22: First time lighting a fire

The moment Jiang Donghua stepped into the grand hall of the Alchemy Department, a chorus of wails erupted behind him.

"Why can he go in?!"

"My Fire Attribute affinity is much stronger than his, why didn't the crystal ball react?!"

"It's a fix! It's definitely a fix!"

A group of eliminated Fire Attribute New Students beat their chests and stamped their feet, wishing they could rush forward and drag Jiang Donghua back to try again themselves.

However, the white-robed senior disciples of the Alchemy Department cast a cold glance, and they immediately fell silent, only able to watch Jiang Donghua's back disappear through the door.

Jiang Donghua had no time to bother with their resentment; as soon as he entered, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted over him.

The interior of the hall was even more spacious than imagined, with various medicine cabinets arranged all around.

Some medicinal ingredients emitted a faint spiritual glow, while others were sealed in jade boxes, with only faint wisps of refreshing aroma escaping through the cracks.

Further inside, rustling discussions could be heard from the side halls, seemingly the Alchemist apprentices studying Pill Formulas.

As Jiang Donghua was looking around, he suddenly heard a low cough.

"New here?"

He turned his head to see a middle-aged man standing with his hands behind his back, scrutinizing him with piercing eyes.

The man was clad in a dark robe with dark gold patterns embroidered on the cuffs and lapel, and at the most prominent position on his chest was an ancient Medicine Cauldron pattern.

Five golden marks were clearly etched on the body of the cauldron, shimmering brightly in the candlelight.

A fifth-grade Alchemist!

In the Medicine World, the grade of a pill represents strength, and those capable of refining a fifth-grade pill were all individuals eagerly sought after by major powers.

The man's face was calm, and his brow exuded an aura of authority without anger, yet a faint smile played at the corner of his lips, seemingly quite interested in Jiang Donghua, this newcomer.

"My name is Mo Xuan."

He said indifferently.

"One of the Alchemy Department's deacons, responsible for today's second test."

Jiang Donghua's heart tightened, and he quickly bowed respectfully.

"Disciple Jiang Donghua greets Senior Mo."

Mo Xuan nodded slightly, his gaze lingering on him for a moment before he turned and walked towards the inner hall.

"Follow me."

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath and quickly followed.

Jiang Donghua followed Mo Xuan through a long corridor and soon arrived at a spacious alchemy hall.

Inside the hall, over thirty New Students were busy; more than half of them sat cross-legged, eyes closed in concentration, fine beads of sweat on their foreheads, clearly struggling to sense the power of the pill fire and not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

The remaining dozen or so were gathered around several Medicine Cauldrons, forming hand seals and carefully controlling the flames within the furnaces.

However, in addition to the clear fragrance of medicinal ingredients, the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell, indicating that some had already failed in refining pills.

"Hmph, a bunch of clumsy little brats."

Mo Xuan snorted, his tone tinged with impatience.

Jiang Donghua's eyelid twitched, and he thought to himself, "It seems life in the Alchemy Department isn't easy..."

Just then...

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, a wisp of black smoke suddenly burst from a pill furnace not far away, and the lid was even slightly dislodged.

"Again, failed again..."

A New Student cried with a long face, frantically patting the body of the furnace, trying to salvage the already charred medicinal dregs.

Mo Xuan frowned, and with a flick of his sleeve, a gentle surge of energy instantly extinguished the furnace fire.

"If you can't even control the fire steadily, what kind of pill are you refining?"

He said coldly.

"Go to the quiet room and meditate for three days; first, master the basic cultivation method!"

The New Student's face turned pale, and he quickly lowered his head in assent, retreating dejectedly.

Mo Xuan turned to him and said indifferently.

"You, come here."

Jiang Donghua's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward.

"Today's test is very simple."

Mo Xuan waved his hand, and a small Medicine Cauldron appeared out of thin air, settling steadily in front of Jiang Donghua.

"Use your Fire Attribute Dou Qi to ignite the furnace fire and maintain it for a quarter of an hour without extinguishing."

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath, placed his hand on the pill furnace, and slowly circulated the Dou Qi within his body.

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath and firmly pressed his palm against the fire opening of the pill furnace.

The Dou Qi within his body slowly circulated, flowing along his meridians to his palm.

"Whoosh—"

A wisp of crimson flame shot up from the bottom of the furnace, initially as weak as a candle, but with the continuous infusion of spiritual energy, the flame gradually grew stronger, tumbling and dancing within the furnace chamber, illuminating the entire pill furnace a fiery red.

Mo Xuan stood to the side, observing the changes in the flame with piercing eyes.

A moment later, he nodded slightly.

"Hmm, not bad; you can conjure a flame on your first try."

However, his tone quickly turned serious.

"However, the flame you have summoned right now is not a true alchemy fire."

"True pill fire requires the interaction of fire and wood, and the harmony of yin and yang."

"Now, try to concentrate and sense the Wood Attribute spiritual energy within your body, then guide it to another fire opening."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Donghua closed his eyes, his mind sinking into his body, clearly feeling the surging Fire Attribute Dou Qi in his meridians, but trying to find that faint trace of Wood Attribute within it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Time passed minute by minute, and fine beads of sweat gradually seeped from Jiang Donghua's forehead.

He searched intently within his body, his Soul Power exploring his meridians like a spiderweb.

"Found it!"

Approximately half an hour later, Jiang Donghua suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of joy flashing in them.

He felt that within the torrent of Fire Attribute Dou Qi, there was indeed a faint, vibrant trace of Wood Attribute energy, though weak, it was full of life.

A hint of surprise flashed in Mo Xuan's eyes.

He had originally expected this newcomer to take at least one or two hours to find the Wood Attribute spiritual energy, but he hadn't expected it to be so quick.

This made him re-examine this seemingly ordinary Yellow Rank Class student.

"Very good, now try to draw it out."

Mo Xuan's voice unconsciously softened a few degrees.

Jiang Donghua extended a finger from his other hand and gently touched the other fire opening of the pill furnace.

He carefully controlled that fragile Wood Attribute spiritual energy, allowing it to flow slowly along his meridians.

This process was more difficult than imagined.

The Wood Attribute spiritual energy was like an untamed wild horse; a slight carelessness would cause it to re-immerse itself in the torrent of Fire Attribute spiritual energy.

Jiang Donghua held his breath and concentrated, maintaining his control over it with all his might.

Finally, a wisp of emerald-green airflow, as fine as a strand of hair, seeped from his fingertip, like the tenderest willow branch in spring, gently swaying as it flowed into the pill furnace.

"Whoosh—"

The moment the Wood Attribute spiritual energy met the flame, a miraculous change occurred.

The originally violent crimson flame suddenly became docile, its tongues no longer darting wildly.

Instead, it transformed into a stable, reddish-green fire mass, burning evenly within the furnace chamber.

A hint of appreciation flashed in Mo Xuan's eyes.

"Not bad; to achieve this level on your first try, it seems you indeed have some talent in Soul Power control."

Jiang Donghua, however, dared not relax in the slightest, clearly feeling that maintaining this balance required extremely precise control.

A slight misstep would result in the Wood Attribute spiritual energy being swallowed by the flame, or the flame becoming unstable due to an excess of Wood spiritual energy.

"Maintain this state for a quarter of an hour."

Mo Xuan's voice sounded again.

"Remember this feeling; this is the most basic control of pill fire."

"True alchemy is thousands of times more complex than this."

The surrounding air seemed to solidify.

Jiang Donghua's entire mind was focused on his hands, maintaining the output of Fire Attribute spiritual energy while carefully regulating the flow of Wood Attribute spiritual energy.

At this moment, he finally understood why Alchemists were so rare and precious.

Just the initial screening alone could filter out at least ninety percent of Fire Attribute Dou Practitioners, not to mention the need for Soul Power to control two different elemental energies.