My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Xia Zuo's lips twitched as he walked past the glass bottle labeled "Strong Person Identifies Toxins".

The head of the academy probably wouldn't allow his students to use this vial of toxin for testing...

Probably not.

Xia Zuo gently rubbed his throbbing brows, dragged a chair over to the alchemy table, and sat down.

I had seen the textbook on the table before; it was titled "The Stripping of Toxicity".

The above uses Black Eye Poison as an example to explain in detail its effects and the new toxic effects that will be produced after several refinements.

The entire book explains how to remove the additional toxic effects, retaining only the hallucination effect. It's not hard to deduce that this version of the textbook likely came about after the refined formula for Black Eye Agent was developed.

Xia Zuo had previously made a conjecture: the hallucinations seen after drinking the Black Eye Poison were two images superimposed on each other.

This conjecture has been confirmed.

In the introduction to this book, there is a historical story about black eye poison.

Around 700 years ago, the master of poison alchemy at the Temple of the Wizards successfully removed the distorted images from the hallucinations, leaving only the images of small points of light.

Masters of potion alchemy and poison alchemy worked together for decades to develop a new functional potion:

True Vision Pharmacist.

The full version of True Sight Potion is a master-level alchemical creation that allows one to clearly distinguish all elemental objects within their field of vision.

The farther you can see, the more you can distinguish things from that distance.

Standing atop a high mountain, overlooking the vast forest below, one can clearly discern whether each tree is related to any element. Things that are invisible or in a similar state will also be visible.

The simplification from the full version to the simplified version means that the quality level has been reduced from Master to Beginner or even Apprentice.

The simplification process is just as complex as developing the full version; new harmful effects will constantly emerge, and they must be repeatedly stripped away.

Often, the alchemical process of stripping away the toxic effects can itself lead to the emergence of new toxic effects.

You might have intended to remove one type of toxicity, but after the operation, you ended up with two more types of toxicity.

At this point, should we continue to peel away the two newly emerging poisons, or roll back to the previous step and try other alchemical operations?

The introduction concludes with this perplexing question.

Xia Zuo flipped through the book and found the second refining formula for the Black Eye Poison.

First, spend half an hour memorizing the recipe, then spend twenty minutes simulating the refining process, and finally spend two hours making a bottle of twice-refined powder.

10:40 AM.

Xia Zuo retrieved a bottle of perfect-quality Black Eye Poison from the shelf and mixed it with twice-refined powder.

He used his detection spell on the vial of poison.

...

[Item Name] Black Eye Poison - 2nd Refinement

[Item Type] Poison

[Item Grade] Apprentice Level → Proficient Level

[Item Quality] Completion Rate 100%, Perfect

[Associated Resistance] Four-system resistance

It is expected that once all four resistances reach 6, the effect of this item on the host will be significantly reduced.

[Item Description] The creator of the poison is unknown. The creator of the second-refined powder is Xia Zuo.

[Item Effects]

喝下此毒剂后，将会获得3层幻视、3层失聪和1层幻觉效果，效果持续033（032）分钟。

...

The book says that the effects of double-refined Black Eye Poison are somewhat nauseating…

Besides the optical illusion of distorted object shapes.

It can also create the illusion of fleshy growths sprouting from the body.

Xia Zuo sat in the chair, tilted his head back, and drank the poison.

The familiar distortion effect appears.

In his eyes, his two arms were like strips of cloth being blown by a gale, wildly dancing along with the same twisted patterns on the ground.

Tiny bumps appeared on my arms, undulating like waves.

This feeling is strange.

Xia Zuo stroked his forearm.

The touch told him that his arm was smooth, without any bumps. But the hallucinations in his vision told him that there was a patch of flesh that was constantly expanding and contracting.

That's really disgusting.

He loosened his forearm and stared intently at the tiny speck of light floating out of his body.

Once the Willpower attribute reaches 8 points, the effects of the poison are completely tolerable, and there is no longer a need to lie on the table with eyes closed and endure it.

Tiny specks of light swirled and danced rhythmically in the air, with distorted objects serving as their backdrop.

Xia Zuo's gaze followed the movement of the small light, gradually entering a strange state of calm.

The distorted lines and fleshy growths in the hallucinations are unsettling.

He knew this, and he truly felt it.

But he remained calm.

It was as if at this very moment, his consciousness had split in two.

One half was experiencing the toxic effects, the other half was focused on the tiny glowing spot. The two were completely unrelated.

He can remain completely unaffected by the poison's effects simply by focusing his attention on the half of his consciousness that is focused on the small point of light, and his attention will become increasingly concentrated as a result.

The toxic effect lasted for about 20 seconds before ending.

The message from the cheat system came to my mind:

"Successfully ingesting one bottle of Black Eye Poison (semi-homemade, 2-times refined) will grant an additional 20 experience points, 42 experience points, a 0042-point increase in Willpower attribute, and a 0042-point increase in all four elemental resistances."

Xia Zuo glanced at the wall clock; there wasn't enough time left to refine the powder.

He took the raw materials for Black Eye Poison from the poison cabinet, intending to make a batch of homemade poison and get the full extra experience reward.

We were busy until lunchtime.

After tidying up the Great Alchemy Chamber and taking a shower, Xia Zuo headed towards the castle hall.

I happened to run into Beatrice walking gracefully towards me on the way.

She strolled around the artworks in the corridor like a graceful noblewoman obsessed with antique objects.

The dates inscribed on the artworks range from two hundred years ago to ten years ago. Could these artworks represent a memory of Beatrice?

Xia Zuo pondered for a moment before walking up to Beatrice. His gaze lingered briefly on her light orange hair before he bowed respectfully.

Good afternoon, Your Excellency.

"Just call me mentor or professor."

Beatrice withdrew her right hand from a book sculpture, then crossed her hands lightly and held them in front of her:

"Are you comfortable with that alchemy room? Is there anything that needs adjusting?"

Xia Zuo nodded in response:

"Thank you for setting up the alchemy room for me. I've successfully created two refined Black Eye Poisons. The alchemy room is very useful."

"That's good."

Beatrice smiled and said:

"The afternoon classes will be held in my study. If you walk straight down this corridor, you will see a sandalwood door; that is my study."

"Yes, Professor." Xia Zuo bowed again. "I'll take my leave now. I'll arrive at your study on time before class this afternoon."

He walked past the other person and went into the stairwell.

Talking to Beatrice, whose charm attribute is as high as 15, is definitely not an easy task.

Xia Zuo repeatedly reminded himself that the head of the academy was a woman over two hundred years old, and that the beauty before him might just be the result of magic. Only then did he control the urge to stare at the other woman's facial features.

...

1 pm.

Xia Zuo entered his tutor's study 10 minutes before class.

Beatrice stood up from her desk and chair and led the students through the wooden door deep inside the study.

There is a rather secluded corridor here. It is a completely enclosed corridor with no view of the sky or windows, and is illuminated by alchemical lamps.

Beatrice waved her hands lightly, opening the door at the end of the corridor from a distance.

A brightly lit room came into view.

The ten-meter-high ceiling, similar to the roof of the castle hall, is covered with patterned stained glass.

Tall, round stone pillars stand on either side of the room, blending seamlessly with the walls constructed of large stone bricks.

In the center of the spacious room was a rectangular open space. The wooden planks on the floor were fitted together perfectly, and were both soft and springy, giving a light and airy feeling when walking on them.

"Kulov promises you that once you've conceived of the elemental properties on your own, he will teach you a beginner-level meditation method."

Bi Cui led the students to stand in the center of the open space, turned around and faced the other party, saying:

"Then, let me first introduce you to what the ocean of the spirit is."

Beatrice snapped her fingers lightly.

Silver sand appeared beside her, floated upwards into the air, and then transformed into a spherical dome that enveloped the two of them like a fountain scattering flowers.

The sunlight was blocked by the silver sand, and the spherical dome was temporarily plunged into darkness.

A hazy light emanated from the silver sand.