Chapter 299: Have You Entered the Dao?
Chapter 299: Have You Entered the Dao?
The man turned his gaze towards Jiang Cheng.
"Big Brother Shen, I think I should continue learning from you."
Jiang Cheng smiled awkwardly.
With his current skill, without Shen Ming's guidance, he was certain he couldn't refine a complete pill.
The experience points gained would also be minimal.
A loss more than a gain.
"That's fine."
Shen Ming didn't think much of it and shifted his gaze to another man.
The latter swallowed, appearing a bit nervous.
After a series of steps, the pill emerged from the furnace, but surprisingly, there was only one complete pill.
The man's face fell.
Shen Ming's eyebrows furrowed.
"This won't do. It's almost been a week since you started, right? Your performance is still the same. With two-thirds of the month remaining, you need to step up."
"Yes, Big Brother Shen, I'll go back and practice more."
The man's face turned red, and he hurried away as if fleeing.
Shen Ming watched him, shaking his head.
Clearly, this man wasn't cut out for pill refining.
After all this time, there was still no improvement in his skills.
Shen Ming's gaze fell on Jiang Cheng once more.
"Give it at most two more days."
Shen Ming spoke, "I'll teach you hands-on for two days. By then, you must refine a pill on your own, just like them. Usually, after three days of learning, people can enter the Dao and refine a complete pill."
"Yes, Big Brother Shen."
Jiang Cheng obediently nodded.
In less than two days, as long as today passed, he would enter the Dao of pill refining.
And the standard for entering the Dao of Spirit Nourishing Pill refining was to refine a basic Spirit Nourishing Pill.
Once he achieved this, he could obtain herbs from Shen Ming, find an alchemy chamber, and practice independently.
When his pill refining skill reached proficiency, he could refine five Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills from a single set of herbs, or use five sets of herbs to refine one Intermediate and several Basic Spirit Nourishing Pills.
This was the assessment requirement set by the Black Market.
The morning passed quickly, and by evening, he appeared in the alchemy chamber again.
After refining two pills, his experience bar reached 100%.
Instantly, Jiang Cheng's mind was flooded with a vast amount of memories.
From the properties of the herbs to the steps of the refining process and the control of the fire, he gained a preliminary understanding.
"Let's end it here for today."
Shen Ming collected the pills and said, "Tomorrow, I'll guide you for another day. The day after, you'll refine a pill, and I'll see how your skills have improved after these three days."
"Big Brother Shen, there's no need to wait until tomorrow."
A confident smile appeared on Jiang Cheng's face. "I feel like I've entered the Dao."
"Are you sure?"
Hearing this, doubt filled Shen Ming's eyes.
He had witnessed Jiang Cheng's performance over these two days, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't particularly impressive either.
At the very least, he was far behind those three individuals.
Now, he claimed to have entered the Dao.
"Mhm, I'll try refining a pill on my own. You can just watch, Big Brother Shen."
"Alright, then begin."
Shen Ming nodded.
Time passed second by second.
His expression, initially skeptical, gradually shifted to a mix of belief and doubt. Finally, as the pills emerged from the furnace, and he saw a perfectly refined Basic Spirit Nourishing Pill among them, he turned and looked deeply into Jiang Cheng's eyes.
A little shocked.
And a little unbelievable.
Because over these two days, it was he who had taught the other man step by step, and the other man had never refined a pill on his own.
Yet, he had indeed entered the Dao.
If not for the fact that the other man was only a First Level Mentalist with limited psychic energy, he would have asked him to refine another pill.
"Alright, then tomorrow morning, you can try again. If you succeed, from now on, you can collect the herbs from me and refine them yourself."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng smiled.
Finally, he could refine the pills himself.
On the panel, the experience bar for his alchemy skills had increased threefold compared to before.
If Shen Ming continued to guide him, the process would likely be faster than before, as he had already entered the beginner stage. With this, the number of successful pills produced in each batch would also increase.
However, judging by Shen Ming's expression, he probably wouldn't agree to continue in this manner. Most likely, he would be like the other three, offering guidance for only an hour each morning.
If Jiang Cheng were to refine the pills by himself from now on, the time required would be longer. After all, with his current psychic energy, refining six batches in a day was already his limit.
Of course, one month should be enough time for him to improve his alchemy skills to a proficient level.
The issue was that this duration seemed a bit too long.
Whether it was for improving his own strength or being cautious of the Dawn Society finding this place, it would be best for him to quickly enhance his alchemy skills to perfection, the shorter the time, the better.
"Perhaps, I can give it a try."
A bold idea popped into Jiang Cheng's mind.
Another night passed.
The next day.
After Shen Ming demonstrated the process once more and asked who wanted to go first, Jiang Cheng stepped forward.
The reason was simple.
He didn't want to wait here like an idiot for several hours anymore.
For the others, the saying 'a borrowed knife can be used to kill one's enemy' was true, but for him, there was no need for that; he just needed to work hard.
Indeed, after Jiang Cheng volunteered, the three people beside him were stunned. Then, Han Tao and the woman beside him exchanged a glance, and a vague smile appeared on their lips.
"Alright, then you go ahead."
Shen Ming nodded.
An hour passed, and the pills were ready. There was one successful Spirit Nourishing Pill among them.
Instantly, the smiles on Han Tao and the woman's faces froze.
The other man had an even bigger reaction, his eyes widening in disbelief.
He remembered this newcomer had only been here for two days, right? And he had already refined a successful Spirit Nourishing Pill on his own?
"Not bad, not bad at all."
Shen Ming nodded repeatedly, "It seems you have truly entered the beginner stage."
"All thanks to Big Brother Shen's guidance," Jiang Cheng hastily replied.
Hearing this, Han Tao scoffed inwardly.
It was just the beginner stage, after all.
He was still far from reaching proficiency.
Just like that guy who came later.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the man who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"Big Brother Shen, can I now collect herbs from you and refine them in the alchemy chamber on my own?"
Jiang Cheng's heart was filled with anticipation.
"Of course."
Shen Ming smiled, "With your current psychic energy, you can collect six portions of herbs each day. If you want more, you'll have to purchase them yourself."
Upon hearing this, the other three immediately understood. Their gazes towards Jiang Cheng changed slightly, realizing that he was actually a First-Level Mentalist.
Jiang Cheng paid no heed to the others' stares and nodded at Shen Ming to show his understanding.
He took a medicine box and a key from Shen Ming and left to find the corresponding alchemy chamber. Opening the box, he saw six portions of herbs neatly arranged inside.
If he refined each portion separately, these would be just enough for him to increase his experience bar by one-tenth in a day. In ten days, he could reach the beginner stage.
This speed was actually quite fast, but it still wasn't fast enough.
Hence, he had a bold idea.
(End of Chapter)
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