Chapter 84: A Golden Mountain Hidden in Ancient, Ruined Pills

After the demonstration, Pu Hanzhong looked at the half-bottle of essence in his hand with satisfaction. “This was just a basic ruined pill,” he said, “but it still yielded this much. Add some Qi-Circulating Grass, and we can make a packet of Qi-Circulating Powder. It’s a fine thing. A normal packet weighs about five qian and, when consumed, creates a small spiritual energy vortex in the Dantian that rapidly absorbs the surrounding Qi. For new disciples who can’t afford Qi-Circulating Pills, it’s the best supplement for improving one’s cultivation.”

He then picked up another ruined pill and continued his explanation. “Don’t be fooled by how easy I made that look. The internal structure of a ruined pill is like a complex maze, and the useful medicinal essence is hidden deep within. The higher the grade of the pill, the more complex the maze. What’s more, we have very little time to navigate it, because our Spiritual Sense is weak and easily depleted. That’s why we always start by practicing on the lowest-grade pills. Only when your skill in the art is high enough and your Spiritual Sense is strong enough can you attempt to extract from a higher-grade pill.”

He proceeded to teach Qin Haoxuan the detailed methods of the Art of Essence Extraction, including how to quickly achieve resonance with a pill and some of the experiential tricks he had learned over the years. When he finished, he sighed, a look of melancholy on his face. “My own aptitude is mediocre. I’ll never reach the Dao Fruit Realm. And while this art can train one’s Spiritual Sense, the progress is painfully slow. I’ve been practicing it for thirty years since I entered the sect, and I’ve only reached the second level. My Spiritual Sense is only a little stronger than a normal person’s. I’m afraid I won’t live to see anyone purify a high-grade pill with this art. However,” he added, a thoughtful look in his eyes, “in theory, there is one other way. It would require a person with an Uncolored Seed, who could achieve resonance, but who was also born with an incredibly powerful Spiritual Sense. Such a person would have enough mental energy to navigate the labyrinthine structures of a high-grade pill.”

He then shook his head, snapping out of his reverie. “But what am I saying? We don’t have any high-grade pills, and neither of us is a heaven-sent genius. Let’s just stick to practicing with the basic ones.” He handed a ruined pill to Qin Haoxuan. “Listening and watching isn’t enough. Here, you try.”

Qin Haoxuan took the pill and placed it in the furnace. He closed his eyes and drew upon a tiny fraction of the massive, mountain-like golden light of his Spiritual Sense. While others would have used as much of their power as they could muster, he had to be careful not to use too much, lest he shatter the pill with the sheer force of his mind. He carefully sent the wisp of Spiritual Sense into the ruined pill. Just as Pu had described, he found himself in a maze shrouded in a thick, white fog.

Following the instructions, he channeled a thread of his spiritual energy, imbued with the aura of his Uncolored Seed, into the pill. Instantly, the dense fog vanished. The pill in the furnace began to vibrate gently—a sign of resonance.

Pu Hanzhong stared, his jaw slack. It had taken him half a month to accomplish that first step. He quickly rationalized it; this junior brother of his was an exception to every rule.

With the fog gone, the pill’s internal maze lay open before Qin Haoxuan. For someone with a weak Spiritual Sense, this would be like being dropped in the middle of a labyrinth without a map. But Qin Haoxuan’s Spiritual Sense was so powerful that he wasn’t inside the maze at all; he was looking down upon it, taking in the entire structure from a bird’s-eye view. He followed Pu’s instructions for separating the essence from the dross and fumbled to place a jade bottle at the furnace’s spout.

Seeing him reach for the bottle, Pu smiled. “Don’t rush. You’re still lost in the maze, aren’t you? Once you find your way out, then you separate the essence…”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. A stream of milky-white essence flowed from the furnace’s spout, completely filling the bottle halfway.

Pu Hanzhong was speechless once again. He incredulously picked up the leftover dregs from the furnace and confirmed that not a single drop of essence remained. He looked at Qin Haoxuan, and the only word that came to his mind was, “Freak.”

Normally, a beginner who could extract even a tiny speck of essence within ten days would be hailed as a genius. Qin Haoxuan had extracted it all, perfectly, in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn. The word “genius” was woefully inadequate.

Qin Haoxuan, however, was unaware of his own monstrous feat. He silently critiqued his performance, thinking he had wasted too much time separating the essence. “A bit rusty,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I’ll be faster next time.” If any other disciple from the Nature Hall, who took a month or two to extract a mere drop, had heard that, they might have beaten him to death out of pure jealousy.

“To get a drop in ten days is genius,” Pu stammered, recovering from his shock. “You… you’re a monster.” He then gave him a serious warning. “You must remember this: under no circumstances are you to reveal how quickly you can do this. If any unscrupulous experts find out, they might kidnap you and force you to purify pills for them for the rest of your life.”

Having already been targeted by Master Guyun, Qin Haoxuan took the warning to heart. Pu left him with ten more pills to practice on, advising him not to overexert himself. For Qin Haoxuan, however, this was no exertion at all. He easily purified the remaining ten pills and, as the day was late, went to lie down and rest.

He awoke in the dead of night. Little Gold was fast asleep. With no one to disturb him, he took out the ruined pills he had found in the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley. These were clearly of a much higher grade. He tried to send his Spiritual Sense into one, but even after a long time, he was met with an impenetrable white fog. He couldn’t achieve resonance. He tried a slightly more damaged one and found that while he still couldn’t connect with it, the fog was a little thinner. An idea formed in his mind. He turned his attention to the most dilapidated pill of all, the one with a corner missing.

He sent his Spiritual Sense in and injected a wisp of his spiritual energy. The fog thinned slightly. Hopeful, he sent in another stream. Finally, after the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the pill from the valley accepted him, and the mist completely dispersed.

This was nothing like the low-grade pills where he could see the entire structure at a glance. This time, he was inside the maze, facing a dizzying array of countless, chaotic paths. He began to pour more and more of his Spiritual Sense into the pill. With every bit of power he invested, the internal pathways became clearer. After another incense stick’s worth of time, having committed nearly all of his immense Spiritual Sense, he finally saw the prize. Woven throughout the labyrinth were ten wide, river-like bands of rainbow-colored light.

This was the medicinal essence. There were ten channels of it. He marveled at the sight. The essence in the low-grade pills had looked like little ditches; this was on another scale entirely. As expected of a high-grade pill from the Immortal-Slaying Poison Valley.

(End of Chapter)