"It's passable, but it hasn’t reached the full potential of the Open Mountain Palm yet. Remember, the Open Mountain Palm must have the momentum of splitting a mountain. The force should start from the ground, with feet and waist coordinated, combined with the true qi from the Dantian and Qi Hai. Only when you strike with full force, can you achieve its maximum power," old servant Uncle Jiang advised.
"Yes, Uncle Jiang," Li Lin nodded in agreement.
"Now, let me teach you how to refine pills," Uncle Jiang said, and with a slight flick of his sleeve, a large tripod about one meter high appeared out of nowhere.
The tripod was covered in blue and red hues, emanating a strong scent of spiritual herbs. It was densely decorated with patterns, among which a fire dragon was coiled.
The fire dragon's mouth formed a bowl-sized opening at the top of the tripod, which also had a circular lid. The tripod had an ancient look and felt very solid.
"This is called the Fire Dragon Cauldron. I'll give it to you. But don’t let others see it casually. If a Spirit General or Spirit Marshal sees it, they might kill you for it. The Fire Dragon Cauldron has some mysteries. For a beginner like you, it should help you familiarize yourself with pill refining quickly," Uncle Jiang said.
"Thank you, Uncle Jiang," Li Lin replied, overjoyed. Everything Uncle Jiang gave was definitely a treasure. Li Lin even thought of extracting more treasures from Uncle Jiang, as each one would bring endless benefits in the future, even fetching a good price if sold.
Of course, Li Lin dared not let Uncle Jiang know of this idea, or he would not be spared.
"Uncle Jiang, how can I take this big thing with me? How did you bring it out just now?" Li Lin said helplessly, eagerly approaching the Fire Dragon Cauldron and bending down to lift it, which weighed at least two hundred kilograms.
"I knew you would say that," Uncle Jiang glared at Li Lin, then took out a black ring and handed it to him, saying, "This is a storage ring. Drip your blood on it, wear it on your finger, and it will merge into your body. When you need it, just activate it with your true qi or spiritual energy. The space inside is enough for you."
After explaining, Uncle Jiang continued, "Don’t show this to outsiders. If someone with ill intentions sees it, they might kill you for it. There are only three of these storage rings in the world. Though not very expensive, they have some mysterious properties, allowing them to merge into the body. One ring alone is worth more than the entire Li family."
"That expensive?" Li Lin was shocked. Just one storage ring was worth the whole Li family. He hurriedly took the ring, bit his finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto it. Then he wore it on the ring finger of his left hand, and the ring mysteriously merged into his finger and disappeared.
"You can check everything inside the storage ring with your spiritual power. From now on, you can store things in it, but remember, you can’t put living things inside," Uncle Jiang advised.
Li Lin used his spiritual power, and the storage ring reappeared on his left ring finger, revealing a space of nearly a hundred square meters inside his mind.
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"What a treasure! I'm going to be rich," Li Lin thought to himself. He felt incredibly lucky to have met someone like Uncle Jiang, who gave him such treasures.
Holding a storage ring worth an entire Li family, Li Lin felt a mix of nervousness and exhilaration. Everything was happening too fast.
"What are you daydreaming about? Think it's valuable? Spineless thing," Uncle Jiang scolded, seeing Li Lin's daze. "The Li family might be something in Qingyun Town, but it's nothing on the Spirit Martial Continent. You're not my disciple, but you'd better aim higher and don't embarrass me."
"I understand, Uncle Jiang," Li Lin said. His earlier excitement was quickly doused by Uncle Jiang's cold reality check. It seemed he really couldn't compare to Uncle Jiang. He resolved that once he had the chance, he too must explore the world outside.
"Alright, familiarize yourself with this Fire Dragon Cauldron. We'll start refining the pill soon," Uncle Jiang instructed, signaling Li Lin to get acquainted with the Fire Dragon Cauldron.
Li Lin approached the cauldron and carefully examined it. The craftsmanship was exquisitely detailed, akin to an antique. Gently touching it produced a faint buzzing sound.
"Use your spiritual energy to channel into the dragon's mouth, and it will produce flames. Give it a try," Uncle Jiang suggested.
Following these instructions, Li Lin focused and sent a surge of spiritual energy into the dragon's mouth.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
Instantly, a bluish-red flame roared to life inside the cauldron.
"Slow down. If you were refining a pill, you would have destroyed all the ingredients," Uncle Jiang shouted, then added, "For a first attempt at generating flames, that's not bad. Now let's start with the pill refining. Pay attention and remember what I teach you."
Li Lin was surprised by the force of his own action and nodded attentively, listening as Uncle Jiang began instructing, "The pill I'm teaching you to refine is a low-grade first-tier Crown Filling Pill. It can improve the cultivation level of Martial disciples. First, open the lid and put in Three-Star Grass and Five-Leaf Lotus into the Fire Dragon Cauldron for initial refinement. Control your spiritual energy; the flame should be small but not too weak. Too little fire won’t refine the ingredients, but too much will damage their essence. This step is to purify the ingredients and retain only their most potent parts."
"Don't rush; stabilize yourself and control your spiritual energy. Otherwise, if you run out of spiritual energy, you won't be able to complete the pill," he cautioned.
"Next, add a stalk of Vitality Grass and a portion of Dew Crystal Powder…"
"You can't see inside the cauldron, so use your spiritual energy to probe. This requires feeling, which cannot be taught by anyone," Uncle Jiang continued.
Li Lin began using his spiritual energy to observe everything inside the Fire Dragon Cauldron. The process of refining the pill was both exciting and nerve-wracking for him, stirring a mix of emotions.
Under Uncle Jiang's guidance, Li Lin gradually got into the zone, with Uncle Jiang occasionally nodding in approval.
"Be careful, steady now," Uncle Jiang suddenly warned.
Li Lin’s heart sank as he realized he had lost control of his spiritual energy. The flames inside the cauldron suddenly burst forth fiercely. He quickly stabilized the flames, shocked at how difficult it was to control the spiritual energy despite its seeming simplicity.
"Find the feel for it, stabilize yourself," Uncle Jiang continued to instruct from the side.
In the secret chamber, the flames from the Fire Dragon Cauldron reflected off the stone walls, dancing and causing the temperature inside the chamber to rise steadily. Li Lin was now drenched in sweat.
An hour later, Li Lin felt his spiritual energy in his mind depleting rapidly. Refining the pill was proving to be an incredibly draining task.
At this point, he had only managed to refine all the ingredients into a spiritual liquid, and he already felt he couldn’t go on.
"Okay, you can rest for a while now," Uncle Jiang said just as Li Lin was about to inform him of his exhaustion.
Li Lin immediately stopped channeling spiritual energy into the cauldron and collapsed onto the floor of the secret chamber, lying there limply, gasping for air as if he had just run a marathon, unable to move a muscle.