This discovery left Shu Han in a dilemma. He had initially intended to compensate for his lack of talent by infinitely replicating the medicinal pills. But now, that plan was ruined! Without medicinal pills, consuming spiritual herbs was an option. But after gaining some understanding of pharmacology, Shu Han realized the reckless consumption of spiritual herbs was risky! Most spiritual herbs with outstanding effects contained harmful components, thus requiring pill refining skills to extract the beneficial essence.
However, as he studied pharmacopeia, Shu Han found some spiritual herbs in the herb garden that could be consumed long-term. But the effects of the spiritual herbs were far from comparable to those of Qi Gathering Pills. If he wanted to make significant progress in his cultivation, he would need to rely on a large quantity of Qi Gathering Pills.
After realizing this, Shu Han abandoned his cultivation efforts, wholeheartedly immersing himself in the study of pharmacology, hoping to master the art of pill refinement sooner. Without the help of medicinal pills, as the Second Elder had said, it would probably take him three hundred years to reach the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
Shu Han couldn't wait that long. He still harbored the dream of heading to the legendary Heaven Mystical Sect.
As he invested all his energy into studying pharmacology, Shu Han's learning speed increased rapidly. As he delved deeper into his studies, he realized that due to the complex nature of medicine, it was almost impossible to successfully create pills without a pill recipe.
A month later, having no pill recipes to practice with, he plucked up the courage to ask the Second Elder for a pill recipe. The performance of Shu Han over the past few days had greatly pleased the Second Elder. The tasks were handled in an orderly manner, and he was very diligent in his studies, the ideal disciple in his eyes.
However, hearing that Shu Han wanted a pill recipe or two, the Second Elder's face fell.
"Trying to run before you can walk! You're always aiming too high!"
Hearing the Second Elder's reproach, Shu Han quickly defended himself, "Master, I have reached a bottleneck in my study of pharmacology. I thought that having a pill recipe for reference and practice might deepen my understanding."
The Second Elder shook his head, "It's not that I don't want to teach you the pill recipes! But pill refinement has a high failure rate, and the materials for refining pills are hard to come by. Most of the primary materials take a decade or two to mature, so I can't afford to let a novice practice."
"Master, I just want to use the pill recipe as a reference for studying pharmacology. I dare not pick spiritual herbs to refine."
Seeing Shu Han's determined face, the Second Elder finally relented. He called out two pill recipes from his living quarters, saying, "These are two beginner pill recipes, Yellow Dragon Pill and Clear Spirit Powder. The Yellow Dragon Pill can slightly promote Qi gathering speed. Its effect is not as good as the Qi Gathering Pill, but its formula is simple. As for the Clear Spirit Powder, it's a healing medicine. It's not worth mentioning in the cultivation world, but among ordinary people, it's a hard-to-get holy medicine. Take it back and study it. Don't be tempted to pick spiritual herbs for refinement!"
Holding these two pill recipes, Shu Han ran back to his wooden hut, overjoyed. All the knowledge he had accumulated finally had a place to be applied. Therefore, Shu Han threw himself even more into the study of pill recipes.
After two weeks of contemplating, he decided to start concocting them himself. The Second Elder didn't want Shu Han to touch the refinement process too early because he feared he would waste precious materials. But wasting materials was of no concern to Shu Han with his black jar.
Refining pills required fire to extract the essence of the herbs. The books stated that most pill refiners used their own spiritual power to create a refining flame, a "pill fire."
The Second Elder used century-old fruit charcoal for refining. This type of flame was mixed and hard to control, easily damaging the herbs. However, the Second Elder, due to his many years of refining, could ensure a successful yield even with such a flame. He explained that if all the Dragon Mystical Sect's pills had to be refined with pill fire, it would drain his old bones dry.
In addition to these two types of flames, there was also "earth fire." This type of fire could only be used by large cultivation sects, drawing on spiritual veins as a source. It was powerful and never-ending.
Thus, Shu Han began to learn how to generate a pill fire.
Over these days, with the support of the medicinal herbs, Shu Han had barely the spiritual power to complete thirty-two full rotations of his meridians. Finally, there was a trickle of spiritual power flowing within them. Following the method recorded in the books, he guided the magic power into his Dantian and tried to initiate the pill fire.
Shu Han found his cultivation quite challenging, but generating pill fire was easier. After a few days of practice, his magic power successfully created a pill fire in his Dantian. However, his magic power was insufficient, and the pill fire consumed a lot of his magic power. After a few attempts, his magic power was exhausted. As such, after using up his spiritual power, he immediately consumed herbs to circulate his meridians.
This rigorous training continued for three weeks. Eventually, Shu Han was able to generate a stable pill fire. Also, this exhaustive cycle of cultivation significantly increased his cultivation level, and now he had reached the first level of Qi Refining. Counting the days, he had already been at the Dragon Mystical Sect for two months.
One morning, while he was going to the valley to fetch charcoal for pill refining, he saw Erdan and Goudan peering into the valley. Seeing Shu Han, the two boys shouted excitedly but didn't dare step forward. Seeing them also made Shu Han very happy. He quickly moved the charcoal into the pill refining pavilion and ran out. The three kids from Shu Village were overjoyed to see each other.
Erdan and Goudan, dressed in luxurious clothing, bore no resemblance to the village children they once were. Goudan blurted out excitedly, "Brother Big head, guess my cultivation level? I've reached the first level of Qi Refining! Erdan is faster than me. He reached the first level twenty days ago. The Great Elder said that we both are rare talents! He said he will give us more pills!"
Hearing this, Shu Han was a bit stunned. Twenty days ago, he also reached the first level, his speed was even faster than Goudan's, and he was catching up with the dual-spirit roots Erdan. It seems the days of hard cultivation and medicinal herbs were not in vain.
Erdan didn't say much, took out three Qi Gathering Pills, and said, "Brother Big head, these are my extras. Your Five Spirit Root is more challenging to cultivate, and these Qi Gathering Pills can help you advance faster!"
Goudan was shocked, "Erdan! You kept Qi Gathering Pills secretly! If the Great Elder finds out, it will be over!"
"What's there to be afraid of? If no one speaks, how will the Great Elder know."
Shu Han felt Erdan's confidence and realized his treatment at Dragon Mystical Sect was indeed extraordinary. He pushed away Erdan's pills and said, "Erdan, keep these Qi Gathering Pills for your cultivation! Remember what Senior Brother Li Heng said? After you enter Heaven Mystical Sect, you can casually take things better than these Qi Gathering Pills. Keep cultivating hard, and we will rely on you in the future."
At this, Erdan and Goudan fell silent.
"Brother Big Head, Senior Brother Li Heng... he's... dead."
"What?"
Shu Han was stunned.
Erdan explained, "I heard some seniors say, these days, those sects in the martial world have been ambushing our Dragon Mystical Sect, just like what happened to Immortal Master Zhang. Now we have already lost more than a dozen senior brothers."
"Why is it like this? Doesn't the Sect Leader care? We are being bullied by those martial sects?"
Goudan said, "The Great Elder said, the Heaven Mystical Sect is far away in the mountains, and the Sect Leader doesn't know when he will return. Now Dragon Mystical Sect does not allow disciples to leave the mountain."
Shu Han's mind instantly thought of the burly man's boastful words from that day. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He grabbed Erdan and Goudan by the shoulders and said, "You must be careful in the future! If there is danger in Dragon Mystical Sect, you must come to me. My master has set up a sword array here!"
This discovery left Shu Han in a dilemma. He had initially intended to compensate for his lack of talent by infinitely replicating the medicinal pills. But now, that plan was ruined! Without medicinal pills, consuming spiritual herbs was an option. But after gaining some understanding of pharmacology, Shu Han realized the reckless consumption of spiritual herbs was risky! Most spiritual herbs with outstanding effects contained harmful components, thus requiring pill refining skills to extract the beneficial essence.
However, as he studied pharmacopeia, Shu Han found some spiritual herbs in the herb garden that could be consumed long-term. But the effects of the spiritual herbs were far from comparable to those of Qi Gathering Pills. If he wanted to make significant progress in his cultivation, he would need to rely on a large quantity of Qi Gathering Pills.
After realizing this, Shu Han abandoned his cultivation efforts, wholeheartedly immersing himself in the study of pharmacology, hoping to master the art of pill refinement sooner. Without the help of medicinal pills, as the Second Elder had said, it would probably take him three hundred years to reach the twelfth level of Qi Refining.
Shu Han couldn't wait that long. He still harbored the dream of heading to the legendary Heaven Mystical Sect.
As he invested all his energy into studying pharmacology, Shu Han's learning speed increased rapidly. As he delved deeper into his studies, he realized that due to the complex nature of medicine, it was almost impossible to successfully create pills without a pill recipe.
A month later, having no pill recipes to practice with, he plucked up the courage to ask the Second Elder for a pill recipe. The performance of Shu Han over the past few days had greatly pleased the Second Elder. The tasks were handled in an orderly manner, and he was very diligent in his studies, the ideal disciple in his eyes.
However, hearing that Shu Han wanted a pill recipe or two, the Second Elder's face fell.
"Trying to run before you can walk! You're always aiming too high!"
Hearing the Second Elder's reproach, Shu Han quickly defended himself, "Master, I have reached a bottleneck in my study of pharmacology. I thought that having a pill recipe for reference and practice might deepen my understanding."
The Second Elder shook his head, "It's not that I don't want to teach you the pill recipes! But pill refinement has a high failure rate, and the materials for refining pills are hard to come by. Most of the primary materials take a decade or two to mature, so I can't afford to let a novice practice."
"Master, I just want to use the pill recipe as a reference for studying pharmacology. I dare not pick spiritual herbs to refine."
Seeing Shu Han's determined face, the Second Elder finally relented. He called out two pill recipes from his living quarters, saying, "These are two beginner pill recipes, Yellow Dragon Pill and Clear Spirit Powder. The Yellow Dragon Pill can slightly promote Qi gathering speed. Its effect is not as good as the Qi Gathering Pill, but its formula is simple. As for the Clear Spirit Powder, it's a healing medicine. It's not worth mentioning in the cultivation world, but among ordinary people, it's a hard-to-get holy medicine. Take it back and study it. Don't be tempted to pick spiritual herbs for refinement!"
Holding these two pill recipes, Shu Han ran back to his wooden hut, overjoyed. All the knowledge he had accumulated finally had a place to be applied. Therefore, Shu Han threw himself even more into the study of pill recipes.
After two weeks of contemplating, he decided to start concocting them himself. The Second Elder didn't want Shu Han to touch the refinement process too early because he feared he would waste precious materials. But wasting materials was of no concern to Shu Han with his black jar.
Refining pills required fire to extract the essence of the herbs. The books stated that most pill refiners used their own spiritual power to create a refining flame, a "pill fire."
The Second Elder used century-old fruit charcoal for refining. This type of flame was mixed and hard to control, easily damaging the herbs. However, the Second Elder, due to his many years of refining, could ensure a successful yield even with such a flame. He explained that if all the Dragon Mystical Sect's pills had to be refined with pill fire, it would drain his old bones dry.
In addition to these two types of flames, there was also "earth fire." This type of fire could only be used by large cultivation sects, drawing on spiritual veins as a source. It was powerful and never-ending.
Thus, Shu Han began to learn how to generate a pill fire.
Over these days, with the support of the medicinal herbs, Shu Han had barely the spiritual power to complete thirty-two full rotations of his meridians. Finally, there was a trickle of spiritual power flowing within them. Following the method recorded in the books, he guided the magic power into his Dantian and tried to initiate the pill fire.
Shu Han found his cultivation quite challenging, but generating pill fire was easier. After a few days of practice, his magic power successfully created a pill fire in his Dantian. However, his magic power was insufficient, and the pill fire consumed a lot of his magic power. After a few attempts, his magic power was exhausted. As such, after using up his spiritual power, he immediately consumed herbs to circulate his meridians.
This rigorous training continued for three weeks. Eventually, Shu Han was able to generate a stable pill fire. Also, this exhaustive cycle of cultivation significantly increased his cultivation level, and now he had reached the first level of Qi Refining. Counting the days, he had already been at the Dragon Mystical Sect for two months.
One morning, while he was going to the valley to fetch charcoal for pill refining, he saw Erdan and Goudan peering into the valley. Seeing Shu Han, the two boys shouted excitedly but didn't dare step forward. Seeing them also made Shu Han very happy. He quickly moved the charcoal into the pill refining pavilion and ran out. The three kids from Shu Village were overjoyed to see each other.
Erdan and Goudan, dressed in luxurious clothing, bore no resemblance to the village children they once were. Goudan blurted out excitedly, "Brother Big head, guess my cultivation level? I've reached the first level of Qi Refining! Erdan is faster than me. He reached the first level twenty days ago. The Great Elder said that we both are rare talents! He said he will give us more pills!"
Hearing this, Shu Han was a bit stunned. Twenty days ago, he also reached the first level, his speed was even faster than Goudan's, and he was catching up with the dual-spirit roots Erdan. It seems the days of hard cultivation and medicinal herbs were not in vain.
Erdan didn't say much, took out three Qi Gathering Pills, and said, "Brother Big head, these are my extras. Your Five Spirit Root is more challenging to cultivate, and these Qi Gathering Pills can help you advance faster!"
Goudan was shocked, "Erdan! You kept Qi Gathering Pills secretly! If the Great Elder finds out, it will be over!"
"What's there to be afraid of? If no one speaks, how will the Great Elder know."
Shu Han felt Erdan's confidence and realized his treatment at Dragon Mystical Sect was indeed extraordinary. He pushed away Erdan's pills and said, "Erdan, keep these Qi Gathering Pills for your cultivation! Remember what Senior Brother Li Heng said? After you enter Heaven Mystical Sect, you can casually take things better than these Qi Gathering Pills. Keep cultivating hard, and we will rely on you in the future."
At this, Erdan and Goudan fell silent.
"Brother Big Head, Senior Brother Li Heng... he's... dead."
"What?"
Shu Han was stunned.
Erdan explained, "I heard some seniors say, these days, those sects in the martial world have been ambushing our Dragon Mystical Sect, just like what happened to Immortal Master Zhang. Now we have already lost more than a dozen senior brothers."
"Why is it like this? Doesn't the Sect Leader care? We are being bullied by those martial sects?"
Goudan said, "The Great Elder said, the Heaven Mystical Sect is far away in the mountains, and the Sect Leader doesn't know when he will return. Now Dragon Mystical Sect does not allow disciples to leave the mountain."
Shu Han's mind instantly thought of the burly man's boastful words from that day. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He grabbed Erdan and Goudan by the shoulders and said, "You must be careful in the future! If there is danger in Dragon Mystical Sect, you must come to me. My master has set up a sword array here!"
