Chapter 24: Someone Has Drawn Qi Into Their Body

The Inedia Pill refinement method recorded on the silk scroll was remarkably thorough — it detailed how each ingredient should be prepared, the precise amounts required, and the exact order and timing of each addition.

It even specified how long the heat needed to be maintained in terms of thirty-minute intervals, and how to judge the degree of medicinal Qi condensation by scent alone.

The pill formulas in the pill compendium, on the other hand, were recorded in only a few sparse lines — perhaps because there were so many formulas that space had to be conserved.

They listed only the names of the ingredients and a rough order of addition.

There were no precise measurements, no specific timing for each addition, and certainly no guidance on how long to maintain the heat or how to tell when the medicinal Qi had properly condensed.

Bai Chen couldn't help but feel that the two records were like two entirely different styles of cooking guides. The silk scroll was like a Western recipe measured down to the gram.

Step by step, rule by rule — follow it and the result would be consistent every time.

The pill compendium, by contrast, read more like a Chinese cookbook, full of vague instructions like "a suitable amount," "a pinch," "simmer over low heat," and "stop when the herbal fragrance is rich."

Bai Chen reflected that the silk scroll had probably been made by Feng Yang specifically to teach disciples, and that the compendium's style was actually the norm in the Dao of Alchemy.

Pill refinement relied entirely on the alchemist's innate talent and intuition, or on a master's hands-on guidance and instruction — which was precisely why the quality and potency of refined pills varied so wildly from person to person.

But he had no master to guide him right now. Although Feng Yang had offered him the chance to ask questions, he couldn't run up to Danyuan Peak for every little thing. In the end, he would have to feel his way through on his own.

Well then — might as well give it a try.

Bai Chen rubbed his palms together, a gleam of eager anticipation lighting up his eyes.

It was just past the middle of nightfall. Though the hour was late, there was still time to attempt one furnace.

So what if he didn't have precise measurements?

Before, he hadn't even had a formula, and had managed to produce an Inedia Pill on pure instinct alone. Now that he had a rough framework, surely he could figure out at least something.

He tucked away the silk scroll and spread the pill compendium open at the corner of the table.

Bai Chen rose and walked to the stove, testing the weight of the new purple clay teapot in his hand, then turned to sort through the Qi-Gathering Pill ingredients laid out on the table.

"Spirit Stone powder, spirit licorice root, purple-veined angelica, blue-veined atractylodes..."

The Qi-Gathering Pill required spirit herbs.

Bai Chen flipped through his copy of "Introductory Spirit Herb Identification," cross-referencing each entry as he selected the required spirit materials and arranged them neatly on the table.

Taking a deep breath, he lit the firewood in the stove and prepared to attempt his first furnace of Qi-Gathering Pills.

The Qi-Gathering Pill was already several times harder to refine than the Inedia Pill, and the compendium's instructions were far from clear.

He could only grip his wooden stirring stick and feel his way through the simmering process in the purple clay pot by instinct.

First, he took the purple-veined angelica and blue-veined atractylodes. The compendium said to "grind into powder," so he ground them both into fine fragments.

How fine exactly? He had no idea — he went entirely by feel.

The Spirit Stone powder was already refined; he pinched out three small portions and scattered them into the pot.

Following the compendium's sequence, he crouched by the stove, adding a little of this and a little of that at intervals.

His left hand occasionally stirred the firewood in the stove while his right hand gripped the wooden stick and stirred continuously.

The spirit materials slowly melted together in the pot, gradually thickening into a dense medicinal paste.

White froth floated on the surface, carrying a faint fragrance of spirit herbs mingled with a few wisps of escaping impure Qi.

At least he had steps to follow this time. The smell of what he'd produced, while not pleasant, was passable — far better than the "excrement-scented" Inedia Pills he'd made before.

After simmering with focused attention for nearly one hour, the paste in the pot gradually thickened. The jumbled herbal fragrances slowly settled and condensed, leaving only a rich, mellow Spiritual Energy lingering at the tip of his nose.

He knew the moment had come. He pinched one final portion of Spirit Stone powder and scattered it into the center of the pot, then rapidly spun the wooden stick to gather all the condensed essence together.

The paste in the purple clay pot suddenly rippled with a ring of fine waves, and several faint wisps of white light rose up from within.

The light slowly faded. The paste at the bottom of the pot had transformed into a soft, brownish medicinal mud.

His instincts told him the pill had formed.

Yet Bai Chen stared at the mud in the pot and furrowed his brow slightly.

According to the compendium, a properly formed Qi-Gathering Pill should be translucent white, smooth on the surface with no residue, and when held in the palm, one should feel Spiritual Energy flowing gently through it.

This paste wasn't even pill-shaped — but at the very least, shouldn't it be white?

What on earth was this brownish color?

He scooped a small amount onto his fingertip and brought it close to his nose for a light sniff. Beneath the clean fragrance of spirit herbs lurked a faint, barely perceptible fishy odor.

Bai Chen let out a sigh.

He had no master to teach him, but he could guess what had gone wrong.

That color and that fishy smell — it had to be pill toxins.

Without an alchemy furnace to concentrate the Qi, and without Spiritual Energy to refine the medicinal power and purge the toxins, both the pill toxins and the impurities had been sealed inside the pill.

It would certainly have some effect — but the pill toxins were no small matter either.

With his meridians still unable to draw Qi into his body, he couldn't safely consume even a normal Qi-Gathering Pill in large quantities. Something that could practically be called "poison" was absolutely not something he should rashly swallow.

"Haah."

Bai Chen sighed.

It seemed he had no choice but to use contribution points to buy Qi-Gathering Pills.

Shaking his head, he waited for the clay pot to cool a little before picking it up to go wash it.

He had just lifted it when a wave of startled cries and commotion suddenly erupted in the distance.

Puzzled, Bai Chen carried the pot to the doorway, opened the door, and peered in the direction of the noise.

He couldn't see anything.

His quarters were in a secluded spot to begin with, and it was late at night — he could only vaguely make out the shifting silhouettes of people in the distance, nothing clearly.

Zhou Shi and Fang He next door were also startled and came out of their rooms.

"What's going on? What's all the noise?"

"No idea."

Zhou Shi craned his neck toward the commotion for a long while without making anything out, then turned to Bai Chen and Fang He with an excited look. "I'm going to go check it out!"

And with that, he was already running off in that direction.

Fang He hadn't even opened his mouth before Zhou Shi's figure had vanished.

"That guy, always in such a rush."

Fang He clicked his tongue, then turned to look at the purple clay pot in Bai Chen's hands.

"Brother Bai, did the pot work out?"

Bai Chen shook his head. "It failed."

Fang He let out a soft "ah" and offered some encouragement: "Don't worry, a few more tries and you'll get it."

Bai Chen nodded without explaining further. Unless he managed to draw Qi into his body, this really wasn't something that more practice alone could fix.

Fang He accompanied Bai Chen to wash the pot. When they returned, they found Zhou Shi charging back toward them, shouting "Holy shit! Holy shit!" at the top of his lungs from a distance.

Fang He immediately rushed up to him. "What happened? What was all that about over there?"

Zhou Shi braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath a couple of times, then looked up at Bai Chen and Fang He with eyes full of excitement. "Holy shit, someone just drew Qi into their body!"

"What?!"

Fang He's eyes went wide in an instant, his face full of disbelief.

"Drew Qi into their body? Is the person a three-element Spiritual Root?"

They'd only been admitted to the sect for less than a day — to draw Qi into the body this quickly, it had to be a three-element Spiritual Root, right?

Tsk. If he'd known, he wouldn't have been wandering around and would have gone to cultivate instead.

Maybe the one who'd drawn Qi into their body would have been him.

"Three-element Spiritual Root my ass!"

Fang He had barely finished feeling sorry for himself when Zhou Shi spat dismissively and shot down his assumption.

"If it were a three-element Spiritual Root, would I be this excited? That guy has a four-element mixed Spiritual Root!"

He then suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth and looked at Bai Chen with an apologetic expression.

Holy shit, his mouth had gotten ahead of him — he'd completely forgotten that Bai Chen also had a mixed Spiritual Root.

Would Bai Chen think he was mocking him?

"A mixed Spiritual Root?"

Bai Chen paid no mind to Zhou Shi's slip of the tongue and pressed him with a surprised question: "Are you sure the person has a mixed Spiritual Root?"

Zhou Shi relaxed when he saw Bai Chen wasn't bothered, then nodded repeatedly. "I'm sure! They've got a whole crowd gathered around him, asking him to share his insights! Hey, should we go over too — hey??"

Zhou Shi hadn't even finished his sentence when he watched Bai Chen set down the clay pot and jog off toward the green bamboo clearing.

He stared after him in bewilderment and turned to Fang He. "What's Brother Bai going off to do?"

Fang He rolled his eyes at him and grabbed him to follow along.

"He's going to watch the excitement, obviously. Come on, let's hurry up and go too."

"Oh — right!"