Learning To Live As A Cultivator

Lia smiled and replied honestly; "He pursued me with gifts and the like for close t" two years. But it was likely when he said he would give up cultivatin" to live a mortal"s life with me tha" did it. Who wouldn" have their head turned by a man who promised to give up on immortality for them?"

Jin Li thought about this for a moment and gave the woman a curt nod. It was quite the sacrifice. Would he ever consider sacrificing so much for his small alchemist? His eyes unknowingly softened as Leon glanced up at him with his large black eyes, twinkling in the light of the sun and wondered about this for a moment, before both youths bid Lia farewell.

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When they arrived back at the small hut much later, for they had ended up spending a whole silver on a delicious, hearty and very large meal (around 80% of which fell into Jin Li"s stomach), Sun was waiting with them with instructions from the Martial Arts school; it was time for Jin Li to return. Sun"s Master had covered for him enough and was unable to stretch the time of his absence any longer. Jin Li did not like this, but had no ability to refute. It was with ground teeth that he followed Sun back to the school, but not before turning his small alchemist to breathless mush with a sneaky, devouring kiss.

Leon could only pant with a bit of heartache and some relief as he watched his Martial Artist disappear into the distance.

And the following day, he also returned to school.

Teacher Sagi welcomed him back and naturally asked after his health. Leon moved his arm freely. "It"s fine n-now," he rea.s.sured his Teacher.

The man sighed with some relief and smiled, warmly. "I hadn"t any plans for you today," he admitted, after all, the explosion had been quite the shock and many an alchemist student wavered before a cauldron in the aftermath of similar accidents. But although this incident was one caused not by Leon"s making, it was a fact that explosions and alchemy went hand in hand. If a budding alchemist was of weak resolve, such set backs could make them question their path and many would give up the craft completely.

"That"s alright," Leon replied and thought about his discussions with Ursam from the day before. "I want t-to try m-m-make B-Burning B-Blood Pills."

Teacher Sagi"s smile widened and the weight of uncertainty fell from his shoulders. "Good," he said with a slight sigh. "That is good. Come, gather the ingredients with me and a new cauldron."

Burning Blood Pills had similar effects of their lesser cousin Burning Energy Pills, but were for Cultivators of the Second and Third Stage. They could catapult a Cultivator into having an ability of a freshly broken through Fourth Stage Cultivator at best, or half-step toward at worst. This was a great boost for combative Cultivators and Leon was hoping that variants could be made like the Burning Energy Pills. However as difficult as Leon had originally found making Cloudy Spiritual Pills, it was said (by fellow students) that making Burning Blood Pills was even harder.

This in part, might be due to the number of ingredients. Cloudy Spiritual Pills required five herbs in order to make them as well as many steps to focus upon in their creation. Burning Blood Pills required seven herbs and some of these required their own refining treatment before the steps of the pill itself could be followed. Honeyvine, Mothtail, Cloud Fern and Weasel Bane were all common herbs and could be dug up from the charmed fields located behind the Herb Hall. Salamander"s breath poppies and Rusted Thyme-wort were uncommon plants and could be found in protected gardens, close to Teacher Sagi"s home. Songmist moss could also be found here.

Just like the entrance to the fields, the entrance to the gardens were through an archway that only allowed those with permission to walk through. Those with permission had to walk through the fields first. The gardens were split into five s.p.a.ces, each s.p.a.ce corresponding to an element that the herbs could be considered as closest too. For example, herbs in the area with rich, dark soil was the area of Earth and the area with ponds and moving water both shallow and deep and both hot and icy cold, was the zone of water. Fire was linked with a dusty environment of sand and even an enchanted area bubbling with hot molten lava, its solidified outer earth nurturing a few strange looking herbs. For the element of Wood, the untamed land filled with trees and herbs that would not look out of place in the wilder forests close to Leon"s home dwelled. And perhaps strangely or not so, in the area of metal, the area was spa.r.s.e and filled with sizeable rocks, with herbs growing within the cracks of them. While this seemed at first glance to be as much of Earth as the one originally pointed out, Teacher Sagi explained that these rocks and the soil was filled with metallic minerals, that the few herbs needed and thrived in.

Rusted Thyme-wort was one of these and not so strangely, Salamander"s breath poppies were to be found in the area of fire. And though it was considered a common herb, Songmist Moss was grown in the area of Wood. It was not so much that it was a.s.sociated with the element (most common herbs had no such a.s.sociation growing as and where they will), but Songmist Moss had the unusualness that it was a parasitic herb and grew upon established trees, though it never stretched further than the lowest branch.

Leon and his Teacher collected all of these things, with Teacher Sagi expressing all of his knowledge about the various herbs as they did, before they made their way to the Herb Hall to find Leon a new cauldron.