Li Qiuchen had a considerable number of pill formulas in hand, including those he had originally obtained from the Jingyunzi, as well as the formulas from the Huyang and Langui sections of the Senluojing, with the Langui section containing the greatest number by far.
The reason he hadn't rushed to refine pills was twofold. First, his dicine Master's Blessing was at a high level. Second, the Spirit-Gathering Pills worked too well.
If you were already holding a fully loaded AK with a fifty-round drum magazine, you wouldn't be thinking about a pocket pistol either.
But now Li Qiuchen had decided to recalibrate how he presented himself, and to let a certain aspect of his abilities show in a asured way.
Pill refining, specifically.
dicine Master followers commonly moved through the world in the guise of wandering Taoist practitioners, occasionally selling pills to treat illness and save lives, using this to raise funds or conceal their true intentions.
On one hand, those who carried the dicine Master's Blessing had a genuine facility for discerning the properties of dicinal ingredients, allowing them to produce and supply their own stock, and even to test dicines on themselves.
On the other hand, even without any real dical knowledge, the dicine Master's Blessing could be used to improvise convincingly enough. Ordinary people had no way to tell the difference.
So of the formulas Li Qiuchen held produced pills for advancing cultivation and strengthening the body's foundation. They would be of little use to him personally, but among his inner hall classmates they should find a ready market.
Another portion were poisons and antidotes. He might never use them, but it was sensible to refine a small supply and keep it on hand in case of unexpected need.
As for the last portion, the formulas recorded in the Langui section were really sothing he preferred not to look at too closely.
None of them were particularly wholeso things.
Better not to ntion them.
In his earlier ti gathering herbs in the mountains, Li Qiuchen had been hampered by his limited knowledge, only able to recognize common varieties, and had been standing in a treasure house without realizing it.
Many of the primary ingredients called for in pill formulas were virtually indistinguishable from weeds when they hadn't yet reached the right age and condition. Only after drawing in sufficient spiritual energy from heaven and earth under the right circumstances did they beco true spirit plants.
This ti he had co prepared. He had purchased a materia dica from a bookshop and paid to learn a great deal more on the subject from the proprietors and staff of a pharmacy, greatly expanding his knowledge.
"Over the next few days I plan to go deeper into the mountains to gather herbs. Would you rather co with
or stay here for now?"
"Isn't this already being in the mountains?"
Hu Caiyi looked out at the endless green hills in every direction, with almost no sign of human presence apart from the small house in front of her.
"Not at all. Experienced mountain gatherers will spend two or three months at a stretch in the hills. We've barely started."
Li Qiuchen tried to reason with her gently. "I won't go too far and I'll be back quickly. You and Xiaoxue could expand things here a little while I'm gone."
The biggest advantage of the spot he had chosen was how safe it was.
He had already covered every stretch of ground within a radius of several dozen li. Apart from wild boar there was nothing dangerous.
"I'm not staying!"
Hu Caiyi refused without a mont's thought.
She wasn't as easy to manage as Tang Xiaoxue, who could be given a hole in the ground and spend the entire day happily digging.
Without Li Qiuchen present, the young miss of the Hu family felt thoroughly insecure.
"There are no paths in the deeper hills. If you co with , you may not be able to keep up."
"Do you actually think I'm so helpless young lady who can't manage anything physical?"
Hu Caiyi was not pleased.
Li Qiuchen thought to himself, no, certainly not, he'd seen how she handled a chicken.
To give credit where it was due, Hu Caiyi's stamina was nothing to dismiss. It was likely above that of most inner hall disciples her age. She was half demon, after all. Timid she might be, but physical strength was never the issue.
"Then co along, but let's agree beforehand. If you can't keep up, you co back and wait for
without argunt."
"I'm telling you, don't underestimate !"
Hu Caiyi hitched her skirt up and tucked it at her waist, drew a deep breath, and with a soft pop, two fuzzy ears appeared on top of her head and a tail erged behind her.
This was her half-demon form.
"Xuexue, shall we make it a race?"
"Hm?"
Tang Xiaoxue's lips curved slightly. "Race to see who's fastest?"
"Exactly! I'll have you know, back in the day when I used to catch rabbits..."
Before Hu Caiyi had finished the sentence, she watched with wide eyes as Tang Xiaoxue launched herself straight up from where she stood and landed a full seven zhang away.
"You, you... aren't you afraid of twisting an ankle?"
"What are you muttering about."
Tang Xiaoxue shook her head and said to Li Qiuchen, "Let's go."
Li Qiuchen raised his bamboo staff and tapped the ground lightly ahead. The grass and shrubs on the ground parted in an instant, opening a path.
He didn't actually need it himself.
It was entirely for Hu Caiyi's benefit.
At his current cultivation level combined with the explosive force of the Withered Wood Technique, he could cover a hundred li of mountain terrain in a single hour.
If not for the need to accommodate the two young misses' experience, there would have been no need to walk at this pace at all.
He had the mountains within a radius of several dozen li morized thoroughly. This ti his plan was to follow a river northward, into territory he had never entered before.
There was also a small and unspoken reason behind the choice.
The secrets he carried hadn't been hidden from the two young misses on this trip. Both the dicine Master's Blessing and his secluded hiding place had been shown to them openly.
This ca from confidence in his own strength, and also from the need to build mutual trust.
Girls were sotis prone to emotional responses, and it was better to prepare the ground in advance than to have sothing beco a sudden shock at an inconvenient mont.
As for whether either of them would tell anyone else, they had no one else to tell.
There was one secret Li Qiuchen had not shared with them, which was the truth of his origins.
That one carried genuine danger.
The old peach tree had died, but not entirely. Li Qiuchen had co out this ti partly to see whether he could find any surviving roots the tree might have left behind.
After a full year, surely sothing would have taken root and sprouted by now.
A tily harvest would be useful.
Of course, if nothing turned up it was no great matter. Whatever ca, ca.
The main purpose was the dicinal herbs and spirit plants in the deeper mountains.
Li Qiuchen's strength now far surpassed what it had been before. His spiritual sense swept outward and every plant with a notably vigorous life force within a radius of a hundred zhang appeared clearly before his perception.
Like switching on an infrared sensor, his gathering efficiency had improved enormously.
All along the route, countless flowers, fruits, roots, and branches were swept up and collected.
Only when the sun had slid toward the west and the light was beginning to fade did Li Qiuchen finally stop.
Before him stretched a vast mountain valley running for over a hundred li, its depths veiled in mist. A single glance told you it was the kind of place where wind and fortune converged.
Whether there was anything dangerous inside was another matter. Out of caution, Li Qiuchen chose not to press forward.
He found a clean sheltered corner away from the wind and set up for cooking.
After quite so ti, uneven footsteps approached from behind.
Hu Caiyi's small dress was in a deplorable state. She dropped straight to the ground, stretched out both hands with an aggrieved expression, and showed them off. What had once been snow-white and smooth was now covered in green tree sap and black mud.
"Why did you have to walk so fast? I've nearly worn through my shoes!"
"I told you before that you might not be able to keep up with my pace."
Li Qiuchen took out a damp cloth, took both of Hu Caiyi's hands, and wiped them clean. "How did you get this dirty? Did you fall?"
"She showed her true form and ran after you on all fours."
Tang Xiaoxue ca walking in after her, her small face flushed pink and a faint sheen of sweat on her brow.
"I did not!"
"Did you heat the bathwater yet?"
"One pot. I'll boil water after we eat."
Since the young miss of the Hu household had been less than satisfied with the previous evening's arrangent of bathing before eating, today they would reverse the order.
"I did. Not. Show. My. True. Form."
"Yes, yes, of course you didn't."
Li Qiuchen patted Hu Caiyi's palms. "Tomorrow we'll take a look around that valley, then head back the way we ca."
"That soon? Didn't you say two or three days?"
That was entirely because of you two...
There was another reason as well, which was that the yield had been considerably higher than expected.
Herbs of the ordinary variety were common enough. What was less common were herbs of mature age.
And Li Qiuchen gathered without regard for age, taking the entire range from young to old, and his storage bracelet had filled up quickly.
He had packed rather too many daily necessities, most of which had barely been touched during the trip.
This evening he ought to weave a few herb baskets.
After a simple dinner, both exhausted young misses skipped any further ntion of wanting to wash and went directly to sleep.
Li Qiuchen was equally content with the quiet. He gathered so pine branches and willow strips, trimd and wove them into baskets, set them aside, and settled into seated cultivation.
Taking Spirit-Gathering Pills required a buffer period between doses. He would take one more on the way out of the mountains, and that would be enough to push his cultivation to the great completion of the Qi Refining realm.
He wasn't planning to take the remaining pills imdiately.
The Withered Wood Technique did contain written records of how to advance from the Qi Refining realm to the Foundation Establishnt realm, but this was ancient thod from thousands of years ago.
When he'd had no other options, that path was the only one available to him.
But now it was unnecessary.
Once the new term started, he could go to Senior Brother Yang and obtain a revised Foundation Establishnt cultivation thod from the Hongwen Hall through him.
The canteen was serving braised pork. Nobody still ate instant noodles when that was an option.
In the dead of night, Li Qiuchen sat with his eyes closed in cultivation and then abruptly opened them.
From sowhere in the distance, a rank and fetid sll drifted toward him. Sothing appeared to be closing in rapidly through the darkness.
Without any visible change of expression, Li Qiuchen pinched a pebble between his fingers and flicked it against Tang Xiaoxue's arm.
Tang Xiaoxue opened her eyes instantly, eting his gaze.
Li Qiuchen gave a small wave of his hand, signaling her to stay still and keep pretending to be asleep.
Shortly afterward, a massive shape erged slowly from the darkness of the deep forest, moving with a slightly heavy tread.
Its gaze swept over Li Qiuchen, who sat with his eyes closed in apparent ditation, then settled on the two girls sleeping behind the fire.
The great shape suddenly accelerated, barreling through the air carrying a gust of foul wind, diving straight at Hu Caiyi.
A bite ca down.
Crack!
A howl of agony rang out.
The shriek jolted Hu Caiyi awake. She opened her eyes to find an enormous bear rearing up on its hind legs directly in front of her, thrashing its massive head from side to side in frantic distress.
Its mouth was packed full of earth-elent beads. Every fang had been shattered against them. The beads were lodged in its throat, impossible to swallow and impossible to spit out, leaving the creature struggling helplessly.
Li Qiuchen rose to his feet and said in a cold voice, "Fellow cultivator, why have you attacked us without provocation?"
A massive bear paw swung at him by way of answer.
No reasoning, no speech. This was nothing more than a low-grade demon beast.
[NEXT CHAPTER]
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