After dealing with the three unlucky fellows, Mo Tiange found a place to rest.
It was indeed the period of the Immortal Platform Meet. The streets were packed with people. She tried several inns, but they were all full. With no other choice, she had to spend a bit more money to rent a small hut from the Tiandao Sect.
Afterwards, she went to a shop belonging to the Tiandao Sect—a medicinal hall called the Hundred Herbs Hall.
With the Immortal Platform Meet approaching, the medicinal hall was crowded with people buying various pills. Only one corner was unattended, where an old man in the servant disciple attire of the Danxia Sect, at the second level of Qi Refining, was dozing off.
Mo Tiange looked over and saw that this corner was responsible for buying and selling spirit herbs. She walked over and tapped on the counter.
The old man watching the counter opened his eyes, glanced at her, and said lazily, "Buying or selling?"
His attitude was truly indifferent. Recalling the past, before she had even entered the Yunwu Sect and her cultivation was still ordinary, the clerks at the Yunwu Sect's shops had treated her politely. Yet here was the Tiandao Sect, the number one sect in Kunwu, with a servant disciple acting so arrogantly.
However, she couldn't be bothered to argue about such things. She simply said, "I want to buy some spirit herbs for alchemy."
"Oh?" The old man swept a glance over her, probably thinking she was an alchemist, and asked, "Types? Quantities?"
Mo Tiange said, "What are the prices for materials needed for beginner-level pills?"
"Oh..." This sound was different from before, drawn out. A glint flashed in the old man's eyes as he sized her up and said, "Fellow Daoist is just starting to learn alchemy, right?"
Mo Tiange nodded. Those who couldn't refine pills were everywhere, and those who wanted to learn were not few. There was nothing to hide about this.
The old man then said, "I have a few common pill formulas here. Would Fellow Daoist like them?"
Mo Tiange had originally planned to buy the herbs and then get a few formulas. Since the other party offered, she went along with it. "If Fellow Daoist has them, I am willing to buy."
Hearing this, the old man changed his indifferent attitude and smiled. "Of course I have them. I have Qi-Nourishing Pills, Spirit-Replenishing Pills, Spirit-Cleansing Pills, Ice Clarity Pills, and so on. If Fellow Daoist wants them, I'll give you a discount. Three Spirit Stones per formula, how about that?"
These types of pills were the most common in the cultivation world. Their formulas were everywhere and not rare, hence the low price. However, this "low price" was relative to other formulas that cost hundreds of Spirit Stones. Three Spirit Stones was not a small amount for ordinary sect disciples. Monthly sect allowances were around five Spirit Stones. Even if one worked hard to earn money, it was probably only a dozen or so, not to mention loose cultivators. So after saying this, the old man stared at Mo Tiange's face.
Seeing she didn't answer immediately, the old man lowered his voice again. "Fellow Daoist, this isn't the shop's price. If you go elsewhere to buy, it's usually around five Spirit Stones. You won't find it this cheap."
Mo Tiange had paused out of habit. She wasn't wealthy, so when buying things, she naturally saved where she could. That's why she didn't answer right away but thought about it. Now, hearing the old man's meaning, she understood. This old man was selling privately, putting the Spirit Stones into his own pocket, hence his behavior.
Meeting her gaze, the old man showed no embarrassment, just smiled.
Mo Tiange pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright. Bring the formulas over. I'll pick a few, and then you prepare the materials accordingly."
The old man revealed a smile, took out a piece of beast-hide paper, and handed it over.
Mo Tiange selected three or four formulas from it.
The old man glanced at them and asked, "How many sets of materials does Fellow Daoist need?"
Mo Tiange thought for a moment. "One hundred sets each. Also, add materials for Qi-Nourishing Pills, Marrow-Supplementing Pills, and Spirit-Uniting Pills, all one hundred sets each."
One hundred sets of materials was considered a lot. The old man was somewhat surprised but didn't say anything. He turned around, took some beast-hide paper from behind the counter, and began wrapping the spirit herbs one by one from the medicine cabinets behind him. For a few types that needed to be kept fresh, he brought them over along with jade boxes.
"Here are one hundred sets of pill formula materials. Please check them."
The counter was piled high. On top of the jade boxes were several jade slips. Mo Tiange inspected them. They were indeed pill formulas. She asked, "How many Spirit Stones?"
The old man's eyes glinted as he looked around. No one was paying attention to this corner. Then he said, "As for these materials... since you're buying so much, I'll give you a discount. One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. The formulas are three sets, nine Spirit Stones. Total one hundred and fifty-nine."
Mo Tiange nodded, took out Spirit Stones from her Qiankun Bag, counted them out in several batches, and then handed them over—being cautious also indicated that this was a large sum for her, to avoid arousing greed in others. This place wasn't like the Yunwu Sect, where her uncle was. There, spending a few hundred Spirit Stones wasn't a concern because it was normal for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Here, she had to be careful.
The old man took them with a beaming smile. "Thank you for your patronage." He had just earned nine Spirit Stones for nothing. This was no small transaction.
After storing all the materials in her Qiankun Bag, Mo Tiange continued to ask, "I wonder if this place sells alchemy cauldrons?"
Hearing this question, the old man once again showed a sincere smile. "Fellow Daoist, you've asked the right person. I happen to sell cauldrons on the side. They're not top-quality items, but they're sufficient for beginners. Of course, if you want to buy a high-grade cauldron, please go to our Tiandao Sect's specialized equipment store, the 'Ten Thousand Artifacts Hall,' right next door."
Mo Tiange said, "I'm just starting to learn. I don't need a high-grade cauldron. Let me see what cauldrons you have."
The old man nodded repeatedly, brought several cauldrons from under the counter, and placed them on the countertop. "Take a look."
These cauldrons ranged from small ones about a foot square to large ones a full three feet tall. Mo Tiange recalled the alchemy cauldron she had once seen belonging to Qin Xi. It seemed only a little over a foot tall but was brimming with spiritual energy. She figured size probably had little to do with the quality of the pills produced. She casually picked a small, compact one. "How many Spirit Stones?"
"These are all the same price. Fifteen Spirit Stones."
Mo Tiange nodded, counted out fifteen Spirit Stones, and stored the cauldron in her Qiankun Bag.
The transaction completed, both parties were satisfied. Amid the old man's cries of "Welcome back!" Mo Tiange left the Hundred Herbs Hall. For some reason, listening to the old man's voice, it reminded her very much of the eager tone used by madams in brothels seeing off customers in the mortal world, giving her goosebumps.
Returning to the temporary hut, Mo Tiange set up a formation, then took out the purchased alchemy cauldron, wiped it clean, and placed it in front of her. Then, she took out a few books and began flipping through them.
Her uncle had said that throughout the generations of the Ye family, almost no one had learned alchemy. The few alchemists were from a very long time ago, so there weren't many alchemy materials. The few that remained had been lost when the Ye family moved out of Qingmeng Mountain. Fortunately, a few years ago in Mist Valley, she had obtained several books, one of which was about alchemy techniques. The other books were quite good, so she figured this one wouldn't be bad either. She took it out to study and compare.
The most basic pill for the Qi Refining stage was the Qi-Nourishing Pill, so naturally, she would start refining with that.
First, she sorted out the various materials, then reviewed the precautions, the use of True Fire for alchemy, and the various hand seals. After confirming she had a clear understanding in her mind, she put the book down.
Sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion, she concentrated her energy in her Dantian. After a moment, a stream of Spiritual Qi naturally shot out from her palm, instantly turning into a fiery red flame.
Seeing the flame in her palm, Mo Tiange smiled. This was Dantian Fire. Even without a fire Spirit Root, one could produce it. However, the quality of a fire Spirit Root did enhance Dantian Fire. Although her Spirit Roots were considered poor in terms of quantity, her uncle had tested her—from the perspective of the quality of each individual Spirit Root, they were all quite good. That's why she could so easily force out her Dantian Fire.
Guiding the Spiritual Qi in her hand, the Dantian Fire elongated into a thin line, reaching the bottom of the cauldron and quickly spreading across the base. Soon, the cauldron heated up.
With her free hand, she flicked out a strand of Spiritual Qi, lifting the lid. With swift movements, she threw in the various ingredients and quickly closed the lid again.
In addition, she extended a wisp of Divine Sense into the cauldron, carefully sensing the fusion of these materials.
The heat of Dantian Fire was far higher than ordinary flames. Soon, the materials inside began to dissolve. At this moment, a muffled "poof" sound came from within the cauldron.
Mo Tiange stopped the Dantian Fire, opened the lid, and stared gloomily at the materials inside.
Most of the materials had melted but hadn't properly mixed together. Instead, they had turned into a puddle of black liquid, sizzling and steaming.
Mo Tiange sighed, poured out all the failed dregs, washed the cauldron once with clear spring water, and then set it back in place.
Alchemy was indeed not so simple. The book said that while there were approximate quantities for various materials, the subtleties required the alchemist to slowly experience and grasp the minute details where a slight difference mattered.
The reason this batch failed at the melting stage was precisely because she had no feel for the pill components yet and couldn't grasp the quantities.
She changed to another set of materials and failed once more, but Mo Tiange revealed a smile. This time, when her Divine Sense entered the cauldron, she could already sense the subtle feelings between the materials. So she washed the cauldron again and continued refining.
Quickly adding the materials, her Divine Sense probed into the cauldron, sensing the materials melting and then beginning to fuse together... After a quarter of an hour, they finally turned into a complete pill liquid, and she could smell the rich aroma of pills.
Swallowing several Spirit-Replenishing Pills, Mo Tiange guided the Spiritual Qi into her Dantian. A more intense Dantian Fire shot out, covering the entire cauldron.
Under the high temperature, the pill liquid in the cauldron began to boil and contract bit by bit.
Mo Tiange continuously swallowed Spirit-Replenishing Pills to maintain the Dantian Fire.
Now was the crucial moment for pill condensation, requiring a stable, high-temperature fire. However, the Spiritual Qi of a Qi Refining cultivator was too weak. She could only rely on Spirit-Replenishing Pills to sustain the Dantian Fire.
She didn't know how much time had passed or how many Spirit-Replenishing Pills she had eaten. Finally, the pill liquid in the cauldron slowly contracted into clumps, and these clumps began to condense into pills...
When the pills took shape, Mo Tiange joyfully stopped the Dantian Fire and opened the cauldron.
But the next moment, her face fell again in frustration. The pills had formed, but the moment she opened the cauldron, they exploded. She knew this was because the timing of opening the cauldron was wrong.
Alchemy was indeed not so simple.