"Was the spirit medicine I knew like that?"
Shin-ui fell into confusion watching Jeok-geom and Seol-ran circulating their qi.
"There's clearly toxic qi as well, but it seems they've absorbed more spiritual qi than that..."
He shook his head.
Poison was harmful to the body.
That was an obvious proposition.
Occasionally, sects that mainly practiced poison arts like the Sichuan Tang Family or the Five Poison Sect beyond the frontier might call poison a spirit medicine, but that was only a tiny minority.
Yet here was a spirit medicine containing poison.
It was a story that negated his common sense.
"Haha. Is this a dream or reality?"
It was right before his eyes.
As the Lord of the Heaven's Weight Medical Sect, he hadn't deeply learned martial arts, but he had learned enough to maintain his health.
But even he could tell.
That the energy flowing from Jeok-geom and Seol-ran was clearly thanks to the spirit medicine.
'I wonder how it was made.'
Once he acknowledged it, curiosity arose.
Just then, the two who had been circulating their qi staggered to their feet.
Though their faces were tired, the two moved faster than expected, starting a fire and placing a cauldron over it.
Then Cheon-hwi added medicinal herbs.
Some were things he recognized.
From the Nine-leaf Grass used in Golden Wound Medicine to the Water Bell Flower used for internal injury medicine and several other herbs.
And the last thing that went in was a yellow flower, and seeing that, Shin-ui's brow furrowed deeply.
'He's mixing all of that together?'
The culprit of the toxic qi felt from the pill was not an ordinary poisonous herb but Mountain Arsenic.
'Using such an extremely poisonous herb... No, no. I don't know yet.'
Shin-ui stared intently at Cheon-hwi's actions.
The Mountain Arsenic placed among the medicinal herbs.
It didn't suit them at all.
At that moment.
"That's...?"
Cheon-hwi started adding other poisonous herbs in bulk as well.
Looking as if he were making a poison pill, Shin-ui watched as if thinking "what is he doing," then...
'At this rate, the moment they eat it they'll die...!'
Instantly, Shin-ui's eyes widened.
Because suddenly one brilliant thought struck his mind like lightning.
"Fighting poison with poison..."
He swallowed his astonishment.
The method of treating a poisoned person with poison was also written in the Heaven's Weight Medical Sect's records.
But that was a method used only when situations reached the worst.
"He's crazy."
It was astonishingly bold.
It was a method where one slight mistake could lead to poisoning and death.
"Who but a madman would think of making spirit medicine in such a way?"
He clicked his tongue looking at Cheon-hwi who chose a method of risking his life just for a spirit medicine.
But would he have known?
What Cheon-hwi had seen was the 'Spirit Pill Manufacturing Method' which described spirit medicines made from demonic qi even more vicious than toxic qi.
"One wrong move and they'll die."
Having figured out the method, Shin-ui stroked his beard.
"Putting in medicinal herbs there, then poisonous herbs, then Mountain Arsenic..."
Shin-ui, who had been reciting the medicinal and poisonous herbs Cheon-hwi kept adding, felt regret.
'But the formulation is a bit disappointing. If he's going to fight poison with poison, it would be better to add even more poisonous herbs.'
His mouth itched.
'Not those medicinal herbs, add poisonous herbs!'
Seeing Cheon-hwi continuously adding medicinal herbs, Shin-ui finally couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Add more poisonous herbs there!"
"Pardon?"
Cheon-hwi looked at Shin-ui who was suddenly offering advice.
"The extreme poison of Mountain Arsenic can only be neutralized by combining all the remaining poisonous herbs. That amount is far from enough!"
"Is that so? Well, if that's the case."
At the following explanation, Cheon-hwi put on an understanding expression and added all the remaining poisonous herbs.
When more poisonous herbs went into the vigorously boiling liquid, a vicious stench erupted.
"Keu, keck."
"Ugh."
As Jeok-geom and Seol-ran recoiled in horror and tried to back away, Shin-ui approached closer.
"Do you have Dragon Scale and Iron Armor Stone?"
"No, we don't."
"Tch."
Shin-ui frowned and clicked his tongue.
"It would be better if you had those. Dragon Scale supplements yin qi, and Iron Armor Stone would further amplify the energy of the spirit pill."
"I'll have to try getting some later."
Just as Cheon-hwi was nodding.
"Do that. Those two are absolutely essential when making the Great Return Pill too."
"Really? The Great Return Pill too... hmm?"
What? He knows how to make the Great Return Pill?
For the first time, Cheon-hwi was slightly surprised.
The Great Return Pill of Shaolin Temple was a rare spirit medicine whose manufacturing method was unknown.
Yet now Shin-ui was revealing the ingredients that went into that Great Return Pill.
"Do you know how to make the Great Return Pill?"
"The one who helped create the Great Return Pill was the ancestor of our sect."
"Then how do you make it?"
"Do you want to know? I can tell you, but this is a secret technique of our sect..."
Seeing Cheon-hwi showing interest, Shin-ui glanced sideways.
At his behavior as if asking "Do you want to know?", Cheon-hwi calmly turned his head away.
"Then never mind. Even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to make it right now anyway."
"Ah, I'll tell you."
At Cheon-hwi's appearance of brushing it off as if uninterested, Shin-ui spoke in fluster.
"The Great Return Pill is made by boiling Hollow Blue Stone Oil, deeply simmering the Ten Thousand Year Fire Carp and Ten Thousand Year Snow Carp, then sprinkling Dragon Scale and Green Gold Stone, coating it with oil, and decocting it for a very long time."
I thought it was special, but it's similar to how the Demonic Fire Seven Radiance Pill is made.
As expected, the most important thing was the foundation.
Throwing in all the precious ingredients and taking a long time to carefully make it.
Simple but more effective than anything else.
"And other pills are..."
As they conversed and time passed, Seol-ran spoke up.
"Martial Uncle, it's done."
"Is it?"
Cheon-hwi immediately moved, skillfully putting his hand into the cauldron and firmly compressing it.
"Hmm. This one has a nice color."
A satisfied smile appeared at the corners of Cheon-hwi's mouth as he looked at the compressed pill.
He immediately split it in half with a snap.
"Catch."
Jeok-geom and Seol-ran caught them in resignation.
After that, the half-sized spirit pills soon entered Jeok-geom and Seol-ran's mouths.
Around the time the two began circulating their qi.
"But why do you use poisonous herbs instead of spirit beasts or spirit herbs?"
Shin-ui asked Cheon-hwi.
Why use poisonous herbs?
That was simple.
"They're cheap."
As the saying goes, he wanted to use good ingredients, but acquiring enough to make a large quantity in a short time was no easy task.
So he had no choice but to find the most efficient method, which was poisonous herbs.
Aside from those trying to assassinate or sects that practiced poison arts, no one sought them, so they were cheap.
'Tsk. If it were during the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult days, I wouldn't have worried about such things and just made them.'
He recalled one by one the ingredients used when making spirit medicine during the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult days.
The spirit herb Flower Leaf Heroic Water Grass that was said to bloom once every hundred years.
From the sacred water purified by the Heavenly Demon Fire, the Heavenly Demon's Milk, to the Hollow Blue Stone Oil containing hundreds of years of energy and more.
Such things were scattered everywhere throughout the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
To the point of making the Century-old He Shou Wu, which ordinary sects treated as spirit medicine, look like trash.
Cheon-hwi erased his thoughts.
The past is the past, and now is now.
The Huashan Sect couldn't obtain those.
"And spirit herbs are hard to obtain, so I can't make them in large quantities."
"Hmm. That is true."
Around the time Shin-ui acknowledged and accepted this.
'Is this an opportunity too?'
Jeok-geom, who was circulating the Plum Blossom Qi Gong, had complicated feelings.
Taking the spirit medicine was painful.
But the results were just as certain.
'My inner qi has already increased by a handful... keuk!'
Suddenly, Jeok-geom's body shook violently, and simultaneously veins bulged across his entire body.
And his complexion turned dark.
Uwaaagh!
At the intense toxicity completely different from the poison earlier, he couldn't even groan.
I'm dying! I'm going to die!
His head felt like it would split, and his stomach throbbed as if something was running wild inside.
It was then.
"How many times do I have to tell you to get a hold of yourself?"
Cheon-hwi's voice transmission pierced through his head.
N-no! How am I supposed to endure this pain?
He wanted to scream right then and there.
But he was currently in a state of qi circulation. Moreover, due to the pain, he couldn't move at all.
As if reading Jeok-geom's mind, Cheon-hwi sent another voice transmission.
"If you fail to absorb all the energy you've gained right now, the pain will continue."
What?
It was a voice that left him dumbfounded.
Oh my! Now martial uncle is trying to kill me!
Jeok-geom clenched his teeth.
Damn it! I don't want to die!
Jeok-geom hastily focused on the Plum Blossom Qi Gong.
But circulating qi while holding onto a throbbing head was a great ordeal.
That wasn't all.
The toxic qi kept irritating his stomach, and fatigue washed over his entire body.
Aaagh! Save me!
A continuous pain that made him think, 'If there's a hell, wouldn't this be it?'
But Jeok-geom, who had a strong will to live, endured the pain and gritted his teeth.
F-finally!
The moment he finally absorbed all the energy.
Hwaaak!
A hot heat surged from his stomach.
The pain that had been tormenting him disappeared as if washed away, and his body grew warm.
It was a heat with a comfortable feeling, as if he had entered a hot spring.
'Aah.'
It felt as if his body was melting.
Is this the Peach Blossom Spring?
As he gradually melted into that atmosphere.
Buurp—
A loud burp came from his mouth.
Refreshing.
He felt very good.
The feeling of floating above the clouds made him think he could command the entire world right now.
'Hehehe.'
Such a sudden change made the liberated Jeok-geom fall into a misconception.
'I've finally died.'
Smiling deliriously, he slowly opened his eyes.
Fortunately, what greeted him was not the Peach Blossom Spring or hell, but Seol-ran.
"Martial sister?"
"Martial brother?"
The two who called out to each other laughed simultaneously.
"I survived!"
"I didn't die!"
Perhaps because they survived, the two shouted loudly and jumped up from their seats.
"Huh?"
"My body is light."
The two examined their bodies this way and that.
Though they moved only a little, the change was felt with surprising certainty.
The stinging pain from the poisoning was gone, and the fatigue had completely vanished.
What took its place was vitality!
The desire to unleash martial arts right away dominated their bodies.
Taking advantage of the momentum, they drew up their inner qi.
Paaang!
The air burst, and the aftermath swept past Cheon-hwi and Shin-ui.
"This formulation is definitely the best."
Shin-ui's advice was effective.
"Hmm, hmm. Besides making spirit medicine, our sect also has various other miscellaneous knowledge. How about it? Any thoughts on learning properly..."
Shin-ui spoke but then frowned.
"This damn brat."
Shin-ui's fist trembled.
This was because Cheon-hwi had already gone to Jeok-geom.
"Martial Uncle!"
Meanwhile, Jeok-geom greeted the approaching Cheon-hwi with a booming voice.
'Haha, as expected of martial uncle!'
It was as if he had forgotten all the pain he had experienced throughout the day.
Looking at the excited Jeok-geom, Cheon-hwi spoke.
"Let's send a letter to the Bifeng Merchant Guild."
"A letter?"
Jeok-geom scratched his head and asked.
"What kind of letter..."
As if he had been waiting, Cheon-hwi spoke.
"Just tell them to send all remaining poisonous herbs or medicinal herbs if they have any."
A while later, after sending everyone out, Cheon-hwi stroked his chin and closed his eyes.
'The spirit medicine is done.'
Fortunately, making the spirit medicine was resolved smoothly with Shin-ui's help.
Now there was one thing left.
A way to make not only the second-generation disciples but also the first-generation disciples and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards grow quickly.
What would be good?
The best would be life-and-death battles.
The moment he had that thought, he naturally recalled the training from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult days.
Especially the life-threatening trial he entered when joining the cult.
That was truly vicious. But his skills did improve quickly.
Even thinking about it now, it was a vicious place.
Huh? Wait a minute. That's not bad?
The trials aren't demonic arts.
Cheon-hwi's eyes flashed.
When entering the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, one had to enter them without fail. The ten trials, hellish training grounds.
The Ten Heavenly Demon Trials!
Cheon-hwi immediately began planning.
'This is hard to do alone.'
It was different from making spirit medicine.
The Ten Heavenly Demon Trials were quite large, consisting of trials formed by complex formations.
Because of that, a considerable number of personnel and experts well-versed in formations were needed.
He couldn't request it from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Thinking, Cheon-hwi half-opened his eyes.
'Then is there nowhere else but that place?'