Inference, Prescription

Having obtained what he wanted, Zhu Yu did not linger. After looking around, he stepped out and headed straight for the next room teaching "Technique Construction and Detailed Spirit Object Explanations."

A quarter of an hour passed.

Zhu Yu emerged from the room with excitement in his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he strode toward the room teaching "Detailed Explanation of Technique Categories."

Not long after.

Like a rat that had fallen into an oil vat, he successively entered the rooms teaching "Detailed Explanation of Five-Element Spirit Objects," "Detailed Explanation of Flesh Mutation," and "Guidelines for Technique Cultivation."

An hour later.

Zhu Yu stepped out of the Stone Pagoda. Waves of clamor flooded his ears, rousing his slightly dazed mind. He turned to glance back at the mottled Stone Pagoda, tightened his black robe, and merged into the market in the square.

Specks of Fluorescent Flora lit the road as he hurried onward without pause. Before long, he returned to his residence.

"Phew..."

Sitting in a chair, Zhu Yu drank several cups of the tea Liang Kuan had sent over in one go, then let out a long breath. After thinking for a moment, he silently recited:

"Establish a model. Using my own Heaven-and-Earth Dharma Vein Diagram, infer and analyze the technique 'Gold-Chewing Iron-Eating.'"

[First-tier low-grade technique "Gold-Chewing Iron-Eating"]

[Gold-Melting Iron-Dissolving Stomach Meridian Map. Required spirit objects for technique construction. Inference and analysis: "1%." Estimated time: "three months."]

[Storage Auxiliary Stomach Meridian Map. Required spirit objects for technique construction. Inference and analysis: "1%." Estimated time: "seventeen days."]

"Sure enough, now that I've obtained more cultivation information, I can infer the technique in its entirety."

Delight appeared on Zhu Yu's face, and his emotions stirred.

This did not merely mean fully inferring a single first-tier low-grade technique. It also represented limitless possibilities in the future.

As long as he acquired enough information.

Immortality? Eternal life without death? They no longer seemed impossible.

But dreams were dreams; he still had to focus on what lay before him. Zhu Yu forcibly suppressed his excitement, rose to his feet, placed the bundle Xiang Sui had sent on the table, and reached out to open it.

What met his eyes were clumps of grass roots and stems, some shriveled and some emerald green; a smooth stone mottled white and yellow; and a set of tools for boiling medicinal ingredients.

"Yellow Dream Flower, Poria, Huqian Grass..."

After taking out the tools and setting them aside, Zhu Yu swept his gaze over the ordinary medicinal herbs in the bundle before it settled on the white-and-yellow stone.

It was Medicine Stone, refined with White Jade Mushroom as the main ingredient, supplemented by sulfur and various medicinal herbs, then forged with pill fire.

It was also the primary ingredient in the prescription for strengthening the stomach wall.

To avoid any discrepancy from the prescription inferred by the True Sight Eye, Zhu Yu picked up the Medicine Stone, scraped off a little powder with his fingernail, and put it into his mouth.

At once, a burning sensation surged up, accompanied by a chokingly pungent smell. Once the components had been analyzed, he hurriedly opened his mouth and spat it out, then took a mouthful of water to rinse his mouth.

[Components contained in Medicine Stone: White Jade Mushroom "36%," sulfur "28%," Stone Tail Grass "12%," Fritillaria "8%"... Significant discrepancy from the main ingredients of the prescription.]

[With Medicine Stone as the main ingredient, the estimated effect after boiling it into medicinal soup and consuming it is "45%" of the original prescription. Add Yellow Dream Flower "36%," Poria "25%," Huqian Grass "65%"... Estimated effect can reach "91%" of the prescription.]

"Ninety-one percent. That will do."

Having understood the information, Zhu Yu nodded slightly. It was only a prerequisite prescription for a technique; there was no need to deliberately pursue perfection. He immediately followed the formula inferred by the True Sight Eye and began processing the medicinal herbs one by one.

After an unknown length of time.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose before the stone house. Zhu Yu crouched halfway beside the medicine furnace, occasionally using a leaf whose fluorescence was gradually dimming to fan the fire.

Pungent fumes drifted through the air, drawing the eyes of passersby. Some were surprised, some curious, some puzzled, and some looked upon him with disdain and contempt... There was no end to the variety.

Yet Zhu Yu remained utterly unmoved by their varied gazes. Once the medicine furnace had boiled three times, he carried it back into his room. As he poured it out, a stream of dark brown liquid flowed into a bowl.

Zhu Yu examined its color, then took a sniff.

The medicinal liquid no longer carried the sharp, unpleasant stench it had possessed at the start of the boiling. Instead, it gave off the fresh herbal fragrance of cooked mushrooms. This was precisely the sign of a successful brew.

"Not bad."

Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction and tipped his head back, draining it in one gulp.

The medicinal liquid was slightly bitter upon entering his mouth. At first, he felt little after swallowing it, but as time passed, a burning sensation gradually arose, as though he had swallowed a mountain of chilies. The feeling only intensified.

Until, at last.

It was as though he had not swallowed medicinal liquid at all, but a scorching red-hot coal.

Wave after wave of searing pain swept through him. Whenever Zhu Yu felt as though his stomach was about to burn through, a cool, refreshing breath suddenly emerged, immediately easing the pain. Yet just as he sighed in relief, the burning agony struck again.

If a cultivator had been present, they would have discovered.

Zhu Yu's gastric fluid, strengthened by the medicinal liquid, churned unceasingly, constantly eroding and corroding his stomach wall. Whenever large patches of mottled ulceration appeared, wisps of jade-green breath emerged, swiftly repairing the damaged stomach wall and making it even tougher.

And so it went, again and again.

An hour later.

"Phew..."

Zhu Yu felt the scorching pain in his stomach recede like the tide and could not help letting out a relieved breath. After resting and recovering for a moment, he sat up and silently recited:

"Establish a model. Detect the effects of consuming the medicinal liquid, compare the differences before and after, infer the effects after consuming it again..."

[Medicinal liquid absorption rate: "97%." Effect upon repeated consumption weakened by "53%."]

[Stomach wall toughness increased fivefold. Digestion and absorption increased threefold...]

"As expected of a prerequisite prescription for a technique."

Joy appeared on Zhu Yu's face. He rubbed his chest, flipped himself upright, picked up the medicine furnace and the pre-weighed packet of herbs, then walked out of the room.

Wisps of cooking smoke curled upward, adding a touch of everyday warmth to the quiet street.

Just after Zhu Yu returned to his room carrying the freshly boiled medicine furnace.

The door of the neighboring stone house slowly opened. A girl with delicate features and two heavy dark circles beneath her eyes poked her head out. She glanced at the extinguished fire pile, confusion in her eyes.

"Did that reclusive guy get sick? Why is he even boiling medicine himself?"

Tong Xuan did not dwell on it. She merely assumed Zhu Yu had nothing better to do. She yawned, rubbed her eyes, muttered about holding on for a few more days, and shrank back inside.

Time slowly passed.

Zhu Yu drank two more doses of medicinal liquid in succession, stopping only after it had completely ceased to have any effect.

And the result was.

His stomach wall toughness had increased ninefold from before, while his digestion and absorption had increased sixfold.

"Tomorrow, I'll buy a few bottles of Meditation Fluid from Senior Brother Xiang and see how effective they are."

Having made up his mind, Zhu Yu washed up simply, took out the pill bottle containing Soul Dispersing Pills, poured out one pill and swallowed it, then sat cross-legged and entered meditation.

The next day.

Six full moons appeared upon the dome.

Led by Xiang Sui, a group of seven people knocked on the stone house door as agreed.

Creak... The wooden door swung open.

The moment Zhu Yu stepped outside, he saw five black-robed figures cup their hands and bow to him in unison. "We thank Teacher Zhu."

Once they raised their heads.

Were they not his first five apprentices—Xun Su, Ni Ying, Qiao Hewei, Bai Meng, and Fu Hongxi?

Behind them, Liang Kuan waggled his brows and mouthed a sentence without making a sound.

Though there was no sound, Zhu Yu still understood him. He had said, "The teaching fee doubled." Warm enthusiasm immediately overflowed across Zhu Yu's face as he extended a hand in invitation toward the five immortal seedlings.

"Junior brothers and sisters, there's no need for such courtesy. Please, come in quickly."