Chapter 82: Changing the Dressing

The middle-aged man led Chu Feng to this secluded courtyard, fragrant with the scent of medicinal herbs. After bowing respectfully to the elder in the white robe, he quietly withdrew. Chu Feng understood at once—this was the Master of the Hall of Spiritual Medicine, a formidable figure, one who had already attained the rank of a Sacred Spirit Warrior.

Chu Feng approached the ancient pine, bowed deeply to the elder, and greeted him with reverence, "Junior Chu Feng pays his respects to Senior."

The Hall Master looked at Chu Feng, his expression complicated, and sighed gently before saying, "Sit."

"Thank you, Senior," Chu Feng replied, seating himself across from the old man.

"I am already aware of your purpose." The Hall Master paused, fixing his gaze on Chu Feng, then said solemnly, "I won't speak further on the dangers. My role is to refine the medicine and teach you its usage. If you truly find yourself at death's door, not even I could save you. Are you prepared?"

Chu Feng nodded, then took out the nameless tome, offering it with both hands, his expression grave. "Life and death are decided by fate. Even if I fail, I shall have no regrets."

"Well said. It is precisely this fearless resolve that is needed on this path," the Hall Master praised, accepting the tome with a sigh. "I never imagined this ancient manual would see the light of day. May it indeed achieve greatness."

Chu Feng was unable to study the manual himself, as he knew nothing of alchemy, and thus it was only right to entrust it to the Hall Master.

Their conversation lasted long, and Chu Feng learned much. The Hall Master explained that the Grand Elder sent Chu Feng to him because, in this era, no one but himself could refine the body-tempering elixirs described in the manual.

He had studied the nameless tome and other fragmented body-tempering texts, gaining deep insight into the principles of alchemy and the interrelations of all things.

He spoke of the formula for breaking through the First Extreme, the simplest recipe in the entire tome. Yet even this simplest one left Chu Feng thoroughly alarmed.

Ordinarily, a single spiritual herb, along with a few common ones, sufficed to create an elixir. More advanced recipes might require several spiritual herbs. Yet this formula for the First Extreme called for over thirty spiritual herbs and more than a hundred common ingredients.

The order of adding herbs, the control of the flame, the timing—every aspect was intricate and exacting. The slightest error could doom the entire process.

This demanded the utmost skill from any alchemist. And this was only the simplest recipe. To break through the Second Extreme was vastly more complex, requiring over a hundred spiritual herbs. In later stages, the practitioner himself had to enter the cauldron, to be refined with the medicine.

The Hall Master admitted frankly that, despite his mastery, he had little confidence in successfully refining the elixir for the final recipe.

It made Chu Feng's heart ache—refining the elixirs was only one part of the challenge. Gathering all those rare ingredients would be an arduous task.

The Hall Master mentioned that all the herbs for the first recipe could be exchanged for in the Hall of Spiritual Medicine, but the two thousand points the Grand Elder had given him would be spent in full.

Chu Feng had thought the Grand Elder’s gift was generous, but now he realized it barely sufficed. The thought of the points he would need in the future was daunting; this path would demand endless toil.

Moreover, some herbs were not available in the Hall at all and would have to be sought out in the wider world.

At this moment, Chu Feng truly understood that this path was fraught with peril and extravagance. Yet he also knew that gathering points and collecting herbs was itself a form of tempering his will.

The path of martial cultivation was all but lost, with only a few severely fragmented body-tempering texts and the unique nameless tome remaining, along with various martial arts manuals.

As for the most powerful secret technique, the Heaven-Stepping Art, it was utterly lost. Not a single trace of experience or insight remained; for both Chu Feng and the Hall Master, this was the very first step into the unknown.

The matter of refining the medicine was naturally left to the Hall Master, who instructed Chu Feng to remain here for each breakthrough. He would prepare a special chamber for Chu Feng in the Hall.

According to the nameless tome, the process of breaking through each Extreme was long and arduous. By staying here, the Hall Master could observe every change during the treatment, and Chu Feng, for his part, would enjoy the safety and quiet of having a powerful Sacred Spirit Warrior by his side.

The Hall Master kept the tome, for though he had studied it before, he needed to delve deeper into its alchemical mysteries.

Moreover, for the Hall Master, having a living body-tempering practitioner like Chu Feng was an invaluable specimen. Through practical research, he believed his own alchemical skills would improve, and perhaps he would eventually succeed in refining the final, most difficult elixir.

"Young man, you must endure. Whether the last recipe can be completed will depend on how far you go," the Hall Master told Chu Feng.

Finally, he copied the names and quantities of all the ingredients for the first recipe onto a sheet of white paper and handed it to Chu Feng for collection.

He also gave Chu Feng a book called The Compendium of Spiritual Herbs, a detailed guide to various herbs—their appearance, color, and so on—so that Chu Feng could recognize and gather them in the future, for names alone would not suffice.

"Once you've gathered them all, bring them to me. I’ll notify you when the medicine is ready," the Hall Master instructed.

"Thank you, Senior!" Chu Feng bowed deeply, overwhelmed with gratitude. The Hall Master was refining his medicine free of charge; if he had to hire a Human Race Alchemy Saint, the points required would be astronomical.

After bidding farewell, Chu Feng left, scanning the list as he went. He realized that none of the herbs gifted by the instructors previously were on this new list. He would have to trade for each one. When he returned to the Hall of Right Principle, the middle-aged man the Hall Master had called "Little Bean" was still sipping his tea.

The other students eyed Chu Feng with curiosity, wondering what he and the Hall Master had discussed. At this moment, no one saw him as a mere boy.

The middle-aged man gave Chu Feng a meaningful look, set down his cup, and asked, "Anything else, boy?"

Chu Feng grinned, pulled out the herb list, and handed it over. "I still need to trade some medicines with Senior Little Bean."

The man bristled at the nickname, his whiskers quivering. "Little Bean? My surname is Hu, understand? People call me Apothecary Hu!"

Chu Feng laughed and saluted. "If Senior Hu hadn’t told me, how would I know? I must trouble you again, Senior Hu."

This time, the man seemed satisfied; at least he was spared the embarrassment of being called Little Bean.

"At least you have some sense. Let’s see what kind of bizarre things you’re trading for, that the Hall Master himself has to intervene." As he spoke, Apothecary Hu glanced over the list, then looked back at Chu Feng. "With so many herbs, how many kinds of elixirs are you making?"

"Only one," Chu Feng replied.

"One!" Apothecary Hu drew in a sharp breath. Over thirty spiritual herbs and a hundred other ingredients, all for a single medicine—this was beyond his understanding.

What’s more, some of the spiritual herbs were extremely rare, ones that ordinary alchemists couldn’t handle, let alone combine so many into a single recipe.

He gave Chu Feng a searching look, stunned but still said, "While this is a high-level request, it hardly requires the Hall Master’s personal involvement. There are other seniors in the Hall who could manage it."

Chu Feng nodded. "This is only the simplest recipe. The ones that follow are a hundred, a thousand times more advanced."

Apothecary Hu was dumbfounded for a long while, unable to fathom this youth. He finally asked, "What are you trying to do?"

Chu Feng chuckled. "That’s a secret."

Apothecary Hu nodded, not pressing further. He glanced at the list again, then eyed Chu Feng suspiciously. "Do you have enough points?"

Chu Feng took out his identity plaque. "There are two thousand two hundred points on it. That should be enough, right?"

Apothecary Hu reviewed the list, did a quick calculation, and nodded. "It should be about right. I’ll go prepare them now. Wait here."

"Thank you!" Chu Feng said.

There were few students in the Heaven Division, and even fewer came to trade for medicines, so Apothecary Hu was generally quite idle. He gave a few instructions to the students nearby and withdrew to the inner hall.

The inner hall housed a vast treasury of herbs, both spiritual and common.

With him gone, Chu Feng wandered the hall, chatting with the other students and gleaning much information.

Ordinary herbs weren’t exactly worthless—they were simply less valuable compared to spiritual herbs, which held spiritual energy and extraordinary properties, making them far more precious.

Chu Feng learned that even ordinary herbs cost one or two points, sometimes ten or twenty. One point equaled ten thousand taels of silver; for ordinary people, even a single herb would be considered a miracle cure.

In the Hall of Spiritual Medicine, herbs worth less than a point were called low-grade herbs. Though cheap, they were sometimes indispensable, and the Hall typically didn’t charge for them.

Of course, spiritual herbs were the most valuable, and they, too, were ranked by quality. Common spiritual herbs cost dozens of points, rarer ones hundreds, and some even demanded over a thousand points. Some were so rare that no amount of points could buy them.

From the students, Chu Feng learned that the Hall Master’s surname was Jin. They envied him greatly, for none had yet seen the legendary figure themselves.

An hour later, Apothecary Hu returned from the inner hall, handing Chu Feng a storage pouch and an itemized receipt. "The storage pouch costs points too—just two," he said.

Chu Feng smiled. "So stingy—can’t you give it for free?"

"Two points isn’t money to you?" Apothecary Hu retorted.

Chu Feng shrugged and glanced over the receipt. As expected, it was expensive. The common herbs, over a hundred varieties, came to just over two hundred points.

The spiritual herbs were another matter—some cost forty or fifty points, some over a hundred, and the priciest, Blood Jade Orchid, was a staggering four hundred points.

Altogether, including the two points for the storage pouch, the total came to one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven points. Of the two thousand points the Grand Elder had given him, only three remained.