Elder Mon And The Green King Snake Leather

When Kou and Shunlin left the workshop, Elder Min and Elder Shanshi looked at each other.

“What do you think of that qi bullet gun?”

Elder Shanshi asked.

“I was surprised. I wonder what information he used as the basis to make it?”

Elder Shanshi made a face that said he could not understand it.

“I have never heard of a weapon similar to a qi bullet gun.”

“Are you saying Kou thought it up himself? If he thought that up himself, that is a terrifying level of talent.”

Elder Shanshi started to say something to Elder Min, then stopped.

“What is it?”

“Elder Min, if you obtained the fang of a Black Wind Tiger and then decided to make a qi bullet gun, how much time would it take?”

“Let me see. It might have taken several years.”

“Kou made it in one month. Do you not think something is strange?”

“That may be what genius is. People are called ‘geniuses’ because they think up things ordinary people could never imagine. Even in the martial arts Elder Shanshi specializes in, you were surprised that he created a secret technique called White Flame, were you not?”

Elder Shanshi nodded as if he accepted it.

“I should have forced the issue and made Kou my direct disciple. ……I failed.”

Hearing that, Elder Min laughed as if she had won.

“It is too late now. Kou is my direct disciple.”

“Hmph. Kou seems to want to continue his morning training. Even if he is not my formal disciple, we can still sharpen each other through competition.”

After leaving the garden of the Treasure Tool Workshop, Shunlin and I headed to the apothecary. Shunlin was going to her new master, and I was going to Elder Mon.

There were two apothecaries in Gyorei Cave. One was in a corner of the Main Hall, and the other used part of a warehouse as an apothecary. Elder Mon was in the Main Hall apothecary, and Senior Disciple Falin was in the warehouse apothecary, so we parted ways midway.

I searched for Elder Mon in the Main Hall apothecary. Elder Mon was working on something in front of an alchemy furnace. She seemed focused and did not notice me entering the room. Around Elder Mon, several direct disciples were observing. It seemed like a bad time to interrupt, so I decided to wait.

What was Elder Mon making? Wondering that, I examined the ingredients placed nearby. It seemed the ingredients were Faret Grass fruit, Borbeek Grass, and Red Maitake Mushroom. With those ingredients, it was probably an immortal medicine called a Purifying Pill. The Purifying Pill was a medicine that removed toxins accumulated in the internal organs.

The medicinal components that formed the basis of the medicine were extracted from the ingredients placed inside the alchemy furnace, and pills were refined using them. That work seemed to require precise qi control. Inside the alchemy furnace, controlled qi swirled, and its strength and movement changed during the refinement process.

“It is complete. I will have all of you make this.”

Elder Mon showed the Purifying Pills she had taken out of the alchemy furnace. They were five white, shining pills about the size of small metal balls. All the direct disciples’ faces turned stern. That was how advanced the qi control used had been.

The direct disciples went to their own alchemy furnaces and began refining Purifying Pills.

“Ah.”

“No good.”

The direct disciples failed one after another. Elder Mon, who was watching them, let out a sigh. I understood how she felt, but I also understood that refining Purifying Pills was difficult, so I thought she had no choice but to teach them patiently.

“Kou, what brings you here?”

Elder Mon noticed me and called out.

“I came because there is something I want you to teach me.”

“What might that be?”

“How to make Qi Star Pills.”

When she heard that, Elder Mon smiled. When the bewitchingly beautiful Elder Mon showed a smile, I felt as if something rosy spread around her. However, when I looked at her eyes, they were not smiling.

“If you are asking about Qi Star Pills, that means you obtained Bewitching King Mushrooms, yes?”

“Yes, I found a Green King Snake’s nest.”

“Did you perhaps defeat the Green King Snake?”

“It was tough, but I somehow managed to defeat it.”

“What about the Green King Snake’s hide?”

Elder Mon seemed interested in the Green King Snake’s hide. I told her that I had skinned it, brought it back, and currently had it out being tanned.

“I wanted shoes made from Green King Snake leather.”

In exchange for giving her enough Green King Snake leather for one pair of shoes, I had her teach me how to make Qi Star Pills. I had studied how to make Qi Star Pills from books in the library, but there were still several points I did not understand, and I wanted Elder Mon to teach me those.

“I do not mind teaching you. But learning martial arts from Elder Shanshi, treasure tool crafting from Elder Min, and immortal medicine making from me—is that not spreading yourself too thin?”

I had never thought so myself, but other Taoist practitioners seemed to think that way. In my previous life, it was normal to study various information such as history, economics, politics, entertainment, and scientific knowledge, and to enjoy private time aside from work, so I thought learning three things like martial arts, alchemy, and treasure tool crafting was nothing special.

“Elder Mon, the life of a Taoist practitioner is long. I do not think there is any need to narrow one’s studies down to only one thing.”

I thought even the elder herself could add one more field besides alchemy and treasure tool crafting.

“Kou, you think you can reach the Spirit Formation Stage, do you not? How far has your qi grown?”

When a Taoist practitioner entered the Spirit Formation Stage, their lifespan extended to about three hundred years. The people of this country thought of life as fifty years, so that meant walking a life six times longer than an ordinary person’s.

“The Twelfth Tier.”

“I thought so. If you train for a few more years, you will reach the Spirit Formation Stage.”

Elder Mon also had the Lone Awakening Eye, so she had a rough idea, but it seemed she could not tell accurately. Apparently, even with the Lone Awakening Eye, there were people whose qi was difficult to read, and I seemed to be one of them.

“Yes. I want to reach the Spirit Formation Stage even a little sooner.”

When I said that, Elder Mon stared at me.

“Is there really any need to rush so much?”

“What do you mean?”

“When you reach the Spirit Formation Stage, aging becomes extremely slow…… but growth also becomes slow.”

Growth also becomes slow? What did that mean? Surely it did not mean that if I reached the Spirit Formation Stage when I was thirteen, I would stay thirteen and stop growing. I did not think I would stop growing entirely, but looking like a boy even when I turned sixty would be a little unpleasant.