From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 164 Spirit Embryo
Ten days passed in a flash.

In the alchemy room, the corner was piled with dregs and discarded pills.

Xu Zhongche's hair was disheveled, his wide-open eyes were red, and he stared intently at the alchemy furnace that was tumbling up and down in front of him.

He turned the alchemy furnace with his right hand and quickly threw in a few spiritual plant leaves with his left.

To conserve spiritual plants, he used only the minimum amount of spiritual plants and medicinal herbs in each alchemy experiment.

"Ho!"

With a soft shout, the alchemy furnace landed steadily with a "clang".

"open!"

He couldn't wait to lift the furnace lid, wave a leaf fan to disperse the scalding steam, and look at the pills inside.

"The color is wrong."

According to his expectations, the pill he refined should be white, or at least light-colored. How did he end up with a pill that was so purple it was almost black?

He picked up the pill, put it in his mouth, and chewed and tasted it.

"Ok?"

He tasted something was wrong as soon as the pill entered his mouth. This was not a pill to prevent miscarriage, but clearly an "abortion pill"—it was poisonous!

Xu Zhongche frowned, savored the pill for a moment, and then spat out the dregs.

Tasting these failed attempts at refining pills would help him learn from his mistakes.

When he was about to try again, he realized that there was not much spiritual energy in his dantian, so he sat cross-legged and practiced the Nine Flames Spiritual Fire Technique.

His alchemy room was located within the spirit-gathering array of Baihe Mountain, so the speed at which spiritual energy was restored was very fast.

After three cycles of spiritual energy circulation, his spiritual energy recovered, and he then practiced the "Meditation and Soul Refining Technique" to replenish the energy consumed by his soul.

"Come again!"

He opened his eyes, preparing for what seemed like his hundredth attempt at alchemy.

The weariness and vicissitudes in his eyes were undeniable.

Spiritual energy can be restored, and spiritual power can be replenished through meditation, but even a Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator would find it difficult to maintain his state after ten days of refining pills without sleep under mental strain.

Just then, Xu Fugui's call came from outside the alchemy room.

"Zhongche~~"

Hearing the voice, Xu Zhongche came out of the underground alchemy room: "Grandpa, I... I haven't finished refining my pregnancy-preserving pills yet."

Seeing Zhongche's somewhat dejected appearance, Xu Fugui knew that he must have been working tirelessly on alchemy.

This won't do.

"Jungcheol, don't be impatient. Only by calming down can you show your best performance."

As Xu Fugui spoke, he took out a jade bottle: "This is a calming pill. After taking it, rest for a day, and then try refining pills again. Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

Tranquilizing pill?
Xu Zhongche took the elixir bottle. He knew he wasn't in good shape lately, but his mind was filled with too many distracting thoughts, making it impossible for him to calm down and rest.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In order to save Ma Shujie's unborn child, Xu Fugui made a special trip to Kunxu Market in the past few days.

He had nearly a hundred spirit stones as a reserve, but he had used some of them recently.

So he sold several century-old spiritual plants in Kunxu Market and earned more than a hundred spirit stones.

He inquired at the elixir shop, wanting to buy an elixir that could save Ma Shujie's unborn child.

However, the Lingdan Pavilion in Kunxu Market is not large in scale, and its customers are mostly Qi-refining families and independent cultivators from the vicinity of Kunxu Mountain. Therefore, the elixirs sold are mostly Qi-boosting pills, Qi-replenishing pills, and other elixirs commonly used by Qi-refining cultivators.

Even elixirs for ordinary people, such as the "Pill for Preserving Youth and Prolonging Life," are not often sold.

What Xu Fugui wanted to buy was a miraculous pill that could revive a two-month-old fetus whose breath was almost gone.

According to the manager of the Spirit Pill Pavilion, it's impossible for ordinary cultivator markets to have such rare and unusual elixirs; only large cultivation markets might have all sorts of strange and wonderful elixirs.

Besides going to large markets, there is another option: to have an alchemist specially refine elixirs with this effect.

However, it requires a large amount of spirit stones!

Asking an alchemist to specially refine a certain type of elixir is a price that ordinary Qi-cultivation families cannot afford.

Therefore, Xu Fugui only spent 22 spirit stones to buy a "Tranquilizing Pill".

The effects of the Tranquilizing Pill are to forcefully concentrate the mind, calm the spirit, and clear away distracting thoughts. It can be taken to calm the soul after experiencing a qi deviation during cultivation, or before breaking through a critical bottleneck.

In addition, Xu Fugui also inquired about "miracle doctors" in Kunxu Market.

There was indeed a rogue healer in Kunxu Market, whose cultivation level was similar to Zhang Tuo's, and who was at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. After listening to Xu Fugui's description of the symptoms, and mentioning that Zhang Tuo was powerless to help, the healer refused to treat Xu Fugui.

The rogue healer recognized Zhang Tuo. Since Zhang Tuo couldn't cure him, there was nothing he could do; going to Tonggu County would be a wasted trip and a futile effort.

Thus, Xu Fugui returned empty-handed from Kunxu Market.

Ultimately, it depends on whether Xu Zhongche can refine the "Half-Spirit Pill for Pregnancy Protection".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside the alchemy room.

Xu Zhongche sat cross-legged and took the calming pill.

While taking the Tranquilizing Pill, he didn't waste the opportunity to sample the elixir. The elixir was too precious; his family didn't have enough spirit stones to buy him one to appreciate.

He had previously taken Qi-boosting pills and Qi-tonifying pills. It was this only opportunity to take a spiritual pill that allowed him to figure out and refine the "Half-Spiritual Pill Qi and Blood Pill".

The calming pill dissolved in his mouth, filling his oral cavity with a rich medicinal fragrance, before flowing down his throat and into his stomach as a liquid.

The flavors of those medicinal herbs and spiritual plants bloomed in his mind like colorful fireworks, displaying a dazzling array of colors.

"So that's how it is~~"

The aroma of the elixir conceals various alchemy techniques.

Then the calming pill took effect, and Xu Zhongche seemed to enter a state of tranquility, with no distracting thoughts.

He fell into a deep sleep without realizing it, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, his breathing steady.

One day later.

Xu Zhongche opened his eyes and stretched; he had slept too soundly.

At this moment, his mind was more active than ever before. Recalling the insights he gained when taking the Tranquilizing Pill, many previously incomprehensible problems were easily solved. "Begin!"

He only has a few days left.

Having adjusted to his optimal state, he attempted alchemy.

The first attempt at alchemy almost failed.

"Just a little bit more, let's make some adjustments."

Xu Zhongche tried several more times and finally succeeded in refining a complete pregnancy-preserving pill.

The main ingredients of this pregnancy-preserving pill have been replaced with spiritual plants, so its quality, even if not as good as a real elixir, is not much worse.

"Increase the dosage and begin refining!"

He has mastered the refining method, but the previous experiments used too few spiritual plant ingredients, resulting in insufficient medicinal power.

This time, he finally succeeded!

The pregnancy-preserving pills in the alchemy furnace were as white as jade, radiating a luster.

He couldn't wait to take the pregnancy-preserving pills to the county town.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Ma Family Mansion.

Xu Zhongche brought Zhang Tuo to visit again.

Zhang Tuo didn't originally want to come, but he came again because of the Xu family and the spirit stones. However, he felt that the Xu family was wasting their time and spirit stones.

After Yingzi informed them, the two entered Ma Shujie's bedroom.

More than ten days later, Ma Shujie has recovered to normal and has a rosy complexion.

It is worth mentioning that during this period, renowned doctors from various places or physicians with unique prescriptions came to treat Ma Shujie from time to time.

Xu Xiaoyun offered a reward of 100,000 taels of silver: whoever could save Ma Shujie's unborn child would receive 100,000 taels of silver.

Some renowned doctors, knowing that even the legendary physician Zhang Tuo couldn't save him, didn't come forward to embarrass themselves.

Yet many more renowned doctors still come with a "let's give it a try" attitude.

Among them were some swindlers who cheated and deceived others for the reward money. Yingzi beat a scoundrel who clearly knew nothing about medicine but pretended to be a doctor to deceive everyone, which finally intimidated them.

"Sister-in-law, take this pill."

As Xu Zhongche spoke, he handed the jade bottle in his hand to Yingzi beside him.

Yingzi held the jade bottle and brought it to Ma Shujie, pouring it into her palm.

When the pregnancy-preserving pills appeared, the room was immediately filled with a rich medicinal fragrance. The aroma was soothing and pleasant.

Ma Shujie's eyes lit up; hope was rekindled in her heart, which had been filled with repeated disappointments.

"Is that a magic pill?"

Zhang Tuo was a cultivator and could sense that the pregnancy-preserving pill was no ordinary medicine.

Ma Shujie swallowed the pregnancy-preserving pill.

The "half-spirit pill" entered the abdomen and transformed into streams of spiritual energy flowing through the lower abdomen. The invisible energy slowly converged into the uterus that was nurturing the fetus.

After a while.

Ma Shujie could feel the baby in her womb gradually becoming stronger, no longer showing no reaction as before.

"Dr. Zhang, please make a diagnosis."

Xu Zhongche nervously made a "please" gesture, unsure if the "half-spirit pill" would work.

Zhang Tuo stepped forward, also somewhat curious: Could the elixir from earlier have saved the fetus whose life force was nearly cut off?
He examined her carefully, raising his eyebrows: "She's alive! She's alive!"

Upon hearing his words, everyone present beamed with joy.

"what?"

However, Zhang Tuo's hesitation caused concern among the group.

"Almost there, the fetus's breathing has returned, but it hasn't established a connection with the mother. Let me do it!"

He took out a spirit stone with his left hand and made a hand seal with his right.

The spiritual energy within the spirit stone was completely absorbed, turning it into ordinary, dull pebbles.

The spiritual energy in his dantian and the spiritual energy of a spirit stone transformed into water-based healing energy, which was then injected into Ma Shujie's body and flowed into her lower abdomen.

"Plop~~"

Ma Shujie suddenly "heard" a clear heartbeat.

That wasn't her heartbeat, that was the baby's heartbeat!
She established a connection with her fetus, and she could feel that her child was very active and full of life.

"Hu~~"

Zhang Tuo had almost exhausted all his spiritual energy, and a relieved smile appeared on his lips.

An unknown elixir, combined with his skills, saved a person who was on the verge of death.

He smiled and said, "Don't worry, the child is safe and sound, much stronger than ordinary children. It's made with elixirs and spiritual energy; it's a spiritual embryo, guaranteed to give birth to a person of extraordinary talent."

His words contained an element of flattery, but also a degree of sincerity.

After all, it must be extraordinary for an undeveloped fetus to absorb so much spiritual energy.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Ma Shujie's child was saved, and she returned to live in Baiheshan.

Xu Zhongchao, who was confined to the "study" to write the "Hundred Character Classic," was very excited upon hearing the news and expressed his deepest gratitude to Xu Zhongche.

time flies.

With the spiritual veins and spirit-gathering array now in Baihe Mountain, the strength of the Xu family members is slowly and steadily increasing.

Month after month, Ma Shujie's belly gradually protruded.

That year, Xu Xiaoan's son, Xu Zhongsan, got married at the age of eighteen, continuing the tradition of Xiaoan's descendants: early marriage.

Xu Zhong'er's son, Xu Lijie, is three years old.

(End of this chapter)