Deer Antler Powder

"Deer blood, deer antlers, deer pizzle, mica, red stone..."

Gao Xian placed the processed medicinal ingredients into the alchemy furnace one by one and lit the fire to roast them.

The three-legged, water-kettle-shaped alchemy furnace could be divided into eight distinct zones using internal rotating plates and manual partitions.

Some were used for roasting, some for boiling, and others for extracting and refining medicinal properties.

Beneath the furnace sat a brick-built pedestal, connected to an external chimney via a flue.

Alchemy required a large amount of charcoal, and by using this simple pedestal in conjunction with the rotating furnace, one could control the temperature.

The Yin-Yang Water and Fire Array was engraved onto the furnace, which could be activated with spirit stones if necessary.

The cost of using the array was far too high, and it demanded a high level of skill from the alchemist.

The original owner had only been at the first level of Qi Refinement, making it extremely difficult for him to control the furnace array, so he had almost exclusively used charcoal for alchemy.

In any case, he was only refining low-grade pills, so charcoal fire was more than sufficient.

Gao Xian had raised his Deer Antler Powder to the Grandmaster level, fully mastering all the fundamental techniques of alchemy.

Having also obtained all the alchemy memories of the original owner, the two sources of knowledge combined to instantly transform Gao Xian from a novice into an alchemy expert.

He took out the Wind and Moon Mirror, and sure enough, the grayed-out Alchemy Art had returned to normal. Furthermore, his proficiency in Alchemy Art had increased significantly, and it was on the verge of reaching the Mastery level.

To verify what he had learned, Gao Xian decided to try his hand at making Deer Antler Powder.

This type of pill was very simple, and the ingredients used were all common, which he could easily find in his own medicine storage.

After selecting the ingredients, he opened the furnace and lit the fire.

Only at this step did Gao Xian truly understand what "gentle fire" and "fierce fire" meant, how to control the heat, and how to extract medicinal properties.

These detailed techniques could never be learned from books. Only by practicing in person could one grasp the nuances of timing and heat.

Alchemy was a technical craft with thousands of steps; a mistake in any one of them would greatly diminish the efficacy of the medicine or even lead to total failure.

Gao Xian was at the Grandmaster level in Deer Antler Powder; as vast as the world was, there were few who could surpass him in this specific craft.

After half a day's work, the Deer Antler Powder was finished, and the room was filled with the fragrance of medicine.

As the name suggested, the finished product was a pile of medicinal powder, weighing over two jin.

Looking at this pile of charcoal-like substance, Gao Xian felt greatly encouraged and filled with a sense of accomplishment.

It was akin to a chef completing a signature dish. In fact, alchemy was quite similar to cooking—combining various materials and then steaming, boiling, or roasting them in a pot.

It was just that alchemy was more particular and complex.

To put it in more sophisticated terms, it was the process of re-proportioning and combining materials to make the energy within them more orderly—a process of entropy reduction.

This successful batch of alchemy greatly boosted Gao Xian's confidence. It also solved his most pressing problem!

After being excited for a good while, Gao Xian remembered that he wasn't finished yet.

He took some jade honey and mixed it with pine resin to create a pill coating, then hand-rolled the powder into pills the size of peanuts.

The outer coating could seal in the medicinal properties and fragrance, making it easier to store. It also tasted better when consumed.

Rolling pills was a simple action, and he could fully utilize the lightning-fast speed of his Lightning Dragon Hand.

In a short while, Gao Xian had rolled out over two hundred pills.

The Deer Antler Powder refined at the Grandmaster level would surely have extraordinary effects.

Gao Xian did not have an accurate estimate of this, however. He had never refined Deer Antler Powder before, let alone consumed it, so he wasn't sure how good his version was.

To test the efficacy, Gao Xian ate one himself.

A wave of heat rose from his dantian, quickly dispersing into his limbs and bones, before rushing straight to the top of his head.

This heat was strong but not fierce, yang-natured but not drying.

It made him feel as if his energy was overflowing, yet his mind remained clear, without any of the agitation that usually accompanied powerful medicinal properties.

Grandmaster-level pills are truly impressive! Gao Xian was quite satisfied with this.

Dharma artifacts, talismans, and spells were generally divided into nine ranks and thirty-six grades, and pills were also divided into nine ranks, though they were not graded; instead, they were classified from one to nine revolutions.

For the same type of pill, a one-revolution pill could barely manifest its medicinal effects, while a nine-revolution pill could bring those effects to their absolute peak.

Deer Antler Powder was an unranked virility-enhancing medicine, so it could not be re-refined through revolutions.

However, a Grandmaster-level Deer Antler Powder was sufficient to bring its efficacy to the limit and remove all the pill toxins from the medicine.

To test the efficacy, Gao Xian reluctantly went to find Sister Lan.

As his consciousness withdrew from the Wind and Moon Mirror, Gao Xian checked the Great Idol Spirit Method and saw that his cultivation had indeed increased by three points.

"With this miracle drug, I could easily crush those little blue pills. If I could travel back, I would immediately become the savior of middle-aged and elderly men!"

Gao Xian sighed. Having learned a dragon-slaying technique only to find no dragons was a bit regrettable.

Fortunately, the Deer Antler Powder was effective, and it was quite good for him to consume as well, as it could accelerate his cultivation of the Great Idol Spirit Method.

Wait, there were plenty of middle-aged and elderly people in this world too. Even for cultivators, their physical capabilities were still subject to the laws of nature.

Take Old Wang next door, for instance; he was withered and weak, suffering from a deficiency of kidney water. He was the perfect customer!

Making money is not the priority; the urgent matter at hand is to refine a batch of pills.

Gao Xian took out the Wind and Moon Mirror. Sure enough, his Alchemy Art had leveled up, unexpectedly reaching the Proficient level in one go.

Alchemy Art was the most difficult of all his skills to upgrade, so such a significant leap left him pleasantly surprised.

Even the three types of pills the original owner knew how to refine had all been elevated to the Proficient level.

The Master level realm only applied to Deer Antler Powder specifically, but many techniques for refining pills were universal.

Through this practical operation, he had integrated all the original owner's alchemy techniques, resulting in a massive boost to his Alchemy Art. Gao Xian was now not far from the Expert level.

Alchemy Art Tier 1 Proficient (27/4000)

Qi Recovery Pill Skilled (155/200)

Foundation Strengthening Pill Skilled (161/200)

White Dew Pill Skilled (177/200)

Looking at the data on the Wind and Moon Mirror, Gao Xian was quite satisfied.

In just a few days, he had made tremendous progress. At this rate of growth, uh...

Gao Xian did a quick calculation; it was too exaggerated, so he decided not to take it seriously.

Taking advantage of his good state, Gao Xian cooked some meat and ate his fill.

The Little Black Cat smelled the aroma and ran out from somewhere, eating until its belly was round.

Once full, the Little Black Cat was clearly sleepy, lying there with its eyes closed for a nap.

Gao Xian stroked it twice, but the Little Black Cat only flicked its tail and didn't react further.

This made Gao Xian a bit envious. Eat and sleep, sleep and play, play and eat... the little kitten's life was far too comfortable.

Perhaps he should feed it less often to let it know the hardships of life and the twists of fate.

Taking advantage of the abundant spiritual energy in his body, Gao Xian circulated the Five Elements Technique for thirty-six cycles, which took half an hour.

Without an accurate timing tool, Gao Xian felt that his circulation of the Five Elements Technique was much smoother now.

This was mainly thanks to the assistance of Sister Lan.

He took out the Wind and Moon Mirror and saw that the Five Elements Technique had steadily increased by one point, which felt wonderful.

After adjusting his state, Gao Xian went to the pharmacy next door.

The small courtyard he lived in had three main rooms: one was a bedroom, plus half a living room and half a kitchen. The remaining room was a storage room for medicinal herbs.

The alchemy room was a small side room next to the main house, containing only a pill furnace.

The pill furnace counted as a Tier 1 magical artifact and was actually quite valuable. It was extremely heavy and fixed to a brick platform, so it wasn't easy to move.

Furthermore, there were very few alchemists in the Flying Horse Market who could use a pill furnace. Even if someone stole it, it would be difficult to offload.

On the contrary, the medicinal herbs were light and easy to take, so Gao Xian could only keep them in the main room.

After checking the herbs, Gao Xian wanted to sigh. The original owner really knew how to court disaster, having used up all the herbs for the White Dew Pill.

Even with his great improvement in alchemy, he couldn't make up for such a large deficit!

He could only refine a batch of pills first to send over and stall for some time, then find a way to replenish the consumed herbs...

He sorted the herbs, steamed and dried them, ground them into powder, measured the ratios, and put them back into the furnace for refining.

It took Gao Xian three days to finish one furnace of Qi Recovery Pill.

By manually rolling the pills, he obtained over two hundred of them.

After being busy for three days, Gao Xian decided to go out to adjust his state. He tucked two portions of Deer Antler Powder into his clothes and went next door to visit Old Wang.

Old Wang's home was even more shabby. The small courtyard had only two main rooms with cracked walls and broken tiles; it would definitely leak if it rained hard.

The courtyard only had a path made of a few bluestone slabs for entering and exiting. In one corner stood an outhouse without a door, looking very exposed.

Although Gao Xian didn't have mysophobia, he didn't dare to look too closely.

Old Wang was lying on the bed dozing off. He yawned and asked unpleasantly, "What are you here for, kid?"

Gao Xian encouraged himself internally: Making a living isn't shameful. It's not like I'm selling fake medicine...

Having adjusted his mindset, Gao Xian gave Old Wang a reserved smile: "Fellow Daoist, have you heard of Deer Antler Powder?"

Thank you to all the brothers and sisters for the tips~ Bowing.