Cultivating Chai

13:

“So,” Senior Alchemist Lianhua. “Before I teach you anything, we need to get you a pill furnace. Can you afford one, or do you wish to borrow one from the sect?”

“I can borrow one?” Xiao Feng questioned, his expression appearing to be a little flummoxed.

“Uh….,” Senior Alchemist Lianhua trailed off. “Father didn’t tell you that, did he?” She asked sheepishly, before breaking into an awkward chuckle.

“He told me that I needed to purchase one at my own cost,” Xiao Feng replied calmly. Inwards though, he was anything but.

Damn, He thought. That old codger really was out for my blood.

“I’ll help you apply for a pill furnace,” Senior Alchemist Lianhua hurriedly replied, a blush coloring her cheeks from the embarrassment she was feeling.

“No,” Xiao Feng replied. “I wish to purchase one. If it sends the message that I am serious about the Dao of Alchemy, that is even better.”

“Are you certain?” Senior Alchemist Lianhua asked. “Pill furnaces are known to be notoriously expensive. They start from one gold tael for the most basic one and their price can rise manifold depending on the quality.”

“Yes,” Xiao Feng replied. “I can afford it, Senior Alchemist Lianhua. It turns out that becoming a war hero pays quite well.”

“Please, just call me Lianhua. If we are comparing accomplishments in our respective fields, then you would still be ahead of me by a sizable margin.”

“In our respective fields?” Xiao Feng flashed her a quizzical glance. “I am merely a humble recruit alchemist taking his first steps in search of the Grand Dao of Alchemy.”

Lianhua just rolled her eyes in response, clearly seeing them as equals instead of sharing a master-disciple relationship.

That made sense, of course. They should’ve been about the same age, considering they were both cultivators of the Foundation Establishment Stage’s early layers and neither of them were prodigies when it came to ascending layers and stages.

“Very well, Lianhua,” Xiao Feng said, having gotten his enjoyment out of the earlier jest. “I shall oblige.”

“Good, Xiao Feng,” She replied, dropping the prefix ‘cultivator’ she had been using as part of his address. “Now, let us be on our way.”

He nodded and now, walked beside her.

Stepping out of the Junior Division, Xiao Feng was once again dazzled by the Verdant Harmony tree and the seedbeds resting under its canopy. However, he didn’t get long to appreciate its beauty as Lianhua continued walking towards a passageway that had the words Pill Treasury carved on a jade plaque fixed above the entrance.

“Do you know why it is necessary for you to learn pill refinement, even though it is concoctions you are interested in brewing?” Lianhua asked.

“Hmm,” Xiao Feng contemplated the question for the greater part of a minute before he came up with an answer, “Perhaps it would be like mastering immaculate swordplay without ever understanding Qi control and manipulation. Still useful, but far less effective.”

“That is a good analogy,” Lianhua praised, offering him a smile that might have made his heart flutter a little. “What you are attempting is hardly unheard of. Many alchemists across the years have undertaken projects where they have sought to create a concoction that surpasses the efficacy of pills. They have all failed. You must first understand the why, see for yourself the difference between the two processes and only then, will you be able to refine the formula for the concoctions you seek to make.”

“I understand,” Xiao Feng replied. I guess I can’t tell her that using a pill furnace might turn out to be my greatest strength. Alchemists fail because they need to first isolate the materials in a pill furnace to avoid any impurities, then control their fire or wind qi to refine and compact the materials at high temperatures.

The fluctuations in their own Qi as they are willing it into the pill furnace is what lets them detect the positioning of the materials, which is incredibly difficult. Compared to that nightmare, the Essence Cultivation Art will let me see directly into the pill furnace, an ability only powerhouse cultivators that had reached the fourth stage, Nascent Soul, should have.

“Lianhua, can I ask you a question?” Xiao Feng asked, his tone practically radiating curiosity as he moved to address a doubt that had been plaguing him for a while.

“That is why I agreed to teach you. Ask, ask.”

“I understand how fire qi attuned cultivators make good alchemists. However, what about wind qi cultivators? I know that the wind element is one of the two major schools of alchemy, but I do not see how.”

“That, Xiao Feng, is one of the first questions I get asked,” Lianhua answered, her lips curling up into a smile. “You see, I happen to be a wind element alchemist like you,” She said, her expression betraying her anticipation before she clicked her index finger and thumb together.

Xiao Feng took a startled step back as blue flames flared out of Lianhua’s now open palm, their slow dance a sight to behold.

Lianhua giggled before explaining, “I guess you haven’t seen that party trick before.”

“Party trick?” Xiao Feng asked, his heart hammering in his chest. Memories were one thing, but the current Xiao Feng was not exactly used to people conjuring flames out of his bare hands.

Thankfully, Lianhua seemed to mistake his fear for his combat instinct.

With a flourish of her hand, the blue flames disappeared. She resumed her walk and Xiao Feng forced himself to walk by her side, knowing that hesitating any further could lend cause to suspicion.

“I am a Wind Qi cultivator, Xiao Feng. Tell me, what does that statement mean,” Lianhua asked him, her expression still looking rather amused.

“It means that your dantian is attuned to the Wind Element and unless you are one of those prodigies, it means that it is the only element you are attuned to,” Xiao Feng explained, drawing from the well of memories his predecessor had left behind.

“Partially correct,” Lianhua said.

Xiao Feng blinked.

“I would say that my dantian, nine parts out of ten, is attuned to the wind element. The last part, however, is divided amongst other elements like water, earth, flame and shadow. You, of the Martial Division, believe that one part out of ten, to be worthless. And indeed, the power we are capable of producing with that fraction of a fraction is insignificant. But at the same time, it means that our dantian will not reject that element.”

“I don’t understand,” Xiao Feng blurted out reflexively, as the complicated cultivation jargon sailed over his head. Had he been given more time with the memories he had inherited, he probably would have been able to puzzle it out— if there was one thing Xiao Feng didn’t pull any punches on, it was acquiring knowledge relating to cultivation, after all.

“To put it simply, we are not martial cultivators. We do not need to care about how quickly we can call upon our qi or how deadly it is in battle. This is an alchemist’s flame cultivated by my father and passed down onto me, its properties attuned to medicinal uses,” Lianhua explained, once again allowing the flames to bloom on her open palm.

“That is… ingenious,” Xiao Feng muttered, his tone sounding awed. Once again, he felt like Xiao Feng had been wasting his time in the Martial Division, when there was so much he could accomplish here.

“I am grateful to my father for sharing such a valuable alchemist’s flame with me. Without it, it would have taken me far longer to reach the Senior Alchemist designation,” Lianhua explained.

“What use does Wind Qi have in the process, then? Do alchemists borrow Wind Qi from each other as well, then?” Xiao Feng asked, hungry to know more about the process.

“Do not misunderstand. Wind Qi is still the primary driver in Wind Alchemy. An alchemist’s flame is employed to heat the various materials down to it’s essence, after which I use my Wind Qi to refine and compact across many stages depending upon the difficulty of the pill I am seeking to make.”

“So, this flame you have received from, err, Grand Alchemist Xin Wu, it has further medicinal properties that can augment the effect of the final pill along with the heating part. I doubt you can do the same with Wind Qi, is that why Flame Alchemists do not borrow it?”

“Wind Qi is also quite capricious in nature. We can manipulate it with ease because we have grown up with it, but it would be a nightmare for Flame Cultivators if they try to undertake such a challenge later in life. And as you said, you cannot imbue properties into Wind Qi like you can with Fire Qi”.

“This whole thing is rather fascinating,” Xiao Feng admitted.

“I’m glad you think so,” Lianhua replied with a smile.

A few moments passed as they continued to walk towards their destination. It couldn’t be far now, so Xiao Feng decided to ask the awkward question before they got to the shop, “Can you buy alchemist’s flames?”

Lianhua’s expression turned peculiar as she considered his question.

“Not from your father, of course,” He hurriedly blurted out. “Like from a shop or some such establishment.”

“You know, Xiao Feng,” Lianhua said, her tone tinged with humor. “If you weren’t new to the Alchemy Division, I would take that as you flirting with me.”

Oh, He thought. Buying an alchemist’s flame. When she’s right next to me with Alchemist’s Flame. Right. Riiiiight, He didn’t blame himself for not seeing through the innuendo, but that didn’t stop a blush from coloring his cheeks.

“Oh, we’re here,” She said, saving him from further embarrassment. “And yes, Xiao Feng. You can buy an Alchemist’s Flame, though you may find them prohibitively expensive.”

Xiao Feng nodded, unsure if he had just been flirted with or if that statement was simply true.

Then, they stepped into the store.