Yu Laoliu looked almost exactly like Han Shouke in disguise, except that he was more reserved, even a little too honest.
Chen Shuangbai didn't want to interfere decisively with other people's personalities, so he told him to take good care of the Silver Light Fish. Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy would add a few Spirit Stone to the salary originally given to him by the Rosy Clouds Abode Alliance, making up a total of three hundred Lower-Grade Spirit Stone a year.
This delighted Yu Laoliu, who immediately bowed and said he would train the animal well and contribute his share to the Daoist temple.
After Chen Shuangbai had settled all the affairs of the Daoist temple and the county, he stopped getting involved in county affairs, became a hands-off manager, and began to focus on his cultivation.
In his spare time from cultivation, Chen Shuangbai also began to ponder alchemy.
He is now an Pill-Refining Apprentice, and the pills he is best at refining are the Jade Spring Five Pills.
Although the Jade Spring Five Pills occupy a large part of the pill market in the Jing Kingdom, they are not high-level pills and can only be used by cultivators in the early and middle stages of Qi Refining. Now that Chen Shuangbai wants to advance further, he needs to figure out how to refine pills suitable for cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Stage.
That is, a first-tier elixir.
Being able to refine a first-tier pill is enough to qualify someone as Alchemist.
He had anticipated this step, so before leaving the mountain, he used his Merit Points to exchange for two pill Pill Formula suitable for Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators at the sect's Expenditure Hall.
Jade Cliff Pill and Azure Flower Pill.
The Azure Flower Pill is suitable for cultivators with water and wood Spirit Root, and such cultivators make up a large proportion of the Jade Spring Mountain Sect; the Jade Cliff Pill is suitable for cultivators with earth and metal Spirit Root, especially the Daoist brothers of the Empty Sword Sect.
"If we can successfully refine them, the former can be supplied to our fellow disciples, and the latter can be supplied to the Empty Sword Sect."
Chen Shuangbai hadn't forgotten that the Empty Sword Sect was still locked in a stalemate with the Heart-Eroding Stronghold, and their demand for pills was enormous.
In the Empty Sword Sect, everyone practices swordsmanship. Among the cultivators in the sect, the majority possess both earth and metal Spirit Root. In addition to assisting cultivators with earth and metal Spirit Root in their cultivation, the Jade Cliff Pill also has the effect of nourishing their meridians, making it the most suitable for them.
Chen Shuangbai has a clear mind and well-defined goals.
After he made the announcement, Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy, the county government, and the garrison headquarters all mobilized to begin collecting the medicinal materials needed to refine these two elixirs.
The ingredients required for refining Azure Flower Pill are Qinghua Vine, Fuguang Flower, Evening Primrose, and a certain kind of specially prepared spiritual water.
The delicate task of preparing the spiritual water requires purchasing it from the nearby cultivation market. As for the first three medicinal herbs, apart from the Qinghua vine, the Fuguang flower and evening primrose are not grown in the Daoist temple's herb garden, so the first batch needs to be purchased from the market.
The medicinal materials needed to refine the Jade Cliff Pill are not available in Wind Howling County.
The first batch naturally required Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy to send someone to the nearest market to purchase the herbs, but Zhuang Wen and Bi Sheng also decided to have someone buy a batch of corresponding medicinal seed materials along with the herbs.
"My senior uncle has done my academy a great favor. Now that he needs to study the profound mysteries and refine pills, I cannot rest easy if he cannot even provide a few medicinal herbs."
When Chen Shuangbai found out, he offered a few words of encouragement and told her to act within her capabilities.
As for some rare auxiliary medicines that are not available locally, he even issued long-term purchase orders to large merchant caravans in the name of the Spring-Venerating Daoist Academy, or entrusted them to purchase them from the heart of the Jing Kingdom or even Zhao Kingdom State.
With the medicinal herbs arriving one after another, Chen Shuangbai began the process of refining the elixir.
It started with Azure Flower Pill.
Thanks to the large-scale refining of Jade Spring Five Pills, Chen Shuangbai's proficiency in the Jade Spring Sect's secret Water Method Alchemy Technique was greatly improved.
After three failures and wasting three portions of medicinal herbs, the fourth attempt at refining finally succeeded in producing one batch.
only...
Chen Shuangbai picked up a Azure Flower Pill, gazing at the spreading blue-and-white patterns on it. She probed it with her spiritual sense and sighed softly, "It's merely a miscellaneous item. I definitely need to practice more."
It is common knowledge that the higher the grade of an elixir, the lower the success rate of its refining.
Although Chen Shuangbai has a talent for alchemy, he is not a naturally gifted alchemist. Naturally, he cannot be infallible and can't produce top-quality pills just by glancing at a Pill Formula.
" Master Yi once said that even with his decades of experience in alchemy, he couldn't guarantee he'd master it right away..."
But as she was thinking about this, Chen Shuangbai suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Wait... there's still a way."
He thought of the [ Great Yin Dao Fruit ] he possessed.
"[ Dao Fruit ] can evolve new versions suitable for my Dao Path based on the original Divine Ability, Cultivation Method, and secret techniques. Since the ' Jade Spring Qi Ingestion Method ' and ' Ice Baleful Intent Yin Thunder ' can be evolved, what about the ' Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique '?"
Chen Shuangbai's eyes gradually brightened.
Without further hesitation, he immediately calmed his mind, sat cross-legged in the quiet room, and immersed his consciousness into his sea of consciousness.
Within Chen Shuangbai's sea of consciousness, a misty atmosphere prevailed, with the bright moon hanging high, its clear light flowing and illuminating every corner of his consciousness.
With a slight thought, Chen Shuangbai recalled the entire text of " Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique." Then, a small booklet appeared next to the "[ Great Yin Dao Fruit ]" booklet, quietly floating before the Xuan Guangming Moon.
Chen Shuangbai suppressed her distracting thoughts and began to pray:
[I humbly request the Grand Yin the Moon Goddess) to develop a new alchemy method, based on the " Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique," that aligns with my Dao Path.]
Buzz--!
The bright moonlight suddenly shone brightly, and a beam of moonlight fell on the booklet. Many seal characters flew out from it, circling the bright moonlight and shining. After a short while, they fell back onto the booklet, and the former's radiance dimmed slightly.
Chen Shuangbai touched the brand-new booklet with his divine sense, and a new alchemy technique was introduced into his mind.
"Xuanming... Danxin Jue?"
Chen Shuangbai silently recited the new name in his heart, savoring the profound meaning it contained.
He used his spiritual sense to open the inheritance of this new alchemy technique, and saw many seal characters emerge, each shining brightly, which made him understand many mysteries of alchemy.
"The path of alchemy lies in the mind. A mind as clear as a mirror reflects the Pill Furnace, revealing every detail, from good to bad... Harmonizing Yin and Yang, the medicinal spirit is born. When the elixir is complete, the Daoist essence arises naturally, containing not only the essence of herbs and trees, but also the principles of heaven and earth, and the opportunity for cultivation..."
Chen Shuangbai had not been exposed to other alchemy techniques, but he still had a basic understanding of them.
The " Dark Nether Pill Heart Instruction " is definitely of a higher grade than the original " Jade Spring Water Method Pill Refining Technique," and it has even broken free from the original constraints, giving Chen Shuangbai a sense of sudden enlightenment, like seeing the moon through the clouds.
After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly, his understanding of Dao of Alchemy had reached a completely new level.
"It really works!"
This attempt gave Chen Shuangbai a sense of sudden enlightenment once again.
" Divine Ability, Secret Method, Cultivation Method... If I acquire such items in the future, I might try them out to see if I can evolve them into entirely new scriptures that best suit my Dao Path!"
" The Dao Fruit is truly... infinitely profound."