1oo4o Urban New Farmers Chapter 88: Shocking News of Alchemy?

After saying this, the little captive reluctantly took out a small bottle from a cowhide sachet at his waist and carefully poured out a pill the size of a peanut.

Everyone was stunned. A pill?

Isn't it just powder being applied? Are there still scams out there these days? Do you really think this is some kind of magic elixir?

Li Ningguang dared not use it casually anymore. There might be mountain doctors in the mountains, but they weren't licensed. Who would you go to if you died from it? So he laughed and said, "Thank you for the medicine, sir!"

He then carefully took it, but didn't use it immediately. Clearly, he wouldn't use it at this moment. This little trick couldn't fool anyone, so the old man simply nodded slightly and then...

Back.

Zhang Guodong felt that Li Ningguang was someone who could read people's minds and understand their true intentions. He held Li Ningguang in utter contempt. This medicine had been wasted!

The round pill, about the size of a peanut, emanated a rich aura of spiritual energy!

Zhang Guodong could tell at a glance that it was made from precious medicinal herbs, but he didn't understand why it was a pill. However, one thing was certain: medicinal herbs have their integrity; once damaged, they must be consumed within a short period of time, otherwise their spiritual energy would gradually dissipate.

But why can't the spiritual energy of this elixir dissipate?

Is it newly made?

As soon as the grandfather and grandson left, Wang Zhen asked, "Boss, what about this medicine?"

“Now that it’s confirmed to be the venom of the Arctic serpent, and we’ve brought antivenom and the corresponding snake medicine, the venom in the boss’s body shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, we don’t even know if this medicine is genuine or not, so it’s best if the boss doesn’t use it. In case something goes wrong,” Du Wenqiang said.

Li Ningguang nodded as well.

As everyone sat down, Li Ningguang casually tossed something out, which landed several meters away on the ground.

"You're wasting good stuff? You don't want it, but I do. Damn it!" Zhang Guodong originally wanted to follow the grandfather and grandson, but he turned around, picked up the pills, and put them in his pocket.

"Someone actually treats the trash the boss throws away as a treasure, haha!" Du Wenqiang said sarcastically when everyone saw this.

"Alright, prepare the firewood and get ready for dinner!" Li Ningguang frowned, though he was also puzzled, but it was too late to cause any trouble at this point.

"Wenqiang, go deal with the wild rabbits and pheasants, Liu's helpers!" Wang Zhen immediately assigned the task.

Du Wenqiang and Liu Dewang carried purified water, wild rabbits, and pheasants to the side to clean them up. Wang Zhen piled up the firewood he had collected and lit it with dry grass. The firewood quickly caught fire.

The two piles of firelight that had been stored in the clear water area immediately became warm.

At this moment, Zhang Guodong was worried about Lao Qing and the others, but with the addition of the bear couple, Lao Qing's team should be safe from any danger, right?

"Grandpa, that fatso threw away the Snake Spirit Pill you gave me!" Bu Hu said angrily. "I'm going to go beat them up!"

"Never mind," the old man said calmly, glancing at Li Ningguang without offering any further explanation. He was momentarily stunned to see Zhang Guodong pick up the medicine, carefully putting it into his pocket before returning to their side.

Then things returned to normal.

Zhang Guodong came over and apologized to the two of them first: "Old folks, I'm so sorry to the people outside the mountain. They always suspected that someone would harm them and didn't appreciate our kindness, so they lost this precious elixir! I apologize to you!"

Then he respectfully handed over the pill, thinking to himself, "They wouldn't really take it back, would they?"

He was only going through the motions of returning the pills; otherwise, to turn around and discard someone's kind intentions would be utterly disheartening.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong immediately smiled and accepted it without hesitation: "Hehe, old man, don't be so polite, this is really good medicine. It must be made with a lot of precious medicinal materials, right? I'm reluctant to spend it!"

"Haha, it seems the young man has a remarkable knowledge of medicinal herbs. I've named this pill the Snake Spirit Pill. It's made with eighteen rare medicinal herbs. I know about snake venom serum and snake medicine from outside the mountains. However, the Snake Spirit Pill is made entirely of traditional Chinese medicine and will not have any side effects," the old man said.

Traditional Chinese medicine is not described as "prepared" but rather as "refined." Zhang Guodong didn't immediately notice the difference.

He's just an opportunist who knows very little about traditional Chinese medicine and pharmacology. He only spent some time learning to identify and recognize dozens of medicinal herbs.

But he still had many questions he wanted to ask.

"Old man, I can sense that the medicinal materials used in this pill are quite precious, but I can't quite put my finger on it," Zhang Guodong said with a dry laugh.

Knowing that medicinal herbs are valuable but not being able to explain why is that a ridiculous statement? Isn't that a contradiction?

But the old man asked in surprise, "How do you know whether the medicinal herbs are precious or not?"

But in his heart, he wondered if there were truly people with an innate ability to discern the properties of medicines, possessing intuition? The rarity of a medicine certainly varies. However, some people are exceptionally sensitive to medicinal herbs.

Such people, if they specialize in identifying medicinal herbs, will achieve great success.

But Zhang Guodong is unlikely to give a clear answer to this matter. It's just my intuition!

Zhang Guodong pointed to one of the medicine baskets and said, "There are two rather precious medicinal herbs in there. If they aren't from previous years, then they are inherently valuable! May I pick them out, sir?"

"Yes!" the old man said with a smile after taking a look.

He wanted to see Zhang Guodong's extraordinary ability. People who are naturally sensitive to the properties of medicine are very rare.

Zhang Guodong felt ashamed, but he went straight to one of the medicine baskets and began rummaging through it. Soon he found two small, less than ten-centimeter-long herbs with branches and leaves! Looking at them, Zhang Guodong was stunned. He didn't recognize the name; they looked like ordinary grass, but their roots were translucent and quite peculiar.

But this gave the old man quite a shock.

He named these two medicinal herbs "Snake Spirit Grass," as they are the main ingredients for preparing Snake Spirit Pills, and they are extremely difficult to find in these mountains. Today, he was lucky enough to find two of them at the entrance of a snake cave.

Zhang Guodong actually found them very quickly!

After looking at Zhang Guodong with surprise, the old man said admiringly, "Indeed, these two medicinal herbs are very precious. They are called Snake Spirit Grass and are the main ingredient for refining Snake Spirit Pill. Young man, you are indeed amazing!"

Xiao Hu, standing to the side, said somewhat incredulously, "Grandpa was just lucky to run into him, right?"

"Hehe, nonsense. How can you talk about luck in the dark? Some people are born with a sensitivity to medicinal herbs. Young man, are you one of those people?" the old man said with a smile.

Zhang Guodong hurriedly asked, "I don't know either, but could you tell me about this Snake Spirit Grass, and the Snake Spirit Pill? Hehe, I'm a little curious."

Holding the snake spirit grass covered in soil in his hand, Zhang Guodong didn't want to let go. It was a pity it belonged to someone else. But could he exchange it for one?

That's what he was planning.

What medicinal herbs could be traded in Peach Blossom Spring?

The medicinal herbs in Peach Blossom Spring are no longer ordinary. The spiritual energy they contain is ten times higher than that of similar herbs outside, making ordinary herbs precious.

What kind of black fungus is this? Or a three-year-old ginseng? Can the other party tell that this medicinal material is unusual? If they can't, they might not exchange it. Let's take a look first.

"Snake Spirit Grass is very hard to find, even in the deep mountains. Sometimes you might not see one for ten days or half a month. Like these two before me, they are evergreen, semi-transparent or completely transparent, with narrow, elongated green stems and usually four or five leaves. Moreover, they grow near snake dens, meaning there must be venomous snakes nearby, so you have to be very careful when harvesting this herb," ​​the old man said. "Furthermore, Snake Spirit Grass is extremely precious. Most Snake Spirit Grass takes three to five years to mature, with four or five leaves. During those three to five years, the same Snake Spirit Grass is usually nourished by the venom of different kinds of venomous snakes, making it almost a nemesis of snake venom. When applied to a wound, it can completely neutralize most snake venoms. If you encounter a particularly stubborn snake venom, you'll have to refine a Snake Spirit Pill."

Zhang Guodong's eyes lit up, but this time he heard the word "refining"?

"Refine?"

"Of course, alchemy is my grandfather's specialty!" Little Tiger said proudly.

"It's alright for you to know," the old man said, raising an eyebrow before releasing Zhang Guodong. "Alchemy and medicine preparation are a bit different. Alchemy involves fusing medicinal herbs in a furnace, but it has much higher requirements. Ordinary herbs can't be refined. They'll all turn to ash once they're in the furnace!"

Zhang Guodong was somewhat dumbfounded.

Why does this sound like the legendary alchemy from Chinese folklore? Alchemy made using a cauldron? Isn't this just a trick by charlatans? Or is it some kind of Chinese alchemy?

Medicinal herbs are plants; they turn to ash when the temperature is too high, unlike metals which can be liquefied. And why can't most medicinal herbs be refined?

Common medicinal materials?

A thought suddenly occurred to me: Could it be related to the amount of spiritual energy contained within? It seems quite possible!

Zhang Guodong said, "Ordinary medicinal herbs can't be refined. Could it be that precious medicinal herbs can?"

"Hmm. Young man, you have a good understanding. A small amount of precious medicinal herbs will melt more easily in the medicine furnace when nourished by a large amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth." The old man looked at Zhang Guodong with surprise.

Another melting? A small amount?

Clearly, that medicine furnace is extraordinary! Or perhaps some major auxiliary agent needs to be added?! Zhang Guodong thought to himself. But at the same time, there are requirements for the precious medicinal materials used in medicine refining; can't ordinary precious materials be used?

That's the implication!

"Then can you refine other pills? Besides the Serpent Spirit Pill?" Zhang Guodong asked happily.

He intuitively felt that what the old man said was true.

Alchemy is unheard of!

"No!" the old man shook his head regretfully. "Alchemy isn't just about the precise requirements of ingredient preparation. Although it can increase the efficacy of a medicine by five, six, or even ten times, the refining process is extremely difficult. Currently, I can only refine the Snake Spirit Pill, and I only succeed three or four times out of ten." Zhang Guodong asked in surprise. The old man continued, "Firstly, the precious medicinal herbs suitable for alchemy are rare. It's difficult to collect them all. Secondly, different pills require different heat levels, and the timing of adding the herbs must be precise. This requires hundreds or even thousands of practice sessions. Besides, there's a high chance of failure. Even if you master the herbs and heat, it's all up to fate."

Zhang Guodong had a sudden thought: perhaps the old man hadn't fully grasped the art of alchemy either? Was it passed down through generations? Or did he figure it out on his own?

If it requires thousands of repetitions, it's normal for the medicinal herbs to not be able to withstand it.

This alchemy technique has become something that's not exactly useless, but rather useless!

But this unheard-of thing held immense appeal for Zhang Guodong. He desperately wanted to obtain this alchemy technique, even if it was utterly useless!

Second update! Desperately asking for monthly votes! I'm so annoyed that I got taken advantage of, so please support me with your monthly votes! Wishing everyone a prosperous Year of the Tiger on the first day of the New Year!

There will be two updates tomorrow, one at 10 AM.