Xiao Chen almost got swallowed by the flame-like black thing. His face was extremely pale. Anyone would have been stunned by the sudden appearance of this black flame, which suddenly jumped out from nowhere. Let alone Xiao Chen, who was almost merely thirteen years old.
“What…what is this thing?” Xiao Chen was horrified, and was covered all over in cold sweat.
“Hehe, Xiao Chen. I will be long gone by the time you open up this jade slip. The jade slips were left by me when you were in a coma back at the Immortal Dao Sect. Unexpectedly, all your meridians were blocked, so due to limited time, I could only seal it inside this jade slip. Well, it’s fine. I believe that you have transformed into a different person since the sacred blood has cleansed your whole body.” While Xiao Chen was astonished, he heard Ba Hun’s voice and light laughter by his ear.
Xiao Chen was more than thrilled to hear that voice, and hastily asked, “Master, Master, where are you? I have yet to repay your great kindness!”
At the end of his words, Xiao Chen returned to his senses. He was stuck dumb for a moment, and then shook his head while smiling bitterly. He had a sad look, because it wasn’t Ba Hun, but his message that was left inside the jade slip.
“Xiao Chen, I believe that you have already seen the herbs and formulas inside my storage ring. I am an alchemist.
Although the herbs are not very rare, all my formulas are more than precious. All my alchemy techniques are all in my jade slips. You may study them anytime you like.
Alchemy requires great soul strength. So you can only start practicing it once you acquire soul strength. It shouldn’t be too hard, since you have the sacred blood to help you with that. Of course, you will be needing a flame as well. I have left the Dark Flame for you as well. The alchemy formulas and all the experiences are all in the Dark Flame, which would be of great help to you if you ever want to get started. Well, you may also pass them on to your friends if you do not wish to practice it yourself. All I ask is that you do not let it be lost because of me. Also, I hope you don’t mind that there’s not much in this Chaos God Ring.”
“But if you do wish to practice alchemy, you should not resist the Dark Flame, the Dark flame will enter your body on its own, and you will be able to practice alchemy. Hehe, I’ve seen your dream in your memories. You want to become the strongest among heaven and earth. I must say that I’m quite impressed to see someone without Vital Spirit having such a strong faith. Although we only shared one encounter, I know you will be someone prominent in the future. Hopefully I’m not mistaken. Just keep striving on the path of cultivation. It is a difficult path, but I know that you will realize your dream.”
Listening to Ba Hun’s voice, Xiao Chen shed floods down his cheeks. Seeing that he had left him the precious alchemy techniques, he was more than touched in his heart. Aside from his father, the benevolent old man, Ba Hun, was the only one who had been so nice to him ever since he was a kid. All Xiao Chen could think about now was the kind smile of Ba Hun before he vanished.
[Uhm, you forgetting the sect master who took pity on you and took you in? He gave you a place where you belonged, until they were crushed.]
“Thank you so much, Master Ba Hun. I will keep you in my memory until my last day. I will never let the precious techniques be lost, for they are all left by you. I am willing to learn whatever you have left me. And I promise never to let you down, no matter how difficult the techniques might be!” Xiao Chen said firmly as he wiped down his tears. In his eyes, there were traces of firmness.
The twelve-year-old boy had a grateful heart. Ever since he was a little kid, this was the very first time that he had received sincere help from others. He was very much touched by that help. And he understood better than anyone else that a favor the size of a water-drop should be repaid with a surging spring.
[Grateful heart? Why aren’t you grateful to your sect master! I believe that was the first time, this being the second!]
Xiao Chen decided to do as Ba Hun commanded as he restrained his grief. He stared at the Dark Flame in front and tried not to resist it. He relaxed thoroughly.
Just as Ba Hun had said before, the moment when Xiao Chen stopped resisting, the Dark Flame promptly entered into Xiao Chen’s body. The Dark Flame around him quickly disappeared in the blink of an eye.
At that moment, the sealed alchemy techniques, along with Ba Hun’s experiences, were released from the dark flame. Large quantities of information filled his mind, which caused him to feel a swelling pain. He even felt dizzy.
“For the alchemy of ancient times, you need a powerful soul strength to extract the herbals’ essence. Only by this way could a pill be made. There are three major steps in alchemy, fire-controlling, essence-gathering and pill condensing.”
This was only the first chapter of information present in Xiao Chen’s mind. There were other large quantities of information stored into Xiao Chen’s memory, and he needed time to digest them.
After a short period of time, Xiao Chen felt better about himself, and he was determined to learn the alchemy formulas. He sat down with his legs crossed, and began to recall those enormous amounts of information, he didn’t plan to cultivate tonight.
He searched his memories for the formulas to practice the ancient alchemy, together with Ba Hun’s alchemy experiences. The formula was very detailed in every step of the way, which was important. Xiao Chen tried very hard to keep all those experiences in mind.
In his brain, Xiao Chen constantly scanned Ba Hun’s experiences and the things he should pay great attention to, including how to practice alchemy, how to identify different kinds of herbs, and how to cultivate soul power. It also contained how to use the soul power, the Dark Flame, and so on.
“Xiao Chen didn’t expect alchemy to be so difficult. Any slight mistake would result in failure. Also, cultivating the soul power is far more difficult than cultivating the Vital Spirit. No wonder almost all the alchemists in Romantic City were only second-level and third-level alchemists. I’m so lucky to have such powerful formulas from Master Ba Hun, otherwise the soul power’s cultivation alone would be difficult for me.” Xiao Chen said within his mind. He was surprised at how powerful the alchemy techniques were, and tried his best to memorize all the information.
Without noticing, four hours had passed. Xiao Chen slowly opened his eyes, and took a deep breath before he smiled: “Cool. Now I have memorized it all. Although practicing alchemy is hard, I shouldn’t worry about anything, given that I have Master Ba Hun’s experiences.”
Xiao Chen had never thought about being an alchemist himself. His dream since childhood was to become the strongest among heaven and earth. As for being an alchemist, that had never crossed his mind. However, today it was coincidental that he acquired Ba Hun’s alchemy formulas.
“Based on the experiences of Master Ba Hun, the most important thing for me is cultivating my soul power, and to learn to control the Dark Flame. These are the foundations of alchemy. Without the strength and fire to forge, then what kind of pill could be refined?”
With the experiences that Ba Hun left, Xiao Chen made fast progress in his cultivation. Soon enough, he had acquired a trace of soul power, but he couldn’t sense it yet.
Of course, it wasn’t enough for alchemy if one only had such little soul power. Alchemy consumed quite a lot soul power, so if not capable enough, one could never do alchemy.
Xiao Chen sat for quite a few successive days, and was continuously cultivating. The soul power inside him grew stronger, and Xiao Chen began to sense traces of it.
“Is this the soul power? Finally, I acquired it after so many days of cultivation! However, it’s still too weak. Alchemy consumes large quantities of soul power. I don’t think that this is enough.” Xiao Chen said in his heart. He had learned a lot from Ba Hun’s experiences.
Everything else should wait until he has stronger soul power. Only then could he get started on alchemy.