Chapter 4: Looking for a turning point in alchemy
Qingshi wanted to temporarily slow down his practice of Qi and try making elixirs.
Walking into the alchemy room again after a few months, Qingshi looked around. A one-foot-tall alchemy furnace with two ears and three legs stood in the center. The lid rolled to the ground. There were some medicinal materials scattered around, which had long since rotted.
Other than that there is only one futon. Picking up the alchemy furnace and lid, Qingshi found that they were still in good condition, and the material was not bad, but the inside was dark and sticky with some highly toxic paste, and it had already dried and cracked.
Qingshi came to the corner of the small courtyard and washed the alchemy furnace clean with spring water drawn from moso bamboo.
Looking at the storage bracelet, there were still some medicinal materials inside. After just a glance, Qingshi found that the remaining ones were first- and second-level spiritual herbs, which could not be matched with each other, and could not be used to practice any elixirs.
There are more than a dozen gray plants in the bracelet, which are highly poisonous black grass. According to Shi Shi's memory, Shi Shi mistook them for ear vines and used them as auxiliary materials for refining detoxification pills, which led to tragedy.
Recalling it again, it turns out that the last time Shitou went to Yahua City to sell medicine, shopkeeper Cao of Yahua Medicine said that someone had customized a two-star detoxification pill in large quantities and the reward was generous. He hoped Shitou would tell his master to help refine a batch, so Shitou was Risky trial production.
Shitou never told Shopkeeper Cao that he was an alchemist. He only said that he helped his master sell medicine. Naturally, he also concealed the fact that his master had passed away.
Based on the various spells that Xiao Lou has in Qingshi's memory, the two-star detoxification pill can't be obtained in minutes, but the prerequisite is that there are medicinal materials.
There are no herbal medicine shops in Maozhu Town, but there are a few herbal pickers. There is an old herbal picker in Sanpaifang Village, 16 miles away from the town. In addition to occasionally going into the mountains to pick medicines, Shitou mostly goes to him. Buying medicine, now it's time to go again.
In the early morning of the next day, it was drizzling heavily. Herb collectors generally would not go into the mountains in this kind of weather. Qingshi put on a bamboo hat and went out and went straight to Sanpaifang Village.
In less than half an hour, Qingshi came to the house for the elderly who collected medicine in Sanpaifang Village. The house was not too big, but it was fresh and clean. There were six rooms in one courtyard with green bricks and gray tiles inside the fence.
"Uncle Yu, Uncle Yu." Qingshi shouted through the bamboo fence half a person's height.
There was a creak in the fence yard, and the door opened. Old man Yu stuck his head out and saw that it was bluestone. He immediately stepped out and opened the fence door. He smiled as he walked:
"Shitoubazi, I'm here to buy medicine again. I have a batch here and am going to the drugstore in the city to sell it. You're here just in time. If you buy it, I can carry less burden into the city."
"Okay, I'm also thinking of going into the city. How about we go together and I'll help you carry it."
"Okay, but you have to take the medicinal materials back to your master first. But it doesn't matter. I'll wait for you. Come on, let's take a look at the medicinal materials first."
Fu Yunhao had been here several times in the past few years. Old Yu naturally recognized him, but he didn't know that Fu Yunhao had passed away.
When I walked in, I saw bundles of medicinal materials neatly placed on a large square table, and there were seven or eight bulging cloth bags on the ground.
Qingshi looked at it, selected a dozen kinds of medicinal materials, bought some of each, paid the money, and with a wave of his hand, all the medicinal materials were put into the storage bracelet. Old man Yu looked at Qingshi in surprise and said, "Stone, Did your master give you a storage device?"
Only then did Qingshi realize that he was naked, but he was not worried at all and said, "Yes, so I don't need to go back first. We can go to the city at any time."
Old Man Yu grunted and began to pack the medicinal materials into a large bamboo basket covered with a tarpaulin, but he said: "Stone, as your master is an alchemist, he naturally has money to buy these treasures, but you are still young. After bringing this treasure into the city, be careful not to expose it in front of others, didn't your master teach you?"
Qingshi smiled awkwardly: "As I taught you, this is not in front of your old man. I will pay attention when entering the city. Thank you, old man." He secretly thought that this old man is kind.
After getting out of the house, Qingshi insisted on helping the old man carry the basket. After pushing and pulling for a long time, he finally agreed that one person would carry the basket for a part of the way, but he did not dare to put the basket into the bracelet.
This old man is also a monk. He has no awakening attribute spiritual energy, and his level is two levels lower than Qingshi. His realm in this life will stop there.
Although Old Man Yu is already over eighty years old at this time, he is still in good health. Ordinary people are no match for him. Otherwise, he would not dare to be a herb gatherer. The poisonous insects and beasts in the mountains are not something ordinary people can deal with. of.
The two of them traveled very quickly and arrived at Yahua City before noon after traveling nearly a hundred miles.
After entering the city, the two went to a herbal medicine shop called Wutongxuan in the north of the city. The owner of this medicine shop and Old Man Yu were old acquaintances, and Old Man Yu sold her medicinal materials to his family.
There are more than twenty drug stores in the city. This one is relatively small. The largest one is naturally the Yahua Pill Store, which is the property of the city lord's family. The population of Yahua City is nearly 300,000, with hundreds of businesses and thousands of shops, 30% of which belong to the city lord's family.
Qingshi bought some more medicinal materials at Wutongxuan, and almost all his gold and silver were spent. He pretended to buy a big cloth bag, put all the newly bought medicinal materials in the bag, and then told old man Yu that he was ordered by his teacher to Stayed in the city for two days to run some errands.
After the breakup, Qingshi came to the south of the city, found a quiet inn, spent the last bit of money on a large room, then got into the room, bolted the door, and Qingshi was ready to make elixirs.
In the room, Qingshi sat cross-legged on the ground. With a thought, the alchemy furnace flew out from the storage bracelet and landed steadily in front of him. Dozens of medicinal herbs, seven or eight fruits of different sizes and colors and some mineral powder were put into the alchemy furnace one after another. In the furnace, he wanted to refine the two-star detoxifying pill.
In his previous life, Xiao Lou was one of the top monks in the Dahuang world. He had perfected the Xuanyuan realm and was extremely talented. In addition to his unparalleled martial arts skills, he was also proficient in alchemy, weapon refining, and mystical formations. As far as alchemy alone was concerned, he was six Star alchemists, and the highest level of seven-star alchemists in the entire Dahuang world are less than a handful.
If there were other alchemists here, they would be shocked to see Qingshi throwing all the alchemy materials into the alchemy furnace like this.
Various medicinal materials require various processing, some need to be chopped, some need to be fried, some need to extract the medicinal liquid, and then administered according to a certain order and proportion and in different methods. Qingshi's rough administration method is simply unheard of.
But Qingshi would not mess around, and refining a two-star detoxifying pill with the vision and skills of a six-star alchemist was nothing more than a joke.
Of course, current Qingshi is limited by his own cultivation and can refine three-star elixirs at most, but refining two-star elixirs is also very easy and does not need to be so troublesome at all.
The medicinal materials are put into the furnace, and the bluestone drives the true energy in the body to be released through both hands. The fire attribute true energy flows out from the palm of the left hand, forming a light red flame that surrounds the alchemy furnace. The wood attribute true energy of the right hand flows out from the middle two fingers and turns into a light green air flow. One of the three small holes on the stove cover flows into the stove. The whole technique looks relatively easy, but it is not skillful and a bit jerky.
After about half an hour, Qingshi raised his left hand, and the alchemy furnace rose steadily three inches off the ground, and began to spin while suspended. The sword fingers of his right hand were retracted and matched with his left hand, and he hugged himself with both hands to protect the middle alchemy furnace. At the same time, both hands moved together. The elixir furnace is wrapped with fire-attributed Qi, and the fire is controlled perfectly.
After another quarter of an hour, Qingshi felt that the time had come. He slowly lowered his hands, and the pill furnace fell smoothly. With a slight wave of his right hand, the lid of the furnace was opened, and six pills dripped from the furnace, spinning continuously.
Except for the elixir, nothing else was clean in the furnace, and the impurities and residues of the medicine had already been calcined into gaseous state and drawn out from the holes in the furnace cover. Although it was my first time to make an elixir, it was a success without any surprise.
After practicing until almost midnight, Qingshi finally refined all the medicinal materials on his body into elixirs, and made three furnaces of detoxifying elixirs.
There were six pieces in each of the first two furnaces, but seven were produced in the third furnace, and the quality was slightly better. This shows that memory is not enough. Only personal operation can combine theory with practice and make the skills more perfect.
In addition to the detoxification pill, Qingshi also made two furnaces of two-star Qi-returning pills, a total of twelve pills.
The Qi-Returning Pill can be said to be the most in-demand elixir. It can quickly replenish the Qi and is very needed in battle.
Since it directly replenishes the true energy, it is naturally much faster than absorbing the spiritual energy from spiritual stones and then cultivating it to convert it into true energy. During the battle, how can there be time for you to absorb the spiritual energy and practice? Therefore, the Qi Returning Pill is an essential medicine to replenish the consumption of Qi in battle.
Compared with the Zhenqi Pill, the Huanqi Pill replenishes the Zhenqi in a small amount and does not have the effect of helping monks expand the Qi sea and strengthen the meridians, but it replenishes the Zhenqi faster. Of course, if you eat too much at one time or continuously, the effect will be compromised.
After refining the elixir, Qingshi felt a little tired. Refining the elixir not only consumed his true energy, but also consumed his mental energy.
Qingshi crossed his legs and inhaled for half an hour to recover. Feeling a little more energetic, he began to practice the Great Huang Gong.
On the surface, this inhalation recovery and inhalation practice are about absorbing spiritual energy and converting it into true energy, but in fact it is not the case.
Inhalation recovery does not require the consumption of mental energy to guide the spiritual energy to circulate according to the meridians. The spiritual energy inhaled into the body is naturally transformed in the sea of qi. The efficiency is not high, the quality of the transformed infuriating energy is not high, and it cannot strengthen the meridians, but the infuriating energy and mental energy are restored quickly. Faster.
Although cultivation also absorbs spiritual energy into the body and transforms it into true energy, it requires mental energy to guide its operation, expand the sea of energy, and flush the muscles and veins, so it has no recovery effect at all, but makes people mentally exhausted.
Therefore, although it is possible to practice the exercises one night and still be energetic the next day, it will definitely not restore your mental and physical strength as much as a good night's sleep.
Although Qingshi spent a lot of mental power in making alchemy, his mental power was beyond the reach of ordinary monks of the same level, so he was able to continue practicing for nine weeks, and did not fall down to bed until dawn.
After a rare sleep, Qingshi didn't get up until noon. After washing, Qingshi went out and checked out of the room, and then walked towards Yahua Dan Medicine Store.
Yahua Dan Medicine Store is in the south of the city, not far away, and will be there in a short time. Qingshi walked straight to a counter in the southeast corner of the store, where shopkeeper Cao usually was, and today was no exception.
Seeing Qingshi, Shopkeeper Cao hurriedly welcomed him out with a smile on his face. Although Qingshi was young, he had an alchemist master. Shopkeeper Cao deduced that he should be a two-star alchemist. A two-star alchemist was the only one in Yahua City. There is only one in the city lord's palace.
"Oh, Master Shitou, you're finally here. I've been looking forward to it for so many days. How about it? Did your respected master refine the two-star detoxifying pill?"
"Hello, Shopkeeper Cao, please call me Qingshi. Please stop calling me Young Master, okay?"
"Okay, okay, young master, no, Qingshi, that Qingshi brother, is really approachable, hahaha, look at that pill..."
"Of course it's ready, na." As he said that, Qingshi took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms and handed it over.
Shopkeeper Cao quickly took it and opened the lid carefully, only to see twelve pea-sized white pills in the bottle, which were two-star detoxifying pills. Judging from the grade, they were all average.
Shopkeeper Cao was overjoyed and said hello repeatedly: "Good elixir, good elixir hahaha, Master's alchemy skills are getting better and better. Brother Qingshi, how about I give you 10% of the market price for these elixirs?"
"Well, thank you, shopkeeper Cao, for taking care of me. By the way, I still have a few high-quality ones here. Master said I can sell them if the price is right. Why don't you take a look." He took out another bottle and handed it to him. past.
He took the small porcelain bottle in surprise. Shopkeeper Cao opened the bottle cap and saw that it was indeed six high-grade two-star detoxification pills. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh, hey, they are really top-notch. Your master's alchemy skills have really improved a lot." , Amazing, amazing! Brother Qingshi is getting smarter and smarter, why didn’t you take it out together just now? Then tell me, how can the price be right?"
"Hey, I'm so smart. It's all what Master taught me. As for the price, I think the high-quality ones should be worth more than the medium ones. The medium ones should add 10%, and the high-quality ones should at least add 30%. , do you think so?"
"Ouch! How did Brother Qingshi become so good at talking?"
"Master taught me what Master taught me!"
...
The two exchanged words for a while, and finally settled the deal with 1,900 low-grade spiritual stones and 200 gold coins. The two hundred gold coins were also worth 200 low-grade spiritual stones, so they sold a total of two thousand and one. One hundred low-grade spiritual stones, but the money used to buy medicinal materials was only about three hundred and fifty gold coins.
In the past, Shitou mostly sold one-star pills. Occasionally, there were a few low-grade two-star pills left by Fu Yunhao. They were usually sold for gold coins. They had never sold more than 300 low-grade spiritual stones at one time.
This time Qingshi sold so many spiritual stones at one time, so naturally he was quite satisfied.
Shopkeeper Cao was a little depressed. He looked at Qingshi who was gradually walking away and murmured softly: "It's normal for the master's skill to have improved, but it's very strange for the apprentice's IQ to have increased. I'm afraid he took some miraculous medicine? Could it be true?" What kind of puzzle pill or brain-boosting pill? This alchemist is really good! Tsk tsk..."
After Qingshi left Yahua Danyao Village, he wandered around the city for a long time, trying to find a good restaurant for a big meal.
Although I am not hungry now even if I have eaten a meal for several days, I am not hungry physically, but I am hungry in my heart. Think about it, in the capital city of the big country on the earth, the simple three meals a day are now extremely delicious, let alone He said that he often had late-night snacks, grilled skewers, hot pot, and drank beer all night long.
After having a meal at the best restaurant in the city, Qingshi was still not very satisfied with the meal. Compared to Zhu Er's workmanship, it was better. At least his hair was clean, but that was all.
There is no way, people in this world just don’t study eating. Qingshi's cooking skills were naturally unwilling to give in, so he went to the market and bought a lot of ingredients and condiments, and found a deserted place to put them in the storage bracelet.
Back home, it was already dusk.
Qingshi has nothing to miss about this home, but this home has some benefits. In addition to shelter from wind and rain, Fu Yunhao also set up several magic circles for this home when he was alive.
The magic formation, also known as the mysterious formation, is one of the three major arts besides martial arts.
This house has a large-scale magic circle, which is based on the grass, trees, earth and rocks around the house. It is used for defense. It requires a magician who knows the mysterious formation to activate the true energy to trigger it.
Qingshi naturally understands the magic circle, but he is not a magician now and cannot activate this magic circle at all.
In addition, there is a simple shielding array in the alchemy room, but it is of little use.
The most useful thing is the spirit gathering array set up around the big stone used for cultivation in the small courtyard. It can independently gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a certain range, making the spiritual energy in the small courtyard much richer than in other places.
Qingshi returned home and started practicing crazily.
