Chapter 35: Refining Foundation Establishment Pills

Fang Hao took a deep breath, looking at the neatly arranged jade boxes before him, his heart filled with both excitement and nervousness.

Seven jade boxes containing the main ingredients were lined up: three-hundred-year-old mysterious spirit grass, five-hundred-year-old crimson sun fruit, ice heart snow lotus, earth vein purple ganoderma, gold-veined dragon ginseng, heavenly star grass, and the rarest of all, the seven-colored glazed flower. Beside them were over twenty jade boxes of supplementary herbs, all hand-picked top-quality goods.

He had prepared for a very long time for this day.

"It’s finally starting," Fang Hao murmured to himself, his fingers lightly brushing over the Pill Furnace. This was the Grade 3 Pill Furnace ’Green Flame’ he had rented at a high price, which would allow for better heat control.

Outside the courtyard of his residence, Lin Wan had already set up the Four Symbols Guardian Formation. Seeing Fang Hao come out, she said seriously, "Rest assured, Junior Brother Ning. With me here, I absolutely won’t let anyone disturb your Alchemy!"

Fang Hao nodded gratefully. "I’m troubling you, Senior Sister."

Returning to his residence, Fang Hao checked everything carefully once more. The Formation was active, the Pill Furnace was preheated, the Spirit Medicines were ready, and his state had been adjusted to its Peak.

But he did not start immediately; instead, he sat cross-legged and repeatedly simulated the Alchemy process in his Sea of Consciousness.

Refining a foundation establishment pill was extremely complex, requiring a total of forty-nine steps; a mistake at any point could mean all previous efforts were in vain. Although Fang Hao was experienced in Alchemy, he still dared not be the least bit careless when facing such an important Medicinal Pill.

He deduced the process over and over in his Sea of Consciousness: when to add the herbs, when to control the fire, when to condense the pill... he pondered every detail repeatedly.

"The crimson sun fruit requires a fierce martial fire, but it cannot last too long, otherwise its medicinal properties will be lost..."

"The ice heart snow lotus needs a gentle civil fire to simmer slowly to fully release its medicinal properties..."

"The seven-colored glazed flower is the most critical; it requires seven fires to be refined simultaneously, and even a slight discrepancy won’t do..."

After a full day of deduction, Fang Hao finally opened his eyes, which were shining with the light of confidence.

"It can begin!"

He stood up and first bowed to the Pill Furnace—this was a tradition among Alchemists to show respect for the Dao of Alchemy.

Then, Fang Hao formed a hand seal and gave a soft shout, "Earth Core Flame Fire, appear!"

A cluster of crimson flame leaped from his palm and fell into the Pill Furnace. Instantly, the furnace temperature soared, and a heatwave rushed toward him. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Fang Hao was fully focused as he added the supplementary herbs one by one according to the Pill Formula. These supplementary herbs were for the foundation and needed to be refined into medicinal liquid first.

"Three leaves of Purple Perilla... five drops of Hundred Herb Dew... one mace of Jade Marrow Powder..."

His technique was skilled as he accurately added each herb. The Earth Core Flame Fire changed according to his will, sometimes fierce and sometimes gentle, perfectly refining the materials.

Soon, a pool of emerald green medicinal liquid formed in the Pill Furnace, emitting a faint fragrance.

"Starting the main ingredients." Fang Hao’s expression became even more solemn. He took the first jade box and added the mysterious spirit grass.

As soon as the silver-white mysterious spirit grass entered the furnace, the medicinal liquid immediately boiled! Fang Hao hurriedly adjusted the heat, using a civil fire to refine it slowly, letting the medicinal properties release gradually.

Next was the crimson sun fruit. This fiery red fruit required a fierce martial fire. The Earth Core Flame Fire suddenly flared up, enveloping and refining the crimson sun fruit.

Each main ingredient was added in sequence. The refining method for each herb was different, and the changes in heat were extremely subtle. Sweat appeared on Fang Hao’s forehead, but his hand movements were not messy at all.

Just as he was refining the fifth main ingredient, a commotion suddenly came from outside the cave!

"Fang Hao! Get out here!" It was Bao Zhijian’s voice. "You stole my Spirit Medicine and still dare to go into seclusion?"

Fang Hao’s mind trembled, and the pill fire nearly spiraled out of control! He hurriedly steadied his mind, turning a deaf ear to the outside world.

Outside the courtyard, Lin Wan scolded, "Bao Zhijian! Stop talking nonsense! Junior Brother Ning is currently refining pills, leave immediately!"

Bao Zhijian sneered, "Refining pills? I think he’s hiding because he’s afraid to see people! Today he must come out and explain clearly!"

As he spoke, he tried to force his way in but was blocked by the Four Symbols Formation.

Inside the Formation, Fang Hao took a deep breath and completely immersed himself in the Alchemy. The disturbances from the outside could no longer affect him in the slightest.

"gold-veined dragon ginseng... heavenly star grass..." Fang Hao’s technique was fluid, as if he had practiced it thousands of times.

Finally, it was time for the seven-colored glazed flower. This was the most difficult step, requiring the simultaneous control of seven different levels of heat!

Fang Hao operated the Myriad Manifestations Heaven Swallowing Art with all his might. His seven-element Spiritual Roots moved together, and the Earth Core Flame Fire split into seven streams, each with its own characteristics!

Metal fire was sharp, wood fire was full of vitality, water fire was long-lasting, fire fire was violent, earth fire was heavy, wind fire was swift, and lightning fire was explosive!

With the seven fires refining together, the seven-colored glazed flower slowly rotated in the furnace, releasing a dreamlike brilliance!

Fang Hao held his breath and focused, controlling it carefully. A slight error at this step, and everything would be lost!

Time passed bit by bit. Fang Hao was soaked through, but his gaze became increasingly sharp.

Finally, the seven-colored glazed flower was completely refined and perfectly fused with the other medicinal liquids! Radiant light shone from the Pill Furnace, and a medicinal fragrance filled the air!

"Condense!" Fang Hao shouted, his hand seals changing rapidly.

The medicinal liquid began to coalesce, gradually forming pill shapes. This stage required even more precise control; if the fire was slightly too high, they would burn, and if it was too low, they would scatter.

Fang Hao pushed his Divine Sense to the limit, and the Earth Core Flame Fire followed his will like an extension of his arm, providing precise regulation.

The pill fragrance grew stronger and the radiant light more intense. Even the people outside the cave smelled the extraordinary fragrance, and Bao Zhijian’s face turned ashen.

"It’s done!" A sharp light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes as he struck the final hand seal.

The Pill Furnace vibrated, and radiant light shot into the sky! Nine streaks of light flew out from the furnace and were caught one by one by Fang Hao with a jade bottle.

Looking at the nine round, translucent foundation establishment pills with flowing radiance in the bottle, Fang Hao let out a long sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.

He succeeded! And he made nine of them! Perfect!

Outside the courtyard, Lin Wan smelled the pill fragrance and was overjoyed. "He did it! Junior Brother Ning succeeded!"

Bao Zhijian’s face was livid. He gave a cold snort and left with a flick of his sleeves.

Fang Hao adjusted his breathing for a moment and walked out of the courtyard. Lin Wan immediately met him. "Congratulations, Junior Brother Ning! How many pills were formed?"

"Nine," Fang Hao smiled.

Lin Wan was shocked. "Nine! Perfect pill Formation! That’s incredible!"

Fang Hao said gratefully, "Thank you for protecting me, Senior Sister. If you hadn’t blocked Bao Zhijian, I’m afraid..."

Lin Wan waved her hand. "There’s no need for such politeness between fellow disciples. Go and recover your breath quickly; Foundation Establishment is what’s important."

Fang Hao returned to his Immortal Cave, his heart surging as he looked at the nine foundation establishment pills.

He had walked a long way for this step. From a Servant Disciple to an Outer Sect Disciple, from the Early Stage of Qi Refining to the Qi Refining Great Perfection, after going through many hardships, he had finally refined the foundation establishment pill!

Nine foundation establishment pills, every single one of them perfect. Radiance flowed around them, and the pill fragrance was overflowing, containing majestic spiritual power.

Fang Hao took out seven pills and carefully put the rest away. These seven pills would help him step onto the path of Foundation Establishment!

He did not take them immediately but first adjusted his breathing to recover. Alchemy consumed a great deal of energy, and he needed to be in his best state for Foundation Establishment.

Three days later, Fang Hao’s state had returned to its Peak. He was ready to begin Foundation Establishment!

At Fang Hao’s residence, not only Lin Wan, but Li Xuan and Zhu Pang had also come, and even Liang Ling arrived in person.

"Junior Brother Ning, good luck!" Zhu Pang cheered him on.

Li Xuan said, "We will all protect you!"

Liang Ling nodded gently. "Establish your foundation with peace of mind; we will handle the outside."

A warm current flowed through Fang Hao’s heart. Although the path of cultivation was dangerous, with these fellow Daoists accompanying him, he was not alone.

Returning to his room, Fang Hao set up layers of Restrictions and sat down cross-legged.