◇ 【053】 Alchemy recipes in ancient books
"Aunt, I'll go change my clothes first." Gu Juan stood up and said.
Lin Ronghua nodded, "Okay."
After changing his clothes, Gu Juan said goodbye to the Xi family.
Xi Lang drove him to the hotel.
On the way, Xi Lang asked, "What are you doing in the capital?"
Gu Juan said, "Didn't I tell you before that I would come to the capital after graduation? I just want to take this opportunity to take a look around and see what I can do in the future."
"If you need any help, just ask." Xi Lang didn't ask any more questions. Gu Juan was also a man, and men all had self-respect. It wouldn't be good for him to ask too many questions.
"Yeah." Gu Juan said, "Do you know what your parents, eldest brother, and eldest sister-in-law like? Oh, and your grandfather too. I have to prepare gifts for them when they come to pay New Year's greetings in the first month of the lunar year."
"They have everything they need. If you must bring gifts, just buy some wine, cereal, or something like that," Xi Lang said.
Gu Juan wasn't sure if he was joking, but he was amused anyway. "They put a lot of thought into the gifts they gave me. How could I possibly afford wine and cereal?"
Xi Lang said nonchalantly, "There's no need to compare."
"Don't you know what they like?" Gu Juan asked suspiciously.
Xi Lang had no choice but to say, "Grandpa has been cultivating himself these past few years and usually enjoys petting birds and gardening; Dad likes playing chess and drinking a little wine; Mom likes making snacks and shopping; Big Brother likes collecting calligraphy and paintings and drinking tea; I don't know what Big Sister-in-law likes."
Gu Juan roughly understood the situation. "Come to think of it, I saved you, and your family gave you gifts, but you didn't show any appreciation?"
Xi Lang rarely joked, "Didn't you sleep with me last night? You're the only one with that honor."
Gu Juan's heart skipped a beat and he gave him a sidelong glance.
"What do you want?" Xi Lang's voice was gentle.
Gu Juan couldn't think of anything for a moment, "I'll owe it to you for now. I'll tell you when I figure it out."
Xi Lang couldn't help but say, "Okay."
After returning to the hotel, Gu Juan packed his luggage and Xi Lang sent him to the airport.
"Let me know when you've investigated last night's incident," Gu Juan instructed. He wasn't familiar with the capital, so he didn't dare intervene rashly. He could only sit and wait for the results. This wasn't a good feeling. He realized he needed to accelerate the pace of cultivating his own strength.
Xi Lang nodded, "Don't worry."
Gu Juan pulled the suitcase and said, "I'm leaving now. You should hurry back too and drive carefully."
Xi Lang watched him walk away and couldn't help but call out to him, "Xiaojuan."
Gu Juan turned around in confusion.
Xi Lang walked over quickly, took off the scarf from his neck and tied it around him, "Call me when you get there."
The people saying goodbye to each other were a man and a woman, and they were the only two men, which attracted a lot of attention.
Gu Juan seemed unaware and smiled at him, "I know, old man. You're just too long-winded."
Xi Lang was helpless, "Okay, go ahead."
Gu Juan got off the plane and turned on his phone, immediately receiving a text message from Xi Lang. He had bought a new phone but didn't change his number.
Gu Juan called him and they chatted for a few words. Xi Lang said that he had called the person Xi Cong mentioned and the motorcycle would be delivered soon.
Not long after Gu Juan arrived home, the people from the motorcycle shop delivered the motorcycle. It was a black off-road motorcycle, powerful and handsome.
He sent another text message to Xi Cong to express his gratitude.
Snow was falling silently outside.
Gu Juan picked some vegetables from the space and prepared to make a hot pot.
Er Jianmei squatted beside him, bumping his legs with his head from time to time.
"Xiao Er, stop making trouble. I don't have time to accompany you now."
Erjianmei lay down lazily, wagging his tail boredly.
Gu Yinyin called, "Gu Juan! Where are you? Why is it that when I arrived at your house, a stranger answered the door and said that you sold your house to him a few months ago? What's going on?"
"I've moved." Gu Juan knew he couldn't hide the fact any longer. "I'll send you the address and the password to the downstairs door. Come over."
Gu Yinyin was obviously in a hurry and probably took a taxi directly. In less than twenty minutes, the doorbell rang.
Gu Juan poked his head out from the kitchen and said, "Waiter, go open the door."
Er Jianmei jumped onto the chair next to the door and opened it.
Gu Yinyin walked in and looked around in surprise.
"Do you really live here?"
"real."
"Is this... someone else's house or yours?"
"mine."
Gu Yinyin frowned and asked with a stern face, "What's going on? How did you get so much money to buy a house in this community? It must be at least 2 million, right? Don't tell me you won the lottery again. I don't believe it!"
Gu Juan waved to her, "Follow me."
After entering the room, he took out the appraisal certificate from the last time he sold the jade and handed it to Gu Yinyin, then turned on the computer and searched for the original jade shop.
"I stumbled upon this piece of jade while sorting through my parents' belongings the other day, so I sold it for four million. I wanted to start anew in a new environment, so I sold my old house and bought this one. This was no small matter, and I was afraid it would get me into trouble if it got out, so I didn't tell anyone. Don't mention it to anyone else in the future."
Gu Yinyin looked at the certificate and felt relieved. "So that's what happened. You were right not to tell anyone. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone either."
Gu Juan asked, "Have you eaten yet? I'm just about to cook hot pot."
"No. Let me help you wash the vegetables."
The two of them went to the kitchen to work together.
"I used the remaining money from buying the house to invest in the stock market and made a lot of money. You don't have to work anymore. I'll lend you some money first."
Gu Yinyin refused without a second thought, "No! What if I get used to it and you keep supporting me? It doesn't matter if I work hard now. Our counselor said that we can apply for student loans next semester. But don't worry, if I can't make it, I will definitely tell you. After all, you are rich now, hahaha..."
At this moment, Gu Yinyin realized that the brother she had always protected was truly beginning to transform into a man of integrity. She was extremely relieved. She also understood that although Gu Juan didn't talk much, he had his own ideas in mind, and she was completely relieved about him.
"How are grandma, uncle, and aunt?" Gu Juan asked. He had killed Gu Haojie, Gu Yinyin's biological brother, and facing Gu Yinyin, he felt a little guilty. But he didn't regret it.
The smile on Gu Yinyin's face faded, and she sighed, "What else can I do? My parents talk about Gu Haojie every day, hoping that he can come back for the New Year, even if it's just to come back secretly to see them. As for grandma... Grandma seems to want my dad to have another son recently. My mom quarrels with him every day..."
"Wait," Gu Juan raised an eyebrow. "If I understand correctly, you mean that grandma wants uncle to have another son with another woman?"
Gu Yinyin kept her head down, slicing lotus root, the chopping board making a clanging sound. "Yes. My mother is old and can't have any more children."
Gu Juan asked tentatively, "Have you ever considered that Gu Haojie might never show up again? He's a wanted criminal, and if he shows up, there's a chance he'll be caught."
Gu Yinyin nodded and smiled self-deprecatingly, "I know, it's almost the same as if I didn't have this brother, although having a brother before was the same as not having one. To be honest, Gu Haojie will never come back. In addition to feeling lost, I also feel a little happy. Maybe if he doesn't show up again, my parents will look at me more. Although I'm a daughter, I can still be filial to them and provide for them in their old age. But... haha, I'm really too naive."
There is no blood relationship between Gu Juan and Gu Xiangfu, and now he has no feelings for anyone in Gu Xiangfu's family except Gu Yinyin.
"Sister, if you want to leave that home, I will support you."
Gu Yinyin was stunned.
Gu Juan said nonchalantly, "Okay, let's take the dishes out."
After lunch, Gu Yinyin sat for a while and was about to leave.
"Wait." Gu Juan went into the room and took out a rather large paper handbag. "This is a down jacket I bought for you. There's a salesperson in that clothing store who has a similar body shape to you, so I asked her to try it on. Try it on and see if it fits."
Gu Yinyin was a little happy, "Thank you."
She immediately took off her old black down jacket and put on the one Gu Juan had bought her. It was a long, rose-red coat, and the bright color made her look even more beautiful. She zipped it up and looked in the mirror. It fit her perfectly.
"Not bad." Gu Juan nodded.
Gu Yinyin was also very satisfied and smiled sweetly, "I like it very much, thank you." Suddenly, she asked worriedly, "Isn't this a famous brand? I'm worried about my parents..."
Gu Juan sighed inwardly, "Just cut off the label when you get back. They won't notice."
"Yeah." Gu Yinyin smiled faintly, "I've decided to transfer my household registration to the school. I lied to my parents and said it would be easier to find a job in the capital in the future, and they didn't suspect anything."
Gu Juan pulled her into his arms and hugged her for a while, then patted her shoulder and said, "I'm your brother, you still have me to rely on. Let's go, I'll take you there."
After seeing Gu Yinyin off, Gu Juan brought Er Jianmei into the space.
Erjianmei ran to the grassland to have fun. A golden monkey jumped down from a tree, quickly scratched it, and ran away quickly. From time to time, it turned back and made faces at Erjianmei, "Squeak--"
"Woof woof!" Er Jianmei was furious and started chasing after him.
Gu Juan had seen this kind of scene so many times that he was not surprised. When he brought Er Jianmei into the space for the second time, this golden monkey suddenly appeared. For some reason, it became interested in Er Jianmei and jumped to it to tickle it. Er Jianmei was puzzled and fought back, biting the golden monkey's leg. Since then, the two have had a grudge, and every time they meet, they will fight. Gu Juan was not sure whether the golden monkey tickled Er Jianmei more often or Er Jianmei bit the golden monkey more often. At first, he was worried that the two would fight to the death. Once, he accidentally discovered that after a fight, the two would consciously go to the Lingquan Pool to soak, so he left them alone.
He came to the practice room, sat cross-legged on the jade bed, took out the book that Chi Yongming had given him, read it carefully, and was more and more surprised.
It surprisingly records a method for refining elixirs using open flames. Open flames refer to natural fires, such as those generated by firewood or matches. Ancient alchemists used this method to heat their furnaces.
According to the records left by the Immortal Emperor Tongde, using alchemy fire to refine elixirs is a common practice in the cultivation world. This is because alchemy fire is purer and possesses the Force. For cultivators, the Force is the same as the True Yuan Force. Therefore, elixirs refined with alchemy fire are more potent. No one has ever used open flames to refine elixirs. Therefore, there is no record of this in the jade slips.
The alchemy methods described in this ancient book all use open flames. While the potency is less and the process takes longer, the resulting pills resemble those of the mortal realm, making them less likely to arouse suspicion. This is exactly what Gu Juan needs right now. Firstly, he can practice some alchemy techniques; secondly, these pills are of higher quality than ordinary pills, making them a good choice for healing.
Gu Juan speculated that perhaps, long ago, there were many cultivators on Earth, so they had their own unique writing system and language to facilitate communication. However, the passage of time gradually led to their decline, and many cultivation resources were lost. Only this ancient book survived. Therefore, no one could recognize this writing system.
The space was filled with abundant spiritual energy, and since it didn't change seasons, there weren't any dead branches or anything like that. Gu Juan went to the countryside and spent a few hundred yuan to buy over two thousand kilograms of dry firewood, storing it in the space to experiment with using open flames to refine the elixir.
The elixir he was trying to refine was a beauty elixir.
A tall fire was set up beneath the alchemy furnace, its scorching flames licking furiously at the bottom. When the furnace began to glow faintly, Gu Juan cleared his mind of all distractions and placed three condensed fat fruits into the furnace. Once the fruits had melted into a jelly-like liquid, he quickly added snow sand grass, honey, angelica, and motherwort. Throughout this process, he constantly stirred the liquid with his true energy to accelerate its fusion… After about an hour, the liquid became increasingly viscous. Now, Gu Juan added the beauty flower and closed the furnace lid.
After two or three minutes, the petals of the beauty flower melted, their fragrance completely permeating the liquid. Gu Juan held a porcelain vase in his left hand and, with his right, executed the elixir-dividing technique. The lid of the furnace flew out smoothly, landing steadily on the square table beside him. Several pills flew out of the furnace like bullets. With a sweep of his left hand, he collected all the pills into the porcelain vase. A scan with his spiritual sense revealed a total of eighty-seven pills, round and plump like small brown pearls, their faces shimmering with a faint halo.
He nodded with satisfaction, "That's quite a lot, not bad."
If the Immortal Emperor Tongde were here, he would be astonished. Not only did Gu Juan's first attempt at refining a pill not cause the furnace to explode, but the pill even showed a halo. Calling him a genius wouldn't be an exaggeration!
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