“`
“Junior brother, don’t think we are working for nothing,” Bai Xiuwen said, as if he had read Chen Mu’s mind.
“In the mundane world, whether one learns medicine or blacksmithing, doesn’t one have to serve as an apprentice for several years?”
“Just think about the treatment one receives once they become an alchemist.”
“This little sacrifice is nothing!” Bai Xiuwen consoled with a tone filled with profound sentiment.
It made sense!
Chen Mu’s face lit up with realization, full of hope he asked, “I wonder, how many alchemists has that Brother Qi taught?”
Bai Xiuwen stiffened, then quickly returned to normal, “Alchemy isn’t so easy to learn.”
Chen Mu watched Bai Xiuwen with a smile but said nothing.
“It seems junior brother has some misunderstandings about Brother Qi,” Bai Xiuwen regained his composure and said meaningfully, “After some time, you’ll understand Brother Qi’s methods.”
What? If persuasion fails, he wants to resort to intimidation?
Chen Mu’s eyes narrowed instantly.
However, Bai Xiuwen appeared completely at ease, “Brother Qi and I have agreed to meet tonight, does junior brother want to come with me to meet him?”
“Once you see Brother Qi’s grand demeanor, I am sure you will change your mind.” Explore new worlds at empire
What a pity.
Chen Mu sighed, dissipating the Five Ghosts Possession Technique he had been preparing.
Seems like I’ll have to kill this guy.
I can’t let him trouble me endlessly.
Chen Mu’s eyes darted around, his face taking on a look of hesitation.
“Does Brother Qi really teach alchemy?”
Bai Xiuwen perked up, sensing a softening of stance, “Of course!”
“As long as you refine a certain amount of the Essence of the Five Grains, you don’t even need Daoist cultivation to buy the recipe for the Fasting Pill from him!”
A certain amount?
No need for Daoist cultivation?
You’re trying to fool a ghost.
The Essence of the Five Grains could originally be exchanged for Daoist cultivation.
This Brother Qi is simply finding another way to charge!
Chen Mu pretended to be eager and said, “How about one hundred catties of the Essence of the Five Grains per month?”
One hundred catties?
Is he playing with me?
Bai Xiuwen’s brow furrowed slightly.
Chen Mu’s face showed embarrassment, “I know the quantity is a little small.”
“But I don’t need the brother to teach me alchemy.”
“As long as I’m taught how to absorb the Essence of the Five Grains, I would be extremely grateful.”
What does he mean?
Bai Xiuwen was a bit stunned.
Chen Mu continued with a bitter smile, “To tell brother the truth, my identity as an Alchemist Apprentice is in name only.”
“Pavilion Master Zhu is generous and allows me to practice slowly.”
“But this alchemy business, without guidance, is genuinely tough.”
“Pavilion Master Zhu is so busy, and it’s not good to disturb him rashly.”
“Brother Qi’s arrival is just timely!” Chen Mu’s face showed excitement.
“You don’t know the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique?” Bai Xiuwen asked in disbelief.
How did you become an Alchemist Apprentice then?
Pavilion Master Zhu knows that you’re unskilled, yet tolerates it.
This…
Bai Xiuwen’s face involuntarily twitched.
Facing Chen Mu’s seemingly smiling face, he suddenly felt a chill on his scalp.
Mistake, mistake!
This guy turns out to be someone with backing!
“My apologies for the disturbance!”
Bai Xiuwen took his leave immediately.
Chen Mu stood at the entrance of the cave residence, watching Bai Xiuwen’s retreat with a smile.
Hey!
The tiger-skin cloak bestowed by Liang Yi is still quite useful, huh.
…
Half a month later, inside Chen Mu’s alchemist chamber.
Chen Mu sat on the soft couch, eyes slightly squinted.
The Primordial Five-Element Alchemy Furnace sat steadily on the low table before him.
“Open!”
Chen Mu let out a low shout.
Woosh!
A bright light flashed around the circular lid.
Siss!
A plume of white smoke spurted out from the gap in the lid.
Chen Mu took a deep breath.
“`
“Delicious! Truly delicious!”
“It indeed is an excellent oven for stewing meat!”
Chen Mu couldn’t wait to open the lid of the furnace. Bamboo chopsticks as long as his forearm probed into the alchemy furnace, quickly pinching out a small chunk of skin-on meat the size of a walnut.
No need to chew, just push it against the roof of the mouth with the tongue, and the meat fell apart, tender and crumbly.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but squint his eyes in pleasure.
In the past, even with secret medicine to tenderize the meat, exotic beast meat still had a chewy texture when bitten into.
This was the first time he ever ate exotic beast meat that was so tender and well-seasoned.
“Lucky me.”
Chen Mu, cradling the alchemy furnace, came to the dining room, pairing it with two halves of green vegetables that had been prepared earlier, devouring two bowls of Yellow Bud Rice.
After the meal, Five Ghosts Black Smoke surged into the pill furnace, circling around.
The grease and stains hanging on the inner walls of the furnace disappeared in an instant.
The Primordial Furnace was once again that familiar matte black, clean and refreshing, a wonderful pill furnace.
…
After the meal, inside the alchemist chamber.
Wind Fire Pivot Charm: limit;
“Yet another skill trained to the limit!” Chen Mu chuckled as he looked at the grey wall.
The various insights that came with proficiency allowed Chen Mu to understand the black furnace before him thoroughly.
Three hundred sixty-five tick marks for heat and cold, eighty-one for Qi Forbidden, seventy-two for thunder sound.
With just a thought, he could immediately adjust different combinations, creating various environments.
“All five talisman have been mastered.”
“Even the weakest Primordial Technique has over two thousand five hundred experience at Second Rank.”
“Time to start attempting alchemy.”
…
He took out the previously refined Essence of the Five Grains, activated Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles, and a fist-sized white powder flew into the Primordial Furnace.
Chen Mu’s left thumb hooked on the left ear of the pill furnace, and his palm pressed on the side of the furnace.
The Wind Fire Pivot Charm operated, the lid rotated slightly, and a glimmer of light flashed by. Instantly the inside was sealed off from the outside, air-tight.
“From one hundred eighty-three to two hundred twenty-one tick marks for heat and cold, thirty-five to forty-two for Qi Forbidden.”
“The range is broad, difficult to grasp, so let’s start with the middle.”
The talisman trembled slightly, and the furnace began to radiate high temperatures outward.
“The pill furnace is ready, now it’s time to condense the pill.”
His right thumb hooked the right ear of the pill furnace, his palm also pressed on the surface of the furnace.
At the same time, inside the Jade Seed, the spindle-shaped Golden Bead Talisman drilled into the vortex of the Five Qi Primordial Technique.
A surge of Exotic Force suddenly shot from the palm of his right hand into the interior of the pill furnace.
The shallow layer of Essence of the Five Grains at the bottom of the furnace immediately divided into ten portions, rising up and clumping together.
With the intervention of the Primordial Force, the small clusters of Essence of the Five Grains started rotating on their own.
As they spun, their volume shrank, and what was once loose sand slowly condensed into pills.
…
A quarter of an hour later.
Chen Mu opened the lid.
Ten elixir pills, the size of longan fruits, flew out.
“Failed, huh,” Chen Mu shrugged his shoulders.
The surface of the pills was pitted, some parts were even charred and black.
They looked like clumps of white plastic that had melted together, with an unpleasant smell and unattractive appearance.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this.
If one could succeed on the first try, then becoming an alchemist would be far too easy.
…
The Five Ghosts Bag branded dishwasher was activated, and black smoke drilled into the pill furnace to clean the inner walls.
A walnut-sized clump of Essence of the Five Grains entered the pill furnace.
Wind Fire Pivot, Primordial Five Qi.
Chen Mu embraced the pill furnace with both hands and began to practice again.
The entire afternoon, Chen Mu repeated the attempts.
Unfortunately, not once did he achieve success.
At dusk.
Chen Mu pinched an oval-shaped white pill in his right hand.
He was about to place it in his mouth when he hesitated for a moment and then stopped.
With a squeeze of his right hand.
Crack!
The pill instantly split in half like the shell of a peanut.
Specks of white powder fell from the inside at once.
“Still a failure,” Chen Mu sighed.
“Fortunately, it’s not all for naught.”
He looked at the grey wall before him.
A new entry still appeared.
Alchemy (Fasting Pill): 5/10000;
“Success!”