Chapter 4: Refining Pill for the First Time

The bookstore employee noticed a youngster staring fixedly at a book, so he approached him warmly, “This book captures the story about the Patriarch of the Frostcloud Sect, Daoist-Master Jing Yuan, who came from a village, and gradually grew up to become a powerhouse in the cultivation world. He was fortunate to have had received guidance from an immortal, thus begun his journey in cultivation, and in the process, gained tens of thousands of disciples, attracted numerous confidantes, and eventually became a legend in the cultivation world.”

???

Jing Yue was dumbstruck.

He understood certain parts of that introduction if he twisted some facts around, but confidantes? Wait a minute, how many women were he acquainted with in the past? The confidante whom he attracted, could it be that old hag Fairy Chi Lian? Or that demonic woman, Rakshasa Yun?

When he got no response from the youngster, he assumed that the boy was uninterested in that story, and continued, “If you don’t like this one, there’s the Adventures of Jing Yuan, or Memoirs of Jing Yuan.”

… Jing Yue remained unresponsive.

The staff rolled his eyes around sneakily and lowered his voice, “We’ve got another one here, Jing Yuan’s S*x Escapades, that book’s not on display.”

Jing Yue, “…”

When the heck did he have any s*x escapades?

Besides, was it really alright for the staff to promote porn to a ten-year-old?

The staff did his job very professionally, and continued talking, “Apart from Daoist-Master Jing Yuan, there are others as well, that…”

Jing Yue could not help but interrupt, “I’m sorry, I don’t have any money.”

The smile froze on the guy’s face, but he was not allowed to be rude, “No problem, please feel free to browse around.”

When his ears finally got some rest, his divine consciousness was disturbed by the blue phoenix, “This shopkeeper has such a good temper. We won’t get the chance to slap their faces if we met this sort of people all the time.”

Jing Yue, “Another word from you and I’ll slap your face instead.”

The blue phoenix quickly shielded its mouth with both wings.

The next day, Jing Yue followed Old man Liu up the mountains for herb-picking. When he saw the entire hill covered with Aquafragrant Flower, he could not help but be dazzled by the sight. In just a few thousand years, a flower that was once extremely rare ended up being a weed that no one cared about, growing luxuriantly everywhere.

Unfortunately, he had just guided Qi into his body and could not refine a Foundation Establishment Pill yet. However, he could use the Aquafragrant Flower as a medicine regulator to enhance the effects of low-level pills, except no one would be so extravagant in the past.

Jing Yue guided Old man Liu in picking a full basket of useful herbs and headed back home, before sending the blue phoenix to bring Lil Pebble out, to avoid them from disrupting his pill refining process.

He planned to refine the Blood Replenishment Pill, commonly found in the markets. At his current level, he could only refine a low-level pill consumed by Body Forging cultivators.

Jing Yue lighted up the furnace and arranged the Aquafragrant Flowers neatly.

Generally speaking, once the herbs were picked, it must be stored in a Qiankun pouch, otherwise the medicinal properties would inevitably be lost. By using his divine consciousness, Jing Yue selected a few stalks that were still well-preserved and ground it into a fine powder with intrinsic vigor.

Initially, Old man Liu was skeptical about Jing Yue’s pill refining ability. Although he was very secretive, unlike ordinary children, he was only about ten years old after all. After he saw Jing Yue’s skill as he handled the herbs, however, he could not help but adjust his expectations.

He looked on as Jing Yue transferred the fine powder into a porcelain bowl, before he squeezed a few drops of juice from the Blood Tiger Vine Fruit into the bowl, and added a few roots from 2 or 3 different types of herbs. After mixing it evenly, the concoction was poured into the furnace.

Old man Liu hesitated for a moment before he asked, “Are you making the Blood Replenishment Pill?”

Jing Yue, “Yes.”

Old man Liu, “How come you’re not using Sunclear Grass and Rehmannia Root?”

Jing Yue, “The effect from the Aquafragrant Flower will be much better.”

Old man Liu was unconvinced; he had never heard that the Aquafragrant Flower could nourish the blood.

Jing Yue ignored him and focused on controlling the fire temperature. The furnace he bought was of the lowest quality; he had to adjust the fire manually and must not be distracted.

After about 15 minutes, the smell of medicine wafted from the furnace and permeated the room.

Old man Liu exclaimed in surprise, “Such a strong aroma, is it done already?”

Jing Yue did not even bother lifting his head, “It’s too soon.”

He threw the final ingredient into the furnace and started forming hand seals.

Jing Yue was an accomplished alchemy master in his past life, and the hand seals he knew numbered well into the thousands. He selected the most suitable hand seal from his repertoire, his alabaster-like fingers changed constantly, and the quick movements passed in a flash.

He acutely felt that the flow of his hand gestures as well as his five senses were more agile compared to before. After some consideration, he realized that it must be due to the Omnispirit Body and one of the benefits of having it.

From Old man Liu’s viewpoint, he was under the impression that Jing Yue’s movements were akin to flowing water, pleasing to the eye. At first glance, he looked like a fairy child that people would revere.

He was lost in the experience and unaware of the time passing, until Old man Liu suddenly realized that the scent of medicine had disappeared!

Could it be… it had failed?

This very moment, Jing Yue’s right hand turned over and flicked up, the lid of the furnace flipped open following his hand gesture, and little pellets of brown pills appeared at the bottom of the furnace.

8 pills, high-quality.

Jing Yue sighed quietly in his heart. He had not refined pills for quite a while and was out of practice. His control over the fire was far from perfect, otherwise there would more than this number, and he would not fail to produce premium-quality pills.

“Eight… eight pills?” Old man Liu was astounded. Jing Yue merely used a meager amount of herbs and so little time, but he managed to produce 8 pills in one pot, and no wasted pills!

Although the Blood Replenishment Pill was a low-level mortal grade pill, as far as he could remember, even an Elder from the Hall of Fiery Pill could not achieve such a high rate of success!

Old man Liu stared at Jing Yue with a complicated look in his eyes. Who was this person? Was he a traveling disciple from a great cultivation school? Or an old monster that possessed this youthful body?

While Jing Yue tidied up the furnace, he said, “You’re overthinking things again.”

Old man Liu who was busted, “…”

So, he’s an old monster then!

Jing Yue looked at the weather outside, “We’ll sell the pills in town this afternoon.”

Needless to say, Old man Liu had no objections. Therefore, in the afternoon, 3 humans and one ‘pheasant’ appeared in Minisun Town again. They arrived at the market, paid 500 coppers as per the trading procedure, and Old man Liu walked directly towards an empty space.

Jing Yue, “Wait a minute.”

Old man Liu turned around and saw Jing Yue tweaking his fingers, divining for a moment before he said, “The west indicates good profit for today, follow me.”

Jing Yue found a tiny space amongst the hustle and bustle and squeezed inside. The vendor beside him was a little annoyed, but looking at Jing Yue’s adorable porcelain face, his heart softened and he shifted a bit to the side, giving a snide glare at Old man Liu instead.

Old man Liu, “…”

After setting up the stall, Jing Yue started to day-dream.

Shouts were heard from the vendors peddling their wares, but the stall they had set up remained silent. The surrounding vendors saw that they were merely selling a few miserable pills, and very soon lost interest in them.

Seeing all the passersby but none came close to their stall, Old man Liu could not help his anxiety. Just as he was about to call out, he was stopped by Jing Yue.

“Don’t waste your energy. Just wait.”

Just like that, they sat there doing nothing for almost an hour, before three burly men approached from the distance.

Liu Yi was a famous rogue cultivator in Minisun Town, a level 6 Body Forging in his twenties. Although he was not considered very talented, he was quite well-known in a town with a population of a few hundred thousand.

This day, he had a conflict with a stranger, not expecting the other party to be a level 7 Body Forging cultivator. Needless to say, Liu Yi was not a match for him and was beaten up, suffering from internal injuries. If his brothers had not arrived in time, he might have lost his life!

His brothers brought him to a medical hall immediately, and the physician saw to his wounds. However, he was told that there were no suitable pills available for sale in the medical hall or other medicinal shops to treat his internal injuries.

It turned out that the Megasun hidden realm would appear in a few months, and many cultivation families in Megasun City would purchase pills from surrounding towns for the younger generation as preparation to enter the realm. On this particular day, those people had coincidentally visited Minisun Town and wiped out the entire stock.

With no other alternative, Liu Yi and his gang could only try their luck at the market.

At this moment, Liu Yi was being supported by his brothers. He was already frustrated enough that he was not able to get any medicine, but along the way, most of the stall vendors seemed to be very afraid of him, shirking their necks and lowering their heads, and that cowering look added to his fury! He was not a hooligan!

Liu Yi was fuming mad when suddenly, his gaze met with a pair of clear, bright eyes.

That person was a young man. Sensing the look, Jing Yue returned it without any fear, his mouth lifted at the corners, and he said smilingly, “This brother, are you interested to buy pills? Blood Replenishment Pill, fresh from the furnace.”

Liu Yi immediately felt comforted, as if the fiery hot weather was suddenly refreshed by a cool breeze. He got his brothers to bring him over there, while asking, “How much are you selling it for?”

“Fifty taels of silver.”

“I’ll take… what? How much?!” Liu Yi’s voice went an octave higher, and the surrounding vendors quailed in fear and moved out of the way.

Although pills were generally expensive, a normal Blood Replenishment Pill would only cost one or two taels at the most, and a better quality pill would fetch about ten taels. Only high-quality pills mostly sold in medicinal shops would be tagged at fifty taels.

Could this boy be playing him out? Liu Yi’s mood took a turn for the worse.

Not only him, even Old man Liu looked stunned.

But Jing Yue said earnestly, “This pill of mine is comparable to a high-quality pill, so shouldn’t it be priced as such?”

“Brat, are you tired of living? How dare you make a fool out of us?”

Liu Yi’s brothers bellowed in anger, their voices like the roar of lions, and Lil Pebble got so scared that he dived into Old man Liu’s arms. Even the blue phoenix that never stopped hollering about slapping face was dumbstruck, curling itself into a furball.

Only Jing Yue remained calm, “This brother can give it a try before paying.”

He had full confidence in his pills. Besides, the market was managed with proper security; he was not worried about being fleeced.

Liu Yi looked at him in uncertainty, but the boy’s eyes were full of sincerity, and did not seem to be bluffing him. In his heart, he started to question if the pill was indeed of high quality?

He took out a pill from the wooden box, placed it under his nose for a whiff, and instantly felt rejuvenated.

Liu Yi could not help but take another look at the boy. He was able to tell that it was indeed a Blood Replenishment Pill.

Why not… give it a try?

Liu Yi steeled himself and swallowed the pill in one gulp.

A warm current instantly flowed into his internal passage, bringing a strong life force with it, and he could not help but tremble in ecstasy. He acutely felt that the injured internal organs were slowly healing. Just as he was basking in bliss, suddenly, a wave of pain assaulted him. It turned out that the medicine effects had broken through the blood clots that were blocking his meridians, and as a result, even his old wounds showed signs of recovery.

The others did not know what happened to him internally, but when Liu Yi suddenly turned pale and groaned, their hearts constricted.

The short-tempered burly man pointed a long spear at Jing Yue, “What did you feed Big Brother with?”

Jing Yue pushed the pointed tip away lightly and sighed, “You are too impatient.”

His tone was as if he was an elder preaching the juniors, and the burly man was so angry that he almost had the urge to attack.

“Stop!”

The burly man turned around and saw that Liu Yi had opened his eyes.

“Ahah-ahh-ahhh, slapped face, slapped face!! What’s he going to do next? Is he going to become your follower from now on, ready to be at your beck and call, or is he going to declare his ownership over you and take you under his wing, or is he going to deny everything and give you another opportunity to slap his face again?”

The blue phoenix watched as Liu Yi approached Jing Yue solemnly, a benign smile on his face.

“He’s coming! He’s coming! I bet he’s going to take you in!”

Blue phoenix stared unblinkingly as Liu Yi slowly knelt down and started counting the number of pills that were displayed.

The very next moment, with a speed of lightning, he rolled up the linen on the floor that held the items, threw down a pile of silver taels, turned tail, and ran for his life.

He left behind the brothers that were frozen in place, mumbling, “Big Brother…”

The wind was getting cold.

Author’s Notes:

Lil Pebble: What kind of people does Ji-ji hate most?

Ji-ji: 1. Staff with good service attitude. 2. People who don’t follow routines. 3. People who call me Ji-ji.

Lil Pebble: …