"Who am I really? Did I cause all this?" Seeing the blood-soaked ground, dismembered limbs scattered about like a terrifying scene from hell, Zhu Bufan stood stupefied, murmuring to himself.

"Sigh," a gentle exhalation of breath brought Zhu Bufan back to his senses. Unbeknownst to him, Wang Hui had already arrived nearby. Gazing upon the hellish scene, Wang Hui let out a soft sigh and then waved his sleeve, sending two fierce flames flying out from his hands.

As the flames hit the corpses, they started to burn wildly. It wasn't long before towering flames were leaping outside the small woods. Having approached Zhu Bufan, Wang Hui said, "Young brother, let's go. You, as you are now, need to recuperate."

"Master Wang Hui, all these people, did I kill them by myself? I–I..." Seeing a deep confusion in Zhu Bufan's eyes, as if he couldn't understand why he would do such a thing.

"Young brother, are you interested in learning Alchemy with me?" Seeing Zhu Bufan's perplexed look, Wang Hui sighed again before suddenly making the offer.

"Alchemy? Can I... really do it?"

"I have observed your soul. Besides the flames, there is a faint presence of the wood element. Only those with dual cultivation of soul, fire and wood qualify to become an Alchemist, and you are indeed qualified," Wang Hui said with a slight smile to Zhu Bufan.

"Master Wang Hui, why would you..." Seeing Wang Hui genuinely wanting to teach him the art of Alchemy, Zhu Bufan couldn't hide his confusion any longer and inquired.

"Alchemy, Artifact Refining, these arts can make one's mental state peaceful. If you dedicate yourself to this path, you can suppress or even master your inner darkness effectively. You should know, everyone has a Heart Demon. Having a Heart Demon is not terrifying, what's scary is refusing to face it, fearing it. You must understand, in this world, kindness doesn't ensure survival, nor can cruelty rule everything. Only by mastering oneself can one deal with anything. Do not fear your Heart Demon; accept it, and maybe you'll find out that your Heart Demon is actually helping you."

After listening to Wang Hui's words, Zhu Bufan fell into contemplation. What Wang Hui meant was clear: he should learn to suppress or even control his Heart Demon and fight for himself.

Reflecting on the previous battles, it's true that when controlled by the Heart Demon, his combat strength soared incredibly, and his use of Martial Arts was calculated exceedingly well, almost as if he were a veteran of Hundred Battles. Whether it was defeating the Purple Cloud Swallowing Sky Python in the soul world or just now killing Lian Xie, it all relied on that frenzied Killing Intent.

"Master Wang Hui, can I really control the Heart Demon?" Recalling the immense Killing Intent made Zhu Bufan shudder, showing just how intense and crazy the Killing Intent he had released was.

"In this world, there's nothing that can't be done, only what you don't want to do. You have sustained quite a bit of injury, and you are extremely fatigued. These next few days you will need to rest quietly. It's a good time for me to pass on some basic knowledge of Alchemy to you. Of course, what I can do is lead you to the door; the rest is up to you."

"Of course, Master Wang Hui teaching Zhu Bufan the Alchemy Technique is already a great kindness. Zhu Bufan naturally wouldn't dare expect the Master to reveal all his secrets!" Hearing Wang Hui's words, Zhu Bufan earnestly gave his respects.

"Ha ha, it's still the same saying: whether you succeed or not is up to you. I can only guide you to the door of Alchemy; the rest depends on your own insight. However, with the aid of Poison Fire and your clever talent, mastering the Alchemy Technique shouldn't be difficult." Seeing Zhu Bufan stepping out of the slaughter, Wang Hui smiled slightly and walked into the small woods, with Zhu Bufan quickly following. Outside the small woods, only the fiercely burning corpses remained, witnessing what had just happened. Of course, under the burning of the Primordial Qi Flames, these witnesses would soon turn to ash.

After going to the lakeside and washing himself off, Zhu Bufan looked towards Huo Ling's cabin. Seeing the door shut tight and recalling his actions and words from earlier, Zhu Bufan felt a wave of guilt.

"I should apologize to her when I have the chance; she meant well." With that thought, Zhu Bufan shook his head, cleaned himself off, and returned to Wang Hui's cabin.

"Little brother, starting today, I'll teach you the basic methods of alchemy. Once you've fully mastered the basics, you'll have to improve on more detailed matters such as precise flame control in alchemy, the fusion of your soul with the medicinal herbs, and the subtle changes in the medicinal properties of each herb," said Wang Hui after making Zhu Bufan take two elixirs to recover his physical strength and spirit. Wang Hui sat on the chair in front of the bed, explaining the ways of alchemy to Zhu Bufan.

The detailed explanation of the fundamentals of alchemy sparkled in Zhu Bufan's eyes. It was then that Zhu Bufan realized the difference between alchemy and artifact refining. Alchemy required much higher control over the flames than artifact refining did. Moreover, although alchemy didn't require the nearly demanding soul shaping ability as artifact refining, it still had strict requirements for soul control. Without the guidance of the soul during the fusion of medicinal powers, the elixir could be ruined at any moment. In short, despite only a word's difference, alchemy and artifact refining had entirely different requirements in their respective fields.

"When an alchemist refines elixirs, they must use a medicine tripod. A good medicine tripod can help an alchemist produce high-grade elixirs. This is what they mean by 'To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools.' Without a good medicine tripod, even if the alchemist has reached a certain level of mastery, they would still be unable to produce high-grade elixirs. After all, the energy unleashed by high-grade elixirs cannot be withstood by an ordinary tripod. Usually, an alchemist possesses only their own specialized medicine tripod," said Wang Hui as he flipped his hand and took out a verdant green medicine tripod, placing it before Zhu Bufan.

"This is the 'Tourmaline Jade Tripod.' It cost me quite a lot to obtain it from someone else. This tripod can even refine lower Earth Rank elixirs without any issues. I'll lend it to you for practice now. After all, no matter how much is said, it's not as effective as actually refining an elixir yourself," Wang Hui said, patting the medicine tripod that emitted a sparkling green light, revealing a smile.

"This tripod is beautiful. Master, what is the best medicine tripod?" asked Zhu Bufan, equally admiring the verdant, crystal-clear medicine tripod, and inquiring Wang Hui.

"Hehe, as far as I know, on the Divine Demon Continent, there are five 'Heavenly Tripods' known as the 'Shennong Cauldron,' 'Star Tripod,' 'Nine Dragon Divine Flame Tripod,' 'Beasts Medicine King Tripod,' and 'Green Bag Tripod.' These five tripods are said to have been unearthed from ancient ruins, capable of withstanding the refining of Heaven Rank elixirs. However, these are just rumors among alchemists; whether they truly exist or not, I don't know. Of course, there might be far more 'Heavenly Tripods' than these," replied Wang Hui.

"Heavenly Tripod?" Zhu Bufan chuckled bitterly, no longer asking about the medicine tripod. Currently, he had to borrow one from Wang Hui for his practice; bringing up a Heavenly Tripod would be ludicrous. He gratefully accepted the two Jade Scrolls passed to him by Wang Hui, pouring Primordial Qi into one of the scrolls.

(Blood Stopping Pill: A Human Rank Low Grade elixir. When taken, it can quickly stop bleeding from wounds and slightly recover physical strength.)

(Qi Boosting Pill: A Human Rank Low Grade elixir. When taken, it can transform into a small amount of Primordial Qi.)

Like what Wu Yingzhong did back then, Wang Hui gave Zhu Bufan the simplest and most fundamental elixir recipes directly, and then handed over a large pile of herbs. After instructing Zhu Bufan to practice well, Wang Hui left the wooden hut, leaving Zhu Bufan alone with a heap of herbs, dumbfounded.

"Finally, I found the commonality between alchemy and artifact refining. That is, both kinds of teachers shirk their responsibilities. Damn it!" After a long while, Zhu Bufan despised the once seemingly super sincere and serious Wang Hui, who after explaining everything, went off to enjoy himself. Then, following the refining method for the Blood Stopping Pill, Zhu Bufan threw the herbs into the medicine tripod.

Strangely enough, despite the small and exquisite size of the Tourmaline Jade Tripod, about the size of a palm, it was particularly spacious inside. A pile of herbs was placed inside without causing any overflow, similar to the magical pocket of a certain well-known cat that Zhu Bufan knew; the mystery was as profound as it was claimed.

After putting all the materials for the Blood Stopping Pill into the medicine tripod, Zhu Bufan began practicing the art of alchemy as Wang Hui had instructed. Two clusters of dark green Poison Fire sprang up, and Zhu Bufan controlled them to fiercely envelop the medicine tripod.

The scorching Poison Fire raised the surrounding temperature continuously. Unlike in artifact refining, where the heat of the flames is usually contained except under special circumstances, in alchemy, it's crucial to control the temperature right. If it's too high, it can cause an explosion of the spiritual energy within the herbs, which would be no joke. It's well-known that all the herbs used in alchemy are graded, and the higher the grade of the elixir, the higher the grade of herbs required, which contain astonishing amounts of nature's spiritual energy. Should they explode, it would not be a trivial matter.

Sensitively perceiving the changes in the herbs with his soul and adjusting the fire control accordingly, it wasn't long before Zhu Bufan was covered in sweat. After all, during artifact refining, the soul's power is only needed for the final shaping, whereas in alchemy, the soul's fine perception must sense the changes in the herbs from beginning to end, leading to a much more intensive workload. Therefore, it didn't take long for Zhu Bufan's entire body to be soaked in sweat.

"Condense!" With a soft shout, Zhu Bufan increased the flames to fuse the herbs that had been refined into a liquid. Then, after a burst of light exploded from the gaps of the medicine tripod, everything went silent.

Carefully extinguishing the flames and looking inside the medicine tripod, Zhu Bufan's face suddenly turned joyful, but that joy did not last longer than three seconds, as his pleased smile quickly soured into a bitter expression.

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