Cauldron's Plateau (3)
"It's already morning..." Yang Guang wakes up on the bed.
There was somebody at the door waiting for his reply. After receiving no response from Yang Guang, the person knocks on the door again.
"Sir, it is our breakfast period. Would you like to have it in the room or at the restaurant?" the person knocking on his door raised his voice to catch Yang Guang's attention.
"I'll come to the restaurant. Please prepare some tea for me." Yang Guang replied.
The waiter soon returns with a bucket of hot water. After pouring it onto a metal bowl, the waiter left Yang Guang's room and prepared what he asked for.
Yang Guang washed. Putting on the clothing of an Outer Disciple of Polished Jade Tower on him, Yang Guang looks different compared to when he came to the Inn.
"I thought that it was just a dream yesterday night, but it's actually... Real..." Yang Guang placed the official plaque, which transformed from the short sword left by his father into his Spatial Jade Bracelet along with a scroll.
It was the Zhen Diagram Bead's recipe.
Since it wasn't a dream, he'll have to pay a visit to Uncle Li's Herb Store to make a small purchase there. Since the ingredient required to concoct the Zhen Diagram Bead is not too precious, they can be bought effortlessly everywhere.
"Sir, this is the tea you asked. Can I take your order for breakfast?" the waiter that wake him up a while ago came and poured Yang Guang a cup of tea. The quality of the leaves is also much better than the one given inside his room.
"Get me a plate of plain buns, rice cakes, stirred-fry vegetables, two eggs, and a bowl of tofu soup." Yang Guang made his order. Most of the dishes he ordered are plain or lightly flavored, which is also known as Clear Cuisine.
Although they're no strong-flavored dishes in his order, the moment it came to his table, Yang Guang added another plate of plain buns and soup before he's full. Sometimes, appetite comes not from the flavor alone, but the mindset.
After he tipped the waiter with a piece of Soul Jade, Yang Guang left and made his way to Li's Herb's Store.
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Zhen Diagram Bead
-Uses: Reinforce formation, attracting lightning strikes, and body tempering.
-Ingredients: Charred Grass (If made by the use of Lightning Flame) or Thunderbolt Grass (If refined with a regular Jade Flame)
-Preparation Method: By using the blood with a hint of Soul Qi inside as the medium, extract all the essence available in the ingredients into the blood until the word "Zhen" formed. This preparation must be refined using Intense Flame and fresh blood until the word formed. Failure or delay in between will cause damage.
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"So... I'll have to use either mine or other blood to refine the bead. This method of cultivation does sound a little evil, don't you think so?" Yang Guang whispered to himself as he made his way to Li's Herb Store.
"What is so evil?" out of sudden, Yu-Ding made her voice heard from inside Yang Guang's mind.
"This recipe cost blood to refine. If there was no replacement like Cultivation Beast, does that means that we're going to use human as a replacement?" Yang Guang brings up the matter to discuss with Yu-Ding.
"Hahaha!" Yu-Ding laughed the moment Yang Guang brought his worries out in the light.
"To make Blood Coagulating Powder, you'll need some blood. Inner Blood Pill too. Small Huang Pellet and Triple Concoction Pill also need blood to concoct. Does this mean that the pill you've made is all made for evil?" Yu-Ding answered.
"Eight essences combined into four bodies. Bodies married to tie two knots. Two knots link to create one origin."
"You should remember this. It is the basic of Alchemy that was given to your ancestor before he became the God of Pill that nobody in Jade Realm doesn't know about." Yu-Ding added.
"Wait! I've heard that before from my teacher!" Yang Guang quickly replies as the word recited by Yu-Ding is the same as what Elder Xiao Yi told him.
"I won't tell you too much, for now, you're too weak. But lessen your time with those surnames [Xiao] because they're going to pay us back for many things in the future." Yu-Ding finished what she's going to tell Yang Guang and quietly left.
"Yu-Ding? Yu-Ding?" Yang Guang called for her, but he got no reply.
...
...
"Ah? You're here today... Take a look then tell me what you want to buy." Yang Guang's sudden arrival shocked Uncle Li. The latter also quickly covered the bruise on his face as he talked to Yang Guang.
"Uncle Li, tell me what happened," Yang Guang asked.
"It's nothing. Just a small business disagreement because my store failed to collect the ingredients they needed." Uncle Li replied to removes this issue away from their conversation.
But Yang Guang insists that Uncle Li took an Inner Blood Pill to recover before he shops. After he's much better than a while ago, Yang Guang asked if his shop have any Charred Grass and Thunderbolt Grass in stock.
And at the same time, he asked for five sets of ingredients listed in the substitute recipe for Azure Soul Pill. After making his payment and collecting what he ordered, Yang Guang left the Herb Store after he told Uncle Li to be much more careful.
Since there are no reasons for him to return to the Polished Jade Tower, Yang Guang decided to stay at the Inn until the Tianyu Province Junior's Conference starts. After all, there are a few establishments opened for Alchemist to rent the space if they wanted to practice.
Yang Guang took three days to refine the five sets of Azure Soul Pill and succeeded 200 times out of 500. Later, when he sells them to Uncle Li's Herb Store, it should be able to fetch between 600 to 650 Soul Jades.
The effort of concocting some pills also gave Yu-Ding and the Cauldron's Plateau some energy, and it took Yang Guang into the Ancestral and Cultivation Land again.
"Yu-Ding!"
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.
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Note:
Clear Cuisine = Qing-Chai (more or like something known for bland, softly seasoned flavor. It can also be said as meatless because it was a practiced cuisine for Buddhist monks. Qing also means clear azure and impartial)