Wait… I’m a Druid in a Cultivation World?! - Chapter 30

The second challenge lay in the precision required during the fusion process.

Every detail mattered—when to blend each spirit herb’s essence, how long to fuse them, the exact stage of reaction before adding another ingredient… All these steps demanded extreme meticulousness.

It was an intricate procedure. The slightest misstep could ruin the entire batch.

These two major hurdles had stymied countless cultivators. Without exceptional talent and relentless practice, success in alchemy was nearly impossible—even for something as “simple” as brewing an elixir.

And if concocting an elixir was this difficult, one could only imagine the staggering complexity of refining true pills. Normally, pill refinement was at least ten times harder than elixir brewing, with far more cumbersome steps. It also required rarer tools, such as high-grade cauldrons and spirit flames.

For ordinary cultivators, rare herbs like the century-old Blood Ginseng and fifty-year-old Radiant Grass were treasures too precious to waste. A single failed attempt could mean years of lost savings.

Yet despite the daunting stakes, Qi Ping felt only a flicker of nervousness—no overwhelming dread.

Why?

Because during his downtime between herb cultivation, he had practiced this very process countless times!

In fact, he had already successfully brewed a diluted version of the Bloodline Mutation Elixir multiple times using lower-grade ingredients. That was why he dared to attempt the real thing as soon as his Radiant Grass and Blood Ginseng reached maturity.

Truthfully, ever since returning from the Qingshi Market, Qi Ping had been deep in the forest, honing his herb extraction techniques.

This extraction method wasn’t so much a spell as it was a skill—any Qi Refinement cultivator could learn it, but mastery depended entirely on individual aptitude.

He chose the forest for a reason. As a Forest Druid, he enjoyed enhanced perception, spiritual energy, and mental clarity amid the trees—advantages that gave him an edge in both extraction and fusion.

Coupled with his Wood Spirit Root, the innate affinity for plants that came with being a druid, and his Master Brewer talent (which sharpened his sensitivity to herbs), Qi Ping had begun practicing essence extraction on common herbs long before his spirit herbs were ready.

Ordinary herbs posed little difficulty; he mastered them quickly.

But when he moved on to extracting the Blood Ginseng’s essence, even with all his advantages, failure was his constant companion in the early stages.

Spirit herbs were on an entirely different level—orders of magnitude more challenging than mundane plants.

No wonder alchemy is one of the most resource-intensive professions.

Despite his gifts, it took countless failures before he grew proficient in even the most basic extraction technique. By the time he truly mastered it, his stock of Blood Ginseng had been whittled down, each plant bearing the scars of hundreds of careful cuts.

He would shave off tiny portions—just enough to practice extraction without harming the herb’s vitality—then use Plant Growth to restore it before repeating the process.

Only after hundreds of attempts did he finally grasp the Blood Ginseng’s extraction rhythm.

Luckily, the process rarely rendered the herbs useless. Whether he succeeded or failed, most of the material could still be fed to his Golden Marrow Bees for honey production. The losses were minimal—but even those pained him deeply.

For nearly half a month, his bees had feasted on both his failures and successes.

But the relentless practice paid off. Not only did Qi Ping perfect his extraction technique, but he also familiarized himself with every ingredient in the Bloodline Mutation Elixir through over a hundred dry runs.

After all, growing a century-old Blood Ginseng and fifty-year Radiant Grass—even with Plant Growth—took nearly a month. He couldn’t afford carelessness.

…..

Beneath the ancient fir tree where Qi Ping usually meditated—a spot brimming with dense wood-attribute energy, maximizing his buffs—he sat cross-legged before a wooden table laden with herbs and jade vials.

“Time to begin.”

With everything prepared, he took a steadying breath and began.

First, he portioned the herbs according to the elixir’s formula. After careful division, he ended up with ten sets of ingredients: ten portions of Blood Ginseng (with a little extra) and 20% more Radiant Grass than needed.

The limiting factor was the century-old Blood Ginseng; otherwise, he could’ve prepared even more.

Splitting the herbs served two purposes:

1. His spiritual energy couldn’t sustain extracting a full Blood Ginseng in one go. Smaller batches improved success rates.

2. His estimated extraction success rate for century-old Blood Ginseng was around 70%. Dividing it into ten portions ensured at least five successes—barring abysmal luck.

Going all-in risked total failure. The same logic applied to fusion.

Besides, the elixir only required precise ratios, not fixed quantities.

With the herbs prepared, extraction commenced.

The ten common herb portions were effortlessly processed—zero failures.

“Simple ingredients aren’t a problem anymore. Almost impossible to mess up now.”

“Next, the Radiant Grass.”

Since he had extras, starting with it would help him regain his rhythm.

Picking up a portion, he channeled his spiritual energy, wrapping it around the herb in a well-practiced motion.

Smooth as the motions were—failure.

But Qi Ping wasn’t discouraged. If anything, his confidence grew.

“Fifty-year Radiant Grass has much fiercer medicinal properties. Need to tweak the extraction approach slightly…”

Second attempt—another failure.

“Still not there. But I see where I went wrong.”

A smirk tugged at his lips. The next one would succeed—his intuition, honed through thousands of trials, told him so.

Third attempt—success!

Fourth—success!

…

Ninth—failure.

Twelfth—success!

Final tally: 3 failures, 9 successes.

“Not bad.”

He was pleased. The success rate exceeded his expectations.

More importantly, mastering the fifty-year Radiant Grass boosted his confidence for the Blood Ginseng extraction.

After restoring his energy with the Wood Shield Technique, he focused entirely on the Blood Ginseng.

First attempt—failure.

“Expected.”

No panic. The next one would likely work.

Second—success!

Third—failure.

Fourth—success!

…

Tenth—success!

Final result: 8 successes out of 10.

“Excellent! An 80% success rate—higher than my projected 70%.”

A promising start.

Now, with eight complete sets of ingredients, the real test began: fusion. How many Bloodline Mutation Elixirs could he successfully brew?