Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

Chapter 2156  How Many Times

Alex shook his head in answer to his master's surprised question. "I've never needed formations when making pills. I've always made it on my own, probably because I managed to learn Dao of Heat when I was still only a True realm cultivator, which tremendously helped when it came to making pills."

Silvermist found it difficult to hide his shock still. "Never after that?" he asked.

"When I say never, I don't mean that I don't use it, but rather I never rely on it. If I am making pills, I do not make sure if the formations are working. I just make a pill," Alex said. "I just rely on myself."

"Dear lord," Silvermist couldn't help but say. "I have never met an alchemist who doesn't rely on any formations."

"I do use formations that keep out distractions, or keep the ingredients fresh before I start making the pills if there are many pills to use at once, but I don't believe those are the types of formations you are talking about," Alex said.

"No, I mean the ones that actively aid your alchemy sessions, like helping you control the energy in a cauldron, or maintaining heat, that sort of thing," Silvermist explained.

"Yeah, no. I don't use it," Alex said. "I never had any need for it."

Silvermist nodded thoughtfully. "We will have to test just how well you are without using formations and while using formations. That way, we may just find out if you need formations or not. I say you will need some, but who knows? Let's go."

Silvermist continued down the hallway, until they arrived at a decently large alchemy room, clad to the ceiling with all sorts of formations. The aura inside was so tranquil that Alex felt he had entered a different space altogether.

"Sit there so we can talk," Silvermist said. "I need to understand the extent of your alchemy knowledge before I decide what part of Alchemy you need to work on."

"Do I just tell you what I know?" Alex asked as he sat down on the seat that was designated for the alchemist.

Silvermist sat opposite of him and nodded. "I do believe I know the extent of how much you know, but I still need to be certain. How often can you make pill clouds form?"

Alex thought for a moment and asked, "How often do you want it to form?"

"No, I'm asking you—" Silvermist paused before narrowing his eyes. "Twice in a row?"

"Sure," Alex said.

"3 times in a row?"

"If you want it," Alex answered.

Silvermist's eyes widened. "Four times in a row?" "The answer won't change, master," Alex said.

Silvermist was simply too flabbergasted to say anything for a while. He tried to make sense of how any of that was possible, but the only thing he knew was that what he was hearing was not possible at all. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Do you use formations for this? You said you don't use any formations but you have to use some for this at least, right?" Silvermist asked. "No, no formation. I have great control over the ingredients and energy thanks to my Dao when I'm making pills, master," Alex said. "So, if the recipe is perfect and the ingredients are perfect, I have no doubt I can make pill clouds form every time."

"That's… not possible," Silvermist said. "It is literally not possible without a formation to not miss a shred of energy a few times and not form pill clouds. You are joking right now."

"I wouldn't joke about this, master," Alex said. "And I'm sure I'm not the only one who could reach pill clouds each time. There have to be many others."

"No, I doubt even the Alchemy God can do that," Silvermist said.

"I'm sure the Alchemy God could," Alex said.

"No, he can't. Maybe he can do it more often than not, but it is not possible for even him to do it multiple times in a row," Silvermist said.

"Is that so?" "Are you absolutely certain you can do it each time?" Silvermist asked.

"Well… let's just say 95% of the time," Alex said.

"That's… still a lot, but sure," Silvermist said. "Do I even need to teach you anything at this point?"

Alex wasn't sure if he was meant to answer that or not.

Silvermist remained lost in thought for a while before finally turning back toward Alex. "Let's move on. How good are you at recognizing ingredients?" he asked.

"Pretty good. I am a Supreme Alchemist, after all, master," Alex said.

"Right, right. I'll still test you later on to make sure you don't miss any," Silvermist said. "And you said you have learned Fire Dao? How many of them?"

"All of them," Alex said.

"All?" Silvermist asked. "You have True Fire Dao?"

Alex nodded.

Silvermist beamed. "Not bad. Very good," he said. "And since you became a Supreme Alchemist, you should know how to improve pill recipes too. Do you do it by brute force or do you know the correct way?"

"The correct way? I don't use brute force. I have knowledge on how to do it easily, but I'm not sure if that is the correct way or not," Alex said.

"Do you understand how there are multiple methods to release energy from an ingredient at the exact same rate as the recipe demands?" Silvermist asked.

"I do," Alex said. "You do mean changing the temperature and speed and such, do you not?"

"Yes, yes, so you do know that," Silvermist said with nodding approval. "The correct method is to just try out all the different variations until you reach one that yields the best result. There are only so many, so as long as you have enough ingredients. You can do it in just a few days or weeks."

"Yes," Alex said. "I just need to understand how the pieces fit together."

"Good, good," Silvermist said. "You understand that too. At this point, I don't know what I can even teach you exactly. You might just be ready to start training for the tournament."

"I do need someone to teach me about Pill Souls, master. How do they work? How does one make one?" he asked.

"You can't make pill souls with Immortal pills, so it won't matter for now," Silvermist said. "I will teach you that at the end once I know there is nothing more for you to learn."

Alex nodded, perfectly fine with that. Seeing how it was all going, that day would come very soon.

"God, I'm starting to be embarrassed by having you call me master," Silvermist said. "I don't even know if I deserve it."

"You do, master. I'm only a low Immortal. There are still many things I need to learn surely," Alex said.

"Maybe," Silvermist said. "Another question then, how many cauldrons…"

Silvermist's words trailed for a moment before he finished the sentence. "… do you own?"

"Cauldrons? Just one that is refined," Alex said. "If you are asking for any cauldron, then I have 4 extra ones. So 5."

"Alright, take them all out," Silvermist said. At the same time, the door to the room opened and a young woman walked in.

"I have come as you requested, Court master."