Chapter 37 - I Can Skip Grades?
It was already night when Damien almost exhausted his soul energy carrying out his alchemy experiments.
He had conserved as much soul energy as possible for each of his experiments since he only needed a small flame without much heat for concocting Rank 1 Pills.
But even after taking short breaks in between experiments, Damien was now left with barely thirty percent of his soul energy, and all the experiments so far were failures.
But he did learn how to control his Fallen Flames to a certain degree and cut down his soul energy consumption according to his needs.
And he felt like he was getting closer to success after each experiment.
He deduced that for concocting a Rank 1 Pill, he need not produce a normal Fallen Fire as it would practically be overkill!
Normally someone with the same soul cultivation as his would struggle to keep up their etheric fire to concoct a Peak Rank 1 Pill unless they are a genius.
Damien decided to have one more try before he exhausts his soul energy and the ingredients.
He was trying to concoct a Peak Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pill, which could allow a cultivator to skip two meals a day.
Even though his etheric flames were special, he didn't want to overestimate himself by trying to concoct Rank 2 Pills.
Usually, a beginner at alchemy wouldn't even dream of concocting a Peak Grade Rank 1 Pill without much experience, even if their soul cultivation was high.
Sustenance Pills were mostly popular for practitioners with low cultivation like the Initial Ethereal Realm and even the Nascent Ethereal Realm as the hard-working ones would probably be secluding themselves for cultivating and wouldn't bother to eat a proper meal.
But as one's cultivation realm increases, less hunger would affect them.
So for someone with high cultivation, Sustenance Pills wouldn't be much use for them. They just need to eat once in a while, and that would be sufficient for them.
At even higher cultivation, they wouldn't have to eat at all. They would probably just have food for enjoyment or eat during important occasions.
There were only Low Grade and Peak Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pill. There were no Medium or High-Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pills.
A Low-Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pill would allow one to skip a single meal a day, while a Low-Grade Rank 2 Sustenance Pill would allow one to go without food for a whole day.
It was all thanks to his previous self's obsession with alchemy that he was able to form some theories on his own on how to concoct a pill with maximum potency instead of going by the book.
Damien was sure that if he had not awakened his memories, he would have turned out to be a famous alchemy prodigy who could formulate medical formulas that give maximum potency on his own.
This time he took out two sets of Rainbow Grass, and instead of a Fermented Berry, he took out two petals from a Four Petaled Wild Flower. All these ingredients were Low and Medium Level Common Grade herbs used to concoct a Rank 1 Pill.
'Seems like this Common Grade cauldron won't hold for long.' Damien wryly smiled to himself.
Lily made sure that Damien would get the best Common Grade cauldron available since she knew how much Damien was interested in alchemy.
But the brown Common Grade cauldron had almost broken down despite its superb quality for its grade, as initially, he was having a hard time controlling the intensity of his Fallen Flames. It could barely handle one more of Damien's experiments.
This was why Damien double-checked the medical formula he theorized. Otherwise, he would have to request another Common Grade cauldron, which would only make her suspicious.
He also had another reason for concocting a Peak Rank 1 Pill since those pills would easily sell for somewhere between sixty to a hundred Green Spirit Stones.
Even if his cauldron got completely spoiled after concocting a single pill, he could at least buy a cheap Common Grade cauldron from the money he would get after selling the pill.
But a cheap cauldron wouldn't last as long as a good quality one. Also, the pills' grade might even vary a bit depending on the quality of the cauldron.
Damien started focusing on his soul plane, and a few minutes later, a diminished and inferior version of Fallen Flames manifested on his palm.
He reduced the amount of soul energy by a lot in his flame to scale down its intensity and hotness.
He had only depleted about 15% of his soul energy. But if he had manifested a normal Fallen Flame without holding back, he would have exhausted about 84% of his soul energy even with his Peak Origin Soul Stage!
Damien then cut off his soul energy connection as his Fallen Flames entered the cauldron.
Since he had decreased the amount of soul energy in his Fallen Flames by a lot, it wouldn't keep blazing as long as it normally would.
But still, it would stay ablaze long enough for Damien to concoct a Rank 1 Pill!
Damien then threw in the Rainbow Grass, followed by the two petals from the Four Petaled Wild Flower.
Under his control, the chaotic Fallen Flames was as docile as a sheep as it gently surrounded the medical ingredients thrown into the cauldron.
He began refining the essences of the various medical ingredients needed for the Peak Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pill.
Within just a few minutes, the medical ingredients were completely purified. Damien's eyes were staring intently at the interior of the cauldron as he saw the round medicinal pill flip and roll around a number of times before coming to rest.
Seeing the luster of the medicinal pill, Damien smiled as he knew he finally succeeded!
But just as he got a closer look, his eyes widened in shock.
Damien beckoned his hand, prompting the pale brown colored medicinal pill to shoot out from the cauldron and fly towards him.
As he inspected the medicinal pill's color, luster, etc., his eyes only widened more.
He was astonished that the medicinal pill was not a Peak Grade Rank 1 Sustenance Pill but was a Low-Grade Rank 2 Sustenance Pill!
He found it hard to believe that he was able to concoct a Rank 2 Pill without even using High-Level Common Grade medicinal ingredients!
No matter how good or genius an alchemist was, it was considered impossible to jump grades without using the necessary herbs required for that grade.
But Damien only used Low and Medium Level Common Grade herbs to concoct the medicinal pill in his hand.
It was even common knowledge among alchemists that a Low-Grade Rank 2 Sustenance Pill can be concocted only using at least High-Level Common Grade medicinal ingredients as Low to Medium Level Common Grade medicinal ingredients was used for concocting a Rank 1 Pill. High to Peak Level Common Grade medicinal ingredients were used for concocting a Rank 2 Pill.
If any alchemist came to know about this fact, they would rather go crazy than believe that Damien can concoct pills that can skip grades.
This was why even Damien was gobsmacked as he felt like he pulled off something that basically questioned his knowledge of alchemy.
'How can this be? I know for sure it's not because I changed the ingredients since I only used medicinal ingredients below the High-Level Common Grade. It would, at best, increase the chances of success and potency but not to this degree. It must be because of my…'
"How long are you going to stare at that pill like a knobhead?"
Luna appeared and made Damien come out of his contemplation when he heard her melodious voice filled with her usual taunts.
Damien showed her the pill in his hands as he asked, "Was this possible because of my Fallen Flames?"
Damien knew that Luna would have a clear idea of what exactly happened since she can analyze the essence of basically anything. In fact, she can not only analyze but shape and manipulate any essence.
He felt that her Shard Of Essence was too overpowered since fundamentally everything or every being was made up of some kind of essence.
That was how she could discern anyone's cultivation by reading their ethereal aura or soul aura and how she could manipulate and modify his ethereal core points.
He could only imagine the things she could do if her soul was not fragmented.
Luna didn't even glance at the pill as she said in a jaded tone, "Obviously, it wouldn't be because of anything else. Even if your medical formula is an improved version than the conventional one, it would at best help you concoct a pill a bit more potent than the usual ones. But to allow you to concoct a pill by skipping a grade...you should thank your own etheric flames as your flames squeezed out the maximum medical essence possible without leaving any residue from the medical ingredients you used. Ordinary etheric flames or elemental fire wouldn't be able to achieve that with the measly laws contained in them."
"If I can skip a single grade by using just 15% of my soul energy, then what would happen if I increased the intensity of my Fallen Flames by expending more of my soul energy?" Damien's eyes sparkled as he posed this question to Luna.