Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 277 - 273 Alchemy

Chapter 277: Chapter 273 Alchemy

Despite their influence and independence, the vast majority of dragons are realists, fully aware that, no matter how strong an individual creature is, it can still be defeated by enough enemies.

Many dragons seek long-term collaborations with other beings, recruiting capable and loyal subordinates in exchange for knowledge, assistance, and treasures.

Leon only knew that dragons recruited subordinates, but he wasn’t sure if they had the patience to mentor them. It might be plausible for Blue Dragons, but Red Dragons were notoriously impatient. That said, any major force inevitably places huge importance on cultivating talent.

Leon brushed off the thought after briefly pondering it. He was growing increasingly perplexed by the workings of his Golden Finger ability. Sometimes, it felt as though rewards would come for completing specific tasks, only for them not to appear. Other times, rewards seemed to arrive unexpectedly, simply for doing things out of curiosity.

There were so many things he didn’t understand—like the edge of the universe, like quantum entanglement, like whether there was an existence transcending dimensions beyond the Creator God.

Not comprehending wasn’t anything to worry about. Leon, with a furrowed brow, quickly focused his attention on the rewards from the Golden Finger ability.

To differentiate it from the inner core, alchemy could also be referred to as the Outer Elixir Technique, a process where various secret methods were employed to refine elixirs intended for consumption.

Alchemy, in actual history, wasn’t a big deal. But the alchemy he had mastered was certainly not the one found in historical texts. It was the alchemy depicted in mythological stories.

Leon shut his eyes and contemplated for a long time, wondering what kind of alchemy he had mastered and what types of elixirs he could refine.

For starters, the elixirs he could refine were divided into two categories: Human Elixirs and Heavenly Immortal Pills.

Cooling Powder belonged to the category of Human Elixirs; it could grant flame resistance for a limited time.

Antitoxin served to provide temporary poison resistance.

Divine Whistle Powder could be considered a spiritual medicine for lightning resistance.

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Youthful Appearance Pill could drive women crazy.

Life-saving Pill could significantly restore lost life points.

The effectiveness of the Tiger Suppressing Pill wasn’t simple—it could increase the user’s strength for an extended period, albeit modestly. Sometimes, even a small boost could be the crucial difference.

Strengthening Bone Medicine enhanced physical constitution for a prolonged period.

The Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Pill was undeniably powerful; it could resurrect someone who had recently died. Once consumed, the pill would activate automatically in the face of death, ensuring the user couldn’t be instantly killed. At the very least, they’d retain a sliver of life to escape—it could be understood as a death-preventing safeguard. When the target’s life points first reach zero due to damage, it would instead reduce their life points to one and nullify instantaneous death effects.

Human Elixirs were nothing too special. There were countless substitutes in this world—such as Energy Potions, Acceleration Potions, and Invincible Potions.

Heavenly Immortal Pills, however, were truly exceptional.

Even the lifespan of dragons was finite, so there was no need to elaborate on the significance of the Elixir of Immortality, which extended life.

The Green Lotus Immortal Pill could enhance the user’s maximum life points, the Taiyi Purple Gold Pill could increase the user’s magic limit, and the Heartless Pill could bolster the user’s defense level. Unlike Human Elixirs, all the effects of Heavenly Immortal Pills were permanent.

Leon thought of Sun Wukong. His immense strength was undoubtedly tied to his pillaging of Heaven, during which he consumed countless peaches, imperial wine, and Immortal Pills. Among them, he devoured Immortal Pills as though he were munching on fried beans—such extravagance.

No, that’s not right.

If alchemy could only refine Human Elixirs, it would be a regular reward. Regular rewards varied in strength, from weak ones like the Water Walking Technique to strong ones like immobilization spell or Hand Palm Bomb.

But alchemy could also refine Heavenly Immortal Pills—not categorizing this as an advanced reward was unacceptable to Leon. What’s more, he felt alchemy capable of refining Heavenly Immortal Pills should rank among the strongest advanced rewards, comparable to something like Vajra Body.

Leon struggled to make sense of this and soon had an epiphany: the reason alchemy was considered a regular reward and not an advanced one.

Refining elixirs without materials? Impossible.

The materials needed for Human Elixirs were fairly mundane, but those required for Heavenly Immortal Pills were hard to come by. An average person might toil their entire life and still not gather enough materials for even one Heavenly Immortal Pill. Red bricks could be used to build houses; green bricks could be used as well. As long as the underlying pharmacology aligned, the specific materials weren’t a concern.

Aside from the difficulty of acquiring materials, refining elixirs also required an alchemy furnace. Without a good furnace, the idea of producing Heavenly Immortal Pills was utterly delusional.

"Refined gold, mithril are fairly obtainable; cold iron isn’t too hard to come by either..." Leon muttered to himself. He couldn’t guarantee that using the materials he had access to would make an effective alchemy furnace.

Materials and furnaces alone wouldn’t suffice. Refining elixirs also required flame—a mere ordinary fire wouldn’t do. At least in mythological tales, Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad used Six Ding Divine Fire in the Furnace of Eight Trigrams.

The Breathing and Exhaling Skill was a regular reward, as was the Inner Core Dual Cultivation Method. Alchemy was clearly akin to these; to realize its potential, it demanded an immense investment of time and resources. After such investments, its value would exceed that of an advanced reward.

"I want the Green Lotus Immortal Pill, I want the Taiyi Purple Gold Pill, I want the Heartless Pill... I want them all."

Leon sat motionless, unsure where to even begin.

Alchemy didn’t just teach him how to refine elixirs—it also explained how to use an alchemy furnace and revealed its intricacies.

Should he first draw up a blueprint and hand it over to the Salamanders or Efreeti to craft an alchemy furnace?

How should he acquire the materials for refining elixirs—by seeking them from the Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce?

Ordinary materials were easy enough to handle, but advanced ones were much harder to come by—some might not even be available for purchase at any price. Leon thought of the million Gold Coins he had just gained. That million wouldn’t be taken away by his mother, but even spending it entirely on materials for Heavenly Immortal Pills might not yield much.

In every story, consuming elixirs was always the most financially draining endeavor.

"Reconstructing the Volcanic Island needs money, and now alchemy demands money... Money, money, money—where am I supposed to find so much money?"

"Should I conquer the Talia Alliance? Conquering Talia Alliance would certainly provoke the gods."

"Raiding another couple of tombs from Ancient Fallen Empires sounds like a good plan."

He still wasn’t sure which materials would prove useful and felt the need to verify their pharmacology firsthand.

How should he resolve the issue of flames?

The Samadhi True Fire, with its unique ability to burn magic, was probably unsuitable for alchemy.

Other than the Samadhi True Fire, he had no other flames at hand—unless he planned to construct a high heat furnace?

Leon thought of the Efreeti, the Lord of Blazing Flames, who must have some solution, and Anglistra—the flames of an adult Red Dragon might just come in handy.

"This is driving me crazy."

Leon suddenly shouted.

Alchemy was indeed extraordinarily powerful, but making use of it was excruciatingly troublesome.