Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 96 - 87: Half a Year of Tempering, Beyond Transforming Force! (Second Update)

"Seal the furnace, seal the furnace!"

Su Mu methodically tidied up the desk after a day of transcription, arranging the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in an orderly manner.

Zhao Ju watched everything with satisfaction.

"Master Zhao, this boy takes his leave."

Zhao Ju nodded slightly, his hand pausing with the Inscription Pen. As he watched the figure leaving the forging room, he suddenly recalled that he had been entirely focused on inscribing a long sword recently.

He had not checked Su Mu's transcription for some days. Thinking of this, Zhao Ju first washed his hands clean, then approached the desk.

When leaving, Su Mu had covered the transcribed manuscript with a piece of white paper. Seeing this sheet, Zhao Ju couldn't help but recall the past, sighing inwardly as he took a glance and froze on the spot.

His first thought was the same as a pharmacist's.

Could it be someone else?

The handwriting on this paper was extremely neat, although looking somewhat rigid and lifeless. Such handwriting couldn't be achieved without years of hard work.

It was completely different handwriting from a few days ago.

If not for Su Mu transcribing right under his eyes these past few days, he would surely think someone else had done the transcription.

Attracted by the extreme contrast in handwriting, after his initial surprise, Zhao Ju began to scrutinize the transcribed content, only to be startled by a few awkward lines that suddenly caught his eye, causing his pupils to constrict.

"This is an inverted manuscript..."

He promptly picked up the nameless manuscript on the desk, examining sheet by sheet, tens of them, not a word different.

Moreover, the manuscript at the bottom was still inverted, still not a word different.

This Calm Heart skill had reached a level mature enough to progress to the next stage of Inscription Art instruction.

"Good lad..." A sparkle flickered in Zhao Ju's eyes. "As they say, 'an unstable foundation triggers a landslide', being willing to put effort into the basics is good, but this lad should not waste his time idly."

The day's fatigue from inscribing was washed away by the immense surprise, leaving Zhao Ju not exhausted but incredibly exhilarated.

"Since that lad wishes to continue with Calm Heart, there's no need to point it out for now...in a few days, let him observe for half a day only, leaving the other half for transcription."

Unaware of Zhao Ju's thoughts, Su Mu returned to his courtyard from the Forging Workshop, where his alchemical tools had arrived. He placed the tools in an empty room.

The Demon Slayer Bureau's prescription for Black Jade Tiger Bone Ointment came with preparation methods, but only outlined the process without detailing each step.

The creation of pills and ointments is more complex and meticulous than brewing medicinal soups, incomparable in difficulty.

Thus, these prescriptions presuppose that the alchemist has certain Alchemy and Medical Skill levels, without overly detailing every preparation step.

This is why Su Mu studied the relevant medical texts before engaging in alchemy; without corresponding Alchemy Skill, possessing the prescription would not guarantee success.

"Alchemy mostly divides into two main categories: Fire Technique and Water Technique, each with corresponding methods for refining various herbs and materials into pills or ointments, amplifying their inherent properties several times, even dozens of times."

"Fire Technique can also be used for minerals, metals, etc. The techniques mainly include calcining, roasting, oven drying, melting, fire flying, and dormant furnace, excelling in quickly altering a substance's properties and enhancing its effects, but it often leaves residues of toxins."

"Water Technique involves adding water or other mediums, techniques include boiling, steaming, water flying, decocting, brewing, etc. This method can remove or significantly reduce toxicity, yielding purer results."

"Bone-Forger Ointment is applied directly to flesh and bones and requires a significant amount of it... primarily relying on Water Technique for preparation."

In actual alchemy, it's rare to use only one technique; often, Fire and Water Techniques are combined, such as calcining with Fire Technique followed by purification with Water Technique.

"The Three-leaf Bone-Strengthening Flower requires prolonged decocting, while the Blood Circulation Grass needs to be calcined with Fire Technique until it's ash, then steamed..."

Integrating the Alchemy methods from the "Hundred Herbs Scripture" and the prescription's steps, Su Mu began processing the ingredients for the ointment.

He worked until deep into the night, spending over two hours to prepare the ingredients separately.

Despite the time-consuming process, Su Mu felt no impatience, fully aware that it was his first attempt at alchemy, and slower progress was normal.

Experience breeds skill. Future efforts won't take nearly as long.

Su Mu stood in front of a cauldron one foot eight inches tall and five inches three in diameter. Although not intricately crafted, this cauldron was the most expensive among his alchemical tools, costing him thirty-five taels of silver.

He then began heating, as ordinary matches were inadequate for alchemy. Su Mu had bought high-quality charcoal, known for its density, high carbon content, and burn resistance, making it ideal for alchemy.

Lighting the charcoal.

Su Mu first heated the pill furnace, then poured well water through the water inlet, following by adding various treated materials one by one according to the prescription, totaling twenty-one types of ingredients.

"The temperature is too low."

Su Mu pulled the bellows, causing the already fiercely burning charcoal's red flames to turn cyan, the fire was as pure as could be!

"Alchemy actually bears some resemblance to forging, demanding precise control of the heat—not too soon, not too late, a degree too low won't suffice, too high won't do either."

With the foundation of Perfection Forging Art, Su Mu had substantial experience with heat control, displaying patience throughout the process, carefully following the prescription to manage the heat, occasionally adding more well water.

Before long, a haze of smoke rose above the entire pill furnace, the room enveloped in drifting clouds, with a medicinal fragrance wafting through the air.

As Su Mu sniffed the aroma, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

However, an hour later, a burnt odor suddenly tainted the medicinal fragrance. Su Mu quickly removed the charcoal but was already too late.

"Failed..."

Su Mu lifted the lid of the pill furnace. The unformed ointment inside was emitting black smoke, a strong burnt smell wafting out. The twenty-tael worth of ingredients had gone to waste.

"The control of the fire was lacking... There's still time to make another batch before dawn, continue."

Su Mu closed his eyes and replayed the entire alchemy process in his mind. After going over it numerous times, he pinpointed the issue, and then began cleaning the pill furnace to start a second attempt.

Having learned from the previous failure, the second attempt still ended in failure. However, the two failures were not without gains; his proficiency in alchemy increased slightly over the night.

Alchemy (Small Success 41%)

"Failure is the mother of success... no rush."

Su Mu wasn't discouraged at all; instead, he was full of motivation. With some time left before dawn, Su Mu applied some ointment, practiced Vajra Body for a while, and then took a short nap to rest his mind.

Time flew by, and three days later.

"Did I succeed?!"

Beside the pill furnace, Su Mu inhaled the fragrance filling the room, his face brimming with excitement and joy. He lifted the lid and saw the ointment successfully condensed into a black paste.

Carefully, Su Mu extracted it from the furnace and placed it in its original ointment container; only half of the container was filled from one batch, as most of the ointment had evaporated and stuck to the furnace walls.

Su Mu took out a box of ready-made Bone-Forger Ointment from the Demon Slayer Bureau and compared it to his concoction. In terms of color, his was slightly inferior, and the richness of the fragrance was also less.

"Let's test the efficacy."

With a bit of anticipation, Su Mu washed himself first before applying the ointment, then entered a state of introspection to assess the effectiveness.

After a long while, he opened his eyes again.

"Not bad, the efficacy is about sixty percent..." Rather than being disappointed, Su Mu's eyes lit up. This was only his fifth batch of ointment, and achieving success was already an excellent beginning.

According to the pharmacist's annotation in the Hundred Herbs Scripture, the difficulty of making ointment far exceeds that of decoctions, and crafting pills is slightly more challenging than ointment. For a novice, succeeding within dozens of tries is considered unusually gifted.

Alchemy is fundamentally a process of trial and error, fueled by silver coins.

Moreover, Su Mu was not crafting ordinary ointments, but ones used for bone forging, far more complex than typical ointments.

Starting is always difficult, but all Su Mu needed to do next was increase the proficiency and success rate of ointment crafting, which wasn't a daunting task for him.

As he began learning alchemy and medical skills, Su Mu's days became more fulfilling. By day, he would transcribe Calm Heart at the Forging Workshop, where Zhao Ju had now started allowing him to observe inscription engravings.

After the day's end, Su Mu would return to his residence and make at least one batch of ointment each night. He also didn't neglect Bone Forging, Vajra Body, and other martial arts.

During rest days, Su Mu would visit the clinic to continue his transcription work with the Little Doctor for self-improvement and cultivation.

The youth's temperament was honed in this period, becoming more composed and innerly robust.

Days later, the pharmacist prepared Su Mu's first bottle of medicated wine. After trying it, Su Mu found it indeed effective and could promptly expel it from his body with Power if any discomfort arose.

A month later, Master Zhao Ju glanced at Su Mu, who was watching the engraving of inscriptions on the side, and snorted, wondering how long this boy planned to just watch.

Life was as tranquil as water.

With each passing day, the young man made progress in inscriptions, martial arts, alchemy, medical skills, and calligraphy; each day, Su Mu felt himself growing stronger than the day before.

This feeling was intoxicating and particularly grounding.

Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, autumn ended, winter came, and most of the year had elapsed.

With winter's arrival, shops along the streets began posting "Closed" notices, red paper with black characters rustling in the cold wind.

In the courtyard of a residence on Yanque Street, the old locust tree had long lost all its leaves, its gnarled branches covered with snow.

Yet under the old locust tree stood a figure, seemingly indifferent to the cold or heat of the changing seasons, still clad in thin cloth.

As the youth moved, the strong lines of his muscular body emerged from beneath the thin garment. His Fist Technique, Palm Technique, Leg Technique, Spear Technique, and the Forging Workshop's secret Melting Gold Technique flowed seamlessly.

With each martial art he practiced.

The powerful Power within the youth surged, the courtyard echoed with the sound of rushing rivers, almost as if to break through a dam.

At a certain moment.

The youth shuddered, a glint of light flickering in his eyes.

Three months ago, his alchemy reached Great Success, eight successes out of ten attempts;

Half a month ago, Su Mu used up thirty-six boxes of ointment to complete his third Bone Forging, reaching the Sinking Bone Realm.

Over the past six months, the youth honed the Melting Gold Technique from the Forging Workshop to Great Success, and the Vajra Body was nearing Perfection. Ten days ago, he also perfected both the Iron Sand Palm and Iron Leg Skill to the Realm of Perfection.

Nine is the ultimate number.

After half a year of accumulation, nine powerful forces surged within, and Su Mu finally glimpsed the realm above Transforming Force!