Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

'Did I just learn a technique?' Alex was surprised by the sudden notification. He quickly opened up the notification to look at the description of the newly learned technique called 'Elemental Guidance'.

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[Elemental Guidance: Level 1

Grade: Earth (Max)

Level 1:

Unlocked: Able to somewhat control the openly moving elements.

]

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'Oh, an Earth grade technique. But why does it have Max next to the grade? Is that like growth? Also, it says Level 1 unlocked, but there seems to be no sign of level 2. What a weird technique,' he thought.

The technique made him quite curious. According to the technique, he can now control the elements while making pills. Or at least show some semblance of control.

He looked at the technique description once more and wondered if Max instead of Growth meant that this ability was already at its highest level. If that was the case then what was the point of letting someone know Level 1 was unlocked when that was literally all that was that could be used.

Ma Rong looked at his blank face and said, "That is an Earth Grade technique called 'Elemental Guidance' it is a simple technique that guides elements inside the cauldron. "

"Although you can guide the elements, that doesn't necessarily mean you can tell them what they do. It is like opening a small waterway near a river, and hoping the water flows there."

"The purpose of this technique is to keep as much elemental energy inside the cauldron as possible, and not leak a lot. Plus, you guide the energy towards the power, although that doesn't mean the powder will absorb it all."

" Still, you will lose quite a bit of energy since the technique isn't foolproof. However, you should be able to greatly decrease your losses and increase your pill's harmony levels."

"Learn this technique by tomorrow, and I will test you on how well you have gotten. Also, make sure to register at least 2 20% harmony pills by the end of the day."

Ma Rong left after saying this. Alex's lesson hadn't been as intense today as it was yesterday. Still, it was quite fruitful, to say the least.

He had learned the technique, so he decided to use it a bit. Thanks to the lid, he didn't have to use the technique a lot. Only when he was putting in an ingredient would he used the technique to send away the energies from the openings.

The technique worked worse than his pill separating Qi that randomly started. The pill separating Qi controlled all of the energies while this technique only guided it a bit.

Still, after using it in a couple of pills, he realized that his pills were getting about a 5% bump in harmony levels. Every single pill he made now was above the 25% harmony levels.

This technique also helped him in a way he didn't know he needed. Since the technique kept the energies from running away from the cauldron, whenever his second pill would form inside the cauldron, both of the pills showed a massive increase in harmony as well.

He logged out for a bit to get some food and came back to start making some pills again. He still had over 80% of his original batch of ingredients. If he counted in terms of sets of ingredients, then he had about a bit less than 100 sets of different ingredients.

Aside from the sets of ingredients, he also had a bunch of extra ingredients that didn't go together on any pills. He made a few more pills until a bit past noon. Each of the pills an actual Earth Grade pill.

After he was done making pills, he took the cauldron and started refining it. It had only been a day, so he had a bit of a problem pouring in his Qi, so he didn't bother dropping in his blood yet. He would wait for a few more days when his Qi would more easily pour into the cauldron.

He walked outside and saw the clouds hanging in the sky. 'Is it finally gonna rain today?' he thought. He walked among the shades down the mountain.

He decided not to register the pills for now, but rather when he had all 20 of the pills at once.

He assumed the auction would be over by now, so he went to the auction house to get his money. It took him about half an hour to reach there.

He walked up the stairs and a lady came up to him. This lady was different from the one that took him inside yesterday.

"The auction is already in session so entering is no longer allowed now, please come back in a week if you want to take part in the auction." The lady spoke with a respectful tone.

"Oh, the auction is still going on? I thought it would be over by now. I came back to take my money. Do you know how much longer the auction would go on for?" he asked the lady.

The lady was surprised to see someone so young selling something. But once she saw the robe, she realized he must be an alchemist from the Hong Wu sect.

"Can I see the contract to verify your claims, Daoist?" she spoke.

"The contract?… oh the talisman. Here it is," he took out the talisman the woman named Cai Ping gave him yesterday and handed it to the lady in front of him.

Once she verified that he was in fact a seller, she took him to one of the rooms he had seen inside.

"Please wait here. The auction's end time usually varies depending on how many items are being sold, but it shouldn't last more than half an hour from now." The lady said and bowed a little. She then walked out of the door before Alex could even reply.

He had to wait upwards of 45 minutes in the room before the door to the room opened up, and Cai Ping walked in.