Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Alex finished making the pill and pulled it out. He took the pill into his hand and frowned a little. The weight of the pill felt fine, but something about its aura was different than what his master's was.

It was so subtle that he couldn't put his finger on it entirely.

"Something is different here, master. Can you tell me?" he asked, handing the pill back to his master.

Silvermist took the pill and with a single feel, he could tell what the issue was. He didn't tell Alex the issue directly and instead placed the pill into the tester that was next to him.

He waited for a moment and the answer came back.

78%.

"78%?" Alex exclaimed in shock. "But I used the same sort of pills—" he stopped as understanding dawned on him.

Silvermist smiled. "Did you figure out what you did differently?" he asked.

"Yes, I compressed the energy too much," Alex said. "That made it so that the pill had too much empty space. The harmony lowered as a result."

"Correct," Silvermist said. "I will tell you that is not a good thing. But ask yourself, does that mean it's a bad thing?"

Alex thought for a moment, going through everything he understood about the situation. "It's… a little bad, but not entirely."

"Elaborate."

Alex nodded. "The energy in the pill isn't bad," he said. "It only appears bad because of the number. However, that still leaves behind the issue of part of the pill not dissolving in your body, leading to pill poisoning. And given that this is two pills in one, this would be doubly bad."

"Oh, you even considered the matter regarding pill poisoning," Silvermist said in surprise. "Not bad. That is correct. The only thing bad about this is how it looks for your brand and how it hurts cultivators that will take too much of this pill."

Alex nodded. "Not everyone can purchase my Dawn Breaking pill, so I should try to do better," he said. "But how does one do better, master? Is it all about experience? Knowing how much energy will fit in a pill?"

"Unfortunately, that is precisely it," Silvermist said. "You will just have to train in it for a long time before you learn what to do on your own. Experience is all you can rely on for this."

There were a few things that came to Alex's mind, some things he would have to test and some questions he would have to figure out. Primarily, he wanted to know if it was even possible to waste any of the energy if there was more energy in the cauldron than what could fit in the pill.

His instincts said no, but he would have to test it nonetheless. "Honestly, I cannot believe you learned this in just one try," Silvermist said. "I wonder how quickly you can learn this next thing."

Alex patiently waited for his master to start explaining, but instead, the man brought out a small flower. He looked at the flower that was brought out, wondering if it was something special. It only took him a moment to realize it was not.

It was a regular Bluevein Orchid, an Immortal ingredient that was used in many cultivation-focused pills. Silvermist handed it over to Alex. Alex took it and waited for his master to start explaining what he was supposed to do with it.

"What can you tell me about this flower?" Silvermist asked.

It was a regular Bluevein Orchid, an Immortal ingredient that was used in many cultivation-focused pills. Silvermist handed it over to Alex. Alex took it and waited for his master to start explaining what he was supposed to do with it.

"What can you tell me about this flower?" Silvermist asked.

Alex wondered if his master was testing him on his knowledge about the Blueveined Orchid.

"It's a Blueveined Orchid, an Immortal rank ingredient mostly used in—"

"Something else," Silvermist said.

Alex was taken aback. "Uhh, it's found in mostly marshes and—"

"Something else."

"It has 9 petals and 3 stamens. The petals are the most—"

"Something else."

Alex was positively confused at this point. He had simply no idea what it was that his master wanted him to say.

"It's an ingredient with mostly Wood energy within it, along with a decent amount of Water energy that is empowering it," he said. He stopped for a bit, surprised he wasn't made to stop speaking. He continued. "The petal itself is what contains most of the water—"

"No," Silvermist said. "Go back to the energy portion."

"Oh, okay. It is mostly Wood energy with some Water energy, along with a negligible amount of Yang and Yin energy, of which Yin is higher. It is missing Fire, Earth, and Metal energy entirely."

"What is considered the main element of this flower?" Silvermist asked.

"Wood," Alex said.

"Correct," Silvermist said. "Now, you told me the energy in this flower. Can you replicate it on your own?"

"Replicate it?" Alex asked, confused. "How am I supposed to do that, master?" "Simple. You make a pill," Silvermist answered as though it was the most obvious thing he was saying.

Alex narrowed his eyes. "Pill? I am to make a pill to replicate this flower?" he asked.

"Yes," Silvermist said. "Because that is what I am going to teach you next. To make a pill that can be substituted for an ingredient in the case of its absence."

"Pills can be used as a substitute for an ingredient?" he asked, not sure if his master was joking or not. There was not a single reason for Alex to believe such a thing was possible.

Sure, a pill had energy and so did an ingredient. But a pill was more than just a simple energy. It was a combination of many, acting as one. Compared to an ingredient, if he were to use the pill, while the overall element might appear the same, there would still be internal elements that were in a delicate balance. How was one going to ignore that?

"I am not going lie," Silvermist said. "There is a chance that you might not be completely learned in this even by the time the tournament starts. So you will have to make a conscious decision on whether to practice it right now or not. You also wanted to train in making different pills at once in a cauldron, so you cannot spread yourself thin."

"I will be efficient, master," Alex said.

"I hope so," Silvermist said. "For now, try and see if you can at least come up with a combination of ingredients that can lead to this very elemental configuration."

Alex agreed and closed his eyes to begin thinking. As soon as he started though, his master spoke. "Remember, the amount of energy in a pill and in a flower is going to be very different. You'll need to think of ways to make them equal as well."

"Equal…" Alex muttered before a thought came to him. "Is this like Pill Fusion, master? Do I need to compress the resulting energy to make it equal to the amount that will be in the flower?"

Silvermist smiled at how fast his disciple understood that. "And what happens when you compress energy that way?" he asked.

"It becomes stronger," Alex said.

"So, if you want to gain the energy of an Immortal ingredient as an end result, what will you have to do?" Silvermist asked.

Alex nodded slowly. "I must use weaker ingredients instead. I cannot use Immortal ingredients because the combined energy will be much more than the flower."

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