Chen Yuan sat on the ground in a cross-legged position, three Qi Gathering Pills held in his hands. His gaze was a mix of curiosity and disappointment.
While he was pleased with the achievement of having refined pills, in this world the quality of the pills left a lot to be desired. In his previous life, he had immortal, grade elixirs, and refining pills that would allow for a significant leap in cultivation.
But here, in this life, it seemed even the best things were rudimentary at best.
"Huh… the quality of pills here, or maybe more accurately, here are really low," he muttered to himself while shaking his head.
While these pills were certainly low quality, they were also better than nothing and useful in pushing his cultivation forward.
He set the pills down on the small wooden table next to him, and then reached back into his storage ring. He flicked his wrist and two more pills appeared in his hand.
They were taken from the shares of last month's distribution, saved for a this day. He studied them briefly, while the dim light they emitted indicated they were not of high purity.
But they would do.
Chen Yuan took a deep breath and focused. The room was still, except for the faint crackle of energy in the air as he started to draw the intricate lines on the floor.
His eyes glowed with intent as he patiently moved his hand to sketch the formation.
This was no ordinary array, but an artistic expression of his own design, based on the ancient techniques he learned in his last life.
This array would serve the formation's dual purposes, both amplifying and increasing the potency of the Qi he had within the Qi Gathering Pills, while purifying the surrounding energy to help further stabilize his cultivation.
He began with the basic Qi Gathering formation, which was a common and simple pattern, but then he enhanced it by adding layers, each one progressively more advanced than the last layer.
These layers would allow the formation to harness the ambient Qi of the surrounding energy within the room to transmit into the Qi Gathering Pills.
Then except for the array of energy be used for "energy", the earlier energy will actually be used combined into a focal point, which were to be the three Qi Gathering Pills.
As soon as the formation was complete, Chen Yuan carefully placed the three pills on the center point of the formation, where the lines came together. He felt a slight change in the aura as the energy stirred in the formation. Slowly, he extended out with his Qi, activating the formation.
A gentle tone rang through the room, the formation shining as it pulled in energy from around it. Chen Yuan could see the energy flowing in waves, and soon, he could see one wave reinforcing the other. His gaze hardened as he poured his own Qi into the formation.
After a brief moment, he could see his energy and the formation's energy connect, as his energy traveled inside the elaborate lines of the formation.
Then, Chen Yuan turned his attention to the two Qi Gathering Pills that he took out from his storage ring. He had one Qi Gathering Pill in each hand, channeling his Qi through the pills while also concentrating on the formation. The pills absorbed the energy very quickly as each became slightly illuminated while simultaneously connected to the formation, storing up Qi and energy from Chen Yuan. But, this was just the beginning.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Yuan opened his mind to his alchemical knowledge and linked his spirit to the array. He could sense the pulsing energy in the air, a consensus of restoration reversible to familiarized rhythms of life, a rhythm that was syncing with his Qi.
Alchemy was delicate work; however, given his experience as an alchemist, Chen Yuan recognized his inherent ability to refine the pills.
His mind churned through the process of refining, such a complex art of infusing his Qi with enough control to elicit the best property of the various ingredients engaging with the pills. As he added more Qi to the formation, he noticed the pills in front of him begin to glow with energy.
Each pill was improving, they improved slowly at first, but exponentially greater and greater, as the formation seemed to extract the within impurities of the pills and refine their values.
The pills started to merge. Chen Yuan squinted as he observed. The five pills that had placed at the center of the formation were now merging in a way that should have been impossible.
Merging pills, especially multiple pills, was supposed to be chaotic energy that would result in an explosion but the formation he had laid out stabilized it perfectly.
The merging Qi was not chaotic, the Qi flowed smoothly, like a river flowing into other rivers to create a larger flow. The energy from the array settled down around the pills, and they began to glow faintly, brilliantly so.
The three Qi Gathering Pills were almost completely merged. They were no longer the dull low-quality pills the clan handed to him.
They pulsed Qi and their inner core was yet pure, rich, and potent.
Chen Yuan felt a weight lift with a slow breath. The formation had completed, the pills were refined to the best quality they could be. He gently reached down to pick up the newly minted pills in his hands.
"Three perfect Qi Gathering Pills," he repeated softly, a smile appearing on his face. These pills were not just any pills they were the best pills he could possibly make incorporating everything he knew about alchemy, array formation, and Qi control.
With the quality nearly comparable to the pills he would have made in his old life, these were so much more than ordinary pills.
They were best-grade elixirs that offered more benefit than anything a normal pill could provide.
Chen Yuan couldn't help but feel some pride. While it was not easy, it required incredible concentration and a deft command of alchemy, array, and constant usage of Qi. Yet here he was, the result was worth it.
He carefully set them into a little jade bottle, sealing it with a thin layer of Qi to maintain their strength. The second he did so, he was hit with a wave of dizziness.
The long hours of continual alchemy, the relentless Qi circulation to activate the formation, and the act of spirit fire, had taken a toll on him. He had drawn deeply from his injured soul to stabilize the formation and purify the essence of each Pill, all of which had now caught up to him.
He stood, his legs shaking before yielding under him.
He fell onto the cold stone floor of the room with a dull thump, breathing shallow but steady.
It was clear sweat was beaded on his brow and his robe was soaked from the back, but he felt no remorse in his heart.
"I did it…" he breathed. The corners of his mouth turned up, his eyes curling shut.