Fangxian Heretical Path

Chapter 102 Soul-Nourishing and Qi-Refining Elixirs
Not long after, Fang Shu met the owner of the Duguan Pavilion in the council hall.

The innkeeper saw him approaching, his face showing surprise, and asked, "What has made you leave seclusion?"

"Greetings, Master." Fang Shu made no attempt to conceal his greetings; after the formalities, he went straight to the point:
"I have already completed the second tribulation and have come to report my progress to my master, and to ask my master to impart his experience in overcoming tribulations."

Upon hearing this, the owner's expression changed slightly.

A clear look of surprise appeared in her eyes as she murmured to herself, "I didn't expect you to actually catch up, and so quickly at that. I was thinking..."

After muttering a few words to himself, the master of the pavilion suppressed his surprise and then appeared in front of Fang Shu. He stretched out his withered, claw-like hand and reached out to touch Fang Shu's body.

With a whoosh, the old woman somehow managed to make Fang Shu's qi and blood surge up on its own, rising thick and strong, reaching a height of three zhang, standing fiercely in the council hall like a beacon fire.

"Good good!"

The old woman touched the bones and looked at the qi and blood, her face beaming with joy. She said, "Your bones and muscles are solid, your qi and blood are abundant, and there is no sign of weakness! You are truly worthy of your reputation; you have never disappointed your master."

The other party praised him highly.

Fang Shu cupped his hands and said softly, "It's all thanks to Master's teachings and care."

Upon hearing this, the owner of the pavilion smiled even more broadly, and she narrowed her eyes slightly as she said, "The care I gave you is not enough for you to cultivate to the third tribulation so quickly."

The old woman could tell at a glance that Fang Shu still had the effects of the medicine in his body, and he looked like he had become "fat and strong".

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu remained silent, only lowering his eyes.

The owner of the guesthouse was just mentioning it casually and didn't take Fang Shu's matter seriously. She even suspected that the young man might be deliberately hinting at giving her more benefits.

"Now that you have already reached the second tribulation of perfection, and your cultivation is of good quality, it is indeed time for you to break through to the third tribulation, the sooner the better."

The owner of the guesthouse spoke as she paced through the hall, then suddenly sighed softly:
"I originally thought that you would need to cultivate for a while before you could reach the second tribulation, and it might even be too late before the imperial examination."

So the plan is to find you a calming and brain-nourishing medicine in another fifty or sixty days, to help you accumulate energy to perfection, break through the barrier and refine your qi, so that you can go up the mountain.

"It's a pity you're doing this too early, far beyond my expectations. And that Qin Min just recently broke through to the third tribulation and demanded supplies."

Upon hearing this, Fang Shu's mood immediately sank.

Good heavens, could it be that he will be late again, watching Qin Min take all the supplies in the inn while he doesn't even get to drink the leftovers?
However, Fang Shu remained calm and did not speak immediately.

Fortunately, the owner of the private club changed his tone the next moment, a half-smile playing on his lips:

"It seems like you're the only one who can benefit from this."

She stared intently at Fang Shu, and seeing no reaction on his face, she wiped the smile from her lips and continued with a stiff expression:
"There aren't many precious medicines in the hall suitable for overcoming tribulations or for calming the mind and nourishing the brain, but I do have a spiritual medicine that can directly nourish the soul."

"Soul?" Fang Shu looked up in surprise.

In the first of the six trials for immortals, the entire refinement stage involves qi, blood, tendons, and bones, focusing on strengthening the body. The concept of soul and spirit is completely foreign to immortals engaged in the refinement of essence.

The owner of the guesthouse asked, "Do you still remember the specific name of the third tribulation? What was it called?"

Fang Shu immediately replied:

"The third tribulation of the immortals is called 'dullness of hearing and sight' or 'dreaming and lack of awareness'."

Those who successfully complete this process will experience a significant increase in their eyesight, hearing, and even intuition. They will be able to maintain their energy levels with only three hours of sleep a day, and may even go seven days without sleep, thus overcoming the sleep demon.

These kinds of immortals, even when old and weak, will not suffer from hearing loss, blurred vision, or dementia; instead, they will retain extraordinary memory and the ability to multitask.

The owner of the private club nodded in satisfaction:

“That’s right. The third tribulation involves the senses and the brain, so the ‘fat’ it refines is not the fat of the brain, but the fat of the brain.”

After a pause, the other party added:
"This brain fat, also known as brain ointment, refers to both a physical substance and an intangible substance, and is generally used to describe the mental accumulation of immortals."

After passing the third tribulation, the focus shifts from increasing blood and qi to accumulating brain fat and developing the spiritual light within. If one's accumulation reaches its peak and the spiritual light bursts forth, then the soul and spirit can condense, true qi can begin to stir, and essence and qi can interact, thus achieving the status of a spiritual immortal.

As Fang Shu listened to the other person's teaching in the hall, he experienced a series of moments of enlightenment.

After chewing for a moment, he tentatively spoke:
"According to Master, the common essence-refining medicine mainly focuses on accumulating so-called 'brain fat,' but accumulating brain fat is for the purpose of better nurturing the soul."

Therefore, directly consuming medicines that nourish the soul is a top-down approach, which is more effective in nourishing the body?

The owner of the guesthouse looked at him with an expression of "this young man is teachable," and then nodded reservedly: "Indeed."

At this moment, Fang Shu didn't stand on ceremony and quickly cupped his hands in greeting:

"What virtue or ability do I possess to receive such a secret medicine for the soul from my master?"

The owner of the guesthouse lowered his eyelids: "What, you don't dare to take it?"

Fang Shu didn't hesitate at all, nor was he embarrassed; he said immediately:
"Thank you Master!"

This reaction made the owner of the guesthouse chuckle.

Without hesitation, she took out a wooden box from her sleeve, without asking Fang Shu to retrieve it from the pharmacy or the basement.

"This medicine is called 'Whale Whiskers Nourishing Spirit Meridian,' a strange name, but it is actually a secret spice of the Immortal Sect. The method of taking it is to burn it into smoke, hold it in the stomach, and then let it rise back up and enter the brain."

The innkeeper explained in detail: "You should divide this medicine into two portions. Use one portion during your tribulation and the other portion after you have passed the tribulation. Do not show it to others, lest you incur their envy and resentment."

"Yes, Master." Fang Shu nodded, indicating that he understood.

Immediately, the owner of the private residence threw the wooden box to Fang Shu.

Fang Shu held the wooden box, pondering the other person's words, and spoke up: "A secret recipe of the Immortal Sect, a spiritual medicine? Could this medicine be something Master brought back when he went down the mountain? Is it a medicine used by Qi Refining Immortals? Does Master still have any in stock...?" The Pavilion Master grinned:
"You guessed wrong, kid. I couldn't bear to buy this medicine back in the day."

Its medicinal effects are to strengthen the body's foundation and promote longevity, making it most suitable for children like you or old people.

This was a reward from the Immortal Sect, given for my years of nurturing talent for them. It's to prevent my cultivation from declining in this place of scarce spiritual energy, causing me to age prematurely and die young.

Seeing Fang Shu's stunned expression, the owner of the inn casually gave another brief introduction.

The owners of the various Taoist temples in the town trained Taoist children for the Immortal Sect for two reasons: first, to enjoy a life of leisure in the town, and second, to obtain longevity-enhancing items from the Immortal Sect.

She clicked her tongue and said, "Every time a disciple is successfully trained to Qi Refining or a disciple with overlooked spiritual roots, one can obtain a medicine similar to whale whiskers for nourishing the spirit. If one day a disciple sent up the mountain is able to establish a foundation, it is said that a real life-extending medicine will be bestowed upon him, which can extend his life by ten years!"

Even the owner of the Duguan Pavilion couldn't help but show envy and longing when he said this.

Fang Shu muttered to himself, "A Foundation Establishment disciple, huh..."

Such a celestial being was not only a figure to a mere cultivator like him, but also to the master of the sect, a true immortal being, unattainable and beyond reach.

Immediately, Fang Shu composed himself, refrained from boasting, and simply performed a deep bow, saying:
"This disciple will certainly enter the sect to cultivate Qi, and will not fail Master's kindness, and will help you get another dose of spiritual medicine!"

The owner of the guesthouse snapped out of his reverie, smiled, and nodded: "Not bad, not bad."

Then, the old woman asked Fang Shu if he had any preparations or ideas for undergoing the tribulation, and tested him on the spot to see if he had overlooked anything.

In the end, the owner of the guesthouse stopped talking and only explained:

"Take your medicine properly, but don't be stingy or hoard it; what you ingest is truly yours."

Moreover, the earlier one cultivates the soul, the sooner one can develop divine consciousness.

Some people can even cultivate divine sense before they begin cultivating Qi, making it easier to learn Qi and other skills; others can only cultivate it after they have started cultivating Qi, thus becoming a laughingstock.

Fang Shu pondered the term "divine consciousness" in his mind, feeling quite surprised that someone could cultivate this thing during the essence refining stage.

He then bowed again, and with a sense of accomplishment, walked out of the council hall.

We arrived outside the hall.

Fang Shu then realized that there were already people waiting outside the hall, but they did not enter because there was a conversation inside.

There were two people who came, and Fang Shu recognized them quite well; they were Qu Yan and Fu Shi'er.

The two opponents did not enter the hall. Due to the design of the hall, the voices inside could not be heard from outside, but a blurry figure could be vaguely seen.

Therefore, Qu Yan and Fu Shi'er only saw Fang Shu's three-zhang-high plume of bloody smoke rising in the hall, which they could not ignore, but knew nothing else.

Upon seeing Fang Shu emerge, both men were astonished. They had never imagined that Fang Shu was now qualified to undergo tribulation and break through his cultivation barrier.

Fang Shu ignored the two of them, simply nodded, and left.

Even after Fang Shu had walked far away, Qu Yan and Fu Shi'er couldn't look away, and forgot that they should hurry into the hall to find Master Du.

Both the man and the woman were in a daze.

After finally coming to their senses, the two looked at each other, both feeling that their cultivation had gone to waste.

Qu Yan muttered to himself, "Hmph! What's with the attitude? He can't even greet people properly."

Once I obtain the secret elixir, my own qi and blood will also soar to three feet high.

Amidst her wavering thoughts, Fu Shi'er suppressed the urge to chase after Fang Shu.

She then pulled Qu Yan along, and together they walked into the hall, hoping to obtain medicine from the master of the hall so that they could also cultivate their Qi and blood to the full extent, and try their luck in the gradually emerging imperial examination.

Unfortunately, to this day, both of them are still 60-70% away from completing the second tribulation.

Therefore, their request was rejected outright by the owner, who scolded them to polish it properly.

After scolding him, the owner of the pavilion frankly said that the pavilion was really short of top-quality medicines recently, as Qin Min had taken most of them. Even Fang Shu had not been able to obtain any medicines.

This left Qu Yan and Fu Shi'er with no choice but to leave the council hall dejectedly.

Stepping outside the hall, the two men looked dejected, and a complex mix of emotions welled up within them regarding Qin Min. However, since she had already reached the third tribulation and would soon be joining the sect, they dared not say anything more.

Among them, Qu Yan's expression shifted, and suddenly a mocking smile appeared on his face:
"This guy surnamed Fang has always been overshadowed by Junior Sister Qin Min. Neither we nor he have obtained the precious medicine."

This guy's losses are bigger than yours and mine!

Upon hearing this, although Fu Shi'er vaguely sensed that her family member had a somewhat petty mindset, there was no doubt that her displeasure was reduced somewhat.

The two whispered a few words to each other before going their separate ways.

As they dispersed, news of Fang Shu's "setback" at the owner of the Duguan Inn spread quickly.

Even his second uncle, Yu Le, had heard about it.

This prompted his second uncle, Yu Le, to write a note and slip it into the quiet room while delivering the goods, as a gesture of comfort.

Fang Shu's expression turned slightly strange upon learning of this.

He ignored the matter and continued to immerse himself in seclusion, meticulously refining his skills.

Soon, in his Daoist register, the realm column clearly showed:
[Can withstand the tribulation (97% chance)]

(End of this chapter)