As everyone knows, Mount Longhu's Golden Light Spell is incredibly fragile!

Within the system's Study Space.

Tang Jiaren carefully examined all the medicinal herbs that Qin Qi had collected and purchased.

"Not bad. The quality of the herbs is average, but they will suffice for an introduction."

Tang Jiaren nodded. Members of the Tang Sect were experts in refining poisons, and they were equally proficient in pharmacology.

At seventy-three years old, a single glance from Tang Jiaren was enough to determine the exact quality of any medicinal herb.

"Granduncle, shall we begin?"

Qin Qi was eager to start; he could barely contain his excitement at finally being able to learn his first technique.

"Don't be so impatient. These herbs need to be processed, and this space lacks the proper tools."

"You must find a stone mortar to grind the herbs and a pot to boil them in."

Tang Jiaren smiled at Qin Qi's excitement and spoke in a measured, unhurried tone.

"Understood, I'll go right now."

Qin Qi hurriedly exited the Study Space; once activated, the space could be left at any time.

Re-entering would not consume a new session, but would instead use the remaining time from the previous one.

Back in the real world, Qin Qi had no money left to buy supplies, but that didn't matter—the poor had their own ways of getting by.

He found two suitable stones, one concave and one convex, and cleaned them thoroughly; these would serve as his mortar and pestle.

For a pot, he simply found a container that could hold water and gathered some firewood to serve as his stove.

After bringing the items into the Study Space, Qin Qi followed them inside.

"Granduncle, the equipment isn't great, but I truly can't find anything better right now. Let's just make do."

Qin Qi said.

"Very well. I will guide you from the side, and you will do the grinding."

Tang Jiaren remained cheerful. Having lived through an era of extreme scarcity, there was little he hadn't seen.

He had even eaten tree bark during the famine years, so Qin Qi's current predicament was nothing.

"I have to do it? Am I capable of that?"

Qin Qi stared at the herbs, stunned. He had assumed his Granduncle would prepare them for him.

"You are. I believe you can do it. Enough talk, let's begin."

Tang Jiaren commanded.

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Under Tang Jiaren's instruction, Qin Qi began to slowly grind the herbs, a process that required a great deal of time for each variety.

He first crushed them with the stones, performed a rough grind, and then carefully sifted through the results.

After that, he performed a fine grind, repeating the process many times until half a day had passed.

"Whew, I feel like these hands don't even belong to me anymore."

Qin Qi looked at his trembling hands and offered a wry smile.

The excitement he had felt earlier had completely evaporated, leaving him with no energy for enthusiasm.

"Now, leave the boiling of the medicine to me. You sit to the side and practice the Five Treasures Body Protection Method."

Tang Jiaren nodded as he watched Qin Qi calm down; a restless mind was the greatest taboo when refining poison.

Even the slightest impatience could lead to self-injury, which was why the first step of refining poison was to steady one's heart.

"Understood."

Qin Qi nodded, sat down to meditate, and began to execute the Five Treasures Body Protection Method within his body.

The Spleen Earth Qi and Liver Wood Qi formed a protective film within his body, while the Heart Fire, Kidney Water, and Lung Metal Qi gathered and circulated inside that membrane.

An hour later, Qin Qi's body had reached its peak state, and Tang Jiaren had finished brewing the external medicine.

"Come, drink this, and then follow the method I taught you to circulate the Heart Fire, Kidney Water, and Lung Metal Qi within your body."

Tang Jiaren handed the concentrated bowl of medicine to Qin Qi, his expression turning serious.

"Understood."

Qin Qi nodded, took the bowl, and drank the medicine in gulps, his face immediately twisting in agony.

"It's so bitter! I feel like throwing up!"

Qin Qi's expression contorted. He had taken traditional medicine before, but this was the foulest thing he had ever tasted.

"Don't lose focus. Begin refining the poison."

Tang Jiaren commanded.

Qin Qi immediately refocused his mind. As the external medicine entered his body, the energies of Kidney Water, Lung Metal, and Heart Fire immediately rushed to converge upon it.

During the process of blending the three types of Qi with the external medicine, the Spleen-Earth and Liver-Wood energies continuously circulated along the outer layer.

They formed an airtight protective shield, tightly wrapping the toxins within.

As time ticked by, the three types of Qi and the external medicine fused completely, and the three types of Qi merged into one!

Green energy began to emanate from Qin Qi's body; this was the Tang Sect's Qi Poison!

"This kid's talent is truly impressive; he's on par with how I was in my youth."

Tang Jiaren nodded as he watched this scene, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. Reaching this stage meant the Qi Poison had been successfully mastered.

[Ding, teacher 'Tang Jiaren's' approval of the host has reached 30%.]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for learning Qi Poison. Reward: 1 Achievement Point, 100 Study Credits.]

Listening to the prompts in his mind, Qin Qi slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his body.

"So this is Qi Poison."

Qin Qi felt the green Qi Poison enveloping his body and sensed that he could manipulate this energy to change its form.

Acting on the thought, he began to experiment, gathering all the Qi in his body toward his hands.

The Qi Poison converged on his palms, transforming into something resembling a sphere of water.

"This is Qi Poison. The introductory method is to shroud yourself in it; that way, whoever touches you gets poisoned."

"But people aren't stupid enough to touch you when they see you glowing green all over."

"That's when you condense the Qi Poison and throw it directly at them; whoever it touches gets poisoned."

As Tang Jiaren spoke, he also condensed a ball of Qi Poison in his hand and tossed it away.

"It's not just with your hands; you can spit it from your mouth, kick it with your feet—it can come from anywhere."

Tang Jiaren demonstrated more techniques for Qin Qi, explaining that since the Qi originated from within him, the Qi Poison could likewise be emitted from any part of his body.

"Anywhere?"

Qin Qi silently looked down. Anywhere? Does that mean that place works too?!

Qi Poison is too terrifying!

"However, those two are just the most basic applications. Once your Qi Poison improves, you can develop the Poison Barrier and the Qi Poison: Bamboo Green Snake."

Tang Jiaren said as the green Qi Poison on his body turned purple: "Come, try hitting me."

"Then I won't hold back."

After Qin Qi spoke, he threw a punch, and the next second, his fist made contact with the purple Qi Poison.

In that instant, Qin Qi felt as if he had struck a steel plate, and at the same time, his hand was poisoned.

"Is this the Poison Barrier?"

Qin Qi waved his hand, and the toxins vanished. Within the Study Space, he wouldn't truly be harmed, let alone die.

"That's right. Once Qi Poison becomes a Poison Barrier, its flexibility decreases, but its defensive power increases."

"If trained well enough, the defensive power of the Poison Barrier can rival the Golden Light Spell of Mount Longhu."

"Furthermore, our Tang Sect's Poison Barrier retains its toxic properties; when others strike us, they end up getting poisoned themselves."

Tang Jiaren explained.

"Rivaling the Golden Light Spell of Mount Longhu..."

Qin Qi's expression turned a bit strange. He felt that this didn't seem like a very good comparison.

Anyone who had read the comics knew that the Mount Longhu Golden Light Spell was as fragile as paper—with the exception of Zhang Zhiwei.