Cultivating Chai

49:

Lianhua’s right hand pulled away from the amethyst dragonstone burner’s knob as the Frost Lily’s bone chilling Qi began to seep out upon being heated, cooling not only the refined paste wrapped Sylvan Heartroot but also dulling the effect of the amethyst dragonstone flame.

Before the heat trapped within the pill furnace could dissipate, Lianhua cupped it from both directions. From her right hand, Xiao Feng watched as a torrential eruption of flames followed, mercilessly washing over the refining materials. Her alchemist flame no doubt, but Xiao Feng had not expected such a luxurious use of her precious inheritance.

Almost at the exact same moment, Lianhua’s Wind Qi roared to life. In the blink of an eye, the ingredients nestled in the center of the cauldron were trapped in by a perimeter of wind that was swirling around its circumference.

Wind and Alchemist Flames collided to form a flaming vortex that continuously narrowed as it spiraled inwards.

Xiao Feng barely managed to keep the awe from his expression as he watched Lianhua use a technique that could only be described as a fusion of her father’s Alchemist Flames and her own mastery of the Wind Qi. He watched as the Sylvan Heartroot melted away, diminishing in Qi-Density while coming out lighter in color, purer before his essence cultivation art’s visual acuity.

The Frost Lily tried to fight against the onslaught of flame and wind. However, while the properties of Frost Qi were effective against the amethyst dragonstone flames, they did little to guard against an Alchemist’s Flame.

He watched as the proud flower was reduced to a pool of Frost Qi that melded with what remained of the Sylvan Heartroot.

The pressure exerted by the vortex intensified as it neared the center of the pill furnace’s cauldron.

He watched as the mixture of ingredients was compacted together, but before Xiao Feng could even envision himself mimicking the process, the flaming vortex ensconced it whole.

Suspended mid-air in the center of the pill furnace was a ball of flaming wind that was wrapped around what Xiao Feng suspected to be the beast-bonding pill, if indeed, the refinement was a success.

Lianhua’s eyes remained shut as she stripped away the alchemist’s flames from the sphere of wind, her brows furrowed in concentration as she reclaimed her inheritance.

Her low flame affinity probably makes even doing that much a challenge, Xiao Feng thought, as he admired the precision with which Lianhua retrieved the flames nonetheless.

Finally, she opened her eyes and the sphere of wind holding the pill in place dissipated.

Xiao Feng watched as a roughly spherical mass of highly concentrated Qi, a pill that was perhaps half the length of his thumb, clattered onto the pill furnace’s cauldron.

“The further you get in the refinement process,” Lianhua began, taking a deep breath to compose herself before continuing, “it gets increasingly trickier until the moment of refinement arrives. That is the trickiest moment in the entire process. Do you know why?” She asked.

Xiao Feng shook his head, even though he had more than just an idea about the answer.

“The answer to that question is inextricably linked to the importance of an Alchemist’s Flame. I am sure you are curious, so you might as well just ask,” Lianhua encouraged, a mischievous light shining in her eyes as she turned her gaze to him.

Her forehead was matted with sweat, her expression a little pale from the concentration the refinement process had siphoned out of her and even Lianhua’s breathing did not have that composed rhythm one would expect from a cultivator.

Yet when Xiao Feng locked eyes with her, he felt like he was seeing Lianhua for the first time. Behind the amusement in her gaze, Xiao Feng found boundless enthusiasm. In her expression, he found a zeal for pill refinement, for the multitude facets involved in selecting ingredients, for the Dao of Alchemy itself— a zeal that could not be concealed.

Lianhua was very much in her element and Xiao Feng would be lying if he didn’t find her enthusiasm to be at least a little contagious.

“What are the differences between a regular flame,” Xiao Feng pointed at the amethyst dragonstone burner before turning his index finger towards Lianhua, “and your alchemist flame.”

“Correction, an alchemist’s flame,” Lianhua informed, before she clicked her index finger and thumb together. A moment later, a thimble-sized blue flame danced on the tip of her index finger. “Come closer, now,” She gestured with her free hand and Xiao Feng leaned in closer to the flame.

“It’s… cold,” Xiao Feng muttered, his tone sounding a bit lost.

“Are you surprised?” Lianhua asked.

“I… I thought an alchemist’s flame would burn hotter than what the amethyst dragonstone burner was capable of,” Xiao Feng admitted.

“Some do,” Lianhua replied. “However, the purpose of an alchemist flame is not to burn, but rather refine. A regular flame achieves the same effect, but it is also far more wasteful. An alchemist’s flame concentrates the properties of the ingredients onto a much smaller surface area, while keeping the loss of Qi as low as it can. Good alchemist flames also imbue additional effects,” She explained.

“Additional effects?” Xiao Feng repeated, the question in his tone obvious.

“Think about it,” Lianhua rhetorically replied. “How useful is the blood extract of a lesser Shadow Wyrm?”

“Very,” Xiao Feng replied.

“Indeed. Now, if a flame cultivator were to imbibe the blood extract of a lesser shadow wyrm and succeed in his attempt to fuse it with his Fire Qi, would flames capable of granting toxin resistance not be immensely valuable?”

“They would,” Xiao Feng replied, his tone sounding hesitant. “But wouldn’t that be incredibly difficult and kind of…dangerous?”

“A martial cultivator talks about danger,” Lianhua chuckled, and Xiao Feng hurriedly laughed along. It was easy to forget just how threatening of a reputation his predecessor had accumulated across the years when he was leisurely discussing alchemy with a senior alchemist.

“Point conceded,” Xiao Feng replied, sounding a bit sheepish.

“I never said that you were wrong,” Lianhua explained. “Most attempts to refine alchemist flames fail. Merely getting to the step of cradling a flame that is capable of significantly concentrating the effect of ingredients is alone an accomplishment that would be celebrated by a Senior Alchemist.”

“I see,” Xiao Feng replied, before humming in thought. “You stopped me when I used your alchemist’s flame as an example. Is yours different?” He asked, not having forgotten the precision with which Lianhua had used the term.

“It is,” She admitted. “Curious?” She teased.

Xiao Feng shrugged, seeing no reason to deny it.

“While I cannot tell you all of its properties or how they came to be, I can tell you the reason why it is so coveted,” Lianhua offered.

Xiao Feng’s eagerness must’ve spilled out onto his gaze, as Lianhua continued, “Like a cultivator expels impurities after either facing heavenly tribulation, which is the most comprehensive way to do so, or consuming pills designed to mimic that effect, my father’s alchemist flame burns away at any decay concealed within the ingredients.”

Xiao Feng could not help but recall the lightness of color, the uniformity that was left behind after Lianhua used her father’s alchemist’s flames on the mixture.

Impurities are accumulated while absorbing Qi from the atmosphere or consuming pills that themselves can never be free of contaminants. Decay in the life-giving Qi, small enough to escape detection but inevitable to build up over time. Only the heavens can truly cleanse the body of such impurities, but that requires a cultivator to survive tribulation. If what Lianhua claims is even somewhat true, then her father’s alchemist flame is… priceless, Xiao Feng thought, begrudgingly in awe of Alchemist Xin Wu. Personality aside, the man’s skill was undeniable.

“Now, let us see how it turned out,” Lianhua declared, before lifting the pill furnace’s top.