Second Time

Chapter 17 - Failures

The jump from grade two pills to grade three pills came with much greater difficulty than going from grades one to two. Shao Yue would fail the first two or three refinements of each set before finally getting the hang of it.

With each pill, Shao Yue's control over her strange vital essence increased. She could have greater success if she used a concoction furnace to regulate the heat, but she highly valued increasing her control. It could have impacts in other areas of her skill set.

Shao Yue had been primarily focused on the practical aspects of alchemy, but the further down the list of grade three pills she went, the more she became curious about the theory.

How was the order of herbs determined? Or the heat required? Trial and error? What about the selection of herbs in the first place? How did people know whether a certain group of herbs would result in a beneficial pill or a poisonous one? Did they simply test it and see? There had to be some rules, right?

Shao Yue only briefly pondered the various questions before heading over to see Grandmaster Zeng. He'd invited her to chat once she became a grade three alchemist, so it seemed like a good time.

As before, the two sat in a private room with a table separating them while a maid served tea. Mimi stayed behind.

Grandmaster Zeng examined some of the grade three pills Shao Yue had refined. "These are much better than before."

"Thank you, Master."

He gave her some more advice to improve her alchemy. After making some clarifications, Shao Yue brought up the questions that had been floating around in her mind.

"The Alchemic Dao is not a natural one," Grandmaster Zeng explained, stroking his beard. "In the beginning, it certainly would be entirely based on trial and error, then passed down through generations and word of mouth."

There were two types of Dao. Natural Dao, like the Dao of Time, existed from the beginning of the universe and didn't or couldn't change much. Artificial Dao, like the Sword Dao, had been imprinted on the Heavenly Law by countless practitioners. Such Dao could be considered the sum of knowledge towards that topic and as people pressed against the limits of the Dao, they would carve new laws.

"Insights into the Alchemic Dao typically come in the form of new recipes," he continued. "The difficulty in knowing the exact way to create an unknown pill is equivalent to knowing the exact meridians and acupoints to use for an unknown sword technique."

"That makes sense," Shao Yue said with a nod. "Only after hundreds of years could someone start recognizing the patterns and connections and be able to make such judgements."

"Why does it always sound like you're talking from experience?"

Shao Yue laughed. "I've always been told I had an old soul."

"Oh, that reminds me, you wanted a Soul Reformation Pill."

Shao Yue's eyes sparkled. Restoring her soul to its Emperor Realm Seventh Stage state would be a huge boon. It was difficult to overstate how important it was. The world currently had no Emperor Realm Seventh Stage cultivators, so her soul strength would be unmatched.

Even if someone managed to kill her, it would be nearly impossible to extinguish her soul. She could possess another body and continue. She didn't want to think of Mimi as a contingency, but if it came down to it, Shao Yue wouldn't hesitate.

Grandmaster Zeng took out seven herbs along with his concoction furnace. "I'll trouble you to extract the essence."

"It's no trouble."