After several practice runs, Lin Hui stood at the edge of the hills, carefully evaluating the combat effectiveness of the Wild Wind Sword Technique.
Holding his long sword, he executed the first move of the Soothing Mountain Form: Shattering Awl.
Whoosh!
In an instant, the tip of his sword flashed forward. In less than half a second, he traced at least thirty circles in the air.
Driven by the surge of his Internal Force, as these thirty circles took shape, the External Web on his body frantically agitated the unknown forces in the outside world.
This agitated unknown external force did not enter his body. Instead, following the flow of the sword move, it poured directly into the direction of the thrust.
Immediately, a gale howled and blasted forward, resembling the output of a massive industrial blower.
But if it just blows wind, what practical use does this sword technique have in actual combat?
Against an Internal Force expert, a slightly stronger wind would cause a minor distraction or slightly affect their balance. In a life-or-death fight, the outcome still depended on specific Internal Force, speed, and strength.
It couldn't have such a glaring flaw.
Lin Hui swung his long sword again, executing Shattering Awl once more.
Again and again. Ten moves, twenty moves, thirty moves, sixty moves...
Gradually, he sensed something different.
Wait! What’s happening!? Why do I feel like the sword speed is much faster than when I started!?
Suddenly, his heart shivered. He stopped his sword moves and carefully reviewed the sensation he had just felt.
What if I was wrong from the start? This wild wind... it isn't meant for the enemy, but for myself?
Following this train of thought, and combining it with the infused memories of bitter cultivation, he seemed to grasp the truth.
Once again, he raised the Clear River Sword.
Shattering Awl!
Shattering Awl!
Shattering Awl again!
In one breath... this time, he executed the Shattering Awl hundreds of times in succession!
On the open ground at the edge of the hills, his sword speed was initially visible to the naked eye. But towards the end, not only did the sword disappear, but the person vanished as well.
One could only see a blur—a vague phantom standing in place, spinning incessantly.
As he swung his sword and rotated, a massive grey rock, over two meters long, sitting on the flat ground in front of him, began to tremble slightly from the wind.
A large amount of soil was lifted, churned, and piled up further away.
Beyond that, a withered tree began to shake violently, looking as if its branches were about to snap in the wind.
As the gale howled, Lin Hui finally discovered the profound secret of the Wild Wind Sword Technique's combat application.
The wild wind whipped up by this sword technique is actually meant to amplify my own sword speed and movement technique! If an opponent were in front of me, and I merged with the wind, my sword technique would be amplified. My sword speed would get faster. The further I go, the faster the accumulated speed becomes, and the stronger the power. So this is the true meaning of Wild Wind!
Lin Hui understood.
Abruptly, he guided the force toward the ground.
Shattering Awl!
Bang!
The earth exploded violently, as if a landmine had been detonated. Soil from the area over three meters wide blasted into the air, spraying forward in a fan shape.
Grey and black dirt rained down like a shower, leaving behind a large crater.
Lin Hui sheathed his sword. After unleashing so many moves, he physically felt as if he had only executed two or three strikes.
The energy efficiency of this Wild Wind Sword Technique was simply extraordinary.
It seems this sword technique excels in prolonged battles. The longer it is used, the more powerful it becomes, and the more energy it saves.
Next, he tried the other moves and found the situation to be the same. The only difference lay in which type of opponent the specific moves targeted.
Soothing Mountain targeted high defense; Overlapping Cloud targeted high speed; Clear Ring targeted ranged attacks. Although each form only had three moves, those three moves perfectly corresponded to the three steps of attack, defense, and dodging, completely covering all applications.
He cultivated until the sky grew dim. Lin Hui returned satisfied. This time, he didn't go to the Clear Wind Temple; that place was empty and desolate, with only a toothless old watchman and a couple of hired cleaning ladies who came occasionally.
Aside from them, there was no human presence.
Lin Hui had designated that place as his secluded retreat for sword practice. The Black Dragon Gate branch, on the other hand, was where the headquarters was currently located.
Speeding all the way back, he finally arrived at the Black Dragon branch just before dark.
As darkness fell and the mist enveloped the area, the disciples and students living in the branch hurriedly closed their doors and windows, lit oil lamps, and checked if their hanging Tuyue Jade Talismans were exhausted.
For a moment, the thud-thud sound of closing windows was incessant.
Lin Hui passed through the enclosed corridor and arrived at the pill concocting area in the rear hall, which was responsible for brewing medicine for the sect.
This was a small room separated from the rear kitchen, designated for the medical apothecary to mix and boil medicine. It was located on the left side of the aisle between the branch and the original Song Manor.
The medical apothecary in charge was a young woman named Chen Meng.
Hearing Lin Hui’s request, Chen Meng looked troubled.
"Sect Master, it's not that I don't want to do it, but for pill recipes of this type, if you want to produce finished products quickly, it requires a significant amount of failed attempts. The cost is not small. If you want the medicine immediately, it would be best to go to the source of these recipes and buy the ready-made medicine directly. After obtaining the ready-made medicine, we can test it ourselves to ensure there are no issues before you take it."
"Can testing the medicine guarantee safety?" Lin Hui still felt uneasy. After all, this was something he had to ingest. His internet experience from his previous life told him there were too many ways to tamper with medicine without being detected.
"I can't guarantee it completely, but at least for pills sold in large quantities on the market, we can conduct comparative tests. The risk isn't high," Chen Meng said hesitantly, not daring to give a one-hundred percent guarantee.
"Actually, if you are still worried, Sect Master, why not try learning medicinal and toxicity knowledge yourself?"
Her sentence immediately made Lin Hui’s eyes light up.
That’s right. Since I’m worried, I should go understand it, study it deeply. Only when I master it myself will I stop living in constant fear. Anyway, aside from practicing the sword and Body Tempering, my time is fairly abundant. The evolution of the Blood Seal just requires waiting.
Her suggestion instantly moved him. After all, there would be many occasions where he would need to take medicine to increase his progress in the future. Starting to learn now would also prevent him from being clueless and missing out on good things when he encountered materials in the mist zone later.
He nodded slightly. "That's a good suggestion. Do you have any foundational medical books here? How should I start learning medicine?"
"You can start with this book." Chen Meng turned around and took down a copy of Identification of Medicinal Herbs and Properties from the bookshelf, handing it to Lin Hui.
"This is my teacher's work. Although it only discusses medicinal herbs, it contains a lot of analysis, summary, and combinations of medicinal properties. The human body needs to maintain a balance of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. The purpose of identifying medicinal properties is to find the appropriate substance to harmonize and balance the body when it is out of balance. This is the fundamental philosophy of us medical apothecaries."
"I see..." Lin Hui realized. Wasn't this the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine from his previous life? It seemed that many principles were universal across different places.
He took the book and clasped his fists in thanks.
"By the way, if I want to take medicine long-term, and you start familiarizing yourself with these recipes from scratch, how long would it take to guarantee a relatively high success rate in pill refining?"
"This... I haven't tried my hand at it, so I'm not sure. But it will be very difficult. In different recipes, many contain subtle hidden tricks and taboos. Without countless attempts, one would never figure them out; you can only pile it up with a massive amount of money. If I were to research from scratch, I estimate just one recipe would take at least three years. And that’s assuming an unlimited supply of medicinal herbs for experiments," Chen Meng said with difficulty. "It would be best for you to hire a medical apothecary who specializes in this area."
Lin Hui frowned. So troublesome. Was he forced to go back to the Hundred Flowers Sect for help?
Or should he directly hire a medical apothecary from the Hundred Flowers Sect to come over and refine medicine for him?
Soon, he rejected this idea. That would be worse than buying ready-made medicine, testing it on others, and then taking it himself. While taking it, he could self-study medicine and eventually reach the level of refining it himself.
That way, he would never have to worry about being poisoned or plotted against.
Bidding farewell to Chen Meng, Lin Hui returned to his room to rest. Early the next morning, he went to the Hundred Flowers Sect and brought back a batch of finished pills.
These were originally intended to be shipped out to the market, but he abruptly intercepted them for his own use.
After returning, he first found ten middle-aged disciples who had wives. In exchange for a large amount of remuneration, they took turns testing the pills.
Only after confirming there were no issues did he take the medicine back to his own courtyard residence.
Three Suns Powder, Toppling Dragon Pill, combined with All-Essence Powder—taken together. After careful experimentation and calculation, he concluded.
If I take the maximum load of medicine, I can reduce the evolution time by roughly eighty to ninety days per month. If I have Spirit-Enriching Reishi, the progress will accelerate drastically, calculated separately.
Calculating this way, and making do with some other items, one month could count as four months. The time would be shortened to a quarter of what it was before!
He looked at the required time displayed on the Blood Seal again.
Fourteen years, eighteen years...
Even shortened, it’s still very long... It seems I really have to start with the Spirit-Enriching Reishi... Myriad Medicine Villa.
Lin Hui fell into deep thought.
First, resolve the safety of refining and taking medicine, then make a trip to the Myriad Medicine Villa.
That night, by the light of the oil lamp, he immediately began studying the medical book he had just obtained.
After finishing the reading, before sleeping, he practiced the perfected version of the Clear Wind Sword. The effect of the second Body Tempering was mainly to stimulate the production of Internal Force. After the Internal Force was successfully produced, the Body Tempering effect of this sword technique changed to accelerating the increase of total Internal Force.
On the contrary, when practicing the Wild Wind Sword Technique, a new phase of Body Tempering began again.
That was the third Body Tempering, following Internal Force.
This was an unknown path. Lin Hui himself didn't know where it would lead, nor was he clear if he could fight against the Called Ones of the Circulation Realm from the Inner City. After all, he had never seen the martial prowess of those in the Circulation Realm.
But holding onto his confidence in the Blood Seal, he practiced with unwavering determination.
Time passed day by day.
Lin Hui first sent people everywhere in the market to inquire about medical apothecaries capable of refining pills, hoping to hire staff to start refining. Even if the consumption was higher, at least he could start taking the medicine while learning as he used it.
But to his disappointment, while there were indeed medical apothecaries on the market, none had the confidence to refine these recipes.
These drugs were the core competitiveness of the Hundred Flowers Sect. Not only were the recipes filled with various traps, but the refining process also involved many tedious steps.
And the few medical apothecaries who had a good grasp of pill compounding had long been recruited into the internal circles of various powerful clans and factions, hired and supported with high salaries.
The agreements these people signed were incredibly harsh, and their families were controlled, making it completely impossible for them to breach their contracts.
"This is troublesome..." Lin Hui had thought this matter would be simple, but he hadn't expected it to be so troublesome in actual practice.
He finally appreciated how difficult it had been for his old dad to get that All-Essence Powder before.
That was truly achieved by throwing money at the problem.
Picking up the ready-made medicine bought from the Hundred Flowers Sect, he looked contemplative.
Knock, knock, knock.
At this moment, the study door was knocked lightly.
"Temple Master, a man from the Inner City is here to visit you. He says he is from the Rain Palace," Wang Hongshi’s voice called out from outside the door.