25 Refining Medicines (1/2)

After he took a bath, Xiao Chen changed into a fresh set of clothes. He laid on his bed and began to read the introductory alchemy book. To lie down and read was a habit he gained from his original world, it was something he did not bother to change even after he came to this world. If someone from this world saw him now, they would be very shocked.

Alchemist was the most respected profession in the Tianwu Continent. This respect came from their medicines that could heal wounds, their miraculous pills that could change the body's talent for cultivation, and the pills that sped up the speed of cultivation.

To every cultivator, alchemy held a certain level of attraction. Alchemists were rare and they were highly demanded, this naturally caused the profession to be respected far more than the others.

Xiao Chen flipped through the book page by page. This introductory book was not very thick, it only contained tens of pages. Xiao Chen skimmed through the book and finished it in no time.

It was truly just an introductory book, there was no solid content inside and it only provided a brief preview to alchemy. However, Xiao Chen still benefited from this, as he now had a rough understanding of the alchemy in this world.

Alchemist in the Tianwu Continent could be separated into seven ranks, with one being the lowest and seven being the highest. All of the ranking examinations were conducted by the Alchemist Association.

To become an alchemist, there were three prerequisites. First, one needed a fire attributed Martial Spirit or a fire attributed technique. In other words, they needed to have the ability to condense a flame.

The second prerequisite was to do with one's knowledge of medicinal herbs. This condition required very solid fundamentals and an individual had to have a very thorough understanding of medicinal herbs and their usage. There were no shortcuts to this, it could only be accomplished by rote learning.

The third prerequisite was Spiritual Awareness. This was the vaguest condition and it seemed very enigmatic. Spiritual Awareness was similar but distinctly different from perception.

Even if an individual had walked very far on the road of cultivation, they still might not be able to awaken their Spiritual Awareness. Cultivation and Spiritual Awareness were not directly linked. There were some individuals who had awakened their Spiritual Awareness and possessed a very great Spiritual Awareness. However, they did not manage to have any accomplishments in terms of cultivation.

The so-called Spiritual Awareness referred to the intuition, senses and Mental Connection of the alchemist. The most important of these was their Mental Connection to medicinal ingredients. If their Mental Connection could be fast, stable, and meticulous, then they would be able to go far on the path of alchemy.

Xiao Chen thought about these three prerequisites and checked himself. He had the Purple Thunder True Fire, thus he had naturally cleared the first prerequisite. Additionally, he had memorized the chapter on refining pills in the Compendium of Cultivation and was able to recall the information on medicinal ingredients in detail.

After reading the Compendium of Cultivation for three years, he was already as familiar with it like the back of his palm. Furthermore, he had discovered that the medicinal ingredients of this world were the same as those recorded in the Compendium of Cultivation. Thus, Xiao Chen had cleared the second prerequisite too.

As for the third prerequisite, it seemed very mysterious. The Compendium of Cultivation did not have any records of Spiritual Awareness in the chapter on refining pills. However, he was not worried. After all, the alchemy recorded in the Compendium of Cultivation was slightly different from this world's. Even if he did not have Spiritual Awareness or only had a weak Spiritual Awareness, he was still confident that he could learn to refine pills. If he could not become an alchemist of this world, he would follow the method recorded on the Compendium of Cultivation instead.

Furthermore, the pills recorded on the Compendium of Cultivation were more profound and mysterious than the pills of this world. For example, he intended to refine the Fasting Pill. This pill would remove the need to eat or drink for a month after its consumption. This kind of effect was unheard of in this world.

...

When the sky had almost darkened, Bao`er finally returned with a big bag of medicinal herbs. After he saw her sweat covered and dusty appearance, Xiao Chen felt somewhat disturbed. This girl did not look older than fourteen or fifteen years old. In his original world, she would still be in middle school.

He said in an apologetic tone: ”I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you that I did not urgently need these medicinal herbs and that you could take your time.”

As Bao`er wiped her sweat with her small hands, she heard these words and was stunned. Did I hear incorrectly? The famous prodigal son of the Xiao Clan actually apologized to a maid?

When Xiao Chen was still trash, he had a very bad reputation. Although he defeated Xiao Jian and proved that he was not trash, they still did not have a good impression of Xiao Chen. Everyone said that he was a vile person that was intoxicated by success, becoming even more overbearing than before. There were even rumors that he had taught everyone who had humiliated him in the past a lesson. Bao`er had heard plenty of these rumors.

If Xiao Chen knew of these rumors, he would definitely become incomparably depressed. When he saw Bao`er's stunned expression, Xiao Chen felt a little worried and asked in a soft voice: ”Are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”

Bao`er quickly recovered her wits. She was not used to Xiao Chen's tone, thus she blushed and replied in a soft voice: ”Bao`er is fine, many thanks for Young Master's concern.”

Xiao Chen relaxed, ”Go back first, there is nothing else for you to do for now.”

When Bao`er heard these words, she looked at Xiao Chen in surprise and said nervously: ”Is Young Master chasing me away? The First Elder said that I am now your personal maid and will stay here from now on. If you chase me out, the First Elder will think that I did not serve you well and will punish me.”

Xiao Chen did not expect such a situation. These servants and maids were all orphans or the children of poor families. They had already been sold away. Even if they were beaten to death as a punishment, the offender would not be held responsible. Although the Xiao Clan was not that strict, there would still be some form of punishment.