Chinese fangshi possess the philosophies of Taiji, Yin-Yang, and the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, with profound theories in fire and water refinement.

Western alchemy has the Philosopher's Stone, panaceas, roasting furnaces, sublimation furnaces, distillation furnaces, fusion furnaces, dissolution furnaces, coagulation furnaces, and so on, with meticulous operations.

If a genius Chinese fangshi were to travel to a magical continent, combining the deep theories of Chinese fangshi with the precise techniques of alchemists, what kind of existence would be created?

William Graham is an outstanding disciple of the number one fangshi sect in the Central Plains, Edward Graham. An accident brings him to the mysterious Star Refining World.

With advanced fangshi theories as his foundation, he learns alchemy with twice the results for half the effort. In a "sparring" match with the continent's only titled alchemist, he quickly becomes as powerful as a titled alchemist himself.

Within the mysterious alchemical equations, each enigmatic symbol hides unknown secrets.

The decoding process is intricate and complex, testing the wisdom of alchemists.

Mysterious dual-solution equations, stone tablet formulas of unknown origin—on this otherworldly continent, a truly unique world of alchemy unfolds before you!

Volume One: The Fangshi's First Experience in Another World

Chapter 001: Edward Graham Fangshi

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three knocks sounded, and the shadow of the sun at the northeast corner of the martial arena finally shrank into a small dot. The long beard under Henry Graham's chin fluttered without wind, drifting toward the front of the martial arena, a trace of anxiety showing in his gaze at the mountain cave.

It was noon, and a whole day had passed. Could it be that in two hundred years, not a single disciple of Edward Graham has passed this final test and gone down the mountain?

Edward Graham has a long and storied history, founded by the famous fangshi Ge Hong during the Jin dynasty, and is the foremost sect of alchemical cultivation in the Central Plains. Although it has few disciples, every Edward Graham disciple who has been able to descend the mountain has been a leading figure in the alchemical world.

The word "dan" (elixir) is not as simple as the common folk below the mountain think—a mere pill. The Dao of Dan is broad and profound, divided into internal and external: internal alchemy is the fangshi's own cultivation, with the advanced reaching the level of golden core or nascent soul. External alchemy encompasses almost all practices outside of self-cultivation: elixirs, magical tools, formations, incantations, and formulas are all included, so the cultivation world is also called the Alchemical World.

Outsiders do not know that the Edward Graham disciples who can descend the mountain in glory are all selected from thousands. To pass through the "Nine-Crown Gate" in a single day is not something an ordinary genius can achieve—it must be an extraordinary genius.

The exit of the Nine-Crown Gate is this mountain cave, with the entrance on another peak. There are nine golden crowns in total, each engraved with a difficult alchemical problem. Solving these problems is not the hardest part; the difficulty lies in solving all nine within a single day. One must know that alchemy is unlike other arts—a single "dan" can take dozens of days in the furnace at the shortest, or even decades at the longest. To solve these problems in a day requires not only mastery of alchemy, but also the ability to break free from conventions and use the simplest methods. The consequence of taking shortcuts is that, while the results meet the requirements of the golden crowns, there are various flaws, such as quality issues.

However, this is a method devised by the ancestors of Edward Graham to test a disciple's understanding of the essence of alchemy: only those who can find shortcuts are considered to have their own unique insights into the Dao of Dan and are qualified to represent Edward Graham in the world.

Without passing this gate, even a master who goes down the mountain to take disciples cannot claim the name of Edward Graham at will.

Henry Graham is the current head of Edward Graham. The one who entered the Nine-Crown Gate a day ago was his third disciple—the most unruly yet most talented of them all. If even he cannot pass the Nine-Crown Gate in a day, then this generation of Edward Graham may once again have no one to appear in the mortal world.

Henry Graham sighed. In truth, he had high hopes for this unruly disciple, but in the end, he was disappointed. Henry Graham shook his head slightly and was about to announce his disciple's failure when suddenly a voice came from the cave: "Master!"

That cave was also the work of a master alchemist of a previous generation. From the moment William Graham entered, it began timing automatically. Now, a day had just ended, and the stone door at the entrance was slowly descending. As the ten-thousand-jin Dragon-Slaying Stone fell, it signaled William Graham's failure, and he would have to spend the rest of his life cultivating quietly on the mountain.

William Graham was unwilling to accept this. The bustling world below the mountain and the silent years above—compared to each other, William Graham's already exhausted body was suddenly filled with strength. He glided close to the ground and shot out, light bursting before his eyes, and behind him came a dull "thud"—the giant stone had fallen.

"Master!" William Graham rushed onto the martial arena. Henry Graham was also extremely excited, his beard trembling with his lips, his hands clenched together as he muttered, "Good, good, all these years of effort have not been in vain. This rascal finally made me proud..."

This disciple had always been a headache for him—unruly and disobedient since childhood, playing tricks on his senior brothers, bullying his junior brothers, chasing birds and beasts all over the mountain, a true overlord respected by both man and beast.