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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈

Chapter 30: An Alchemy Mishap

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At a cool, shaded spot right beside his dwelling, mid-grade spirit plant fruits had been spread at proper intervals over a roughly assembled branch rack. A few piles of pungent crushed herbs had also been placed nearby to keep insects away.

Rather amusingly, Muyong was lurking around where she could see the fruits. There was no way such a glutton would simply pass by them.

If he had not firmly warned her through the Spirit Beast Training Formula, she would certainly have stolen at least one.

'Not a chance.'

Cute was cute, and spiritual medicine was spiritual medicine. Han Yujin needed to grow stronger for Muyong to receive the full benefits of the Spirit Beast Training Formula, so there was no reason to give her any.

Still, he felt a little sorry simply chasing her away. Only after placating her with one or two drops of spirit liquid wine did he closely examine the fruits.

'Thank you so much, Ms. Won Baengnyeong.'

As he began seriously practicing alchemy, brewing spirit wine and drying these fruits, he had come to realize many things. Above all, he felt deeply grateful to Won Baengnyeong, whom he could consider his teacher.

The more he thought about it, the more practical those alchemy lectures had been. It was only that even the foundation required to use those practical techniques was rather difficult.

He suspected Won Baengnyeong had carefully organized her practical expertise specifically for those useful lectures. Since she had spoken as if, once she began teaching, she wanted to earn recognition from as many people as possible, it was quite a plausible guess.

The fact that properly drying fruits for pill refinement slightly reduced their medicinal potency while greatly increasing the success rate was one such piece of expertise.

And learning how to use the Earth Manipulation Art to make a temporary stone cauldron for pill refinement when he lacked a proper alchemy furnace was also extremely useful to Han Yujin right now.

'It doesn't need any more drying, does it?'

That conclusion came to him naturally as he inspected the fruits. At the same time, he unconsciously took several more relevant spirit plants from his Storage Pouch.

Most were herbs, though there were also a few flowers and mushrooms. They were materials he had judged, after several tests, would create a synergistic effect with the fruits. Even if their effects acted independently, he judged that they would at least not cause a failure.

'Let's try it today.'

Other than brewing spirit wine, this would be his long-awaited first real attempt at pill refinement. To recover his condition, he sat somewhere suitable and began circulating the Returning to the Origin Art.

Once he had settled into place, the useless little thing sunning herself nearby came scampering over. Then, as if it were naturally her proper place, Muyong sat on Han Yujin's lap.

She was not merely expressing affection for her owner. Since they were linked through the Spirit Beast Training Formula, staying close while Han Yujin cultivated allowed her to receive some benefits as well.

As proof, her formerly ordinary yellowish-brown fur was turning a soft golden shade much faster than before. At the same time, the white portions were becoming whiter, making her appear increasingly spiritual.

Perhaps someday, people would say she truly looked like an immortal's spirit beast.

In any case.

After circulating the Returning to the Origin Art for several hours and fully recovering his condition.

Han Yujin brought over the temporary stone cauldron he had prepared in advance and arranged all the spirit plants nearby in order. Naturally, the fruits, his main ingredient, were among them.

Using the Fire Control Art, he created flames beneath the stone cauldron and heated it appropriately.

By using Spirit Vision Art in a particular way, he could roughly determine the temperature without tools. This too was a technique he had learned from the Alchemy Primer, so he could consider it another kindness from Won Baengnyeong.

Once it reached the right temperature, he opened the stopper of the Spirit-Liquid Flask and poured in some of its contents.

As the scent of boiling alcohol spread through the air, Muyong, who was nearby, caused a commotion.

"Hey!"

After sternly chasing away the distracting little creature, Han Yujin continued to the next step. He used the Object Manipulation Art to thoroughly crush a small quantity of a long, unremarkable-looking spirit plant and added it to the cauldron.

After repeating similar steps two or three more times, the gently simmering contents turned a vivid green and became slightly thick.

'Now!'

He crushed one fruit and added it to the stone cauldron. Immediately, a rich and enticing scent, different from the previous ones, rose up as the contents turned red. It was the color of concentrated fruit.

After that, he added other ingredients at regular intervals, in suitable amounts and at the proper times. At times, he raised spiritual energy around his fingers, formed dharma patterns, and added them as well.

Fsssh...!

Whenever an ingredient and a dharma pattern were added, motes of light and waves of spiritual energy burst forth, causing strange reactions. At the same time, the Object Manipulation Art stirred the contents evenly.

The swirling mixture gradually became more viscous, separating into three clumps along the subtle curve of the stone cauldron. Delighted that everything was proceeding exactly according to his calculations, Han Yujin concentrated even harder.

At some point, as he continued refining the pills and occasionally added dharma patterns.

He suddenly thought the contents looked as red and vibrant as real human blood. He had not expected such a deep red color, but it could be proof that the medicinal potency was being properly amplified.

Then, at that very moment.

Drip... Drip...

Some unfamiliar scarlet liquid was falling in scattered drops inside and outside the stone cauldron. Startled by the sudden contamination and the bloody smell he caught in that instant, Han Yujin raised his head.

His gaze met that thing hanging by its neck from a branch diagonally above him.

Its eyes were entirely black, without even the slightest trace of white. Not only its eyes, but its whole body was dyed in jet-black darkness and rippled strangely. Yet the color of the blood beginning to drip from it was painfully vivid.

The surroundings rapidly darkened as though an eclipse had descended, and a thick smell of blood seemed to spread through the air.

Its disheveled hair grew at a terrifying speed, blending into the surrounding darkness. Soon, the area filled with the shhhh, shhhh friction of hair brushing against everything like waves in a nightmare.

'Wonhui...?'

He was so startled that he could not even scream. For a moment, he wondered whether his heart had stopped.

Squeak!

Muyong's cry from behind him brought him to his senses as though he had awakened from a dream.

The surroundings were perfectly normal.

The scattered drops of blood. The thing hanging by its neck from a branch diagonally ahead. The eclipse-like darkness. The suffocatingly thick smell of blood. The waves of hair closing in around him with their scraping sound.

None of it was there.

Only an ordinary vine hung naturally from the branch diagonally ahead.

"Fuck... what the hell was that?"

He cursed, an instinctive reaction to resist the fear. Then he immediately realized.

'A hallucination?'

He looked down at the contents of the stone cauldron. The stirring had stopped briefly, and they looked as though they would burn at any moment.

His heart, which he had thought had stopped, was now pounding madly. Yet even then, Han Yujin first cast a spell, thinking he could not ruin the pill refinement.

He formed and dropped a couple of dharma patterns needed for such situations, rapidly stirred the contents with the Object Manipulation Art, and swiftly released the heat. As he desperately salvaged the mixture, he repeatedly looked around him.

The hallucination had been far too vivid for him not to.

At the same time, his thoughts raced.

'Did any of the spirit plants I used cause hallucinations?'

The most suspicious thing was the fruit, the primary ingredient in this refinement. After all, if it could enhance the five senses, that also meant it affected them somehow.

'And...'

Perhaps that had overlapped with the cultivation side effect he needed to watch out for before reaching the Dharma Soul Stage. The side effect where one might suffer all sorts of hallucinations and go mad as the Dharma Soul sublimation rate increased.

Squeak! Squeeeak!

Feeling her owner's anxiety through the Spirit Beast Training Formula, Muyong had pressed herself against his leg and was warily watching all directions.

Ridiculously enough, the little creature's warmth was remarkably comforting. Without her, it would have taken him longer even to awaken from the hallucination. He might have completely ruined his first pill refinement.

'I can't take the Dharma Soul sublimation side effects lightly.'

He had been so shocked that he had not even thought to circulate the Clear Mind Formula. As his Dharma Soul sublimation rate rose, he might experience these kinds of hallucinations more frequently and vividly.

Ironically, one way of overcoming such hallucinations was to temper the body further and improve the five senses. That was precisely the effect of the spiritual pills he was making now.

'...Could I consider this a kind of vaccination?'

The minimum requirement for reaching the Dharma Soul Stage was to sublimate at least 40 percent of one's soul into a Dharma Soul. Only then could one produce dharma power.

Naturally, the higher the sublimation rate, the better. Not only would he be much stronger at the Dharma Soul Stage, but it would also be far more advantageous for advancing to the Core Formation Stage afterward.

Ascending to the Dharma Soul Stage with only 40 percent sublimated was practically the same as giving up on further growth.

'That's why I intended to sublimate all of it, but...'

It seemed he would need more thorough preparation than he had expected. At the same time, he felt the need to master the Clear Mind Art until he could use it as naturally as breathing.

It was fortunate in many ways that he had learned this beforehand. Had he only realized it after his condition worsened, he might have wasted a great deal of time.

Calming his shaken heart, he continued refining pills.

* * *

Han Yujin successfully refined every fruit without failing even once.

He could say he had been somewhat lucky during the first attempt, when he experienced the hallucination. The second and third attempts had been slightly dangerous, but he somehow recovered using the tricks he had learned from the Cheonwonseong alchemy lectures. By the remaining attempts, he seemed to have become accustomed to it, and everything went very smoothly.

He did not consume the completed spiritual pills right away, instead allowing them to mature for about fifteen days. It would have been unnecessary with a proper alchemy furnace, but because he had used a temporary stone cauldron, it was an additional step to stabilize their medicinal potency.

In the meantime, the spirit wine had also matured properly and was now fit to drink.

Normally, fruit wine only needed to mature for a few months, except in cases such as grape wine. Moreover, he could shorten the time further by occasionally adding dharma patterns while the Bloodwood Spirit-Fruit Spirit Liquor matured.

Its aroma would deepen the longer it was stored, but there would be little difference in its effect.

As he focused on pill refinement and cultivation, he added another task to his routine. He began patrolling farther out in search of spiritual materials that could counter hallucinations.

It would be ideal if he could find something like the fruits, which would provide a fundamental solution by tempering the body and enhancing the five senses. But such mid-grade spirit plants would not be easy to find, so he was looking for ingredients that could at least have a temporary effect.

Fortunately, his efforts bore fruit, and he found several. The easiest to gather among them was an unnamed aquatic plant in the lake that held such unpleasant memories.

Thus, he began seriously practicing the Water Escape Art. Not immediately, but in the near future, he would need a large quantity of those aquatic plants.

'I need to be able to maneuver and fight those lizard bastards underwater too.'

Even aside from those aquatic plants, the lake itself was a treasure trove of resources for faster cultivation in the future. Brewing Bloodwood Spirit-Fruit Spirit Liquor with the powerful aquatic creatures living there would make it much more effective.

With such thoughts in mind, Han Yujin was once again diligently practicing today in a pond beside his hideout, large enough to swim around in fairly freely.

His body swam rapidly through the water. A softly gleaming blue light wrapped around him, aiding his movements from every direction.

It did not merely help him move. It even made breathing unnecessary, so as long as he had sufficient spiritual energy, he could endure for a long time without anything like gills.

A little later.

He burst forcefully from the water like a flying fish and landed steadily on the ground. Though he had been swimming underwater only moments ago, he was completely dry.

The Water Escape Art naturally included the effect of the Water-Avoidance Art. Since the Water-Avoidance Art was easy enough to be considered a basic spell, cultivators rarely ended up looking like drowned rats.

Muyong, who had been swimming in the pond with him, emerged later and shook her whole body, scattering water droplets everywhere.

"You're awfully carefree."

Although he had clearly enjoyed himself during the practice, Han Yujin unnecessarily scolded the useless little thing and used the Water-Avoidance Art to remove the moisture from her fur.

After coming out, he made and ate a snack from a fish rich in spiritual energy that he had caught while he was at it.

Then he recovered his condition with the Returning to the Origin Art and sat comfortably inside his dwelling.

Before him lay eighteen fruit spiritual pills that had completed their maturation, gleaming with a brilliant red light.

'One per week should do it.'

That would give him a total of eighteen weeks, roughly four months, of cultivation.

'By then, I should be strong enough to slice those lizard bastards into sashimi underwater.'

Thinking that, he picked up one spiritual pill.

Then, without hesitation, he put it in his mouth.

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