Among all the heavens, I, Xiao Yan, did not use any cheat codes.

Chapter 8 The Power-Up Pill Must Be Able to Explode!

The cave in the back mountain.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in front of a large cauldron, his body surrounded by white flames, his white hair flying in the wind, his pupils turning a deep white, his hands moving rhythmically, the white flames transforming into streams as they passed through the various medicinal herbs floating in front of him, like threading silk.

In the blink of an eye, countless black powders fell, these were impurities burned to ashes, while the essence of the medicine became a liquid that faintly exuded a cold aura.

"So many years have passed in the blink of an eye..."

A flash of memory crossed Xiao Yan's white-haired eyes. He rested his chin on his hand, slightly lost in thought, and then gently snapped his fingers.

Snapped.

The flying flames, like countless fireflies drawn to a flame, coalesced with the crystalline medicinal liquid, radiating dazzling brilliance.

As the flames subsided, a purple pill with flame patterns floated quietly in front of Xiao Yan.

"Kid, how much have you learned?"

An aged voice emanated from Xiao Yan's body.

"You've learned the basics?"

The white flames in his eyes disappeared, and his body returned to normal. Xiao Yan twisted his neck.

In his opinion, this "possession by a ghost" technique should be considered a Heaven-rank combat skill, especially since he has been teaching alchemy recently. This hands-on teaching is much more detailed than Ma Xianhong's teaching of weapon crafting.

"Hehe, this is the third-grade pill, the Purple Flame Pill, which I created in my early years. If I had to choose one pill to represent the first twenty years of my life, it would probably be this one."

Yao Chen's figure flew out of Xiao Yan's body, sat down next to Xiao Yan with a smile, and patted him on the shoulder.

Whether it was during his time with the Medicine Clan or when he first emerged and began to make a name for himself, this elixir played a significant role in his life.

"After taking this pill, the quality and quantity of fire-attribute battle qi will be greatly improved in the short term, and the ability to control fire will also be enhanced. The flames will in turn temper the essence, qi and spirit, and have a certain effect on breaking through realms."

"Back when I was a three-star Dou Shi, I was able to leap to a nine-star Great Dou Shi with the help of this pill."

"Hiss?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up immediately. He was familiar with things beyond his level, and this thing could work with him.

But is this the kind of effect that a third-grade elixir can have?

Yao Chen chuckled at this.

Although it's true that he jumped almost two major realms, it was only due to the superposition of five additional secret techniques; these details are not important.

As for the phenomenal effects...

He naturally had deep feelings for the first elixir he created. Although he was busy after becoming the "Number One Alchemist" in the continent, he still had time to improve his first creation.

"This pill formula is one that I have collected from countless sixth to eighth grade pill formulas, taking the essence and discarding the dross, and then revising it."

There are versions ranging from rank 2 to rank 8, but versions after rank 5 are basically just for nostalgia...

Smiling, Yao Chen didn't hide anything and revealed his secrets.

Then he raised his hand and took the alchemy furnace, demonstrating the complete refining process step by step, from extracting the essence of the herbs to refining them in the cauldron, and finally to forming the pill, without showing off his skills as before.

A batch of twelve Grade Two Purple Flame Pills was produced in no time, filling the air with their fragrance.

"Although you are currently just a..." Yao Lao paused, and Xiao Yan continued with a broad smile, "...the peak of the ninth level of Dou Qi, a half-step Dou Zhe."

"Ahem. Alright, you're a half-step Dou Zhe, but after you use the secret technique, your Dou Qi can temporarily reach the Dou Shi stage. With your soul power, refining second-grade pills is no problem. In three days, you'll have a complete understanding of first-grade pills. It's time to try second-grade ones."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded with pleasure.

He can easily refine pills like Qi-restoring pills, blood-restoring pills, and youth-restoring pills without the need for special furnaces or the Eight Gates Formation.

It's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"Then let me give it a try, I should start with..."

With a flash of light in his pupils, Xiao Yan paused for a few breaths to recall Yao Chen's previous actions, and then he also moved. He combined his spiritual power and fighting spirit, and launched the Absorbing Palm and the Blowing Fire Palm to gather the various medicinal herbs around him. He imitated Yao Chen's previous actions, refining them step by step, and then put them into the medicine cauldron.

The movements are extremely similar; while not exactly identical, they are remarkably close.

At the same time, Xiao Yan was multitasking, controlling his specially crafted alchemy cauldron, injecting his battle qi and spiritual power to fully activate the furnace.

Due to the difference in mental strength, he could not achieve the same exquisite control as Yao Lao, but as the old saying goes...

The nature of a gentleman is not different, and he is good at things.

As a highly skilled weapon refiner, he has considerable experience in this area.

The strange fluctuations within the alchemy furnace complemented Xiao Yan's movements perfectly, and in a short while, a unique fragrance of elixir wafted out.

Seven pale purple pills were sent out by a force from the furnace.

"Not bad, not bad. As expected of someone who has been refining artifacts for several years, you were able to successfully refine a second-grade pill on your first try." Yao Chen's eyes couldn't hide his admiration.

Leaving aside the later stages, there are many similarities between the early stages of alchemy and weapon crafting. Especially for Xiao Yan, whose spiritual power was even stronger than his contemporaries, to be able to achieve this level was truly a stroke of genius.

However, Xiao Yan simply tilted his head.

He only used Professor Yao's method.

Now that we've successfully refined it step by step, it's time to challenge ourselves and try something fancy.

The next moment, Xiao Yan waved his hand, and six special magical artifacts containing Dou Qi floated around him, continuously injecting the pre-stored Dou Qi into his body.

Looking at the jade bottle beside him, Xiao Yan thought for a moment, then swallowed three second-grade Purple Flame Pills in one gulp, which allowed him to refine the immense medicinal power, causing his aura to surge wildly.

The first gate of the Eight Gates Formation is opened, greatly increasing mental strength and fighting spirit.

Xiao Yan perfectly controlled the three different violent energies. The next moment, Xiao Yan clapped his hands, and all the medicinal materials for refining the second-grade Purple Flame Pill floated up. With a rhythmic movement of his fingers, his fighting spirit transformed into flames, enveloping all the medicinal materials. In a short while, some of the medicinal materials seemed to shrink a little, but the whole thing became more and more crystalline, as if the plants had turned into crystals.

"This is... weapon forging?" Elder Yao frowned.

His soul power could sense that Xiao Yan's step seemed similar to the tempering of materials in weapon crafting, but it also incorporated some of the procedures he had taught Xiao Yan when he was teaching him alchemy.

"That's right. If people can be refined into tools, why can't medicine be made into tools too?" Xiao Yan smiled. With the activation of the Divine Hundred Refinements, he refined these medicinal materials into items that resembled magical artifacts in an instant.

Although they could all be used as some kind of trash magic tools at this moment, their nature, under his unrestrained imagination, is quite different from ordinary magic tools.

Unleashing his full spiritual power, Xiao Yan enveloped the partially refined medicinal herbs with his surging battle qi, and with a wave of his hand, he sculpted each one with flames.

For some reason, he felt that he was born with a connection to fire, as if he was meant to play with fire all his life. He had a natural ability to control fire, as if it were his own arm.

"The medicinal properties of the Xuan Yu Flower are mostly concentrated in its petals, which are balanced and mild." With a wave of his hand, Xiao Yan transformed everything except the petals into streams of light, which flowed into the petals, making the whole flower appear even more crystalline.

"The short magnolia, though named a lotus, actually grows on land, its core being its root." In the blink of an eye, the jade-like leaf-stem was sent into the alchemy furnace.

"The Rainbow Grass is seven-colored, like the colorful clouds after the rain. Its core is only in the rainbow-like leaves." As the firelight flickered, the colorful leaves seemed to come alive and flowed into the furnace with the flames.

Based on the previous demonstration by the old master, combined with his knowledge of medicinal materials and his insights into weapon crafting, he concluded that the old master had demonstrated the procedures.

Xiao Yan felt as if he had entered a mysterious state, perhaps similar to an epiphany, where his thoughts were exceptionally unrestrained yet grounded in reality.

Following his heart, Xiao Yan cleared his mind and devoted himself wholeheartedly to it.

After processing all the medicinal herbs using a method similar to that of weapon refining, Xiao Yan was covered in sweat.

His immense battle qi had unknowingly reached its limit, and even in a place he didn't realize, a vortex of battle qi condensed in his dantian was quietly rotating.

Although the regeneration speed of Dou Qi has increased dramatically compared to before, it is still a drop in the ocean compared to Xiao Yan's current actions.

Just as Xiao Yan was hesitating whether to continue opening the second and third gates, which could significantly improve physical strength and autonomously recover fighting spirit, he felt a vast power flowing into his body. He subconsciously looked up and saw Yao Lao's illusory palm pressing on his shoulder.

Heavenly Rank Fighting Skill, Possessed by a Ghost!

"Don't get distracted; this kind of sudden enlightenment is rare and hard to come by."

He didn't hear what Yao Lao said, but simply nodded heavily. Following his intuitive understanding, Xiao Yan's fingers moved rhythmically.

After a full incense stick's time, a much more peculiar fragrance emanated from the censer.

You can even vaguely see a hint of color.

Yao Chen couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Is this actually the prototype of colored cinnabar incense?

How could a brat who isn't even a fighter achieve this?!

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan slammed his hands together, and the alchemy furnace in front of him suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

With a loud bang, white mist billowed out, and the white smoke column lingered for a long time, reaching the top of the cave, which was more than ten meters high.

Gazing at this scene, Yao Chen's eyes glazed over. This scene was all too familiar; it was just like the first time he refined a Grade Three Purple Flame Pill...

Then, with another loud boom, Xiao Yan flipped his hand and slapped the alchemy furnace. The soaring alchemical energy surged back into the furnace, and with a gentle flip, he lifted out the purple pill that shimmered with a golden glow.

Without being exposed to the air for long, Xiao Yan flipped his hand and took out a jade bottle. With a gentle flick, it generated a suction force that swallowed the pill into the bottle.

"The elixir returns to the cauldron, a sign of supreme quality..." Yao Chen's voice conveyed a particularly complex emotion.

Seeing Yao Lao's expression, Xiao Yan grinned, took out the automatically closing bottle cap, tilted it slightly, and poured out the pills inside.

It was quite different from the Purple Flame Pill he had refined before, as well as the Purple Flame Pill refined by the old doctor.

From a certain perspective, the pills Xiao Yan refined were neither perfectly round nor elixirs.

It was a multifaceted object resembling jade.

It is not round like ordinary pills at all, but it looks spherical overall. However, upon closer inspection, it is a 36-sided polyhedron.

"In the second-grade castrated version of the Purple Flame Pill, I weakened some of the explosive effects and instead transformed that part of the medicinal effect into nutrients. This medicinal power can be released all at once or absorbed into the body to temper fighting skills and physical body, turning into long-lasting nutrients. At the same time, it can also increase resistance and affinity to fire."

Of course, the Purple Flame Pill with the above-mentioned effects of grade three also exists. I have a series of pill formulas, which can actually be continuously fine-tuned. The Purple Flame Pill is actually a series...

While explaining the functions of his original high-level pills, which were essentially stripped down, Yao Lao took out another perfectly round pill in addition to the initial Grade 3 Purple Flame Pill, comparing it with the modified version in Xiao Yan's hand.

Although it was inferior to the third-grade pill refined by Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's pill was far beyond the reach of ordinary second-grade pills.

It wouldn't be a problem to treat it as a fake third-grade elixir.

"Teacher, mine should have all the above functions, but..." After carefully sensing it, Xiao Yan scratched his head.

"But what?" Yao Chen raised an eyebrow.

"It possesses the characteristics of both medicine and weapon, and I have amplified the flame aspect of it." As he spoke, Xiao Yan gently tapped his left index finger, and the special multifaceted pill transformed into purple flames, which began to burn from Xiao Yan's fingertip and quickly covered his entire left arm.

The scene is somewhat similar to Iron Man's nanotech armor, or like a spark falling on extremely dry grass.

"It looks like flames, but it's actually a kind of crystalline arm armor." Xiao Yan flicked the purple flame armor on his arm and spread his arm out towards Yao Lao.

"Can it be absorbed slowly in a way similar to wearing it, strengthening the body and meridians?" Yao Chen's eyes lit up. "And it seems it can also be used against enemies, redirecting the necklace's energy outwards to amplify battle qi and flames, and increase damage output."

That's a really clever little idea.

Upon seeing this scene, Yao Chen immediately thought of the fact that pills, once imbued with spirit, could transform into pill beasts.

Someone like Xiao Yan, who combines alchemy and weapon crafting, seems to have a lot of use in the later stages when the pills gain sentience.

"Not only that, teacher, your Purple Flame Pill is a high-potency pill. Even if you change it from a one-time burst to a sustainable, exhaustive one, it doesn't stop it from bursting at the last drop of water."

Xiao Yan grinned, and under Yao Chen's somewhat surprised gaze, he patted the specially made storage artifact at his waist, releasing a first-order magical beast that was unconscious and in a sealed state.

"Isn't your use of this special weapon powerful enough?"

"The explosive power pill must be used."

Xiao Yan's lips curled up, and under Yao Lao's puzzled gaze, he flicked his finger, and another modified Purple Flame Pill easily pierced through the skin of this level of magical beast and flew into its body.

"Snap." With a crisp snap of the fingers, the monster's body began to tremble violently.

Yao Chen's expression suddenly changed.

boom!!!

In the next instant, a semi-illusory purplish-red semi-circle emerged from the inside out from the surface of the demonic beast, like a jade barrier, with countless streams of light swirling around it, while countless dazzling lights burst forth from the translucent flowing fire.

Immediately following, the violent energy was squeezed, stimulated, squeezed again, and stimulated again, in an endless cycle, all of which was compressed into a single instant.

The next moment, a violent energy wave burst forth, with a deafening roar like a mountain collapsing.

After a long while, the smoke and dust dissipated.

"You call this a elixir?"

"I call this the Pill Explosion Technique." Completely disregarding his tattered clothes, Xiao Yan wiped the soot off his face and became extremely excited.

Just like Yao Chen's Purple Flame Pill series, which was developed to enhance fire attributes, Xiao Yan felt that he had also found a pill system that suited him!

"Art really is an explosion."

"Art, you son of a bitch!!!" Yao Chen cursed.