Chapter 18: Potion Refining: Refreshing Potion

The Black Mist Jungle in the early morning was still shrouded in thin mist, but Luo En had already arrived in front of the herb shop early.

He gazed at the mottled wooden door, his mind filled with thousands of thoughts.

The miserable state of Luo Ke and Emily kept appearing in his mind. Everything that had happened in the past few days had kept him tossing and turning, but it had instead strengthened his determination to work hard to improve his strength.

He looked at the sky; it was half an hour earlier than the agreed time.

This caution had become his habit—he dared not bet on what the consequences of being late would be.

The bronze wind chime in front of the door made a crisp sound in the breeze. Although the shop door was tightly closed, he could vaguely capture the unique magic power fluctuation of Princess Yi Fu.

Luo En took a deep breath and knocked on the shop door lightly.

Soon, Princess Yi Fu's unique hoarse voice came from inside: "Come in, little one."

The moment the door was pushed open, all kinds of peculiar smells rushed towards him.

After getting familiar with it for the past few days, Luo En was already able to distinguish the characteristics of most of the medicinal materials.

He could distinguish the crispness of evening primrose, the spiciness of snake-tooth grass, and some other smells that he couldn't name but were very distinctive.

"Came even earlier than the agreed time."

Princess Yi Fu stood behind the counter, a hint of approval flashing in those eyes glowing with faint green light:

"It seems you are indeed not a lazy person, that is very good."

Luo En imitated the noble etiquette once taught by the etiquette teacher in his memory and bowed: "It is my honor to be valued by you, my lady."

"Stop saying these useless polite words."

The old witch waved her hand, her gaze becoming sharp like a hawk again: "Let me check your homework first."

Luo En nodded and immediately replied:

"Yes, my lady. I have reviewed the parts about refreshing potions in 'Fundamentals of Potion-Making' three times, and I have specifically organized some notes."

As he spoke, he took out a thick notebook from his bosom.

On it were densely recorded the characteristics and reaction laws of various materials, and even some subtle observations were recorded in detail.

Princess Yi Fu took the notebook and flipped through it casually, the light in her eyes gradually becoming bright:

"Interesting... You not only recorded the content of the book but also added your own understanding. This idea of connecting spiritual power perception with the characteristics of medicinal materials is quite novel."

She closed the notebook and stared at Luo En with burning eyes: "Follow me, there is quite a lot to teach you today."

The old witch led Luo En through the narrow corridor to the refining room deep in the shop.

Unlike last time, the workbench was already filled with various utensils and materials, clearly carefully prepared.

A bronze crucible was placed on a special furnace, and an eerie blue flame was jumping underneath.

"First, I will teach you how to configure the most basic refreshing potion."

Princess Yi Fu said while starting to introduce the materials on the table:

"Although this kind of potion is very common on the market, it is not easy to prepare a perfect finished product. Every material must be grasped in terms of dosage and timing of addition."

Luo En walked to the workbench and carefully observed the materials on the table with the help of the 【Herb Identification】 ability.

The fresh moonlight grass leaves were still stained with dew, glowing with a silver luster under the illumination of the ghostly blue firelight;

The stems of carbon-breath grass were emitting light blue smoke, which was a sign that the activity within had not yet subsided;

And some materials that he couldn't name but had unique auras were all neatly placed in glass dishes.

"Every material has its specific 'rhythm'."

Princess Yi Fu's voice sounded, "A true potion master must not only understand the nature of materials but also master the resonance between them."

This sentence made Luo En's heart stir.

He remembered his insights when practicing the "Corona Breathing Method" yesterday—whether it was spiritual power, breathing method, or these medicinal materials, they all seemed to follow certain specific laws.

"You seem to have already had some insights?" Princess Yi Fu keenly noticed the change in his expression.

"Yes." Luo En nodded, "Just like that star grass yesterday, when I placed it in a specific way, I seemed to be able to feel a certain rhythm contained within it."

"Not bad." The old witch showed a hint of a smile, "Every true potion master is pursuing the balance of this 'rhythm'."

She pointed to the materials on the workbench: "Now, let me see your understanding."

Luo En took a deep breath and began to prepare the potion according to his own understanding.

This time, he did not completely copy the method in the book but tried to feel the characteristics of each material.

The silver light of moonlight grass was extremely similar to the fluctuation of spiritual power, and he tried to process these materials with a rhythm similar to meditation.

As the preparation progressed, Luo En gradually entered a wonderful state.

Every material seemed to have its own "voice," and all he had to do was let these "voices" blend together harmoniously.

"Interesting..." Princess Yi Fu suddenly spoke, "Are you using the rhythm of spiritual power to guide the fusion of materials?"

Luo En was slightly startled: "Are you saying..."

"Continue, don't answer me." The old witch interrupted him: "Let me see to what extent you can do it."

Luo En nodded and continued to focus on the preparation.

When the last ingredient was added to the copper pot, the color of the potion began to change—from turbid to clear, and finally presented a faint amber color.

And in his perception, the energy fluctuation in the whole pot of potion reached a certain delicate balance.

"Sure enough..." Princess Yi Fu whispered to herself:

"You do have some talent in the perception of spiritual power. This method of applying the rhythm of spiritual power to potion preparation is not something just anyone can think of."

She scooped up some potion with a silver spoon: "Although it is still very rough, the direction is correct."

Just then, a sound of footsteps approaching from far to near suddenly came from outside the shop door.

"It seems there are guests." Princess Yi Fu put away her teaching tone:

"I will go to receive the guests first. You organize the shelves later. Think carefully about what I taught you today while working—in this world, any power has its specific laws, the key is how to perceive and use them."

She was just about to turn and leave when she suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back at the potion in the crucible:

"Although this pot of potion has no major problems in general, it can only be considered a defective product. You can pack it up and take it away; it's up to you whether to sell it or use it yourself."

Luo En was overjoyed; there was indeed an unexpected gain.

He nodded in thanks, and after Princess Yi Fu left, he began to pack the potion into several small bottles.

Before leaving the refining room, Luo En looked back at the bronze crucible that was still steaming, his heart thoughtful.

Since crossing into this world and completely merging with the original soul, his progress speed had far exceeded that of ordinary people.

The most critical factor in this was certainly the various advancement solidification effects brought by the golden finger, but his unique 【Dual Soul】 talent clearly also played a significant role.

"Two souls, two ways of thinking..." Luo En whispered to himself in his heart, his fingers unconsciously tapping a certain rhythm on the table.

He recalled the description of 【Dual Soul】 on his panel: "Understanding rises; when spiritual power reaches a certain limit, dual casting can be performed."

At first, he only focused on the "dual casting" ability in the second half, but ignored the seemingly ordinary "understanding rises" in the front.

Now he finally understood what this "understanding improvement" meant.

It was precisely because he possessed two completely different souls that he could understand the extraordinary rules of this world from a brand-new perspective.

"Rhythm..." Luo En closed his eyes slightly, feeling the flow of spiritual power in his body.

In his perception, spiritual power was no longer just a mass of fuzzy energy, but musical notes with a certain specific melody, every flow like an exquisite piece of music.

This perception ability was the extra gain brought by his 【Dual Soul】 characteristic.

The Earth soul's understanding and perception of music and art, and the original soul's instinctive sensing of extraordinary power in this world.

Under the bridging effect of 【Dual Soul】, they merged perfectly, allowing him to grasp the "rhythm" of various powers faster than others.

Potion-making, meditation, breathing methods, and even spell construction, on the surface, were completely different fields, but in his perception, they all followed similar laws, just with different reconciliation rhythms.

"Just like a musician who understands multiple instruments, able to easily switch between different instruments..."

His 【Dual Soul】 allowed him to possess the ability to understand "rhythm" across fields, enabling him to draw inferences about other cases and find commonalities between seemingly unrelated fields.

As for the dual casting ability that might be awakened later, for now... it seems the time is not yet ripe.

(End of chapter)