After dinner!
He Pingsheng lit the oil lamp!
Then he began reading!
A knock came from outside.
He Pingsheng went over, first removing the bar bracing the door, then unlocking it.
"Hey..." Outside, Hao Yun's face was as black as the bottom of a cooking pot. "What are you doing in there, kid? Why did you shut the door so tightly?"
"I couldn't get it open for ages!"
As he spoke, Hao Yun's gaze focused, moving down from above until it settled on He Pingsheng's [midsection].
He Pingsheng abruptly covered his crotch with a hand. "Don't get the wrong idea! It's not what you think!"
"I'm only fourteen this year. I don't know anything about that!"
"Enough!" Hao Yun raised his gaze again and tossed the book in his hand onto He Pingsheng's table. "Take a look. What's this?"
He Pingsheng and Hao Yun sat down across the table from each other, their gazes falling on the book.
Several words were written on its cover: Thirty-Six Alchemy Formulas!
What did that mean?
No idea!
"These are the formulas for thirty-six pills commonly found in the cultivation world!" Hao Yun said. "Actually, in the world of those immortals, they're hardly a secret. They're the most basic stuff. Practically everyone has a copy!"
"It records the refining methods for a whole range of pills, including the [Golden Bone Pill], [Qi-Gathering Pill], [Foundation-Nourishing Pill], [Marrow-Washing Pill], [Spirit-Gathering Pill], [Foundation Establishment Pill]... and so on!"
"You may only be a menial worker, but you'll still be serving in the Alchemy Hall!"
"We don't need to concern ourselves with the specifics of refining or washing the ingredients, but we have to remember the heat control clearly!"
"Study it carefully, so you don't end up beaten half to death like me!"
"Read through it first. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me!"
"Oh!" He Pingsheng picked up the book and opened it.
The first of the thirty-six formulas was for the [Qi-Gathering Pill].
It was very comprehensive!
It covered every aspect of refining the Qi-Gathering Pill: the types of medicinal ingredients, how to select them, the order in which to add them to the vessel, heat control, refining time, precautions, and so on...
That single formula sprawled across ten whole pages.
However, He Pingsheng did not need to remember the other details. He only needed to memorize the heat control required when refining the Qi-Gathering Pill.
After all, he was merely a menial worker in charge of tending the fire.
"All right!" Hao Yun stood up. "Keep reading. There's no rush. Give it back whenever you've memorized it!"
"Mm..."
He Pingsheng nodded.
Hao Yun had just stepped out of He Pingsheng's room when he spotted a disciple dressed in blue entering the Alchemy Hall's small courtyard.
The newcomer had sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, and a friendly expression.
"Are you Hao Yun?" The newcomer stared at him.
Hao Yun said, "That's me..."
"Good!" the man said. "I'm a disciple of True Person Jade Virtue, and Linglong's junior martial brother... My senior martial sister wronged you in what happened earlier... My master said that since you were injured, he couldn't simply ignore it!"
"Come with me to the Virtue-Honoring Garden to pay your respects to my master!"
Hao Yun said, "There's no need... My injuries have already healed!"
The disciple smiled. "Hao Yun, this is an invitation from my master, True Person Jade Virtue. Consider for yourself whether you wish to go. If you truly refuse, I'll report the facts to my master and tell him you were unwilling to come!"
Hao Yun's expression immediately darkened. Refusing was not an option.
"All right!" He nodded, then looked at He Pingsheng. "I'll leave things here to you... I'm going to Uncle-Master Jade Virtue's place to listen to his teachings!"
He Pingsheng had no idea what was going on. All he could do was nod, then watch his Senior Brother leave with Uncle-Master Jade Virtue's disciple.
After the two of them left, He Pingsheng saw that it was growing late and night was falling, so he securely locked his door again.
He ignored the [Thirty-Six Alchemy Formulas] and instead took out the Basic Breathing and Qi-Guiding Method, beginning his practice.
He could now sense the spiritual energy outside his body, but drawing it into his body to temper and condense it was another hurdle.
He had no idea how long it would take to accomplish.
And so He Pingsheng began trying again, and again, and again.
He tried for a full four hours, yet still failed to achieve what he wanted.
One could even say he had made no progress at all.
Still, he was not discouraged, because Senior Brother Hao Yun had said that even geniuses with a single spiritual root needed several days to see results.
"Oh..." He Pingsheng yawned. "So sleepy!"
But before going to bed, he still had one thing to do.
He Pingsheng took out his axe, pried up the two stone slabs beneath the bed, and scooped away the soil layer by layer, revealing the pills he had buried earlier.
An exotic fragrance spread throughout the room.
He Pingsheng dared not delay. He quickly took two of the pills and dropped them into the porcelain bottle Hao Yun had given him.
He had initially feared that Hao Yun was using the porcelain bottle as bait, hoping to seize the chance to spy on his secret.
Now that Hao Yun had been summoned away, He Pingsheng was alone in the entire Alchemy Hall, so naturally, he no longer had that concern.
Snap...
He capped the bottle!
He had thought the porcelain bottle would effectively contain the fragrance wafting from the supreme-grade pills.
In reality!
It could not!
It could only contain most of the pills' fragrance, with around twenty percent still leaking out.
Disappointment filled He Pingsheng's face, and he buried the pills underground again.
He covered them with soil, then pressed the two stone slabs down over it.
Finally, He Pingsheng pulled the pitch-black pottery basin out of the corner beneath his bed, lifted the wooden board covering it, and dropped the porcelain bottle inside.
Since this pottery basin could enhance anything, surely it could enhance a porcelain bottle too?
Even if it couldn't enhance it, turning one bottle into two would be nice.
Once he had finished, He Pingsheng climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, just as dawn broke!
He Pingsheng got out of bed, then eagerly pulled the black pottery basin from beneath it. He lifted the wooden board and looked inside, instantly overjoyed.
There they were!
Two porcelain bottles lay quietly inside the pottery basin.
No...
These weren't porcelain bottles!
He Pingsheng picked up one of the bottles.
The bottle felt cool and smooth in his hand. On closer inspection, it actually resembled precious mutton-fat jade.
Was this... a jade bottle?
It seemed that putting porcelain bottles into the Treasure-Gathering Basin not only increased their number, but also enhanced and improved their quality.
He just did not know whether they could now contain the pills' fragrance.
He Pingsheng did not rush to dig up the pills. Instead, he first left his room, went to Senior Brother Hao's door, and called out several times.
There was actually no need to call!
Senior Brother Hao's door was not even closed!
When he went inside, the room was completely empty.
There was no one there.
It looked exactly as it had yesterday.
In other words, Senior Brother Hao hadn't returned all night?
He Pingsheng swept his gaze across the entire Alchemy Hall and called out loudly a few more times, but there was still no response.
Only echoes rang on and on through the empty valley.
His brow suddenly twitched upward, and an intense sense of unease welled up in his heart. Had something happened to Senior Brother Hao?
What important business did Uncle-Master Jade Virtue have that had kept him there all night?
Before you continue