Tea Stove Brewing Sword Dance and Song

Inside the pavilions and towers of Danlan Valley.

The quiet room was filled with smoke and a wonderful fragrance.

Amidst the hazy smoke, several seven- or eight-year-old Daoist boys could be seen, each carrying herbs and spiritual liquids, busily working around a pill furnace.

"Why!"

Suddenly, an old and helpless sigh slowly echoed throughout the quiet room.

Suddenly, all the busy Taoist boys stopped in their tracks, their eyes vacant and unfocused.

Zheng Bingqian slowly stood up, walked past the young Taoist boys one by one, and raised his hand to untie the red rope on their wrists.

Then they saw that the once lively Taoist boy suddenly lost his life and collapsed to the ground.

The moment it touched the ground, its physical body instantly shrank into its bones, turning into a three-inch ginseng root, hidden within the folds of its clothes.

Zheng Bingqian showed no reaction to this, and as usual, bent down to pick up the three-inch ginseng roots and put them into a jade box.

"Why!"

Another sigh escaped Zheng Bingqian's lips as he slumped to one side of the alchemy furnace. He surveyed the vast, quiet room, a droop at the corner of his mouth, and muttered to himself:

"Thousands of ordinary tasks, and seeds for alchemy?"

"Zhilan makes it sound so easy."

"Most of the mortal servants in the Nine Academies are all talk and no action. Only after a mediocre half-life do they realize that they are nothing more than ordinary people... But how can such ordinary people be worthy of inheriting my Dao of Alchemy?"

Zheng Bingqian is now 63 years old. He has been immersed in the Dao of Alchemy for more than 40 years and has a unique lineage of Dao of Alchemy that is completely different from others.

The pavilion houses over a hundred books on alchemy and medicine. His alchemy skills are exceptional. Not only in the Three Valleys region, but also in the Eight Meridians lineage, many people have benefited from the elixirs he personally refined.

Unfortunately, due to the special nature of its alchemy, the cultivation process is quite complicated and redundant, which inevitably affects the cultivation of Qi. Moreover, Zheng Bingqian has very strict requirements for his successors.

Therefore, decades have passed, and this art of alchemy has never been passed down.

As time goes by, the body ages and mental stress increases.

He gradually transformed into the unkempt and unpredictable person he is today.

Dengdengdeng-

Outside the quiet room, footsteps suddenly sounded, approaching from afar, initially chaotic, then slowing down until they fell silent.

Immediately afterwards, a voice came from outside the door—

"I have informed Steward Zheng that, in accordance with your previous instructions, Cui Yuan, the supervisor of the Hundred Herbs Institute, has been brought here."

Immediately afterwards, another voice sounded from outside the door.

"Cui Yuan, the supervisor of the Hundred Herbs Courtyard, greets Master Zheng!"

Zheng Bingqian narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly:

"I heard you're quite popular within the Ninth Hospital. Have you made any progress on the matter I asked you to inquire about?"

"Reporting to the steward, today Senior Brother Wang Fu from the Gold Melting Valley inspected the three academies, and there was nothing noteworthy about the Grinding Academy and the Quarrying Academy."

"Only the Forging Academy seems to have produced a mortal who knows how to control fire and forge materials. His iron-smelting method has won high praise from Senior Brother Wang Fu."

"Controlled-fire forging materials?"

Zheng Bingqian slightly opened his cloudy old eyes, seemingly showing some interest.

"What is the background of that commoner? What is his name?"

The sounds outside the door paused for a moment, as if someone was thinking.

"He should be from the Yan clan of Shangyang, and his name... seems to be Yan Chen."

"Are there any other outstanding ordinary servants?"

The voice outside hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Reporting back to Master Zheng, there is no such report."

Zheng Bingqian nodded slightly, stroking his disheveled beard, as if he were reminiscing.

"When did the Yan family of Shangyang produce such a talent?"

"Alright, let's test its quality for now."

……

That night, in the courtyard of Fan Yi.

On one side of the window, a table is laid out horizontally, cups and chopsticks are scattered, and the aroma of bowls and plates lingers.

The gluttonous feast has come to an end.

After seeing off Senior Brother Li.

Satisfied and content, with a burning sensation in his stomach, Yan Chen sat cross-legged on the bed, focusing on circulating the Qi-absorbing mantra of the "Crimson Cloud Bright Light Control Technique," moving his true Qi to digest the blood-nourishing food in his stomach and nourish his body.

With each flow of true qi, his meridians felt refreshed and unobstructed. Yan Chen exhaled hot qi as he silently calculated in his mind.

"I completed ten cycles of Qi circulation last night, not to mention the blood and nourishment I received today. Refining my Qi to a higher level is just around the corner."

"But as my cultivation level improves, I can feel that the speed of my internal energy circulation is getting slower and slower, as if there is some kind of resistance in my body."

"This must be the 'impurities' within the physical body."

In the early stages of Qi cultivation, the circulation of Qi throughout the body is meant to temper impurities in the physical body, but now it is instead hindering him.

This is like a flame being blocked by wood, preventing it from burning, which is puzzling.

"This must be why Senior Brother Li and the others stopped at the first level of Qi Refining."

"Could it be because the strength of the true qi is insufficient?"

"Or... is the method of circulating and guiding internal energy incorrect?"

Guiding true qi?

I almost forgot!

Yan Chen tensed up instantly, his eyes flashing with golden light, as lines of information about the cause and effect of Qu Ying and Yan Mo poured out like a waterfall.

Until a certain moment, information about the cause and effect of the conversation between the two and Xu Hui caught Yan Chen's eye.

Four tiny characters, resembling tadpoles, stood out prominently.

"The art of guiding qi!"

……

The following day, at Melting Gold Valley.

A stilted building with upturned eaves, its roof covered with layers of glazed tiles, reflects a fiery brilliance every morning and evening.

Therefore, it is called Huacailou.

It was the residence of Zhu Zhilan, the head of the Molten Gold Valley.

Inside the building, there is an elegant and quiet room with a charcoal brazier under the couch, and a Liboshan stove with wafting incense smoke, creating a calming and soothing atmosphere.

Zhu Zhilan wore a diamond-patterned brocade dress, covered with a white fur fox fur coat. Her black hair was tied up in a high bun with a simple wooden hairpin. Her fair face was free of makeup, and a dot of cinnabar between her eyebrows made her even more beautiful and charming.

She went to the window, slowly opened one of the windows, and let the stuffy heat in the room dissipate.

He then turned back to the desk and slowly sat down.

There are two unopened letters on this table.

One letter came from the "Feng Liang Zhu Family"; the other also came from the "Feng Liang Zhu Family".

Her clear, bright eyes seemed to be filled with melancholy, yet at the same time appeared indifferent and heartless.

With a final sigh, she gently pushed the letter to a corner, ignored it, and went out the door.

Inside the corridor, Wang Fu, dressed in a black and red Taoist robe, lowered his eyelids and clasped his hands together, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

After noticing the noise from the door, he didn't look up, but simply continued reporting to himself:

"I have received a report from the head of the department that my junior brother went to the Lower Three Courtyards yesterday..."

After recounting in detail everything he had seen and heard the previous day, including the situation at the three hospitals, Wang Fu finally raised his head. Still not daring to look directly at the beautiful woman before him, he lowered his eyelids and respectfully asked:

"Master Zhu, my junior brother personally tried the forging method that Yan Chen described last night, and as he said, it can indeed ensure the approximate yield of iron ore!"

"There is only one thing, which is that it requires superb fire control skills, but it is not difficult to solve. Just place a piece of damp soil and judge the changes in the fire based on it."

"Yes, I've already heard about these things from Xiao Jintong. This Yan Chen is a rare talent."

"Logically speaking, the Gold Melting Valley should reward him handsomely, but the tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. He is now just a mere mortal, so let's waive him for now."

A voice devoid of any emotion rang out from Zhu Zhilan's mouth.

Her bright, clear eyes shifted in expression, and after a moment's hesitation, she gave the order in a soft yet firm voice:

"The land around Mount Gumang has not been cultivated for some time, and I heard that a group of ignorant 'outsiders' have emerged."

"Order the three academies to organize general laborers to go to Mount Gumang in three days to cultivate land for resources. If that member of the Yan family continues to perform exceptionally well..."

Zhu Zhilan gently raised her slender hand, and between her delicate, white fingers, a thin booklet appeared.

"Then let him practice this 'Tea Stove Brewing Sword Dance and Leaping Song' at a low price."

……