Chapter 685: Refining Weapons (Part 2)

"Lower the quenching temperature?" Luo Qiqi was stunned.

Isn't quenching done with water? At most, ice water... How else can you lower it, apart from that?

Furthermore, it's not always better for the temperature difference to be as large as possible. The weapon must also have a certain tolerance range; if it's too extreme, it won't withstand it and will crack, making all efforts futile and resulting in nothing. Many artificers, in an attempt to increase a weapon's grade, intentionally altered the quenching medium. This often led to reactions with the materials in the weapon blank, causing the blank, which had been meticulously polished for who-knows-how-long, to instantly shatter, wasting countless precious ores.

Artificing involves various techniques: the proportions of different ores, temperature control, fusion amounts, the quenching medium, and timing. Its difficulty is no less than that of alchemy; otherwise, it wouldn't be one of the top-ranked specialized professions.

"Precisely!" Zhang Xuan looked up. "Did you bring your alchemy furnace?"

"Alchemy... furnace?" Luo Qiqi thought she had misheard. Aren't we supposed to be forging weapons now? What do you need an alchemy furnace for?

Zhang Xuan calmly looked at her. "I want you to refine a batch of Ice Soul Pills!"

"Ice Soul Pills?" Luo Qiqi paused, then her eyes widened. "Teacher, do you intend to... use the cold energy from the Ice Soul Pills for quenching?"

Ice Soul Pills are special medicines refined for those with Ice Soul physiques; they contain a unique chilling energy. A common person consuming one would be frozen to death.

"Even if Ice Soul Pills are extremely cold, their volume is so small. How can they be used to quench a longsword...?" Luo Qiqi's face was filled with perplexity.

The pills are only about the size of a grape, while the shortest longsword is over three feet long. How would that work for quenching? Weapon quenching emphasizes "an instant," meaning the entire weapon must be tempered in a single moment. If that moment is missed, not only will the weapon's power become uneven, but the uneven forces will also lead to forging failure!

Quenching a longsword with a single pill... How does that not sound like a pipe dream?

"Don't worry about that. Just tell me, do you have the herbs and an alchemy furnace needed to refine Ice Soul Pills?" Interrupting her doubts, Zhang Xuan said calmly.

"Ice Soul Pills are not common; they are rarely refined, and I don't have all the necessary herbs. However, a while ago, I agreed to help someone refine a Frigid Yin Pill, and I prepared three full sets of all the herbs for that..." Luo Qiqi hesitated before replying.

Those with an Ice Soul physique are one in ten thousand, so this type of pill is naturally rarely refined. Not to mention her, even the entire Pill Refinery might not be able to gather enough herbs for a single batch.

"Frigid Yin Pill?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Although the effect of this pill isn't as good as an Ice Soul Pill, if three portions are combined, the effect might just be sufficient..."

The Frigid Yin Pill is a healing medicine for injuries caused by fire-attribute cultivation techniques. Its main ingredient is Frigid Yin Grass, which is one grade lower than the Ice Soul Cold Grass used in Ice Soul Pills. However, with three sets of herbs combined and properly processed, the difference wouldn't be significant.

"Alright, let's start refining the pills now!" After a moment of thought, meticulously refining his idea once more, Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

"Yes!" Knowing that her teacher must have meticulously planned this, she said no more. With a flick of her wrist, she took out her alchemy furnace and lit it.

As an alchemist, she had used this furnace before at the Alchemist Guild in Emperor Phantasma City. All the necessary materials like coal for refining pills were readily available, so preparing wasn't difficult. Before long, the furnace fire was lit, and intense heat wafted towards them.

"Teacher..." Luo Qiqi prepared the herbs for the Frigid Yin Pill, placing them one by one on a nearby table, then looked at him.

Although she didn't know Teacher Zhang's exact purpose, his actions were increasingly miraculous, and a blind trust had begun to grow within her. Perhaps... he truly could, with their current abilities, upgrade this mid-grade spiritual weapon to a supreme-grade one!

"The furnace fire isn't strong enough. Continue heating it!" Recovering from his thoughts, Zhang Xuan glanced over and instructed.

"Frigid Yin Pills are cold-attribute medicines. If the furnace is too hot, I'm afraid..." Hearing him say to continue heating, Luo Qiqi's mouth twitched.

Frigid Yin Pills are cold-attribute medicines. Even the current flame was hot enough; any hotter, and the herbs would likely melt completely before forming pills, rendering them useless.

"Continue heating!" Without explaining, Zhang Xuan reiterated.

"Yes!" Biting her lip, Luo Qiqi said no more. Her true qi surged, channeling into the charcoal fire.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The flames shot straight up, mirroring the forging fire on the side, seemingly hot enough to melt the alchemy furnace.

"Place the Ice Rain Sword and the Frigid Green Stone into the Red Flame Cauldron simultaneously!"

"Mmm!" Knowing she just needed to follow his instructions, Luo Qiqi picked up the longsword and the Frigid Green Stone and placed them into the cauldron, despite her inner curiosity.

The Ice Rain Sword, a weapon capable of advancement, immediately turned crimson upon contact with the intense furnace fire, losing its previous toughness and elasticity. If it were taken out now, it would certainly drop in grade. As for the Frigid Green Stone, it also began to soften, but the furnace temperature was clearly not yet high enough to melt it.

"Into the alchemy furnace, place three stalks of Red-tailed Grass. After three breaths, add one stalk of Frigid Yin Grass. Then, using the Seven-Leaf technique, add half a root of Duxu Grass and three qian of Purple Star Smoke..." Zhang Xuan spoke quickly.

Her eyebrows raised, Luo Qiqi's hands moved swiftly, grabbing each herb as he called it out. As a renowned alchemy genius of the Pill Refinery, her talent in alchemy far surpassed her skill in artificing. Although Zhang Xuan's instructions were rapid, she was able to keep up perfectly, without any disarray.

However, as she added the herbs, she was inwardly astonished. He seemed to know all the alchemy techniques she knew, including a few she had learned by chance that even few others in the academy were aware of, yet he still called them out. She couldn't believe it was due to her own extensive knowledge that he happened to mention everything she knew. It was more likely that Teacher Zhang knew exactly what she was capable of and then designed the alchemy sequence and techniques according to her abilities.

How profound must one's understanding of alchemy be to achieve this? It could already be described as terrifying! Even Dean Hu of the Pill Refinery, the teacher who had lectured her many times, probably couldn't do it!

"Purple Star Smoke and Duxu Grass can actually be put into the alchemy furnace together? According to my previous understanding, they should conflict and cause an explosion, yet now there's no discomfort at all. It seems related to the furnace fire..." While shocked, she was more deeply engrossed in thought.

Teacher Zhang's sequence for adding herbs was completely different from what she had learned for refining Frigid Yin Pills... The speed was simply breathtaking, almost too fast to follow. Originally, refining this pill would take her at least one or two hours, but now, in less than half a minute, half of the three sets of herbs had already been thrown in.

"Wait... Could it be that Teacher Zhang intends to refine three batches of herbs in one furnace? This... this can't be possible, can it?" She suddenly thought of something, and her pupils contracted.

Others prepared three full sets of herbs to have spares in case one batch failed. This meant there were enough herbs for three refinements... yet now, under Teacher Zhang's instructions, all of them were being thrown into the cauldron...

One cauldron for three batches of herbs... It was like trying to put three riders on one horse. How could this even be refined?

She hastily turned to look at her teacher, but he remained expressionless, continuously giving instructions.

"Using the Falling Willow technique, add three stalks of Three-Qian Grass, two petals of Red Leaf Flower..."

"Listen to Teacher, it must be right!" Gritting her teeth, Luo Qiqi continued to add herbs.

Back at the Alchemist Guild, she had also been full of worry, thinking the cauldron would explode at any moment. But by diligently following his instructions, she not only succeeded but also refined a level-six medicinal liquid, greatly enhancing her alchemy skills. Having now witnessed so many astonishing methods from Teacher Zhang, she naturally had even less to worry about.

As more and more herbs were added, and the speed increased, the alchemy furnace, just like last time, indeed reached the brink of explosion once again. Last time, she felt nervous and a bit constrained, but now, she was familiar with the process and had little worry.

"Increase the fire for the Frigid Green Stone and the Ice Rain Sword!" As she continued to add herbs to the alchemy furnace, she heard Teacher Zhang's instructions resume.

"Yes!" Refining pills already had her somewhat flustered, and now hearing she also had to increase the fire for the forging cauldron, Luo Qiqi quickly channeled her true qi and moved swiftly. With a flick of her left hand, a surge of energy frantically flowed towards it.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!* The flames immediately roared.

Controlling flame temperature with true qi was something every alchemist and artificer learned early on, so it wasn't difficult for her. The challenge was managing two things simultaneously. Dividing her attention immediately slowed her down. Sweat poured down Luo Qiqi's forehead, and the alchemy furnace directly in front of her shook continuously, on the verge of exploding at any moment.

"Teacher..." Filled with tension, Luo Qiqi quickly looked at him.

Although the explosion from the Frigid Yin Pill furnace might not be as powerful as the level-six medicinal liquid they previously refined, they certainly wouldn't be able to withstand it if it exploded! What's more, there was the Red Flame Cauldron next to it, already glowing scorching red. If provoked, it too would surely explode. If both cauldrons exploded simultaneously, they would die on the spot, even without the puppet intervening.

It could be said... this time was even more dangerous than the last! Last time, the head of the Alchemist Guild was present, and they were inside the guild itself. Even if an explosion occurred, they could certainly use formations to suppress it and minimize the danger. But now... there was nothing here!

"Don't worry. Add one more Lotus Fragrance Flower into the alchemy furnace!" Zhang Xuan continued to instruct.

Seeing both cauldrons boiling simultaneously, he was actually a little nervous too. However, he also knew there were no other options. If the Ice Rain Sword didn't advance to supreme-grade spiritual weapon, they wouldn't be able to defeat that puppet. Even if they found an exit, they certainly wouldn't escape! He had personally experienced that creature's strength; with just the two of them, they simply couldn't contend. They had to give it their all.

Seeing her teacher's unchanging expression, Luo Qiqi felt much calmer. She nodded, her left hand continuing to increase the Red Flame Cauldron's fire, while her right hand picked up a Lotus Fragrance Flower and flicked it gently.

*Whoosh!*

As the Lotus Fragrance Flower entered the alchemy furnace, the explosive force immediately eased. Just as Luo Qiqi let out a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt her left hand go slack. She hastily turned her head, and her pupils contracted.

"Teacher, this is bad! The Ice Rain Sword... it's melting!"

The Ice Rain Sword, which had just been glowing crimson, had completely softened at some point, on the verge of turning into liquid and flowing away.