Unconventional Formulas

“How could this pill formula be left so carelessly? Sumeru Grass, Stopping Root… it looks very much like a Grain Abstinence Pill, doesn’t it?”

Wugou casually picked up another sheet of paper from the table.

“Oh? It’s still a Marching Pill?”

Wugou compared the two formulas. Only the refining process and the medicinal dosages differed slightly.

He picked up another sheet to compare, and it was the same.

“Are they trying to improve this pill? The herbs listed in the formula don’t seem particularly rare, so the formula’s grade shouldn’t be very high. Hmm? Wait a minute, they actually added this thing?”

Wugou’s eyes widened as he swept his gaze across the bamboo tubes on the table.

Indeed, the formula contained ‘Snake Scent Fruit’.

Snake Scent Fruit wasn’t a rare ingredient. Physicians often used it in potent liniments to promote blood circulation and reduce swelling.

However, Snake Scent Fruit possessed a significant side effect: it was highly addictive.

Yet, this drawback paled in comparison to its life-saving properties.

Wugou glanced at the red bottle on the cutting board.

‘Could that bottle contain Marching Pills?’

Wugou twisted open the cap, and an intensely pungent medicinal aroma filled his nostrils.

‘It was refined not long ago?’

Wugou casually poured out a pill and tossed it directly into his mouth.

To his surprise, it tasted somewhat sweet.

Wugou swirled the pill with his tongue, savoring it for several moments as his mouth salivated.

A profound sense of fullness immediately arose within him.

‘Sure enough, this Marching Pill has the effect of grain abstinence!’

Wugou swallowed lightly, before he even had a chance to fully discern the pill’s effects.

Unexpectedly, the Qi vortex in his meridians suddenly flared open, and the surrounding spiritual energy spontaneously converged towards Wugou.

‘This… isn’t this the effect of a Qi Gathering Pill?’

Wugou’s heart jolted with alarm.

His body was unlike anyone else’s in this world.

‘If I were to swallow this Marching Pill now…’

‘There’s a good chance my vital essence would be completely drained in an instant.’

‘I might even collapse from exhaustion.’

‘If someone found me then, caught red-handed, it would be disastrous.’

With this thought, Wugou hastily spat out the pill.

It took a while for the spiritual energy fluctuations around him to slowly dissipate.

‘Whew~ That was close…’

Wugou lightly rubbed his stomach. His vital essence had actually condensed on its own just now, completely disregarding his will as its master.

He had never imagined such a simple pill could possess such potent effects. The alchemy standards of this world were truly not to be underestimated.

‘Marching Pill… judging by this formula… there should still be considerable room for improvement.’

Wugou instinctively stroked his chin.

During his time as an immortal, he had been utterly devoted to the Dao of Alchemy for quite a while.

Furthermore, thanks to Pure Yang Ancestor Lu Dongbin’s influence, he could freely enter and exit Lao Jun’s Pavilion. Over time, he even befriended Tai Shang Laojun himself.

It was fortunate that Tai Shang Laojun, despite refining pills year-round, rarely had visitors. Seeing a younger generation come to converse with him filled him with immense joy.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the venerable Tai Shang Laojun to ever connect with a lazy, obscure, and idle immortal like him.

Wugou had also been quite thick-skinned back then, running to ask Tai Shang Laojun for half a day over even the smallest alchemy problem.

Yet, Tai Shang Laojun always received him with a smiling face. Seeing Wugou’s profound love for the Dao of Alchemy, he even secretly imparted many arcane refining techniques.

As time passed, though they weren’t master and disciple, their bond grew to be even closer than that.

Reflecting on this, Wugou couldn’t help but wonder if Tai Shang Laojun still remembered him.

For a moment, Wugou felt an irresistible urge to put his skills to use.

He casually picked up a brush from the table.

And began to write…

Finally, Wugou looked at his ‘work’ with a satisfied smile.

“There isn’t much time. A simple modification will do. Consider it payment for the ‘borrowed’ pills.”

“Wugou, I’ve gathered all the herbs, but this alchemy furnace…”

Wugou turned his head. Hua Youdie was waving the slip of paper in his hand, the last line of which clearly stated: ‘One alchemy furnace required.’

‘He found the herbs quite fast!’ Wugou thought, impressed.

Wugou sighed inwardly, then surveyed the surroundings with a small nod. He waved a hand. “Look around the vicinity. Someone has refined pills here before, so there might be an alchemy furnace nearby.”

Hua Youdie nodded and immediately began searching. Time was short, especially with the risk of another disciple coming to retrieve pills at any moment.

Hua Youdie’s gaze swept around, and he surprisingly spotted a small pot tucked away in the innermost left corner beneath the large table.

He crouched down and retrieved it.

‘It has a lid. Is this an alchemy furnace?’

Just as he was about to show it to Wugou, footsteps echoed from a nearby herb shelf.

Wugou’s hearing was sharper than Hua Youdie’s. He turned to see Hua Youdie holding the ‘pot’ with both hands. Without a closer look, he simply assumed Hua Youdie had found an alchemy furnace.

He then poured another Marching Pill from the large red bottle and waved at Hua Youdie, signaling him to quickly put away the ‘alchemy furnace’.

Hua Youdie’s heart swelled with joy upon receiving Wugou’s instruction, confirming that he hadn’t picked up the wrong item.

He swiftly placed the ‘alchemy furnace’ into his Qiankun pouch.

“Let’s go!”

With a soft exclamation, Wugou crouched low and scurried in the opposite direction from the approaching footsteps.

Hua Youdie naturally followed close behind. As he passed an herb shelf, his hand instinctively brushed against it before his mind could even fully process the action.

“Huh, the sun is almost setting, and Master still hasn’t arrived. I wanted to try out this new pill formula!”

A maiden, dressed in the standard uniform of an Alchemy Pavilion disciple, grumbled with a pout.

The maiden wore two long braids. She was tall, ethereal in temperament, and possessed a beautiful countenance.

Had Wugou and Hua Youdie still been there, they would have certainly recognized her as the woman who had guided them on the first floor of the Alchemy Pavilion.

The maiden circled to the table, casually tidying the scattered medicine spoons.

“Eh? There’s a new formula here? The handwriting is so elegant and beautiful; it doesn’t look like Master’s cursive at all.”

The maiden picked up the formula, assuming it had been left by some newly promoted disciple.

Such occurrences were common. There were always brash, overly confident new disciples eager to display their talents before their Master.

However, these individuals often held themselves in far too high regard.

The Marching Pill formula had been released by the Hundred Herbs Alliance eight hundred years ago, known to every alchemist under heaven. The so-called ‘ingenious ideas’ of these self-proclaimed ‘geniuses’ had been proposed countless times over those eight centuries.

Yet, they rarely managed to improve the Marching Pill’s efficacy in the slightest.

After all, though the Marching Pill was merely a low-grade, high-quality elixir, it had been collaboratively developed by the most astonishingly talented alchemists of ‘that era’.

Subsequent ‘improvements’ either increased efficacy at the cost of greater side effects, or eliminated side effects but completely removed the Qi-gathering function. Some even directly added high-grade spirit herbs, which fundamentally contradicted the principles of those ancient sages.

The Marching Pill bore its name for a reason, fulfilling an inevitable mission.

The maiden casually scanned the new ‘pill formula’.

She quickly sensed something amiss.

“Alchemy demands adherence to rules, allowing no room for error. Yet, this refining method so blatantly defies the Dao of Alchemy! It’s utterly heretical!”

The maiden slammed her hand down on the table, leaving a distinct imprint on its edge.

Such force indicated that the maiden’s cultivation was significantly higher than that of the un-Foundation Establishment disciples in the Skill Transmission Pavilion.

The maiden’s chest rose and fell slightly, her anger still visible. Then she saw another line: ‘Take several snake scent fruit vine tendrils.’

“This, this is utter nonsense! Those tendrils are as thin as silk; what medicinal effect could they possibly have?!”

The maiden couldn’t help but curse.

Realizing her lapse in language, the maiden quickly covered her mouth with one hand. Her ‘bright pearls’ beneath long lashes darted around, only relaxing and patting her chest once she confirmed no one had heard her.

The maiden was about to put down the ‘waste paper’ in her hand.

Yet, she then noticed an exceedingly peculiar line at the very end.

“Dilute with water to form a liquid, and the medicine is complete.”

“This…”

The maiden’s heart trembled. ‘Not a pill? A liquid? That makes sense! No one has thought of this in eight hundred years, have they? Mortal physicians save lives with decoctions, so why can’t elixirs be made this way…?’

Questions surged within her, and for a moment, the maiden’s mind churned like a turbulent tide.

“No, this is not the orthodox path of alchemy…”

The maiden quickly shook her head. The refining method on this paper was simply too unorthodox.

‘But, what if it works…?’

The maiden’s body trembled slightly.

Her gaze wavered for a long time.

A soft thwack.

The maiden firmly pinned the ‘pill formula’ onto the cutting board.

Finally, the sun set, and countless candlesticks illuminated the herb room.

An elder, with hands clasped behind his back, slowly stepped into the room. From afar, he spotted a delicate, bent figure whose shadow was cast upon the wall.

A profound sense of comfort settled in his heart.

This Wen Xiruo was the disciple he had personally brought back from the Skill Transmission Pavilion two years ago.

The child possessed extraordinary talent in alchemy, was utterly devoted to it, and had exceptional foundational roots.

As an Elder of the Alchemy Pavilion, Wu Xiong had long considered her his personal disciple.

A few days prior, Wu Xiong had intended to personally instruct Wen Xiruo by researching the Marching Pill, thus agreeing to meet her here every evening.

He hadn’t expected his duties today to be so numerous, causing him to arrive a little later than usual.

Yet, seeing Wen Xiruo as diligent as ever, his heart swelled with even greater joy, secretly thinking he had chosen wisely.

Wu Xiong approached Wen Xiruo with light steps, surprised to find the maiden utterly engrossed, her hands working without pause.

Wu Xiong nodded. Alchemy truly demanded such unwavering focus.

He lowered his gaze, only for his heart to suddenly skip a beat.

He nearly cried out.

Fortunately, Wu Xiong possessed immense self-control, and he suppressed his confusion, continuing to observe.

“This… at this step, shouldn’t she be adding Snake Scent Fruit? What is that substance with tiny green specks?”

Before Wu Xiong could recall what it was,

He suddenly saw Wen Xiruo holding a ladle of water and pouring it directly into the alchemy furnace!

“Holy heavens!”

“If the furnace explodes, that would be terrible! My beloved disciple is only in the Foundation Establishment stage. What if she gets hurt?”

Wu Xiong’s heart was gripped by terror, and he was about to intervene and protect her.

Unexpectedly, he only heard continuous sizzling sounds from within the furnace, which remained as stable as ever.

“This…”

Wu Xiong’s eyes were wide with disbelief. Even as an Elder of the Alchemy Pavilion, he couldn’t comprehend what his disciple was doing.

Looking closely, he saw Wen Xiruo smiling, having already ceased her fire-controlling incantations.

“Hehe, it’s a success!”

Wen Xiruo’s delighted cry jolted the dazed Wu Xiong back to his senses.

“Xiruo, you… what was that you just did?”

Wen Xiruo heard his voice and turned her head to see her Master. Recalling all the unorthodox alchemy techniques she had just used, she realized her Master had likely witnessed everything.

‘Please, don’t scold me…’

Wen Xiruo quickly performed a salute.

Wu Xiong waved a dismissive hand, then hurried forward, directly bypassing Wen Xiruo.

With a gentle flick of his hand, a surge of spiritual energy lifted the furnace lid off.

“This… this is medicinal liquid?”

Wu Xiong turned his head to look at Wen Xiruo.

“Uh… yes, it is.”

Wen Xiruo nodded, bracing herself.

Before Wen Xiruo could fully explain what had just happened,

Wu Xiong’s gaze immediately fell upon the ‘pill formula’ pinned to the cutting board.

Wu Xiong snatched it, examining it closely.

His entire demeanor mirrored Wen Xiruo’s expression from earlier.

He continued until he had read the entire formula.

“Xiruo, this… who brought this formula?”

Wu Xiong recognized the handwriting on the paper as not his own. He clutched the formula tightly, his voice trembling with excitement.

“Ah? Master, you don’t know? I… I saw this formula as soon as I arrived. I thought it was left by another disciple for you to see,” Wen Xiruo honestly replied.

Wu Xiong paused again, muttering, “Who could it be?”

Wu Xiong carefully placed the ‘pill formula’ aside.

He then lowered his head, bringing his nose close to the alchemy furnace.

“This medicinal fragrance actually lingers?” Wu Xiong seemed to realize something.

He carefully scooped out a spoonful of the medicinal liquid and, without hesitation, poured it into his mouth.

“A feeling of fullness in the stomach, active Qi vortex… indeed, these are the effects of a Marching Pill… and the efficacy is twice that of an ordinary Marching Pill.”

Wu Xiong smacked his lips, seemingly still wanting more.

Seeing her Master’s actions, Wen Xiruo’s face showed concern.

Wu Xiong noticed her worry and raised a hand, smiling. “Don’t worry, my disciple, this medicinal liquid has no side effects whatsoever.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Xiruo first rejoiced, then felt a surge of shock.

She quickly called out to Wu Xiong, “Master, when I found this formula, the ink was still fresh. The person who wrote it must have left it here this evening!”

“Oh, yes, yes! My disciple is truly astute! Quickly, inform the entire pavilion and inquire about who wrote this formula!”

Wu Xiong tossed aside the spoon, waving his hands continuously at Wen Xiruo.

“Understood!”

Wen Xiruo no longer bothered with the customary farewell salute to her Master. She casually swept a long braid from her front to her back and sprinted out.

“Eight hundred years…”

Wu Xiong sighed deeply, immensely pleased. He carefully picked up the pill formula from the table, meticulously folded it, and placed it into his Qiankun pouch.

Feeling a surge of satisfaction, he wanted to relieve himself.

He quickly walked to the left side of the table, lifted his foot to hook, but didn’t touch anything.

Feeling a little strange, he crouched down and looked under the table.

“Where’s my chamber pot?”