Chapter 46: Rejuvenation and Tiaohe

A long time later.

Lu Yuan finished digesting all the information in his mind, opened his eyes, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

The content covered by the art of Medicine was truly too vast, even more so than the arts of Ingestion, Invisibility, and Guidance, making it more mentally taxing to digest.

Among these complex arts, most had specific uses, but what he valued most were the Rejuvenation Technique, which best represented "Medicine," and the Tiaohe Zhishu, which best represented "Remedy."

The Tiaohe Zhishu went without saying.

The Rejuvenation Technique, representing Medicine, could accelerate the recovery of the subject's physical strength and spirit, the healing of internal and external wounds, and the removal of various toxins after being cast; it was a healing art with an extremely wide range of applications.

Looking solely at the Heavenly Book's annotations, this was undoubtedly also a divine skill for self-preservation.

To test the effect of this technique, Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then took the Jishanzhang he carried with him and set it aside.

The damage-transfer effect of the Jishanzhang only took effect within a distance of three feet; after stepping outside this range, he drew his Short Blade and cut a shallow bloody gash on his palm.

Subsequently, he repeatedly tried to control his True Qi, forming hand seals with one hand while chanting the incantation for the Rejuvenation Technique.

After only a few attempts, a large portion of the True Qi in his body was suddenly consumed, and at the same time, a shimmering green light suddenly bloomed from the fingertips he used to form the seals, as if containing infinite vitality.

Gently touching the bloody gash on his palm, the shimmering green light immediately enveloped the wound, and then the wound began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It took only a few breaths of time.

The skin on his palm had completely healed, smooth as new, without a trace left.

"Very good, adding the Jishanzhang, I can now tank and heal; I'm a top-tier meat shield."

Seeing such a miraculous effect, although the Rejuvenation Art consumed more than half of his True Qi in one go, Lu Yuan's eyes still sparkled with extreme satisfaction.

The world is like a bitter sea, and the physical body is the treasure raft to cross it; before achieving the Dao, the treasure raft should not be damaged, otherwise, it might lead to limited achievements, and the path of the Dao would not be able to go far.

After all, his Dharma Power was currently low, and it was inevitable that he would encounter various accidents and calamities on the long path of cultivation, but having this technique was equivalent to having a guarantee that his physical body would not be damaged, which was truly something to be happy and celebrate about.

With the Rejuvenation Technique tested, next was the Tiaohe Zhishu, which represented "Remedy."

Before returning to Boxiyuan in the evening, he had replenished some medicinal herbs, especially buying a few small ginseng roots at the price of three Silver Yuan each, specifically for use in experiments.

Most of the ginseng in the medicine shops was grown by herb farmers and was of extremely average quality; Lu Yuan casually took one out, swallowed it in two or three bites, and then digested it using the Ingestion Technique.

A whole small ginseng root indeed provided slightly more essence than herbs like astragalus and atractylodes; after he had a sense of it in his heart, he began to try casting the Tiaohe Zhishu.

With the Heavenly Book's empowerment, the technique was understood automatically, and he succeeded after only a few attempts.

Following his chanting and hand seals, the True Qi in his body was rapidly consumed, and the Tiaohe Zhishu was successfully cast; just by pointing his finger, a beam of emerald light suddenly flashed in the void and struck into a small ginseng root.

Afterwards.

Whoosh.

Visibly to the naked eye, the shriveled little ginseng root suddenly bloomed with miraculous emerald radiance, and at the same time, the entire ginseng body rapidly began to swell and grow; with every flicker of the radiance, its size increased by a fraction, as if it had begun to grow and develop at ten thousand times the speed!

In less than a few breaths of time, Lu Yuan watched in amazement as the small ginseng root in his palm, which was originally only two fingers thick, had actually grown to three fingers thick.

Moreover, its originally irregularly shaped rhizome had actually lengthened and grown four root hairs, looking just like a small, not-fully-formed human!

The performance of the Tiaohe Zhishu was even more miraculous than the Rejuvenation Technique; Lu Yuan couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, then picked up the ginseng, which had grown much larger, to examine it:

"Good fellow, can ginseng that has already been dried still grow?"

However, the Earthly Fiend Arts were inherently arts of profound creation, so he didn't dwell on it too much and immediately chewed and swallowed the entire ginseng root, then digested it with the Ingestion Technique.

Afterwards.

A large amount of surging essence rose from his abdomen and then merged into his limbs and bones, making one feel as if they were soaking in a hot spring, with their whole body feeling warm.

Lu Yuan felt this essence, which far surpassed that of the previous ginseng, and his eyes were exceptionally pleasantly surprised:

"This refined essence is more than twice the medicinal power of ordinary ginseng!"

A two-fold increase in quality and medicinal power far exceeded his expectations.

The True Qi spent on casting the Tiaohe Zhishu was smaller compared to the Rejuvenation Technique, consuming about exactly one-half.

But he had only just begun Refining Essence into Qi, so he didn't have much True Qi, and the True Qi that had already condensed into shape only needed meditation and breath regulation to be replenished quickly.

Calculating it this way.

As his realm improved, the more times he could use this technique later on, and the greater the improvement to his cultivation would be.

Moreover, the Tiaohe Zhishu did not just adjust the quality and efficacy of medicinal herbs; it could also adjust all kinds of decoctions, pills, and prescriptions made by boiling and refining medicinal herbs!

At this thought, Lu Yuan meditated and regulated his breath to restore his True Qi, passing the night.

When dawn broke, he went to the kitchen garden and asked the old maid who had just gotten up to boil a portion of Body-Strengthening Soup for him.

The Blood-Strengthening Soup was a decoction that Li Junxian had specifically arranged to be provided every two days when he was practicing Martial Arts; its effect was to strengthen muscles and bones, and to nourish blood and replenish Qi.

"Literature is for the poor, martial arts are for the rich"; on the path of Martial Arts in this world, if one wanted to achieve something, all kinds of decoctions and supplements were indispensable, especially since some sects with long-standing traditions had their own unique secret recipes.

Of course, this Body-Strengthening Soup was only an ordinary prescription, but the effect was still quite good.

Lu Yuan had long since tried using the Ingestion Technique to refine the Body-Strengthening Soup, and the effect was actually much better than eating the herbs dry; however, because he didn't know the specific recipe and the process of boiling medicine was cumbersome and troublesome, he only drank what was ready-made and would not boil it himself.

Now that he had the Tiaohe Zhishu, it was just the right time to test it.

Soon, after an hour of boiling, a pot of Blood-Strengthening Soup came out of the furnace.

Lu Yuan, having finished his morning lessons, found an excuse to carry a bowl back to his room, and then cast the Tiaohe Zhishu again.

Hum.

As the Dharma Power fluctuations of the Tiaohe Zhishu enveloped the medicine bowl, the dark brown medicinal liquid immediately began to boil, becoming more concentrated and clear, reflecting an amber-like radiance, and the somewhat pungent medicinal fragrance suddenly became refreshing.

After a few breaths, the adjustment of the medicinal soup was completed; the medicinal soup had become as crystal clear as amber, a huge change.

Lu Yuan picked up the bowl, drank it in one gulp, and then digested it with the Ingestion Technique.

Subsequently, a wave of medicinal power that could be called surging suddenly rose violently from his abdomen, turning into a large amount of essence, forming a kind of raging flame that seemed to burn like an illusion, making his whole body feel as if he were placed in a furnace!

A full quarter of an hour later.

The bowl of Blood-Strengthening Soup was completely digested by the Ingestion Technique; Lu Yuan, whose body was full of essence, opened his eyes, even more delighted:

"The medicinal effect is actually more than three times stronger than in the past..."

"It seems the best way to open the Tiaohe Zhishu is to adjust finished decoctions!"

It is very clear that a medicinal decoction compounded from the medicinal properties of multiple herbs possesses a greater strengthening effect compared to decoctions prepared from single herbs.

Furthermore, if ordinary, mundane decoctions undergo such a massive transformation after being compounded, what level of effect could be reached in the future if he were to refine various external elixir medicines using the arts of 【Stone Boiling】 and 【Pill Manipulation】, and then compound those?

Lu Yuan was filled with immense anticipation.

(End of chapter)