Chapter 39: Learning Alchemy

The sun rose from the east and cast its light on the world. Ye Sheng hadn’t slept all night because he’d immersed himself in cultivation, nourished his psyche, observed and meditated on his psyche, and trained up his psyche.

During this one night, his psyche had gone up in strength, but Ye Sheng wasn’t happy about it.

“It’s too slow,” grumbled Ye Sheng to himself.

His pace of improvement was extremely slow and laborious, and he could only improve a little at a time. There was no way he was going to mature quickly.

Creeaak!

The door of the house was pushed open, and Zhou Meiren walked out. His face was still a little pale, but he looked more energetic than he had the night before.

“There is a proper order and time required for cultivating anything. You’re too impatient,” said Zhou Meiren.

Ye Sheng’s expression was grim as he said, “My enemies are all too powerful, and I don’t have a lot of time.”

Zhou Meiren shook his head and said, “But there’s nothing in this world that you can achieve just by the snap of your fingers.”

Ye Sheng asked, “Is there no shortcut at all? Surely not everything has to be done only this slow, proper way, right?”

Zhou Meiren thought about it for a while, and then he said, “There is a way. Daoism has an alchemy route. One can create pills like the Heaven and Earth Pill, the Human Body Pill, the Super Herb Pill, and others, which can help you to cultivate at a faster speed. But those who know how to make these types of pills are all Daoists who have been cultivating for many, many years. Each pill is worth tens of thousands of yuan, and even my father can’t get too many of these pills. I guess that means there’s no hope for you.”

Ye Sheng’s eyes lit up and he asked, “Does Priest Qingxu know how to refine pills?”

Zhou Meiren nodded and replied, “Priest Qingxu is a Daoist priest from Dragon Tiger Mountain, so of course he knows how to refine pills. He knows how to make the legendary Dragon Tiger Pill too.”

“Since Priest Qingxu is a Daoist priest from Dragon Tiger Mountain, why did he come to Jixia Academy to teach ordinary students?” asked Ye Sheng puzzledly.

“Priest Qingxu had a major disagreement with the current sect leader of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Priest Qingxu believes in teaching anybody who is willing to learn, while the current constitution of Dragon Tiger Mountain states that only disciples of the sect can be taught. So Priest Qingxu left Dragon Tiger Mountain, and His Majesty got him to teach here instead,” said Zhou Meiren.

“I see. All right then, I’m going to learn how to refine pills,” said Ye Sheng determinedly.

“You want to learn alchemy? Don’t be silly. It’s very hard to cultivate in alchemy. There are many people who can cultivate, but they simply can’t refine pills. Also, alchemy is a very dry and boring process which consumes a lot of energy. What you need to do now is to increase your level of cultivation,” said Zhou Meiren as he shook his head.

Ye Sheng smiled with confidence in himself and said, “Thanks for the reminder, but I’ve already decided.”

Refining pills could increase his cultivation speed, and this was way more attractive to him than anything else. It was even more appealing to him than trying to learn all the different techniques from the various other faculties. After this discussion with Zhou Meiren, Ye Sheng made a decision and immediately headed off to the Daoist Court.

Priest Qingxu’s living quarters were called the Daoist Court. There were seven or eight other high-level Daoists there, whose jobs were teaching the students as well.

The Daoist Court was halfway up a mountain, and the scenery was beautiful. There was a thin layer of clouds covering the mountain, and the cathaya pine trees were everywhere, tall and huge. Walking in this area made him feel like he was walking on clouds.

Ye Sheng slowly made his way to the entrance of the Daoist Court, where he saw a tiny Daoist boy guarding the entrance. He said to the little boy, “I’m Ye Sheng, a new student this year. I would like to see Priest Qingxu.”

The tiny Daoist was really tiny. He looked like he was seven or eight years old, and his chubby face had a very serious expression as he put his palms together politely and said, “Please wait for a while.”

Ye Sheng watched the tiny Daoist make his way inside and smiled faintly for a moment, then waited by the entrance respectfully.

All the rooms in the Daoist Court were separate houses on their own. They were quiet and far removed from everyone else, so it was very suitable for someone cultivating in Daoism to live here.

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Five minutes later, the tiny Daoist came back and said, “This way please. Priest Qingxu is absorbing Qi right now.”

Ye Sheng thanked him and went further up the mountain with the tiny Daoist. He saw the billowing clouds and the mountain peaks and valleys. From that height, he could also see the mysterious lake that was at the entrance of Jixia Academy.

Ye Sheng spotted Priest Qingxu under a huge mulberry tree. He was meditating and absorbing Qi while wearing a thin priest’s coat. His expression was very calm. Once Ye Sheng walked in, he slowly brought his meditation to an end.

“You’re here to see me. What is it?” asked Priest Qingxu.

Ye Sheng knelt down and said, “Your student, Ye Sheng, greets Priest Qingxu. I would like to study alchemy from you.”

Priest Qingxu was stunned, and he looked very strangely at Ye Sheng.

“I knew you were definitely here to ask to become my disciple, but I didn’t expect you to say that you wanted to study alchemy. What’s the reason?” asked Priest Qingxu as he continued to look at Ye Sheng.

“After coming to Jixia Academy, I’ve gone to see the martial arts classes, I’ve been enlightened in Buddhism, and I’ve read through many books on the Occult. But, in the end, I’ve found that the alchemy of Daoism is the one that’s most suitable for me. So I’ve come here to ask to be your disciple and to focus on cultivating in alchemy,” said Ye Sheng sincerely.

“Alchemy is a very dry and boring subject. It requires you to memorize many herb names and properties, as well as how to recognize them when you see them. At the same time, you might go through several rounds of practice without successfully refining anything. Are you able to persist in doing this?” asked Priest Qingxu with a calm expression on his face.

Ye Sheng nodded his head gravely and replied, “Ye Sheng will be able to persist.”

“Ever since I entered Jixia Academy, I’ve taught hundreds of students here but I’ve only taken in two disciples. Both of them learned Daoist techniques and neither wanted to study alchemy. You’re the first one who’s taken the initiative to learn alchemy, so you can go ahead and kowtow,” said Priest Qingxu in a pleased voice.

He believed in teaching anybody in the world. As long as they were willing and able, he would teach them. He was very willing to take in anybody who was gifted as his disciple. After coming to Jixia Academy two years ago, Priest Qingxu had taken just two disciples, and they had both focused on Daoist techniques. Ye Sheng was the only one who had wanted to learn alchemy, so of course Priest Qingxu was more than happy to have him.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Ye Sheng immediately kowtowed with quick moves. His forehead struck the ground three times to create three muffled sounds, and he put a lot of strength into his kowtowing.

“Get up.” After this process of becoming master and disciple was complete, Priest Qingxu looked at Ye Sheng with some gentleness in his eyes. He waved his hand to dismiss the tiny Daoist, then he started speaking to Ye Sheng again.

“I have learned countless Daoist techniques in my life, and I’ve passed all that I know to your two seniors. I’ve not been able to find any disciples who wanted to study alchemy so far. But since you are willing to learn alchemy from me, then you must put your heart and soul into it. Do not be lazy or shoddy about it,” Priest Qingxu warned Ye Sheng.

“I wouldn’t dare to slack off. I will definitely give it my full attention,” said Ye Sheng very seriously.

“Good. Here are 81 scrolls about the basics of alchemy, 365 books on herbs, and more than 100 books on the medicinal effects of the various herbs. These were all written and collated by countless ancestors before me. Take them back to your quarters, and study everything until you’ve memorized them so well that you can answer me immediately no matter what I ask you. Even if you’ve managed to learn everything, don’t come back here until you’re completely familiar with it.” Priest Qingxu took out a huge pile of books from the bag around his waist and passed them all to Ye Sheng.

Ye Sheng took all the books from him. They weighed at least 30 to 40 pounds in total. But he still had a pleased smile on his face as he said, “Thank you so much, Master. I will take these back now. Please wait for me to return.”

Priest Qingxu waved his hands and said, “Whether this is just a rash desire you have or something you’ve considered carefully will depend on how long you take to memorize all this.”

Ye Sheng bowed and left. He carried the huge stack of books and happily returned to his little house.

Zhou Meiren was sitting on a chair when he saw Ye Sheng carry the huge pile of books back in. He was so shocked that he got up with a start. “Priest Qingxu seriously took you in as his disciple?”

Ye Sheng nodded and said, “I don’t have a lot of time. I need to memorize all these books, so don’t disturb me.”

Zhou Meiren gaped in shock and said, “Does he take in just anybody these days?”

Ye Sheng ignored him and went into his own room and started to read each and every book. He was gifted with a photographic memory, and, once he had memorized a book, he would pass it on to his dantian, Earth.

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