Age 4224.
Before him stood a tiny little bean, older than the entire dynasty of Da Yu.
And… alchemy?
Transforming into a human using the Seven Orifices Dragon-Tiger Pill?
As Li Mo thought about it, he suspected that all things had a spirit, and within the seed of the world, there lay a talking hammer.
It didn’t seem so hard to understand that alchemy could transform a human after all.
However, he had plenty of priceless pills that were far less miraculous.
“The sect says I have inherent flaws. They aren’t wrong, are they?”
Tang Xiaobao stroked his little chin:
“Even my master says I’m a bit lacking.”
“Lacking in what?”
“Lacking in heart and brain.”
“…”
Li Mo felt that Elder Xue might not be referring to physical flaws.
The two picked up some books and, coincidentally, both were headed to Danding Peak, so they teamed up.
“By the way, Li Shidi, you’ve reached the Jade Liquid Realm now?”
Halfway there, Tang Xiaobao asked.
“Yep.”
Li Mo nodded.
“Shidi, you’re just too perverse.”
Tang Xiaobao said earnestly.
“…Thanks for the compliment?”
Li Mo took it as a compliment, of course.
Tang Xiaobao sighed, looking troubled: “At this rate, the next time I see you and Ying Bing, I’ll have to call you Shixiong and Shijie.”
In Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, martial prowess reigned supreme; most sects ranked their disciples by strength, and Qingyuan Sect was no exception.
So he used to be the big Shixiong at Danding Peak.
Now he was just the little Shidi.
“Don’t worry, Xiaobao Shixiong, you’ll always be my Shixiong.”
Li Mo thought back to Tang Xiaobao’s astonishing age and solemnly promised.
“It’s no wonder everyone in the sect says Li Shidi has the demeanor of an ancient gentleman. You’re quite impressive,” Tang Xiaobao said with a smile, then pumped his fist: “I’ll strive to enter the Xuan Dan Realm before you!”
“By the way, Li Shidi, are you coming to watch me practice later? The master will be there too.”
“Sure.”
He was originally going to seek Elder Xue, and since he was a bit curious about Tang Xiaobao’s practice, Li Mo agreed without much thought.
Before long, they reached Danding Peak.
Among the cluster of peaks, this one had the most lush vegetation, and a peculiar fragrance wafted through the air.
Li Mo took a few deep breaths; it actually smelled quite nice.
Upon reaching the summit, they found it was the living quarters of the true disciples and Elder Xue Jing.
The setup was quite simple — a small courtyard with a giant Dragon-Tiger alchemical furnace in the center, just like the one Li Mo had seen back at the medical clinic.
At that moment, flames danced beneath the furnace, emitting intense heat.
Xue Jing was working on alchemy with a male and female true disciple, all three focused intently on the furnace, each fulfilling their role.
The male disciple was responsible for adding new materials, the female disciple was cleaning up the residue, while Xue Jing was fully intent on controlling the flames to extract and refine the herbs.
Since it wasn’t the time to interrupt, Li Mo and Tang Xiaobao quietly stood to the side to watch.
“Add the Huang Yuan Fruit.”
Xue Jing said, and the male disciple immediately retrieved a thumb-sized crystal-clear fruit.
Aside from enhancing the heat with black evil wood oil, Li Mo didn’t recognize any of the other materials.
Fortunately, Tang Xiaobao was there to explain.
“The Huang Yuan Fruit has mild medicinal properties. Once infused with other herbs, it makes their potency more active.”
“Next, Master should add the Li Chen Flower.”
“And what is that?”
Li Mo didn’t particularly aspire to be an alchemist, but he was curious about the refining process. He had read so much about it in novels, yet seeing it in person was a first.
“The Li Chen Flower is used to enhance the medicinal power.”
“Oh, I see.”
When Li Mo saw Xue Jing take out a jade spatula to stir the materials in the furnace, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
He couldn’t quite place what was odd about it.
At that moment, Xue Jing suddenly said seriously:
“Bring the Bao Dan True Liquid.”
The male disciple’s expression shifted to one of seriousness as he carefully took out a basin filled with a light golden liquid.
Just by looking, it was clear this was a very precious material, radiating rich energy.
“Bao Dan True Liquid?”
Hearing the name, Li Mo felt it must be something impressive.
“Yeah, it’s my bath water.”
Tang Xiaobao whispered.
Li Mo: “…..”
There was really no need to go into such detail.
“Turn up the heat!”
After pouring the so-called Bao Dan True Liquid into the furnace, Xue Jing added the black evil wood oil.
Finally, Li Mo recognized the feeling he’d had earlier.
With a gentle reminder: “You can switch between simplified and traditional characters, adjust font size, and change background color at the top right corner of the page.”
“Isn’t this just stir-frying food?”
“I thought we were witnessing a high-end refining process here?”
Little Ke facepalmed.
“Eh, the difference isn’t huge!” Tang Xiaobao blinked.
Ke Mo: “….. Seems like that’s not entirely wrong.”
Cooking emphasizes ingredients, while alchemy emphasizes materials; the order of operations is crucial in both processes.
And both have extremely high demands for controlling the heat.
The only difference is that alchemy is potentially more dangerous.
If a dish isn’t prepared properly, it gets burned, but in alchemy, a misstep could lead to an explosion due to a clash of medicinal powers.
At that moment, the thrilling and dangerous alchemical part came to an end.
“This batch of Green Snake bl**d Spirit Pill seems to have succeeded.”
Xue Jing let out a sigh of relief.
He had known Li Mo was coming, and turned to smile:
“This pill is beneficial for refining the body; it’s a shame that Fu Tu paid a high price for it, so I can’t give you two pills.”
“Thanks for your concern, Elder Xue.”
The meeting between the old and the young was quite harmonious.
Elder Xue had always had a good impression of this disciple.
“You know, I don’t even know what to say to you.”
Xue Jing looked at Li Mo, who had changed dramatically from the past, and couldn’t help laughing:
“How did you manage to sneak into the trial of the Endless Void and even come out with the top spot?”
“Well, it was just a matter of chance,” Li Mo said with modesty, cupping his hands: “My inner breath is quite unique; it just happened to erase the aura from the Hall of Swallows.”
“Let’s have tea.”
Xue Jing gestured for him to sit.
Li Mo naturally sat on a nearby rosewood chair, brewing two cups of tea casually by following what he learned from Ying Bing.
“You’re doing quite well.”
Xue Jing took a sip of tea:
“Leave the Hall of Swallows to you; in the future, if there are any movements from Misty Rain Tower or Ziyang Mansion, we can be the first to know.”
“However, their Hall of Swallows has a unique production method; how can your inner breath erase the aura?”
If Hall of Swallows were that easy to crack, Misty Rain Tower wouldn’t be feared across Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Let alone ambushing kings and emperors.
“You can tell just by looking.”
Li Mo flicked his fingers lightly, and a strand of deep red inner breath shot out, landing on the residue from the earlier alchemy.
Crackle—
Like a small flame quietly burning, it seemed eternal.
The residue that had been untouched by the high temperatures of the furnace slowly began to vanish under the heat.
Xue Jing’s eyes narrowed, a strong light flashing in his pupils.
After a long time, he sighed deeply:
“I’m confused…”
“I should have accepted you as my disciple back then.”
This flame, if used for alchemy, would lead to an unimaginable future.
“Why would Elder Xue say that?”
Li Mo smiled wryly.
He had heard old men say this many times.
“I can purify materials to at most ninety-nine percent.”
“If you practice, you might just get to a hundred percent.”
“Simply born to be a material for alchemy.”
Xue Jing sighed emotionally.
If Elder Han He saw this, he would definitely say Li Mo was born to forge.
After all, forging also requires attention to the heat.
Little Ke also had that hammer that could forge profound weapons…
“Master, Master.”
“Now that you’ve finished the alchemy, it’s my turn.”
Tang Xiaobao climbed into the furnace, his voice echoing from within.
Li Mo fell into a moment of silence.
If alchemy was like cooking…
Then this was like simmering oneself in a metal pot… cough, just a random thought.
“Hmm?”
Xue Jing paused for a moment, glancing at Li Mo.
“On the way here, Xiaobao Shixiong told me everything,” Li Mo said.
Xue Jing nodded, not saying more.
He had intentionally let Li Mo observe the alchemy, dismissing the other two true disciples but keeping him around.
“Whoosh—”
He pointed at Tang Xiaobao’s forehead from a distance.
Instantly, a fragrance that stirred the depths of the soul wafted out.
Li Mo pondered for a second.
It seemed that earlier, Elder Xue had used some special means to seal Tang Xiaobao’s aura and power, making him appear just like an ordinary child.
Then, Xue Jing’s expression turned serious; his beard and hair all seemed to stand on end, elevating him to an even more otherworldly presence.
An invisible field spread out.
The dragon and tiger encircling the furnace appeared to come alive.
With mouths agape, they began to breathe forth fierce flames.
