Chapter 51: The Radiant Pill of Four Directions

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As the sun set behind the western hills, the sky overflowed with a sea of clouds tinged in crimson. In the courtyard, Chen Yu cradled a three-legged bronze cauldron, his hand busy scrubbing inside it. The transformation of the gluttonous deer would have to wait until tomorrow; now that he had obtained the “Feng Pu Dan Prescription,” his heart fluttered with anticipation, eager to give it a try.

He wondered whether the method described in the book could truly produce medicinal pills. Unlike the prevalent lead-mercury sects of today, the prescriptions recorded in this ancient text relied solely on the inherent properties of the herbs. Through repeated adjustment and blending, toxic side effects would be extracted and neutralized, thereby amplifying particular medicinal effects.

For example, the pill he intended to refine now was called the Four Directions Radiant Pill. The “four directions” referred to the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, as well as the mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. This formula traced back to the era of the Great Yin dynasty, a time before the concepts of the five senses and five internal organs were formalized. Martial arts were rudimentary, lacking internal cultivation stages and limited to physical techniques. The internal theories of the palace would only be summarized centuries later.

Thus, this formula nourished the four organs and four senses with herbal power to brighten the spirit and enhance extraordinary strength. Of course, Chen Yu did not truly believe it could grant supernatural power; it was likely a distorted tale. Still, the remedy held considerable utility, enough to make him delay evening lessons and rush to experiment.

“To the ancients, clairvoyance and hearing the wind’s whispers were myths, but nourishing the internal organs and sharpening the senses was a necessity.”

That alone was sufficient. Even if energy condensed within the five viscera, he would not disdain rapid internal cultivation. Medicinal recipes for nurturing these organs were exceedingly rare. After two days of searching in the pavilion’s collection, he had found not a single volume. Most texts were hoarded by major sects as sacred treasures, never allowing outsiders to lay hands on them.

The “Cloud Crane Technique” was comprehensive, with internal cultivation methods aplenty, yet no corresponding pill formula remained. Now, he had stumbled upon one outside the sect, separated by centuries but still effective.

“Let’s hope so.” Having tidied everything, he set the furnace alight to begin refining the pill.

This was Chen Yu’s fourth type of pill, counting the reed ginseng paste. Alongside the ancestral calming Serenity Pills from the Taoist temple and the White Cloud Powder from earlier external training.

The White Cloud Powder had been his first batch, remembered for using spiritual liquid, but the outcome was unsatisfactory—no different from ordinary powders. The poured spiritual essence evaporated, dispersing into the air.

Perhaps he should try again?

On a whim, Chen Yu peeked into the storeroom. The temple still stored some herbs suitable for the Four Directions Radiant Pill—which was why he chose this formula in the first place: the ingredients were not rare. From earlier forages, after careful selection, about two doses remained, enough for him to experiment.

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“Master You is truly a benevolent soul!”

After all, this book was an ancient scripture with archaic language, but most of it had been annotated thoroughly. Dense marginalia marked errors or doubtful points, while several passages bore bold, vigorous handwriting proposing alternative improvements.

Impressive indeed.

With this confidence, he wholeheartedly began refining a batch.

Master You must have once attempted this too, producing a finished product and validating its efficacy. The pill manual noted, with annotations, that it roughly matched the described six characters.

Yet Chen Yu intended to experiment beyond the book’s instructions; following it rigidly seemed dull and uninspired.

“Previously, the spiritual liquid couldn’t be harmonized due to mental factors.”

Long ago, Chen Yu suspected the spiritual liquid could be broken down anew or at least react with other herbs, but this required stronger spiritual power. At that time, his spirit was still nurturing, without condensed light spheres or an opened pill cavity.

Now, however, the spiritual whirlpools constantly rotated. Recently, he had condensed two more, forming a triumvirate within the pill cavity. Every strand of incoming spiritual energy from outside was drawn in, compressed, and refined.

Becoming more exquisite.

With enhanced power, the spiritual energy bolstered the growth of the whirlpools, intensifying the refining effect. After thousands or even tens of thousands of cycles, his spiritual power had reached the level attained after consuming the Lanting Divine Fruit.

And it kept advancing, never ceasing.

As his spiritual power refined further, Chen Yu’s control grew more adept, and his divine invocation techniques bore greater fruit. Quietly, his spiritual essence could now extend over a foot beyond his body, lingering for long periods—far surpassing his initial attempts.

This confirmed his conviction: this might well be the true path to augment spiritual power. Merely exposing one’s spirit to the outside world only backfired, failing to yield the desired tempering.

Now he wondered if he could infuse the pill cauldron directly with immense spiritual power, enabling the spiritual liquid to bind with the herbs.

But there was a question: would this truly work? Chen Yu dared not be certain, but it was worth trying. However, probing the furnace with spiritual power was unlike the external high heat; it might consume far more energy. Still, he was prepared—his pill cavity’s reserves were ample.

Clang!

He sealed the lid and kindled the fire.

Wisps of blue smoke spiraled upward, curling in the air, tracing a faint line across Mount Qingtai, drawing curious birds that lingered for a while.

One herb after another was added into the cauldron.

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The reason Chen Yu dared to attempt the “Feng Pu Dan Prescription” on the first day was twofold: firstly, Master You’s extensive annotations covered every facet. Secondly, though the refining methods differed from the lead-mercury sects, they still operated within a pill cauldron. Today, such techniques would likely be derided by alchemists as “ancient pill methods” or “spiritless methods.”

The prevailing schools of pill refinement believed that pills must embody a spirit, harmonizing with the Great Way and natural laws. How was this achieved? The common solution was the use of lead and mercury.

Lead and mercury had been employed far longer than Taoist doctrines. In ancient times on this land, it was said “eating lead transforms the earth.”

Accordingly, the pill cauldron sect was often scorned by others like the Pure Brightness and Demon Binding sects. Yet they themselves always considered their path the true great way aligned with heaven’s Dao, an eternal and unchanging orthodox method.

As for the methods from centuries ago, they had long been relegated to obscurity, rarely mentioned.

But to Chen Yu, this method felt somewhat familiar—after all, the Serenity Pills did not rely on lead or mercury either.

However, those were more akin to medicinal powders than genuine pills.

The Four Directions Radiant Pill was a proper pill indeed.

Formed purely by medicinal power.

Crackle! The cauldron beneath glowed a deep crimson, the firelight casting warmth over his face, dispelling the chill of the cool night breeze.

Night had fallen.

From the hour of the Rooster to the Pig, nearly two hours passed—adding herbs, removing them, stoking and reducing the fire. Midway, he prepared some bitter wine—vinegar—pouring it into the cauldron.

Now the process was nearing its end. In truth, the Four Directions Radiant Pill did not require too long—two hours sufficed.

Setting aside those legendary divine pills of old that took years or centuries to refine, the “Feng Pu Dan Prescription” recorded a formula requiring a vast array of herbs and dozens of refining materials like bitter wine, many of which even Master You could not identify by their modern names.

Regarding timing, the text stated: one day to calm the furnace with fire, three days to hang the herbs, then five days of gradual refining with additional materials like “Left Taste” and “Flower Pool,” followed by one day for grinding into pills and sealing them for a month.

He roughly calculated a total of nearly forty days.

This was still the powder pill method; the more complicated lead-mercury sect steps involved even more time.

Fly, fall, extract, death, form, dot… Chen Yu recalled some of the pill cauldron sect’s refining techniques he had heard of, just thinking about them gave him a headache.