Chapter 123: Stewed Pork Knuckle?

It’s impossible to shut up now.

Xu Xiaoshou lowered his voice, watching Sang Lao refine pills while explaining to Mu Zixi.

With "Chu Yi Jing Tong" activated, the sight of the dan ding and flames made him think of ingredients like rice, oil, and salt.

Surprisingly, using cooking theories to explain alchemy seemed to make sense.

This shocked Xu Xiaoshou. Everything boiled down to the same principle—as long as there was fire, it seemed "Chu Yi Jing Tong" could encompass many things.

He had a sudden epiphany, like touching on something profound. He recalled the illusion from when he acquired this skill—was it possible that at its peak, this passive ability could truly turn the world into a furnace, melting all things?

Look at how the medicinal herbs were refined—it was just like stir-frying vegetables.

If it came to other creatures, wouldn't that be like adding some meat dishes?

Thinking about it this way, everything in the world boiled down to animals and plants. From the perspective of "Chu Yi Jing Tong," the heavens and earth could be...

A fire, a pot, separating meat from vegetables, making all things edible?

"Hiss!"

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. He had thought "Chu Yi Jing Tong" was only useful for controlling heat, but now he realized that if used properly, it might be just as powerful as "Jian Shu Jing Tong"!

His habitual thinking had limited him. If he treated it as a combat skill, it could have special effects.

In fact, in unexpected situations, this skill might even be more effective!

But...

Using "Chu Yi Jing Tong" directly in battle just felt a bit off.

Xu Xiaoshou felt a bit awkward. Honestly, his current fighting style already seemed a little off-track, and adding this to the mix...

Well, who cares if it's off-track, as long as it works!

He decided to go back and study it properly.

By now, Sang Lao had basically finished extracting the medicinal liquid, and Xu Xiaoshou's mind had gained several hundred passive points.

Most were from doubt, probably due to things like "mildly spicy" or "very bitter"...

A few were from admiration, likely because his vast knowledge had impressed the two of them.

And there was a faint trace of curses... He could just ignore that; Xu Xiaoshou's dictionary didn't include such negative words.

At first, Mu Zixi didn't believe what Xu Xiaoshou was saying. His descriptions were too bizarre, throwing in sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy like he'd tasted them all.

But when Sang Lao didn't refute it, her doubt gradually turned to uncertainty.

After this nonstop string of explanations, she felt like she'd been brainwashed and actually thought Xu Xiaoshou made a lot of sense.

Had he been studying under Sang Lao for a long time and learned so much?

Wiping the drool from her mouth, Mu Zixi pointed to the nearly congealing medicinal liquid in the large bathtub and asked, "What is this?"

"Reduce the juice!"

Xu Xiaoshou's confident reply made Sang Lao's whole body sway, nearly losing control, but after a barrage of his talk, even the old man had grown numb and didn't argue.

Xu Xiaoshou gestured a circle in the air. "Ever had pork knuckle? After adding cooking wine, stew it on low heat until it's date-red. The key is that juice—if you don't reduce it in, it's soulless."

He paused. "Refining pills is the same."

Mu Zixi's head nodded nonstop, her twin ponytails swinging back and forth as she swallowed hard several times.

In the bathtub, a large black ball cracked open, and the pill finally formed, rolling out from inside.

Sang Lao collected the finished pill, his face stern, and tossed a jade slip to Xu Xiaoshou. "This is the Ning Dan technique. Go somewhere else and figure it out yourself. I'll teach your shimei how to extract medicinal liquid first."

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. Wasn't this favoritism?

You're just letting me fend for myself, but teaching her directly?

"I'm not going. I'll stay here for three days and three nights—I'm a quick learner!"

Sang Lao was at his wit's end. If you stayed here for three days and three nights before, I was afraid you'd blow up Lingcang Ge; now, if you stay that long, I might starve to death!

"You can't stay a moment longer—get out!"

Xu Xiaoshou looked bitter. "The main thing is, I have a lot of enemies outside. I'm worried about safety in Ling Zhi... Just three days!"

"Can't even handle these minor troubles, how will you achieve anything big?" Sang Lao held up three fingers. "I'll give you three seconds!"

Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Mu Zixi, who actually had a schadenfreude smile on her face.

Hah, this shimei... All that stuff I explained to you for nothing!

Xu Xiaoshou turned and left.

Sang Lao turned to Mu Zixi and, after handing over the meeting gift, smoothly pulled out a ring.

"Heh, you're pretty familiar with the process now. Your shixiong just explained it, and although some of it was off, the basic properties were correct."

He remembered he hadn't taught Xu Xiaoshou that much yet, so the boy must have studied on his own.

See, his teaching method was really effective!

"You're not born with a special physique, so I'm not passing on the 'Jin Zhao Yi Mai' alchemy technique. Instead, it's the standard alchemist method. The details are in the jade slip inside the ring."

"For extracting medicinal liquid, you should practice it yourself first, just like your shixiong did."

"This step just takes practice to get right. Good luck!"

With that, he vanished, leaving the young girl alone, disheveled in the wind.

What was going on?

Everything was fine a moment ago, and now she was all by herself?

This master and disciple pair was a bit odd!

In Ling Shi Ge.

The straw-hatted elder landed at the number one counter, snatched the array disk right out of Qiao Qian's hand, startling Elder Qiao.

"What are you doing?"

"Gurgle."

Sang Lao clutched his stomach and licked his lips. "Let's go! Time to stew some pork knuckle?"

Xu Xiaoshou returned to his new spiritual abode in the inner courtyard.

If he couldn't stay in Lingcang Ge, he'd just have to make do here. No choice—deal with whatever comes.

Based on Zhang Xin Xiong's two moves, it was unlikely he'd act personally; someone at that level would attract a lot of attention.

As for the other thirty-three old-timers, if they couldn't come in person, any underlings they sent would be no threat.

Besides...

Xu Xiaoshou thought of his neighbors. There were only two, but they were probably among the strongest in the inner courtyard!

If he was found while out and about, that was one thing, but if someone dared to cause trouble at his home, they'd regret it for sure.

Assuming, of course, that these two neighbors were home.

"It should be fine..." Xu Xiaoshou pondered internally.

Sang Lao was right—compared to the big dangers and trials ahead, solving these little troubles by hiding wouldn't lead to anything great.

Xu Xiaoshou pulled out the dan ding, which still had bloodstains from when it had been used as a weapon.

"Hmm, I wonder if that will affect the pill's taste..."

After carefully cleaning it, he thought for a moment, then walked out of the main room to a large open space in the courtyard.

A bit too sunny, though...

Xu Xiaoshou quietly carried the dan ding to the guest room.

One bed, one table, one stool, with plenty of open space left—completely different from the small house in the outer courtyard.

He was quite satisfied, moving everything to the corner, setting up the dan ding, and nodding approvingly.

"Perfect. From now on, I'll refine pills in the guest room!"