The Huang family's ancestral basic pill formulas recorded hundreds of methods for refining pills, powders, ointments, and pastes.
Some were for treating difficult illnesses, others for injuries from falls and blows, and some were for strengthening the body and nourishing it.
Xiao Fei had personally experienced the effectiveness of the Huang family's ancestral healing medicine and found it to be quite good.
After reading through several medical books, he decided to try making some pills himself, just in case.
What Xiao Fei found rather novel was that the Huang family's ancestor had divided pills into many tiers of quality.
Perhaps this was a common classification method in the cultivation world, and he was simply ignorant of it.
Pills were broadly categorized into Unranked, Mortal Grade, and Spirit Grade. Spirit Grade pills were further subdivided into Tier 1 Spirit Pills, Tier 2 Spirit Pills, and so on.
The "Basic Pill Formulas" contained mostly Unranked recipes, with a small number of Mortal Grade ones. As for Spirit Pills, only two Tier 1 Spirit Pills were recorded within.
At least half of the medicinal ingredients required for refining Spirit Pills were spirit herbs, and Xiao Fei did not have that many spirit herbs at the moment.
Furthermore, it required a specialized alchemy furnace and many extremely complex techniques that were headache-inducing just to look at.
With his current abilities, Xiao Fei could not refine Tier 1 Spirit Pills.
He could only set his sights on the Mortal Grade pills, which were within his reach for now.
Mortal Grade pills required at least one spirit herb as the main ingredient, while the remaining auxiliary ingredients could be ordinary herbs without spiritual energy.
The refining methods were also relatively simple, similar to ordinary medicinal pills.
Xiao Fei decided to try making a pill called the "Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder" first.
The Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder was used both internally and externally for healing.
He had been injured many times before, and one of those times, he had almost died.
Xiao Fei felt it was better to have some on hand, as one never knew which would come first, an accident or tomorrow.
The Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder was relatively simple to make, with its main ingredient being Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass.
This was a spirit herb that Xiao Fei often saw being sold in the market, so it wasn't too difficult to find.
The auxiliary ordinary medicinal ingredients could be bought at any general pharmacy.
One day, after his cultivation practice, Xiao Fei left his room. Huang Feifei was still in her room studying the "Evergreen Cultivation Technique," and it was unlikely she would have any results in the short term.
The market was as lively as ever every day. Cultivators setting up stalls were no different from ordinary people, with constant shouts and haggling.
Xiao Fei walked through the market, browsing. He would stop to look at anything that caught his interest, whether he bought it or not was secondary.
Soon, he stopped at a stall specializing in selling spirit herbs.
On the stall were displayed over a dozen fresh spirit herbs, likely dug up recently, as the soil at the roots was still moist.
Two of the spirit herbs caught Xiao Fei's eye: four slender leaves topped with a small purple flower. These were exactly the Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass he needed.
"Excuse me, how much is this Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass?"
"Four spirit stones per plant."
The stall owner, a middle-aged man, greeted him enthusiastically upon seeing a potential customer.
Xiao Fei picked up a plant of Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass and examined it closely with his divine sense. He had heard from the shopkeeper, Green Bean Eyes, that there were fakes in the market, specifically targeting novices like him.
"May I ask, can these spirit herbs be replanted and grow successfully? How are they propagated?"
Xiao Fei examined it and found no apparent issues.
However, he wanted to try growing one in his space.
"Of course, they can be planted. My family cultivates these spirit herbs. They were just dug up, and if replanted, the survival rate is quite high."
"So you're a clan cultivator." Xiao Fei couldn't help but look at the man a few more times.
He now knew that there were many cultivation families in Star Moon City, passed down through generations, with many cultivators in a single family.
As for solitary cultivators like himself, the cultivation world called them rogue cultivators.
Rogue cultivators had no family backing and could only rely on themselves to strive for everything. The path of cultivation was much more arduous.
The middle-aged man just chuckled.
"If you buy both of these Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass plants, I'll teach you the cultivation techniques for Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass."
Xiao Fei thought about it and then agreed, paying eight spirit stones on the spot for the two plants of Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass.
After paying, he was left with only five spirit stones in his pocket. Spirit stones were always in short supply.
After receiving the spirit stones, the middle-aged man formed a hand seal and recited an incantation. Instantly, a transparent light screen appeared, enveloping the two of them.
"Don't worry, Daoist friend. This is just a minor spell to block sound, so others don't overhear."
The middle-aged man, seeing Xiao Fei draw his saber, quickly reassured him, unable to help but sigh inwardly at how inexperienced these rogue cultivators were.
"Oh!"
Xiao Fei awkwardly sheathed his black saber. The sudden appearance of such a thing enveloping him was quite startling, and he could only attribute it to his quick reflexes.
"All spirit herb cultivation requires clearing spirit fields in areas with relatively dense spiritual energy. If the spiritual energy is insufficient, spirit stones must be crushed regularly and added to the spirit fields.
After sowing, Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass takes eight years to flower. At this point, it can be harvested for medicinal use.
If you wish to save seeds, after flowering, it will produce seeds, which take about a year to mature.
Once the seeds are fully mature, the plant will wither and lose its medicinal properties.
During cultivation, you need to pay attention to..."
The middle-aged man finished explaining the cultivation method for Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass in one go. Xiao Fei tried his best to remember every key point.
Since cultivating, his memory had also improved, making it not difficult to remember these things.
"Thank you for your guidance, Daoist friend!"
"You're welcome. If you need other spirit herbs in the future, feel free to check my stall."
After thanking him, Xiao Fei left the market with the two spirit herbs.
However, just as he exited the market, he saw someone approaching him.
The person had skin like fine jade, rosy lips and white teeth, and wore a white robe with golden floral patterns. The flowing sash made him appear magnificent and handsome, setting him apart.
Xiao Fei was not interested in men, but he recognized this person. It was Zhu Yu, the one who had tricked dozens of refugees into feeding demonic beasts.
At this moment, Zhu Yu also saw him. For this refugee who had killed several of his subordinates and stolen his spirit herbs, Zhu Yu also had a deep impression.
"It's you!"
The exclamation came from both their mouths almost simultaneously. When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred.
"Return the spirit herbs to me, and I can let bygones be bygones."
As Zhu Yu spoke, he drew a short sword and made a move as if to attack.
Xiao Fei was now at the third level of Qi Condensation. Zhu Yu was alone today, and Xiao Fei was not afraid. He also drew his Black Force.
"What are you doing!"
Just as the two were about to draw their weapons, a cultivator in armor walked over.
"You two are disregarding Star Moon City's rules and fighting within the city without authorization. You are each fined two spirit stones.
If you dare to offend again, you will be severely punished!"
The armored cultivator wore the Star Moon City emblem on his chest. He was a patrol cultivator responsible for the city's public order.
At this moment, his divine sense pressure had already enveloped the two of them, and his hand was on his saber hilt, giving the impression that he would kill them both if they didn't comply.
"Apologies!"
"We two have been reunited after a long time and got a bit excited!"
Both of them quickly sheathed their swords and sabers. Xiao Fei, while speaking, also pulled Zhu Yu's hand and patted him heavily on the shoulder.
Zhu Yu also smiled and squeezed Xiao Fei's waist fiercely.
"Regardless of your relationship, since you have been caught by this patrol officer, pay two spirit stones each as a fine, or face the consequences."
This patrol cultivator showed no leniency, his face stern.
The two had no choice but to pay to avoid trouble, each handing over two spirit stones.
Only after the patrol cultivator had walked away did they glare at each other again and exchange many harsh words.
Ultimately, they were gentlemen who preferred words to deeds. After exchanging greetings, they reluctantly departed, looking back from afar.
It was quite like the feeling of "meeting is difficult, parting is also difficult."
Xiao Fei's already limited spirit stones had decreased by two more, making his already tight financial situation even worse.
Upon returning to the inn, Huang Feifei had finished her cultivation and was busy preparing dinner for the two of them.
"Feifei, how was your cultivation? Did you make any progress?"
"Cultivation is just like that. No progress." Huang Feifei said indifferently, not in a hurry.
Xiao Fei himself had cultivated for several months before he could even draw qi into his body. It was only after eating an Enlightenment Fruit that he succeeded.
Huang Feifei had only been cultivating for a few days, and it should take her a long time to draw qi into her body.
Or it was possible that she couldn't cultivate at all. He had heard the shopkeeper, Green Bean Eyes, say that everyone's aptitude was different, and some people simply had no cultivation aptitude and could never cultivate in their lifetime.
"There's no need to rush this. Take your time."
As Xiao Fei spoke, he entered his bedroom and took out the two plants of Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass he had just bought. He replanted one of them in his space.
The remaining plant was for him to try refining the Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder.
He had already bought all the auxiliary ingredients, which cost him only a little over ten taels of silver.
First, he had to decoct several of the auxiliary ingredients to extract their medicinal juices for later use. Then, he had to pound two other auxiliary ingredients into a paste, rinse them repeatedly in the medicinal juice, and then filter out the liquid.
After letting the medicinal juice settle for three days, he poured off the upper layer of liquid, obtaining the black, paste-like substance at the bottom.
He dried this medicinal paste, then soaked the Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass in wine for a month to obtain wine. He then sprinkled this wine, batch by batch, onto the dried medicinal paste.
Once the medicinal paste had absorbed enough of the Four-Leaf Purple Flower Grass wine, he dried it again, ground it into an extremely fine powder, and that was the Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder.
This medicine could be taken internally or applied externally. Unfortunately, there was no place to test its efficacy right now.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard a series of squeaking noises from outside.
He walked out and saw that a mouse had been caught by a wild cat, squeaking incessantly.
"Hey!"
It was as if fate had answered his thoughts. This was an excellent material for testing the medicine!
He immediately rushed over, chased away the wild cat, and rescued the mouse.
The mouse's leg had several deep wounds from the cat's bite, and its back also had injuries.
Xiao Fei held the mouse down, took out the freshly made Blood-Stirring Muscle-Regenerating Powder, and applied it to the mouse's wounds. He also put some powder into the mouse's mouth.
While Xiao Fei was treating the mouse to test the medicine's efficacy, he didn't notice a pair of green bean eyes watching the scene from behind a distant window, nodding in approval.
"A truly kind young man."
After watching for a while, Green Bean Eyes turned around, opened a wardrobe, and revealed a nest of young mice, all lively and robust.