Clutching the volume of the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art, a sense of rapture permeated Shu Han's face. The Second Elder, taking in the unfettered joy that graced the child's countenance, reasoned to himself, "He's just a five spiritual root after all, let him delight in his jubilation."
He then flung a pill towards Shu Han, announcing, "This is a Qi Gathering Pill that I have crafted, instrumental for qi cultivation. Take it and make merry. Do not let your cultivation hinder your obligations!" This statement only served to enhance Shu Han's giddy euphoria.
He recognized this as the same pill that had been bestowed upon Senior Brother Li Heng earlier. The ecstasy etched across Senior Brother Li Heng's face underscored the worth of this pill. However, he knew his limited five spiritual root talent would render a single Qi Gathering Pill insufficient. Yet he had the mystical black jar! Having this one pill, with the black jar, was akin to possessing a multitude!
Subsequent experiments, however, gave a harsh slap to Shu Han's naive optimism.
After committing his master's various tasks to memory, Shu Han was led to a small wooden cabin in the valley, close to the medicinal herb fields. This was to facilitate Shu Han's ability to tend to the plants at any time during the night. Thereafter, his master departed, leaving Shu Han alone in the cabin, taking a jar of wine with him.
Seeing his master recede into the distance, Shu Han managed to quell the immediate urge to cultivate the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art and replicate the Qi Gathering Pill. He first began to meticulously scrutinize each page of the herbal encyclopedia his master had bestowed upon him. He knew there would be ample time for cultivation in the days to come. Furthermore, he had yet to fully understand his master's temperament and didn't dare to act impulsively under his watchful gaze. He decided to dispel all distracting thoughts and focus on committing each of his master's directives to memory.
Although Shu Han was merely nine years old, he was already quite literate. Each village under the purview of the Dragon Mystical Sect would employ a scholar to educate the children in literacy. Shu Han's intellectual prowess was not for naught and often earned him praise from his teacher, who predicted Shu Han's potential for exceptional accomplishments. After awakening his spiritual root, Shu Han felt his mental faculties had become even more efficient.
Day and night, he devoted himself to memorizing the herbal encyclopedia, and in a mere span of three days, he had mastered it. This astounded the Second Elder, who posed a series of challenging questions, only to have them systematically answered by Shu Han. The usually stern elder revealed a rare, kind smile, patting Shu Han's head and saying, "It seems you do possess some talent after all. Let me test your spiritual nature."
Shu Han was puzzled, "Master, hasn't my spiritual root already been tested? I possess a useless five spiritual roots." The Second Elder retorted, "Spiritual nature is distinct from the spiritual root. It pertains to the quality of a person's consciousness and soul. Enough talk, swallow this Unity Pill I've prepared and stare into my eyes. No blinking."
As the Unity Pill melted in his mouth and turned into a clear stream that surged into his brain, the Second Elder scrutinized Shu Han's wide-open eyes. To his astonishment and delight, he saw strands of divine light flickering within his pupils. He exclaimed in awe, "Despite your extremely poor spiritual root, your spiritual nature is indeed profound. After such a long wait, I have finally found a suitable candidate. Young Shu Han, would you like to become my disciple?"
His question left Shu Han puzzled, who inquired, "Master, am I not already your disciple?"
"No, no, no!" The Second Elder shook his head vehemently, saying, "You are merely my nominal disciple under the Dragon Mystical Sect. If I were to leave the sect, our relationship as master and disciple would be null. Now, I wish for you to truly become my disciple, inheriting my alchemy and artifact crafting skills. Do you accept?"
Alchemy and artifact crafting! Even the least astute of minds like Shu Han knew the importance of this! He promptly knelt down, "I, disciple Shu Han, kowtow to my master! I am willing to learn the art of alchemy and artifact crafting from you!"
"Good! Good! Good!" The Second Elder was overjoyed as he repeated the word 'good' three times, "In reality, I am not truly a member of the Dragon Mystical Sect. Many years ago, Master Dragon Mystical did a great favor me, and I agreed to be a guest elder and only help him refine pills for the Dragon Mystical Sect. I don't involve myself in any other affairs. Since you have become my real disciple, you can consider yourself detached from the Dragon Mystical Sect."
"Although your spiritual root is extremely poor, once you learn my alchemy and artifact crafting techniques, the Dragon Mystical Sect will also regard you as a guest elder." He then pondered to himself, "As for the cultivation method, you can continue with the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art. After all, it's impossible for you to reach the twelfth level. This method is still quite marvelous within the Qi Refining stage."
Three books were thrown out from his sleeve.
"Introduction to Pharmacology"
"Fundamentals of Talisman Crafting"
"One Hundred Solutions for Magic Tools"
The Second Elder said, "Take these three books and read them thoroughly! I'll give you three years to understand them fully. You can come to me anytime you have questions. After the first three years, you can observe me refining pills and crafting artifacts, only then will I personally teach you how to craft them."
Shu Han held the three books and thanked his master for his kindness. But in his heart, he didn't really think much of it. As a child, he thought it was just three books, why would he need to study them for three years? However, when he returned to the wooden house and began reading "Introduction to Pharmacology", the dense and complex knowledge on the page made his head spin. Just one page took him several days to think about.
The more difficult the problem, the more satisfying the moment of enlightenment was when he finally figured it out. Gradually, Shu Han fell in love with the process of solving problems.
Time flew by, and half a month had passed. During this time, he was studying while starting to practice the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art. This technique gave Shu Han a strange feeling. Each time he completed full circulation, the tiny energy absorbed throughout his body inexplicably reduced to one-third of its original amount. His already scant five spiritual roots absorbed such a meager amount of spiritual energy that it reduced to one-third, making it difficult for him to accumulate even a tiny bit of spiritual power even after several full circulations.
The Second Elder helped him understand this, saying that the key to the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art was in its three rotations. The spiritual energy absorbed through this method would be compressed and rotated three times, forming a denser spiritual power. In terms of effects, this was undoubtedly great, as denser spiritual power would greatly increase the power of spells.
However, in terms of speed, the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation was a disaster. He joked that for a five spiritual root like Shu Han, it would take at least three hundred years to cultivate to the twelfth level using the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation technique!
During this time, in addition to cultivating and studying, Shu Han also carefully observed his master's daily habits. He noticed that his master lived a simple life, mostly refining pills and drinking wine. Unless Shu Han sought him out, his master would not come looking for him.
Therefore, under the pressure to improve his cultivation brought about by the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation technique, Shu Han finally decided to use the black jar.
One night, he carefully dug out the black jar from the ground and threw in the Qi Gathering Pill he had been unwilling to consume. He had hoped that the Qi Gathering Pill would rapidly increase in number, but after waiting for a long time, there was still only one lonely Qi Gathering Pill in the jar.
Shu Han was baffled. Had the black jar stopped working?
Unwilling to give up, he threw in an Enlightenment Herb. Soon, he got a jar full of Enlightenment Herbs, but there was still only one Qi Gathering Pill!
The black jar wasn't ineffective, so why couldn't it duplicate the Qi Gathering Pill?
After conducting a series of experiments with a variety of items, Shu Han came to a conclusion. The black jar could only duplicate natural items, any man-made items could not be duplicated.
Clutching the volume of the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art, a sense of rapture permeated Shu Han's face. The Second Elder, taking in the unfettered joy that graced the child's countenance, reasoned to himself, "He's just a five spiritual root after all, let him delight in his jubilation."
He then flung a pill towards Shu Han, announcing, "This is a Qi Gathering Pill that I have crafted, instrumental for qi cultivation. Take it and make merry. Do not let your cultivation hinder your obligations!" This statement only served to enhance Shu Han's giddy euphoria.
He recognized this as the same pill that had been bestowed upon Senior Brother Li Heng earlier. The ecstasy etched across Senior Brother Li Heng's face underscored the worth of this pill. However, he knew his limited five spiritual root talent would render a single Qi Gathering Pill insufficient. Yet he had the mystical black jar! Having this one pill, with the black jar, was akin to possessing a multitude!
Subsequent experiments, however, gave a harsh slap to Shu Han's naive optimism.
After committing his master's various tasks to memory, Shu Han was led to a small wooden cabin in the valley, close to the medicinal herb fields. This was to facilitate Shu Han's ability to tend to the plants at any time during the night. Thereafter, his master departed, leaving Shu Han alone in the cabin, taking a jar of wine with him.
Seeing his master recede into the distance, Shu Han managed to quell the immediate urge to cultivate the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art and replicate the Qi Gathering Pill. He first began to meticulously scrutinize each page of the herbal encyclopedia his master had bestowed upon him. He knew there would be ample time for cultivation in the days to come. Furthermore, he had yet to fully understand his master's temperament and didn't dare to act impulsively under his watchful gaze. He decided to dispel all distracting thoughts and focus on committing each of his master's directives to memory.
Although Shu Han was merely nine years old, he was already quite literate. Each village under the purview of the Dragon Mystical Sect would employ a scholar to educate the children in literacy. Shu Han's intellectual prowess was not for naught and often earned him praise from his teacher, who predicted Shu Han's potential for exceptional accomplishments. After awakening his spiritual root, Shu Han felt his mental faculties had become even more efficient.
Day and night, he devoted himself to memorizing the herbal encyclopedia, and in a mere span of three days, he had mastered it. This astounded the Second Elder, who posed a series of challenging questions, only to have them systematically answered by Shu Han. The usually stern elder revealed a rare, kind smile, patting Shu Han's head and saying, "It seems you do possess some talent after all. Let me test your spiritual nature."
Shu Han was puzzled, "Master, hasn't my spiritual root already been tested? I possess a useless five spiritual roots." The Second Elder retorted, "Spiritual nature is distinct from the spiritual root. It pertains to the quality of a person's consciousness and soul. Enough talk, swallow this Unity Pill I've prepared and stare into my eyes. No blinking."
As the Unity Pill melted in his mouth and turned into a clear stream that surged into his brain, the Second Elder scrutinized Shu Han's wide-open eyes. To his astonishment and delight, he saw strands of divine light flickering within his pupils. He exclaimed in awe, "Despite your extremely poor spiritual root, your spiritual nature is indeed profound. After such a long wait, I have finally found a suitable candidate. Young Shu Han, would you like to become my disciple?"
His question left Shu Han puzzled, who inquired, "Master, am I not already your disciple?"
"No, no, no!" The Second Elder shook his head vehemently, saying, "You are merely my nominal disciple under the Dragon Mystical Sect. If I were to leave the sect, our relationship as master and disciple would be null. Now, I wish for you to truly become my disciple, inheriting my alchemy and artifact crafting skills. Do you accept?"
Alchemy and artifact crafting! Even the least astute of minds like Shu Han knew the importance of this! He promptly knelt down, "I, disciple Shu Han, kowtow to my master! I am willing to learn the art of alchemy and artifact crafting from you!"
"Good! Good! Good!" The Second Elder was overjoyed as he repeated the word 'good' three times, "In reality, I am not truly a member of the Dragon Mystical Sect. Many years ago, Master Dragon Mystical did a great favor me, and I agreed to be a guest elder and only help him refine pills for the Dragon Mystical Sect. I don't involve myself in any other affairs. Since you have become my real disciple, you can consider yourself detached from the Dragon Mystical Sect."
"Although your spiritual root is extremely poor, once you learn my alchemy and artifact crafting techniques, the Dragon Mystical Sect will also regard you as a guest elder." He then pondered to himself, "As for the cultivation method, you can continue with the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art. After all, it's impossible for you to reach the twelfth level. This method is still quite marvelous within the Qi Refining stage."
Three books were thrown out from his sleeve.
"Introduction to Pharmacology"
"Fundamentals of Talisman Crafting"
"One Hundred Solutions for Magic Tools"
The Second Elder said, "Take these three books and read them thoroughly! I'll give you three years to understand them fully. You can come to me anytime you have questions. After the first three years, you can observe me refining pills and crafting artifacts, only then will I personally teach you how to craft them."
Shu Han held the three books and thanked his master for his kindness. But in his heart, he didn't really think much of it. As a child, he thought it was just three books, why would he need to study them for three years? However, when he returned to the wooden house and began reading "Introduction to Pharmacology", the dense and complex knowledge on the page made his head spin. Just one page took him several days to think about.
The more difficult the problem, the more satisfying the moment of enlightenment was when he finally figured it out. Gradually, Shu Han fell in love with the process of solving problems.
Time flew by, and half a month had passed. During this time, he was studying while starting to practice the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art. This technique gave Shu Han a strange feeling. Each time he completed full circulation, the tiny energy absorbed throughout his body inexplicably reduced to one-third of its original amount. His already scant five spiritual roots absorbed such a meager amount of spiritual energy that it reduced to one-third, making it difficult for him to accumulate even a tiny bit of spiritual power even after several full circulations.
The Second Elder helped him understand this, saying that the key to the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation Divine Art was in its three rotations. The spiritual energy absorbed through this method would be compressed and rotated three times, forming a denser spiritual power. In terms of effects, this was undoubtedly great, as denser spiritual power would greatly increase the power of spells.
However, in terms of speed, the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation was a disaster. He joked that for a five spiritual root like Shu Han, it would take at least three hundred years to cultivate to the twelfth level using the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation technique!
During this time, in addition to cultivating and studying, Shu Han also carefully observed his master's daily habits. He noticed that his master lived a simple life, mostly refining pills and drinking wine. Unless Shu Han sought him out, his master would not come looking for him.
Therefore, under the pressure to improve his cultivation brought about by the Dragon Mystical Triple Rotation technique, Shu Han finally decided to use the black jar.
One night, he carefully dug out the black jar from the ground and threw in the Qi Gathering Pill he had been unwilling to consume. He had hoped that the Qi Gathering Pill would rapidly increase in number, but after waiting for a long time, there was still only one lonely Qi Gathering Pill in the jar.
Shu Han was baffled. Had the black jar stopped working?
Unwilling to give up, he threw in an Enlightenment Herb. Soon, he got a jar full of Enlightenment Herbs, but there was still only one Qi Gathering Pill!
The black jar wasn't ineffective, so why couldn't it duplicate the Qi Gathering Pill?
After conducting a series of experiments with a variety of items, Shu Han came to a conclusion. The black jar could only duplicate natural items, any man-made items could not be duplicated.
