I Have A Martial Dao World

The morning bell of the Taoist temple rang, echoing through the mountains.

Li Pei took out his pocket watch, realizing it was time to take his leave.

He gestured to the Liao Family Sisters and stood up, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Daoist. I dare not disturb your practice any further. I shall take my leave."

Zhou He nodded, "Go ahead."

The three ladies performed a deep bow and walked out. Li Pei saw that Lu Yao was still sitting still. It turned out that even by the time they had reached the gates of White Cloud Observatory, the little rogue still had not come out.

Liao Ya stepped forward and said, "Sister, let's go ahead. Lu Yao still needs to stay for a while."

Li Pei asked curiously, "Is he not coming with us? If he has something to ask, he can come again next time."

Liao Ya said, "No, it's not that. Daoist Zhou wants to teach Lu Yao the art of alchemy..."

"What!!! Alchemy!?" Li Pei was utterly astonished, with eyes and mouth wide open: "Why would Daoist Zhou teach him!?"

Alchemy was a core secret transmission of the Wudang Sect. Among the thousands of true disciples of Wudang, only the Sect Leader and Zhou He knew this skill. Why would it be passed on to Lu Yao?

Of course, Liao Ya could not say it was because of the 2000 silver, so she eloquently and politely said, "Perhaps he admires Lu Yao..."

Li Pei quickly realized this was true, immediately calmed his mind, and smiled, "Then you should take my carriage and leave first. It's rare to come out like this; we might as well have a good time. Shall we go to Four Seas Tower for a meal?"

Leaving the original carriage for Lu Yao, the three women departed in Li Pei's carriage.

On the surface, Li Pei seemed composed, but his heart was creating massive waves: With the addition of Spirit Refining Oblivion and the art of alchemy, I must have this man!

Now I only know he's fond of women! But if I send him women, I will inevitably offend the Liao Family Sisters... Damn, what should I do!

~~~~~~~~

Zhou He led Lu Yao into the alchemy room.

The arrangement inside the alchemy room was somewhat different from what Lu Yao had imagined. In addition to shelves filled with medicinal herbs and ore, there was a conspicuous large coal stove, upon which sat a big iron pot big enough to stew oneself in.

Zhou He took out a dozen or so herbs and said, "Metal and stone are cooked, herbs are refined, Inner Breath transforms into Immortal Pills! The essence of alchemy is just the miraculous reaction between high temperature, Inner Breath, and various materials. Watch carefully, this is the most fundamental method for crafting Cultivating Origin Pills."

The old Daoist opened the coal stove, heating the iron pot until it was red-hot, then he crushed the herbs with his palms on the chopping board and put them all into the iron pot to stir-fry with his hands.

"After your Spirit Refining Oblivion, you can control the circulation of Inner Breath more precisely, which is used for refining pills. Crafting Cultivating Origin Pills should be a piece of cake for you!"

Zhou He used both palms to stimulate Inner Breath, zigzagging through the iron pot as the "ingredients" tumbled at high temperatures, with many impurities being shaken out.

Lu Yao activated his Oblivion state, and everything around him instantly slowed to 0.3x speed, becoming slower, and he firmly memorized each step and movement of Zhou He.

About a quarter of an hour later, four fragrant pills appeared in his hand.

Lu Yao took one and tasted it. A basic Cultivating Origin Pill had medicinal power almost like that of Ten-Ingredient Tonic Soup, but the advantage was that it did not need to be cooked and could be eaten right away, convenient for travel.

Then he tried it himself.

"High temperature, Inner Breath, the reaction between ingredients..."

First, crush the ingredients, put them into the high-temperature iron pot, and stir-fry them with both palms as a spatula; the feeling was indeed rather similar to "explosive stir-frying."

Under the Oblivion state, one can not only sensitively perceive the temperature and control the fire but also cleverly manipulate the palms to shake off impurities;

Finally, precisely control the circulation of Inner Breath to cause incredible reactions between the herbs and ores.

Such operations were utterly impossible for ordinary people, and only Spirit Refining Experts could perfectly grasp the instantaneous changes of materials and refine them into pills.

~~~~~~~

The pills made by Lu Yao, while not very pretty in shape, were nearly on par with Zhou He's in every other aspect.

Zhou He tasted one, nodded with satisfaction, "Alchemy, after all, is a craft, practice makes perfect. As long as you practice more, you will surely learn more complex Pill Recipes soon."

Lu Yao laughed and said, "Taoist priest, actually, the elixir I am most eager to refine is the 'Wisdom Spirit Pill' noted in your records for feeding spiritual beasts."

"Oh? You're interested in raising spiritual beasts too!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou He became visibly excited, as there were too few who shared this interest.

Raising spiritual beasts not only required a lot of effort but also cost a significant amount of money. Why not invest those resources in oneself?

Zhou He, with unceasing enthusiasm, began to offer guidance to Lu Yao, "The best choice for spiritual beasts is avian! Snakes and insects are hard to enlighten, and mammals consume too much. It's only avian creatures that are the best. Once you raise them to the Blood-Exchange Realm, you can ride them to soar across the skies. How wonderful would that be!"

Lu Yao laughed and asked, "Taoist priest, where can I purchase one?"

Zhou He replied, "You have to start raising avian creatures before they open their eyes, so that you're the first person they see. If you want to buy one in Yunzhou, you can contact the manager of Four Seas Tower; he's often in touch with those who deal in exotic treasures and should be able to procure one for you. Take my name card to him."

He was about to give his name card to Lu Yao, clearly treating him as an insider.

Lu Yao quickly responded, "I am also well-acquainted with Manager Jin of Four Seas Tower. I can just go see him myself."

Zhou He laughed and said, "The latter half of my notes includes information about spiritual beasts, which you can check out. We can exchange knowledge in this area, since there are so few in Yunzhou who share this interest. It's nothing like the capital."

"Then I shall come to bother you often."

~~~~~~~

After parting with the old Taoist, Lu Yao went down the mountain.

Li Pei and the three ladies had already left. They left a servant with a message for Lu Yao, "Young Master Lu, the Commandery Princess and Master Liao have gone to Four Seas Tower."

"That's convenient. I was just about to go there myself."

After thanking the message-bearing servant with a nod, Lu Yao also set off in his carriage.

Along the way, he intermittently entered the state of oblivion, enabling him to see behind him without turning his head. He found it quite amusing and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Since the cities of the Otherworld didn't have traffic congestion, Lu Yao quickly arrived at Four Seas Tower, where the three sisters were also dining.

~~~~~~

Li Pei led her two sisters over, where Manager Jin was waiting on them, bowing and scraping respectfully.

"This place is well-known for its medicinal cuisine, which is both delicious and effective. Today, I'll treat you, so don't be polite."

Li Pei pulled Liao Ya to their seats and urged the sisters to order.

After thinking it over, Liao Ya said, "Sister, let me treat you today. You've always looked after me; allow me to express my thanks."

Li Pei smiled about to refuse, but Liao Ya had already instructed Manager Jin, "The usual, please."

Manager Jin clasped his hands, "Everything is hot on the stove, and after simmering for three days, the timing is just right. I'll serve the dishes immediately."

With that, he went off to make the arrangements.

In a short while, several waiters brought in dishes, singing out the names of the tiger's elbow, bear's paw, and eagle's wings – all part of the medicinal cuisine.

Li Pei casually remarked, "Do you come here often, younger sister?"

Before Liao Ya could respond, Liao Qe interjected, "Lu Yao has ordered meals here, we eat the medicinal cuisine every day."

Li Pei was internally astonished and gained a more tangible understanding of Lu Yao's wealth. At the same time, she worried:

He's in good terms with Taoist Zhou, definitely not lacking in cultivation techniques or elixirs, and he doesn't lack silver, nor does he crave power and influence. Could it really be that only a beauty trap would work...

As she was pondering this, Lu Yao had already arrived.

"What a coincidence, you've also come to Four Seas Tower. I'm planning to raise a spiritual beast. Shall we choose one together?"