Chương 11: He Doesn’t Understand Anything About Men and Women

The next technique in the manual was ' Forming'. According to the text, it was the most important and difficult part of pill refining.

"The essence of this technique is the constant control of timing, the proper selection of catalysts, and a deep knowledge of the spirit plants you use... Um, is that all?" An was puzzled. He read the instructions again, trying to grasp the true difficulty "So I just need to memorize plant characteristics and repeat the process? Memorize the timings?" He furrowed his brows in frustration.

"What nonsense. Where are the Qi flows? Where is the part about reading them? Why is there no mention of this in any of the techniques?" An re-read all three techniques, but none mentioned Qi flows or obtaining information from them.

"Alright. The Mixing technique might not need Qi reading, and you can get by without it in Regulation. But in Forming? Is it really true that to master this, you just need to memorize facts and timings?" He stood up, dusted himself off, and gathered his materials for a fresh experiment. Sitting comfortably, An started from the beginning. When he reached Regulation, he raised the temperature to ninety-nine degrees Celsius. He froze for a moment ' What now?' was his first thought.

The book described existing recipes, meaning a disciple was expected to follow the instructions exactly to concoct a refined pill. But An's experiments were pure improvisation. He decided to push further. As he slowly raised the heat, he noticed that at 124 degrees, the Qi flows began to erupt from the liquid chaotically. Drawing in the flows, An realized they were incomplete. When they tried to merge back into the state they were in after Mixing, they repelled one another.

An had an idea, using his own Qi, he began to forcefully connect those erratic, chaotic particles into a single flow. He was now multitasking: regulating the flame, stirring the liquid, and containing the rebellious Qi flows all at once. The strain caused a searing headache.

"My Qi is running out, and the mental load is too high... I can't hold on like this for long." He cut off every energy flow except the one containing the chaos in the bowl. After a few minutes, the energy finally calmed. An used his remaining strength to squeeze the essence as tightly as he could.

"Phew..." He exhaled and collapsed onto the ground.

"If every batch gives me a headache like this, it's going to be a problem." He closed his eyes, trying to recover. After resting, An sat up and looked inside the bowl. He saw a thick, green puree that smelled disgusting. The Qi flows emanating from the substance confused him. The calming effect was much stronger than before, but the sleep-inducing property had vanished. Instead, residual poisons had appeared.'

The poison must be from the improper process, insufficient temperature regulation and that sudden, forceful compression.' He began poking the puree with his finger. It felt like soft plastic. Realizing it wouldn't harm his skin, An scooped some up and rolled it into a ball about four centimeters wide.

"Hah! This is a pill, right?" An began to laugh sinisterly. His very first experiment had worked, well, almost. A pill existed, even if it was toxic. He took off his rag of a shirt, tore it into pieces, and wrapped the pill before tucking it into his spatial pouch.

"Now for the Calming technique. The last one." An picked up the book again.

"The Calming technique is the proper conclusion to pill-forming. It involves a gradual temperature reduction to prevent the formation of poisons. You must apply Qi force to shape the form while following the recipe strictly." He read it several times to ensure he hadn't missed a single detail.' So my mistakes during forming were the uneven application of force and the lack of a uniform cooling process.' He finally understood why his first attempt had turned into a poisonous puree.

After eating several Kavana fruits and gathering his materials, An began again. When the temperature hit 124 degrees, he was ready. He immediately began catching and connecting the chaotic Qi flows. Spotting an energy flow that felt "wrong" compared to the others, An realized this was the source of the poison. He cast the toxic flow aside and continued gathering the healthy particles.

As the chaotic energy subsided and the final particle merged into the mass, An used his Qi to gradually lower the heat while slowly and carefully compressing the energy into a perfect sphere. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.' Qi is the beginning and the end. Everything is made of Qi.' He watched the process intently, determined not to let a single mistake slip through.

Finally extinguishing the flame beneath the bowl, An collapsed onto the grass, exhausted and nursing a splitting headache.

"My head is throbbing again... This path will be the death of me!" He panted, rubbing his temples in a desperate attempt to soothe the pain. As he waited for his energy to recover, An noticed that darkness had fully set in. Looking up, he saw a sky thick with stars, far more than he had ever seen back on Earth. Then, a sight caught his eye that truly took his breath away. High above, there wasn't just one moon, but three.

Interestingly, they all bore a striking resemblance to the moons of his home galaxy, the ones he had seen in space encyclopedias as a child.' I wonder where this world is? And in which direction is Earth… if it still exists out there?' He wondered, still unsure how much time had actually passed between his death and the takeover of this new body.

"Oh! Right, the pill!" Remembering his alchemy, An crawled back to the bowl and peered inside. Immediately, his eyes lit up. Resting at the bottom was a nearly perfect little sphere. Taking the pill in his hand, he read the information from the Qi flows; the result was clear, the pill was completely harmless and free of toxins.

"The calming effect is incredibly potent, many times stronger than the results from Regulation alone," An noted, sensing the intense energy emanating from the sphere. He wrapped it in a piece of cloth and marked it with a bit of charcoal to distinguish it from his previous, poisonous attempt. Realizing his supply of Kavana fruits was nearly gone, An decided it was time to replenish them. But before leaving, he looked down and realized he was still shirtless.

He jumped into the lake for a quick wash, dried himself with his old tattered pants, and tossed them near the stove. He pulled out his new sect robes. The set included thin cloth pants, light as paper but remarkably strong, and sandals with closed toes. The shirt was made of a soft material with long sleeves and a formal neckline, and the outer robe was a floor-length garment with wide sleeves and a tie on the right side. He tucked the heavy outer robe back into his pouch and put on the rest.

Taking the pouch in his hands, he stopped and immediately took one of the robe ties, attached the pouch to it, and secured it around his waist. Looking at himself in the reflection, he realized the clothes were too big for him. He still looked much younger and smaller than his peers due to malnutrition and his past hard life. An set off toward the Outer Square to replenish his supply of Kavana fruits.

Walking along the path for about twenty minutes, An had almost reached the Outer Square when he suddenly heard loud voices. From the tempo and timbre of the voices, it was clear they were arguing. He looked around and saw, to the right of the path, deep in the forest, a group of disciples. Three male disciples had surrounded a girl, while a fourth stood apart, shouting at her. The girl stood her ground, hand on hip, firing back with equal volume. An climbed onto a nearby boulder to watch the drama unfold.

"Junior Sister Ea! I gave you fifty spirit stones, as you asked, so you could buy pills and break through to the third layer!" the fourth cultivator shouted, his voice trembling with frustration.

"Senior Brother Tuk! I never asked you for anything," Junior Sister Ea snorted, lifting her chin high.

"You just happened to be nearby when I mentioned I needed stones. It was entirely your initiative to give them to me!"

"Nearby? You promised to become Dao partners with whoever gave you those stones! Those were your words!" Brother Tuk was practically spitting with rage as he realized he had been played.

"So what if I said that? That conversation was with my friend. It was private! Not for outsiders' ears!" Sister Ea countered, unyielding.' Wow, my first cultivation drama,' An thought, propping his chin on his hand.

"People really are the same everywhere. I wonder when the third party shows up? The knight in shining armor to save the princess... Hehe~""Hehe~ hehe~" his chuckle accidentally echoed out toward the group. Senior Brother Tuk froze and turned toward the noise ' A disciple? First layer... Looks like a newcomer.' Before Tuk could speak, Junior Sister Ea beat him to it.

"Little junior brother! You heard everything, didn't you? Judge us as a neutral party! Who is in the right, this man, or your Senior Sister Ea?" She cast a wide-eyed, soulful gaze at An, her plush, dark eyes filled with mock hope. It had to be said, Senior Sister Ea was stunning, with the figure of a model and dark curly hair. Senior Brother Tuk was no less handsome, a lean, muscular blonde with greenish tips on his hair and sharp, sword-like eyebrows.

Ea pressed her arms against her chest and leaned back, staring expectantly at An.' Damn... I need to stop talking to myself. This is nothing but trouble,' An sighed heavily.

"Eh, looks like I'm the knight today?"

"What was that, little junior?" Ea asked, frowning slightly.

"Um, what I mean is, I'm just a new disciple. I'm only ten! I don't understand anything about men and women!" An shouted, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence, trying to play the part of a simpleton.

"I was just walking by... Sorry, I'll be going!" He jumped off the stone and turned to leave.

"Wait! Junior brother, what's your…" Tuk began, but one of his companions cut him off, pointing at An's neck.

"Senior Brother Tuk, look at the brand. He's a slave!" The moment the word 'slave' was uttered, Brother Tuk's face changed, and all interest vanished. Sister Ea's gaze turned cold and indifferent as well. An didn't wait around. He quickly walked down the path, fuming at their audacity but also feeling a familiar, biting sting of pity for how easily people judged that brand.' Thanks to you, brand, I avoided a massive headache,' he thought bitterly, heading toward the fruit trees.