Fasting Pill

Fasting Pill

"Hold it." Li Ditu did not let Li Qianqing continue. "You're so young, yet you've already learned how to flatter people. Do you think this Second Grandfather of yours can't see through your little schemes?"

Li Ditu rose to his feet and walked over to Li Qianqing.

"You're interested in alchemy, aren't you?"

Li Qianqing nodded, his eyes brimming with excitement.

Li Ditu had not really wanted Li Qianqing to learn alchemy. His planting skills were excellent, as could be seen from the White Corn harvest. Becoming a Spirit Planter in the future would be quite good. But the look in Li Qianqing's eyes immediately changed his mind.

Back then, he had been the same way, filled with love for alchemy. Relying on his fairly decent Alchemy Talent, he had become the Lineage's alchemist.

When he had not wanted Li Qianqing to pursue alchemy, if Li Qianqing's Alchemy Talent proved inferior to his planting talent, Li Ditu definitely would not have agreed to let him become an alchemist. If it surpassed it, he would have supported it with both hands. Now that he recognized Li Qianqing in his heart, even if Li Qianqing's Alchemy Talent was not as good as his planting talent, so long as the difference was not too great, he would support Li Qianqing in continuing down the path of alchemy.

"Yes, Second Grandfather!" Li Qianqing nodded vigorously.

"Then here's the question: how much do you know about alchemy?"

"I read some of the most basic books on alchemy when I was at Changqing Mountain," Li Qianqing answered truthfully.

"Good. I'll give you a simple test."

"Please ask, Second Grandfather."

Li Ditu began giving Li Qianqing a simple assessment.

The questions and answers went much as Li Ditu had expected. Li Qianqing answered every question he asked with ease, without the slightest pause.

This was entirely within his expectations. How could the sincere look in the youth's eyes possibly deceive him?

"Very good." Li Ditu nodded in satisfaction. "It seems you've put in no small amount of effort when it comes to alchemy."

As he spoke, Li Ditu took out a cyan-gray Alchemy Furnace and a yellowed book.

"This Alchemy Furnace is a Low-Grade Magic Tool, very suitable for beginners learning alchemy. This Second Grandfather will lend it to you for now. If your Alchemy Talent is good, then I'll give this Alchemy Furnace to you."

Magic tools were divided into low, middle, and high grades, from lowest to highest. They were also among the primary offensive and defensive methods of Qi Refining stage cultivators in battle.

Li Qianqing hurriedly thanked him. "Thank you, Second Grandfather!"

"Don't rush to thank me yet. Didn't you hear what I just said? The furnace will only be yours if your Alchemy Talent is good. If your talent is poor, I'll take it back. Then you can honestly be a Spirit Planter. At least your talent in that field is quite good."

In Li Ditu's view, there was no distinction between high and low, noble and humble among the Hundred Crafts of Cultivation. Masters of every profession were respected. One had to know that White Corn had not initially ripened only once a year, nor had its yield been as impressive as it was now, casually reaching over a thousand jin per mu. That was all thanks to the Spirit Planters of previous generations.

"Fourth Uncle taught me that no matter what you do, you must have confidence in yourself. Otherwise, you've already lost from the very start."

"Mm, that does sound like something Fourth Child would say." Li Ditu voiced his approval. He first handed the yellowed book to Li Qianqing. "These are some insights I gained while refining pills in my youth. They should be very helpful to beginners. You can read them after you return."

Li Qianqing excitedly accepted the yellowed book and nodded repeatedly before receiving Li Ditu's Alchemy Furnace as well.

"Lastly, here are one hundred jin of White Corn. Refine Fasting Pills ten jin at a time. Once you've used up all the White Corn, come find me again."

"Alright."

As the most basic type of pill, the Fasting Pill was the best choice for beginners learning pill refinement.

The methods for refining Fasting Pills could be found in some basic alchemy books. It was also the pill most strongly recommended by those books' authors for beginners to refine.

After Li Ditu made another record, he let Li Qianqing return.

The hundred jin of White Corn had not been given to Li Qianqing by Li Ditu, but were rather the Lineage's initial test of his talent.

Li Ditu was one of the Lineage's elders, so he naturally possessed some authority.

After returning to his residence,

Li Qianqing first had to refine the Low-Grade Magic Tool Alchemy Furnace before he could begin refining Fasting Pills.

Fasting Pills were the most unusual pills, because all Fasting Pills required only one kind of ingredient. Different grades of Fasting Pills used different kinds of Spirit Rice.

The Fasting Pills refined from White Corn were the most ordinary kind, not even qualifying as Rank 1 Low-Grade Pills.

This was because White Corn ripened once a year, meaning the maximum age of its main ingredient was only one year. Rank 1 Low-Grade Pills required the main ingredient used in their refinement to be at least two years old.

The most unusual pill had the most unusual refining process. There was no stage in the middle where medicinal herbs liquefied and their medicinal properties fused. The most important thing was simply to complete the compression step, and the process rarely failed.

A tiny pill contained immense energy, and compressing that energy was an indispensable step in pill refinement.

Ten jin of White Corn could be used to refine one most ordinary Fasting Pill.

For beginners, it was best to refine Fasting Pills one at a time. Though the efficiency was pitifully low, it could greatly reduce costs.

When beginners were starting out, their priority was controlling costs, not pursuing efficiency.

Li Qianqing naturally would not truly refine only one Fasting Pill per furnace. He was not a beginner.

One hundred jin of White Corn could be handled in a single furnace.

For an alchemist at Li Ditu's level, eighty jin of White Corn was best for one furnace. This gave him both efficiency in pill refinement, and either eight or seven Fasting Pills upon opening the furnace. Cases of only six pills were basically nonexistent.

"An Alchemy Furnace... it feels like I haven't used one in a very long time."

More than three years had passed since his rebirth. At his current level of life, his perception of time still made it feel exceptionally long.

After a brief sigh, Li Qianqing began refining the Low-Grade Magic Tool Alchemy Furnace.

A Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator needed less than half a day to refine a Low-Grade Magic Tool, after which came becoming proficient in using it.

As soon as he finished refining the Low-Grade Magic Tool Alchemy Furnace, he began using it.

He first brought in the stalks from the White Corn plants outside. They would be used to start the fire.

As someone who cultivated the Verdant Wood Engulfing Flame Art, he possessed the Verdant Wood Flame. In truth, he could refine pills directly with the Verdant Wood Flame without using White Corn stalks, but that would consume more spiritual power and require him to divide his attention to control it. Using ready-made materials was still best.

The Alchemy Furnace stood above, and the White Corn stalks lay below.

After Li Qianqing sent in a wisp of flame, the stalks began to burn, and the furnace temperature shot upward in a straight line.

When the time was right, he placed all one hundred jin of White Corn into the Alchemy Furnace.

This Low-Grade Magic Tool Alchemy Furnace could refine up to two hundred jin of White Corn at once.

Refining Fasting Pills was meant to let novice alchemists properly master the compression step of pill refinement. It was both the foundation and the foremost priority.

If the energy was not compressed sufficiently, the pill could not take shape.

When the Fasting Pill refinement had reached one-third of the way, the furnace had to be sealed to prevent energy from leaking out.

The energy in White Corn was less likely to leak away, but with some spirit herbs, one careless mistake at this step could cause all their energy to leak out completely in the space of a breath. The pill refinement would naturally fail.