Cultivation Power was transformed into combustible energy that ignited upon contact with fire.
Following the steps written in the "Witchcraft Secret Manual," Lin Yifan meticulously guarded the process, step by step, as he refined.
Before long, white fragrance began to waft from the Pill Furnace, indicating that the medicinal properties of the herbs were starting to be extracted.
At this point, Lin Yifan reduced the flame to simmer; because only by simmering slowly could he extract all the medicinal properties from the herbs; it was like stewing soup, the slower it simmered, the richer the flavor compared to a quick boil.
After nearly two hours of simmering over low heat, the fragrance emanating from the Pill Furnace grew even more intense. White plumes of smoke billowed out, filling the entire room. In an instant, the kitchen seemed like a fairyland bathed in auspicious haze, misty and ethereal.
However, to outsiders, this would not seem like a realm of immortals; they would surely think there was a fire, then they would dial the emergency number to call the fire brigade for help.
To avoid any misunderstanding, Lin Yifan turned on the exhaust fan to continuously vent the smoke from the kitchen, ensuring the indoor air was fresh.
Then, he added a small Fire Origin Crystal into the Pill Furnace to facilitate the formation of the Elixir.
In the end, when all the moisture had evaporated, what remained were the dregs and the solid form of the medicinal substances. The dregs could not enter the bottom of the Pill Furnace because they were separated by a fine mesh.
The formation of the Elixir took place at the very bottom; as all the medicinal substances conglomerated, the Elixir was thus formed. This was the most crucial step that required utmost carefulness and slow refinement.
This slow refinement process had to occur at a high temperature; because only high temperature could turn the solid substances into a liquid form, and the liquid state was a prerequisite for the various medicinal properties to merge with each other.
As the temperature of the household gas stove was limited; Lin Yifan had to use more Cultivation Power for the refinement.
However, the Fire Origin Crystal released an immense heat upon heating; thus, it was of great help to him.
It didn't take long for the bottom of the Pill Furnace to turn fiery red, and the lid to quake; this was the effect of the intense heat, indicating that the medicinal substances at the bottom had liquefied.
During this time, the medicinal substances of various herbs fused with each other, clumped together, and settled at the bottom of the furnace.
The next step was cooling. The liquid Elixir had to be cooled to solidify into a solid Elixir. This was somewhat akin to the formation of steel; the hot metal liquid was poured into a mold, then cooled to achieve the desired shape.
Lin Yifan held an electric fan, constantly cooling the Pill Furnace.
This seemingly simple step took him almost another hour.
After the cooling was complete, he opened the furnace lid and took out the Elixir.
Looking at the Elixir in his hand, smaller than a marble, he exclaimed, "It's magical! I never thought it was actually possible to refine such a thing as an Elixir."
He had thought that Elixirs were only a legend, but they were indeed real.
Succeeding in creating an Elixir on his first attempt at refinement was all thanks to the steps provided in the "Witchcraft Secret Manual;" had he been left to fumble in the dark, it would have taken him hundreds, if not thousands of experiments to produce an Elixir.
Because there are many difficulties in refining Elixirs, you do not know how much of each herb to use, what temperature to control at each step, what needs to be added at what stage... Therefore, refining Elixirs is not for the average person; only Cultivators with astonishing talent in various aspects of Elixirs are suitable for Alchemy, which is also why Alchemists are rare and precious.
Every Alchemist will be surrounded by admirers, with experts near them at all times, ready to serve at their command; because they possess the Elixirs that these experts desire.
However, even after refining the elixir, Lin Yifan dared not confirm that it would exert its proper medicinal effects; because the success in producing an elixir did not necessarily mean it was effective.
Therefore, the last step was to test it.
Staring at the gray elixir in front of him, Lin Yifan opened his mouth and swallowed it to try if it had any effect.
The moment the elixir entered his stomach, he felt a coolness in his intestines, incredibly comfortable.
"Eh! It actually works!"
Lin Yifan was very surprised, which meant he had refined the Intestine-Piercing Pill Antidote. However, this sensation was somewhat different from the feeling produced by the antidote that the landlady had given him; the coolness was noticeably weaker, indicating that his elixir was not perfect and had lost much of its efficacy in the refining process.
"To make a mistake even with the manual as reference, it seems that refining elixirs is indeed very difficult," Lin Yifan murmured to himself.
Despite being disheartened, he still felt relieved; because he had taken the first step. With more careful refinement going forward, he would surely be able to produce a complete Intestine-Piercing Pill Antidote.
While there was still time, Lin Yifan continued with the next round of refinement.
To refine the Intestine-Piercing Pill Antidote, only one petal of the Healing Wound Flower was needed; thus, one flower could be used to refine several antidote pills. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Following the steps, he added appropriate amounts of water and various herbs, and Lin Yifan began the refining process again.
Bring to boil with strong fire, simmer with low fire to evaporate; as time ticked away, the elixir reached the final stage of refinement.
Lin Yifan took another Fire Origin Crystal and placed it inside the Pill Furnace for the fusion process.
The next moment, a thunderous roar erupted from inside the Pill Furnace, shaking the stove violently.
The immense energy catalyzed a rapid increase in temperature. In an instant, all the medicinal substances melted into liquid, then slowly gathered at the bottom of the furnace, merging.
Before long, Lin Yifan was holding an electric fan, blowing on himself while also cooling down the Pill Furnace.
It was then that knocking sounds came from outside the rental room.
Neighbors from next door and from the floors above and below came to complain.
The earlier shaking had frightened them; they thought a tenant's room had exploded due to a gas leak, and they ran out without even getting dressed. After a while, when they realized there was no fire accident, they followed the scent of the medicine to Lin Yifan's door.
Hearing the knocking, Lin Yifan hurriedly put the fan down and, drenched in sweat, went out and opened the door.
The moment the door was opened, he slipped out and then closed it tightly behind him, not allowing the tenants to see the scene inside his room.
"What on earth are you doing? The whole building is filled with smoke and shaking! Do you know we were nearly scared to death by the noise you made?" The tenants from above and below barraged Lin Yifan with questions, their faces fierce and hostile.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I was just boiling some medicine, and I apologize for the disturbance," Lin Yifan quickly explained, not wanting to cause any misunderstandings.