Supreme Emperor of Mist

"This is the most comprehensive Alchemy class I've ever attended in my life... To think that the pill's effectiveness can be decided from the quality of flame alone." one alchemist from the group of fifteen said. A surprised look is still hanging on his face after he's enlightened by Qin Lan's theory class.

"I can't believe it either! Imagine to what quality of pills I can make if I followed this theory from the start? What a great point of view he made in his class regarding the extraction and nourishment process."

"But I am still curious... How can a simple fire-controlling class turn up to be so extensive, to the point it determines the efficiency and medicinal value of the pill? Not even the referencing book that I've read before talked about this." the students exchanged their views with one another after Qin Lan's ended the class.

Right now, he was speaking with the receptionist lady who entertained him before when he was still a member of the Dan-Xin Dwelling, Luo Yunxi.

"Senior sister Luo, what kind of question you have in mind?" Qin Lan humbly addressed her as senior sister due to the differences in their age, status, and interest.

"My question would be regarding the process of refining the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Will this topic be too challenging for you?" Luo Yunxi smiled and placed a few ingredients on top of the table. This table was provided in case there's a need to refine a pill in front of everyone.

"Marrow Cleansing Pill... A pill from the Bone Reconstruction Rank. Refining it won't be a problem, but can I know what kind of questions senior sister had in your mind?" Qin Lan opened the lid of the pill cauldron and tossed a piece of burning slags inside.

Using his Spiritual Energy like an extension of his limbs, he made use of the "fireball" to sanitize the cauldron's internal surface. This process made the inner layer cleaner before they begin.

"Since you've talked about fire in the class today, let's continue with that. Tell me how you'll refine this Marrow Cleansing Pill using the method of firing you've taught us." Luo Yunxi smiled.

"If that the case, then let this junior brother shamelessly show some of his petty little tricks in front of senior sister Luo. I hope that you won't mind helping in case Qin Lan is out of Spiritual Energy in between." Qin Lan chuckled.

"Are they going to refine a pill? Let's have a look!" the others quickly came forward and gathered around them. Even Zhuge Xinyu and Zhuge Yanyu are no exception.

"Those that can't refine any Flesh Refining Rank Pills shouldn't watch. Learning about this will only make you getting impatient for success and forget about the basics." Qin Lan waved his hand and telling some of them to get out from his Private Refining Hall.

"Ahh..." half of them were dejected. As Qin Lan said, their current achievement is yet to reach the qualification to start learning about Bone Reconstruction Rank pills.

Out of the fourteen remaining students, only two were qualified to stay and witness the process. Even the two Zhuge sisters are not allowed to watch.

Cupping their hand and excused themselves from Qin Lan's Private Refining Hall, everyone left. Only Qin Lan, Luo Yunxi, and two other students who belonged to Sun Wu Jian's faction stays.

"Let us begin. I will start by using the mixture of natural and spiritual flames for the first pill and purely spiritual flames for the second pill." Qin Lan explained.

...

"Huh - Huh... Is this the Demon Mountain Fort they've been talking about? To think that Yunxi came here without telling me. How can this Lan-Er be so unsupportive to his only older brother?" Qin Fan took a few deep breaths as he gets closer to the fortress's entrance.

"Halt right there! Do you have the permission to enter the Demon Mountain Fortress?" a soldier asked.

"You need permission to enter? This is bad. I totally had no idea about that... What kind of permission, and from who do I get it from?" Qin Fan asked. 

He can be said to be the most clueless individual about what happened not long ago. Although the current Qin Fan is a fifth-level Bone Reconstruction Layer cultivator, he is still as confused as before without Qin Chan by his side.

"From whom? You must be joking with me. Who doesn't know that this fortress is currently occupied by his highness, the ninth prince Sun Wu Jian?"

"Please do not disturb the entry of the others here if you couldn't provide your token of entry. Many people are waiting behind the line. Next!" the guard ordered Qin Fan to get aside.

"Hey, no matter what, I am still a fifth-level..." Qin Fan was about to raise his voice but ended up swallowing this mouthful of anger because it was the Min-Ren Dwelling's doctrine to be considerate to the public and the government.

Turning around and stops by the side of the road, Qin Fan sat down quietly as he hopes that he can meet one or two acquaintance that could bring him into the fortress. Not too long after that, his existence caught the attention of two of Sun Wu Jian's elite guards and Expert Yi on top of the fortress's wall.

"Get some of our men to prepare around here. Why is there a fifth-level Bone expert right outside of our fortress?" Expert Yi ordered.

...

Meanwhile, inside the Private Refining Hall.

"Although this is common knowledge, what kind of fuel shall we use in the process of refining a Bone Reconstruction Rank Pill?" Qin Lan asked. Three types of fuel sources were taken out from his Purple-Dragon Spatial Jade as Qin Lan finished his sentence.

"I would say it's the Mineral Flamestone. This is considered the best fuel source capable of refining even a high-grade medicinal herb and spiritual ore. Furthermore, the mineral value inside the Mineral Flamestone is also beneficial to the pill." said one of the two alchemists who came from Sun Wu Jian's faction.

"Brother, I think you're too reckless in answering this question. There must be a trick behind why our teacher is bringing out the Mineral Flamestone, Smokeless Sandalwood Charcoal, and Precelestial Ashwood before us." another alchemist said.

"I'll choose the combination of Mineral Flamestone and Smokeless Sandalwood Charcoal. The reason behind my choice is because the latter is known for its nourishing Yin properties when burning," he added.

"Senior sister, what about you?" Qin Lan asked.

"Based on how tricky I know about you... And the fact there are six types of ingredients here to refine the Marrow Cleansing Pill... I would say that we'll be using all of them. But how you'll go with... I'm not sure." Luo Yunxi replied.

"Actually, using any of them in the refining will not bring a significant difference in the refining process. The problem you have right now is confidence and understanding about the ingredients." Qin Lan chuckled.

Sweeping his hand over the table, Qin Lan took two more cauldrons out and fired all three of them at once. Each of them had a different fuel source placed inside to bring the pot up to a suitable cooking temperature.

"Marrow Cleansing Pill. The main ingredient includes the Two kinds of Demonic Marrow from Bone Reconstruction Yao Beast, Heart Cleansing Lotus, Spirit Calming Flower, Boneyard Twilight Grass, and Purified Corpse Extract."

"In between the six of them, the demonic marrow is the most troublesome ingredient to process. To make sure that we could get it ready alongside the other four, cooking it with Precelestial Ashwood and the flame of Yang properties is very important."

"The Heart Cleansing Lotus, Spirit Calming Flower, and Boneyard Twilight Grass shall come together in the second cauldron next. The lotus cleanses, flower calm, and twilight grass nourish. I'm sure you know which pot they should go in." Qin Lan continues to test their mindset.

"The Smokeless Sandalwood Charcoal!" the three of them gave the same answer in tandem.

"Then there it goes." Qin Lan tossed the Spiritual Herbs into the second cauldron. Now, only the Purified Corpse Extract and the last pot with Mineral Flamestone are left.

"Are we going to add the extract and Mineral Flamestone together? I've tried twice, the result wasn't pretty..." Luo Yunxi shook her head. She still remembered how troublesome it will become when the extract and flamestone went together inside the pot.

"We are, but not now." Qin Lan chuckled.

"Huh?" Qin Lan's answer confused her.

"Ah! I remembered! I've once read a book regarding the Mineral Flamestone. Although the burning flame stone indeed adding value to the medicinal pill's effect, the most potent part of it wasn't coming from the flame but from the dregs!" the second alchemist said.

**Click!**

Qin Lan flicked his finger once to praise the alchemist's answer.

"No wonder! I remember I've read about that book too! The reason behind those volatile reactions is not because they're not compatible, but because I'm mixing them too recklessly!" Luo Yunxi quickly caught the reason behind her few failed attempts.

...

While outside of the Demon Mountain Fortress, things were getting much more confusing.

Zhou Mei came to the fort on her own after she was pestered by Hu Jia without stopping. But across her path, there's another trouble coming to her.

They were the people from the Country of Wei. The leader for this group is surprisingly turned up to be Peng Yan.

(End of Book 3)