Nie Qianyu and Fei He had no idea of Zhang Xiaohua's lofty ambitions. They only thought he felt ashamed, so both consoled him. Zhang Xiaohua merely smiled, then bid Fei He farewell with the herb still smeared with mud in his hand. Nie Qianyu lived in the Peach Blossom Forest, and seeing that it was getting late, she did not return to the inner valley with Zhang Xiaohua. Only after arranging a time to meet the next day did she leave, exceedingly reluctant to part.
After returning to the pill room, Zhang Xiaohua did not rush to begin refining pills. Instead, he carefully studied Hui Chun Valley's prescription for the "Grain Abstinence Pill," pondering the several herbs besides Solomon's Seal. The more he looked, the more they seemed to conform to the theory of the Five Elements. Yet all plants and trees possessed the Wood attribute; if he truly had to regard one herb as Metal-element, that would be rather difficult.
Of course, this was something no one had solved in ten thousand years. Zhang Xiaohua could not possibly uncover its mysteries merely by racking his brains for a moment, so he would have to study it slowly.
Zhang Xiaohua took out a jade slip and recorded the prescription for the "Grain Abstinence Pill," along with some of his own insights. He carefully tucked it into his robes, then returned to the earth fire. While gathering Solomon's Seal earlier, he had thought of jade boxes for storing precious herbs. He might as well refine them now.
He took from his money pouch the green jade coffin lid from which he had already cut a piece. Zhang Xiaohua examined it closely. Previously, he had merely suspected it was an array artifact from some formation, but now, seeing the patterns upon it