Inside the Hidden Dragon Cave Mansion, the fragrance of pills wafted about.

Chen Sheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling upon the two disciples.

Hu Bao was calmly placing the prepared spirit grass into the pill furnace, his movements steady and measured.

He first used a Tier One High Grade Wood Spirit Fire to dry the moisture in the herbs, then catalyzed it with Li Fire Spiritual Power.

Before long, a pale green medicinal liquid rose in the furnace, slowly condensing in the flame.

Time slowly passed.

"It's done!" A hint of joy flashed in Hu Bao's eyes as he withdrew the spell, and three smooth, plump, crimson pills flew out from the furnace, hovering in his palm.

The surface of the elixir pills emitted a faint glow, and the fragrance was fresh and pure; they were precisely Tier One High Grade "Red Blood Pills."

He held the elixir pills, looking expectantly at Chen Sheng, with a hint of eagerness for praise in his eyes.

Chen Sheng, however, simply shook his head lightly, and with a slight touch of his fingertip on the pill, a weak golden light swept over the surface.

"How long has it been since you've progressed?"

The smile on Hu Bao's face instantly froze, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, leaving him speechless for a long while.

For the past six months, he had been stuck at the threshold of Tier One High Grade, unable to break through.

He had thought this successful refining would garner praise from his master but was met with such words instead.

Chen Sheng picked up one of the Red Blood Pills and lightly traced the lines on its surface with his fingertip:

"You, your foundation is unstable, and your fire control is too crude."

"You fail to familiarize yourself with fire subtlety, reaching the Realm of Microcosm, which is a fatal flaw."

"If you do not take this seriously, your alchemy skill will be stuck at this level for the rest of your life."

Upon hearing this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Hu Bao's back, and he quickly bowed deeply:

"This disciple acknowledges the mistake, I beg Master for guidance!"

Chen Sheng nodded, his expression softening a bit:

"Compose yourself and deeply understand."

With that, he flicked his finger, and suddenly, a sea of fire rose in the center of the cave mansion.

Crimson flames condensed into various forms, with the temperature and intensity changing instantly.

Chen Sheng's voice, accompanied by divine sense, echoed in Hu Bao's mind:

"Look closely—this is Raging Fire, fierce but short-lived."

"This is Needle Fire, fine as silk yet able to penetrate hard stone; this is Nurturing Fire, appearing gentle but able to keep the spiritual Qi in the medicinal liquid from dispersing..."

He explained while manipulating different flames to demonstrate in the pill furnace.

Each type of flame produced entirely different reactions when it came into contact with the medicinal liquid.

Hu Bao held his breath, focusing his mind, noting each subtle change, realizing that his previous understanding of fire control technique was just superficial.

Beside him, Li Min watched attentively, with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes.

His fire control technique was taught by a family Tier Two Alchemist, with a solid foundation, he immediately understood his master's intent.

This was to let Hu Bao grasp the true essence of "fire subtlety" in the most straightforward way.

The words "micro" seemed easy to say but were as challenging as climbing to the sky in practice.

Li Min had spent thousands of spirit grass just practicing fire control to comprehend this step.

Now hearing Chen Sheng's explanation, he realized how biased his previous understanding had been.

He secretly rejoiced in being accepted under such a renowned master, considering it a tremendous opportunity.

An hour passed.

Suddenly, a light shone in Hu Bao's eyes, and with a twist of the spell, the flames inside the pill furnace rippled slightly, with the once coarse fire becoming much more refined.

Although it still appeared a bit raw, there were faint signs of the "micro" form.

"Not bad, it seems you've grasped the basics." A hint of satisfaction flashed in Chen Sheng's eyes.

This step was the hardest to start with, and Hu Bao's ability to gain insight within just an hour was remarkable.

"Next, you need to practice repeatedly. Once your control of fire reach perfection, you can start refining Tier One Top Level elixirs."

He then turned to Li Min: "You take a turn too."

"Yes!"

Li Min responded with clasped fists, already viewing Chen Sheng as extraordinary.

The teaching from the family Tier Two Alchemist was like comparing clouds to mud compared to his master.

Li Min took out spirit grass and performed the melting liquid, vortex condensation, solidification, and spirit lock techniques smoothly...

Every step was executed with precision, almost flawlessly compared to the records in the Pill Scripture.

Soon, he had successfully refined three Tier One High Grade "Purifying Spirit Pills," which were slightly superior in quality to Hu Bao's Red Blood Pills.

Chen Sheng gave a simple evaluation, nodding lightly:

"Your foundation is extremely solid, resulting in stable alchemy where mistakes are rare."

He then shifted his words:

"But the downside is also obvious—too much craftsmanship means a low upper limit, and just saying so might not make it clear to you."

"Let's do it once more, and I'll assist you."

Li Min followed the instructions and began the process again, with Chen Sheng's divine sense threading into the pill furnace like fine silk, subtly altering a sliver of spiritual power during the vortex condensation of the medicinal liquid.

The change seemed minor and even deviated from the pill formula, yet the resulting Purifying Spirit Pills emitted a glowing green light.

The fragrance was several times richer than before, with a pill pattern emerging on the surface.

Chen Sheng asked, "Did you see clearly?"

"There is no fixed method for pills, nor any fixed formula. Your foundation is too rigid, hindering you and causing spirituality to be exhausted by the rigid steps."

"Tier One Lower Grade and Middle Grade pills can follow the method step by step, but to reach higher realms, you must learn to induce the spirituality of the elixirs, only then can you proceed farther."

He paused and continued:

"The current path you're on, reaching Tier Two Middle Grade is the peak, aiming to become a Tier Two High Grade Alchemist is as hard as climbing to the sky."

With that said, Chen Sheng understood in his heart.

This was mostly due to Third Senior Brother Li Yuan's roots left in their family.

Although Li Yuan was a Tier Two High Grade Alchemist, his talent in alchemy was not particularly high, and his entrance into the sect was largely because of his Earth Grade Spiritual Root.

Dragon Void Daoist had planned a somewhat opportunistic path for him, relying on a deep divine sense for rigid practice.

Although he became an efficient "Tier Two High Grade Elixir Machine," it also limited his insight into the Alchemy Dao, making it difficult to advance further.

Later, when Dragon Void Daoist accepted disciples, there might have been a greater emphasis on talent in alchemy due to this reason.

After all, for him, disciples forming a core was uncertain, while foundation establishment could be achieved with sufficient resources.

Li Min quickly bowed upon hearing this:

"I beg Master for guidance!"

Chen Sheng then started explaining from 'spirituality induction,' demonstrating with divine sense assistance.

He also had Li Min attempt to alter the steps...

Until both had gained some insights, Chen Sheng let them return to practice diligently, and hand in a reflection on their alchemy experience in three days.

...

A few days later, inside White Deer Cave.

Chen Sheng and Fang Lingxiao sat around a jade desk, which was filled with various poisonous herbs and pill formula jade scrolls.

Since learning of the Western Border opening up for development, they had shifted their pill formula research towards detoxification and healing types.

Chen Sheng picked up a dark green poison pouch:

"We need to refine a special antitoxic pill targeted towards development, one that no cultivator can do without."

"This is the Heart Rotting Miasma's poisonous liquid, ordinary antitoxic pills simply can't suppress it."

Fang Lingxiao nodded, picking up a freshly refined elixir pill:

"I've just dissected seven different Tier Two antitoxic pills and found that the room for improvement left by predecessors is almost exhausted."

"Our 'Clear Miasma Pill' is about ten percent more effective than similar types, but the cost is twenty percent higher, making it not worthwhile."

Chen Sheng pondered for a moment:

"In that case, why not target the lower market, focusing on Qi Cultivators."

"Qi Cultivators?" Fang Lingxiao asked in surprise.

Pointing to the map of the Western Border Miasma Forest, Chen Sheng explained:

"Yes, indeed."

"The early stage of development is dominated by High Tier Cultivators, but as it reaches mid and later stages, a large number of Qi Cultivators will inevitably participate in the reclamation."

"For them, even low-tier miasma presents a deadly threat, offering enormous market potential."

Fang Lingxiao suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly:

"Makes sense! The base of Qi Cultivators is large, and they're price-sensitive towards elixirs. We can simplify the pill formula, reduce costs, and use cost-effectiveness to capture the market."

Chen Sheng smiled and said:

"That's exactly what I mean."

"I will have the firm collect all market-available antitoxic pill recipes for the Qi phase, and you'll analyze them, after which I'll find the optimal formula for further refinement."

Fang Lingxiao agreed readily.

Having just succeeded in foundation establishment, he was in need of resources.

Unlike Chen Sheng, who had support from the high-end market, alchemy was his primary way to accumulate resources.

The vast market brought by the development of the Western Border was an excellent opportunity for him, worth all the effort.

The two of them immediately divided the work, with Chen Sheng sending messages to the firm, while Fang Lingxiao began organizing the antitoxic pill information at hand…

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