Alchemist In A Cultivation Realm

Chapter 5: Texts and Jade slates

Yuan once again thanked whatever god was listening for that video he’d watched on a memorisation trick. It had saved his hide more than once when he’d had to remember all the unholy reagent names and chemical formulas for multiple step chemical reactions, and it continued to give even here as he read the alchemy textbooks.

Rote memorisation was not something he enjoyed. It was dull and tedious and it led to no new information outside of simple memory storage, which could easily be taken care of by computers. Here though, memory had a much higher value. The easiest way of storing information was texts, and these Jade slates. The slates were far too valuable to be used for anything but cultivation techniques and such, so most of the information was kept in the books which took time, thus increasing the worth of memorisation.

Going through Yuan’s memory, he couldn’t find if printing technology was a thing here or not, but from the amount of books and their standardised text fonts he saw, they seemed to have some method of mass producing books.

He quickly returned his attention to the old man as he began to speak, trying to keep his excitement in check about learning magic. His heart still trembled with joy despite his best attempts and he had to fight to keep the smile off his face.

“Do you know why we use the cauldron to refine, Yuan?” the old man asked and he considered the question for a moment.

“Because its shape allows for even distribution of heat? And because it can hold a lot of things in it?”

The old man nodded. “Those are reasons too, but size matters little. More proficient Alchemists often use small cauldrons that are much larger on the inside. There is a greater reason as to why we use cauldrons and it lies in its ability to hone Qi,” the old man said, as he swept his hand out, his long sleeve billowing as Qi flowed around the chamber.

Old man went all edgy mode, he thought.

“There are three things that define one’s talent in Alchemy. One’s sensitivity to Qi, the ability to manipulate Qi finely, and finally, luck.” He paused at the old man’s words.

“A lot of luck is needed to get the right ingredients for a pill at times. Luck is also needed when refining the pill. The difference between a good alchemist and a poor one is how often they fail. Even the most experienced of alchemists will have a chance of failing, and only the heavens can tell when they will favour you.”

He frowned. He wanted to deny the old man’s words, but even back home, experiments could often fail based on luck and no one could do anything about that. Yet, he felt that an awful lot of this was also simply due to the vague instructions in these elixirs and pills, alongside the mystical approach of the heavens’ favour, which may be why luck was such a factor in failure or success.

If these pills worked similar to any chemical reaction, but just magic, then there should be conditions with optimal chances of success and optimal chances of yield. Narrowing down those factors would be all that was needed. At least in theory. In principle, he could be completely wrong and things did actually work on spiritual magic bullshit. Who could say. This was a cultivation world after all.

“Since luck is out of our hands, we focus on the remaining two things,” the old man continued, walking around the area as he picked up a few herbs from a nearby shelf. “Qi sensitivity and Qi control are both heaven gifted blessings as well. There are pills and elixirs that can help improve one’s innate abilities a touch, but they are rare and are not always effective either.”

“Then is it all about being blessed then? To be a good alchemist, you need to be blessed?” he asked, and paused at the melancholic expression that passed over the old man’s face.

“It is not all about being blessed, Yuan. The heavens turn a kind eye to those who work hard. Qi sensitivity and Qi control can both be trained to a certain extent. And it is with these two things that the cauldron helps with. The cauldron is a tool to not only carry your herbs but also your Qi. A good cauldron allows for your Qi to pass smoothly without any interruptions, and it guides the essence inwards. A poor cauldron can contain impurities and deformities, disrupting the flow of Qi.”

The old man put the herbs in the cauldron, the fire beneath it growing larger. “Pay attention to my Qi, Yuan. You’ll try this next,” the old man said, as his Qi began to billow. He sat in surprise at the amount. He never really knew which circle or realm the old man was, did he?

Qi swirled within the cauldron as the herbs began to break down, releasing their essence. He felt multiple swirling patterns all combining within the cauldron as the essences were guided towards one another. The smell of herbs rose from the cauldron as smoke began to escape and he watched with bated breath as the delicate movement of the Qi started to merge the essence together. In a swift motion, the fire blazed as all the Qi within the cauldron condensed to one spot. He felt the old man’s Qi pulsing one last time before a singular pill formed within the cauldron.

“This is a simple Qi refilling pill. It will nourish you when your Qi is running low, though consuming too much can cause your Qi to overstrain and damage your Dantian,” the old man said, showing the pill to him.

“Now you try, Yuan,” he said, and he nodded happily, walking over to the cauldron.

He picked up the herbs, sensing the Qi present inside them. Taking the needed amount, he put the herbs in the cauldron and then tried to send a pulse of his Qi.

A few moments passed in silence as he stood in front of the quiet cauldron.

“Is something wrong, Yuan?” the old man asked and he turned around, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“How do you light the fire again?” he asked with an embarrassed smile, trying not to shrink under the quiet sigh of the old man.

The path of selling drugs seemed to be a long one.