The Medicine Master's Key

Time was a priceless consumable. Whether one wanted it to or not, it was always being used up.

By the time he finished refining pills again and again, it was already close to half past three in the afternoon.

The Body Tempering Liquid in Song Shuhang's hands was nearing completion.

Just like yesterday, when he added the forty-first ingredient, the Body Tempering Liquid in the pot underwent a change.

Having gained some experience, Song Shuhang calmly added water this time. A moment later, he sliced the fresh Overlord Branch, the Nine-Yang Scarlet Flame Bamboo, the Deep-Sea Cold Crystal, and the Snow Demon Core, then tossed all four ingredients into the pot in one go.

Once the medicinal liquid in the pot split into two distinct extremes, Song Shuhang directly turned the heat up to maximum again.

After finishing everything, Song Shuhang finally let out a sigh of relief.

Everything had gone smoothly. Whether it would succeed or not depended on the final step!

Oh, right. He also had to prepare himself first for the scent of the possible "gathering of every foul stench in the world" that might occur in a moment.

Four minutes later.

Boom...

The lid of the hot pot was once again blown off by the high pressure, and black smoke spewed out of the pot. That indescribable stench filled the entire room.

Song Shuhang had been prepared for it and held his breath ahead of time. Although the stench still invaded his sense of smell through some unknown means from every part of his body, pinching his nose and holding his breath beforehand could still alleviate it to some extent.

"Ugh? What is this smell?" Medicine Master was immensely powerful, and his five senses were exceptionally sharp. His sense of smell in particular was already around three hundred times that of an ordinary person.

The strange stench surged into his nose and mouth, and Medicine Master immediately felt as though his entire being had gone bad.

This f*cking thing had already reached the level of a biological weapon, hadn't it? If an ordinary person smelled it for a while, they would probably become nauseated until their face turned pale, vomit, collapse, and foam at the mouth!

If he had not been so powerful, and if he had not frequently refined pills and endured all kinds of strange odors from failed attempts, he might have dropped to his knees the moment this foul stench rushed over.

"If this thing were refined, it would be an absolute nightmare for First-Grade Cultivators who have opened their Nose Apertures and Second-Stage True Masters who still can't freely control their sense of smell," Medicine Master muttered. He raised a hand and slapped, sending a wave of palm wind that scattered the pitch-black fog laden with the foulest of stenches.

"Even though I've already smelled it once, I still can't get used to it. I feel like I won't have an appetite for food over the next few days," Song Shuhang complained as well.

"Did it succeed?" Medicine Master asked.

"The foul smell came out, so it should have succeeded, right?" Song Shuhang picked up the hot pot's lid. Every time, this lid had to be sent flying once. Even if it was made of reinforced glass, it would sooner or later be shattered into pieces, wouldn't it?

Medicine Master pinched his nose and leaned over to look into the hot pot. At the bottom lay a thin layer of black medicinal paste. It was transparent and had a pungent odor.

He hooked a finger through the air, drawing up a drop of medicinal liquid that fell into his mouth.

As he carefully sensed the medicinal effects of the Body Tempering Liquid erupting in his mouth, Medicine Master revealed a satisfied smile. "Just as I thought."

With a rough estimate, its medicinal effect was half as weak as that of his simplified Body Tempering Liquid.

In theory, the stronger the effects of the pills cultivators used, the better. However, after the effects of the simplest Body Tempering Liquid had been weakened to a certain degree, it unexpectedly displayed a special effect!

The old version of the Body Tempering Liquid had powerful effects. Even elite disciples recruited by the various sects had to cultivate in advance for several months to half a year, stimulate their Blood Qi to its limit, and adjust their physical condition to its peak before they could take it.

For the elite disciples of the various sects to take the Body Tempering Liquid simplified by Medicine Master, they likewise had to cultivate and adjust themselves for about a month beforehand.

But if the effects of the Body Tempering Liquid were lowered a little further, the sect disciples would only need to adjust their condition slightly before taking it.

After their bodies underwent tempering and their physical strength increased, they could then take Body Tempering Liquid of a somewhat higher quality, greatly saving the initial time needed to nurture the disciples.

One had to know that the time for a disciple to achieve Foundation Establishment was a race against the clock. The optimal age for Foundation Establishment was between four and six, a mere two years, and the earlier they took Body Tempering Liquid, the better.

More importantly, with Song Shuhang's method of refining Body Tempering Liquid, there was no need to deliberately do anything. When a mistake occurred at the forty-first step of refining the "Simplified Body Tempering Liquid," one only needed to immediately switch to another pill-refining procedure.

This method was practically a patch for Medicine Master's "Simplified Body Tempering Liquid." It further perfected the pill formula for the "Simplified Body Tempering Liquid" and could also greatly reduce the waste of ingredients by the "apprentice pill refiners."

Seeing the satisfied smile on Medicine Master's face, Song Shuhang sighed in relief and asked, "Can this help Senior perfect the pill formula for the Simplified Body Tempering Liquid?"

"It isn't that easy. Your successful refinement this time only proves that my idea for perfecting the pill formula is feasible. Over the next few days, I'll still need your cooperation. I need to make some improvements based on your method of refining pills. Hehe, this trip really was worthwhile." Medicine Master was in an excellent mood.

Song Shuhang nodded. "I'll do my best to cooperate with you, Senior."

Medicine Master nodded in satisfaction, pulled out a thick notebook, and rapidly recorded all kinds of data and details from the experiment just now.

He was known as a genius pill refiner and had some renown among cultivators. But his title of genius and his fame had not simply fallen into his lap while he sat at home. The thick notebook alone showed how much sweat and effort he had poured into the study of pill refinement. And... in Medicine Master's abode, there were enough of these thick notebooks to fill thirty bookshelves.

Behind every successful genius lay sweat beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Song Shuhang looked at Medicine Master, his face full of hesitation.

In the end, he could not hold back any longer. "Senior Medicine Master, you said earlier that Master Profound Principle's Flying Sword Message would arrive in about four or five hours. Judging by the time, it should be about now, right?"

The Vajra Foundation Fist and the True Self Meditation Scripture! Cultivation arts that could truly let him step through the gate of cultivation!

At the mere thought of the two introductory cultivation arts, Song Shuhang's heart stirred restlessly, unable to contain itself. He wished he could obtain the two secret manuals immediately.

"Haha, no rush, no rush. Master Profound Principle's Flying Sword Message is using me as its coordinates. I'll sense it when it's almost here. Mm, but we should still return to your dormitory. The transmission coordinates we set at the beginning were in your dormitory, so unless something unexpected happens, the flying sword should go there too." Medicine Master smiled.

"Then shall we go back now?" Song Shuhang asked expectantly.

"No rush. While observing you refine the Body Tempering Liquid, I verified the feasibility of many ideas in my mind. I need to record them first. Mm, if you're in a hurry, go back first. I'll follow you afterward," Medicine Master said.

Song Shuhang nodded.

"Then, Senior, shall I go back to the dormitory and keep watch first?"

"Go on, go on. Young people are simply too impatient." As he spoke, Medicine Master reached out and tossed a string of keys toward Song Shuhang.

They were the keys to this very house.

"I'm giving you the keys. There are five floors anyway, and I can't use that much space. I'll lend you the top floor to live in, so you won't have to rent a place." Medicine Master did not even raise his head as he spoke.

He had already bought the house, and leaving it empty would be useless. He might as well sell Song Shuhang a favor.

Song Shuhang caught the keys and did not stand on ceremony. "Thank you, Senior!"

He truly needed a house where no one would disturb him. Besides... he had no spare money. Medicine Master lending him a room had solved his pressing problem, so he would not be polite with Senior.

"Remember to lock the door!" Medicine Master waved his hand and continued writing furiously in the thick notebook.

Song Shuhang left with light steps.

Of course, he did not forget his induction cooker and hot pot. He had to remember to take those two things back, lest they make his dormitory roommates suspicious.