Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Right now, Qingcheng wanted to refine pills.
Half an hour later, she closed the two thick books in front of her and shut her eyes as she thought through all the information she had read.
The herb garden was covered with a large patch of colorful Spirit Herbs, and they gleamed in the light. The amount of Spirit Qi in this place was extremely dense, and the fragrance of the herbs in the air made her feel refreshed and comfortable. She started to sense all the herbs that she needed.
“Hmm? It’s over there.” She then flew over to that spot. She could do anything she wanted in this space, so she could even fly.
Marrow cleansing pills required herbs that were at least a century old. It needed bone supplement grease, creeping euphorbia, Du orchids, castor beans, cow stems, and ground marrow. Those who took a marrow cleansing pill for the first time would be able to rid the body of any impurities or poisons, strengthen the bones, clear the meridian channels, and change the entire constitution so that one would undergo a complete transformation from the inside.
After she returned to the Alchemy Room, she prepared the herbs according to the pill formula. Then she created a flame on her palm, flicked it towards the lower section of the pill furnace, and started using her energy to control it. In order to prevent any wastage of the herbs that made up a marrow cleansing pill, Qingcheng decided to practice by refining a low-grade pill first. Herbs for a blood clotting pill were Chinese ground orchid, creeping euphorbia, wax tree bark, and carpesium — none of these herbs needed to be aged.
She carefully used her energy to control the fire and proceeded with great caution throughout the process. The herbs were slowly getting refined as she used her energy on them and used the Spirit Qi fire to get rid of all impurities remaining. Once all the impurities of one herb were gone, she followed the sequential order in the formula and put in the next. She kept repeating this process until the last herb was properly refined, and she could start mixing everything together.
Her palms were sweating, and she was a little nervous. She had to split her energies into two since one part had to hold the essence of the herbs carefully, while the other had to control the flames well. After some time, the herb essences within the pill furnace came together properly. She followed the required hand movements recorded in the formula to finish the formation of the pill, got her fingers in place, and quickly sent it out towards the pill furnace.
She could hear the inside of the furnace go WOOOONG… WOOOOONG… After the noise sounded twice, the pills were ready!
She opened the lid of the furnace and saw that there were two round and gleaming pills inside. They were both bright red and gave off the faint fragrance of a pill.
She was beside herself with joy, and she picked them up to inspect them carefully. “Even though these pills are only mid-grade, at least I succeeded on my first try.” She happily grabbed a bottle and put the pills away.
After that, she continued to practice and became more familiar with the method as well as the control of the fire. When she started to feel mentally worn out and physically strained, she would just drink a mouthful of Sacred Spirit Spring water to energize herself again. She was practicing her alchemy like there was no tomorrow.
A day inside the interspace was equivalent to two hours in the normal world. Ten days had already passed in the interspace, and during these ten days, Qingcheng never rested and continued her pill refining.
The table behind her was already covered with bottles upon bottles of pills. She had everything from low-grade to high-grade blood clotting pills, mid-grade to high-grade restoration pills, and even high-grade foundation pills. There were so many pills, all ranging from high-grade to premium-grade.
On top of all these, there were a few special bottles that contained marrow cleansing pills. These were split into three bottles: Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, and High-Grade.
WOOOONG… WOOOONG…
“Phew! Finally finished the last batch.” She then went forward to take a look at the pill inside the furnace.
“Oh? It’s the color of a premium-grade pill. I’ve finally made a premium-grade one. My three failed attempts and several days of trying didn’t go to waste after all!” Qingcheng was overjoyed and was glad that she hadn’t disappointed herself.
“The pill formula says that marrow cleansing pills are considered Level Four pills. So, does that mean I’m considered a Master level Alchemist already? Not bad. This level of progress is acceptable.”
If other Alchemists found out that someone who had managed to succeed at refining pills her first time and was able to reach Master level in just ten days only considered her progress to be not bad, those Alchemists who spent thirty to fifty years becoming a Master Alchemist would definitely end up puking blood.
The interspace had an indication of how much time had passed. She noticed that it was about time to leave, so she packed up everything and walked out of the Alchemy Room.
She went to take a bath first and felt the changes in her body as she soaked in the water. Because she had been refining pills nonstop, controlling the Spirit Qi fire became more and more natural to her, and her stamina had increased without her realizing it. She was more adept at controlling her fire element, as well. Even though there was no direct change in her cultivation level, she could feel that her foundation had become a little more solid.
“Looks like refining pills can help with cultivation too, and it won’t destabilize my foundation, either. Refining equipment probably has the same effect, I suppose.”
Qingcheng had spent the last ten days refining pills without stopping, with high use of her energy. Now that she was comfortably soaking in the bathing pool, she ended up falling asleep without even realizing it.
……
“Hmm? Where am I?”
Qingcheng didn’t know how it happened, but she was now in a strange yet familiar place. It was strange because she had never been here before. It was familiar because this was a place that had appeared before in whatever remained of Feng Qingcheng’s memories, and Qingcheng was now inside these memories.
Feng Qingcheng’s father, Feng Xiaotian, was the second son of the Feng family and had descended from the official wife. He was incredibly gifted and had already reached the peak of Spirit Master Level Five at twenty-eight, and the clan had very high regard for him. Feng Qingcheng’s mother was Xia Qingyu, who had a mysterious identity, and was brought back to the Feng family after her father had gone on a trip to gather experience. Her mother was as beautiful as a fairy while her father was handsome and charismatic. They were an extremely loving couple.
Feng Qingcheng’s elder brother, Feng Yiran, was older than her by two years and doted on her more than anyone else in the world. Every time she got into trouble, he would help her unconditionally, and even their parents couldn’t do anything about it.
Feng Qingcheng spent her days living happily. Her exquisite and adorable features made her well-loved by everyone no matter where she went, and her life was free of any worries.
One day, someone came to visit the family. This was the first time she had seen a handsome looking man other than her father and brother. This man had a clean and fair face that displayed a warm smile.
Xia Qingyu looked tenderly at Feng Qingcheng and said to her, “Qingcheng, come over here. This gentleman over here is His Highness, the prince. After you reach fifteen and turn of age, you will marry the prince and become his wife. Then you will live with him, just like how I live with your father.”
In these memories, Feng Qingcheng remembered the wonderful feeling she felt when she first saw the prince. The sun was high in the sky as he took her little hands and said, “Qingcheng, my name is Dongfang Moqi. After you come of age, you’ll be my wife, so now you are my fiancée, and I am your fiancé. From now on, you don’t have to bow or greet me formally, as everyone else does. You can just call me Brother Prince.” A smile as warm as the sunshine appeared on his clean and flawless face. He had exquisite features, and his large and warm hand patted her head indulgently.
Feng Qingcheng was pure and innocent and had no idea what being a fiancée meant yet. But she knew that her mother and father were very close to one another, and after getting married, they had her brother, then they had her. Her heart was filled with a liking for the prince when she looked at him now, and it was a different feeling from the love she had for her own older brother. After that visit, every time she saw the prince, she would always call out to him, sweetly, “Brother Prince.” Her smiling eyes would curve into inverted crescent moons when she saw him.
That year, she was five, and he was thirteen.
One year later, her grandfather, the head of the Feng family, suddenly became mysteriously ill.
On that fateful day, Xia Qingyu carried Feng Qingcheng in her arms and looked like she couldn’t bear to leave her at all. “Qingcheng, your father and I have to go on a long journey to find herbs that can cure your grandfather, and we’ll be away for a period of time. You have to stay home and be good, alright? You and your brother must listen to your Uncle and Aunt, alright? When I get back, I’ll make delicious snacks for both of you.”