Reflections on Jiazi Alchemy

"I have taken the pill formula and the medicinal herbs. As for this cauldron, find a shop hand to help me deliver it all the way to the River-Facing Sect."

Shen Mo settled the bill, tucked away the receipt, and spoke to the shopkeeper.

He possessed a Qiankun bag.

However, the Qiankun bag he used was of the lowest quality issued by the sect.

Its internal space was only a few dozen centimeters in size; it was fine for storing some medicinal herbs or raw materials.

If he wanted to fit this pill cauldron inside, it would be beyond its capacity.

Therefore, he had no choice but to have the shopkeeper arrange for someone to deliver it up the mountain.

"No problem."

The shopkeeper nodded and shouted into the shop, "He Er, get out here quickly and go make a delivery for me!"

No sooner had the words fallen than a burly laborer walked out from the backyard.

"This guest has ordered the Red Cloud Cauldron; you go along with the guest," the shopkeeper instructed, pointing at the cauldron.

"En."

The laborer immediately hoisted the cauldron onto his shoulder and walked out of the storefront.

Seeing this, Shen Mo joined him, left the Treasure Pill Pavilion, and headed toward the outskirts of the market.

Upon arriving at the market checkpoint, Shen Mo verified the items sold and the spirit stones received with the guard.

After confirming everything was correct, the middle-aged man guarding the market spoke, "Forty-one spirit stones. According to the market's rule of taking one percent, this is what remains for you."

As he spoke, he took out five and a half catties of spirit rice and handed it to Shen Mo.

Before entering the market, Shen Mo had paid one spirit stone as a deposit.

Now, after calculating the market's commission, about half of that spirit stone remained.

Spirit stones, naturally, could not be broken apart.

For transactions of this amount, both parties often used spirit rice of equivalent value for payment.

Although spirit rice was not as widely used as hard currency like spirit stones, it was still a highly stable store of value.

Five and a half catties of spirit rice worked out to exactly the value of half a spirit stone.

Shen Mo took the spirit rice, stowed it in his Qiankun bag, and then, with the laborer He Er carrying the cauldron, he strode away.

Returning to the River-Facing Sect.

"I'm back!"

By evening, Shen Mo had returned to his residence.

He tidied up the room neatly before beginning to take stock of his current possessions.

After all that trouble, the spirit stones in my hand are gone again.

Shen Mo sighed as he looked at the mere five spirit stones remaining.

This trip to the market to sell talismans had brought in forty-one spirit stones; after the market's commission, that left forty.

Adding the twenty low-grade spirit stones Chen Mengze had brought him yesterday, along with his original savings, he had possessed a total of sixty-six low-grade spirit stones.

But today, after his purchases at the Treasure Pill Pavilion, more than half had been spent, leaving only five of the sixty-plus stones.

However, this money was well spent.

The pill cauldron was in his hands, and the necessary medicinal herbs had been purchased.

Now, he could begin to try his hand at the field of alchemy at any time.

But before that, I need to examine this cauldron.

Shen Mo recalled the fleeting glimmer of light he had seen the moment he first laid eyes on the Red Cloud Cauldron at the market.

I hope there is truly some kind of surprise!

At this moment, Shen Mo felt much like he was opening a blind box—both apprehensive and expectant.

Lighting the candles in the room, Shen Mo began to carefully feel over the cauldron, attempting to find if there was anything hidden within it.

After a thorough search, he found nothing.

"I'll wash it once and take another look."

He fetched a vat of water from the backyard, washed the dust off the Red Cloud Cauldron, and searched it again, yet still could not discern any secrets.

"I'll roast it over a fire and see."

Shen Mo built a bonfire in the room, set the cauldron over it, and after a period of roasting, the cauldron finally began to show some differences.

"Whoosh!"

As the scorching flames danced, the Red Cloud Cauldron gradually began to emit wisps of smoke and dust.

As the thick, swirling white smoke dissipated, tiny characters seemed to flicker in and out of view at the very bottom of the cauldron's interior, scorched by the flames.

Indeed!

There was more than met the eye!

Shen Mo's heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly tried to decipher the text above.

[Alchemist Red Cloud, Sixty Years of Alchemy Insights]

Shen Mo gradually made out the characters, reading them aloud word by word.

[I began alchemy at seven, became a ranked alchemist at twenty-three, and finally attained the rank of second-grade alchemist at sixty. My life has been an obsession with the Dao of Alchemy.]

The text in the first section recorded the life experiences of an alchemist.

According to the description, this alchemist was named Red Cloud. He lived to be seventy-two and had been a second-grade alchemist, deeply obsessed with the art of alchemy.

It seems this Alchemist Red Cloud must have been the previous owner of this cauldron.

Shen Mo thought to himself and continued reading.

[Now that my lifespan is nearing its end, I only regret that I never took on a disciple. With no successor to inherit my mantle, I leave these sixty years of alchemy insights here. If a future successor finds them, it shall be considered a stroke of fate and fortune.]

The text in the first section ended, and the second section was filled with dense, countless characters recording various insights and realizations regarding alchemy.

Shen Mo gazed at these words, firmly committing them to memory.

[You have observed the sixty years of alchemy insights left by Alchemist Red Cloud; your attainment in the Dao of Alchemy has increased.]

[You have observed the sixty years of alchemy insights left by Alchemist Red Cloud; your attainment in the Dao of Alchemy has increased.]

Only after Shen Mo had finished observing all these recorded insights did he notice the series of notifications already appearing on his information panel.

"The Dao of Alchemy." Shen Mo hurriedly opened his status bar, only to see that his alchemy cultivation, which had been non-existent before, had grown quite impressively.

[Dao of Alchemy (Unranked): 124/500.]

"I haven't even officially started refining a single furnace of pills, yet I've gained over a hundred points of experience out of thin air!"

Shen Mo looked at the data, his heart filled with joy. "These sixty years of alchemy insights left by Alchemist Red Cloud are truly the best introductory guide to the Dao of Alchemy."

The improvement brought to Shen Mo by these alchemy insights had not yet ended!

This was merely the beginning.

According to Shen Mo's conjecture, the insights and realizations of a second-grade alchemist should be enough to provide him with experience bonuses until he reached the second grade of alchemy himself.

He had bought a cauldron, and inscribed upon it were the life-long realizations and insights of its former owner, a second-grade alchemist.

It was essentially a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Although this could not be considered a grand opportunity, for Shen Mo, who was just planning to enter the path of alchemy, having the insights of Alchemist Red Cloud as a guide was undoubtedly a significant boon that would help him step onto the path of alchemy with greater ease.

"It seems it really wasn't an illusion; when encountering a good treasure, this special destiny does indeed provide a prompt."

After firmly memorizing this alchemical knowledge, Shen Mo placed much more importance on the "Keen Eye" special destiny.

It's a good thing I trusted my judgment and didn't think it was just my eyes playing tricks on me.

Otherwise, I would have missed out on this opportunity for alchemical insight!

After a moment of reflection, Shen Mo rubbed his hands together and laid out the medicinal herbs he had purchased in order.

"Let's begin. Tonight, I shall refine my very first furnace of pills!"

He muttered, full of ambition.