Battle Through the Heavens: Reap the Red Lotus Karmic Flame at the Start

141. Refining the Elixir of Overcoming Calamity

Even though Hai Bodong was feeling down, he was still overjoyed to see the Sand Mandala so close to him.

He rubbed his hands together sheepishly, took the plant from Xiao Yan, examined it carefully, and said with a broad smile, "I knew from the start that you, young brother, could help me get this!"

Seeing Hai Bodong's rapid change of expression, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

As for Zi Yan, she even had a hint of sympathy for Hai Bodong. After all, Xiao Yan had three Sand Mandala plants, and now he had only taken out one. Obviously, Xiao Yan did not want Hai Bodong to know about the rest.

Seeing Hai Bodong's beaming face, Xiao Yan smiled and extended his hand, politely asking, "Old sir, now that I've brought this back for you, shouldn't you give me the incomplete map as well?"

"Well..." Hai Bodong rubbed his hands awkwardly upon hearing Xiao Yan's question, and said with a sheepish smile, "Young brother, we had an agreement beforehand. If you help me refine the pill to break the seal, I will give you the last fragment of the map, and I will owe you a favor in the future."

At this point, a hint of red appeared on Hai Bodong's withered face. After all, if Xiao Yan's strength were still the same as when he first came, his favor would still be very valuable. But now that Xiao Yan's strength was faintly no weaker than his previous strength, and might even surpass his, the favor of a Dou Huang powerhouse was not so worthwhile.

However, even though Hai Bodong was embarrassed, he still spoke up. The reason was simple: there were too few alchemists, especially high-level alchemy masters who could refine sixth-grade pills.

The pills he needed were of the sixth grade, and finding an alchemist capable of refining such high-grade pills was extremely troublesome for Hai Bodong.

Fortunately, he had spent half his life in the Jia Ma Empire and had some skill in judging people. Even if Xiao Yan did not agree to his request, he was not the kind of person who would turn his back on someone.

Xiao Yan also gave Hai Bodong a meaningful look and said, "Alright, for the sake of this favor, sir, I will refine another pill."

Xiao Yan seemed to unintentionally emphasize the word "human feelings," making Hai Bodong even more embarrassed.

Hai Bodong quickly led Xiao Yan into the back room, where the recipe and medicinal herbs needed to refine the Breaking Calamity Pill lay quietly on the table.

Several of these materials are quite expensive, and would attract fierce competition even at auctions. Hai Bodong also put in a lot of effort, obtaining at least three different types of the other materials besides the most important Sand Mandala.

However, since Xiao Yan returned from the Northwest Region, his family's wealth has become unimaginably abundant, so he really didn't care about Hai Bodong's medicinal herbs.

After carefully inspecting all the medicinal herbs and finding nothing missing, Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Looking up at Hai Bodong, who was watching him intently, he smiled and said, "Old sir, I think you should know that there's always a failure rate in refining pills. Before we begin, let me say something a little blunt… I'm somewhat confident in refining this sixth-grade pill, but I can't guarantee it. So if it fails for any reason, the responsibility…"

"I know, you're not responsible, right... That's how all you alchemists are. If you fail, do you think I'll force you to stay?" Hai Bodong waved his hand and smiled bitterly.

Only then did Xiao Yan nod in satisfaction. With Yao Lao absent, although he had been improving his alchemy skills on the way back to the Jia Ma Empire, the Breaking Calamity Pill was only of medium quality among sixth-grade pills. He wasn't entirely confident in its effectiveness. The other materials were fine, as he had quite a few in his collection, but he only had three Sand Mandala plants.

However, what Hai Bodong said was entirely true. Alchemists on the mainland indeed held a transcendent status. When someone like Hai Bodong was hired to refine pills, he had to provide his own materials and formulas. Regardless of whether the pills were successful or not, the agreed-upon price could not be discounted.

"If that's the case, then I can begin," Xiao Yan said.

Hai Bodong nodded and said, "Then I'll leave everything to you, young brother. I'll keep watch outside; no one will disturb your alchemy!"

With Zi Yan outside, Xiao Yan wasn't worried about any accidents happening during the alchemy process. After Hai Bodong left, Xiao Yan tapped his storage ring, and a pure black medicine cauldron, as big as a tabletop, appeared.

Alchemists' crafting is also closely related to the medicine cauldron. Although Yang Yue gave Xiao Yan a lot of good cauldrons among the vast resources, the best one Xiao Yan had was the Black Demon that he got from Yao Lao!

The medicine cauldron exuded a calm and composed aura. Its surface was adorned with lifelike flame totems, which appeared almost real as the cauldron slowly rotated. Xiao Yan could even faintly sense a subtle flame energy gathering around the cauldron.

With the help of this medicine cauldron and the strange fire, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, Xiao Yan was able to successfully refine sixth-grade pills several times during this period.

"Let's consider today as my test to become a sixth-grade alchemist!" Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Xiao Yan picked up an ancient scroll from the table piled with materials, unleashing his soul power to read the information within.

With Xiao Yan's current soul strength, reading a sixth-grade pill formula is a piece of cake.

Although the most important attack method of the Soul Transference Technique has been lost, it is still a secret technique left behind by a Dou Di. Unbeknownst to him, Xiao Yan's soul power has been continuously enhanced. Although Xiao Yan's true cultivation level is still Dou Huang, his soul power even surpasses that of an ordinary Dou Zong.

For alchemists, soul power is their lifeblood!

Having grasped all the key points of refining the Breaking Calamity Pill, Xiao Yan placed his right hand directly on the medicine cauldron, and the blood-red Red Lotus Karmic Flame began to burn inside the cauldron.

With a surge of suction from his left hand, Xiao Yan used his previously learned suction palm technique to continuously draw medicinal herbs and add them to the cauldron. Each valuable herb, refined by the Red Lotus Karmic Flame, was transformed into a pure medicinal liquid. For other alchemists, refining medicinal liquid is undoubtedly a very troublesome step in the alchemy process.

After all, many rare and precious treasures are extremely tough, and refining them requires patience and meticulousness. However, Xiao Yan possesses a strange fire that all alchemists would covet.

The difficulty of the refining step dropped drastically, probably because it was too easy. Xiao Yan failed shortly after his first attempt at refining.

"Fortunately, it's only been a short time, so not many medicinal herbs have been wasted."

Refining medicine is never a simple matter. After resting for a while, Xiao Yan mustered his energy again and began refining medicine for the second time.