"Although it's just an unranked pill recipe, to achieve this level is quite remarkable."
Cui Long handed the pill recipe in his hand to Liu Ruyan beside him, then sighed with emotion.
He stood with his hands behind his back, assuming an elder's demeanor, "It seems your master's attainments in the Dao of Alchemy are not low!"
The sudden two sentences startled everyone present, and their eyes shot him strange glances.
However, the group's movements were subtle, and Cui Long did not notice anything out of the ordinary.
Ji Yuan thought for a moment, then simply smiled politely at the other party, doing his best to control his urge to speak. It wouldn't be good to offend someone right after arriving. If he were to speak his mind, he worried he might overwhelm the other party.
"This Daoist needs to meditate and breathe. I will chat with everyone next time."
This time, he did not bow but clasped his fists in a salute. After a few pleasantries, he turned and returned to his room.
After the door closed, Guo Tao directly sat on the steps, took out the specially made dried meat from his embrace, and began to eat it slowly, bite by bite.
Since cultivating the Dragon Elephant Art, he spent most of his days constantly eating to supplement the massive amount of qi and blood consumed daily.
Soon, Qian Nishang and the others also dispersed, either returning to their rooms to rest or beginning to study the pill recipes in their hands.
Thus, the night passed uneventfully, and dawn arrived the next day.
Ji Yuan woke up from his meditation. A night of contemplation had given him further insights into the Profound Heaven Dao Scripture, with flashes of light occasionally appearing in his eyes.
He glanced at the two engrossed in alchemy and, after a brief observation, nodded with satisfaction.
Zhao Yuebai and Jiang He had excellent talent and were also intelligent. In just a few days, they had already mastered the refining of three types of pills.
Of course, a large number of materials for practice also contributed to this. Otherwise, no matter how gifted someone was, significant progress would be difficult in such a short period.
However, they had not even grasped the basics yet and would need to put in a lot of hard work and spend a great deal of time practicing in the future.
But at least for now, it was already very good.
Just as he was contemplating whether to teach them about the types of herbs or their mutual compatibility today, a soft knock sounded on the door of the small house.
Ji Yuan glanced at the two engrossed in alchemy, then rose and opened the door. Outside were his senior brother Guo Tao, Liao Qiming and the other three, as well as a girl no older than fifteen or sixteen.
"Daoist, someone outside claims to be Song He and says he is your friend," the maid, named Dong'er, said softly with her head bowed.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan's eyes immediately brightened. He closed the door, leaned on his sword, and followed Dong'er towards the main hall of Mingxin Pavilion.
Silently, Guo Tao followed behind him. However, after just a few steps, Ji Yuan stopped him.
He gestured with his eyes, hoping his senior brother would stay and help watch Zhao Yuebai and Jiang He in the room. Although this was the backyard of Mingxin Pavilion, it was still an unfamiliar place for them, and more caution was always better.
"Junior brother, be careful."
Guo Tao nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then said with concern.
He returned a smile, then turned and continued to follow Dong'er to the main hall of Mingxin Pavilion.
In a nearby private seating area, a young Daoist was already sitting and drinking tea. His gray-white Daoist robe was covered in dust, clearly indicating he had just completed a long journey.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan quickly stepped forward, his footsteps and sword sheath striking the ground with a clatter, drawing the attention of many staff members.
"Was your journey smooth? Did you encounter any danger?"
He sat down on the chair beside him and looked him up and down. Seeing that he was dusty but seemed to be in one piece, he suddenly felt a pang of regret for some unknown reason.
Song He raised an eyebrow, naturally seeing through his thoughts, and glared at him in annoyance.
"I've got what you wanted."
He kicked the box at his feet. To get these things, he had run around the county town quite a bit.
For some of the essential items, he had even resorted to some unconventional means, nearly being chased all the way from the county town.
Ji Yuan also heard the exhaustion in his tone and chuckled a couple of times. He didn't offer any warm greetings, but he kept everything in his heart.
"What's the situation in the county town now?"
He patted the mountain and river pouch at his waist, storing the large box on the ground into it, then picked up the freshly served hot tea and drank it down without fear of scalding.
Song He seemed to have anticipated his question. With a flip of his hand, he produced a thick stack of papers and threw them onto the wooden table.
"The nobles in the county town are happier than during the New Year."
He thought for a moment, not knowing how to describe the scene.
Although he had seen such scenes frequently in his previous life, looking at it always made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Ji Yuan shrugged helplessly; it was no different from what he had expected.
For the people of Qianyu City, this was a disaster rarely seen in a thousand years. Familiar faces around him, many were no longer to be seen in less than a day.
But in the eyes of some others, this was instead a rare opportunity to get rich. With a slight compromise of conscience, they could earn a fortune with minimal cost.
Oh, no, those people had no conscience at all!
A mocking expression appeared on his face, but he quickly withdrew it. Then he reached out and picked up the thick stack of papers on the table, reading them carefully one by one.
Most of these recorded the various movements of the different factions in the county town over the past half-month.
It even included conversations between some of the nobles and the collaborations established between various factions.
There was even a relatively detailed record of the purchase and sale of various commodities in the county town.
Ji Yuan's lips twitched. He couldn't help but glance at Song He, who was leisurely sipping his tea with a relaxed expression, and strongly suspected what this guy had been doing in the county town.
"Don't look at me like that. Besides helping you get things, I haven't done anything strange."
He blew on the hot air in his cup and said in a light tone, "Before coming back, I happened to take down an information broker's den, and that's how I got this stack of papers for you."
As he spoke, Ji Yuan could imagine how dark his own expression must have been. "Happened to take down an information broker's den?"
How could you say such a thing so calmly?
No! You dared to act in the county town!
What kind of place was that!
It was the center of a prefecture, a place where various experts gathered!
If it were any other place, it would be fine. Although the imperial laws clearly stated that no one was allowed to act arrogantly and kill wantonly in the city by relying on their martial strength,
but small places ultimately lacked the strength to restrain experts.
But the county town was different. Even setting aside the experts gathered from all directions, and the various sects and factions residing there, the imperial power alone was enough to make cultivators of the third realm act with caution.
And you dared to act under their noses!
At this moment, Ji Yuan even guiltily looked around. Seeing that the staff in the hall had not overheard their conversation, he felt a little more at ease.
If this matter were to spread, the Prefectural Governor's office might turn a blind eye, but those fanatics from the Mingjian Division would definitely pursue him relentlessly for merit.
"Relax, things are not as serious as you think."
Song He sighed. This young Daoist was good in every way, but he was too cautious.
Well, in fact, he was also a bit timid.
"The laws in the county town are a bit strict, but as long as you're not caught red-handed and haven't harmed innocent civilians, neither the Prefectural Governor's office nor the Mingjian Division will hold it against you."
He explained this. As long as one didn't commit murder and openly violate imperial law, generally, no one would pursue it.
This was an unspoken understanding in the Great Yu Dynasty, a kind of favor and privilege for cultivators.
On the other hand, both the Prefectural Governor's office and the Mingjian Division, as well as other imperial agencies, had a mountain of official duties to handle every day, with endless wanted criminals and cases to try. Ordinary matters would not attract their attention.
"If they were to investigate thoroughly for a few information brokers, they wouldn't have enough manpower even if they had ten times as many."
Song He smiled faintly. Moreover, he hadn't taken any lives, just knocked a few people unconscious.
However, his tone suddenly changed, and he looked at the young Daoist beside him solemnly, "In the future, when you go out, you must act when you should. Don't let others gain an advantage because of some reservations!"
Hearing this, Ji Yuan immediately understood the meaning of his words. He also knew that although he was still decisive, sometimes his excessive caution led to various reservations.
In the eyes of some, this was also another form of "cowardice."
"Alright, after these days of running around, I should head back to Luohun Slope."
Song He put down his teacup and then got up to bid farewell.
Before leaving, he said solemnly, "Many people have come to the county town. You must act with caution during this period. If you need help, send someone to Luohun Slope to call me."
Ji Yuan naturally agreed repeatedly, stating that if he encountered any difficulties, he would never let a Formation Master or a Sword Cultivator go unused.
After watching Song He leave, he stood outside the gate of Mingxin Pavilion for a while, then turned and walked back to his own room.
At this moment, Zhao Yuebai and Jiang He had successfully refined a batch of pills and were gathered together, summing up their experiences.
Seeing Ji Yuan return, they immediately rushed over excitedly, waiting for today's lesson to begin.
Undeniably, under his teaching, their interest in alchemy grew stronger. Especially Jiang He, whose cultivation method was wood-element, naturally inclined towards plants and trees.
Although his fire control was lacking, the purity of the refined medicinal properties was no less, even much purer than Zhao Yuebai's.
"Today, I won't be teaching anything new for now."
Ji Yuan leaned on his sword and came to his position. With a light wave of his hand, a ball of scorching flame rose from the octagonal iron plate.
The alchemy furnace in front of him had been replaced with his own brass furnace on the first day he arrived. Now, it was gradually heating up under the flame at its base.
"I will be refining several major pills later. Watch carefully from the side. It's okay if you don't understand; just remember the feeling."
As he spoke, he took out the large wooden box that Song He had brought back from the mountain and river pouch. "If you get tired of watching, or if you truly can't understand, then don't continue watching. Relax by refining pills yourself."
The two looked at each other and nodded with slightly solemn expressions. Days of alchemy and studying Dao of Alchemy knowledge had made them understand what 'major pills' were.
Like talismans, pills were also divided into two types.
The first type were unranked pills, which had the widest reach, from cultivators of the first and second realms to ordinary martial artists, and even some nobles.
The second type were ranked pills. Their medicinal effects were so potent that they could at least be consumed by cultivators of the second and third realms. Except in special circumstances, even cultivators of the first realm would find it difficult to digest such pure and immense medicinal power.
Only ranked pills were qualified to be called major pills, and the value of one such pill was equivalent to a decently graded magical artifact.
Ji Yuan opened the wooden box beside him, and immediately a rich medicinal aroma filled the air. He didn't know how the box was crafted, as it hadn't leaked any scent when it was closed.
Inside the wooden box, herbs were neatly arranged. Unlike ordinary medicinal materials, these contained substantial spiritual energy.
"To refine major pills, ordinary medicinal materials are no longer useful. The chosen ingredients must be things that contain spiritual energy."
He took out the herbs from the wooden box and laid them out on the table one by one, explaining patiently, "Such spiritual items are also called spiritual herbs because they not only contain spiritual energy but also a special spiritual essence."
It was precisely because they contained this spiritual essence that they could be called spiritual herbs, and it was also one of the reasons why the medicinal effects of ranked pills were so pure and potent.
However, spiritual essence was extremely difficult to generate, which also made spiritual herbs very scarce. They could only be found in remote places, perhaps one or two plants.
The spiritual herbs in this box alone cost all of Ji Yuan's accumulated spiritual stones and spiritual coins. If converted to silver with snowflake patterns, it would be tens of thousands of taels.
And this was only for spiritual herbs of the lowest grade, with little spiritual essence contained, and even with medicinal ages of only twenty to thirty years.
But even so, they were still extremely rare and precious, especially three or four of them, which had required Song He, a cultivator of the second realm, to expend great effort to find in the county town.
"Master, what kind of pills are you planning to refine?" Zhao Yuebai asked curiously.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan took a deep breath, and his eyes flickered with brilliance.
"A batch of Three Yang Primordial Fire Pills, a batch of Foundation Building Marrow Condensing Pills, and a batch of Misty Barrier Breaking Pills."
He murmured with anticipation.
These three were all pill recipes derived from the Dao Principle from the Grand Dao Compendium. He had not refined them before.
The only thing he could be sure of was that the pill recipes themselves were not problematic, and their medicinal effects would only be stronger, not weaker. However, since this was his first time refining them, he was not entirely confident.
He had used up most of his savings and had only prepared three portions of each ingredient. If he failed, he would have to abandon the plan to not only heal his injuries but also to improve his cultivation.
For him, this was undoubtedly a gamble!