[Cozy Fantasy] [Farming LitRPG] The Chronicles of Emberstone Farm

Chapter 142 - Beak-on, negativity! Come, root-iful life

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As expected, it remained inert.

“It seems you do not have a Spirit Root,” said the Sage. “I can’t take you as my disciple.”

Adventure Incarnate lore was quite clear on the fact that the players’ special powers were different from the cultivation path that both humans and clan members used in this world. I would’ve been shocked if the Soul Essence Stone had been able to detect my skills.

Even if it had, I’m guessing it would have shown that I had the All-Attributes Spirit Root since I was able to cast all types of elemental spells, which would be considered trash, since the fewer attributes a person’s spirit root had, the better their cultivation potential was. Or the Soul Essence Stone could detect that I had a very strange spirit root, such as a Mutated Spirit Root that was unsuitable for cultivation.

I simply smiled and said, “Oh, I wouldn’t presume to ask for that, sir. I only ask to watch you while you work and learn from you this one time. I have a few more ingredients with me.”

However, when I moved my hand, the Sage jumped up.

“Stop!” he shouted.

The Sect Master approached me and, with a trembling voice, asked, “Young lady, how many of these items are you offering?”

“Twenty-five,” I said.

“Please wait here. I will return with the boxes.” The Sect Master left.

The Sage drew a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead with it. “I’m too old for this…”

I leaned towards Shuye who was sitting beside me and whispered, “Did you know there was a special storage requirement for alchemy ingredients?”

“No. There are only two clan members who practice alchemy in the whole of the Westerlands,” said Shuye. He was doing his best to keep a poker face, but his lips kept twitching, so I could tell that he was amused.

The Sage overheard our exchange and sighed deeply. “It is indeed a dying art. I once had three genius disciples, but they all died before me. Now my lifespan is almost over, and there’s no one to take over the alchemy furnaces in my Divine Elixir Pavilion.”

Shuye cleared his throat and gave me a meaningful look before turning to the Sage and saying, “Venerable Immortal Sage, Baroness Violet has three apprentices who are able to share her bloodline inheritance. Would you like to test them, too?”

“I've heard of this bloodline inheritance. Yes, go ahead and try your luck with the crystal,” said the Sage.

Lari and Kharli looked like they were going to explode with excitement, but they kept silent and waited for my approval before moving. Mo acted blasé but I knew she must be eager to try it, too.

I gestured towards the crystal and watched as, one by one, they put their hands on it.

Of course, nothing happened.

Shuye looked thoughtful. My apprentices were too well-tutored in manners by Fengying to say anything, but their downturned mouths and slumped shoulders spoke volumes.

The Sage gave my apprentices a sympathetic look. “Don’t be discouraged, young ones. Only one out of a thousand people have Spirit Roots, and of those, only one in twenty have good potential.”

“Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us, sir,” I said.

Just then the Sect Master arrived, bringing the jade boxes which he set down on a side table. His hands were trembling.

The boxes were made of translucent white jade and were carved with mystic runes.

This time, I handled the items with more care, taking them out one by one and placing them in a jade box instead of pulling out bunches of them from my inventory.

The Sage watched closely as I worked. With each item that I took out, his smile grew bigger and bigger. “Yes, yes, these will do nicely. I will make the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pill for you, but that is too difficult for a beginner. I’ll show you how to make the most basic nourishing qi pill.”

I bowed as gracefully as I could. “Thank you!”

“I can only do this much. You may not call me your teacher and I cannot take you as a student since the sect’s laws forbid it. Mortals cannot be admitted into the sect.” He sighed and looked as though he wanted to pat me on the head. “It’s a great pity.”

Even if he had offered, I would have refused.

“I’m not suited for immortal cultivation, but I’m glad I can practice alchemy using my bloodline inheritance,” I said.

“Stay here, please,” the Sect Master instructed the others.

Shuye frowned and my apprentices looked disappointed though no one made any objections as I followed the two old men out of the main hall and into another simple house.

This one had clay brick walls and floor tiles. The interior was a single open space with cauldrons lining one wall. The cauldrons, made of sturdy bronze, varied greatly in size and design. The Sage waved his arm and one flew up and settled itself in the center of the room.

The cauldron was made of a bronze-colored metal and stood on three legs. The center of the lid was shaped in the form of a lotus bud. Intricately engraved lotus flowers adorned its aged surface that had a patina of great age and constant use.

The Sage sat down cross-legged in front of the cauldron and the Sect Master and I sat behind him on either side to watch. I didn’t need to be told not to talk since I knew the Sage needed to concentrate.

He started by putting a whole bunch of [Spell Stones] under the cauldron. There were at least fifty of them! He seemed to pull them out of thin air. Fascinating! This must be what it looks like to other people when I do Herblaw.

Then the Sage used the [Spell Stones] to light a magical blue fire under the vessel. The heat from the fire was intense and I had to use a handkerchief to blot the sweat from my face. I hoped I wasn’t going to stain my fancy robes. The Sect Master seemed to notice my discomfort and quickly whispered a few unintelligible words under his breath. When he finished, a faintly visible white mist enveloped us, cooling the air. I cupped my hands and bowed from the waist in my seated position, silently thanking him.

When the cauldron was white-hot, the Sage removed the lid and put herbs inside it. The [Twilight Green Orchid] was first, followed by the [Blooming Milkthistle]. I thought they would burn to ashes, but instead, they glowed green and white before becoming liquid. The last item he put inside was the [Crimson Pearl Peony Seed].

Moments later, the liquified herbs swirled together and became brown.

The Sage put the lid back on and the fire roared even higher and more intense for a few minutes before dying down.

The Sect Master sighed deeply, a slight smile making the lines on his face deepen. “Congratulations, Venerable Immortal Sage!”

It was finished?

Moments later, a thick, cloying medicinal scent filled the air.

The Sage got up and we all crowded around the cauldron. When he opened the lid, steam came out of it, and there were brown lumps at the bottom of the vessel. The Sage held his right hand up and the brown lumps flew up to it, suspended in the air a few inches above his palm.

“Three usable pills. Not bad.” The Sage stroked his beard. It seemed it was a habit of his.

The Sect Master produced a glass bottle from thin air. The pills flew into it and he capped it with a jade stopper. He bowed and offered it to me, “Young lady, here are the Paramount Serendipitous Celestial Pills.”

I bowed back and took it, storing it in my inventory for safekeeping. “Thank you very much!”

“Now I’ll show you how to make a beginner pill.” The Sage waved his hand at the wall of cauldrons, and one of them flew beside the one he had used. “Sit down.”

I obediently sat down in front of the other cauldron. It was a smaller version of the first, except it was much more plain, with only one big lotus flower etched on the lid. The System helpfully sent me a popup message when I sat down cross-legged in front of the cauldron.

[Start Tutorial?]

I mentally clicked on the [Yes] button and then used the System while copying the Sage’s actions.

[Place 10 Spell Stones under the cauldron.]

As I carefully piled the crystals, the Sage chuckled and said, “I hope you have enough money to buy more of those. You’ll be using a lot of them. This is why my Sect has a bad reputation for being full of money grubbers.”

“I’ve heard that alchemy is the type of crafting that costs a lot and needs rare ingredients,” I said.

“That’s the life of an alchemist,” said the Sage.

The next System message came as a huge relief.

[Activate the cauldron.]

I had been worried about how to generate the fire that the Sage lit, but it was easy as pie. All I had to do was to mentally examine the cauldron then click on the [Activate] button that the System provided and a small flame appeared under the vessel.

There must be a passive skill involved since the heat of the flames no longer bothered me once we started heating the cauldrons. Or maybe because the flames we both used were smaller.

“Take these.” The Sage handed me a small bunch of spirit grass and a piece of ginseng. “Put a little bit of water inside your cauldron. It helps beginners with blending the ingredients.”

[Pour one glass of Soda Water inside the vessel.]

I took the items and did as the System instructed.

The Sage nodded approvingly.

[When the water starts boiling, add the ginseng.]

“Put the ginseng in now.” The Sage put his piece of ginseng in his cauldron.

I carefully dropped the ginseng into the boiling water, trying not to make a splash. I noticed that the Sage himself was not using water. The ginseng and water in my pot glowed and the ginseng dissolved.

“Good, now add the grass,” said the Sage.

[When the ginseng dissolves, add the spirit grass.]

Behind us, the Sect Master made a sound of approval.

The grass I added made the water sparkle as it dissolved.

I was surprised to see that the ginseng in the sage’s cauldron had somehow dissolved into a green liquid. He added grass to his pot which dissolved and merged with the dissolved ginseng.

As for my cauldron, the water turned green, and the Sage handed me a silk sachet. I opened it and sniffed the contents, which was a white powder.

“It’s arrowroot pearl powder. Add the powder to the water little by little. It will thicken the mixture,” said the Sage. “You can also use rice powder if you like.”

[Add arrowroot pearl powder to the liquid.]

“Gosh.” This must be the penultimate stage of alchemy. I knew from watching Chinese fantasy TV shows that coalescing the pill was the final step. After adding the powder, I held my breath, waiting for the pills to form.

The contents of the sage’s cauldron seethed and he put the lid on. To my surprise, he turned to me and said, “You’re done.”

“I’m done?!” The liquid in my vessel had thickened until it had a jelly-like consistency, but it hadn’t formed into pills.

Was it a failure?