Lao Zhang was old, his name quite literally meaning Old man. It had been ages since anyone had called him by his own name, and he preferred the name he’d been given anyways. It represented the time he’d spent at the sect here.

Lao Zhang had been working as an Alchemist for several decades now. A large portion that time had been spent here at the Cloudy Peaks sect, ever since the Sect Elder had seen his skill and hired him as an alchemist. He had spent his life’s workings here, and only a few now remained who remembered him, as he was in his youth.

As he’d crossed a century in age, he had been free to leave the sect with his earnings gaining a venerable Elder solely on his age. He had refused of course. What purpose would he have in life if he stopped working for his sect? Perhaps if his grandson had been alive… Lao Zhang felt a pang of guilt at the memory, but the pain had dulled with time.

No, his purpose was right here. Working under the sect as he lived the last of his days trying to reach the truth of his own Dao. His age had offered him wisdom, and there were some things that you only saw, when death approached closer, and your own physique turned against you. It had been a while since something had surprised Lao Zhang. But here, today, that fact seemed to have been occurring more than once.

“Why hasn't anyone tried to test the original recipe? Or improve it?” the boy, Lu Jie asked, sitting crossed leg on the floor with text books opened all around him.

Lao Zhang frowned, as he looked at the boy with a strange expression through narrowed eyes. “These recipes were created by our Venerable ancestors, that too at the peak of their cultivation paths. To try and tamper with them would be folly.” he replied, as the boy turned back down to read through the texts, murmuring something under his breath.

“Doesn’t that mean they’re outdated?” Lu Jie asked once more. And once again, Lao Zhang found himself lacking words. He stood silently for a moment trying to think of a suitable way to guide Lu Jie but the boy had already lost track of his words, busy leafing through the text books once more as he occasionally muttered words Lao Zhang had a hard time placing.

There had been something off about the boy ever since he’d lost his spar. The way he’d so easily chosen to give up had worried Lao Zhang that the defeat had been quite harsh and if his spirit may be in shambles. Yet Lu Jie appeared to be just fine, quite excited if anything to go by the smile that had crept on his face from time to time as he read the text books around him.

Perhaps the treatment of the head injury was not complete. Lao Zhang was versed in medicine, but he was no healer. And injuries of the head are often tied to injuries to the spirit. Perhaps he should ask a healer to have a look at the child.

Lao Zhang shook his head. This was not his grandchild, no matter what he thought at times. He shouldn’t coddle Lu Jie, without tribulations, none would ever grow and find their Paths. All he should do is look after the child when he is about to fall. The same thing he’d do for any other disciple in the sect.

“I’ve memorised them,” Lu Jie said, closing the text books.

“Already?” Lao Zhang asked in surprise. The text only had a few basic herbs but he’d still expected it to take a few days. It had barely been two hours. “What is the use of the Glacial spirit poison then?”

“Glacial spirit poison. A poison that acts on the heart and the body, slowing down its beat, as the blood and body begin to turn cold, before the victim eventually dies of heart failure. It can be used as an ingredient to counteract potent spirit poisons as the decreased blood flow can prevent the poison from spreading while the glacial Qi can be used to mellow the fever.” The boy replied in a single breath.

Lao Zhang exhaled, staring at Lu Jie. “That… is correct. You memorized all of them?” he asked, perhaps this was the boy’s true blessing.

A sheepish smile came onto his face as the boy looked down. “I know most of them by their descriptions. I got lucky for this one as I remembered the properties and application as well.”

“Have you been taught Alchemy before Lu Jie?”

“No, Elder- err, master. This is my first time. But I had to memorise a lot of things as a kid, so I’m good at memorizing names and descriptions,” Lu Jie replied, looking up at him.

Lao Zhang coughed once, hiding his pleasure at being called master. He hadn’t had many disciples, his talent was too meagre to teach many, and those that had been there were all old like him. To be called a master after so long was pleasing.

“Very well, then let us start learning how to use the Cauldron,” Lao Zhang said, as he watched Lu Jie’s face light up with a smile. Ah, he was truly blessed to have such an enthusiastic disciple.

***

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I once again thanked whatever god was listening for that video I’d watched on a memorisation trick. It had saved my hide more than once when I’d had to remember all the unholy reagent names and chemical formulas for multiple step chemical reactions, and it continued to give even here as I read the alchemy textbooks.

Rote memorisation was not something I enjoyed. It was dull and tedious and it led to no new information outside of simple memory storage, which could easily be taken care of by computers. Here though, memory had a much higher value. The easiest way of storing information was texts, and these Jade slates. The slates were far too valuable to be used for anything but cultivation techniques and such, so most of the information was kept in the books which took time, thus increasing the worth of memorisation.

Going through Lu Jie’s memory, I couldn’t find if printing technology was a thing here or not, but from the amount of books and their standardised text fonts I saw. They seemed to have some method of mass producing books.

I quickly returned my attention to the old man as he began to speak, trying to keep my excitement in check about learning magic. My heart still trembled with joy despite my best attempts and I had to fight to keep the smile off of my face.

“Do you know why we use the cauldron to refine, Lu Jie?” The old man asked and I considered the question for a moment.

“Because its shape allows for even distribution of heat? And because it can hold a lot of things in it?”

The old man nodded. “Those are reasons too, but size matters little, more proficient Alchemists often use small cauldrons that are much larger on the inside. There is a greater reason as to why we use cauldrons and it lies in its ability to hone Qi.” The old man said, as he swept his hand out, his long sleeve billowing as Qi flowed around the chamber.

Old man went all edgy mode eh?

“There are three things that define one’s talent in Alchemy. One’s sensitivity to Qi, the ability to manipulate Qi finely, and finally, luck.” I paused at the old man’s words.

“A lot of luck is needed to get the right ingredients for a pill at times. Luck is also needed when refining the pill. The difference between a good alchemist and a poor one, is how often they fail. Even the most experienced of alchemists will have a chance of failing, and only the heavens can tell when they will favour you.”

I frowned. I wanted to deny the old man’s words, but even back home, experiments could often fail based on luck and no one could do anything about that. Yet, I felt that an awful lot of this was also simply due to the vague instructions in these elixirs and pills alongside the mystical approach of the heaven’s favour may be why luck was such a factor in failure of success.

If these pills worked similar to any chemical reaction, but just magic. Then there should be conditions with the optimal chances of success and the optimal chances of yield etc. Narrowing down on those factors will be all that’s needed. At least in theory. In principle, I could be completely wrong and things did actually work on spiritual magic bullshit. Who could say, this is a cultivation world after all.

“Since luck is out of our hands. We focus on the remaining two things.” The old man continued, walking around the area as he picked up a few herbs from a nearby shelf. “Qi sensitivity and Qi control are both, heaven gifted blessings as well. There are pills and elixirs that can help improve one’s innate abilities a touch, but they are rare and are not always effective either.”

“Then is it all about being blessed then? To be a good alchemist, you need to be blessed?” I asked, and paused at the melancholic expression that passed over the old man’s face.

“It is not all about being blessed, Lu Jie. The heavens turn a kind eye to those who work hard. Qi sensitivity and Qi control can both be trained to a certain extent. And it is with these two things, that the cauldron helps with. The cauldron is a tool to not only carry your herbs but also your Qi. A good cauldron allows for your Qi to pass smoothly without any interruptions, and it guides the essence inwards. A poor cauldron can contain impurities and deformities, disrupting the flow of Qi.”

The old man put the herbs in the cauldron, the fire beneath it growing larger. “Pay attention to my Qi Lu Jie, you’ll try this next,” the old man said, as his Qi began to billow. I sat in surprise at the amount. I never really knew which circle or realm the Old man was, did I?

Qi swirled within the cauldron as the herbs began to break down, releasing their essence. I felt multiple swirling patterns all combining within the cauldron as the essences were guided towards one another. The smell of herbs rose from the cauldron as smoke began to escape and I watched with bated breath as the delicate movement of the Qi started to merge the essence together. In a swift motion the fire blazed as all the Qi within the cauldron condensed to one spot. I felt Old Man’s Qi pulsing one last time, before a singular pill formed within the cauldron.

“This is a simple Qi refilling pill. It will nourish you, when your Qi is running low, though consuming too much can cause your Qi to overstrain and damage your Dantian,” the old man said, showing the pill to me.

“Now you try, Lu Jie,” he said, and I nodded happily walking over to the cauldron.

I picked up the herbs, sensing the Qi present inside them. Taking the needed amount, I put the herbs in the cauldron and then tried to send a pulse of my Qi.

A few moments passed in silence as I stood in front of the quiet cauldron.

“Is something wrong Lu Jie?” The old man asked and I turned around trying to hide my embarrassment.

“How do you light the fire again?” I asked with an embarrassed smile, trying not to shrink under the quiet sigh of the Old man.

The path of selling drugs seemed to be a long one.