Adrian brought out his bronze cauldron. In order to maximize the effects of the Earth flower and Silvereye grass, he was going all out. He didn't have enough materials to refine them into pills, nor was he skilled enough. Yet he didn't need to be for his next course of action.
Adrian ignited the fire under the cauldron with his spirit energy. He waved his hand as two boxes appeared on the ground beside him.
He first brought out the Silvereye grass, which he immediately threw inside the cauldron. He increased the intensity of the flames underneath the cauldron as he focused on extracting the medicinal essence from it.
Normally, this situation would be impossible for Adrian. After all, he was a rank 1 alchemist trying to refine a rank 3 herb. However, Adrian wasn't currently refining a pill.
He was making a potion. Potion making was another branch of alchemy, very similar to pill making. Basically, all the steps were the same, except for the process of pill formation, which was excluded.
Potion making was also very lax. A medicinal herb that one didn't have a recipe for could simply be turned into a potion, making sure that all the impurities from it were mostly removed, turning it into a tonic.
However, though potion making was lax, that was only with respect to pill making. It was still a very respectable profession on the Floating Cloud continent.
Some recipes required the herbs to be made into potions instead of pills, making potion alchemists just as respected as pill alchemists.
Adrian hadn't practiced potion making, but he wasn't worried. The ancient alchemy method made things a bit easier for him. Pairing that with his unusual amount of spirit energy made this endeavor slightly feasible.
Adrian spent two hours maintaining his focus on the herb and the intensity of his flames. Any slight mistake would lead to an explosion and loss of a precious resource.
Intense dizziness assaulted his mind just as a little bit of the Silvereye grass was left.
Adrian bit his tongue to keep his focus on the cauldron to avoid making a mistake.
Finally, after thirty more minutes, all of the Silvereye grass had been purified, and all that was left was only a few drops of a silver-colored liquid.
Adrian used his consciousness to control the drops of liquid and carefully put it in a vial that he had prepared beforehand. Only after that did he finally collapse on the ground while releasing a deep breath.
He was completely out of spirit energy and was currently weak at the moment. He had initially thought that he would be able to complete the refinement for both herbs in one night, but it seems his expectations were a bit naive.
He didn't bother with anything else before simply lying down and falling asleep.
Adrian woke up early the next day. Even if he was completely exhausted, it was a habit that was hard to break. He didn't even bother opening up his cave. He simply sat up and started cultivating as usual.
After cultivating for a few hours, he brought out his cauldron again. This time, he was going to refine the herbal essence of the Earth flower.
The Earth flower contained much more herbal essence than the Silvereye grass, so this refinement was going to be much more difficult. However, the previous night's experience has made him somewhat familiar with the process.
He began the refinement again by plucking the individual petals of the Earth flower. This process lasted for close to four hours. By the time he was done, it was almost midday.
Adrian was drenched in sweat as he collected the few drops of the dark yellow liquid into another vial.
As usual, the process has left him drained mentally, so he needed to recover his spirit energy. He didn't feel like sleeping again, so he just sat quietly and meditated. All the recent events passed through his mind as he started to make plans for the future.
Sure, rebuilding his family was obvious, but to do that, he needed power. He couldn't request help from the other great families because he had nothing to offer them. The House of Blake had made that crystal clear.
Joining a sect was also out of the question.
It wasn't that he didn't believe he could get in. That would be a funny joke. If he, Adrian Thorne, couldn't pass the entrance exam to a sect, then there would virtually be no one who could pass it.
It wasn't arrogance. Adrian knew he was talented. Very few people could reach his current prowess at his age. Sure, some of this was due to the influence of his family, but the major reason was his talent and dedication.
His training schedule was a very strict one, which he didn't deviate from without reason. The problem with joining a sect would be his identity. Usually, those who join sects are the children of lesser noble families.
Even if he didn't know them, someone was bound to recognize him. Even if the disciples didn't recognize him, his father was a powerhouse who was widely known, and Adrian inherited some of his features.
Most of his handsome looks came from his mother. After all, she was one of the most beautiful women of her generation. As a former disciple of the Blooming Lotus sect, his mother had both power and beauty. Many men were infatuated with her and tried to court her, but she turned all of them down.
However, there were some features that were indistinguishable from his father's. His chiseled jaw and his straight eyebrows were both features that would remind anyone who had ever met his father of him if they were to see Adrian.
Adrian couldn't risk the possibility of getting found. He still didn't know if his enemies were still looking for any remnants of the Thorne family, but he definitely wasn't going to put himself in harm's way to find out.
The only option left would be to remain a rogue cultivator. This was the only suitable path left for him.
An ordinary person would rather not be a rogue cultivator. Rogue cultivators have two main problems: techniques and resources.
For others, this would pose a major problem as any good technique would be in the hands of the sects.