Bian Qingliu, huh… The Black Mist Person looked at Lu An’s serious expression, feeling a bit surprised. He closed his eyes and began searching for this person within Lu An’s Sea of Consciousness.
After only a few breaths, the Black Mist Person opened his eyes, a slight smile appearing. He said, “This boy is good; he’s a true gentleman. If you’re angry because you thought you were being used, then there’s no need. His friendship with you and his pursuit of that girl are unrelated.”
Lu An’s brows furrowed upon hearing this, and he coldly asked, “How is that possible?”
“Why not possible?” The Black Mist Person smiled and said, “I know your past life was very difficult, which made you suspicious, but this time you’ve indeed overthought it. Moreover, this boy is not only a good person, but his future prospects are also not to be underestimated.”
Lu An was startled, frowning as he asked, “How do you know that?”
“When one’s strength reaches a certain Realm, one can glimpse Heavenly Secrets,” the Black Mist Person said with a smile, as if speaking of a trivial matter. “As the saying goes, ‘Heaven determines ninety percent, man changes ten percent.’ Most of a person’s life Destiny has already been decided; a person can only change ten percent, or rather, has a ten percent chance to change their Heavenly Destiny.”
Lu An frowned deeply upon hearing this. After a few days of contact with the Black Mist Person, they had become quite familiar. Although the Black Mist Person’s words were always profound and mysterious, he never lied. If what he said was true, then Lu An might have indeed wronged Bian Qingliu.
However, at this moment, he had something more important on his mind, so he immediately asked, “What about Fu Yu?”
“That girl?” The Black Mist Person smiled, a profound grin on his face, and said, “I can only tell you that girl is not simple.”
Lu An frowned upon hearing this, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. But he also knew that if the Black Mist Person didn’t want to talk, no amount of questioning would make him, so he didn’t press further.
After a while, Lu An suddenly thought of something and asked the Black Mist Person, “What about me?”
“You?” The Black Mist Person’s smile faded, eventually disappearing completely, his expression becoming unreadable. He said in a deep voice, “You, I cannot see through, and that is why I chose you in the first place.”
Lu An frowned upon hearing this. What did “cannot see through” mean?
Lu An didn’t want to think too much about it, because he didn’t believe in Destiny. If he believed in Destiny, how could he change his own fate? So he was only half-convinced by the Black Mist Person’s words. Bian Qingliu was just a small matter in his life; his most important task now was to Cultivate.
After half an hour of Ice-Fire Body Tempering, Lu An once again lay on the ground like a pile of mud, his face covered in sweat. He had no strength to stand up. The pain of Ice-Fire Body Tempering was many times greater than ordinary Body Tempering; the pain was far more intense than flaying skin and breaking bones. Of course, he had grown accustomed to this pain.
From being able to endure for only a few seconds at the very beginning to now being able to last for half an hour, Lu An’s progress surprised even the Black Mist Person. After resting for a while, Lu An struggled to get up from the ground. Feeling his body soaked in sweat, Lu An really wanted to wake up and take a bath.
Just as Lu An was about to awaken himself, he suddenly felt a change in his body, as if he had touched a barrier. This made him pause, and he then looked up and asked the Black Mist Person, “Am I about to become a fifth-level Sky Realm Cultivator?”
“That’s right.” The Black Mist Person smiled, nodding with satisfaction. “Just one step away.”
Lu An’s heart was instantly filled with joy upon hearing this! The increase in strength was what made him happiest, and it also gave him more confidence for the Acquired grudge.
“Can I Breakthrough to a fifth-level Sky Realm Cultivator before Acquired?” Lu An asked.
“If it’s solely through personal effort, it will be difficult,” the Black Mist Person shook his head and said. “But if you use some external force, it won’t be difficult at all.”
“External force?” Lu An paused and asked, “What external force?”
“Naturally, Medicinal Pills,” the Black Mist Person said. “In your situation, if you had a Solid Foundation Pill, you could naturally Breakthrough before Acquired.”
“Medicinal Pills…” Lu An’s expression immediately calmed upon hearing this, his heart feeling as if a basin of cold water had been poured over it, because he knew that he couldn’t afford such things as Medicinal Pills.
Although Kong Yan had sent someone to give him some money a few days ago, that money was only enough for daily expenses. Medicinal Pills were very expensive, so how could he afford them?
The Black Mist Person couldn’t help but smile when he saw Lu An’s expression and said, “I know you’re short on money, but you don’t have to worry, because in this world, making money isn’t that difficult.”
Lu An was startled, then smiled bitterly. Not difficult to make money? He could only earn a few coppers a month working at the docks. He asked, “How do I earn it?”
“Medicinal Pills,” the Black Mist Person said.
“Medicinal Pills again?” Lu An was stunned, then his expression darkened. He said, “Where would I get Medicinal Pills? Are you playing with me?”
“Of course not.” The Black Mist Person smiled when he saw the somewhat angry Lu An and said, “However, I can teach you how to make Medicinal Pills.”
Lu An was startled upon hearing this, then asked in confusion, “Are you a pharmacist?”
The Black Mist Person shook his head, waving his hand and saying, “I wouldn’t really call myself a pharmacist. I have an old friend who is a pharmacist, and I learned a few tricks from being around him. Although they might not be impressive in his eyes, for you, they’ll be enough.”
Lu An frowned upon hearing this. The Black Mist Person’s tone was as boastful as ever. According to him, this friend of his was probably also an expert.
“How about it, do you want to learn?” The Black Mist Person asked with a smile, a clear hint of playful provocation in his voice.
Looking at the Black Mist Person’s smug expression, Lu An could only concede. He took a deep breath and said, “Learn, of course I’ll learn! Only a fool wouldn’t!”
The Black Mist Person was startled upon hearing this, then burst into laughter, saying, “Well said! Well said!”
After three hearty laughs, the Black Mist Person looked at Lu An and said with satisfaction, “Actually, you already possess the most basic elements to become a pharmacist.”
“Basic elements?” Lu An was startled and asked, “What are they?”
“To become a pharmacist, you naturally need power to refine medicine. This power comes from the pharmacist himself, such as the pharmacist’s own strength, but strength is only one part. There is another, more important element,” the Black Mist Person paused in his speech, then slowly said, “That is the person’s Heavenly Origin attribute.”
Lu An frowned, not speaking, but listening intently.
“As you know, both Heavenly Origin and Destiny Wheel are divided into five attributes: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. However, refining medicine doesn’t require so many attributes; it only requires two: Yin and Yang.”
“Yin and Yang are higher attributes than the Five Elements. Subtly, Fire and Water represent Yin and Yang, but for most people, Water and Fire are not superior to the other three attributes. The reason for this, however, is that their Water and Fire are not at a high enough level.”
“But this level has very little to do with strength; it’s more about talent. Only higher-level Water and Fire can be called true Yin and Yang, but for most people, ordinary Yin and Yang are already sufficient.”
“In other words, among the Five Elements, only those who Cultivate Water and Fire have the potential to become pharmacists; the other three attributes simply don’t have this opportunity.”
At this point, the Black Mist Person paused, his expression becoming serious and solemn. He said, “And your Nine Heavens Holy Fire and Mystic Deep Cold Ice are qualified to be called true Yang and Yin!”
Lu An was stunned, his eyes wide in disbelief. After a long time, he asked, “You mean, I’m qualified to be a pharmacist?”
“That’s right. If you’re not qualified, then I don’t know who is,” the Black Mist Person said, then remembered his talkative old friend. That old fellow always clamored for him to become a pharmacist, otherwise, he would be wasting the true Yang of the Nine Heavens Holy Fire. And his ability to learn medicine refining was entirely thanks to that old fellow’s idea.
However, he truly had no interest in the Dao of a pharmacist. If he could train this young man in front of him to become a pharmacist, it would probably be a good choice.
“Yin and Yang medicine refining is about using extreme heat or extreme cold to change the medicinal properties and original state, and then fusing them through different methods. Therefore, what you need to learn is to precisely control the temperature of the Nine Heavens Holy Fire and Mystic Deep Cold Ice. This will also be of great benefit to your Cultivation.”
Saying this, the Black Mist Person paused, then continued, “Now, let me teach you how to control your Nine Heavens Holy Fire to transform into different temperatures and states.”