On the first day of the month, Zhou Wuji started refining elixirs.
On the second day, after undergoing a complete refining process in the Pill Furnace, he successfully refined the Two-Turn Fine Jade Paste.
The Fine Jade Paste is as white and pure as jade, and as thick and sticky as ointment, weighing more than a pound.
Zhou Wuji had a large amount of Red Flower Honey on hand and was willing to invest in alchemy, which is why he obtained so many finished products.
Looking at the fragrant Fine Jade Paste, Zhou Wuji was quite satisfied.
Through this hands-on experience, his alchemy skills improved again.
To refine elixirs, one must first practice the process to understand how to control the temperature, refine the medicinal properties, and adjust them with True Qi to achieve a perfect elixir.
Although Fine Jade Paste is an ointment, the process is the same as before. The only difference is that it does not require the final step of condensing True Qi into a pill.
"That's it!"
Compared to Zhou Wuji's calmness, Wuzheng, who assisted in the alchemy process, stared wide-eyed, his usually composed face filled with shock.
Wuzheng knew that Zhou Wuji was a genius, and he also knew that Zhou Wuji had a talent for alchemy.
The problem is that this was Zhou Wuji's first time refining pills, and he was able to refine the Fine Jade Paste into a two-stage pill refining process. This is extremely exaggerated, absolutely exaggerated.
Zhou Wuji smiled Wuzheng: "It's all thanks to Senior Brother's excellent teaching."
"You shouldn't spend all your time fighting and killing. Focus on alchemy, and you'll surely become a master alchemist someday."
Wuzheng said to Zhou Wuji very seriously, "This is the true path to heaven. The path of slaughter may be powerful, but it is too dangerous. The faster your sword is, the faster it will break."
"Thank you, senior brother."
Zhou Wuji knew that Wuzheng meant well; for ordinary cultivators, swords could only be used for fighting, not for cultivating the Dao.
The more battles you fight, the faster you die.
He was willing to risk fighting and killing only because he possessed the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment. However, this was something he couldn't tell Wuzheng.
Wuzheng sighed with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that our Heavenly Pivot Lineage's alchemy skills are mediocre. If you could go to Tianxuan to learn alchemy, it would be possible to attain enlightenment through alchemy!"
Wuzheng point in saying all this, so he turned and asked, "Junior brother, how far are you from achieving the Seven Apertures?"
"The only thing missing is the Yaoguang Aperture; I estimate it will be open by March," Zhou Wuji replied.
He wasn't trying to hide it from Wuzheng; it was just that his progress was too rapid to explain.
Wuzheng nodded. "Then you'll be going to the Lower Court in March, which will be enough time to participate in the sutra discussion with Golden Leaf Temple in August."
"If you can shine at the sutra discussion, the Lower Court will surely reward you handsomely, and may even recommend you for further studies in the Upper Court."
"Senior brother, how exactly does one discuss the scriptures?" Zhou Wuji thought to himself that he was fine with martial arts, but he wasn't so good at discussing the meaning of scriptures.
He has a very good memory, but he can only memorize the scriptures; his understanding and application of them are far from sufficient.
Monks are known for their eloquence, and the Buddhist community enjoys debating scriptures; he knew he was no match for them in this area.
Wuzheng his head. "Monks are cunning and eloquent, but we can't do debates about scriptures."
"The world is a dangerous place; words alone are useless. In the end, you need real skills to survive."
"Let's find a place and have a good fight!"
Wuzheng spoke with some emotion, "In the past, when our sect was powerful, who dared to discuss scriptures with us?"
"However, in the past few decades, our academy has lacked talent, with only the sect leader holding things together. Our status in the Heavenly Master's Manor has been declining day by day, and even the emperor no longer looks up to us."
"Even now, this bald thief from the Golden Leaf Temple dares to come and provoke us! It's truly despicable!"
As the direct disciple of the Lower Court Master, Wuzheng deep disgust and even hatred for Buddhism.
Zhou Wuji had never interacted with monks before, so it was difficult for him to Wuzheng.
Wuzheng understood this perfectly, saying, "You don't know these monks; they bully men and women, and extort money under all sorts of pretexts. Even the abbot is far inferior to them!"
He then solemnly warned Zhou Wuji: "Junior brother, you are inexperienced in the ways of the world and do not know the cunning of monks. In the future, when dealing with those thieving monks, you must be careful and cautious, and do not fall into their trap."
"By the way, Golden Leaf Temple has four very powerful Seventh Rank martial monks, known as the Four Great Vajra. Even though your Swordsmanship is strong, you still need to be careful of these guys."
Zhou Wuji asked, "Senior brother, what kind of experts are there in Yunyang Prefecture?"
"Experts? There are plenty."
Wuzheng counted on his fingers for Zhou Wuji, "The number one expert must be Zhang Shiheng, the Pacification Office, Fifth Rank martial artist, and also a member of the Zhang Household. He is known as the Heavenly Eagle, and his eyes are extremely sharp."
"Next is our abbot, Fifth Rank scripture master, whose Daoist skills are profound. Then there is the abbot of Golden Leaf Temple, the Fifth Rank martial monk, Xinjue."
"Below the Fifth Rank is Zhang Banshan of the Flying Tiger Martial Arts School. He possesses formidable martial arts skills and is True Disciple the Eight Extremes Sect. He has numerous disciples and followers, and he is also Zhang Household."
Wuzheng in Yunyang Prefecture for many years and was quite familiar with the situation in the prefecture. He also knew a little about these experts.
"Besides that, there should be Chen Dalu, the leader of the Five Dragons Gang, who is also Sixth Rank martial artist with formidable skills. It is said that he is also proficient in incantations."
"As for the masters of demonic sects like the Yin Yang Dao and the Corpse God Sect, I'm not too sure..."
Wuzheng said with some emotion, "The prefectural city is a place where hidden talents abound. Junior brother, although your Swordsmanship is strong, don't be arrogant when you're in the prefectural city..."
Zhou Wuji nodded repeatedly, accepting the instruction. He was going to work in the Lower Court this year, and Wuzheng said was very important information that he had to remember.
"By the way, the Seventh-Rank Register Conferral requires approval from the Upper Court and also needs to be submitted to the Heavenly Master's Manor for final approval."
Wuzheng reminded Zhou Wuji, " The Upper Court won't make things difficult for us. However, the Heavenly Master's Manor will send people down to audit us, and they'll usually require us to complete an assessment, such as eliminating a certain demon or something."
"Oh?" Zhou Wuji really didn't know about this; Yiyuan had never told him about these things.
Perhaps seeing that he was too far from the Seventh Rank, they were too lazy to talk to him...
"Are the assessments designated by the Heavenly Master's Manor difficult?"
" Seventh-Rank Register Reception is entitled to a salary from the imperial court, so the court naturally has to strictly control this process."
Wuzheng said, "With your abilities, Junior Brother, nothing can stump you."
He paused and said in a low voice, "However, this involves many interpersonal relationships. You'll need to give the people from the Heavenly Master's Manor some benefits."
"Oh, I understand, I understand." Zhou Wuji immediately understood.
Human relationships and social interactions, when put into words, are all about sharing benefits.
If someone travels a long way to assess you, and you don't offer them any benefits, they're bound to make things difficult for you. That's only natural...
Back in his bedroom, Zhou Wuji tallied up his possessions: thirty gold ingots worth ten taels each, several dozen taels of silver, and a number of copper coins.
The two True Yang Pearl are worth at least three hundred taels of gold together.
One Big Northern Dipper Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman is worth fifty taels of gold.
One Three-Turn Origin Restoration Pill is worth several tens of taels of gold. Ten Three Revolutions Purple Gold Pill are worth a total of one hundred taels of gold.
Three Golden Yang Pill, worth 150 taels of silver. Grain Avoidance Pill.
The above prices are all for external sales. The cost of crafting talismans and refining elixirs in the Lower Court is only about one-tenth of the value, or even less.
The real expense lies in the Lower Court's technological monopoly; they would rather not sell the talismans and elixirs they produce than lower their prices.
The elixirs were expensive, and selling them wasn't easy.
For Zhou Wuji, the real value was the more than two hundred catties of Red Flower Honey.
Even at a price of one jin and five liang of gold, that would amount to one thousand liang of gold.
With such a large quantity, it's impossible to sell it all at a high price.
There was also a Tiger Wing Saber, which he estimated was worth at least two thousand taels of gold.
Selling the Yin-Yang Banner and the ring to the Lower Court should yield a small amount of money, but that's negligible.
The Tiger Wing Saber and Red Flower Honey alone amount to a large sum of money, enough to cover all his expenses.
Even if the people of the Heavenly Master's Manor have huge appetites, a thousand taels of gold should be enough for them.
After taking stock of the valuables, Zhou Wuji felt relieved; there was enough money.
It's just a pity that the tiger demon's skin, flesh, and the flesh of the golden toad and the giant snake are all quite valuable.
Zhou Wuji made up his mind that from now on, he would bring back any monsters he killed to sell for money, and he could no longer be so extravagant and wasteful.
The next day at noon, Zhou Wuji was chatting with Wuzheng when villagers from White Bamboo Village rushed in seeking help.
The rough-looking villager recognized Zhou Wuji. As soon as he entered, he knelt at Zhou Wuji's feet and wailed loudly, "Immortal Master, another powerful demon has appeared in our village! Please save us..."