Chapter 101: Su Lingxiu's Realization, the Elixir Master's Manual

Chapter 101: Su Lingxiu's Realization, the Elixir Master's Manual

Su Lingxiu immersed herself in the art of elixir-making, spending most of her time in her room, organizing her insights and attempting to combine precious medicines into elixir formulas based on the theory of monarch, ministers, and assistants.

Li Xuan occasionally checked on her, marveling at her talent. In such a short time, she had already written down the characteristics and effects of various precious medicines, and now she was beginning to create her own formulas.

"The theory of elixirs poses no problem for her. The real challenge now is for her to understand the cultivation method and the basics of martial arts. Otherwise, no matter how profound her understanding of elixirs is, without a foundation in martial arts, her progress will be limited, and she won't be able to refine any significant elixirs."

"It can only help her improve her medical skills and understanding of alchemy, but that's about it," Li Xuan thought to himself.

The core of the Elixir Master's martial arts did not lie in elixirs or medicine, but in the martial arts itself. It was about using martial arts to drive the techniques of an Elixir Master. That was the true essence.

In addition to organizing her insights on elixirs, Su Lingxiu also asked Shi Er to find someone to carve a life-sized mannequin for her. She meticulously marked all the acupoints on the mannequin.

Li Xuan was pleased with what he saw. As Su Lingxiu continued her research, he was confident that she would be able to label all seven hundred and twenty acupoints on her body.

"When Xu Yan returns, I'll ask him to teach this junior disciple sister. With Xu Yan's intelligence and imagination, he will definitely be able to assist Su Lingxiu in understanding the cultivation method," Li Xuan decided.

Su Lingxiu was an exceptionally talented disciple when it came to the way of elixirs. It would be a shame if she couldn't enter the realm of martial arts.

Su Lingxiu organized her insights, refined her theories, and combined precious medicines into elixir formulas. At the same time, she was also trying to comprehend the cultivation method. However, compared to her profound understanding of elixirs, her progress in comprehending the cultivation method was slow.

She wasn't worried, though. Once she finished organizing her notes on elixirs, she would fully devote herself to understanding the cultivation method. With her natural talent, she was confident that she would be able to figure it out.

Shi Er, on the other hand, was struggling. He was stuck at the stage of perfecting his organs, unable to progress to the stage of muscle and bone thunderclap, vigorous qi and blood, and break through to the Qi and Blood Realm. All he could do was continue his arduous cultivation and research, hoping to find a way to break through.

Li Xuan didn't pay much attention to him, as he believed that Shi Er had decent talent and that breaking through to the Qi and Blood Realm was only a matter of time.

A golden light appeared.

"Your disciple Xu Yan has broken through to the Small Success stage of the Innate Realm, and you have reached the Perfection stage of the Innate Realm."

Xu Yan's cultivation speed was impressive, befitting his role as the pioneer of Li Xuan's martial arts path.

Li Xuan felt a surge of satisfaction. His strength had increased yet again.

The next day, Xu Yan finally returned.

Li Xuan was delighted to see his senior disciple back and decided to put off teaching him the techniques beyond the Innate Realm for the time being. The more pressing matter was to have Xu Yan assist Su Lingxiu in comprehending the cultivation method of the Elixir Master's martial arts.

If he were to teach Xu Yan the advanced techniques now, his mind would be occupied by the new cultivation method, and he wouldn't be able to spare much mental energy to help Su Lingxiu.

With Xu Yan's talent and status as an Innate Realm warrior, Li Xuan was confident that he would be able to help Su Lingxiu comprehend the cultivation method in no time.

"Although it's not entirely Su Lingxiu's own comprehension, but with Xu Yan's assistance, the ultimate understanding will still depend on her. Since she's the cultivator, she should still be able to receive feedback from the golden finger, right?" Li Xuan mused.

"Meng Chong's Angry Thunder Crossing the Sky movement technique also benefited from Xu Yan's inspiration, and he received feedback. Su Lingxiu shouldn't be an exception," he thought.

As long as they could still get feedback from the golden finger, Li Xuan planned to have Xu Yan help new disciples comprehend the cultivation methods he created in the future. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about his disciples being unable to grasp the martial arts he taught. He had absolute confidence in Xu Yan's abilities.

"This is your junior disciple sister, Su Lingxiu!" Li Xuan introduced them to each other.

"This is your senior disciple brother, Xu Yan!" Xu Yan looked at his junior disciple sister with surprise. She was truly beautiful.

"Greetings, senior disciple brother!" Su Lingxiu stared at Xu Yan, her beautiful eyes wide with shock. She couldn't believe that her senior disciple brother was so young, not much older than herself, yet he was already an Innate Realm warrior. His talent was terrifying.

"Greetings, junior disciple sister!" Xu Yan replied cheerfully.

Su Lingxiu was delighted. The stronger her senior disciple brother was, the more powerful her backing would be.

"Senior disciple brother, I have some questions about cultivation. May I seek your guidance?" Su Lingxiu asked eagerly, her fingers nervously twisting the corners of her clothes. She remembered her master's words about seeking help from her senior disciple brother if she had any doubts.

"Of course!" Xu Yan nodded.

Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction. Xu Yan truly lived up to his role as the senior disciple brother. "Lingxiu is cultivating the Elixir Master's martial arts. While the cultivation method is slightly different from the orthodox martial arts, there are still some similarities. Her martial arts focus less on combat and more on elixir refining and healing."

Xu Yan asked curiously, "Master, what is elixir refining?"

Li Xuan explained, "Elixir refining is the process of extracting the essence from precious and spiritual medicines, removing impurities, and transforming them to bring out their extraordinary effects. Simply put, using ordinary methods to boil a few precious medicines into a medicinal soup or pills will only yield one or two effects. However, after refining them into elixirs, their effects are enhanced tenfold. Moreover, elixirs are free from impurities, making them easier to absorb and refine."

Xu Yan listened with fascination. "If we have elixirs, wouldn't cultivating martial arts be a thousand times faster?"

Li Xuan nodded. "It can speed up martial arts cultivation and make it easier to break through bottlenecks. However, one must not become dependent on elixirs, as a weak foundation and shallow realm will result in a significant decrease in strength."

"I understand now," Xu Yan said. Although he couldn't use elixirs himself, he thought that his parents and others could benefit from them. With this thought, his gaze toward his junior disciple sister softened.

"Junior disciple sister, if there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask senior disciple brother for help!" Xu Yan said. He wanted Su Lingxiu to start cultivating as soon as possible so that she could refine elixirs for his parents, improving their strength and providing him with a sense of security. Then, he could venture into the inner domain without worry.

"Thank you, senior disciple brother," Su Lingxiu said happily.

"Let's go outside the city. I want to see our second disciple brother," Xu Yan said, and Su Lingxiu nodded.

The two left the small courtyard and headed outside the city.

Outside the city, the three disciples gathered and naturally engaged in friendly interactions.

Su Lingxiu then began to explain the cultivation method of the Elixir Master's martial arts.

Meng Chong listened with a furrowed brow and blank eyes. He felt lost, as this cultivation method was beyond his talent.

He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "Junior disciple sister, I'm afraid I can't be of much help."

"Nonsense, second disciple brother. Everyone has their own talents," Su Lingxiu said, not surprised by his reaction.

The second disciple brother cultivated the physical martial arts, and his muscular build made it clear that his talent lay in his body, not his brain.

"Master said that the martial way of an Elixir Master is to connect with the spirit energy of all things, using that energy to stimulate one's qi and blood... Wood represents medicine, and fire represents elixirs..."

"Junior disciple sister, you haven't unblocked your Heavenly Bridge yet, so you can't sense spiritual energy. This perception of the spirit energy of all things is not about sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth but..."

Xu Yan looked at a tree beside them and said, "Junior disciple sister, try to sense the vitality and spirit energy of this tree. The path to cultivation may lie in this."

Su Lingxiu was taken aback. Sense the spirit energy of a tree?

How does one do that?

"Place your hand on the tree, and use your heart and intention to try to comprehend and perceive it," Xu Yan said thoughtfully.

Su Lingxiu did as instructed and placed her palm on the tree, quietly attempting to sense it, but she gained no insights.

Xu Yan also fell into contemplation.

"Junior disciple sister, the Elixir Master's martial arts naturally revolve around elixirs and medicine. You should try to comprehend the spirit energy of all things from the perspective of an Elixir Master and enlighten yourself from that perspective," Xu Yan continued to guide her.

The path of cultivation of the Elixir Master's martial arts was not something that could be comprehended overnight.

Li Xuan was not surprised by this, even with Xu Yan's assistance. After all, this cultivation method was not something Xu Yan practiced himself, so he could only provide auxiliary guidance.

Over the next few days, Su Lingxiu went to the outskirts of the city with Xu Yan in the mornings to comprehend the cultivation method of the Elixir Master's martial arts. In the evenings, she continued to organize her elixir theories and ponder elixir formulas.

At the same time, she recorded her ideas about elixir refining.

While she had not yet fully comprehended the path of cultivation, she had almost finished organizing her knowledge of elixir techniques.

On the evening of that day, after returning from outside the city and finishing dinner...

Su Lingxiu was organizing her draft. It was a thick stack of papers, and she was checking each page carefully to see if there were any omissions. At the same time, she was filling in her new insights.

"The Elixir Master's martial arts are naturally closely related to elixirs and medicine. I was so obsessed with the path of cultivation that I never thought about integrating elixir refining into the path of cultivation, which is the true essence of the Elixir Master's martial arts.

"Wood represents medicine, and fire represents elixirs. Wood gives birth to fire. How can I sense the qi and blood of an Elixir Master?

Su Lingxiu's mind was filled with her senior disciple brother's understanding of the cultivation method and her own speculations. At this moment, she felt that she had a vague enlightenment.

Su Lingxiu didn't rest the entire night. Early the next morning, when she arrived outside the city, she shared her insights with her senior disciple brother for him to reference.

"Junior disciple sister, do you see this tree? It represents wood, and you represent fire. Use the spirit energy of this tree to stimulate your qi and blood, and perceive it with the perspective of an Elixir Master.

"Touch its essence, just as you understand the effects of medicinal herbs. Get to know it," Xu Yan said thoughtfully.

Su Lingxiu was taken aback, and enlightenment dawned on her. She knew the properties of various medicinal materials like the back of her hand.

She was familiar with the characteristics and treatment specialties of each precious herb, having collected medicinal herbs in the mountains and identified their properties.

The effects of these precious medicines were also summarized by their predecessors through perception and experimentation.

"Senior disciple brother, I understand now!"

Su Lingxiu closed her eyes slightly, placing both hands on the tree, and carefully perceiving as if she were trying to capture the tree's spirit energy.

"The human body has acupuncture points. To sense qi and blood, you can start from the acupuncture points. The heart represents fire, and the point closest to the heart is the danzhong point..."

Su Lingxiu's breathing changed slightly as she carefully sensed a stream of heat rising from her danzhong point, warm and enduring.

"Is this qi and blood?"

Su Lingxiu was overjoyed.

Having sensed qi and blood, she had completed the most critical step in the path of cultivation.

After perceiving qi and blood, the next step was to improve and thoroughly comprehend the path of cultivation.

Then came the refinement of the skin, bones, and organs.

For Su Lingxiu, refining her skin was relatively easy, as she already had a foundation in martial arts. Refining her bones to the Iron Bone and Copper Bone stages wouldn't be difficult either.

"Junior disciple sister, since the fundamental extreme of the Elixir Master's martial arts is the Evergreen Bone, you must refine it. Senior disciple brother Meng and I have the Jade Bone and the Diamond-Glass Bone, respectively."

Xu Yan spoke solemnly after Su Lingxiu had sensed qi and blood and enlightened herself on the path of cultivation.

"Senior disciple brother, rest assured. I will definitely refine the Evergreen Bone. I can refine elixirs, so there shouldn't be a problem!" Su Lingxiu replied confidently.

At this moment, Su Lingxiu thought of Zhou Ying.

"I wonder if Aunt Zhou can find a pill furnace. Before I enter the Qi and Blood Realm, I can't refine elixirs with my qi and blood, so I can only rely on a pill furnace," Su Lingxiu said.

She was well aware that only by refining elixirs could she cultivate faster and refine the Evergreen Bone.

For other warriors, consuming too many elixirs would make their cultivation realm appear shallow and hollow, resulting in a significant decrease in strength.

However, as she was cultivating the Elixir Master's martial arts, she could grasp the subtleties and refine elixirs more effectively, reducing the likelihood of a hollow cultivation realm.

Back at their residence, Su Wenxiu immersed herself in her elixir drafts.

"I'm going to write elixir formulas—formulas for refining the skin, formulas for refining the bones, formulas for refining the organs, and formulas for breaking through bottlenecks. As for the Qi and Blood Realm, I'll call the elixir 'Qi and Blood Dan'..."

Su Lingxiu flipped through her records of various precious medicines, selecting and combining them.

"This formula is perfect for refining the skin. It can speed up the refinement of the skin membrane, so I'll call it the 'Refine Skin Dan.' Is the name too straightforward?

"This formula should be good for refining bones. I'll call it the 'Refine Bone Dan.'

"And this one is for refining organs... Since warriors first need to sense qi and blood during cultivation, this formula of mine can help with that. I'll call it the 'Small Qi and Blood Dan.'"

As soon as Su Lingxiu figured out one formula, her inspiration burst forth, and she suddenly understood the theory of elixir combinations.

One after another, she created new formulas.

In her mind, an entire Elixir Master's manual seemed to take shape.

In the courtyard...

Li Xuan narrowed his eyes, looking at the light shining from Su Lingxiu's room. She was probably organizing and compiling her elixir theories again. It seemed like another sleepless night for her.

He felt relieved that Su Lingxiu had basically enlightened herself on the path of cultivation of the Elixir Master's martial arts and had initially sensed qi and blood.

The third disciple was now firmly established, and the Elixir Master's martial arts system was about to be opened.

Suddenly!

A golden light appeared.

Li Xuan was taken aback. Did Meng Chong break through? Or did Xu Yan have a new realization?

"Your disciple Su Lingxiu has enlightened herself on the Elixir Master's techniques from the elixir theories you compiled and has drafted an outline for an Elixir Master's manual. You have obtained the Elixir Master's Manual."

Unexpectedly, the feedback from the golden finger came from Su Lingxiu.

Li Xuan jumped up from his chair, his heart filled with joy. His third disciple was truly gifted in the way of elixirs. His efforts in nurturing her had not been in vain.

Even though she hadn't entered the realm of martial arts yet, she had relied on her monstrous talent to create elixir formulas and draft an outline for an Elixir Master's manual.

At this moment, Li Xuan had fully grasped the Elixir Master's Manual. It was not just an outline but a complete manual with detailed sections on elixir refining, healing techniques, and elixir formulas.

The Elixir Master's martial arts system, which had previously been a vague theory, now had substantial results in the field of elixirs!

(End of Chapter)

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