"Hehe! Yes, yes! I'll immediately arrange things for my younger brother!" Seeing that Han Li had offered him merely a mid-stage spiritual stone, the stocky man couldn't help but be impressed. After all, although it was widely recognized in the immortal realm that one mid-stage stone could be exchanged for a hundred low-stage stones, very few people actually chose to make such a trade. Everyone knew that, under the same conditions, mid-stage stones absorbed spiritual energy much faster than low-stage ones. Simply on that account, everyone naturally wanted to keep their mid-stage stones and didn't place much value on low-stage ones. The same situation applied when exchanging high-stage stones for mid-stage stones. With a bright smile, the stocky man gratefully accepted the fiery spiritual stone and became even more attentive to Han Li. He then promptly led Han Li to the grand, colorful stone gate and, from his sleeve, produced a purple arrow-shaped object, flashing it against the gate's surface. A flash of red light shone on the purple jade staff, and a streak of霞light shot forth, precisely striking the door. Instantly, the colorful stream of light began to spin rapidly. After several loud creaking sounds, the stone door slowly rose, revealing a black passage behind it, about one zhang high and square in shape. "Brother, after we pass through this stone passage, we'll reach the rooms powered by earth-fire. Shall we go now?" the short, stout man smiled warmly and said to Han Li in a courteous tone. "Yes," Han Li nodded without much comment, and stepped forward into the passage first. Though the stone used here was not particularly rare, nor was it a common material in the mundane world, it was no easy feat to find so many of them and use them as building blocks for the passage and the buildings. Indeed, it was only thanks to the unique property of this stone—its high heat resistance and ability to withstand the molten earth-fire—that the land of earth-fire had remained free from any major incidents since its opening. The hulking man led the way, a touch showy in his manner. Han Li listened intently and was immediately intrigued, reaching out to run his hand along a black stone wall beside him—only to find it smooth, cool, and slippery. "This stone—where does it come from? How can it withstand earth-fire that is even three parts stronger than true flame? That's truly remarkable," Han Li said, rarely expressing such enthusiasm, and added a question casually. "Well, it's not an exceptionally rare material, but our nation, the Yue State, actually doesn't produce it at all. We've had to import it from distant western lands, through our ancestors' connections—quite a logistical challenge!" the hulking man explained. Thus, Han Li followed behind him, passing through two more similarly towering stone gates in quick succession, and finally stepped out of the stone corridor into a vast circular hall. This hall, too, was constructed of the same stone, but with a diameter of forty to fifty zhang and a height of over ten zhang—so immense that it left one in awe. Surrounding the hall were thirty-some identical white stone doors, evenly distributed. At that moment, the hall was empty, with only the recently arrived hulking man and Han Li present. After curiously surveying the scene, Han Li heard the hulking man chuckling and saying, "This hall lies directly above the most active underground hot springs, so our sect has established thirty-six hot spring chambers for crafting artifacts and elixirs. The finest elixir rooms are number eighteen and nineteen. However, room eighteen has been taken by a senior master, so I suggest you use room nineteen. Though it's slightly less excellent than eighteen, it still boasts outstanding heat intensity and stability." As he spoke, the hulking man led Han Li toward a door inscribed with the golden characters "NINETEEN." He then smiled and said. Han Li remained silent, simply nodded in agreement. Upon seeing this, the hulking man immediately produced a white jade card, pressed it against the door, and the white stone door opened automatically. Then, the hulking man and Han Li entered the room. The room was square in shape, of ordinary size—about seven or eight zhang in area—but at its center stood a circular platform roughly one zhang wide, and on each of the four walls hung a gourd about the size of a clenched fist. Nearby, in a corner of the wall, there was a jade-green cushion. The platform was also made of wu stone, quite flat, only half a zhang high. However, on its outer surface, eight miniature red dragon heads were embedded, lifelike in appearance. These dragon heads slightly raised their mouths, precisely facing the space above the center of the platform, as though about to exhale—extremely realistic. After taking in the room's layout, Han Li was slightly surprised, but before he could ask any questions, the hulking man had already walked over to the platform and began to explain to him. "Brother, this is the earth-fire outlet of the room. The earth-fire required for alchemical refining is emitted from these eight dragon heads. Moreover, the intensity and height of the flame can be adjusted according to need. The specific method of operation is inscribed on the outer "The hulking man pointed to the round, solid object to explain. Then, he gestured toward the four gourds mounted on the wall and said, 'These gourds contain Scorch Sand, which can temporarily enhance the power of the earth-fire. Should your brother find the heat insufficient, he may use them to boost the intensity for a short while—though the effect won't last long. Also, your brother should keep this jade plaque himself. Once the door is closed, the room will be completely isolated from the outside world. Unless several Dan-stage cultivators work together, no one will be able to enter from outside. So, please rest assured—no one will disturb you!" Hearing this, Han Li felt deeply pleased. Such a completely sealed environment was exactly what he needed, and a few traces of joy appeared on his face. When the hulking man saw that his explanation was complete, he politely excused himself and left. Han Li watched him go and immediately activated the jade plaque, sealing the stone door once again. Then he hurried over to Yuan Dun, circled it several times, and carefully examined the eight dragon heads spouting out. Even the most renowned alchemy masters of today have to admit that, even when they personally handle the process, their success rate in producing pills is only about half—this applies especially to the types of pills they are most skilled at. As for ordinary alchemists, the chances are even lower! Therefore, the success of an alchemical endeavor ultimately depends entirely on the experience and expertise of the alchemist. The more frequently an alchemist has practiced, the higher their success rate. Consequently, alchemists rank alongside calligraphers as two of the most costly and in-demand professions in the immortal realm. Han Li has gathered considerable information on these matters and knows well that, as a novice, it is entirely unrealistic to produce a foundational pill in one go. Thus, he has already planned ahead and decided to produce the foundational pills one by one. This way, even if he experiences numerous failures at the outset, he will not be overly distressed about the precious medicinal materials he uses. The amount of elixir he had prepared was sufficient to produce over a hundred batches, and he believed this ample supply of materials would allow him to accumulate sufficient experience over time. Having settled on his plan, he carefully recorded the method of commanding the dragon's head. Then, he pressed his palm and sequentially emitted eight beams of red light onto the dragon's head. Immediately, the dragon absorbed the red light, and with its mouth slightly opening, it expelled one after another streams of purple flame, each as thick as a pair of chopsticks. The air within the room instantly became scorching hot, which surprised Han Li deeply. Subsequently, Han Li experimented with fine adjustments—varying the thickness of the flame streams and the height at which the dragon's head emitted them—until he could control them effortlessly. Only then did he extinguish the earth-fire emanating from the dragon's head. Next, he walked over to the cushion, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate and restore his vital energy. Han Li remained seated for half a day, feeling his spirit and physical strength at their peak, before opening his eyes and standing up to begin the process of refining the elixir. Fortunately, due to his cultivation technique having advanced to the tenth level, Now, Han Li retrieved the silver tripod he had bought that day from his storage bag and cast a floating spell upon it, causing the tripod to hover steadily above the circular platform. This spell, specifically practiced for today's purpose, had taken considerable time to master. Han Li then cast a glow of red light onto the dragon's head, releasing the deep purple earth-fire contained within. Since no ingredients had yet been placed inside the tripod, Han Li controlled the flame to be extremely fine—only as thick as a thread. Subsequently, under the preheating effect of the eight streams of fire, the silver tripod began to rotate slowly in mid-air. After one hour, the tripod had warmed up significantly, radiating an impressive heat. Seeing this, Han Li pointed at the small tripod, and instantly the lid lifted, revealing the opening. With a gesture of his right hand, a white jade bottle appeared in his grasp, containing the precisely measured powdered medicinal ingredients. Holding the small vial, Han Li poured all the medicinal powder inside into the silver-wire cauldron and immediately threw the vial away, then retrieved another one from his storage pouch, repeating the same action. Thus, he poured the powdered herbs of dozens of required spiritual medicines into the silver-wire cauldron and finally resealed the lid. The first step was finally completed, appearing very flawless with no errors.