Poison Cultivation

The Blood-Activating and Body-Tempering Pill is a mid-grade first-tier pill, and its refining is no easy task.

The main ingredients require two first-grade mid-level spiritual herbs: Crimson Blood Vine and Fiery Flame Mushroom;

It is also supplemented with three first-grade low-level spiritual materials: Green-veined Grass, Dew-condensing Flower, and Iron Wire Root.

Chen Luo had never personally refined pills of this grade before, so he dared not be careless. He had previously used up all his savings to prepare sixteen portions of medicinal materials, which cost a total of fifty-six low-grade spirit stones.

The expenses involved were so high that even the term "high-risk investment" was insufficient to describe them. Therefore, every step of the process of refining the medicine was taken with utmost caution.

Following the instructions in the prescription, he began to diligently prepare the medicine and dismantle the spirit.

First, take the Red Blood Vine, peel off the old roots and rough skin, leaving only the plump fleshy stem in the middle section, soak it in the pure water of the spiritual spring, and keep it for a full half hour to wash out all the stagnant impurities inside.

Next, carefully remove the scorched lines around the cap of the Fiery Ganoderma, leaving only the firm flesh. Place it in a cool, shady place to air dry slowly, locking its pure yang fire energy firmly inside the Ganoderma, preventing it from dissipating in the slightest.

Then cook the three auxiliary ingredients:

Green-veined grass, dew-covered flowers, withered petals and dead leaves gone; iron wire roots, cracked and hardened old knots.

The three medicinal ingredients are put into a mortar and pestle and slowly ground into a fine powder. The powder is then sifted through the mortar and pestle repeatedly to remove all the coarse residue.

Only fine powder is left to prevent it from clumping and causing an explosion when put into the furnace.

With all the medicinal herbs prepared, Chen Luo's expression immediately became as firm and resolute as iron.

"Now it's time to test your skills."

The spiritual fire beneath the alchemy furnace is first warmed with a gentle flame for two quarters of an hour, and then pure spiritual spring water is poured in to line the bottom.

Then, slowly add the fleshy stem of the Crimson Blood Vine and simmer it until the medicinal juice in the stove turns dark red and thick. Then, add the Fiery Ganoderma lucidum and simmer it in the same way, so that the pure yang fire energy in the Ganoderma lucidum can slowly blend into the medicinal properties of the Blood Vine, and the two can be harmonized to remove the cold and stagnation inside.

In an instant, a wisp of medicinal vapor rose from the heart of the furnace, about to dissipate.

Chen Luo's heart tightened, and he immediately formed a hand seal and incantation, using the pill-making technique to firmly suppress the rising medicinal energy in the furnace, not daring to let it escape even a little.

"Stay calm! We absolutely cannot afford to relax now! We must stay calm!"

He moved with perfect discipline, silently reciting the essentials of the alchemy formula, his eyes never leaving the furnace, as he slowly sprinkled the fine powder of the three auxiliary ingredients into the furnace in three batches.

As the powder falls from the fingertip, the staff rotates in response, gently stirring clockwise in accordance with the energy flow of the furnace, lest the powder settle to the bottom and clump together, thus obscuring the medicinal properties of the furnace bottom.

Only after the pot of medicinal liquid had been simmered until it was a deep, translucent red, and a faint, warm medicinal aroma wafted out, did the lid of the pot close, the valve be sealed, and it was left to simmer quietly for an hour.

The spiritual fire beneath the furnace burned continuously, and the essence within the auxiliary medicine gradually rose up, transforming into a jumble of flowing light that danced wildly within the furnace.

In the path of cultivating immortality, Qi is the foundation of the cosmic cycle, and all the spiritual energy of all things originates from Qi.

These radiant lights are simply the external manifestations of medicinal energy.

Therefore, in the art of alchemy, in addition to recognizing the medicinal materials, one must also be proficient in discerning the qi, observing the color, and smelling the fragrance in order to grasp the medicinal properties even slightly.

Chen Luo clenched his palms into a magic seal, focused intently on the chaotic spiritual light within the furnace, and dissected the medicinal energy amidst the varied colors.

Then, using mental techniques, the scattered auxiliary medicinal energies were slowly merged and unified. Only then was the restriction slowly released, allowing the essence of the two main medicinal ingredients, Crimson Blood Vine and Fiery Mushroom, to enter the furnace.

Several beams of spiritual light immediately intertwined and attracted each other, and the main and auxiliary medicinal properties gradually blended together.

After another half hour of this process, seeing that the heat was just right, he immediately calmed his mind, forcefully suppressed the surging medicinal energy, withdrew most of the spiritual fire, leaving only a tiny ember to gently nurture the medicinal embryo formed inside through the furnace wall. For a full three hours, it remained completely still.

As the furnace temperature gradually softened, the medicinal embryo finally solidified, rolling out more than twenty round pills, all red in color and quite neat in appearance.

But Chen Luo looked at those smooth, unblemished pills, his face showing no joy, his tone full of melancholy:

"Without any pill markings, its quality is extremely poor; it's truly a useless pill."

With a wave of his hand, he swept away the entire furnace of pills, using magic to cleanse the furnace, leaving not a trace of residual medicine or foul odor.

There are established rules in the cultivation world:

Elixirs are the condensation of the essence of heaven and earth and the manifestation of the Daoist energy. Whenever an elixir is formed, it will inevitably produce elixir patterns.

One visible line indicates low quality; two lines indicate medium quality; three lines indicate high quality.

If four patterns are present, it is of the highest quality and can be considered a top-grade product.

This batch of pills is now merely a shell, without any trace of its original form; its medicinal properties are mixed and unresolved, and its internal energy is disordered.

If such a useless pill is consumed rashly, it will not only fail to invigorate the blood and temper the body, or enhance cultivation, but will also disrupt the flow of qi and blood and obstruct the meridians, greatly harming cultivation.

When a batch of medicine turns to ash, three and a half low-grade spirit stones are wasted.

Chen Luo stared at the ashes in the trash can and sighed inwardly:

"To throw away such a huge sum of money and end up with nothing, how could an ordinary cultivator withstand such losses without a deep financial foundation?"

He felt heartache, but deep down he remained clear-headed:

Alchemy is an inevitable path for poison cultivators; even if there is a bottomless pit ahead, they must grit their teeth and jump in.

After resting for a while, he closed his eyes and concentrated, carefully recalling every step of the medicine-refining process, reviewing each word in his mind:

"Just now, the spiritual light in the furnace was scattered and confused my mind, so when the main medicine was being refined, impurities mixed in, making the medicine impure, which is the root of the problem."

This stage is the most crucial; we must be extremely careful when entering the furnace again.

He carefully noted down the several mistakes and omissions, then composed himself and got up to start the furnace again.

The second batch failed again.

The third batch yielded no results; the medicinal light scattered, the energy channels were difficult to harmonize, and it was another failure.

In the fourth batch, the main ingredient's aroma was released slowly, resulting in an imbalance between the previous and subsequent batches, and ultimately it turned into dregs.

Five furnaces, six furnaces...

One batch of medicinal herbs after another were used up, one batch of painstaking efforts after another went to waste.

Chen Luo's face grew increasingly calm, his brows and eyes concealing their turmoil, suppressing all his anxiety deep within his heart.

When the furnace was lifted for the twelfth time, a bright red light came into view, finally giving him a glimmer of hope.

Seven crimson pills lay quietly in the furnace, each with a faint, shimmering golden pattern on its surface, their light subtle yet persistent.

His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes almost welled up with tears.

It's too difficult, really too difficult!

All eleven furnaces were destroyed, costing a total of thirty-eight and a half low-grade spirit stones. This expense was equivalent to the savings of an ordinary cultivator after four months of hard work.

Every failed attempt to open the furnace was like a bucket of cold water poured over one's head, wearing down one's spirit and disrupting one's mind.

The worse things get, the tighter his palms become, and his technique becomes increasingly sluggish and chaotic.

When he reached the seventh consecutive defeat, he knew that his mental state was on the verge of collapse. He forced himself to stop for the time being, secretly comforted himself, and carefully calmed the anxiety in his heart.

Now, it's finally done!

He excitedly summoned the pills, sniffed and examined them for a long time.

I felt a surge of heat enter my nasal cavity, which made my body feel unbearably hot.

"Excellent pill! Excellent pill!"

After a moment of smug satisfaction, he suppressed his excitement, restrained his joy, and calmly reviewed the successes and failures.

This time, he focused all his attention on the reasons for the failures of the previous eleven furnaces and the experience of the success of the twelfth furnace, carefully recording them on a blank jade slip, each word distinct, for fear of forgetting them in the future.

After taking notes and calming his mind, Chen Luo lit the furnace again.

The fire in the thirteenth furnace had just died down; when the furnace was opened, the true result was revealed:

Six pills were successfully formed and were usable, but the remaining twelve were ultimately deemed impure due to their impure energy and became useless pills.

The fourteenth batch of fire was even more refined, and nine elixirs formed patterns, with only three impurities remaining.

By the time he had done the fifteenth and sixteenth batches, his technique was already highly skilled. His mind, eyes, hands, and fire were in perfect harmony, and each batch produced eleven pills steadily.

By sheer chance, a batch of pills was refined into a Blood-Activating and Body-Tempering Pill with two golden lines, its spiritual energy contained within, its quality far surpassing that of ordinary low-grade pills.

Finally, the results of the drug refining were fully settled:

A total of forty-four Blood-Activating and Body-Tempering Pills were refined.

Among them were forty-three low-grade spiritual pills with a single golden pattern and a stable quality.

Another pill, displaying two red patterns, is a rare mid-grade precious pill.