Ling Dong, who had already put down the dragon-breaking stone to refine pills, didn't know that Great Elder Ling Gaofeng, who had come to cause trouble, had already been angered to the point of vomiting blood by his father Ling Yuanshan's fierce rebuttal. Of course, Ling Dong had also planned this beforehand.
In his previous life, the latter half of Ling Dong's life was practically spent scheming against others and being schemed against by others. Ling Dong had analyzed at least a dozen possibilities for the possible accidents that might happen today, as well as the direction of Great Elder Ling Gaofeng's attack.
Among these dozens of possibilities, Ling Dong only picked a dozen or so possibilities that had a higher probability of happening and analyzed them for his father. After that, he also analyzed how to deal with them. If there were any more, Ling Dong was really afraid that his father would treat him as a monster!
You don't say, Ling Dong's analysis really hit the nail on the head.
At this moment, Ling Yuanshan, who was standing outside the door of the Earth Fire Elixir Room, didn't panic when he found that his son had already put down the Dragon Breaking Stone in the Earth Fire Elixir Room. Because Ling Dong had mentioned this to him vaguely.
Even today, when he dealt with Great Elder Ling Gaofeng's attack, part of it was also one of the several methods that Ling Dong had taken the initiative to mention to him. Ling Yuanshan was very curious. When did his actions become so powerful? How come he didn't notice it before?
Ling Yuanshan watched the servants clean up the severed limbs outside the Earth Fire Pill Room. When the smell of blood was cleared away, Ling Yuanshan said a few words to the guards here and left on his own accord.
When Ling Yuanshan left, Ling Dong had just opened the pill furnace inside the Earth Fire Pill Room.
This ancient bronze pill furnace looked quite old, especially the trace of golden light at the bottom of the furnace, indicating that this was a pill furnace that had been used for many years. Ling Dong could use it without worry and didn't need to worry about the furnace exploding.
The entire pill furnace was only half a meter tall and was the size of an ordinary wok. Of course, compared to a wok, this pill furnace was several hundred times more exquisite.
The alchemy furnace was placed on three bronze legs. Each of the three bronze legs was engraved with a Medicine Spirit Beast holding its head up and spitting out a pill, implying that the medicine was ready to enter the pill. It was a legendary spirit beast that could swallow medicinal herbs and spit out medicinal pills. After swallowing the corresponding medicinal herbs, it could spit out the corresponding medicinal pills.
However, most people didn't know about this kind of story. Ling Dong had played alchemy for several decades in his previous life. He had read through ancient books on medicinal properties and slowly came to know about this kind of story.
The middle and lower part of the pill furnace was like a large incense burner. Its belly was round and covered with strong lines. Ling Dong recognized that it was the pill furnace's alchemy array.
A long handle made of Astral Fusing Stone protruded from the top of the pill furnace. This was the handle used by the alchemist to control the array of the pill furnace. Astral Fusing Stone was one of the few materials in the world that could perfectly extend a martial artist's astral energy.
Generally speaking, the cultivation of an alchemist was not very good. As the saying goes, what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts. After all, a person's energy was limited. Since most of it was invested in alchemy, then one's own cultivation would fall behind.
This handle made of Astral Fusing Stone allowed the alchemist to control the array of the pill furnace with the least amount of energy and control the temperature of the pill furnace.
Further up was the lid of the pill furnace. The lid of the pill furnace was fan-shaped. It was a door that could be pushed and pulled, allowing the alchemist to easily put in the medicinal herbs. At the same time, in the center of the lid, there was a transparent crystal that was ground into shape.
With that transparent crystal, the alchemist could not only see the changes in the medicinal herbs in the pill furnace, but it also wouldn't release the slightest bit of temperature.
Similarly, Ling Dong picked up a piece of low-grade crystal and embedded it outside the array of the pill furnace to activate the array. It couldn't be helped. Ling Dong was now at Houtian Realm Level Three, close to Houtian Realm Level Four. If he used all of his pitiful Gang Qi to support the operation of the pill furnace's array, he was afraid that his Gang Qi would be completely depleted in less than fifteen minutes.
Only after breaking through to the Connate Realm would the Gang Qi in one's body reach a certain degree of endlessness. Only then would one be able to use the Gang Qi in one's body to support the array of the pill furnace. Then, one wouldn't need to use a luxury item like a crystal for alchemy.
Why was this kind of low-grade crystal considered a luxury item?
The Ling family, including the entire Nanshan Prefecture, didn't have a crystal mine. All the crystal stones were bought from some big sects or big families. It could be said that more than half of the Ling family's annual net income was used to buy these crystals.
These crystals contained very pure Gang Qi. When a Connate Realm martial artist cultivated, if he directly held a piece in his hand and absorbed it, his cultivation speed would be much faster than absorbing Gang Qi from the Heaven and Earth. However, in order to absorb these crystals, one had to be at least at the Connate Realm. If a Houtian Realm martial artist tried to forcefully absorb them, there was only one result: his body would explode and he would die.
Since the effects of cultivation were good, naturally, many people used them. Because they were extremely important resources for cultivation, their prices had always been high. If one were to buy one of these crystals on the market, one wouldn't be able to get it without at least a thousand taels of silver.
Take the Ling family as an example. Among the ancestors, the two direct line elders could receive 10 pieces of this kind of low-grade crystal for cultivation every month. The collateral elders' monthly allowance was reduced by 30%, only 7 pieces per month.
Among the direct descendants, the Connate Realm martial artists, such as Ling Dong's father, Ling Yuanshan, Ling Zhengshan, and Ling Tieshan, each received five pieces of crystals every month. The same went for the grandchildren of the direct descendants who advanced to the Connate Realm.
As for the ordinary collateral descendants, depending on their cultivation, they received one to two pieces per month. However, there were very few Connate Realm guards in the family, so they only received one piece per month.
Of course, when the guards went out on missions or performed meritorious deeds, they would be rewarded with crystals. Furthermore, during the holidays, the family would give out red packets along with a piece of low-grade crystal.
This benefit wasn't worth mentioning in the big sects, but in a small place like Nanshan County, it was top-notch.
In this way, Ling Dong's father only received five pieces of low-grade crystal every month for him to cultivate. However, every time Ling Dong opened the cauldron and refined pills, he would use up four pieces. Furthermore, this was only for one cauldron. It was obvious how extravagant this was.
Of course, Ling Dong also benefited from Master Shui. Master Shui's cultivation was only at Houtian Realm Level Eight, so he still needed to use these low-grade crystals to activate the array. Therefore, the family had prepared a box of about twenty low-grade crystals for regular use in the Earth Fire Elixir Room.
Just as Ling Dong was sizing up the cauldron, the Earth Fire Array that was activated previously had successfully attracted the Earth Fire. The dark red fire started to jump under the cauldron, but Ling Dong didn't immediately throw in the herbs.
Any experienced alchemist would wait for the Earth Fire to last for fifteen minutes. After it stabilized, they would then throw in the herbs.
Time passed slowly, and the dark red Earth Fire had already turned bright red. The exterior of the cauldron had already turned completely red, and traces of fire reflected on Ling Dong's tender face.
Just as the temperature in the Earth Fire Elixir Room was getting higher and higher, Ling Dong suddenly scooped up a ladle of Earth Cold Water that he had prepared beforehand and poured it into the cauldron.
Sizzle!
He poured three ladles in a row. At the same time, traces of white gas rose, bringing with it a cool breeze. Ling Dong's subordinates were as fast as lightning. They grabbed two herbs in a row, pulled open the cauldron lid, and threw them in. At the same time, the cauldron lid closed with lightning speed, and the rising white gas was all trapped within the cauldron.
Almost at the same time, Ling Dong's right hand suddenly grasped the handle of the Earth Melting Stone's array. A trace of Earth Qi entered, and a familiar feeling of control came over. Ling Dong began to fine-tune the temperature of the array.
Most of the herbs used to refine the Lesser Earth Gathering Elixir were ordinary. Even those that were ten or twenty years old were considered ordinary herbs and couldn't be considered spiritual herbs. If the temperature of the cauldron was not controlled properly, it would probably turn into ashes in an instant!
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PS: Sorry, it was sent late today!
I had a high fever in the middle of the night. When I went to the clinic in the morning, it was 38.7 degrees Celsius. Not to mention the fever, my head was heavy and my feet were light. My whole body was sore, and even moving my bones was painful!
I had no choice but to put on a drip and take medicine, and then go home to wipe my sweat! Fortunately, it was a lot better by noon. After eating lunch, I had the energy to write!
Zhu San's fat arms and old legs, please bear with him!
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