"This is the Washing Bone Pill," he said.
In the courtyard with four connecting buildings, a middle-aged man proudly placed a dark and lusterless elixir on the stone table.
Chen Mo stared wide-eyed, closely approaching the elixir, and sniffed it gently with his nose. The taste was a bit dizzy, with both a fragrance and a faint smell, which combined together made people somewhat uneasy.
The Washing Bone Pill is not a top-level elixir, but it is not easily obtained either. Firstly, sufficient herbs are needed, followed by the refinement by a high-level alchemist.
He lacks both, but fortunately, his reputation is widespread, and the name of the Taoist ancestor has attracted many seekers of the Tao. Among them is the most famous alchemist in the capital, Gu Shan.
Upon learning that Chen Mo needed a Washing Bone Pill, Gu Shan immediately accepted the request without hesitation. Less than three days later, a Washing Bone Pill was delivered to his front door.
"Wushu practitioners who open up their meridians and enter the Dao have clean meridians and impurities expelled from their bodies. This is akin to a wing feather to martial artists. However, ordinary people cannot withstand such a strong spiritual impact... In summary, this thing has been passed down since the ancient times, but few people have used it. It's unclear why the ancestor used it for that purpose."
Gu Shan asked curiously.
"That is naturally needed for refining the body."
Chen Mo explained, "To cultivate qi, one must open up the meridians. Once the meridians are opened, there will be medicinal liquids soaked into the body, accelerating the practitioner's ability to open up spiritual veins through the spirit essence of the liquids. For those who refine their bodies, they need to go through six stages: forging body, strengthening bones, enhancing tendons and muscles, refining flesh and bone marrow, mixing Yin and Yang into a single entity, and forming qi and blood. The first three stages can be assisted by medicinal liquids; for refining flesh and bone marrow, one can consume Washing Bone Pill; as for forming qi and blood, it requires stabilizing qi and blood which will then need assistance from higher-grade elixirs..."
Gu Shan nodded slightly, "The ingredients for the elixir of qi and blood that the Taoist ancestor mentioned, I have gathered some, but I am still short of one herb—the Dragon Blood Grass. This thing is so rare that I have barely heard of it, and even the Hundred Herbs Hall doesn't have it. It will take a great deal more effort to obtain."
"No need to rush, my Washing Bone Pill has not been completed yet. As for the Dragon Blood Grass... I seem to remember somewhere that it might be, but I can't quite recall right now..."
Chen Mo shook his head, "Once I find the Dragon Blood Grass, it will be another trouble for Master Gu."
"No problem, the Taoist ancestor has cleared up my doubts and I have gained a lot from it. I am still grateful to you... It's getting late, so I'll take my leave first."
Gu Shan stood up, bowed his hands in a farewell gesture.
Chen Mo picked up the Washing Bone Pill from the stone table, a cute head poked out from the door of the guesthouse, blinking its twin-colored eyes and looking around left and right.
"Come out."
Chen Mo saw the timid look on Liu Wuxin's face and couldn't help but smile. Although she had opened up eight spiritual veins and turned into a small beauty with her self-confidence gone, she was still a socially anxious little cutie. Whenever there was a stranger, she would hide in her room, afraid to come out.
Feeling that Gu Shan had left, Liu Wuxin dared to come out of the room, her eyes curious as she fixed on the Washing Bone Pill in Chen Mo's hand, "Brother, is this the Washing Bone Pill that can help you refine your body?"
Chen Mo nodded slightly.
"Will it shorten your life after you consume it?"
Liu Wuxin asked with a hint of sadness, as refining the body is against the heavens and can lead to a decrease in lifespan due to the consumption of one's qi and blood. Therefore, she always wanted to be clear about matters of refining the body, out of fear that Chen Mo might leave her before she does.
"Stupid girl, washing the marrow and bones can benefit the body, so how could it shorten one's lifespan?"
Chen Mo gently patted Liu Wuxin's head and said.
"I'm just worried, worried about you." Liu Wuxin said with a trace of anxiety.
Liu Wuxin blushed and lowered her head, muttering softly before straightening up and saying, "Brother, please rest assured that I will work hard, become stronger, and protect you."
"Hmm, I understand."
Chen Mo replied with a smile, then added, "You've opened eight spiritual veins and it's time for you to enter the Tao. Without a cultivation method, it wouldn't be beneficial for you to rush into it. I was going to borrow a cultivation manual from Brother Aotian, but for these past few days, I've never seen a trace of him."
In addition to the cultivation method, Chen Mo also wanted to ask Long Aotian about the whereabouts of the Dragon Blood Grass. Long Aotian was capable of producing rare Heaven and Earth Fruits and Blood-Dry Grass, so perhaps he could indeed find the Dragon Blood Grass.
"The current emperor is suffering from a serious illness and is currently in a coma. Prince Ning seized the opportunity to rebel. Now, the Zhenwu Commandery is under arms to counteract the Prince Ning's treason. Even Dragon public, who is a martial arts expert, has been summoned back, let alone Pei Nanjiang. If Master wants to find him, there is no other choice but to go to Zhenwu Commandery."
Fu Ba walked out of the kitchen, analyzing the current situation.
Chen Mo had long anticipated the rebellion of Prince Ning. For the past few days, everyone has been talking about it. He knew it well, but he was curious. Did Dragon public actually deliver the Gold Beetle Grass to the Empress?
If Dragon public really delivered it, the Empress wouldn't be suffering from a serious illness, or maybe she wasn't ill at all and was pretending to be.
In any case, the development of events is following the original plot line.
"It seems that it's time for me to visit the Imperial Capital as well."
Chen Mo glanced at Liu Wuxin, who was staring at him with some anticipation.
"Wuxin, do you also want to go to the Imperial Capital?"
Chen Mo smiled and asked.
Liu Wuxin shook her head, "The people in the Imperial Capital don't like me..."
Suddenly, Chen Mo remembered when he first met Liu Wuxin, she was being thrown stones by the people of the Imperial Capital. With her innate heterochromia, she was seen as a misfortune by the world, a person who was chased and shouted at wherever she went. It was indeed a hardship for someone with social anxiety to be sent to such a crowded place like the Imperial Capital.
"However, as long as I can be with my brother, even if it's Hell, I won't be afraid."
Liu Wuxin added a sentence, Chen Mo slightly froze, staring at her serious eyes, and couldn't help but turn red in the face.
"That's counter-clockwise chaos!"
Spending all day flirting, today I was actually seduced by a sister...
"Cough cough, there are so many interesting things in the Imperial Capital. When I have the chance, I'll take you to broaden your horizons. Not just the Imperial Capital, but the entire Jiuzhou as well. Whenever I have time, we'll go through mountains and rivers together."
Liu Wuxin's eyes were full of expectation.
Chen Mo picked up the Washing Bone Pill and turned to go into his room.
The Washing Bone Pill had a somewhat intoxicating taste and looked difficult to swallow, but Chen Mo still endured the psychological discomfort, pinching his nose and swallowing it at one go.
The bitter taste bloomed on the taste buds, then descended through the esophagus into the abdomen. After a while, a sensation of heat surged up from the dantian, 'chichichichi,' straight towards the crown of the head.
Chen Mo felt that every sinew and bone in his body were wriggling, with swollen veins, and the temperature rose sharply, as if he had fallen into a furnace. Perspiration kept coming out of him.
A moment later, the sweat ceased, and was replaced by a tiny amount of black impurities.
Washing the marrow and bones is about expelling all impurities from the body, making it as clean and transparent as uncut jade. Otherwise, the impurities in the body will affect the condensation of qi and blood.
After three hours, the sensation of heat in Chen Mo's body gradually disappeared, and his entire body was covered in black, slimy, smelly stuff. It was so disgusting that he almost vomited.
Chen Mo quickly took three showers to wash off the smell on his body, then changed into new clothes and came out to the courtyard, where he saw the familiar figure.
Long Aotian
