The purple flame spewed forth by the eight dragon heads, under Han Li's control, grew thicker and thicker, eventually reaching the thickness of a human finger. Yet the rotational speed of the silver-threaded cauldron gradually slowed down. As time passed, a delicate aroma of herbs and medicines began to emanate from within the small cauldron, invigorating those who inhaled it. Yet Han Li was clear that the formation of the pill was still far off—definitely requiring a more intense surge of earth-fire to instantly condense the essence into a solid pill. Only then could a true pill be formed. With this in mind, the purple flame under Han Li's command grew ever more brilliant, eventually reaching the diameter of a bowl, fully enveloping the entire silver-threaded cauldron. From a distance, the small cauldron now appeared as a massive sphere of fire, with the medicinal fragrance becoming increasingly rich and potent. Han Li did not need to guess—this was clearly the moment when the powdered herbs began to condense into pills, and thus he grew more attentive. Yet at that very moment, a deep, resonant crackling sound emerged from within the cauldron—though not loud, it sent Han Li's heart sinking Then, with a wave of his hand, he opened the lid of the still-hot bronze cauldron and peered inside. Inside, several fragments of pale blue solids lay scattered—clearly the unfinished elixirs, or waste elixirs! Shaking his head, Han Li placed a jade box on the ground, then carefully rotated the silver-threaded cauldron, pouring the waste elixirs into the box before sealing it away. Though these were waste elixirs, they had been formed from the concentrated powders of various medicinal herbs, and Han Li was determined not to discard them so easily—perhaps they would prove useful in the future! After completing these tasks, Han Li returned to his cushion and resumed meditation, only beginning the alchemical process again once the silver-threaded cauldron had cooled completely. The same steps, the same powdered ingredients, the same fire control techniques—yet unfortunately, the process still failed at the stage of elixir formation. Han Li maintained a composed expression, waiting until his condition stabilized, then quietly resumed the next round... After one month, seeing Han Li still hadn't emerged from the earth-fire chamber, the plain-looking man was slightly surprised, yet mostly excited, as this meant he could now extract even greater fees. After two months, the stone gate number eighteen remained closed—though pleased in heart, the plain-looking man was now deeply astonished. By the third and sixth months, Han Li still hadn't shown any sign of emerging. At this point, the initial excitement had completely faded, replaced entirely by a look of deep concern and growing anxiety. For a period of nearly six months, it was no uncommon occurrence in alchemy or crafting. Even longer durations had been witnessed several times before! Yet, those who spent such extended periods within the earth-fire chamber were, at the very least, disciples at the Foundation Stage or above. It was truly the first time that Li had seen a disciple at the Qi Stage staying here for such an extended period to refine pills. Typically, Qi Stage disciples could only maintain their fasting regimen for one month. Could it be that this disciple of Master Li carried food and drink with him, enabling him to endure thus far? That was what the awkward man thought, full of puzzlement. But just before he left, unexpectedly, he opened the cauldron and refined the elixir once more. This time, as if guided by divine assistance, the elixir successfully coalesced into a crystal essence. Remarkably, when he opened the furnace to retrieve the essence, he succeeded in extracting it in a single attempt—earning him his very first personally crafted foundational elixir. This foundational elixir, though slightly smaller in size, was otherwise identical in every way to the original three elixirs. This achievement filled Han Li with great enthusiasm! Encouraged by this success, Han Li firmly decided to stay and continue his efforts, abandoning his initial intention to return. Indeed, after gaining this successful experience, Han Li's success rate in forming the crystal essence skyrocketed—he achieved it in one out of every three refining attempts. Even more astonishingly, Han Li demonstrated an exceptional talent in retrieving the essence from the furnace, successfully extracting it in a single attempt for more than half of the elixirs—something he had never anticipated at all! During this time, whenever韩立 felt his stomach grow hungry or thirsty, he would take one pill of the Qi-Emptying Pill he had obtained from the old man and consume it, thereby extending his endurance for another month! This bottle of Qi-Emptying Pills had cost him several hundred-year-old herbs that he had borrowed or claimed to have purchased from outside. Now, it was finally proving its worth. Thus, when the raw materials in his hands were eventually exhausted, he ended up receiving an astonishing quantity of Foundation Pills—far exceeding his initial expectations. At first, upon hearing how difficult alchemy was, he had considered achieving just seven or eight pills to be a great success. Yet now it seemed that the process of smelting pills in the furnace was not as difficult or daunting as the legends suggested in the immortal circles. Was it possible that the alchemists were misleading other cultivators? Or perhaps he truly possessed a natural talent for alchemy? Hàn Lì found himself slightly puzzled. In truth, however, alchemy was actually three times more difficult than what was commonly believed outside. A common alchemist cannot be cultivated to such a level without two or three decades of dedicated practice and an expenditure approaching astronomical proportions. Currently, Han Li's skill in refining foundation pills ranks among the top tier among ordinary alchemists. This remarkable achievement is entirely due to Han Li's continuous, uninterrupted refinement of the same type of pill over the past six months. After all, even the wealthiest sects rarely provide any alchemist with a steady supply of rare materials to produce identical pills on a daily basis for a period of six months. Such a situation is only plausible for the lowest-grade pills. For lower-tier pills, however, there's no need to specifically train and accumulate experience—raw materials are relatively inexpensive, and if a batch fails, simply restarting the process is sufficient. Han Li, lacking this understanding, naturally failed to grasp the significance of this phenomenon. Yet, after a brief reflection, he simply set it aside. Because he suddenly conceived the strong idea of immediately taking the Foundation Pill and establishing his foundation right here, on the spot, to advance through the current stage. This determination was so strong that Han Li found himself seriously considering the possibility of closing his meditation retreat within this Earth-Heat Pavilion. ... Eleven months later, the stone door of Han Li's pavilion remained firmly shut, showing no sign of opening. On this day, the stocky man stared blankly at the stone door number nineteen, his face filled with worry. By now, he was certain that Han Li had definitely encountered an accident inside. Otherwise, a cultivator at the Foundation Stage should have already emerged. He wasn't particularly concerned about Han Li himself, but genuinely feared that Master Li would blame him for his disciple's mishap. Though he was a close relative of Zhong Master and held his current position thanks to that connection, the stocky man knew well that if Master Li truly became angry, his patron would never step in to defend him. Just as the hulking young man was wracked with worry, the stone gate before him suddenly flashed with a bright white light, then opened silently without a sound. From within stepped a person radiating cheerful spirits—none other than Han Li, who had been staying inside for nearly a year. It took the hulking man a long while to recover, and he was now both astonished and delighted. He hurried forward a few steps, still muttering complaints: "Brother, why are you only now coming out? If you hadn't come sooner, I would have—ah! You...!" As he began to speak, his eyes widened in astonishment, as if he had seen a ghost, fixed on Han Li, speechless, unable to utter a single word. "Is there something wrong with me?" Han Li asked, smiling gently as he glanced at the man. "You... your cultivation technique! How come...? I... Could it be—have you reached the Foundation Stage now?" The hulking man finally regained his composure, his face filled with bewilderment and alarm, and stammered out the question in a hesitant tone. "Yes!" After completing my elixir, I found the environment here quite favorable, so I took a foundational elixir and went into seclusion. As a result, I successfully passed the threshold and am now indeed a foundational-stage cultivator!" Upon hearing this question, Han Li stretched lazily and spoke with confidence and composure. "Foundational cultivation here?" The hulking man glanced at the fiery-hall behind Han Li, then back at him, still unable to believe it. To hear that someone would achieve foundational cultivation within a specially designated hall for alchemy and artifact crafting—he had never heard of such a thing before! Yet, after hesitating and moving his lips several times, he couldn't bring himself to voice his doubts. Han Li wasn't only a disciple of Master Li, but merely his foundational-level status made him far beyond what a cultivator at his own qi-stage could handle. "Then, is it impossible?" Han Li gave the man a calm, straightforward glance, and immediately radiated the inherent aura of a foundational cultivator. That subtle pressure pushed the hulking man back several steps, leaving him drenched in sweat, just a few feet away. "Of course not! The upper levels haven't established such unreasonable regulations. Congratulations, uncles, on your great achievement in meditation and cultivation!" The stocky man proved quite courteous, immediately nodding and bowing, his tone warm and full of smiles. He had even changed his address from "junior brother" to "uncle" right away. Now that his counterpart had successfully reached the Foundation Stage, he rightfully became his senior. With proper respect, this was entirely appropriate. Indeed, the stocky man was remarkably adaptable and deeply understood the principle in the immortal world that strength and achievement matter most.