Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill

When the box opened, there was no radiant splendor, no refreshing fragrance of medicinal herbs and stones—only a palm-sized sheet of paper.

It was a very old sheet of paper, yellowed throughout, with some parts even showing signs of tearing, as though the slightest breath would scatter it into scraps.

Most astonishing of all, there were no words or patterns on it. It was completely blank.

He frowned slightly. He looked it over from every angle but could not discern its mystery, nor did he dare test it with water or fire.

Suddenly, he recalled what Master had once told him: the underworld's people used writing different from that of the living, known as Yin script. Without a Wise Eye, the living could hardly see its contents.

Wise Eye...

His brows rose. It seemed that although the City God had given him something, he had also left behind a test.

If one's skills were not up to par, one could guard a treasure mountain yet have nowhere to use it.

Zhou Sheng smiled faintly, then swiftly rose and kicked out. His toe landed precisely between his brows, pressing the pre-prepared gold foil Wise Eye, thin as a cicada's wing and hidden in the tip of his shoe, onto his forehead.

A traditional opera stunt—kicking on the Wise Eye!

This stunt was often used when portraying Weituo in Golden Mountain Temple, as well as Erlang Shen in opera. It tested one's waist and leg techniques more than anything else.

The kick had to be both fast and steady, requiring flexibility like a vine and force like iron, with a stance cold, hard, and cleanly decisive.

Back when Zhou Sheng had trained bitterly, he had needed to raise his leg high enough to pass his toe through the square hole of a suspended Copper Coin before he could be considered competent.

Now, with a kick through the air, he raised his eyes sharply. A brilliant, glittering Wise Eye had appeared between his brows.

For a Ghost Opera Performer, the Wise Eye could perceive transformations, break invisibility, and connect Yin and Yang. It was an immensely useful divine ability, but its consumption was equally tremendous.

As soon as the Wise Eye opened, Zhou Sheng felt a coolness between his brows. The world around him became extraordinarily clear, and he could even see colors invisible to ordinary eyes—an indescribably magnificent, dreamlike sight.

Master had once warned him not to casually open the Wise Eye before his Dao cultivation was sufficiently high. Should his gaze offend passing Ghosts and Gods, he could easily bring disaster upon himself.

Fortunately, Zhou Sheng was only in his room at the moment, so he did not need to worry too much.

He picked up the paper and examined it with the Wise Eye. Sure enough, lines of writing emerged upon it.

"Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill (Incomplete)"

"One jin of mica, two liang of alisma, eight liang of dwarf lilyturf, eight liang of Poria cocos..."

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up. This was actually a Daoist prescription for consuming mica!

Mica was the essence of twelve hundred kinds, the finest spirit of the seventy-two vapors of cloud. Its body was pure and luminous; water could not ruin it, fire could not scorch it. It endured alongside Heaven and Earth, shining with the sun and moon.

In his previous life's China, there had been many legends of immortals attaining the Dao by consuming mica. For instance, He Xiangu, one of the famous Eight Immortals—legend said that "at fifteen, she dreamed of a divine being who taught her to eat mica powder. Thereafter, her body became light as flight, and she came and went upon mountaintops."

Wei Shuqing in Records of Immortals had even become an immortal directly by consuming mica.

In Chinese medicine, mica was also a precious medicinal ingredient. It could calm the mind, brighten the eyes, lighten the body, and even prolong life.

But it was ultimately a mineral. Metals and stones were the hardest things to digest; without an immortal method, eating too much would instead prove harmful.

Zhou Sheng had not expected the City God to give him such a grand gift.

Yet the word "incomplete" in the prescription kept him from setting his mind at ease. After committing the formula to memory, he hurriedly put away the Wise Eye.

In only a short while, his head had already begun to ache faintly.

He had to raise his cultivation as soon as possible!

He performed Turtle Shell Divination again, asking for information related to this prescription. If there were no hidden dangers, he could consume it directly.

The result delighted him greatly.

"The incomplete chapter of Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill has lost its most essential portion. After decades of research and restoration by a divine physician, though its efficacy has greatly diminished, it can now be consumed."

"Take one dose every seven days, for a total of two doses. It will strengthen qi and blood within, fortify sinews and bones without, lighten the body and brighten the eyes, extend life and increase longevity. If supplemented with a Guiding Technique, it may advance cultivation."

A smile appeared on Zhou Sheng's face. Now he could finally put his mind completely at rest.

The words "advance cultivation" in particular were precisely what he needed most urgently.

However, it was already late at night. The medicine shops had all closed, and his own condition was poor as well. He suppressed his excitement and soon fell into a deep sleep.

He slept deeply. It was not until the sun stood three poles high that Zhou Sheng slowly woke. After casually eating something, he went to the medicine shop and gathered all the necessary ingredients.

Then, following the steps on the prescription, he ground them into powder, soaked them in half a wine jar of alcohol, placed them in a bamboo tube, dried them over the fire, stirred them into a paste, set them on a board to dry in the sun for half a day, and finally ground them into fine powder like white sand.

The task was complete!

But he could not consume it directly. It had to be taken with White Dew water; otherwise, Yin and Yang would fall out of balance, and the immortal medicine would immediately become poison.

Strictly following the formula's instructions, Zhou Sheng swallowed the medicine with White Dew water.

The doors and windows had been locked, so he did not need to worry about being disturbed by outsiders.

He waited quietly for the medicine to take effect.

At first, he felt nothing. But after roughly the time it took to burn one stick of incense, streams of heat suddenly surged from his lower abdomen at the Dantian, pouring ceaselessly into his limbs and bones.

There was no filth blasting from his pores, nor did his meridians rupture and mend themselves. Instead, it was an ultimate, boundless comfort.

It was as though he were bathing in a hot spring, every inch of muscle stretching freely—or as though he were riding the clouds of the Ninth Heaven upward, floating like an immortal.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart pounded like a war drum. Every beat sent his qi and blood boiling. His skin resembled crimson clouds, steaming threads of white mist, while a sharp gleam flickered in his eyes.

Remembering the words in the Book of Luo, Zhou Sheng hurriedly planted his feet apart, rooted his toes into the ground, formed empty palms around an invisible sphere, and shifted into a special rhythm of breathing.

This was the Primordial Basket-Lifting Stance, the first form of Lan Caihe's Twelve Guiding Forms.

Zhou Sheng had cultivated this Guiding Technique for sixteen years.

According to Master, Lan Caihe of the Eight Immortals had been surnamed Xu, named Jian, with Lan Caihe as his stage name. He had once been an actor in the Liang Garden theater sheds of Luoyang, before Zhongli Quan enlightened him and led him to immortality.

Some opera troupes even enshrined him as their Patriarch.

These Twelve Guiding Forms of Lan Caihe were said to have been passed to Ghost Opera Performers after he became immortal. They could strengthen qi and blood, increase primordial qi, and if one's talent was outstanding enough, could even cultivate true Dao cultivation.

Zhou Sheng had practiced this art for sixteen years, never stopping through winter or summer. Only three years ago had he cultivated Dao cultivation.

It was also from that time onward that Master had been willing to let him go out alone to handle affairs.

Though he had been diligent, cultivation was above all a matter of slow grinding with water over stone. Thus, his progress had always been very slow.

Yet now, under the ceaseless stimulation of the medicinal power, his Dao cultivation began to advance by leaps and bounds.

His Magic Power, once as faint as drifting gossamer, was growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. He could practically see changes with every breath.

As the Guiding Technique unfolded, his Dao cultivation surged forward bravely with each inhale and exhale.

He embraced the primordial whole as though lifting a basket, parting clouds and plucking rosy haze with turning fingers.

His left foot stepped firmly upon the earth, his right drew up spring water; he shook the sea and flung open the Ren and Du gates.

Tossing the basket scattered three winters' turbidity; one stamp of bare feet chilled a hundred ailments.

Do not mock the madman in tattered blue robes—the true formula of guidance lay in this mortal world!

Zhou Sheng performed the Guiding Technique six times in succession before the heat within his body slowly dissipated.

When he opened his eyes again, divine radiance spilled from them, dazzling as the morning sun, only gradually fading after a long while.

It felt as though he had shed half a jin of turbid bones. His body was light as a swallow, and wind seemed to rise beneath his feet.

Of course, what delighted him most was that his Dao cultivation had doubled.

A single dose of medicine had equaled his previous sixteen years of bitter cultivation!

And this was only the incomplete chapter of Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill, missing its most important core portion.

If it could be completed, then perhaps...

Could he truly become an immortal?