Chapter 212: Refining Pills and Foundation Establishment

Under Han Li's control, the purple flames erupting from the dragon's head thickened, while the silver-threaded cauldron's rotation gradually slowed, and it began to tremble slightly within the flames.

As time passed, a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the small cauldron, invigorating those who smelled it. However, Han Li knew it was still much too early for the pills to solidify. At the very least, a more intense earth fire would be required for instantaneous condensation to properly form the pills.

With this in mind, the purple flames under Han Li's control grew even more dazzling, reaching the thickness of a bowl and completely enveloping the silver-threaded cauldron. From a distance, the cauldron appeared as a massive fireball, and the medicinal fragrance grew even more potent.

Han Li knew, without needing to guess, that the powdered medicine was beginning to condense into pills, making him even more attentive.

But just then, a muffled popping sound came from within the cauldron. Though not loud, it made Han Li's heart sink, and his expression turned grim.

After a moment's hesitation, Han Li sighed and stopped the earth fire. With a wave of his hand, he opened the lid of the still-hot cauldron and peered inside.

Inside the cauldron were several shattered pieces of pale blue solid—clearly failed attempts at pill condensation!

Shaking his head, Han Li took out a jade box and placed it on the ground. Then, controlling the silver-threaded cauldron to tip, he poured the failed pills into the box and carefully stored them. Even though they were failures, they were still formed from various spirit herb powders, and Han Li couldn't bear to discard them, thinking they might prove useful in the future.

After completing all of this, Han Li returned to his meditation cushion and meditated until the silver-threaded cauldron had completely cooled down before resuming pill refining.

The same steps, the same raw powdered ingredients, and the same fire control technique were employed, but unfortunately, this attempt also failed at the condensation stage.

This time, Han Li's face was expressionless. After adjusting his state, he silently began the next round...

A month passed, and the ugly man noticed Han Li still hadn't emerged from the Earth Fire Chamber. He was slightly surprised but more excited, as this meant the fees he could collect would continue to accrue.

Two months later, the stone door of Chamber Number 18 still hadn't opened. While inwardly delighted, the ugly man was also greatly astonished.

Three months...

Six months later, Han Li still showed no signs of emerging. By this point, the ugly man's earlier delight had vanished without a trace, replaced by a face full of worry and a belly full of unease.

Nearly half a year is not uncommon for alchemy or artifact refining; the ugly man had even witnessed longer durations several times.

However, those who spent such long periods in the Earth Fire Chamber were always at least Foundation Establishment stage disciples! This was truly the first time he had seen a Qi Condensation stage disciple like Han Li stay inside refining pills for such an extended period.

Furthermore, Qi Condensation stage disciples could only sustain themselves without food for about a month. Could this disciple of Grandmaster Li have brought food and drink with him to last this long? The ugly man wondered, full of doubt.

Inside the Earth Fire Chamber, Han Li sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, gazing at the more than twenty gleaming blue Foundation Establishment Pills floating before him, a pensive expression on his face.

These pills were the culmination of Han Li's countless efforts over the past six months. Acquiring them had been incredibly difficult!

During the first two dozen or so attempts, Han Li couldn't even pass the condensation stage. Seeing the repeated failures, he felt immense heartache. He almost gave up, intending to return and learn formal alchemy from other alchemists before attempting to refine Foundation Establishment Pills again. Although this would undoubtedly cause a lengthy delay, it would be better than simply wasting spirit herbs!

However, just before he left, he inexplicably decided to open the cauldron and try refining one more time. And this time, as if by divine intervention, the pills actually condensed. Furthermore, when he opened the furnace to retrieve the pills, he miraculously succeeded on the first attempt, yielding his very first self-refined Foundation Establishment Pill.

This Foundation Establishment Pill, apart from being slightly smaller, was identical to the original three pills, which greatly uplifted Han Li's spirits!

Encouraged by this success, Han Li gritted his teeth, dismissed the idea of returning, and calmly continued.

Surprisingly, with this successful experience, Han Li's chances of successful condensation immediately skyrocketed. One out of every three attempts resulted in successful condensation. As for opening the furnace, Han Li proved to be remarkably talented; more than half of the pills could be successfully retrieved on the first attempt, a feat he had never expected!

During this period, whenever Han Li felt hunger or thirst, he would take one of the Abstinence Pills he had acquired from the old man, which would sustain him for another month! He had obtained this bottle of pills by exchanging several centuries-old herbs he had acquired from outside under false pretenses, and now they were proving very useful.

When Han Li's raw materials were finally exhausted, he had obtained a surprisingly large batch of Foundation Establishment Pills, the quantity of which far exceeded his original expectations.

When he first heard about the difficulty of alchemy, he thought getting seven or eight pills would be quite good! But now, it seemed that refining pills wasn't as exaggeratedly difficult as rumors in the cultivation world suggested! Were those alchemists misleading other cultivators, or did he truly possess alchemy talent?

Han Li was slightly confused.

In reality, Han Li was mistaken; alchemy was actually even more difficult than generally rumored. A normal-level alchemist could not be cultivated without two or three decades of time and an almost astronomical amount of wealth.

Han Li's current refining skill for Foundation Establishment Pills could already be ranked among the top tier of ordinary alchemists! The reason for this incredible development was entirely due to Han Li's continuous refining of the same type of pill for the past six months.

One must know that even the wealthiest sects could not afford to provide an alchemist with enough rare materials to refine the same pill every day for half a year straight.

This kind of continuous refining was only somewhat possible for the lowest-grade pills. However, if they were low-grade pills, there would be no need to specifically cultivate and accumulate experience, as the raw materials wouldn't be expensive, and one could simply restart if they failed.

Han Li didn't understand this and so naturally didn't think it through. However, after a brief consideration, he let it go, as he suddenly felt a strong urge to immediately consume a Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage right there.

This idea was so strong that Han Li couldn't help but seriously consider the possibility of cultivating in seclusion in the Earth Fire Chamber.

Eleven months later, the stone door of Han Li's Earth Fire Chamber remained tightly shut, with no signs of opening.

On this day, the ugly man stared blankly at the stone door of Chamber Number 18, his face etched with worry! By this point, he was certain that something had happened to Han Li inside. Otherwise, even a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator should have emerged by now.

He wasn't worried about Han Li as a person, but rather genuinely feared that Grandmaster Li would be angered by his disciple's accident and take it out on him. And although he was a close relative of Sect Leader Zhong and managed this place because of it, the ugly man knew very well that if Grandmaster Li truly became enraged over this, his patron would absolutely not step forward to protect him.

Just as the ugly man was filled with anxiety, the stone door before him suddenly flashed with white light, then silently slid open. A person with a radiant expression walked out, none other than Han Li, who had been inside for nearly a year.

It took the ugly man a good while to react. He was immediately both startled and overjoyed, and hurried forward a few steps, complaining as he spoke:

"Junior Brother, why are you only coming out now? If you hadn't come out any sooner, I would have... Eh! You...!"

The ugly man, who had only just started speaking, suddenly had his eyes wide open, as if he had seen a ghost. He pointed at Han Li, utterly speechless, unable to utter a single word!

"What's wrong? Is there something amiss with me?" Han Li looked at the ugly man, a faint glow flickering across his face, and said with a smile.

"Your... your cultivation! How could I...? C-could it be, you've reached the Foundation Establishment stage?" It took the ugly man a long time to regain his composure, his face filled with bewilderment and alarm, as he finally stammered out the question.

"Yes! After I finished refining the pills, I felt the environment here was quite good, so I took a Foundation Establishment Pill and went into seclusion for a bit. As a result, I successfully broke through, and I am indeed a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator now!" Han Li stretched leisurely and stated nonchalantly.

"Foundation Establishment here?"

The ugly man looked at the Earth Fire Chamber behind Han Li, then back at Han Li, still unable to believe it! This was truly the first time he had ever heard of someone forming their foundation in an Earth Fire Chamber, which was specifically for alchemy and artifact refining!

But he moved his lips a few times, still not uttering the question that was on the tip of his tongue. Not only was the other party Grandmaster Li's disciple, but just his status as a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator meant he was beyond what a Qi Condensation stage disciple like himself could afford to offend.

"What, is there a problem?" Han Li glanced at him indifferently and spoke impolitely. Instantly, the unique pressure of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator radiated from him, forcing the ugly man, who was mere inches away, to retreat several steps, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"Of course not! There are no such unreasonable regulations from above. Congratulations, Martial Uncle, on your successful seclusion!" The ugly man was quite clever; he immediately bowed and chuckled obsequiously, even changing his address from "Junior Brother" to "Martial Uncle."

Since the other party had now successfully formed his foundation, he would be considered his elder from now on, and showing deference was only proper.

The ugly man was quite open-minded; he had a very clear understanding of the cultivation world's principle of "strength reigns supreme."