Overlord of Heaven and Earth

In possession of source coins, one has to decide which color of source coin to employ according to the source power demanded by the medicine being refined.

Take, for example, the first - grade medium - level body - nourishing supporting medicinal formula that Gu Feng is about to refine at the moment. For each furnace of medicine he makes, it requires ten days' worth of source power. This means that every time Gu Feng starts the medicine - refining process, he must insert a blue source coin into the source - power hole in each medicine cauldron. If he puts in a green or cyan source coin, which is of a lower grade than the blue one, then that furnace of medicine is bound to become worthless waste.

Gu Feng carefully reached into his inner pocket and took out all of his current assets. A source coin emitting a faint blue glow and five source coins glimmering with a soft green light appeared in his hand. These source coins are the sole trading currency on the Wilderness Continent.

"For each refining, one blue source coin with ten days' source power is needed. If I refine ten furnaces, I'll need three red source coins with three months' source power and one blue source coin with ten days' source power!" Gu Feng calculated silently in his mind, and a sense of hesitation welled up within him.

You know, refining these ten batches of body - nourishing supporting medicines will consume a full one - third of his source power! On this Wilderness Continent, the way of measuring time is different from elsewhere. One minute consists of one hundred seconds, one hour has one hundred minutes, one day is made up of twenty hours, one month contains thirty days, and one year totals ten months, amounting to three hundred days in all. The source power of one hundred days required for this medicine - refining is equivalent to one hundred days of his lifespan!

Gu Feng hesitated for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind firmly. He thought to himself: Without giving, there can be no getting. Without sowing, there can be no reaping. Once he passes this test, what significance will these one hundred days have!

Having made his decision, Gu Feng no longer hesitated. Despite the pain in his heart, he still picked up the blue source coin with ten days' source power and placed it into the source - coin inlay on the Hundred Flowers Cauldron.

As long as he doesn't actively activate this source coin, it won't emit the "source fire" spontaneously. So, Gu Feng wasn't worried that the source power in the source coin would be consumed automatically.

He immediately sat cross - legged in front of the Hundred Flowers Cauldron, closed his eyes, and began to simulate the medicine - refining process in his mind.

Since he only had ten chances, and each chance required a large amount of source power, Gu Feng had to approach it with the utmost care. He knew clearly that every failure, not to mention the source power wasted, would push him further and further away from the bright future ahead.

After about three hours, Gu Feng slowly opened his eyes. There was no sign of the nervousness that usually comes with an impending test in his eyes; instead, there was only calmness and composure.

A mind as calm as still water and an intention as clear as a mirror are the states an alchemist must reach before refining medicine. Otherwise, the refining will surely end in failure.

Gu Feng gently picked up a portion of the medicinal materials from the bamboo table and placed them beside him. Then, he sat cross - legged, stretched out his right hand, and covered the source - coin inlay on the medicine cauldron. With a thought in his mind, a blue flame, full of the breath of life, blazed up instantly in the medicine cauldron.

When the source fire ignited, Gu Feng didn't put in the medicinal materials immediately. He remained calm, carefully controlling the output of source power from the source coin, keeping the flame at a moderate size.

After the source fire had burned in the furnace for a while, Gu Feng quickly and steadily stretched out his left hand, gently picked up the Xialin Flower, and threw it into the medicine cauldron.

"Boom!"

The moment the Xialin Flower entered the medicine cauldron, the raging blue source fire, under Gu Feng's urging, swelled with a loud "boom," becoming even more intense and scorching.

"Hoo～!" "Hoo～!"

Just by focusing on putting in the first medicinal material, the mental energy Gu Feng consumed made him feel extremely tired. In a short time, he was already sweating profusely and gasping for breath.

This was much more tiring than cultivation! It was not only physical exhaustion but also an extreme mental drain!

Although Gu Feng knew that refining medicine was mentally exhausting, he didn't expect that the actual mental consumption would be much greater than he had imagined. Just after putting in the first medicinal material, he felt on the verge of collapse, and his spirit became very fatigued. If he didn't take a break soon, he was afraid he would faint from excessive exhaustion.

"No wonder it's said that people with the talent for refining medicine are one in nine million. Now it's obvious that this is no exaggeration! Just the mental power required for this is beyond what ordinary people can have!" When Gu Feng put in the second medicinal material, the Blood Ginseng, perhaps because his spirit was too tired, he misjudged the heat. A "hiss" came from the medicine cauldron, and the whole furnace of medicine was ruined. Hearing the sound of the failed medicine, Gu Feng felt a wave of dizziness and then fainted. This was the last thought in his mind before he lost consciousness.

"Ugh～～ My head is killing me." Gu Feng slowly opened his eyes, rubbing his still - aching temples and muttering.

"Alas, it's still ruined." As Gu Feng rubbed his head and saw the ruined medicinal materials in the furnace, a sigh escaped his lips.

This failure meant that he was one step further from his dream! This feeling filled Gu Feng's heart with a deep sense of bitterness.

"Aren't there still nine chances left? I don't believe I can't do it! Since Tian Yisheng set this test, there must be a way to pass it! What's the use of sighing?" Gu Feng took a few deep breaths. Looking at the remaining nine portions of medicinal materials on the bamboo table, his eyes sparkled with determination.

Self - pity and not looking for the reasons for failure will never lead to success. Only by finding the reasons in failure and making improvements can one progress!

Gu Feng stopped thinking and immediately sat cross - legged, closed his eyes, and began to recall the reasons for his failure.

Mental power was surely the main cause of his failure, but how could he improve it?

Gu Feng closed his eyes tightly, his mind racing.

The only way was to persevere! Only by gritting his teeth and persevering could he break through the mental - power barrier!

Gu Feng came to the conclusion that tenacity was the key to breaking through the current situation.

After running through the process several more times in his mind, Gu Feng slowly opened his eyes. At this time, his eyes were calm and natural again, without a trace of emotion.

Failure is the mother of success. Perhaps this failure was not a real failure but a stepping - stone to his success!

Gu Feng took a few deep breaths, took out the blue source coin that had lost its luster, and with a thought in his mind, slowly injected ten days' worth of source power into it. The once - dim source coin once again emitted a faint blue light.

The source coin originally had no source power. Only after being injected with source power could it become a tradable currency. Before, it was like a worthless coin that no one would pick up even if it was dropped on the ground.

This time, Gu Feng didn't hesitate at all. He resolutely put the blue source coin filled with ten days' source power into the source - coin inlay and once again stretched out his right hand to cover it. With a thought in his mind, a blue source fire, full of the breath of life, "whooshed" and burned brightly in the Hundred Flowers Cauldron.

Just like last time, after the source fire had burned in the medicine cauldron for a while, Gu Feng quickly grabbed a Xialin Flower and threw it into the cauldron. He increased the output of the source fire, and the blue source fire became brighter and hotter. This time, however, Gu Feng sweated much less.

Practice makes perfect, and refining medicine is no exception. After experiencing the failure of the first time, Gu Feng learned from the experience, and this time his operation was much more proficient, lacking the clumsiness of the first attempt.

The flame continued to burn. Gu Feng stared intently at the flames, calculating the time to put in the medicine in his mind, not daring to slack off for a moment.

Two hours later, Gu Feng was soaked through with sweat, but he was completely unaffected, his eyes fixed on the burning flame in the medicine cauldron without blinking.

Suddenly, Gu Feng suddenly reduced the output of source power, and the fire shrank. At this moment, he quickly grabbed the Blood Ginseng beside him and threw it into the cauldron. Then, he immediately increased the source - power output, this time even more than the first time, and the fire flared up again. Fortunately, this time the medicine didn't "hiss" and become waste like the first time.

Even so, Gu Feng still frowned and slowly stopped the output of source power.

Although the medicine hadn't been completely ruined like the first time, it was almost as bad. Because this furnace of medicine had been refined by Gu Feng into an ordinary wound - healing medicine with only one - thousandth of the original efficacy.

"Could there be a mistake in some part of the process? But no, I clearly remember the formula saying 'put in Xialin Flower, Blood Ginseng, and Dogtail Fruit'!" Gu Feng carefully recalled the contents of the formula in his mind but couldn't figure it out.

"Put in Xialin Flower, Blood Ginseng, and Dogtail Fruit." Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Gu Feng. "The formula does say to put in these three medicinal materials, but it doesn't mention the order at all! I thought the order was based on their position in the text, with Xialin Flower first, Blood Ginseng second, and Dogtail Fruit last! How stupid of me!" After realizing this key point, Gu Feng suddenly burst out laughing, a sense of joy and excitement flooding his heart.

You see, this discovery had saved his remaining eight chances. How could he not be excited?

"This formula must have been modified by Tian Yisheng! A normal formula would never not mention the order! It seems that this formula is also part of Tian Yisheng's test! If I hadn't suddenly thought of this, these ten times of refining medicine would have either ended in failure or produced poison!" Thinking of this, Gu Feng couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine.

However, soon, another problem occurred to him. "I've seen through the trick set by Tian Yisheng, but I still don't know the correct order." At this thought, Gu Feng frowned again.

This was his first time trying to refine medicine. Finding the correct order on the first try seemed almost impossible!