Chapter 4 Gathering the Wind Mansion Star

The Nine Yin Grass has been refined. The Earth Dragon Root has been refined. The Flame Flavor Seed has been refined. ...... After refining more than thirty kinds of herbs, Long Chen took several complete hours to finish, drenched in sweat. Refining Dan is different from concocting medicine; it requires extracting the essence of each herb, removing impurities, and refining it into powder. However, the fire in Long Chen's hand is too poor, resulting in too many impurities in the powder, but there is nothing he can do about it. First, Long Chen's cultivation is insufficient, and he does not have sustained energy to stimulate the Dan fire, hence the flame's power is weak. Secondly, Long Chen does not have the opportunity or ability to tame other flames, so he can only make do with what he has. The Fengfu Dan is a first-tier Dan, usually only Dan practitioners at the Dan disciple level can refine first-tier Dan. However, to practice the art of alchemy, one needs not only powerful Dan fire but also abundant spiritual energy, and most importantly, a very strong soul power. The other two are not too difficult; as long as one has the conditions, they can capture fire-type magical beasts, tame them as pets, and use the fire of magical beasts to cultivate their own fire seed, which is also very powerful. Over ninety-nine percent of alchemists use beast fire; only some ancient and powerful alchemists can control a kind of mysterious and ethereal spiritual fire in the world. Spiritual fire is a flame with a soul; in Long Chen's memory, it seems he once mastered a very formidable kind of heavenly spiritual fire. Unfortunately, no matter how formidable it was, he must continue refining with the miserable poor fire, as he cannot access the memories at the moment. After resting for a while, Long Chen took a deep breath. "Hoo" A half-foot-long waxy yellow flame jumped out from his palm, and a wave of heat surged. "Not bad, after the previous refinement, the flame's power has slightly increased, it's better than nothing." He continuously threw seven kinds of herbal essences into the furnace, and as the soul power unfolded, the flame in Long Chen's hand suddenly flickered, becoming several times stronger than before. "Using soul power to stimulate the flame, would it scare other alchemists to death if they saw this?" Long Chen smiled bitterly. The most precious thing for an alchemist is their soul power; a person's soul power is generally innate and passively grows with the increase of their cultivation. Soul power is fundamental to alchemy; during alchemy, a large amount of soul power is needed to control the fire. A slight mistake could lead to failure, turning it into a pile of Dan ash. If the Dan is powerful, it can even explode the furnace. Usually, alchemists do not invest soul power at the beginning; they usually do so in the middle to later stages when the Dan is about to form, carefully controlling the output of fire with soul power. After all, that is the key moment for forming the Dan; the flame temperature needs to change constantly, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, which consumes a lot of soul power. If soul power is exhausted at that time, then a whole furnace of Dan would basically be considered scrapped, yet Long Chen actually used soul power right from the start. Moreover, the immensely precious soul power was only used to increase the firepower; any alchemist would definitely curse, even if they were prodigal, they wouldn't be that extravagant. But Long Chen was not afraid; according to his memory, his current soul power was already comparable to that of an ordinary alchemist. The levels of Dan practitioners are as follows: Dan Disciple, Dan Scholar, Dan Master, Dan King, Dan Emperor, Dan Sect, Dan Venerable, Dan Saint, and Dan Monarch. In Long Chen's memory, there is a memory of a Dan Emperor expert, so he is very clear about his own energy. This time, when Long Chen awakened, his soul power had mutated, becoming extraordinarily powerful, thus he qualified to do this. "Buzz" The Dan furnace in front of Long Chen shook slightly, producing a soft sound. "Hehe, adding fuel to the fire has sped things up quite a bit." He hurriedly threw three more kinds of herbs into the furnace, but at this moment, sweat was already visible on Long Chen's forehead. He quickly took out a two-foot-long herb stem, putting one end into a jar filled with a full pot of rejuvenation liquid, and the other end into his mouth, taking a deep breath. After the rejuvenation liquid entered his abdomen, all his pores opened rapidly, starting to absorb the spiritual energy from heaven and earth frantically; the originally nearly exhausted spiritual power was rapidly recovering. This was something Long Chen had prepared long ago; it was a necessary task for refining the Fengfu Dan. Otherwise, with his current level of spiritual power, trying to refine Dan would only be a joke. With the herb stem in his mouth, he would occasionally take a puff of rejuvenation liquid to supply the spiritual energy output within his body. Compared to Long Chen's spiritual energy, his soul power was overwhelmingly strong; it wasn't until two days later that Long Chen felt a hint of fatigue, which was a sign of massive soul power consumption. However, by this time, all the herbs had been put into the Dan furnace, leaving only the finishing touches, and the aroma of the medicine began to waft everywhere. Although in Long Chen's impression, such a first-tier Dan could be easily practiced with his eyes closed, it was different now; this was something that could change his fate, so it would be a lie to say he was not nervous. "Buzz" Suddenly, the Dan furnace trembled, making a buzzing sound, and the aura inside the Dan furnace began to become violent. Long Chen showed not a hint of panic; instead, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This was a precursor to forming the Dan and a crucial moment in alchemy. All his soul power was in operation without any reservation, and the flame in his hand suddenly surged, tightly locking the entire Dan furnace with an invisible force. This technique is called "Sealing Heaven and Locking Earth," a self-created move from Long Chen's memory designed to prevent Dan explosions and furnace explosions. Moreover, this technique is very practical; it can lock all the medicinal power in the furnace in the shortest time, preventing excessive loss. Typically, alchemists would use it at the final step because the Dan's violent nature requires gentle measures to stabilize it. Although this reduces the risk significantly, the loss of medicinal essence is very large, resulting in the Dan's effectiveness being quite average. "Bang" As Long Chen's soul power exerted full suppression, the entire Dan furnace made a muffled sound, and then there was silence. Long Chen looked at the now calm Dan furnace, gasping wildly, drenched in sweat, and feeling light-headed. After a long while, Long Chen slightly recovered, filled with excitement, opened the furnace lid, his hands trembling slightly. Five round pills appeared before Long Chen's eyes, and the rich aroma of the medicine filled the entire room. "Two low-grade, three waste Dan, sigh, if this got out, it would be embarrassing." Long Chen's face was filled with excitement, but he sighed. Long Chen was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter; having merged with the memories of a generation's Dan Emperor, it seemed that the Emperor was too proud. He didn't care about being embarrassed or not; he hurriedly took the five pills into his hands for a closer look. The two low-grade Dan were round and fragrant, invigorating the spirit, making one feel refreshed just by smelling them. Long Chen couldn't help but feel a frenzy of joy; a finished Dan could sell for at least a hundred thousand gold coins in the imperial capital. The three waste Dan in his hands were also much better than the pills his mother had begged for; at least thirty percent of the medicinal essence was locked within the Dan. If the medicinal essence occupies fifty percent of the Dan, it is called a low-grade Dan; low-grade Dans account for over eighty percent of the entire Dan market. If the medicinal essence occupies sixty percent, it is called a mid-grade Dan; if seventy percent, it is called a high-grade Dan; eighty percent is called a top-grade Dan; ninety percent is called a supreme-grade Dan. As for one hundred percent... hehe. Long Chen did not want to think about that now; it was too distant. Perhaps some might wonder what the difference is between fifty and sixty percent of medicinal efficacy? Wouldn't taking two low-grade Dans be much better than taking one mid-grade Dan? If someone asked this, they would surely be drowned in saliva. In a Dan, aside from the essence, there are impurities; the so-called impurities are substances that cannot be absorbed by the body. Most importantly, those impurities will offset some of the absorption of the essence. The saying "all medicine is three parts poison" is not just a saying; it is a truth. When Dan is凝聚, it is inevitable that Dan poison will be produced. This poison, if not taken for a long time, will not have too much of an effect. However, as a practitioner, Dan often serves as lifesaving medicine, and one does not know how many they will consume in their lifetime. When the Dan poison within the body accumulates to a certain extent, it becomes lethal poison. Dan poison is the hardest type of poison to eliminate, penetrating flesh, bones, and even the soul. The higher the grade of the Dan, the smaller the side effects. Thus, the effectiveness gap between low-grade and mid-grade Dans can exceed ten times, while their price often differs by more than a hundred times. Long Chen collected the five pills, tidied up the Dan furnace and everything else, and could no longer hold on, collapsing into sleep. He did not know how long he slept, when Long Chen felt a warm pair of hands gently stroking his cheek, and vaguely heard some murmurs, but he was simply too exhausted to wake up. When Long Chen woke again, it was already three days later. Starving, he wolfed down a meal before starting to enter seclusion again. Swallowing a waste Dan, he used soul power to draw upon the power of the Dan, entering the Yongquan point beneath his feet, where the first star of the Nine Star Tyrant Body Technique—Fengfu Star—gathers. "Bang" Long Chen's right foot trembled, and the ground beneath him exploded with a loud noise, cracking all over the room. "Very good, I have found the meridian route and the exact location. Next, I can truly start the breakthrough." Long Chen smiled slightly, taking out a low-grade Fengfu Dan, and threw it directly into his mouth. An extremely pure energy erupted, rushing towards the Yongquan point beneath Long Chen's feet under his guidance. As the Yongquan point moved, it was like a dry riverbed receiving nourishment, and with the influx of medicinal power, it rampaged like a flood dragon. "Boom" A loud explosion sounded, terrifying energy burst forth, and Long Chen's body moved without wind, a terrifying aura erupted, shattering the entire room, and billowing dust and waves of air. As the dust slowly dissipated, revealing Long Chen's handsome face, his starry eyes were filled with excitement, feeling a small bean-shaped body at the bottom of his feet, endless energy flowing into his body, Long Chen could not help but want to howl at the sky. The commotion on Long Chen's side immediately attracted the attention of the entire Marquis's residence, and everyone rushed over. Seeing his mother also coming, Long Chen hurriedly said, "Mother, today is the day the heir goes to the Taixue Palace for studies; I must hurry over!" With that, he left behind a group of dumbfounded people and a pile of ruins, changed into a clean set of clothes, and rushed straight to the Taixue Palace.