The quantity and variety of medicinal herbs delivered by the two families far exceeded Qin Mu's expectations. Even Han Chen, who was usually not one to smile, had a constant look of joy on his face.
The Qin family sent the most varieties and the largest quantities of medicinal herbs, but the Huang family sent more precious ones.
"The roads to Shu are difficult, so some medicinal herbs unique to Shu are hard to find in Guanzhong, especially these few herbs, which are only found in Nanzhao," Han Chen continued to explain.
"The materials for the Five Elements Pill, Body Tempering Pill, and Qi and Blood Pill are all ready!" Qin Mu was equally delighted.
"The materials for the Yin-Yang Pill are all ready. I can start two batches," Han Chen said, nodding repeatedly as he held the medicinal herbs.
"What kind of pill is the Yin-Yang Pill?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"Do you know that Taoism distinguishes between internal alchemy and external alchemy?" Han Chen asked, putting down the medicinal herbs.
This question was known in another world, but not in this one. Therefore, Qin Mu shook his head slightly, looked at Han Chen, and listened to his explanation.
"Taoism has a lineage of internal alchemy, which uses the dantian (energy center) as the energy center and the body as the furnace. It absorbs external energy, nourishes internal energy, harmonizes yin and yang, and unblocks the meridians. It is divided into three realms: 'refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit to return to emptiness.' The root of internal alchemy lies in the transformation of yin and yang and the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements. This yin-yang elixir is a medicinal pill that harmonizes the yin and yang of the human body. Even those who do not specialize in internal alchemy can take it," Han Chen explained.
This is remarkably similar to the Five Elements Elixir of the Guigu School! Qin Mu thought to himself. Both aim to balance the body's attributes, and both supplement the internal from the external. According to Guiguzi's records, an imbalance of the Five Elements will also lead to an imbalance of Yin and Yang, and an imbalance of Yin and Yang will make it difficult to harmonize with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
In short, those who lack an balance of Yin and Yang cannot become top masters.
Qin Mu speculated that people with incomplete Five Elements and imbalanced Yin and Yang might experience drawbacks in the early stages of cultivation.
"Alright! We'll start refining pills tomorrow!" Qin Mu said with a smile.
Alchemy is different from forging. Forging can be done in the courtyard without being disturbed, but alchemy cannot. It requires complete concentration to monitor the heat and the changes in the medicinal materials. So the next day, Qin Mu had the medicinal materials moved to the Six Doors.
After selecting a large room in the backyard of the Six Doors and arranging for guards, Qin Mu and Han Chen announced that they would be in seclusion and that no one was allowed to disturb them.
The two of them each brought an assistant. Han Chen first taught them how to control the heat according to orders before he and Qin Mu began to sort the medicinal herbs.
After the medicinal herbs were inventoried, the alchemy furnace was lit, and Qin Mu and Han Chen sat cross-legged to the side, closing their eyes to rest.
The alchemy furnace was a gift from Han Chen. It was 1.5 meters tall and nearly 1 meter in diameter, and its surface was covered with dense patterns. When the flames burned, the patterns seemed to come alive, with faint light occasionally drifting through them.
Another difference between alchemy and medicine decoction is the amount of medicinal materials required. Basic medicinal materials are put in bundle by bundle, like firewood.
Living a life of luxury, Qin Mu experienced this phrase firsthand once again. He even placed a fist-sized piece of top-grade jade into the alchemy furnace.
Within his consciousness, the medicinal herbs inside the alchemy furnace melted into a medicinal liquid, swirling within the furnace.
Qin Mu took two steps forward, took a deep breath, clapped his hands, and spiritual energy surged from his dantian, flowing into the alchemy furnace through his hands.
The spiritual energy and medicinal herbs merged and then began to rotate, with the vortex continuously absorbing the spiritual energy.
At first, Qin Mu was very surprised by this feeling. Different objects can absorb different kinds of spiritual energy. Generally speaking, the higher the grade of the material, the more spiritual energy it absorbs. Herbs are very strange. When they are alive in the ground, they can slowly absorb a little spiritual energy. But once they are harvested, they stop absorbing spiritual energy and instead slowly dissipate their own spiritual energy.
However, when the medicinal herbs are placed in the alchemy furnace, it is different. The herbs inside the furnace absorb spiritual energy just like a monster that has been starving for a long time, constantly absorbing spiritual energy.
Absorption and compression! This is the essence of alchemy! The medicinal properties of herbs and the control of heat are all controlled by the alchemist's experience.
When he had infused spiritual energy enough, Qin Mu stopped, closed his eyes to recover his spiritual energy, and then added some medicinal herbs. Once the herbs had turned into liquid, he let them fuse together again.
The hand seals for alchemy are also the most special thing, and they are also the core of the pill formula. With the help of the hand seals, the alchemy furnace absorbs the spiritual energy needed by the medicinal materials. Other spiritual energy will be absorbed by the alchemy furnace itself as a supplement to the alchemy furnace formation.
Alchemy is not boring, but it requires complete concentration. The recovery of spiritual energy is not a problem, since there is enough time in between. However, the recovery of mental energy is not so good, because the recovery of mental energy is much slower to begin with. The key is that you can't sleep or clear your mind while refining pills, which makes the recovery of mental energy even slower.
This is also the difficulty of alchemy. Fortunately, Qin Mu has strong mental strength. Although he felt tired, it was still within acceptable limits.
Han Chen spent a whole day preparing a batch of pills, finishing just as the sun was setting. He then stopped and quietly looked at Qin Mu.
He had seen Qin Mu refine pills before, but this was the first time he had witnessed Qin Mu refine a high-level pill formula, especially the amount of medicinal herbs Qin Mu had prepared, which astonished him. The sheer quantity was almost exaggerated.
It's not that you can't refine too many pills at once, but rather that the more you refine, the more spiritual energy you need. If the spiritual energy can't keep up with the recovery, then that batch of pills is likely to be ruined, or at least the medicinal properties will be much weaker.
The medicinal liquid inside the alchemy furnace was churning, which Han Chen could see clearly. However, since it was already more than halfway done, there was no way to stop it, so he could only watch quietly.
The night passed amidst the raging flames. As Qin Mu made his final hand seal, ceasing the flow of spiritual energy, the alchemy furnace emitted a buzzing sound, as if it were about to take off.
"It's done!" Qin Mu exclaimed excitedly, the weariness in his eyes gone.
The aroma of the herbs faded in the room. Han Chen knew this was because the pills had taken shape and their medicinal properties were becoming more concentrated. Looking at the excited Qin Mu, a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes—admiration for Qin Mu's strength. To refine pills for a whole day and night, and to produce such a large batch of pills at that, was something even he would find difficult to accomplish. Of course, he himself had never tried refining such a large batch of pills in one go.
With a slight shake of his head and a smile, Han Chen walked over understandingly. Anyone who accomplishes something extremely difficult will feel a great sense of accomplishment, a feeling he had experienced before.
"Congratulations!"
"Haha! Brother Han has finished too! Congratulations to you!" Qin Mu laughed happily.
"We've finished one batch. We'll rest for two days before starting the second batch," Han Chen replied.
Qin Mu gently pressed his slightly dizzy head, nodded understandingly, and then began to collect the pills.
Upon opening the alchemy furnace, a surge of heat rose, revealing the furnace densely packed with pills the size of an index finger.
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