Chapter 108 - Refining Medicine

Luo Xiao was a complete novice in the world of refining medicine and pills.

He only had the experience that he had gotten from observing Overseer Zhu, and thus he bought a lot of the most common herbs. He was not going to begin his alchemy training by refining pills, but by crafting medicinal pastes.

He had heard much about medicine and pill refinement from Overseer Zhu, and the most challenging process was to refine the actual pill.

As such, beginning to learn how to extract the medicinal properties of the herbs, and merge them together was the first step any alchemist had to control. Luo Xiao had a few recipes and formulas for the easiest Essence Gathering Liquid and Meridian Broadening Paste.

The Essence Gathering Liquid was supposed to be poured into one's bath, and then one would be able to absorb essence much faster than normal. It was a very common item, and usually the first item that alchemists would try their hand at. It only consisted of a few herbs, the Scorching Sunflower, the Chilled Yin Rose, and finally, the Yin and Yang Bellis.

The three herbs had much in common, and when added together, they became quite powerful at attracting the heaven and earth essence.

The Meridian Broadening Paste was much rarer than the Essence Gathering Liquid. He had been given the formula by Overseer Zhu, and he had been quite interested in it for his own sake.

The Meridian Broadening Paste was to be consumed internally. It was very similar to the Channel Opening Pill, and when the two were consumed, then the meridians in one's body would become the broadest one could imagine.

Broad meridians were very useful. The energy of one's body, be it Spiritual Energy or Qi, was traveling through one's meridians, and the broader they were, the more energy could travel through them at once.

This also meant that one's attacks could become more lethal, but it also meant that one would run out of energy sooner.

Luo Xiao was aware of the downside of broadening one's meridians, but he was willing to do it when considering the benefits.

When Luo Xiao had discussed it with Jiang Yao, he also agreed that it was worth broadening the meridians. He himself had used both the paste and the pill before, and it had saved his life in some situations.

Luo Xiao smiled sweetly and happily when he saw how Jiang Yao bought a lot of herbs for him, and the two of them moved to the room in the inn.

Here Jiang Yao had to be quite stern, ensuring that Luo Xiao ate some food before trying out the new cauldron and the many herbs they had purchased.

After the meal, Jiang Yao smiled indulgently while observing Luo Xiao, who was entirely focused on the herbs. He observed every single leaf down to every detail to make sure that it was a healthy herb, and that it was the right plant.

He sat down on the floor and placed the cauldron in front of him. He ignited a small spiritual flame underneath the cauldron, and he controlled it completely as it was created by his spiritual energy.

Overseer Zhu had always told him that it was important how powerful the flame was, as too much would burn the herb, but too little would not be able to retract the medicinal properties from the herbs.

Luo Xiao took a deep breath. He picked the first herb from the stack and slowly placed it in the cauldron.

Heating up the cauldron, he wrapped the herb in his spiritual energy and watched as it slowly started dripping drops of liquid. The herb was the Scorching Sunflower, and the liquid that came out was golden.

After two drops of liquid came out from the herb, the herb itself turned to ash, and Luo Xiao quickly waved his hand, causing the ash to vanish. He then took the Chilled Yin Rose, distilled it into one and a half drops of silvery liquid, before it also turned to ash.

Finally, he took the Yin and Yang Bellis, but because this herb contained two energies, it was much harder to control and distill into liquid.

The first attempt was a failure. The herb burst into flame after only a third of the first drop of liquid had been retracted.

Because it burst into flame, the other herbal liquids in the cauldron were also destroyed, and Luo Xiao had to start from scratch.

The second time, when he reached the Yin and Yang Bellis, a small explosion appeared in the cauldron, and it trembled slightly, but there was no damage to it.

Taking a deep breath of relief, Luo Xiao began again. He was fully focused on refining the herbs and had forgotten entirely about Jiang Yao, who was lying on the bed, observing every little movement of Luo Xiao.

Seeing him this focused, Jiang Yao was infatuated with Luo Xiao. Although Luo Xiao was always attractive in Jiang Yao's eyes, this was a new side to him, and his focused appearance was simply too beautiful.

After seven tries, Luo Xiao finally succeeded at solving the three herbs' refinement.

After refining them came the merging process. This was another hurdle that Luo Xiao had to cross in his attempt at refining the Essence Gathering Liquid.

Luo Xiao took a deep breath, his eyes were focused on the cauldron, and his entire being was tense.

Jiang Yao was observing his every move curiously, and he could not help but feel that Luo Xiao was indeed a genius. Although he did not know much about alchemy, he knew that one failed many times before success, but this was less than ten attempts, and he was already trying to merge the herbal liquids.