The Fake Pill Consecrator

"Rustle, rustle."

The sudden sight of Liu Ding barging in gave the "reed-flower chicken" quite a fright. It spread its wings, hopped and flew away, landing some distance off as it curiously sized him up.

This was a peaceful paradise untouched by worldly strife. There were no ferocious beasts in the valley, only insect-eating birds that naturally protected this wild medicinal garden.

Liu Ding tiptoed past the "reed-flower chicken." It merely raised its head to look at him a few times. Perhaps it sensed no threat, or perhaps it had never experienced the harsh law of the strong devouring the weak. It soon stopped panicking, lowered its head peacefully, and continued pecking at insects.

Looking at the plump game bird before him, Liu Ding smacked his lips a few times and resisted the urge to catch it and make himself some delicious roasted chicken legs and wings.

Getting in here had not been easy. Liu Ding had practically brought all his possessions with him—basins, pots, and pans, everything he could possibly need.

During the seven days he spent collecting the unique airborne substances from Everlasting Cave, he had toured Everlasting Valley time and again. By now, he knew the place like the back of his hand and was fully aware of where every medicinal herb grew.

Once he had gathered the ingredients needed to refine Du Ling Juice, Liu Ding began working with his own hands to provide for himself.

The reason he wanted to refine Du Ling Juice himself was because its method was both unusual and simple. One only needed to grind the ingredients into juice, then steam and sun-dry it nine times each. The only slightly complicated part was that, during the steaming process, one needed to infuse it with qilin soul qi to dispel its violent properties.

To infuse a savage beast's soul qi into medicine required a powerful spiritual force. Only a true Pill Consecrator could do it.

Ordinarily, given Liu Ding's current realm, consecrating pills would have been nothing but a fantasy. But he could consecrate his divine soul, so he decided to take a risk and try.

Taking out a small millstone from the large bag he had brought with him, Liu Ding began grinding the ingredients he had gathered into juice. He poured it into a medicinal cauldron, placed the cauldron inside a large pot, and began the first steaming.

"It's time." Watching heat waves rise from the Du Ling Juice in the cauldron, Liu Ding gritted his teeth and sat cross-legged. As he consecrated his divine soul, it left his body with a thought. This time, however, it appeared in a palm-sized form. Looking down at the medicinal juice that was beginning to boil, it leaped straight in.

"So hot!" Though his divine soul was formless and incorporeal, Liu Ding still felt the scorching heat envelop his entire body. Gritting his teeth, he endured it. Sure enough, a moment later, he felt the qilin soul qi within his divine soul begin to melt into the Du Ling Juice.

"It worked!" Though he could not refine the soul qi from a qilin Gallstone Crystal into medicinal juice as a Pill Consecrator could, the qilin soul qi he carried within himself steadily dispersed into the juice during this risky attempt.

Once he sensed that nearly enough qilin soul qi had been infused from his divine soul, Liu Ding floated out of the medicinal juice and returned his divine soul to his body.

After breaking through to a new realm, his own Beast Soul Qi could replenish itself endlessly. Once his divine soul returned, Liu Ding began restoring his qilin soul qi. Repeating this cycle through nine steamings and nine sun-dryings, this fake Pill Consecrator successfully consecrated his first bottle of Du Ling Juice.

Gently shaking his handiwork, Liu Ding nodded in satisfaction. "This time, I won't have to live off a woman anymore, right?" Thinking that Zhi'er and the others must be worried again, he tucked the jade bottle close to his body. Then, carrying the large bag that had originally held his pots and pans, he began gathering medicinal herbs throughout Everlasting Valley. He could even lift the Soul Forging Cauldron, which weighed tens of thousands of jin, so carrying more herbs would not be a problem.

The problem was that Liu Ding found his large bag completely stuffed, swollen like an enormous balloon, yet he still was not satisfied. Once he left, he had no idea whether he would be able to enter Everlasting Valley whenever he pleased again. In the end, he had no choice but to give up many precious herbs and only picked those specifically used for Dream Incense and Du Ling Juice.

When he returned to the entrance, he saw the "reed-flower chicken" still pecking around nearby. He waved to it as though bidding farewell to an old friend. "Goodbye, little flower chicken." He thought that the next time he came in, he would bring it some rice bran or similar food.

Back in his little courtyard, Liu Ding dumped the entire bag of medicinal herbs out in one go. Zhi'er was utterly stunned. As she rummaged through them, she exclaimed in amazement, "Seven Star Lotus, Soul Curse Flower... heavens, where did you gather so many ingredients for Dream Incense?"

Liu Ding patted his chest repeatedly. "A man of the mountains has his own clever schemes."

"Look at you, all full of yourself." Zhi'er gave a playful snort, then found ingredients for Du Ling Juice as well. Her face filled with delight. "There's even Jade Marrow Fungus and Yin Condensing Grass. They're both extremely rare immortal herbs. We could trade them for quite a bit of money. This time, we won't need to worry about the Soul-Devouring Beast's Gallstone Crystal."

"No!" Liu Ding hurriedly stopped her. No matter how valuable immortal herbs were, they could not compare to refined Du Ling Juice. "You don't need to worry about money. I'll figure something out."

"Oh?" Zhi'er looked at Liu Ding thoughtfully. "Looks like our Brother Liu Ding has grown up."

"Of course." Liu Ding patted his chest again. "I'll be responsible for earning money and supporting the family, while you'll be responsible for being beautiful as a flower."

With that, he burst out laughing. Before Zhi'er could pretend to be angry, he strode out of the house and headed for Bleser City.

To sell Du Ling Juice, he naturally had to go to a medicine hall. The two largest medicine halls in Bleser City belonged to the Ximen Family and the Murong Family. Remembering how the Murong Family had tried to extort eight hundred li of territory from the family through Nie Zhengxu, Liu Ding had no favorable impression of them. He headed straight for the Spirit Herb Pavilion, the Ximen Family's medicine hall.

The moment he entered the Spirit Herb Pavilion, Liu Ding felt that something was off. Such a huge medicine hall was cold and deserted. There was not even a clerk watching the counter.

"Is anyone here? Anyone here?" After he called out several times, a young clerk finally emerged from the back hall.

"What are you yelling about?" The young clerk took one look at Liu Ding and saw that he was just a half-grown kid. His expression immediately turned sour. "If you're buying something, hurry up. I'm busy."

Liu Ding froze. You run a medicinal herb business. A customer coming in isn't your business? What could you possibly be busy with?

"Fine. I just want to see your manager." With no other choice, Liu Ding decided to hold back for now before he had even gotten through the door.

"You little brat, if you're not buying medicine, what are you making trouble for?" The clerk grew even more impatient. Waving his hand, he said, "Go cool off somewhere else. You think you can see our manager just because you say so?"

"What's wrong with being a kid? Can't a kid discuss business?" Liu Ding was angered too. "There's more than one medicine hall in all of Bleser City. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If I take this business to another medicine hall, don't let your Spirit Herb Pavilion regret it."

"Oh? Such big words from a little brat. Don't tell me you're a Pill Consecrator?" The clerk sneered. "What grade Pill Consecrator are you? What pills have you refined? Take them out and let me see."

Liu Ding's face darkened. He had never expected such a large medicine hall to treat customers this way. No wonder it was so deserted. Furious, he said, "With the way you treat guests, you think you can see my pills? No chance! I'd rather take them to the Divine Pill Chamber under the Murong Family than give your Spirit Herb Pavilion a second glance."

Fuming, he turned to leave, but two people entered the medicine hall. One of them, a woman, frowned and said, "Xiao Zhu, why are you arguing with a customer?"

"Miss, h-he's not here to buy medicine. He's here to cause trouble." The young clerk immediately accused him first.