In the kitchen.
Qin Gengyun held the bowl and blinked hard, once again making sure he wasn't seeing things.
In front of him was a real bronze furnace standing there!
Moreover, this bronze furnace was obviously much newer than the second-hand one he had before.
A closer look showed there wasn't a speck of dust on the surface, clearly well-maintained, indicating the previous owner cherished it very much.
Qin Gengyun clattered a bowl into the sink and ran out shouting at Qiu Zhihe:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, why is there a bronze furnace in the kitchen?!"
Qiu Zhihe rose gracefully, her black veil slightly trembling with mountains and rivers, and she said casually:
"It was part of my mother's dowry."
"Dowry?"
Qin Gengyun's eyes widened: "How come you never mentioned it before?"
Qiu Zhihe calmly said: "I forgot."
Qin Gengyun didn't dwell further on the matter, turning back to the kitchen, extending his trembling hands to gently caress the body of the bronze furnace, as if touching the delicate skin of his wife.
This warm and delicate touch, the material was obviously much better than the broken furnace of last night!
Opening the furnace lid, the main chamber, isolation chamber, and pill stone compartment were all there, clean and shiny, almost as good as new.
This quality bronze furnace, even if second-hand, would cost at least eighty Spirit Stones!
Suddenly, Qin Gengyun saw four neatly stacked Middle Grade Pill Stones at the bottom of the furnace.
Pill Stones are divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Grades, with higher-grade Pill Stones burning longer and producing purer Pill Fire.
As a newbie low-level Alchemist, Qin Gengyun usually had no right to use Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
He excitedly shouted toward Qiu Zhihe, who was standing at the kitchen door:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, your dowry is so generous!"
Qiu Zhihe expressionlessly said: "Wash the bowls."
"Okay."
Qin Gengyun agreed, quickly washed the bowls with a grunt, and ran out excitedly.
Qiu Zhihe stopped him: "Where are you going so late?"
Qin Gengyun laughed heartily: "I'm going to continue alchemy tonight, to the night market to find Taoist Friend Mo to buy a Clear Spirit Grass!"
This late, only the night market would have Clear Spirit Grass available, and finding Mo Xiaolan was naturally the safest choice to avoid being cheated.
Upon hearing the phrase "Taoist Friend Mo," Qiu Zhihe raised her brows slightly and pulled out a Clear Spirit Grass flickering with a faint light from her sleeve:
"I have Clear Spirit Grass."
Qin Gengyun's eyes widened again, hurriedly walking up to Qiu Zhihe and exclaiming in surprise:
"Is this really Clear Spirit Grass? This one is brimming with spiritual energy, higher grade than ordinary Clear Spirit Grass! How do you have this, Taoist Friend Qiu?"
Qiu Zhihe glanced at him: "I'm a Spirit Plant Master."
Qin Gengyun slapped his forehead: "Oh right, I forgot, but didn't you just become a First Tier Spirit Plant Master, Taoist Friend Qiu? How did you cultivate such a high-grade Clear Spirit Grass so quickly?"
Qiu Zhihe puzzled: "It's just Clear Spirit Grass, is it difficult?"
"..." Qin Gengyun was tongue-tied, then laughed heartily:
"Taoist Friend Qiu, you rest first, I'll go refine pills."
He went into the kitchen, took out the four Middle Grade Pill Stones from the bronze furnace, and put in one Lower Grade Pill Stone.
It's really a waste to use a Middle Grade Pill Stone to refine Clear Wind Powder.
Using spiritual power to ignite the Pill Stone, he fanned with the Spirit Fan to intensify the furnace fire.
Qin Gengyun took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in front of the bronze furnace.
He held the Clear Spirit Grass, brimming with spiritual energy, in his hand, feeling its silky smoothness like the skin of a partner, and then ruthlessly threw it into the alchemy furnace.
Perhaps it was seeing hope in despair that made Qin Gengyun realize his divine sense and spiritual power had grown a bit stronger, and within half an hour, this Clear Spirit Grass had completely turned into medicinal liquid.
Then came the most challenging part of refinement.
But this time, it also went very smoothly.
In less than two hours, Qin Gengyun had separated all the essence from the impurities in the medicinal liquid.
The next step was fusion, which was completed quickly as well.
Qin Gengyun's breathing quickened a little.
Because, the next step was the infusion of spiritual energy, which had caused the furnace to explode last night.
Qin Gengyun closed his eyes, his divine sense probing into the pill furnace again, merging the spiritual energy with the medicinal liquid, and began fanning the Fire-Control Spirit Fan.
From slow to fast, the furnace temperature gradually rose too.
Qin Gengyun's divine sense tightly wrapped around the medicinal liquid, until the spiritual energy completely merged with the medicinal liquid, and the liquid, which shimmered with blue light, gradually solidified.
The furnace didn't explode.
The infusion worked!
Qin Gengyun suppressed the joy in his heart and calmed his mind.
Now it was time for the final step—pill formation!
One hour later.
A nearly ecstatic shout rang out from the kitchen!
"I've done it! I've done it!!"
Qin Gengyun rushed out of the kitchen, shouting to Qiu Zhihe, who sat by the bed:
"My dear, I've successfully made Clear Wind Powder! I've finally become a real Alchemist!"
By now it was almost midnight, and Qiu Zhihe would usually be asleep, but today she had not gone to bed, seemingly waiting for something.
Seeing Qin Gengyun's excited expression as he rushed out yelling, Qiu Zhihe glanced at him:
"Got it, I'm going to sleep."
She said, then waved her hand to extinguish the candle, undressing in the dark, and turned to face the wall with her back to Qin Gengyun as she slept.
Qin Gengyun, still excited, didn't mind and ran back to the kitchen, opened the bottom of the pill furnace, and there quietly lay a small heap of granular pills glowing faintly.
This was the "Clear Wind Powder."
Having just become an Alchemist, Qin Gengyun lacked the realm and experience to condense the liquid into large pills.
He could only make powder.
However, Qin Gengyun could sense that the medicinal spirit qi contained in this heap of Clear Wind Powder was far richer than that of ordinary Clear Wind Powder.
To this extent, it should be the highest-quality Clear Wind Powder!
The same type of pill, depending on the materials and the Alchemist's ability, also varies in grade after refining.
The Clear Wind Powder is the same; ordinary Clear Wind Powder clears the mind and concentrates the spirit, aiding cultivators to meditate and expelling common poisonous miasmas prevalent in the Northern Wilderness.
While the high-grade Clear Wind Powder not only aids in meditation but also enhances cultivation efficiency to some extent.
And it can alleviate the more troublesome black miasma poison deep in the mountains of the Northern Wilderness.
Ordinary Clear Wind Powder, if taken to the Pill Talisman Tower, usually fetches only two Spirit Stones, whereas this highest-grade Clear Wind Powder could sell for three Spirit Stones a bag!
Qin Gengyun was very excited, having persevered for so long, finally seeing the dawn ahead!
He carefully packed this heap of Clear Wind Powder into medicine bags, filling two bags.
That was six Spirit Stones!
Qin Gengyun's face flushed with excitement, suppressing the elation in his heart, and meticulously cleaned the pill furnace once more.
Only then did he leave the kitchen, where the room outside was eerily quiet, the outline of the figure in bed barely visible with back turned to him.
Qin Gengyun's heart was full of gratitude.
His first successful alchemy resulted in high-grade Clear Wind Powder, thanks not only to his years of accumulation in the Alchemy Dao, but most importantly, to the top-quality Clear Spirit Grass given by Qiu Zhihe.
Qin Gengyun took off his outer clothes, climbed onto the bed lightly, and whispered to Qiu Zhihe, who had her back turned to him:
"My dear, thank you."
The graceful curves rose and fell gently, without a response.
Qin Gengyun smiled, also turned his back, and closed his eyes.
Tomorrow, he would sell these two bags of Clear Wind Powder, continue exploring the Alchemy Dao, refine more advanced pills, and earn more Spirit Stones.
Also, he needed to find ways to improve his relationship with his wife, increase working hours, and gain more cultivation points.
Cultivation, Alchemy Dao, making money, and marital life—they all needed to improve together!
The vague and uncertain future finally showed a hint of a gentle smile to Qin Gengyun.