After a long while, he finally began his second attempt.
Because of the previous failure, the spirit array inside the pill furnace had been completely burned away, so this time he had to start from scratch.
With meticulous care, he inscribed the required spirit array inside the furnace using True Yuan.
Yet this attempt turned out even worse than the last. A moment of carelessness caused a slight deviation in the True Yuan as he inscribed the array, and the instant the pattern took shape, the spirit array suddenly exploded.
Inside the furnace, chaotic waves of energy erupted in rapid succession, wild and untamed like runaway horses.
Yang Kai's head throbbed painfully. Only now did he understand that knowing the theory of pill refinement was one thing, but actually doing it was something else entirely.
By comparison, his Senior Sister's talent was truly enviable beyond measure. Possessing the Medicine Spirit Sacred Physique, she could refine pills however she pleased — any medicinal ingredient that ended up in her hands would obediently merge to whatever degree she desired.
After three more consecutive failures, the spirit array finally stabilized inside the furnace.
Because the inscription process demanded absolute concentration without the slightest lapse, and the entire array had to be completed in one fluid motion. Any mistake or discrepancy along the way would cause the array to collapse.
This kind of work was incredibly draining of both energy and True Yuan.
Only when everything was executed with perfect precision could the array take shape and fulfill its function.
It sounded simple enough, but actually doing it revealed one difficulty after another, enough to drive a person mad. Fortunately, Yang Kai's temperament was resolute, and he wouldn't be discouraged by one or two setbacks.
Every failure only added to his experience of success.
With the array stabilized, Yang Kai once again placed medicinal ingredients into the furnace in orderly fashion. His True Yuan surged and receded, quickly melting the ingredients into medicinal liquid that merged together.
The various medicinal properties activated, condensing into a mass, conflicting and interacting with each other, producing subtle changes.
This time he controlled everything with even greater care, but he still failed.
When he attempted to purge the impurities from the ingredients and refine the medicinal liquid into something pure, a sudden explosion rang out from inside the furnace, and the smell of burning filled the air once more.
Sitting quietly in his room, Yang Kai contemplated in silence, slowly restoring his spirit.
After a round of meditation, when his mind, body, and spirit had recovered to their peak, he set to work again.
Failure, failure…
One failure after another would leave anyone feeling a deep sense of helplessness. But Yang Kai's expression remained composed as he poured out the ruined materials from the furnace again and again, then circled back to repeat every step that had preceded each failure.
Because he knew that with every failure, he had made some small progress.
Practice makes perfect — that was no empty saying! Refining good pills wasn't something that could be accomplished in a single day. He was only just getting started.
The discarded materials in his room kept piling up, the acrid smell of burning lingered everywhere, and Yang Kai's focus never wavered.
Time drifted by, and he had no idea how long had passed.
The low-grade materials he had purchased with fifty spirit stones were nearly eighty percent used up, and Yang Kai still hadn't produced a single finished pill.
But he continued as if possessed, his expression still meticulous, his concentration absolute.
He took a deep breath and began yet another attempt.
But this time was different from all the others. He had a vague feeling, a sense of confidence — a premonition that this attempt would surely succeed.
The spirit array inscription had long since become second nature. Yang Kai needed only ten breaths to securely inscribe the array inside the furnace.
One low-grade herb after another was placed into the furnace, melting under the influence of his True Yuan and merging into medicinal liquid. His True Yuan wove through the liquid, burning away impurities and driving out unnecessary components.
The entire process went without the slightest error. Yang Kai worked like a seasoned expert, gradually guiding the pill into shape.
Soon, a faint, delicate fragrance wafted out from the furnace.
Yang Kai's spirits lifted, and he grew even more careful, modulating the intensity of his True Yuan output and controlling the heat at each stage of the pill's formation.
After what felt like another long stretch, when the medicinal liquid had been refined to its utmost limit, Yang Kai abruptly withdrew all his True Yuan.
The spirit array inside the furnace constricted violently at that moment, like a great net gathering all the medicinal liquid together, compressing it into a single round pill.
Ding…
A crisp, clear sound echoed from within the furnace.
Yang Kai was drenched in sweat, but he couldn't suppress the joy in his heart. He hurriedly retrieved the pill from the furnace.
An alluring fragrance curled around his nostrils. This small pill had absorbed nearly all of Yang Kai's effort and focus. It was no larger than a thumbnail, yet it contained almost the full medicinal potency of every ingredient he had used.
After sensing it carefully, Yang Kai discovered that the very first pill he had ever refined was only of mortal grade quality.
All the materials he had used were earth-grade, because on the Profound Continent, mortal-grade medicinal herbs were virtually never harvested — they were as worthless as wildflowers growing by the roadside.
Earth-grade herbs at least had some use.