Chapter 21: Feng Yang Gives the Pill Formula

Both of them saw curiosity reflected in each other's eyes, then tiptoed out of the wooden cabin and crept silently along the base of the wall toward Bai Chen's cabin.

Getting a little closer might let them hear something interesting.

Inside the cabin, Bai Chen had fed all the paste from the stone pot to Shi Feng.

Shi Feng still hadn't had enough — its tongue was lapping and smacking away at the pot.

The pot had been licked completely clean.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from the outer doorway. Bai Chen looked up to see a man in red robes walking in first, with Liu Yan following close behind.

The man appeared to be no older than thirty, with a calm and refined bearing and a dignified, elegant appearance.

Bai Chen had no idea who he was.

Liu Yan stepped forward and introduced the man to Bai Chen in a low, serious voice.

"This is the Peak Master of Danyuan Peak — Peak Master Feng Yang. The Peak Master has come specifically to see the Inedia Pills you refined."

Bai Chen's pupils contracted sharply.

Feng Yang?

Feng Ling'er's uncle?

Surely he hadn't come to recognize him and take revenge on Feng Ling'er's behalf?

That shouldn't be the case — if that were his intention, Bai Chen would never have been allowed to enter the sect in the first place. There would have been no reason to wait until now.

Bai Chen's mind raced at full speed. He forced himself to calm down and bowed respectfully.

"Disciple Bai Chen pays his respects to the Peak Master."

"Mm."

Feng Yang gave a slight nod, his gaze settling on Bai Chen.

He could clearly sense that the young man before him had become very tense upon seeing him.

But he didn't think much of it.

It was perfectly normal for a newly admitted disciple to feel awe in the presence of an Elder-level figure of the sect.

He gave another slight nod, and his gaze moved past Bai Chen to the stone pot inside the cabin — the one that Shi Feng had licked spotlessly clean.

He lifted his feet and walked over.

At this moment, Shi Feng was still licking the remnants of the medicinal paste from the stone pot.

It had sensed the newcomers long ago, but since one was its master and the other was a sect Elder it was familiar with, it hadn't paid them any mind.

What it hadn't expected was that this familiar person would try to steal its pot!

It immediately let out a low rumbling growl from its throat, and its two paws lunged forward to hug the stone pot, refusing to let Feng Yang take it.

Feng Yang paid it no attention at all. With a flick of his wrist, he wrenched the stone pot right out from under Shi Feng's claws.

Seeing how effortlessly Feng Yang had taken the pot it had been guarding, Shi Feng immediately let out a pitiful whimpering cry.

Its ears drooped, and its tail swished limply a couple of times as it looked toward Liu Yan, hoping he would "uphold justice" on its behalf.

Liu Yan averted his gaze and ignored it.

Shi Feng snorted a puff of air from its nose and flopped down sulkily.

Feng Yang took the stone pot and turned it over, scraping a small amount of the remaining medicinal paste from the rim with his fingertip.

Bai Chen's eyes went wide at the sight.

Holy shit, was this man going to taste it directly, just like Liu Yan had?

That was the stone pot Shi Feng had been licking.

Wasn't this basically snatching "filth" straight from a dog's mouth?

Picturing the scene, Bai Chen found himself feeling a tiny bit of excitement.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as he hoped. Feng Yang did not put his fingers in his mouth — he merely rubbed the paste between his fingertips, then flicked them clean with a "Dust Cleansing Technique."

Bai Chen sighed silently. What a shame.

Feng Yang had no idea what nonsense was running through Bai Chen's head. He carefully examined the medicinal paste.

He found that although the paste was crude in form and strange in smell, it genuinely contained the medicinal efficacy of an Inedia Pill.

Moreover, though the medicinal energy was diffuse, it carried a faint, natural sense of cohesion — something that could not have come about by chance through simple boiling.

Had this young man truly produced this casually?

He looked up at Bai Chen, then casually produced a set of Inedia Pill ingredients from his storage pouch.

"Refine it again. Let me watch."

Bai Chen bowed and replied, "Yes, this disciple obeys."

He had plenty of experience making Inedia Pills by now. The order in which to add each ingredient flowed naturally and effortlessly, calm and unhurried.

Half an hour later, Bai Chen extinguished the flame and stood to the side with a bow.

"Peak Master, it is ready."

Feng Yang stood nearby, his pill-refined eyes narrowing slightly, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Upon hearing Bai Chen announce the pill was done, he pinched a small amount again to examine it.

Then his brow furrowed even deeper as he looked at Bai Chen.

This young man's pill refinement had absolutely no method to it — he simply did whatever came to mind.

When the flame burned too high, he'd rake a couple handfuls of ash over it to tamp it down; when it wasn't hot enough, he'd casually toss in more firewood.

The ingredients in the stone pot were half-cooked, and he'd stir them a couple of times by feel alone. He'd even picked up a piece of Chinese yam partway through, broken it apart, and tossed it into the pot — completely disregarding even the most basic order of medicinal ingredient preparation.

The entire process was riddled with errors and omissions, with not a single step conforming to the standards of the Pill Dao.

Calling it reckless would have been a compliment.

And yet — somehow — this pot of pills had actually succeeded?

Yes. This pot of "pills" was indeed an Inedia Pill. There was no mistake.

Bai Chen felt his scalp prickling under Feng Yang's gaze. He swallowed and asked, "Could it be that the pill… failed?"

"No." Feng Yang came back to himself and shook his head. "This is indeed an Inedia Pill."

Bai Chen let out a breath of relief and gently patted his chest.

That had scared him — he'd thought his hundred-percent pill success Talent Trait had malfunctioned.

Feng Yang was silent for a moment, then produced another set of Inedia Pill ingredients and handed Bai Chen a silk-scroll pill formula.

"This is the formula for the Inedia Pill. Can you read it?"

Bai Chen's heart gave a jolt. He had never expected Feng Yang to directly hand over a sect pill formula.

How could a pill formula be something a newly admitted Outer Sect Disciple could easily access?

Not even for something as simple as an Inedia Pill.

He dared not hesitate, and quickly bowed to receive the silk scroll with both hands.

"Yes."

Bai Chen's eyes swept rapidly over the ingredient ratios, the order of addition, and the flame control instructions written on the formula — he could understand every word on the surface.

However, the parts that mentioned "controlling flame with Spiritual Energy" and "condensing medicinal energy" were things he was currently unable to do.

Bai Chen raised his head and answered honestly, "This disciple can read it. However, as this disciple has not yet drawn Qi into the body, I am currently unable to control the flame with Spiritual Energy or condense the medicinal energy."

Feng Yang waved his hand. "No matter. Follow the formula's requirements and try once more."

Without even a formula, Bai Chen had managed to produce an Inedia Pill. Feng Yang wanted to know whether, now that he had the formula, Bai Chen could still produce one — and if so, whether the Inedia Pill would be any different.

Bai Chen agreed, rinsed out the stone pot, and began again following the formula's instructions.

He was also curious: if he followed the formula's requirements, would this Inedia Pill still taste like "filth"?

He drew clean water to rinse the stone pot thoroughly, then carefully followed the steps marked on the formula.

Using the grinding tools Feng Yang had provided, he ground the poria mushroom, Chinese yam, and other medicinal ingredients into a fine powder.

Then, following the formula's prescribed order, he first added the polished rice to simmer slowly. Once the fragrance of the rice began to drift out, he added the medicinal powder and bamboo leaves one by one.

At first, only a faint, sweet fragrance of rice rose from the stone pot. Before long, as the medicinal powder and rice porridge melded together over the heat, a clear, mellow, and rich aroma began to spread through the room.

This fragrance carried the warmth of poria mushroom, the delicate freshness of bamboo leaves, and the gentle sweetness of Chinese yam.

It was clean and refreshing without being cloying — a single breath of it was enough to invigorate the senses, and it subtly stirred one's appetite.

It was worlds apart from the pungent, fishy, burnt stench of before. The clear, refreshing fragrance swept the room clean of every trace of the previous foul air.

Outside the cabin, crouching at the base of the wall, Zhou Shi and Fang He couldn't help but swallow at the clean, sweet aroma drifting their way.

If Bai Chen had produced this smell from the very beginning, there was no way the two of them would have gone to find Liu Yan.

Inside the cabin, Feng Yang stood to one side, his pill-refined eyes quietly narrowing.