Legacy of Hatred

In theory, and in practice for that matter, alchemical products were poor ingredients.

While Liam’s training and every alchemical master strived for perfection, no such thing existed. There were levels of greatness, but no apex.

Moreover, variables always appeared. They weren’t the product of the alchemist’s inexperience. They just happened naturally, demanding fixes that left traces in the alchemical product.

Of course, those traces were less than negligible in completed, successful alchemical products. They wouldn’t actually affect anything in terms of the pill, elixir, or whatever’s effects.

Yet, those traces of imperfection would return if someone used completed products as ingredients. Actually, they would appear in far grander fashion than natural variables since they were the result of a series of improvised fixes.

It didn’t help that Liam planned to use two products as ingredients instead of one, multiplying that greater problem, but he had an advantage there, a big one, actually.

Both the Qi-Storage Pill and the Qi-Igniting Pill had come out of Liam’s cauldron. He had concocted those alchemical products, so he knew exactly where their acceptable imperfections lay.

With the skills Liam had amassed in the recent months, he could not only predict where those problems would arise during the concoction. He could also already decide how to deal with them quite confidently.

So, Liam let the cauldron reach the right temperature before seizing the flask, opening it with one hand, and pouring its blue liquid at a specific pace.

Then, Liam let the liquid rest inside the cauldron, not counting the seconds, but knowing exactly how many were passing. That habit had become second-nature for him, or rather, his subconscious could deal with it.

The Qi-Storage Pill came next, albeit Liam didn’t merely drop it into the cauldron. He forcefully threw it inside, releasing a splashing explosion that didn’t leak a drop outside.

Variables appeared and multiplied in no time. The abrupt addition of Melissa’s Qi to the liquid caused a chain reaction that threatened to push the concoction beyond the critical point.

Nevertheless, Liam had been ready for that, adjusting his Qi output and mental filters to deal with that crucial phase. The alchemical flame rose and shrank, paled and darkened, until a modicum of stability returned inside the cauldron.

Lastly, Liam seized the Qi-Igniting Pill and gently dropped it inside the cauldron before placing both hands over the burning log.

Violent rumbles immediately took over the cauldron, threatening to bend its very fabric or make it jump out of the flame.

Still, Liam unleashed all the Qi his mental filters allowed him to release simultaneously, forcing the flame to rise higher and higher until it covered half of the metal item.

Naturally, that visual representation did little to explain what the alchemical technique entailed. The Qi-Igniting Pill did exactly what its name suggested. It ignited the Qi, making it unstable but powerful, and Liam needed to suppress that surge without weakening it.

The taller alchemical flame acted as a cage that pushed down the rising tide of whatever was boiling inside the cauldron, forcing it to settle at its bottom and merge into a joint, pure product.

It took a while, but the rumblings eventually subsided completely, at which Liam slapped the cauldron’s side to expel the impurities. A white, wet fog escaped the item, but Liam was already on his feet, looking past it to stare at its creation.

There, a crystal-clear liquid rested at the cauldron’s bottom, releasing a fresh, wet scent, as well as the unmistakable Qi that only a peak rank 1 item could radiate.

’It feels a bit weaker than the Boar’s Touch,’ Liam thought, ’But it should suffice. Melissa doesn’t even have my same problems.’

Liam pulled back his head before any of his sweat could fall and contaminate his creation, ending up sitting down due to the wave of exhaustion that followed.

The inferiority to the Boar’s Touch was merely the result of the alchemical flame. Liam’s true Qi could fuel a stronger fire, while the mental filters slightly lowered his upper limits.

However, in theory, the clear liquid and the deadly poison were equal in rank, meaning that their concoctions stood at the same difficulty level. After all, they were both products meant to overcome a foundation expert’s bottleneck.

Of course, Liam wasn’t completely exhausted, not more than usual anyway. The concoction had demanded much of his Qi, but the high-grade circulation technique had vastly expanded what could occupy his body, and some of that energy had survived the process.

’No wonder she couldn’t find a solution,’ Liam accepted, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. ’This was quite expensive.’

According to the Alchemy Elder, water cores usually required formation masters, which the six neighboring Sects didn’t have. Even if they did, no one would help the Pale Moon Sect get another rooting expert, not cheaply at least.

Since formation masters were told to be quite expensive themselves, the matter was unsolvable for Melissa. She would have had to wait for a lucky encounter like Joel had done, or slowly amass merits until the Sect agreed to bear that expense.

Theoretically, alchemy shouldn’t have helped, either, yet not out of mere unfeasibility. No recipe for Melissa’s problem existed, but those could be devised.

The problem lay in how expensive the procedure was. Devising the recipe would waste ingredients in tests, and the solution Liam had found only increased those costs.

Alchemical products were more valuable than the sum of their ingredients, but Liam had used two of the former to create a single, disposable item.

Moreover, that item had no real use to anyone but Melissa and was only for the goal of overcoming her bottleneck. Unless she were filthy rich, she would have never been able to afford an alchemist for that whole endeavor, especially a capable one.

Yet, Melissa did have an alchemist in her corner, one who didn’t care for costs or efforts when it came to her. Liam would never see helping her as a wasteful endeavor, and he believed he had succeeded.

That belief didn’t stay in a vacuum, either.

Once Liam was sure that his sweat wouldn’t get in the way anymore, he scooped the crystal-clear liquid from the cauldron and poured it into a flask, storing it carefully before exposing it to the candles’ flickering flames.

At that point, the solemn presence in Liam’s cave scoffed, drawing his gaze to the sealed boulder. His Master was also staring at the flask, but his chilling blue eyes soon moved to his face.

"You did it," The Alchemy Elder confirmed. "It means you can resume working on your breakthrough."

And Liam nodded seriously. His success in another peak rank 1 concoction that had nothing to do with his core’s nature meant that his alchemical expertise had met the requirements to tackle his impossible bottleneck once more.