章 60: Chapter Sixty - Oops, I used too much spiritual energy
Creating a Cloudy Spiritual Pill was going to be much harder than forming its lesser cousin. If Leon had read the recipe in more depth before selecting the assignment, he might have not bothered. And what was more, although he had Jin Li in mind when selecting this pill to learn and practice, there was no method for an improved version nor small ways to ensure the success of making the ordinary pill.
With a heavy sigh, he flopped back on his bed, playing out the book in his hand falling to his side. "What is wrong?" Jin Li asked, opening his eyes after a couple of cycles of cultivation.
"M-making this p-pill will b-b-be b-bothersome," Leon complained.
"Then don't make it," Jin Li replied. Cultivating with or without pills, it was all the same to him. Sure, he had taken pills during his childhood, but was aware that the rewards were not always worth the risk. "Make this Lord a cup of tea instead. And don't forget the honey."
Leon huffed slightly, but rose from the bed, filled the kettle with water from the barrel and placed it upon the stove. He stoked the dying embers within the wood burning chamber, even adding a little spiritual energy to speed up their awakening. The flames licked hungrily at his energies and claimed the fresh firewood offered. As the fire heated, so soon did the water in his kettle. Leon prepared two cups with fragrant tea and a small spoon of honey.
Jin Li smacked his lips as he sipped the hot liquid with satisfaction. "If making pills is bothersome," he continued, as if their conversation had merely been paused, "then simply continue serving this Lord. You will have more time for it."
"N-Not b-bothersome, n-not really," Leon replied, quietly. Indeed, although it had never been his idea to transmigrate into a world much different to his own and rely on the few skills of the original, he did not dislike this life of making pills. And although his first few days here had been a struggle and filled with fear and worry, he had settled and was happy. This life was simpler, he did not worry anymore about money and he wasn't as alone as he had been in his past life. Compared to worrying over whether he could pay his rent, juggle assignments and taking on more shifts at work and making sure he had enough credits to pass, what was one challenging pill in comparison?
With that thought in mind, he placed his cauldron upon the stove and began to follow the steps of the recipe. He placed songmist moss, the honeyvine and the mothtail roots into the cauldron and kept the metal pot from getting too hot, so that the melting honeyvine would not evaporate before its juices helped melt the roots and moss. Then slowly, he added the bladed thistle leaves that he had chopped up in preparation, a little at a time. They popped and crackled as they hit the simmering liquid at the bottom of the cauldron and Leon gulped worriedly, but did his best to control his spiritual energy which was divided into keeping the heat steady and stirring the mixture so that it did not stick and burn. After the leaves had completely dissolved, he tossed in the small dried seed heads and continued to slowly stir the mixture.
The hardest part of the recipe was to keep the mixture swirling at a constant and slow speed. Too fast and the liquid would remain liquid and the alchemist would likely run out of energy before pills could form. Too slow and the liquid would stick and be ruined. Too unsteadily and the ingredients would not bind uniformly.
Sweat began to bead upon Leon's head as he stared into the cauldron completely focused upon his task. The liquid was beginning to solidify, but he kept calm and did not alter his motions nor allow his energies to fluctuate. As the thickened liquid began to come together, Leon had to divide his energies even further, another thing he had only practiced a little and that was when he made the beast calming pills. However, those did not need such careful refinement, if one pill did not take enough spiritual energy into it, he would not worry and simply throw it away and still be left with some good pills. If one Cloudy spiritual pill did not form with enough energy, it would collapse and could ruin the whole batch!
Somehow, Leon made it though to the end and four uniform pills formed in the bottom of the cauldron. Leon quickly took the pot off of the heat and claimed his prizes, placing them in jade bottles so that they did not lose their potency. And then he collapsed with a sigh having used too much spiritual energy as he focused intently, much to Jin Li's chagrin.
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