alchemy furnace.
Zi Lingling's eyes snapped open. She lifted the furnace lid, and a perfectly round, lustrous white pill lay quietly at the bottom.
She gazed at the round pill, disbelief coloring her voice, "I actually succeeded? I succeeded! I succeeded!"
Huang Yi looked at the Bone-Mending Pill, awe evident in her voice, "Mistress, you truly succeeded!"
In the history of the Tianyuan Continent, no one had ever been able to refine a pill without the use of spiritual energy.
Today, Zi Lingling had completely defied the norm, becoming a shining pearl in the world of alchemy.
Concurrently, Zi Lingling had become the second alchemist, following Situ Jinglei, even if only a novice, her achievement was certain to shock all quarters.
Watching Zi Lingling's ecstatic joy, Huang Yi's eyes became misted.
"Mistress, you can finally cultivate! Our once magnificent Mistress is finally returning!"
Heaven knows how disappointed and heartbroken she had been, having waited for tens of thousands of years to welcome back her Mistress, only to find she could no longer cultivate.
Now that her Mistress had refined the Bone-Mending Pill, her return to cultivation was no longer a mere wish.
Thus, Huang Yi wept tears of joy, her eyes welling up.
"Yes, once I refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill, I will be able to cultivate!" Zi Lingling's eyes also shimmered with tears.
Huang Yi nodded, happy for Zi Lingling and for herself as well.
Zi Lingling carefully placed the single Bone-Mending Pill into a pre-prepared porcelain bottle and stored it in the Nine Spirit Ring.
Then, calming herself, she said, "Huang Yi, watch the furnace. I need to recover my soul power, and then I will refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill in one go!"
Huang Yi nodded, "Mistress, I believe you will succeed! Rest assured and recover your soul power; I will handle things here!"
Zi Lingling patted her shoulder, "You've worked hard."
She sat beneath the Bodhi tree, closed her eyes, and quietly began to recover her soul power.
Half an hour later, a vortex storm suddenly appeared in her mind, drawing all her soul power into it.
Zi Lingling was startled. Just as she was about to open her eyes, she discovered that the soul power absorbed by the vortex storm was returning to her mind, and it had become even purer.
Then, the vortex storm violently expanded, rushing towards the depths of her mind.