Chapter 39 - 35: Data Stream Alchemy Skill

Chapter 39: Chapter 35: Data Stream Alchemy Skill

Although he had been to the Alchemy Hall on Danyang Peak several times, Lu Chen still found himself awed by the sky-scorching fervor every time he arrived. This "sky-scorching fervor" referred not only to the bustling atmosphere but to the literal sight. Because the flames in the Alchemy Hall... actually reached toward the sky!

In the massive Alchemy Hall, a giant fire pool resembling a volcanic crater stood right in the center. Golden Earth Fire flowed within it, releasing wave after wave of scorching heat. Naturally, this fire pool wasn’t just for decoration; it had a specific purpose. Numerous Pill Furnaces lined the edges of the pool. Many Alchemy Masters in the hall would draw the Earth Fire into their Pill Furnaces to aid their alchemy.

To describe this scene as a sky-scorching blaze was not an exaggeration in the slightest. After all, the flames in the fire pool... were indeed reaching for the ceiling!

Using Earth Fire for alchemy was not only the signature of Danyang Peak but also the origin of its name. The ’Dan’ (Alchemy) referred to the fact that the vast majority of Cultivators on this peak were Alchemy Masters, while the ’Yang’ referred to the Yangming Earth Fire hidden beneath the mountain.

While using Earth Fire for alchemy was inherently dangerous, it also greatly increased the success rate. After all, if many medicinal herbs were refined using mortal fire, there was no guarantee that all their impurities would be purged. Only a Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire like the Yangming Earth Fire could properly ensure the refinement of the herbs. This situation created the current spectacle in the Alchemy Hall: hundreds of people gathered around the fire, practicing alchemy together.

Although Lu Chen didn’t need the Yangming Earth Fire to aid his alchemy, as a mere Outer Disciple, he currently lacked the means to buy his own Alchemy Furnace. Therefore, every time he practiced alchemy, he used the free Pill Furnaces available in the Alchemy Hall. After all, Pill Furnaces were items that easily cost thousands or even tens of thousands of Spirit Stones, which was far too expensive for him. Not to mention, he still had to spend his limited Spirit Stones to purchase various medicinal herbs.

It had to be said, the profession of an Alchemy Master... was a massive money pit!

Lu Chen waited in the hall for a while and finally found an empty Pill Furnace. Upon stepping up to it, he quickly retrieved the herbs required to refine Qi Gathering Pills from his Storage Pouch.

Refining Qi Gathering Pills wasn’t complicated, and there was only one crucial herb: Spirit Immortal Grass. As a relatively fragile Spirit Grass, extracting the essence from Spirit Immortal Grass allowed for absolutely no mistakes. If the heat control was even slightly off, let alone extracting the essence, the entire Spirit Immortal Grass might be burned to ash. Thus, the greatest difficulty in refining Qi Gathering Pills lay in the very first step—extracting the herbal essence. This was also the mandatory first step for the vast majority of Elixirs.

It wasn’t without reason that Danyang Peak used the refinement of Qi Gathering Pills as the assessment for Outer Disciples. As long as someone could proficiently refine a Qi Gathering Pill, it meant they had officially reached the entry-level on the Great Dao of Alchemy.

Although it wasn’t his first time practicing alchemy, Lu Chen was still quite nervous. After all, he wasn’t just refining Elixirs right now; he was refining shiny, white Spirit Stones!

"It costs ten Low Grade Spirit Stones to buy one set of ingredients for Qi Gathering Pills, and a single set can yield at most ten to fifteen Elixirs," he calculated inwardly.

"With my current income of fifty Low Grade Spirit Stones a month, I can only afford to attempt alchemy five times.

"And since Qi Gathering Pills sell for five Low Grade Spirit Stones each, as long as I succeed just once out of those five attempts, I won’t lose money. Any additional success is pure profit."

After taking a deep breath, Lu Chen raised his hand.

WHOOSH!

The pale purple Purple Mist Divine Fire shot from his hand. The Cyan Profound Wood beneath the Pill Furnace was instantly ignited by the Purple Mist Divine Fire, bursting into a raging blaze.

Before long, the originally bronze Pill Furnace gradually glowed red-hot. The temperature inside the furnace began to rise at an astonishing speed. Lu Chen raised his hand again, sending the various herbs into the Pill Furnace.

But in the next second, a strange screen appeared before him.

[Qi Gathering Pill]

[Flame Completion: 50%]

[Extraction Completion: 0%]

[Fusion Completion: 0%]

[Skill Bonus: 10%]

[Current Success Rate: 23%]

"Alchemy can be digitized?!"

Lu Chen stared at the alchemy interface that had appeared before him, momentarily stunned. And during that brief moment of distraction, a flaw appeared in his control over the Pill Furnace. As a result, the temperature inside the furnace began to fluctuate wildly.

The immediate consequence shown on the panel was a sharp drop in both ’Flame Completion’ and ’Current Success Rate’.

[Flame Completion: 25%]

[Current Success Rate: 17%]

"Does this Flame Completion refer to the fire temperature I need to control when refining the Qi Gathering Pill?" he wondered.

As Lu Chen watched the constantly shifting alchemy interface, various ideas began to form in his mind. With these thoughts guiding him, he began to continuously test his theories.

One hour later.

BANG!

Accompanied by a flash of fire from within the Pill Furnace, Lu Chen’s alchemy attempt ended in failure. Even so, his expression showed no frustration. Instead, he looked incredibly excited. Through this session of alchemy, he had fully grasped the meaning behind the alchemy interface.

’Flame Completion’ referred to the optimal heat required for refining Qi Gathering Pills.

’Extraction Completion’ referred to the amount of herbal essence successfully extracted.

’Fusion Completion’ referred to how thoroughly the Elixirs were formed when he finally fused the herbal essences together.

’Skill Bonus’ referred to the success rate increase currently provided by his Proficient Level Basic Alchemy Skill.

These four metrics directly transformed the alchemy process—which originally relied entirely on feeling and intuition—into an intuitive, digitized interface.

What did this mean? It meant that Lu Chen could easily judge whether he had made any mistakes in his alchemy steps based on the fluctuations in the data!

To further verify the feasibility of this method, Lu Chen chose to follow the data completely during his second alchemy attempt. After all, people might lie, but data would not!

Another hour later.

[Qi Gathering Pill]

[Flame Completion: 70%]

[Extraction Completion: 70%]

[Fusion Completion: 70%]

[Skill Bonus: 10%]

[Current Success Rate: 80%]

"It’s a success!"

With the final fusion step complete, Lu Chen eagerly opened the Pill Furnace, and eight smooth, round Elixirs came into view. Trembling with excitement, Lu Chen wrapped the eight Qi Gathering Pills in Spiritual Power and carefully extracted them. Looking at the eight Qi Gathering Pills floating before him, Lu Chen felt a surge of exhilaration.

Yes, his theory was absolutely correct.

This so-called 80% success rate didn’t mean he had an 80% chance of successfully refining a batch of Elixirs. It meant that 80% of the herbal essence from a single set of ingredients would successfully condense into Elixirs. Once he raised this success rate to 100%, it would mean that every time he performed alchemy, he could maximize the full value of a set of ingredients!

Not a single Spirit Stone would go to waste!

At this thought, Lu Chen’s excitement swelled even further. This digitized alchemy panel not only significantly lowered the difficulty of his alchemy but also further increased his success rate!

What he refined weren’t Elixirs at all—they were shiny, white Spirit Stones! With this data-driven Alchemy Skill in hand, would he ever lack Elixirs in the future?

At this very moment, Lu Chen felt as if a bright, sunny Great Dao had been clearly laid out before him.

"Choosing to become an Alchemy Master... was absolutely the right move!"