Mage And Wolf
Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Chapter 80

"I could eat them all and solve the problem" I suggest after a half hour of argument between the Elders.

"No, that wouldn’t do. If only we could get more. And another tea please"

They’re definitely not even listening.

The sound of heavy boots on the wooden floor draws everyone’s eyes. A surprisingly young face under a white beard and long white hair examines everyone in the room, before settling in the pills in the middle of the counter.

"Have I not said to report any treasures found to me first?" The man says.

"Sect Master Sun." Elder Ye greets him and I stand up to give him a formal bow.

"These aren’t found, they’re created" she continues.

"And which one of you, pray tell, made cursed pills?" all eyes turn to me, standing next to my cauldron sorting herbs.

"Greetings Sect Master" is all I can think to say.

Sect Master Sun rubs his forehead like it will make this headache go away.

"And you did this without sealing the room and posting guards why?"

"Honestly, I didn’t think it would work, and I wouldn’t want to have to pay to blow people up."

The Sect Master hides his mirth well, but I can see it in his eyes.

"Well, every Elder in the sect now knows it worked and they all want a share."

"I admit, that might become an issue. But I have a solution."

"Really now disciple, what might that solution be?" he asks, danger dripping from every word.

"How about you take them and distribute them as you see fit? No charge, call it a public service, giving back to the community."

"How does that solve anything at all?" he roars, but Elder Ming laughs.

"What is so funny Ming?"

"It solves everything for her. She gets credit for donating a priceless treasure, and it becomes no longer her problem"

"You’ve got potential Young Miss" Elder Ye laughs, realizing my proposal helps nobody but myself. "You’d have gotten away with it if he actually wanted one of them."

"Minor miscalculation. That’s why I’m still an Outer Disciple, I have much to learn." Sect Master Sun even manages to crack a smile at that, despite his annoyance.

"But seriously, what are we doing with them?" Elder Ye asks.

"How about I gift each of you one pill? That’s all of them, and you all have the rank to decide who needs them."

"Great plan, but what about you?" Sect Master Sun asks.

"Oh, I’m just going to make another batch. But with the windows closed this time"

I think I might have to hide under the counter before he strangles me. He’s turning pretty red in the face.

"Elder Ming, take her to the sealed Alchemy rooms in the basement. The rest of you are forbidden to speak of these pills origins on pain of death."

I wave goodbye and everyone picks up their respective pill.

Elder Ming stands guard outside the room while I cook. This time I tell her I’ll need a quick break first, resting an hour to recover my energy. Honestly, I’ll be fine, but I want to make an extra batch for myself.

minutes later I’ve stored my cut and I’ve got a fresh set all ready to go. 5 more pills again, though this batch isn’t quite as striped with Pill Veins as Elder Ye called them. The quality must have slipped a bit.

I bottle them up and let the room air out before opening the door to let Elder Ming in.

"That’s it for ingredients, 5 more successes." She looks them over closely, noting every detail down in her book.

"The time limit for the competition is 2 hours. Even if you fail an attempt, you can restart at this speed." I nod agreement.

"Elder Song has some pills he wants you to make between now and then though. Something called a Blissful Song pill. He says you know the recipe, and he’d like to see what happens if it’s made as a cursed pill."

"You know that’s a pill he invented right? A powerful aphrodisiac and contraceptive that when burned like incense would have the whole Sect dual cultivating like rabbits for upwards of 6 hours. If I made that a cursed pill there might be fatalities"

"That dirty old man. So what ingredients do we need?"

I shake my head to try to clear the mental image. "What else is on the list?"

"There’s a regeneration pill, a Soul Forging pill, one called Mega Blow"

Mega Blow? Did he design an explosive? No, wait, that one’s an extra strength laxative.

"How about the Soul Forging Pill? It’s difficult, but it will complement the Core Forming pills quite well, for complete cultivation."

The Soul Forging pill isn’t suitable for the competition. It’s a rank 4 pill, theoretically becoming a strong rank 5 or low 6 if it can be made as a cursed pill. But it takes half a day to make. I might have to attempt it tomorrow.

"I’ll gather materials and meet you here tomorrow then" Elder Ming waves her goodbye.

Time to go see what these new martial arts are all about.

Elder Po gives me an introduction to both styles today, a sample of what the styles have to offer, so I understand what I’m supposedto be working.

The Divine Fist style is just as aggressive as it’s name sounds. All hard strikes and focused energy to blast through opponents defenses. Very ostentatious, like the user is showing off for a crowd.

The Sacred Thunder style is the opposite, it’s all lightning fast movements and counter attacks. This one is much more comfortable to use. I don’t have some overactive ego that needs to constantly show off, It’s better to get the job done quickly and be gone.

"Can we start with the Sacred Thunder style? I would like to get a good grasp on as much of that one as I can" I ask Elder Po.

"I’m glad you’re finally showing interest in my specialty and not just hanging out with the other Elders." He jokes.

"Sorry Elder. But it’s not my fault, my cultivation style perfectly suits cursed pill making, and they’re not going to let me escape easily."

"Yes, it is a bit troublesome. That’s why Elder Song hides in his library. It keeps people from asking him for practical demonstrations."

"How old is Elder Song? I’ve got nearly a millennia of his alchemy experiments floating around my head"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It’s said he was once a respected researcher in the Immortal Realms, but fled to this world after a mishap."

That could have been almost anything, the man’s entire history is a collection of reasons to remove him from polite society as far as I can tell.

He’s a great guy though.

Memorizing the techniques of the Sacred Thunder style is relatively easy. They’re not that different from the Blooming Lotus Style, just applied in a unique way with minor variations. The skills necessary to accompany the techniques are another story. Even with the memorization technique I’m having a hard time getting a grasp on how they should work.

We leave off for the day and I head to my room to meditate. Progress is still steady, and I’m hoping to get another breakthrough in the time before the contest, maybe a second, though I doubt I’ll manage to stack them up as I did with the previous incidences in this world.