15: First Attempt at Alchemy

Officer Liu's visit was like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake; after the ripples passed, the surface quickly returned to its former tranquility. At least on the surface.

The villagers still went up the mountain daily to fetch water, leaving behind fruits, grains, and rice. Their reverence for Li Muchen only increased, but perhaps Officer Liu's inspection had an effect, or Li Muchen's increasingly calm aura influenced them, as the villagers no longer mentioned words like "divine water" or "immortal arts" in their speech. They were simply silently grateful, and their behavior became more disciplined.

Li Muchen was happy with this. He devoted more time to cultivation and exploring his newly Acquired abilities.

His cultivation of the Supreme Clarity Purple Mansion Returning to Origin True Scripture was now on the right track. The True Yuan in his Dantian grew thicker and purer by the day, and the Purple Mansion space was slowly but steadily expanding and solidifying under the continuous nourishment of divine yuan. His use of Spiritual Sense became increasingly adept; he could now easily maintain its coverage over the entire Taoist temple courtyard for a significantly longer duration.

He even began to experiment with another rudimentary technique recorded in the True Scripture—the "Breath Concealment Art." It allowed him to restrain his aura and reduce his presence, which, when used in conjunction with his Spiritual Sense, had a certain "stealthy" charm to it.

His practice of Palm Thunder moved to a deserted area deeper in the back mountains. He could now precisely control the power and form of the lightning; at its smallest, he could condense a tiny spark at his fingertip for lighting fires, and at its largest, he could condense a lightning ball the size of a fist, powerful enough to shatter stone. However, full exertion still consumed a lot of energy and placed a significant burden on his Meridians, so his daily practice sessions were limited.

Recently, he had devoted part of his energy to studying the Basic Alchemy Manual.

Alchemy held an extremely high status in the Daoist Legacy. External Alchemy was once regarded as an important path to ascending to immortality. Although later generations proved that external Alchemy had its limitations and even dangers, refining Medicinal Pills to assist in cultivation, healing, and strengthening the body remained an indispensable skill for practitioners.

The manual was incomplete, recording only the refining methods for three lowest-tier Medicinal Pills: bigu pills, qi nurturing pills, and Blood-Stopping Powder. The first two were particularly important to Li Muchen.

bigu pills, once consumed, could replace ordinary food and drink, providing the body's basic energy needs and a small amount of essence. This effectively saved time and avoided the Acquired turbid Qi generated by eating miscellaneous foods, which was greatly beneficial for Early Stage seclusion or solitary cultivation.

qi nurturing pills were Medicinal Pills that assisted in cultivation and accelerated the recovery of True Yuan, which was exactly what Li Muchen currently needed. Although he had the Spirit Gathering Formation and Spirit Stones, their efficiency was ultimately limited.

Refining Medicinal Pills primarily depended on the "furnace," "fire," and "ingredients."

For the Pill Furnace, the manual required a bronze furnace or jade cauldron containing Spiritual Qi at best, or at the very least, a ceramic pot with a uniform texture that could withstand high temperatures. Li Muchen didn't have a Pill Furnace. In the ruins of the side hall, he found a heavy ceramic pot half-buried in the soil and covered in mud. After cleaning it, he found the pot to be thick, with a relatively fine texture and no cracks. With a little modification, it was barely usable.

Fire was divided into civil and martial. martial fire was for aggressive heating, while civil fire was for gentle nourishment. The manual mentioned that it was best to use Earth Fire or True Fire, followed by high-quality charcoal fire. Li Muchen had neither Earth Fire nor had he cultivated True Fire, so he had to settle for the next best thing: collecting hardwood from the mountains to burn into charcoal.

The most troublesome part was the "materials," namely the medicinal herbs.

bigu pills required five ingredients: solomons seal rhizome, poria cocos, Chinese yam, lotus seeds, and honey. The first three might be found in the mountains, but lotus seeds needed to be bought in town, while honey could be exchanged with the villagers.

qi nurturing pills required seven ingredients: ginseng, astragalus, goji berries, lingzhi, fleeceflower root, licorice, and dew. Ginseng, lingzhi, and fleeceflower root were all precious herbs. While they didn't need to be very old, wild ones were hard to find; the others were relatively common.

Li Muchen made a list of the required herbs. He asked Zhao Desheng to help keep an eye out or buy some from the villagers, while he decided to go into the mountains to find the rest himself.

After reaching Foundation Establishment and opening his Purple Mansion to give birth to Spiritual Sense, searching for herbs in the mountains was no longer a difficult task for him.

Early this morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, Li Muchen left the Taoist temple and entered the depths of Yuntai Mountain alone.

He didn't take the herb-gathering paths commonly used by the villagers. Instead, relying on the keen perception of his Spiritual Sense, he headed directly toward the areas where the mountain forest's aura felt fresher and purer. The physique of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator far exceeded that of ordinary people; he traversed the rugged mountain paths as if they were level ground, and when he encountered steep cliffs, he could climb them easily with a light lift of True Qi.

His Spiritual Sense spread out like mercury spilling on the ground. Within a range of over a dozen meters, the textures of plants, the crawling of insects and ants, and the flow of Earth Qi were all within his perception. He could even vaguely distinguish the extremely faint differences in the scents emitted by different plants.

"Found it."

In less than half an hour, at the foot of a moist, shaded cliff, Li Muchen's Spiritual Sense locked onto a small patch of plants. The leaves were thick and oval-shaped, with slightly purple stems—it was indeed solomons seal rhizome! And judging by its age, it was at least three or four years old, which was sufficient for its medicinal effect.

He dug carefully, avoiding damage to the roots, and harvested seven or eight plants, wrapping them in prepared oil paper.

Continuing forward, he found clusters of poria cocos tubers under an old pine tree; in the humus soil by a stream, he found wild Chinese yam vines... Herbs that would take ordinary gatherers several days or even longer to find were located more than ten times faster with the help of Li Muchen's Spiritual Sense. By only midday, he had gathered all the mountain herbs needed for the bigu pills and even found a few astragalus and licorice plants of decent age.

In the afternoon, he turned his focus to the more precious ingredients for the qi nurturing pills.

Ginseng, lingzhi, and fleeceflower root often grew in deep forests and remote areas where few people ventured and where the Feng Shui and Earth Qi were relatively special.

Li Muchen explored deeper into the mountain range, toward areas where the perception of Spiritual Qi felt more "alive." Along the way, he encountered several steep gullies, small waterfalls, and even a valley filled with a faint miasma. He used his Spiritual Sense to detect them in advance, carefully bypassing or quickly moving through them.

Finally, before sunset, on a sunny slope backed by a cliff and facing a deep ravine, he found several plants with palmately compound leaves and small red fruits at the top—wild ginseng! Although they weren't very old, just "lampstands," they were more than enough for refining the lowest-tier qi nurturing pills.

To his even greater surprise, on a few pieces of decaying wood not far from the ginseng, there grew several cloud-shaped, reddish-brown lingzhi—specifically, Turkey Tail Mushrooms! Although they weren't famous varieties like red or purple lingzhi, they were still a type of lingzhi with mild medicinal properties, perfect for qi nurturing pills.

He didn't find any fleeceflower root, but the manual mentioned that processed fleeceflower root could be used as a substitute, which he could buy at a pharmacy.

He returned with a full harvest.

By the time he returned to the Taoist temple, the sky was full of stars. Li Muchen didn't feel tired at all; instead, he was high-spirited. This feeling of exploring nature and obtaining what he needed through his own abilities gave him a more tangible understanding of the word "cultivation."

Over the next few days, while waiting for the herbs Zhao Desheng was helping him acquire, he began the preliminary work for Alchemy.

A batch of charcoal had been prepared and placed in a dry spot for later use.

The ceramic Pill Furnace was washed repeatedly, and its inner walls were thoroughly rinsed with True Yuan to remove Impurities and foreign odors.

The herbs needed processing: washing, drying, cutting, or grinding. These tasks were tedious, but he performed them meticulously, maintaining a sense of reverence for the "Dao of Alchemy" in his heart.

A few days later, all the herbs were ready.

Li Muchen chose a sunny morning to begin his first-ever attempt at Alchemy—refining bigu pills.

He placed the processed solomons seal rhizome, poria cocos, Chinese yam, and lotus seeds into the ceramic pot in specific proportions. Having no precise scale, he relied entirely on his intuition and his judgment of the herbs' auras. Then, he added a little honey as a binding agent.

He covered it with a ceramic lid that had air holes, placed the pot on a simple, makeshift stone stove, and lit the prepared charcoal.

The martial fire rose, roasting the bottom of the pot.

Li Muchen sat cross-legged nearby, his Spiritual Sense tightly locked onto the ceramic pot. He could see the herbs inside begin to soften and release juices under the high temperature, their different medicinal properties starting to mix and react. He needed to adjust the heat at any time based on the changes in the medicinal Qi perceived by his Spiritual Sense.

In the Early Stage, martial fire was needed to force out the medicinal properties. The temperature inside the pot rose sharply, and steam billowed out from the air holes, carrying a rich medicinal fragrance.

When the medicinal fragrance reached its peak and began to turn into a toasted scent, Li Muchen quickly removed some of the charcoal and switched to a civil fire.

The civil fire simmered slowly, allowing the medicinal properties to fully fuse and condense. This process required immense patience and precise control; if the heat was even slightly too high, the medicinal properties would be damaged or even scorched, and if it was too low, the medicinal power would not be fully extracted and fused.

Time passed bit by bit. Li Muchen's mind was highly concentrated, his Spiritual Sense monitoring every single change inside the pot without pause, while he used his own True Yuan to faintly sense and guide the blending of the medicinal Qi. The sense of tranquility emitted by the light of Karma allowed him to maintain this high level of focus for a long time without feeling weary.

After simmering for a full two hours, the sun had already passed its zenith.

The medicinal Qi inside the ceramic pot finally reached a harmonious and solid state of balance. The medicinal fragrance became restrained, emitting a faint, strange scent that made one feel slightly full upon smelling it.

Now!

Li Muchen performed a simple pill-collecting hand seal, sending a faint strand of True Yuan into the air hole of the ceramic pot.

Simultaneously, he removed all the charcoal fire.

"Chiii—"

A soft sound came from inside the pot as the white steam contracted.

Li Muchen waited for the ceramic pot to cool down, then carefully opened the lid.

At the bottom of the pot lay more than twenty pills the size of longans. They were yellowish-brown, with slightly rough surfaces, and emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

It's a success!

Li Muchen picked up one pill and sensed it carefully. The pill contained an essence of plants and grains that was not very rich but pure enough, which was exactly the medicinal property a bigu pill should have. Although the quality was average, the surface wasn't smooth enough, and the medicinal power might not compare to those refined in an orthodox Pill Furnace, they were indeed usable bigu pills!

His first attempt had succeeded without the furnace exploding or the batch being ruined!

This was certainly due to the clear records in the manual and the proper processing of the herbs, but his keen Spiritual Sense perception and precise control over True Yuan and heat were undoubtedly the keys. For an ordinary beginner without the aid of Spiritual Sense, relying only on experience and intuition, the failure rate would be extremely high.

Li Muchen felt joy in his heart. He took out a bigu pill and swallowed it.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and a gentle warm current dispersed into his stomach, quickly spreading throughout his body. The feeling of hunger vanished instantly, replaced by a slight sense of satiety and abundant energy. A faint plant essence merged into his Meridians and was naturally absorbed by his True Yuan.

The effect is good! This one pill was enough to sustain him for a whole day without food or drink, and it provided a small amount of essence needed for cultivation.

Looking at the remaining twenty-plus bigu pills in the pot, Li Muchen's confidence soared.

With this successful experience, refining the more complex qi nurturing pills no longer seemed out of reach. Once the qi nurturing pills were refined, his cultivation speed would surely reach a new level!