Chapter 9 The Pill Developed Starts to Work (2)
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The person who collected the items was still the same old man in black robes as last time.
Upon seeing the Spirit Plants Jiang Tang had grown, the old man's face showed a look of amazement.
Most of these Spirit Plants were top-quality, and even the worst, the Immortal Valley Grain, was of middle-tier quality.
"The amount of gold is substantial, I'll exchange it for silver notes for you to take with you," the old man stroked his long beard and smiled slightly.
True to being the farming association's number one, the quality of what he produced was indeed different.
Jiang Tang nodded eagerly.
In this world, all gold and silver were officially minted and solid, never fake.
When the shiny silver notes were in hand, Jiang Tang counted them carefully.
After deducting the taxes, he still had ten thousand taels of silver.
With the additional five hundred taels he had left over, he could be considered a small wealthy man now, couldn't he?
At least that's what Jiang Tang thought.
When he had just arrived, he only had a single coin to his name.
The white bun he had bought, he was so reluctant to eat it. He hid it for several days until it turned hard and started to go green, then he ate half of it.
Had it not been for his entry into the Immortal Sect, by now he would have been nothing but a starved corpse.
Jiang Tang was gleefully happy in his heart as he put the silver notes into his Qiankun Bag and headed straight for the Alchemy Room.
The Servant Disciple's Alchemy Room was the most rudimentary of facilities.
A thatched cottage, an alchemy furnace of the lowest grade of the yellow class. There were no tables or chairs, not even candles.
And don't even mention a scale for apportioning the medicinal ingredients.
Jiang Tang was already accustomed to it—the first time he learned alchemy, he was shocked for half a day, thinking all the facilities were this simple.
It was only after listening to a fellow disciple elaborating on measuring and weighing medicines that he realized the Alchemy Room was as makeshift as necessary to accommodate people.
It was hard to blame the Sect. Servant Disciples weren't highly talented, and there were few who knew alchemy.
Those who practiced alchemy had all either gone to the Outer Sect, or even to the Inner Sect and to the Sect's direct disciples.
Upon seeing him, the duty disciple guarding the Alchemy Room yawned lazily and said, "Renting the Alchemy Room costs twenty wen per hour."
Jiang Tang hurriedly paid for six hours and went inside, locking up from within.
He started the furnace, then took out a set of scales and tools for preparing the ingredients from his Qiankun Bag.
These were all harvested from the Spirit Field. Seeing that they were of good quality, he decided to keep them for his own use.
"One part Nourishing Soul Grass, two qian of Spirit Cage Grass, six li of Body-Sculpting Medicine..."
Following the ancient Secret Manual's prescription and making adjustments based on his own situation, Jiang Tang weighed out the ingredients while silently reciting the formula.
After weighing them out, Jiang Tang saw that the furnace was at the right temperature. He quickly crushed the ingredients and placed them into the small dish inside the furnace, then poured a jug of Spirit Water into the top opening before starting to watch the flames intently.
Alchemy, like tilling soil, was also a technical task.
If the flame control and medicinal ingredient measurements weren't accurate, not only would the finished product be of poor quality, but it would also contain many impurities, resulting in less potent pills that were impure.
Such pills were neither fit for treating others nor able to sell at a good price.
Initially, Jiang Tang was somewhat worried that the ingredients might burn, but as they dissolved in the water, a burst of medicinal fragrance wafted out.
Jiang Tang relaxed and let the ingredients coalesce on their own.
About an hour later, the first batch of pills was completely finished. As the rich medicinal scent drifted out, Jiang Tang knew the pills were ready, so he quickly pinched a spell to extinguish the pill flame, then put on a pair of thick gloves to take out the steaming hot dish.
There were four or five pills in the dish, and the pills were of excellent color with clear lines on them.
Jiang Tang grinned from ear to ear.
Body Tempering Pill, success!
The quality was second-tier, although not as good as the ones made by the Medicine Sect and Holy Medical Valley, they were still enough for him to refine his body.
Thinking this, Jiang Tang packed the pills into porcelain bottles, and then took out even more harvested Spirit Grass to start making other types of pills.
These pills were all intended to be sold for money.
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He refined Pills with utmost care until six hours passed, and the disciple outside knocked on the door, urging him to leave.
Jiang Tang put away his things and hurriedly left.
"What kind of Pills could a Servant Disciple possibly refine? It's nothing more than playing the god and tricking the ghost," said the disciple with a sneer after a glance at the departing Jiang Tang before going in to clean up.
But just as he stepped inside, he smelled a refreshing fragrance of medicine.
It was top-grade Pills!
The disciple was shocked, looking in the direction Jiang Tang had left, feeling a burning pain on his face.
Jiang Tang returned to his courtyard, not bothering to check on the crops in the Spirit Field and directly took out a Body Tempering Pill to consume.
This was something he had refined after making improvements, and he didn't know if it would be more effective than before.
Jiang Tang cast aside all distractions, feeling a burning tear-like pain in his veins and he began to concentrate fully on using the Spiritual Power that surged from his Dantian to temper his body.
The pain intensified more and more until it seemed as though even his bones were starting to burn.
Jiang Tang's face turned as white as paper.
He had to endure it, to earn a fortune!
He had to endure it, to earn a fortune!
Drawing a deep breath, Jiang Tang shook hands to form a seal and started to guide the impurities in his body to be expelled through his veins and skin.
Time flashed by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next day's last hour.
Suddenly, Jiang Tang opened his eyes, and a burst of radiant light dispersed from his body.
He looked down at his palm.
Spiritual Power churned in his hand, denser and more powerful than before.
Body Refinement was successful!
That was not all, his Cultivation level had been pulled up, advancing into the fourth layer of Body Refinement.
Furthermore, looking at the Spiritual Power in his Dantian, his realm was not unstable but very much firm.
This ancient Alchemy Prescription indeed was wonderful.
Jiang Tang laughed a few times and then suddenly smelled a foul odor.
His stomach churned, and he quickly boiled a bucket of hot water, adding soapnuts and herbs for a bath.
In this era, one of the joys shared by the ancients and modern people was bathing.
Of course, what they used was Spirit Water, and the medicines for the bath were Spiritual Medicine used not only for strengthening the body but also needed to be effective over time.
Moreover, the effects of a medicinal bath were not as immediate as those of Body Tempering Pills and were only suitable for ordinary people to prolong life. For those who practiced Cultivation, it was purely for the purpose of bathing or killing idle time.
While soaking in the bath, Jiang Tang used his Divine Sense to check on the Spirit Field Space.
Niu had already fallen into a deep sleep, and the crops in the two acres of land were growing robustly, seemingly ripe.
Niu was resting, it was better to harvest tomorrow.
Jiang Tang glanced at the nearby fog and noticed a spot had thinned a little.
He grinned.
With another boost in realm, he could unveil this area.
He wondered what could be planted in this excellent Spirit Field.
Leaving the Spirit Field Space, Jiang Tang got up to dress and emptied the bathwater, when suddenly he heard a faint cry.
Brother, Jiang Tang walked over quietly and saw that, in the neighboring courtyard, that person was... burning paper money in the middle of the night?
However, within the Sect, performing ancestral worship was not allowed. If one wished to pay respects, they had to do so outside.
"Senior brother, is it the death anniversary of someone in your family?" Jiang Tang coughed.
The man panicked, hurriedly got up to stamp out the fire.
"Don't stamp it out, don't stamp it out, I won't report you to the Sect. I don't like to tattle," Jiang Tang said.