Chapter 18: Potion Refining: Refreshing Potion

The Black Mist Forest 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 thoughts in turmoil.

The miserable state of Locke and Emily kept appearing in his mind. Everything that had happened in the past few days had kept him tossing and turning, but instead, it 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 gamble 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 Lady Allen's unique magic power fluctuation.

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

Soon, Lady Allen's unique hoarse voice came from inside: "Come in, little one."

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

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

He could distinguish the coolness of evening primrose, the spiciness of snake-tooth grass, and some other unique smells he couldn't name.

"You came earlier than the agreed time."

Lady Allen stood behind the counter, a flash of approval in her eyes, which were glowing with a faint green light:

"It seems you are indeed not a lazy person, that's 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."

"Less of 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 part about refreshing potions in 'Fundamentals of Potion-Making' three times and 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.

Lady Allen took the notebook and flipped through it casually, the light in her eyes gradually becoming brighter:

"Interesting... You not only recorded the content in the book but also added your own understanding. This idea of connecting mental 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 a lot to teach you today."

The old witch led Luo En through a narrow corridor to the refining room at the back of the shop.

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

A bronze cauldron was set on a special furnace, with strange blue flames jumping underneath.

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

Lady Allen said while introducing 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. You must grasp the dosage and timing of adding each material."

Luo En walked to the workbench and carefully observed the materials on the table with the help of [Herb Identification].

The fresh moonlight grass leaves were still covered with dew, shining with a silver luster under the faint 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 there were some materials he couldn't name but had unique auras, all neatly placed in glass dishes.

"Each material has its specific 'rhythm'."

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

This sentence made Luo En's heart stir.

He remembered the realization he had when practicing the "Corona Breathing Method" yesterday—whether it was mental power, breathing method, or these medicinal materials, they all seemed to follow some specific laws.

"You seem to have had some realizations?" Lady Allen 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 the moonlight grass was very similar to the fluctuation of mental 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.

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

"Interesting..." Lady Allen suddenly spoke, "Are you using the rhythm of mental power to guide the fusion of materials?"

Luo En was slightly startled: "You mean..."

"Continue, no need to 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..." Lady Allen whispered to herself:

"You do have some talent in the perception of mental power. This method of applying the rhythm of mental 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 rough, the direction is correct."

Just at this moment, a sound of footsteps came from outside the shop, getting closer and closer.

"It seems there are guests." Lady Allen put away her teaching tone:

"I'll go receive the guests first, you tidy up 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 cauldron:

"Although there is no major problem with this pot of potion, it can only be considered a substandard product. You can pack it up and take it away, sell it or use it yourself, it's up to you."

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

He nodded and thanked her. After Lady Allen left, he began to pack the potion into several small bottles.

Before leaving the refining room, Luo En looked back at the bronze cauldron that was still steaming, lost in thought.

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 the solidification effect of various improvements 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: "Comprehension increased; when mental power reaches a certain limit, dual casting is possible."

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

Now he finally understood what this "comprehension improvement" really 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 mental power in his body.

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

This perception ability was an extra benefit brought by his [Dual Soul] characteristic.

The understanding and perception of music and art from the Earth soul, and the instinctive sensing of extraordinary power from the native soul of this world.

Under the bridge role of [Dual Soul], they merged perfectly, allowing him to comprehend the "rhythm" of various powers faster than others.

Potion-making, meditation, breathing methods, and even spell construction, on the surface, they were completely different fields, but in his perception, they all followed similar laws, only the harmony rhythm was different.

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

His [Dual Soul] gave him 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 multi-casting ability that might be awakened later, for now... it seems the time is not yet ripe.

(End of chapter)