"Incorrect quantity?"
"The location of the alchemy furnace----"
"No, no, no, this requirement was set by the Thirteen Surgical Prescriptions—"
The simple earthen house was furnished like an ancient and dilapidated Daoist temple.
A middle-aged man in a Daoist robe paced back and forth, searching through his large bookshelf for books.
The Book of Changes and the Profound Discourse on the Elixir Chamber, The Great Collection of Golden Core, The Baopuzi Great Elixir of Golden Flower and Jade Liquor ----
After looking around, Jiang Si finally confirmed it.
This is none other than his childhood home.
The father was obsessed with alchemy, and so was his precious alchemy furnace.
He'd fight to the death with anyone who dared touch his alchemy furnace.
I remember when I was little, I accidentally fell while he was refining pills, and instinctively grabbed the pill furnace.
He was slapped.
"Son, do you know who I am?"
When he was a child, this was the question this man would ask him most often when he held him in his arms.
"I am the last Daoist priest in this world! When I become an immortal, my entire family will ascend to heaven!"
For a long time, I had no stable job and no steady income.
He would do odd jobs to earn money, then buy some raw materials to refine pills.
This cycle repeated itself for over twenty years.
"One ounce of mercury, one ounce of alum slightly dried, one ounce of saltpeter dried by roasting, one ounce of dried salt, five mace of cinnabar, and one ounce of ferrous sulfate—no problem, all of it is fine—"
Jiang Si found her father, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, scratching his head and looking rather bored.
Heretical sects.
He looked down at the cat he had picked up on the road.
He was trembling, and I could feel his heartbeat was slow; he was on the verge of death.
So he put the cat in the blanket—there was only one bed in the house, and the bed was very simple, with only one blanket.
There was no need for heating inside; my father was constantly refining pills, and the furnace was extremely hot. Apart from the smoke emanating from it, which might be toxic, there was nothing wrong with that.
It's not to the point where they can't stay.
This time, what came out was yet another pile of pitch-black garbage.
"Dampen with fine sand—roast the plaster over a low flame; when one incense stick burns out, increase the heat to a gentler level; when two incense sticks burn out, increase the heat to a stronger level; when three incense sticks burn out, remove from the heat and let cool—retain moisture to prevent the plaster from drying out and cracking—if the elixir is white, the heat is insufficient; if it is black or purple, the heat is too strong; inferior elixir cannot be used in medicine—yellowish-white is superior elixir—"
Jiang Changshou held the black and purple scrap material in his hands, his pupils bloodshot.
"How could this happen? The steps were definitely correct! Where did things go wrong? Where did things go wrong----"
He turned his gaze to Jiang Si. "Yes, you're the only exception."
Finally, he grabbed Jiang Si's shoulders and shook him, "Son, you've ruined my precious elixir!"
"Didn't you place your alchemy furnace in the wrong spot?"
Jiang Si, fiddling with the dying cat and watching it slowly pass away, said without looking up, "Not only are there no considerations regarding celestial phenomena and the Five Elements, but there's also no Heavenly Flame; it's just ordinary household fire. How can one refine a true elixir?"
The father looked bewildered. "Celestial phenomena, the Five Elements? And where can you find this Heavenly Flame?"
" Battle Through the Heavens the Heavens," Jiang Si said calmly, "You need to study the Mystic Mirror phenomena and the Five Elements more often, whether it's the intention or the detailed alchemy process. The Great Dao is all within them. How can you refine true pills if you only read useless false scriptures every day?"
Jiang Changshou, who was originally insane, was stunned by his son's words.
"I'm a fake pill? Impossible, absolutely impossible, my pill furnace's location can't be wrong—"
He muttered to himself, but the other person ignored him.
Jiang Si gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.
It seems this is nothing more than a memory.
Not long after, someone broke in.
Jiang Changshou! You're asking for it!
Jiang Si finally raised her head and glanced at it.
The young mother had not seen him for a long time.
In my hazy memories, my mother was always old and frail, her face etched with deep sorrow.
No matter what happens, they will only give in and apologize.
His back was always bent, his head bowed, as if he were being crushed by something and couldn't breathe.
However, when I was younger—actually, I was already over thirty at that time.
But her back was very straight, her voice was not heavy, and her face, though not covered in wrinkles, was full of vigor and sharpness.
Aside from her appearance, she is almost a completely different person from the mother I remember.
"You poisoned the child, I'll throw you into the latrine!"
As his mother spoke, she pulled him over.
However, the father simply waved his hand, "Go away, get out of here, don't disturb my alchemy."
"Go to hell!"
His mother grabbed him and left the house.
Because he got lost from his mother on the road, he instinctively returned to this house.
As my mother dragged me out, a loud explosion came from inside the house, followed by my father's maniacal laughter.
"What's wrong? It's right, it's right, it's right!"
He's gone mad.
This is the consequence of only practicing external alchemy.
Those so-called ancient alchemy methods are mostly heretical and deviant, used to harm later cultivators.
However, it does contain some principles of cultivation.
After being compiled and optimized by countless online authors, the true method of cultivating immortality was finally extracted.
However, no matter how many times he was told, his father remained obstinate.
They only recognize this ancient method of alchemy.
"You mustn't become like him, son."
Holding his hand, the mother, who had been irritable and angry, softened her voice.
It resembles some of the things I remember.
"Um."
His mother gently touched his face, then picked him up and said, "Are you cold, son?"
"Fine."
Where did this cat come from?
Jiang Si then realized that she had picked up the cat from the street.
I touched it again; it was already hard.
So he casually tossed it into the trash heap.
"I found it."
"Do you like cats, son?"
"So what if he's dead?"
The snow is still falling, and it's getting heavier and heavier.
His mother hugged him for a while, and then said, "Why is the snow getting into my neck? Son, shield me from the snow."
As he said this, he squatted down and carried Jiang Si Jiang Si on his back, using her as an umbrella to shield her from the snow.
"Hmph, we don't need him, my daughter and I can live a good life—"
The branches nearby, laden with snow, snapped crisply in the cold wind, followed by more snow falling to the ground.
It startled her mother, who then laughed and scolded him twice.
The alleyway, blanketed in silver, was silent. The mother carried him all the way back, their footprints soon covered by the heavy snow.
Amidst the swirling snowflakes, not a single person could be seen.
In the narrow alley, every household had its windows and doors tightly shut, with no fires lit and no lights on, making it as silent as a graveyard.
His mother was whispering something in his ear, but as they walked, even her voice disappeared.
He got off his mother's back and walked back down to the ground.
His footsteps fell silently on the thick snow, and for a moment he thought he had gone deaf.
Then he turned his head to look at the windows of the surrounding houses.
He witnessed his father's repeated attempts at alchemy, and his repeated failures.
My father began practicing Daoism in his youth, and started practicing alchemy after he married my mother.
I heard that he wasn't crazy at first; he practiced Daoism simply to cultivate his character and temperament.
Since my father's parents passed away from serious illness, my father seems to have suffered some kind of trauma.
He became obsessed with alchemy, hoping to cure all diseases and achieve immortality.
What kept him going was the several successful attempts at alchemy along the way.
Even after taking the pills, his pain was somewhat relieved.
So he began an even more fanatical alchemy practice.
He lost his job, lost his friends, and had a falling out with his mother.
They were almost getting a divorce.
Eventually, he and his mother lived apart.
As he walked through the alley, he saw in the mirror the arguments, insults, and ridicule his father had experienced.
From a young age, he loved to squat beside his father's alchemy furnace and watch him refine elixirs.
His father would tell him many, many things about cultivating immortality.
The ruthlessness of the Great Dao, immortality and freedom, and various methods of immortals.
Jiang Si didn't think her father was a fool, nor did she think he was particularly smart.
They keep walking down roads that seem impassable, even when there are better ways.
The snow stopped.
He saw in the window of the house next door that he had grown up and started going to school.
Then, the true path was found.
At that time, my father's health deteriorated due to his alchemy practice, and he was bedridden for many years.
When Jiang Si told him about the real path to immortality in the online novel.
The father simply tore up his book with a gloomy expression.
His mother cried and begged him not to end up like his father.
Her life was ruined by her father's alchemy, and she didn't want to see her son suffer the same fate.
But Jiang Si knew she was different.
He walked the true path, and he never thought it would affect his life.
All the pursuit of truth goes outside of academic studies, even in the search for extraordinary powers in the world.
He only used the spare change he earned from his part-time job during holidays.
Taking his father as a cautionary tale, he did not intend to make a mess of his life and family in his pursuit of the Tao.
But the parents tightened their grip even further.
During holidays, he is not allowed to go out, read online novels, or even go out to work.
Strictly control his movements and monitor the books he reads.
Thankfully, Lu Ya was there.
Because of Lu Ya, his path to enlightenment has never been interrupted.
Even when confined to a room, Jiang Si never felt bored or resentful.
These are all necessary steps in the cultivation process.
Only those who can endure loneliness are qualified to embark on the path of cultivation.
That is indeed the case.
Looking back at the path she had come from, Jiang Si couldn't help but smile freely.
The path of Mental Image is not bad.
From the past to the present, when Jiang Si saw a door again, she casually pushed it open and went inside.
As I continued striding forward, I came to see the courtyard.
That was the house my father bought after working hard. The yard wasn't big, but it was much better than the dilapidated house before.
But now, it's completely different from what I remember.
The snow has stopped, but the houses are still covered in white.
Funeral wreaths and mourning banners covered the entire house.
In a daze, it seemed as if it were still a heavy snowfall.
Jiang Si looked around again. The path outside had been paved with asphalt, the garbage mountain was gone, and the mulberry tree she used to like climbing was also gone, leaving only a small pavilion.
A appearance beyond memory.
Stepping on the ground, I could clearly feel a certain weightiness.
That is the weight of reality.
Instead of rushing back, Jiang Si continued walking forward until she reached the unfamiliar front door of her own home.
Two elderly people were squatting at the entrance of the courtyard, eating sunflower seeds and chatting on small stools.
Upon seeing Jiang Si, they all stood up immediately.
"Oh my! Isn't this Jiang Changshou's eldest son?"
" Jiang Si, why are you back? Didn't you run away with Lu Ya?"
"I heard they eloped?"
Jiang Si was somewhat confused and simply asked, "Who died?"
The two elderly people both forced a laugh, "Your dad—"
"They've been gone for so long, and the funeral is only being held today."
Jiang Si looked up at the wreaths in the courtyard, "Did you have a bad reaction to the pills?"
"No, he stopped making pills a long time ago. Your dad had a change of heart a long time ago, and he started working honestly, never touching those things again. But it must have damaged his health to the core; his health has been poor ever since—"
When we entered, there were several tables in the courtyard, all occupied by guests who had already eaten.
They then sat down and started chatting.
Leftovers were on the table; some people were laughing and joking, others were picking their teeth, and children were running around.
The sound of weeping could be faintly heard in the lobby; it was heart-wrenching, but not very genuine.
Jiang Si walked through the crowd and into the main hall, which was filled with smoke, making it seem like she had entered her father's old alchemy room.
Turning my head, I could see the brazier burning paper money and a woman rolling around and wailing beside it.
And a couple standing there, chatting absentmindedly with someone else.
He didn't recognize the couple, but judging from their identities and appearances, they must be family members.
Family members, younger brother? Or something else?
After they went to the magical girl world to seek enlightenment, it wouldn't be surprising if the two of them had another child.
After he walked in, the stranger who was rolling on the ground crying and wailing became even more energetic.
Who are you?
He picked it up and asked impatiently.
The woman, who had been wailing, was so frightened that she choked and stopped crying.
But tears and snot were still streaming down my face.
People nearby immediately rushed over, shouting, "What are you doing! Who are you? Put him down!"
However, Jiang Si simply asked, "Why are you crying?"
The woman cried even harder, "This is my job—"
Oh, it's selling tears.
He thought for a moment, then decided not to make things difficult for the other person, simply tossing them out the door, saying, "No need."
The young man, who bore a resemblance to his father, immediately shoved him, shouting, "Who are you?! What do you want?! Don't cause trouble at my father's funeral! I'm warning you! Don't even think about eating at my father's feast if you haven't given a gift!"
He was shouting loudly, and even the people in the courtyard who came to attend the funeral looked over.
However, despite several attempts to push him, Jiang Si remained unmoved, while the bespectacled young man nearly knocked him over.
The woman next to him quickly grabbed him, complaining about the bespectacled young man's incompetence.
Jiang Si looked at the mourning hall at the front of the main hall, at the familiar black and white photograph, and after a moment of silence, said, "I am Jiang Si."
" Jiang Changshou's son."
The atmosphere shifted from anger to cold silence, and then towards panic and eeriness.
"What Jiang Changshou's son! Why did you have to come now that your father is dead! And you're here to cause trouble!"
"I have something to say to him, you can all go out first."
"I'm warning you, I organized Dad's funeral, and I took care of him when he was immobile. You hooked up with a rich woman and kicked your parents away, disappeared for so many years, and now you come out claiming to be a filial son and want a share of the inheritance from me."
"Go out."
The woman next to the bespectacled man roared, "What's wrong with you! This is our home, Old Yao!"
Throw him out!
The woman screamed, and a burly man in a suit walked in, twisted his neck, tugged at his tie, and grabbed Jiang Si's shoulder.
"Kid, come with me."
When they realized they couldn't pull him, they were about to kick him in the leg and break it.
But the boy grabbed his head with his other hand.
It slammed down onto the large round table in the room!
Soup splattered everywhere, meat and mushrooms spilled all over the floor, and the entire table shattered instantly!
The burly man in the suit smashed his head against the wooden table and the bowls and chopsticks on it before slamming it heavily onto the ground. His fleshy muscles trembled, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious in the soup-filled floor.
Jiang Si casually picked up a piece of fish and tasted it.
He then vomited it out.
It tastes awful.
"Go out."
He had been yelling at his younger brother and sister-in-law, but he finally quieted down and ran out in a panic.
Jiang Si dragged the unconscious man in the suit outside and looked at the guests in the courtyard.
Let's go back after we finish eating.
Everyone immediately stood up, packed their things, and headed outside.
Others were busy packing the dishes on the table into bags. After a while, the courtyard quieted down, and Jiang Si casually tossed the man in the suit outside the yard.
He closed the courtyard gate, and then the main hall door.
The chattering outside grew louder and louder, accompanied by the gossip of the neighbors.
That's why he doesn't like funerals.
He entered the room. The mourning hall was decorated in a simple and ancient style. A huge paper replica of a palace was placed behind the offering table, and a photograph was hung under a plaque that read "Soaring Jade Hall ".
Looking at the photos in the mourning hall, surrounded by my father's belongings.
Numerous books, and his alchemical furnace.
This includes successfully refined elixirs.
Someone smashed a window, and people outside were cursing and laughing.
Jiang Si casually picked up her father's book, "The Book of Changes and the Cantong Qi," and said, "He can't distinguish between inner and outer, he's just making a fuss over nothing. If he's not convinced, how can he enter the Dao? And he even dares to laugh at fasting as a heretical path."
It was thrown into the funeral basin.
He then picked up another book, " The Profound Discourse on the Elixir Chamber ".
He shook his head and threw it into the funeral urn, saying, "Whether it's a gentle fire or a fierce fire, Heavenly Flame is better."
Then he picked up the " Great Elixir of Golden Flower and Jade Liquor " and threw it into the funeral basin as well, saying, "Water-based alchemy? You dare to use water-based alchemy without a spiritual spring?"
The Complete Book of Daoist Secrets, Inner and Outer Teachings, * The Essentials of the Golden Core *, The Classic of the Eastern and Western Stove Elixir of Penglai Mountain, The Great Collection of the Golden Core Elixir, * The Baopuzi *
With a blank expression, he picked up the books one by one and threw them all into the funeral urn. Then he picked up the pills his father had refined and threw them in as well.
The fire quickly raged.
"I have found the true scriptures. I will send them to you in a few days."
The firelight illuminated his face, making it appear like unmelting ice.
"Stop reading this useless stuff, read more online novels, and you'll be reborn into Mystic Mirror in your next life."
Then he smashed the alchemy furnace to pieces with a single punch!
It wasn't that Jiang Changshou suddenly realized his mistake, repented, or was persuaded by someone that led him to give up alchemy and cultivation.
It wasn't because he ate the elixir he himself had refined, but because he almost died.
So he was afraid.
Jiang Si picked up an incense stick, lit it, and blew on it.
It was inserted into the burning funeral basin.
He picked up a fruit knife from the altar table, and without a second thought, took some still-burning ash from the fire in the funeral basin and smeared it on the knife, making it glow red from the heat.
Then, he breathed on the blade to blow away the dust.
The sound of sirens rang out outside the door. The policeman pushed the door open, and behind him were a group of neighbors and relatives, including his younger brother whom he didn't know very well.
"Put down the knife! Put down the knife!"
Amidst gasps of surprise, Jiang Si simply held the fruit knife, staring at her father's face.
"Father."
He said calmly, "Back then, your resolve wasn't steady enough, and you weren't ruthless enough!"
Having said that, he plunged the knife into his chest with a sudden, sharp pull!
Blood splattered!
He almost smeared his father's portrait bright red!
Not to mention ordinary people, even the police were startled and shuddered!
However, Jiang Si remained unfazed, plunging one hand into her chest and grasping her still-beating heart.
The veins on his neck were almost bulging, and sweat poured down his temples, yet Jiang Si simply ripped his heart out of his chest!
"Let me use my Dao Heart to refine a true elixir for you."
With a slight exertion of force, his heart exploded in his hand!
Amidst the splattering blood and screams, a purple light seeped from between his fingers!
Absolutely dazzling!
"This elixir is named One."
" The Miracle Seed."