Dual Cultivation

While Senior Zeng and Luo Yixiao continued to do their exercise, Su Yang said to Cai Yan, "Since you have never concocted pills before, I am going to teach you step by step."

"How much of the technique did you learn?" He then asked her.

"I understand most of it, Master."

"Good. That will make things much easier," he said.

"What should I do, Master?" Wang Shuren suddenly asked him, feeling slightly left out now that there were other disciples beside herself.

"Hm? You can do whatever you want until it's your turn." Su Yang said.

"I understand…" Wang Shuren sighed inwardly before going to concoct some pills.

"Now, let's begin your lectures." Su Yang said once Cai Yan sat before the cauldron.

"Before we can even start concocting pills, we need to see what kind of Alchemy flames you were born with."

"Not everyone is born with alchemy flames, but I can sense it in your spiritual energy, so you should have it."

Cai Yan nodded and closed her eyes to focus on the technique she'd been practicing for the past month.

A few minutes later, a small ball of pale green flames appeared before her.

"Oh? Your alchemy flames actually turned out to be Jade Flames? That's a very pleasant surprise." Su Yang said.

Just like Zhu Mengyi in the Holy Central Continent who was born with unique Azure Flames, Cai Yan was gifted with her own unique alchemy flames that are known as Jade Flames, a powerful but hard to control type of alchemy flame.

"What? Unique Alchemy Flames?" Wang Shuren stopped concocting pills to turn around and stare at the green flames floating above Cai Yan's palm. While she has heard rumors before, this is actually her first time seeing someone with unique alchemy flames.

"How lucky! If only I was born with unique alchemy flames, my life as an alchemist would be much easier…" Wang Shuren sighed loudly.

Hearing her sigh, Su Yang looked at her and said, "Being gifted with unique alchemy flames does not always mean having an easy life as an alchemist."

"What do you mean? Unique alchemy flames are basically a superior version of regular alchemy flames, right?"

However, Su Yang shook his head and said, "While having unique alchemy flames may indeed be advantageous in many situations, but because of their own uniqueness they are also much more difficult to control and master."

"It's like being born with a Heavenly Constitution but not knowing how to train that body properly, which might cause more harm than good to your cultivation."

"And if a novice like Cai Yan with her Jade Flames is taught by someone incompetent, her life as an Alchemist would only become miserable, perhaps even ending in a tragedy."

"Anyway, if you also want to have unique alchemy flames, it's not impossible." Su Yang suddenly said to Wang Shuren, causing her eyes to widen with shock.

"You mean I can also have unique Alchemy Flames?! I thought you can only be born with it!" Wang Shuren exclaimed in a bewildered voice.

"No, you too can have unique alchemy flames if you absorb one. However, I doubt you will be able to find any alchemy flames in this world, as they require hundreds of thousands of years to grow."

"You can absorb unique alchemy flames?! This is the first time I've heard of this! And what do you mean 'grow'? How does one grow alchemy flames?!" Wang Shuren quickly asked him.

"Alchemy Flames are no different than Spiritual Treasures in the sense that they can both be created naturally, but Alchemy Flames normally take longer to appear due to their unique nature.

"..."

Wang Shuren was speechless. However, her heart throbbed with excitement knowing that she might be able to use unique alchemy flames in the future.

"Anyway, if you want to know more about alchemy flames, I will tell you all about them later." Su Yang said before returning to Cai Yan.

"Now that we know you have Jade Flames, I will have to change your training methods."

Cai Yan nodded with a calm face.

"It will take some time for me to write the techniques, so I will have you familiarize yourself with the Jade Flame for now."

He then said to Wang Shuren, "I want you to teach her the basics of flame control and make sure that nothing goes wrong while I create the techniques for her."

"Just the basics, right? You can leave this to me." Wang Shuren nodded with a confident expression on her face.

Once Su Yang went away to write the new techniques for Cai Yan, Wang Shuren said to her, "The easiest way to familiarize yourself with your alchemy flames is simply by using it. Here, try to light a fire underneath the cauldron by controlling your spiritual energy and imaging a fire appearing under the cauldron." Wang Shuren pointed at her cauldron.

Cai Yan nodded and took a deep breath before creating a small flame under the cauldron.

"Good. Now keep it like that for as long as possible."

However, the Jade Flames disappeared only a few seconds later, and Cai Yan began panting heavily, seeming out of energy already.

"Eh? What happened? That wasn't even ten seconds!" Wang Shuren asked her with a dumbfounded face.

"I...I don't know…" Cai Yan said in an exhausted voice. "I tried to keep the alchemy flames active, but my spiritual energy depleted before I even realized."

"Do unique alchemy flames really consume that much spiritual energy? Even novice Alchemists at the Elementary Spirit Realm can maintain their alchemy flames for around 10 ten minutes before they run out of spiritual energy, but you can't even do it for a full minute while being at the fourth level True Spirit Realm! This is too weird!"

"Perhaps this is what Su— Master meant when he said that having unique alchemy flames does not automatically mean having an easy life as an alchemist…" Wang Shuren finally understood Su Yang's words.

"What should I do now, Senior Sister?" Cai Yan asked her with a dejected look. How will she ever concoct pills if she cannot even maintain her alchemy flames long enough to heat up the cauldron, much less concoct a pill?

"You can only increase your spiritual energy at this point, right? But how much spiritual energy would you need to maintain such energy-consuming alchemy flames?" Wang Shuren shook her head a moment later and sighed, "I guess I am the 'incompetent' teacher Master mentioned in this situation…"

"Well, there's not much we can do at this point but wait until the Master finishes whatever he's doing." Wang Shuren said.

However, Cai Yan wasn't willing to give up so easily and continued to try to maintain her Jade Flames.

Sometime later.

"Haaa… haaa… This is impossible..." Cai Yan eventually gave up after failing a dozen times. "Maintaining the Jade Flames is not possible when it quickly consumes all of my spiritual energy and I have no control over it…"

"Why don't we ask Senior Zeng? Although he might not be at Master's level, he's still a very prominent Alchemist with decades of experience. Perhaps he might know a thing or two about your Jade Flames. I'm going to wake him up." Wang Shuren said before nudging Senior Zeng awake from his slumber.

"Huh? Did I fall unconscious again from exhaustion?" Senior Zeng sat up with a tired look.

"Yes, you did, but that's not why I woke you up." Wang Shuren said, and she continued, "Do you know anything about unique alchemy flames?"

"Unique Alchemy Flames? Now that's a term you don't hear every day." Senior Zeng nodded.

"Although I know a thing or two about unique alchemy flames, I cannot say that I know very much about it because they are extremely rare. Why do you ask?"

Hearing his question, Wang Shuren turned to look at Cai Yan and said to her, "Show it to him."

A few moments later, Cai Yan summoned the Jade Flames for a brief moment.

However, that brief moment was more than enough to shock Senior Zeng wide awake.

"Unique Alchemy Flames?! You actually have unique alchemy flames?! Heavens! This is only my second time seeing someone with such a gift!" He exclaimed with excitement.

"Oh? So you know someone else who has unique alchemy flames?" Wang Shuren's eyes flickered with interest.

However, Senior Zeng's expression darkened after hearing her inquiry, and he spoke in a solemn voice a moment later, "Yes, I knew of someone who used to have purple-colored alchemy flames. However, that person died in an accident when he lost control over his own alchemy flames, burning himself until only his ashes were left."

"..." Wang Shuren and Cai Yan stared at him with a horrified look on their faces.

"T-This person burned himself to death using his own alchemy flames?" Cai Yan asked for confirmation.

Senior Zeng nodded before sighing, "He was a talented young man who was also my first disciple. However, because I knew nothing about his purple flames at that time, I was unable to guide him properly, which ended in that horrible accident."

"..."

Wang Shuren was speechless, as she didn't think that he would have such a tragic history!