Longevity Martial Arts: Grinding Experience in the Chaotic World
Chapter 325 - 183: Elder Lu asks me to work for free again!_2

Chapter 325: Chapter 183: Elder Lu asks me to work for free again!_2

Based on Lou Yu’s understanding of the two, he did not need to guess to know that Wen Mingyan was likely venting his anger on him after suffering a loss at Lu Junyi’s place.

When Wen Mingyan heard this, he muttered to himself, "I’m not stupid! If I were to storm Cloud Saint Peak, not to mention the old Peak Master wouldn’t tolerate me, even the Sect Master would likely emerge from seclusion to beat me up. I won’t do such a foolish thing."

Qin Xue, seeing the situation, could only shake her head helplessly and head toward the Merit Hall.

...

After leaving Cloud Saint Peak, Gu Sheng did not return to Fire Bamboo Forest but instead headed to War God Peak to inquire about the injuries of Dai Sen, Huang Miaoyin, and Mo Buwen.

Fortunately, the Holy Pill Sect was renowned for its focus on alchemy, as the saying goes, medicine and alchemy are interconnected. Many skilled medical practitioners resided within the sect. By then, the injured had already received expert treatment, and even the severely injured Mo Buwen was out of danger and only needed a period of rest to recover.

After confirming their conditions, Gu Sheng returned to the wooden house in Fire Bamboo Forest, eagerly retrieving the Ink Bamboo Saber and Soul-snatching Arrow.

The Soul-snatching Arrow was unlike ordinary arrows; it resembled a sleeve arrow and was only the size of a palm. Its material was unclear, but holding it gave an overwhelming, soul-stirring sensation. Gu Sheng even felt a headache if he stared at it for too long.

"I don’t have a crossbow this small. Seems like I need to find an opportunity to visit Holy Pill City and ask Elder Huang to modify it."

Gu Sheng set down the Soul-snatching Arrow and picked up the Ink Bamboo Saber.

The Ink Bamboo Saber, as its name suggested, was entirely ink-black, with a handle featuring distinct bamboo nodules. It was lightweight and devoid of heaviness, and its texture resembled bamboo rather than metal.

Despite this, the blade itself emitted a sharp and threatening aura; a single glance at it was enough to instill fear.

The Ink Bamboo Saber was a short blade, measuring less than fifty centimeters overall, with the blade itself only about thirty centimeters long—just slightly longer than a typical dagger.

This weapon was mainly suited for assassinations and was somewhat disadvantageous in direct combat.

Gu Sheng swung the Ink Bamboo Saber in a few random motions, feeling satisfied with its agility.

"Seems I need to intensify my training in Shadow Concealment Skill!"

The Ink Bamboo Saber, as a Yellow Level low-grade Treasure, must have a destructive power beyond measure. Gu Sheng speculated that once his Shadow Concealment Skill reached Small Success and his cultivation advanced to Silver Bone Realm, even Golden Bone Realm opponents might suffer if attacked from behind!

Since the Red Cloud Mountain Range was bound to remain chaotic for some time, and Lin Miaomiao’s group was still recovering from their injuries, Gu Sheng decided to use this opportunity to focus on his cultivation!

For the next five days, Gu Sheng did not leave his wooden house. His meals were delivered by Liu Yiming. Through relentless hard work, he made considerable progress in Shadow Concealment Skill, though he had not yet achieved Small Success. He planned to continue his practice, but Qin Xue disrupted his routine.

This time, Qin Xue visited Gu Sheng because his cultivation and sect contribution points had reached the threshold for promotion to Outer Sect Disciple status, and she was there to escort him to choose a peak!

According to Holy Pill Sect’s tradition for peak selection among disciples, the first destination was Spirit Pill Peak to test whether they possessed alchemy talent. If their alchemy talent was decent, they would be prioritized to remain at Spirit Pill Peak; only those lacking or with insufficient talent would be sent to War God Peak.

Since the Holy Pill Sect relied on the Alchemy Dao, this arrangement was entirely reasonable.

Qin Xue led Gu Sheng directly to the alchemy hall situated midway up Spirit Pill Peak.

Typically, the peak selection test for regular disciples would be conducted by a disciple stationed at the foot of Spirit Pill Peak. However, Gu Sheng was different; he was personally arranged and required the presence of the Great Elder himself, so Qin Xue chose the alchemy hall on Spirit Pill Peak as the testing site.

The alchemy hall was where disciples of Spirit Pill Peak practiced alchemy. It was equipped with many facilities and had rooms used for refining pills. Apart from disciples, even elders of Spirit Pill Peak performed alchemy here.

The hall had three floors: the first floor was for Outer Sect disciples, the second for Inner Sect disciples, and the third for Spirit Pill Peak elders.

Qin Xue brought Gu Sheng directly to the largest alchemy room on the third floor.

This room belonged to Lou Yu, the Peak Master of Spirit Pill Peak.

By the time Qin Xue and Gu Sheng arrived, Lu Junyi was already present. He was seated at a square table, chatting and laughing with an elderly man of similar age.

"Great Elder, Peak Master Lou, I’ve brought Gu Sheng," Qin Xue announced.

She pointed to Lou Yu and introduced him to Gu Sheng: "Gu Sheng, this is Peak Master Lou of Spirit Pill Peak."

Gu Sheng quickly cupped his hands respectfully. "Disciple Gu Sheng greets Great Elder and Peak Master Lou."

Lou Yu scrutinized Gu Sheng briefly before gesturing toward a pill furnace. "To become an alchemist, one must possess exceptional perception because refining pills requires precise control over flame temperature. Only then can the impurities in the medicinal ingredients be removed. This is the fundamental criterion for determining alchemical talent."

Lou Yu approached the alchemy tripod, tossed a medicinal herb inside, and placed several fire bamboo sticks beneath to ignite a flame. The temperature rapidly rose.

Lou Yu meticulously explained the use of the pill furnace to Gu Sheng. After finishing the explanation, he demonstrated its operation. In just over a minute, Lou Yu opened the lid and extracted two batches of powder.

One batch was pitch-black with a scorched odor, clearly consisting of impurities. The other batch was gray with a peculiar fragrance, the refined medicinal powder.

Lou Yu pointed to five medicinal herbs nearby. "These are five portions of Grinding Skin Grass. If you can successfully refine one portion into powder within two and a half hours, it will demonstrate alchemical talent, and you may stay on Spirit Pill Peak to study alchemy techniques."

Lou Yu’s refining took less than two minutes, so Gu Sheng curiously asked, "Isn’t two and a half hours too long? Didn’t you just take only a minute or two to complete the process?"

Upon hearing this, Lou Yu chuckled, "I am a Dark Level Alchemist. My control over flames and medicinal ingredients far surpasses someone who has yet to begin learning. To give you some perspective, even our Outer Sect disciples on Spirit Pill Peak would need around fifteen minutes to refine Grinding Skin Grass. The two-and-a-half-hour timeframe accounts for all five portions. You essentially only have thirty minutes per portion."

Gu Sheng understood and approached the pill furnace, recalling the steps Lou Yu demonstrated, tossing in a portion of Grinding Skin Grass and lighting the flame.

As the flames rose, Gu Sheng adjusted the fire intensity according to Lou Yu’s earlier demonstration, cautiously roasting the Grinding Skin Grass inside the pill tripod.

Being a novice, Gu Sheng kept the fire small, but after five minutes, the edges of the herb curled slightly while the center showed no change. Fearing he would run out of time, Gu Sheng hastily increased the flame.

Five minutes later, the Grinding Skin Grass became a pile of blackened ash, emitting a pungent odor. This attempt was clearly a failure.

Lou Yu consoled him, "No matter, even I needed two tries to succeed during my initiation. Reflect on this experience and try again."

Gu Sheng wasn’t the type to overthink. He summarized his mistakes and began his second attempt.

Taking lessons from the previous failure, Gu Sheng proceeded cautiously, observing how the herb responded to the flame and carefully flipping the Grinding Skin Grass. However, he still underestimated the difficulty, and after fifteen minutes, the partially refined herb burned due to excessive heat.

"Ah, midway through the process, the fire intensity needs to be reduced to stabilize the temperature!"

Gu Sheng quickly realized the problem and immediately undertook a third attempt.

This time, upon reaching the halfway point, Gu Sheng swiftly removed some fire bamboo sticks to lower the flame intensity.

Lou Yu, noticing this action, remarked with surprise, "Hmm, this lad figured out the need to reduce the flame halfway through so quickly? His perception seems rather sharp."

Refining Grinding Skin Grass was a basic skill with only one real challenge: controlling the midway temperature. Once this was understood, successful refinement became nearly guaranteed!

Among the disciples on Spirit Pill Peak, most required four to five tries to discover this crucial step.