Blood-Activating Powder

Biodata

Power Progression

Uses and Administration

Recovery from Training

Blood-Activating Powder addresses the accumulated strain caused by intensive martial training. Repeated force tempering damages the tendons and bones; without adequate recovery, this develops into “rebound fatigue,” potentially leaving a practitioner bedridden for days and damaging their foundation 22.

• Significantly accelerates recovery after training 22.
• Daily use after training can prevent tendon-and-bone damage caused by overexertion 22.
• Supports faster progress in stance training and Strength Refining when its medicinal power is properly refined 30 41.
• Ordinary powder was used by Lu Cheng to sustain daily cultivation, including three doses per day during his push toward the Late Stage of Strength Refining 56.

Methods of Use

• Medicinal bath — The gentlest and least painful method; the medicine disperses gradually through the water, but acts slowly. Most users favor this approach 28 40.
• Topical application — More efficient than a bath, but requires spreading the powder over the body and causes intense irritation when it takes effect 28 40.
• Oral consumption — The most convenient, efficient, and complete use of the powder’s medicinal potency, but also the most painful and dangerous method 28 40.

Risks

• Swallowing ordinary Blood-Activating Powder causes severe burning pain; even a fingertip-sized amount was enough to leave Zhuang Xing in pain for an entire night 28.
• Taking two doses at once greatly amplifies the medicinal force and can cause loss of control over one’s blood and strength 30 42.
• Feng Zhan warns that a single mistake while refining two doses internally could cause the user to explode to death 30.
• Lu Cheng concluded that taking two doses together offered only limited additional efficiency compared with the multiplied danger, reserving the method for potential breakthroughs 30 42.

Composition and Refinement

• The basic formula uses eighteen medicinal ingredients, added in a prescribed order and harmonized through controlled heat 53 64.
• A complete formula records ingredient proportions, addition order, and the reactions that occur at different stages of furnace refinement 25 53.
• The formula itself is not considered precious, but the practical techniques and experience needed to refine it reliably are guarded secrets 51.
• A shopkeeper estimates that one set of raw ingredients costs roughly five mace of silver, far below the normal selling price of the finished medicine 24.
• Refining requires close observation of each herb’s medicinal properties; poor adjustments can ruin the batch or create Pill Poison 24 50.

High-Grade Refinement

High-grade Blood-Activating Powder requires far finer control than ordinary batch production. Lu Cheng lowers the furnace fire, adds ingredients individually, waits for the smoke to clear after each addition, and maintains a precise temperature while the medicinal properties fuse 64.

• High-grade powder is colorless, odorless, nearly transparent, and free from the pungency of ordinary versions 49 64.
• Its medicinal warmth removes fatigue without the restless burning caused by ordinary powder 64.
• Refining several sets at once produces ordinary-quality powder even when the refiner’s technique is perfected; Lu Cheng must refine high-grade batches individually 64.
• In Lu Cheng’s cultivation, one ordinary set provided six proficiency points, while one high-grade set provided ten 64.

Trade and Distribution

Lu Cheng and Old Pi used Blood-Activating Powder as the basis of the “Financial Storm” plan. They sourced large quantities of ingredients, sold Black Market-backed delivery contracts, and used demand for the medicine to manipulate Yang City’s herb and pill markets 27 32 35.

• Lu Cheng explicitly intended to fulfill every issued contract rather than defraud buyers 32.
• Fifty freshly refined packets displayed at Old Pi’s shop established buyer confidence and triggered immediate orders 34.
• Lu Cheng’s group eventually accumulated five thousand Blood-Activating Powder contracts while retaining three thousand taels of silver 35.

Story Role

• Lu Cheng first seeks Blood-Activating Powder after learning that his training regimen will eventually cause rebound fatigue, but the standard three-tael price is beyond his means 22.
• His search for cheaper medicine leads him into Bogu Hall’s Black Market, where he discovers both the product’s profit margin and the possibility of refining it himself 23 24.
• After acquiring a formula and ingredient sets, Lu Cheng successfully refines his first batch and leaves the Black Market with ten portions for personal use 25 26.
• The powder becomes central to his rapid Strength-Refining progress, although his repeated use of two doses at once alarms Feng Zhan and the other disciples 29 30 41 42.
• Lu Cheng later refines large quantities to help Liu Village meet its compensation obligations, eventually completing six hundred portions 55 58.
• His successful high-grade refinement improves both his own training efficiency and Zhao Cheng’s cultivation; fifty high-grade sets help Zhao Cheng reach the Late Stage of Strength Refining 64 65.