From a country cook to a master chef

"Senior, do you know what the Weeping Blood Vine is?"

After pondering for a moment, Lin Jue curiously inquired about the strange medicinal ingredients in the Huanglong Dan Dan formula.

The Tianwu Mountain Sutra Cave contains a vast collection of books, but after searching through all the scriptures and classics related to alchemy and pill making, he could not find any record of the Weeping Blood Vine.

Are you a pharmacist?

Inside the Sutra Cave, the old man subconsciously looked at Lin Jue.

Within the Great Wu Kingdom, pharmacists are a highly sought-after profession. The inner courtyard of Tianwu Mountain even has a special place for training pharmacists, called the Alchemy Hall.

"I am not a pharmacist; I only know how to prepare some simple medicines and pills based on prescriptions and alchemical texts," Lin Jue sighed. "The Blood-Weeping Vine is very important to me, and I would appreciate your guidance, senior."

"I wouldn't presume to offer guidance, as I'm not a pharmacist. However, I do know a little about the Weeping Blood Vine," the old man said calmly. "If I remember correctly, the Weeping Blood Vine was an ancient medicinal name; its current name should be Blood Bone Staff."

"Blood Bone Staff?"

"That's right, it's the Bloodbone Staff."

The Bloodbone Staff is incredibly resilient and often grows on cliffs where water is extremely scarce. Typically, a Bloodbone Staff will produce two vines, like two tentacles, which firmly attach it to the rock surface.

However, generally speaking, of the two vines of the Blood Bone Staff, only one possesses its life essence and can be used as medicine, while the other contains a deadly poison.

"Senior, may I ask where I can obtain this medicine?" Lin Jue asked expectantly.

The old man shook his head and laughed out loud, "If it were thirty years ago, I could still tell you the answer, but now, I advise you to give up on that idea as soon as possible."

"Why do you say this, senior?"

"Throughout the Great Wu Kingdom, the places where Blood Bone Staffs grow have long been firmly controlled by various major forces. Coupled with the continuous consumption by martial artists, their numbers have sharply decreased, resulting in this medicine not appearing on the market for many years."

Even now, not a single Blood Bone Staff can be found in the Hundred Herbs Garden of Tianwu Mountain. The Yellow Dragon Pill, made from this herb, still relies on the Great Wu royal family for supplies each time.

"If we want to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill, are there any other medicinal herbs that can replace the Blood Bone Staff?"

Lin Jue suddenly had a brilliant idea.

He now possesses the strength of a 45th-level martial artist. If he could obtain a few Yellow Dragon Pills and take them in conjunction with Qi and Blood Powder, he is confident that he could become a 90th-level advanced martial artist within a month.

At that time, he will be able to enter the inner courtyard of Tianwu Mountain, and with the abundant cultivation resources provided by the academy to the inner courtyard disciples, combined with the Breakthrough Pill and the Earth Emerging Golden Lotus, he will be able to quickly advance to the Divine Power realm.

Lin Jue's question stumped the old man, who stood there lost in thought.

Seeing that he did not respond for a long time, Lin Jue did not intend to wait any longer. He bowed to him and planned to leave the Scripture Cave and go to the Hundred Herbs Garden to ask Uncle Cao, who spent years studying various precious medicines and spiritual plants, for advice.

"Although there is no medicinal ingredient that can completely replace the Blood Bone Staff, there is a medicinal powder that can largely replace the Blood Bone Staff and can also be used to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill," the old man said, stroking his beard and leaning on his broom.

"I would be grateful for your guidance, senior."

"Qi and Blood Powder, but unfortunately the recipe for making it has long been lost."

"Qi and Blood Dispersant?"

Lin Jue's eyes widened in surprise, but he feigned disappointment and said respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. This disciple will take his leave."

After a moment's hesitation, the old man listed several medicinal herbs that could replace the Blood Bone Staff, but none of them were as effective as the Qi and Blood Powder. Even if the Yellow Dragon Pill was successfully refined, its effects would likely be greatly diminished.

Lin Jue showed no sign of impatience. He listened quietly to the old man's instructions, hurriedly put the scrolls back on the bookshelf, and left the Library Cave without looking back.

After returning to his residence, Lin Jue adjusted himself for a moment, then locked himself in his room, took out all the medicinal herbs that Zhang Kuang had sent, and prepared them into Qi and Blood Powder according to the proportions on the prescription.

For him, nothing is more important than improving his strength now.

As dusk fell, Lin Jue finally finished preparing ten doses of Qi and Blood Powder.

After a quick dinner, he took a dose of Qi and Blood Powder and couldn't wait to begin his cultivation.

As is customary, Lin Jue assumed a stance and began practicing his fist techniques, still using the Pine Crane Long Fist. As the beast meat inside his body was digested, a large amount of qi and blood power mixed with the qi and blood dispersing medicine power quickly circulated throughout his body via the bloodstream.

A series of intense, burning sensations began to irritate the skin all over the body, and large amounts of scalding hot air burst out from the open pores, instantly filling the room with a thick white mist.

Lin Jue's entire body was contracting and expanding, and when he bulged, he was as strong as a bull, much larger than usual, as if he had been soaking in water and had expanded.

He was panting heavily. He had just finished the last move of his fist technique when he felt his whole body burning, as if he were in a sea of ​​fire, like a piece of red-hot iron, about to undergo some amazing change.

His forehead was covered with beads of sweat, which slid down his face, and with each breath came a puff of white mist.

After a long period of tension and relaxation, Lin Jue felt his muscles and bones come alive every time he exerted force.

He suddenly remembered what Master Liu had said: "Practicing boxing requires relaxation, smooth flow, and agility in every joint."

Only when joints are loose can they function smoothly; only when they are smooth can they be agile; only when they are agile can they react quickly.

By training your joints to be flexible and your muscles to be like springs, every time you exert force, your joints and muscles respond, and your punches become as fast as lightning, delivering a fatal blow to your opponent with every punch.

If you develop all your muscles into stiff, lifeless muscles, your punching speed will be too slow, and you'll only be able to take hits.

Lin Jue suddenly realized that only by treating every joint and muscle in his body as a point of force, and mobilizing all the muscles and joints in his body to exert force, would each of his punches be incredibly fast, enough to split rocks and shatter monuments.

Thinking of this, he suddenly roared and mobilized all his strength. His fist shot out like an arrow, creating a whistling sound, and went straight for the pine tree trunk in front of him.

Although his fist did not touch the tree trunk, Lin Jue could feel a surge of energy leaving him, like a cannonball crashing heavily into the tree.

The thick tree trunk split open with a crash, splinters flew everywhere, and as the canopy fell, it kicked up a large cloud of snow.

An unprecedented sense of exhilaration welled up within Lin Jue, who stared at his fist with excitement on his face.

Become!

From this moment on, he officially became a 50th Dan martial artist.

Although he hasn't reached the level of an intermediate martial arts master, for a martial arts master, fifty dan is a watershed.

Once one's strength reaches level fifty, one can fully utilize the internal energy to attack the enemy.

"Yellow Dragon Pill..."

Lin Jue let out a long sigh of relief, adjusted his breathing, turned around and went back to the house. He had been busy in the Library Cave all day and had been practicing his fist techniques for an hour. Even though he was now a 50th-level martial artist, Lin Jue still felt a little tired. He yawned and fell asleep on the bed.

Yuan Rou boiled some hot water, intending to have him wash off the sweat, but seeing how soundly he was sleeping, she couldn't bear to disturb him. She closed the door and quietly took a bath behind the screen.

The next day, when Lin Jue woke up in bed, the sun was already high in the sky.

Over the next five days, Lin Jue spent his days searching for and purchasing various medicinal herbs needed to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill, and his nights practicing martial arts in the courtyard.

He had mastered the Pine and Crane Long Fist and had also fully integrated the Thirteen Forms of the Zhao Family Blood Saber.

However, one thing always weighed on Lin Jue's mind, leaving him puzzled.

With just three strands of energy, he was able to light up the two stars behind the Spirit Summoning Seal, from which he obtained the Spirit Summoning Seal, the Beast Taming Method, and the Reversal of the Five Elements Pill Method.

He is now a 50th-level martial artist, and the number of internal energy strands in his body has reached 150. However, he can only light up two stars on the back of the Spirit Summoning Seal.

This surprised Jinjue greatly.

He found nothing about the origin of the Spirit-Serving Gourd Seal in the Library Cave.

The only connection to it is that within the Yuling Sect, one of the six righteous sects in the Great Martial Cultivation World, there is a Purple-Gold Gourd, which is the sect's treasure and a top-tier magic weapon crafted by a Nascent Soul cultivator.