It was the same dense fog that obscured the surrounding, restricting one’s vision. Only the mountain peak could occasionally be seen in the mist. All was quiet, still and silent.
Su Ming gazed at the mountain shrouded in mist, this was his second time visiting this place. This time, after sizing up the mountain from where he stood, Su Ming could not help but felt a sense of apprehension, especially when thinking of the countless strange words and pictures etched on the mountain.
Drawing a deep breath, he looked at the accessory hanging from his neck. The black fragment had disappeared. After pinching himself, Su Ming ascertained that he was physically at his location, he wasn’t dreaming.
Feeling that the vials of enlightening pills were still on him, his eyes flashed. He strode promptly into the fog and soon arrived at the mountain base, where he continued into a tunnel.
He did not stop until he was before the stone door leading further into the tunnel. Looking at the familiar door adorned with numerous rings of circles and it’s fifteen holes, Su Ming hesitated for a moment before successfully convincing himself to retrieve the vial he carried. Taking out a pill, he pinched it and placed it into the first of the fifteen small holes.
As soon as his finger touched the hole, Su Ming felt a weak sucking force coming from it that seemed to draw the pill out from in between his fingers.
Su Ming’s expression was serious as he cautiously proceeded, not knowing if his judgement was correct. Just what would happen after all fifteen holes are filled? Was something he had pondered for some time while filled with antic.i.p.ation.
Without making any reckless moves, Su Ming continued to watch as the pill was sucked into the small hole. A while later, the hole remained as it was, as if nothing had changed.
Su Ming shook his head, retrieving another pill while still in deep thought, placing it on the second hole. Repeating his actions, he offered up fifteen pills with reluctance, becoming even more anxious.
“Fifteen medicinal pills, if nothing changes, then it will all be wasted…” Su Ming looked at the fifteen holes anxiously. Suddenly, gentle beams of light scattered forth from the fifteen holes.
Su Ming feeling encouraged, retreated a few steps. The fifteen holes filled with radiance and they shone brighter than ever, while the circular rings on the stone door seemingly came to life and began to rotate. Moments later, the rings merged into one, and it rotated rapidly like a whirlpool.
Following the rotation, the light coming from the fifteen small holes was steadily being absorbed into the whirlpool, causing the stone door to become enveloped in a brilliant light. At the same time a deafening boom began to reverberate in the tunnel, causing blood veins to surface on Su Ming without control. The blood qi in his body was boiled and he had to subconsciously suppress it.
The booming sound lasted only for a moment, after which fifteen strands of green smoke could be seen floating out of the small holes, as though the pill inside had sublimed. As the smoke appeared, the great stone door began to shake, and at its center-most, a straight crevice emerged.
The slit cut across the stone door, and in front of Su Ming, the slabs began to move sideways. The doors had opened!
Su Ming’s heart pounded furiously inside him. Having witness this scene, he was extremely shocked. Only when the door was fully opened did he resume his breathing. Behind the door was no tunnel, rather it was only a small stone chamber.
The walls which lined the chamber was rough, engraved with some pictures. Further along the wall, was another sealed door.
The ceiling of the chamber contained some small rocks which not only emanated light, but also filled the room with a tinge of aromatic scent. Even just a single sniff was rejuvenating.
Su Ming’s eyes shone as he cautiously entered the room, his eyes sweeping along the walls of the chamber, observing all the carvings on the wall. Similar to before, the images depicted the same disheveled figure refining medicinal pill in a primitive environment.
The first time Su Ming entered, he stared at the images without a single clue of what they depicted. But with his new-found knowledge and success in the refinement process, when he once more encounters these carvings, he is much more able to understand them.
The figures in those carvings were refining different medicinal pills, as Su Ming observed he could not help but lose himself in these carvings, while constantly comparing to his own experience he had lost track of time.
After he finished studying one carving, he would quickly walk a few steps in search of the next. After who knows how long, he had finally finished studying all the carvings in the room. At last his eyes had returned to the second stone door in the room.
This stone door was different from the first, this time the door was black and possessed a faint aroma, it was made of a truly strange stone.
It also had much more of a presence than the previous one. On it was also a strange drawing, only this huge drawing depicted a cauldron which had strands of smoke emerging from it, and was really quite realistic. As Su Ming looked at it, he started to feel that it was no drawing, rather it was a projection of a refining cauldron.
“It would be great if I had a cauldron like that… …” Su Ming thought to himself as he enviously looked at that cauldron.
Above this cauldron, he could see images of several different types of herbs. Gathering his focus, he carefully studied them, after all the main purpose of his trip here was to try and see if he could find any more formulas to refine more medicinal pills.
On the left of the cauldron were the carvings of seven different herbs, of which five were the herbs required to refine the Enlightenment Pill, while the other two were something that Su Ming had never seen before. After some careful observation, he carved them into his memory.
Below this formula, were eight small holes.
On the right of the cauldron were the carvings of another eight herbs. Similarly, of these eight herbs, five of which were the herbs required to refine the Enlightenment Pill.
As for the other three kinds of herbs, Su Ming was glad to see that he actually recognised two of them, only they were a little uncommon.
Similarly below this formula were the small holes, only this time there were twelve holes, more than the left.
As for the last formula which was above the cauldron, the instant Su Ming laid his eyes on it his face became very solemn. What the formula needed were not plants, rather it had images of 3 terrifying things.
The first was the scales on the tail of a Python, the second was the ninth leg of a nine legged spider, and last was the third finger on the right hand of a black midget the size of a palm.
The strangest thing about it was that below this third formula, there were no small holes for pills. As if understanding that this was a difficult pill to refine and as such making it not necessary to refine.
Su Ming thought for awhile before he withdrew his gaze and approached this stone door, with his right hand raised he unhesitatingly pressed his arm on the door. Suddenly, the diagram on the door gave out a glaring light which somehow seemed to meld into Su Ming’s body.
After a moment of discomfort, a new memory emerged in Su Ming’s mind, it was actually the names and refining methods of these three pills.
“Southerner’s Pill!” Said Su Ming’s as his gaze moved towards the formula on the left of the cauldron then to the right.
“Mountain Spirit Pill… …and the last one is the Spirit Seizing Pill!” Su Ming muttered as he gazed at the strange formula atop the cauldron.
As Su Ming stood there thinking, the glow surrounding his body gradually dimmed, the radiance emanating from the cauldron diagram also diminished. In the instant the light completely vanished, a flower had appeared in front of Su Ming. However, he did not panic, having already experienced this once, as before a whistling sound emerged by his ears. By the time the whistling ended and his eyes cleared, he found himself back in his room at the tribe.
Su Ming took a deep breath and walked to the room entrance, after removing the chair barring the door, he looked out into the darkness. The skies were dark with stars still shimmering in the night sky, all around him was silence and the cool night breeze.
However, by the horizon, he could see a single white line, as daybreak seemed to approach.
“There seems to be not much difference in time there… …” Su Ming closed the door, and sat down crossed legged inside. With his chin in his hands, he fell deep in thought.
“These three medicinal pills all have different refining methods, the formula for Southerner’s Pill has two herbs I have never seen before, I think I can probably put it aside for now, as for… … the Spirit Seizing Pill…” Su Ming’s eyes narrowed.
“That pill is not refined using plants, and the required ingredients are just too strange. However in the memories I obtained, after refining this pill the effects are just too shocking!” Su Ming recalled the scene he saw in his mind after obtaining those new memories. After refining the Spirit Seizing Pill, it actually caused the colour of the skies to change and stir the clouds, it was really frightening.
“If this pill can be successfully refined, it will definitely shake the world! It’s such a pity… … even the door didn’t have a hole for the pill, this shows just how hard it must be to refine… … that’s why it is not a requirement to open the door.” While pondering he managed to guess the gist of it.
“It would seem the only one that I can refine would be the, Mountain Spirit Pill, of the three extra herbs required, I at least recognise two of them… … although I don’t have any with me, there should be quite an amount of then in the tribe’s medicine stores.”
As Su Ming was thinking of this, the skies outside gradually brightened signalling the approach of a new day.
Although he had not slept the whole night, Su Ming did not feel the slightest bit drained. This was one of the effects of the second stage of blood condensation, after reaching this stage one will have a large amount of vigour, unless one stays up for many consecutive nights one will not experience any fatigue.
On the morning of this new day, the tribesman have already started busily going about their work. After washing up, Su Ming headed towards the fenced wooden construction which was constantly guarded by tribesman not far from his home.