Chapter 3

The sun was high in the sky, and it was noon.

His roommate knew that Song Shuhang's cold hadn't fully recovered, so he let him rest and had already taken another day off for him.

"How come the illness seems to be getting worse? Is it because I haven't been exercising recently, and my physical condition has deteriorated?" Song Shuhang said.

Beside him was a bowl of century egg congee, which his roommate had brought for him at noon.

"Such a good person!" Song Shuhang didn't hesitate to send a 'good person card' to his roommate.

After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, he was so hungry that his stomach was growling. He quickly finished the century egg congee and then turned on his computer.

Out of habit, he opened the chat software and saw the red dot indicating new messages in the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group'.

Curiously, Song Shuhang opened the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group' to see what the veteran xianxia enthusiasts had been chatting about all night.

The chat records from the early morning appeared before him.

There was Northern River's question about the 'newcomer', the reckless actions of Mad Saber Thrice, the interesting Senior Spirit Butterfly Island, and Yellow Mountain True Monarch who claimed to have divined a connection with him.

As he read through the chat records, the images of these people became more vivid in Shuhang's mind.

"Turns out I added the wrong person. I didn't even know this Yellow Mountain True Monarch."

From the chat records, it seemed that this group wasn't just for anyone. One needed a recommendation to join.

Moreover, the age of these veteran xianxia enthusiasts in the group seemed to be quite advanced, some even having daughters.

And from the tone, their daughters didn't seem to be young either. If that was the case, they might be in their forties or fifties, still acting like teenagers. Their daughters must be suffering.

As he scrolled through the chat records, Song Shuhang remained in stealth mode, absolutely not speaking.

It was interesting to watch the group members act silly, but if he joined in, what would that make him? He wasn't silly himself.

So his plan was to stay in stealth mode and read the chat records, treating it as daily entertainment.

When he found the group boring one day, he would leave the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group'.

That's what he always thought.

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Unconsciously, ten days had passed...

June 1st, Saturday, Children's Day.

Song Shuhang's roommates were semi-residential, meaning they stayed in the dorm from Monday to Friday and went home on weekends. So every weekend, he was the only one left in the dorm.

Song Shuhang's cold had mostly recovered, but he still had a stuffy nose and a cough. It was a cold cough, which was harder to recover from. If not well taken care of, it could last for a month.

On Saturday, he slept until eight in the morning, then went to the cafeteria for a light meal.

With nothing to do, he returned to the dorm.

After turning on his computer, he habitually checked the chat records in the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group', which had become a good way to pass the time.

Unconsciously, he had been in the group for over ten days.

During these ten days of stealth, he saw that most of the group members were talking about exploring secret realms, their harvests, or the appearance of evil spirits and demons, which they either subdued or killed.

It all sounded so real. Song Shuhang thought that if he copied these stories, polished them a bit, and posted them online, he could earn some money as a xianxia novel.

In these ten days, Song Shuhang also got to know several people in the group.

For example, the rarely active group owner, Yellow Mountain True Monarch.

And the two administrators, Rain Moon True Monarch of the Great Luo Sect and Venerable Seven Cultivations, who hadn't appeared since he joined.

Frequently online were 'the information expert' Northern River, the reckless Mad Saber Thrice, the fight-loving Su Clan's Ah Qi, and the sparingly worded Medicine Master.

There was also the always stealthy Cloud Traveling Monk Tongxuan, who, when he did appear, only used emoticons and punctuation. It was said that this high monk was practicing silence, unable to speak or type, only able to send emoticons.

Finally, there was the normal-speaking Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island in this slightly silly group. Her number was only one digit different from Song Shuhang's, and thanks to her, Shuhang had the chance to join the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group'.

All this information came from the enthusiastic 'Northern River' introducing the other group members to 'Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island'.

...

...

Today, when he opened the 'Nine Provinces Number One Group', the first thing he saw was Medicine Master's message.

It was rare for the sparingly worded Medicine Master to speak: "Improved a basic pill formula."

This was a seven-character sentence with punctuation, the longest message Medicine Master had ever sent since Shuhang joined the group. So, he was very curious and read on.

Medicine Master had posted the message in the early morning.

"Simplified Body Tempering Liquid Formula: Three taels of ginseng, four taels and three qian of wolfberry; one tael of morning dew mystic grass; three taels of yangqishi, one tael and three qian of daughter's fragrance... one tael of fresh king branch, four taels of nine yang red flame bamboo slices..."

A series of forty-five herbs, some familiar like ginseng and wolfberry, others obscure like yangqishi, and some he had never heard of, like morning dew mystic grass, fresh king branch, and nine yang red flame bamboo.

"Add the herbs to the cauldron in the proportions specified, simmer for about five minutes; add new herbs, continue simmering for about five minutes. Pay attention to the heat! Repeat until the liquid becomes a paste. The finished Body Tempering Liquid is black, transparent, and has a strong taste."

So clear and easy to understand!

Song Shuhang recognized only a few of the forty-plus herbs, so he looked them up online.

In the formula, thirty were common Chinese medicinal herbs, mostly for replenishing qi and blood.

The other fifteen, like morning dew mystic grass, king branch, and red flame bamboo, he had never heard of. Could these be something the 'Medicine Master' and the group members had made up?

"These guys are really deep into it, even coming up with a formula. I hope no one actually makes and drinks the paste," Song Shuhang thought to himself.

He was a bit worried because while food could be eaten randomly, medicine couldn't be taken lightly!

Taking the wrong medicine could be fatal. Should he advise these silly group members? After all, he had been watching them for over ten days.

If someone in the group died from taking the wrong medicine, he would feel guilty.

He continued to read the chat records and, sure enough, someone had already started making the medicine!

It was Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island, the most normal person in the group, at around two in the morning.

Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island: "Compared to the original Body Tempering Liquid, this formula uses fewer rare herbs and simplifies the process. Senior Medicine Master, what level of heat control is needed? I tried it but failed halfway. Also, how does the effectiveness compare to the original?"

"Effectiveness 2:1," Medicine Master replied.

The effectiveness was only half of the original, but with such common herbs, it was still a good deal.

"Figure out the heat control and specific simmering time yourself; I can't explain it." Medicine Master, who rarely spoke, typed a longer message, but only about pill-making: "Also, if your 'Fire Control Technique' isn't good, I recommend using a fire control magical tool."

"Thank you, Senior. I'll try again." Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island sent a smiley face and went back into stealth mode.

Feather Soft of Spirit Butterfly Island's last message was at 2:13 AM. If she started making the medicine right after, she should have made several batches by now.

Would it be fatal? These people were already quite silly, and if they took the wrong medicine, they would become even sillier. They might have been salvageable before, but now, after taking the medicine, they would be beyond help!

Finally, his conscience couldn't bear it, and he typed in the chat box: "Don't take medicine randomly!"

Just as he was about to press Enter and send his first message in the group... the chat window vibrated.

A big smiley face appeared in the group chat.

It was from Venerable Seven Cultivations, the administrator who hadn't appeared since Shuhang joined the group: "The formula is excellent. I just tried seven batches, and all were successful. The success rate is very high. I took some, and the effect is slightly more than half of the original Body Tempering Liquid. But the cost is ten times lower. Although it's just the lowest-grade Body Tempering Liquid, given the decreasing earth qi and the scarcity of precious herbs, this is a great thing. Medicine Master, keep up the good work. If you can improve formulas for higher-grade pills, it would be a great contribution."

"Supplement: Most importantly, the difficulty of the method has been greatly reduced, even to the point where it can be entrusted to apprentices."

Venerable Seven Cultivations was a well-known senior in the group, stronger than Yellow Mountain True Monarch. He was also an expert in pill-making, and his praise greatly encouraged the junior Medicine Master.

"Thank you, Senior. I will work hard!" Medicine Master, excited, typed a message over six characters long, and very quickly.

Song Shuhang's mouth twitched: Someone had already made and taken the 'Body Tempering Liquid'?